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June 18, 2013

The Secret Life of Bees” by Kidd 1- “The Secret Life of Bees” by Kidd – Answer Question (Uploaded)

The Secret Life of Bees” by Kidd
1- “The Secret Life of Bees” by Kidd – Answer Question (Uploaded)

2- There is a movie and a book.

3- There is a link to help you quickly go over the book and the movie
Link: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/secretbees/
Link Source: SparkNotes

KIDD DAY #2 (67-135)
1. In chapter four and five the reader is introduced to the Boatwright sisters and their home. Find passages that provide a physical description of the sisters, the family dwelling and the honey house. What do these passages reveal about the Boatwright family culture?

2. On page 73, the reader is introduced to the May’s wailing wall when August says,
“‘Oh, May, honey, you go on out to the wall and finish your cry.’” Examine other passages that discuss the wall (80, 95, 101, 97, 173, 182,187, 195) and come to some conclusions regarding the purpose of the wall and its relevance to the larger story.

3. Briefly summarize the story of the “young nun named Beatrix who loved Mary”(91). Why does August tell the story to Lily? What does Lily’s misunderstanding of August’s intent reveal about her? (See also page 108 and 287.)

4. Explain the connection between the story August tells about “Our Lady of Chains” and the role the Daughters of Mary come to play in Lily’s life.

KIDD DAY #3 (136-213)
1. Chapter eight opens with an epigraph from The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men:
Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require its social companionship and support. Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.
Explain how the epigraph introduces and underscores the major themes of the chapter.
2.What connection can you made between the “black Madonna of Breznichar in Bohemia”(139), Mrs. Boatwright’s prayer cards (139), Our Lady of Chains, and the “The mother of thousands” (149)?
3. When Lily found out her mother had her mother once slept the honey house, she…
4. When May found out Zach had been arrested, she…

KIDD DAY #4 (214-302)
1.How does Lily’s knowledge of the past help her move from idealization of Deborah to forgiveness, and acceptance?
2. In the final chapter of the novel, August explains to Lily that “‘[o]ur lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother. She’s not the statue in the parlor. She’s something inside of you”(288). Cite specific dialogue and/or behavior that supports the assertion that that Lily, Zach, Rosaleen and June have found that “something inside.”

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June 18, 2013

The role of different approaches to management and leadership

Scenario – The role of different approaches to management and leadership
People working together in groups to achieve some goal must have roles to play. Generally, these roles have to be defined and structured by someone who wants to make sure that people contribute in a specific way to group effort. Organising, therefore, is that part of management that involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for people to fill in an organisation. Intentional in that all tasks necessary to accomplish goals are assigned and assigned to people who can do those best. Indeed, the purpose of an organisational structure is to help in creating an environment for human performance. However, designing an organisational structure is not an easy managerial task because many problems are encountered in making structures fit situations, including both defining the kind of jobs that must be done and finding the people to do them (Barley and Kunda, 1992).

Leading is the influencing of people so that they will contribute to organisation and group goals; it has to do predominantly with the interpersonal aspect of managing. Most important problems to managers arise from people – their desires and attitudes, their behaviour as individuals and in groups. Hence, effective managers need to be effective leaders. Leading involves motivation, leadership styles and approaches and communication (Miles and Creed 1995).

Nonetheless, the influence of leaders rests on how others regard them. According to Weber (1978, 1996), leaders in this sense are lent prestige when employees believe in them and what they are doing, and are willing to accept their decisions. Conger and Kanungo (1988) and Kotter (1988) stress in particular that leaders need to understand that management refers to processes of planning, organising and controlling; while leadership is the process of motivating people to change. Amabile (1998) has suggested that, by influencing the nature of the work environment and organisational culture, leaders can affect organisational members’ attitude to work related change and motivation. The challenge then is to select a set of actions that are feasible within the capacity of the organization to absorb change and manage resources.

When cultural change occurs, employees become aware that the measuring tools for performance and loyalty have changed suddenly. This threat to old corporate values and organisational lifestyles leaves organisational members in a state of defensiveness accentuated by low levels of trust within the institution and cultural shock. Mirvis (1985) suggest further that employee reactions pass through four stages: (1) disbelief and denial, (2) anger, then rage and resentment, (3) emotional bargaining beginning in anger and ending in depression, and finally (4) acceptance. Unless these different stages are recognised and dealt with astutely, employees will resent change, will have difficulty reaching the acceptance stage, and the risk of merger failure is increased significantly.

END.
———————————————————————————-
"REPORT WRITING – Organisational Behaviour."

The role of different approaches to management and leadership.

TASKS…… AC2.1 – AC2.2 – AC2.3

(a)AC2.1 Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations of your choice (AC2.1)

Suggestion to a solution

The structure of AC2.1 can be organised into the sections as arranged below:

• Introduction. This will give a general view on leadership, the need for leaders and the impact of good leadership to an organisation. Manager v Leader. Some few known leaders will/should be mentioned here.

• Definitions of Leadership (Check various literature – minimum of 3 different sources); different leadership styles(4off), traits of leaders and the effectiveness of each approach and their suitability within various organisations should be considered.

• Give brief history about two (2) known leaders eg Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Cover their involment (summary) in their various companies and their leadership approaches which have led to the achieved success. Link the identified leadership styles of of your chosen leaders to relevant theories, models, and framework.

• Compare the leadership styles: their styles’ impact on their organisations.

• Conclusion; this will consider the leadership approaches within their different organisation, their impact on the organisation and conclusion drawn. What is your recommendation?

• Bibliography/references
Note:
A good answer will… offer a more insightful approach to the background and culture of the different organisation these leaders represent and explain some of the factors which led to their early successes ( e.g effects of globalisation, rise of SE Asia, collapse of communism, technology). Definitions may be given and contrasted – GLOBE definition would be appropriate for a multi-cultural, complex organisation ‘the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organisations of which they are members’ (House et al 2002 p. 13). There is a wealth of literature on known organisations like Apple and Jobs’ leadership approach – there will be evidence of such wider reading and research into the Apple organisation and that of the second leader which you consider. There will be an understanding of the differences between leadership and management and this will be applied to their organisations. There will be an acknowledgement that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to examining an individual’s leadership may not be appropriate.

There will be good evidence of judgement and critical thinking through sound application to the case study and the alternative organisation. Important aspects of the organisations’ culture need to be recognised – specialisation (managers are not ‘built’ for the sake of managing), command and control, simplicity, strict accountability, ability to move swiftly, scarce resources, constant feedback. Also, how someone like Jobs managed to combine being a ‘corporate dictator’ making every critical decision, with the indoctrination of a culture of responsibility
(b)AC2.2 Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management. Illustrate and outline the development of management thought and its impact on modern management practices (AC2.2)

Suggestion to a solution

1. Introduction:
The importance of Management (Organisational) Theory shows that:
? It is necessary to view the interrelationships between the development of theory, behaviour in organisations and management practice.
? An understanding of the development of management thinking helps in understanding principles underlying the process of management.
The goal has been to characterize how effective and efficient organizations:
? Functions well
? Achieve and surpass goals
? survive and thrive in the environment
? what competitors emulate
Management theory therefore seeks to provide:
? a sound basis for action BUT if the action is to be effective the theory must be adequate and appropriate to the task and to improved organisational performance.
The organisational/management theory includes the following:
? Classical Approach (eg Bureaucracy & Scientific Management);
? Human Relations Approach;
? Systems Approach;
? Contingency Approach
The structural frame upholds the notion that organizations are judged primarily on and by the proper functioning of those elements which constitute good organization:
? giving appropriate emphasis to the process of integrating people and technology and
? enabling the organization to achieve its goals.
2. Explain what you understand by these theories.

3. Select ONE such theory and discuss as below:
The assumptions of scientific management
1. organizations exist to achieve established goals and objectives
2. organizations work best when rationality prevails over personal preferences and external pressures
3. structures must be designed to fit an organization’s circumstances (including its goals, technology, and environment)
4. organizations increase efficiency and enhance performance through specialization and division of labour
5. appropriate forms of coordination and control are essential to ensure that individuals and units work together although both are subordinate to organizational goals
6. problems and performance gaps arise from structural deficiencies and are best remedied through organizational restructuring

The Five Principles of Scientific Management…
1. shift all responsibility for the organization of work from the worker to the manager
2. use scientific methods to determine the most efficient way of doing the work
3. select the best person to perform the job thus designed
4. train the worker to do the work efficiently
5. monitor worker performance

Taylor’s intention was to effect a “mental revolution” aimed at transforming how people looked at work, their lives, and their world
? his principles focused attention upon the manager as a “social architect”
In practice episodes…
? managers apply the principles and concepts of scientific management to resolve the fundamental dilemmas present in the workplace

Scientific management…
? focuses on the social context of work
? specifies goals, roles, and relationships
? encourages organizational efficiency and effectiveness
People are the heart of any organization. When people feel the organization is responsive to their needs and supportive of their goals, managers and leaders can count on their followers’ commitment and loyalty. Managers and leaders who are authoritarian or insensitive, who don’t communicate effectively, or who simply don’t care about their people can never be effective managers and leaders. The human resource manager and leader works on behalf of both the organization and its people, seeking to serve the best interests of both.
The job of the manager and leader is one of support and empowerment. Support takes a variety of forms: letting people know that they are important and that managers and leaders are concerned about them; listening to find out about their followers’ aspirations and goals; and, communicating personal warmth and openness. Human resource managers and leaders empower their followers through participation and openness as well as by making sure that they have the autonomy and the resources they need to do their jobs well. Human resource managers and leaders emphasize honest, two-way communication as a way to identify issues and resolve differences. They are willing to confront others when it is appropriate, but they try to do so in a spirit of openness and caring. Bolman & Deal (1991, p. 359).

4. Conclusion

5. Bibiography/References
(c)AC2.3 Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations justifying recommendations for its practice (AC2.3)

Abortion as a Health Ethics Issue

Subject: Ethics
Consider the following case. Sarah, age 24, learns she is pregnant, and the pregnancy is 5 weeks along. She and her boyfriend had been taking precautions and were very conscientious about this; and were just unfortunate. Both are graduate students and want to continue working as teaching assistants and finish their Ph.D.s . Sarah doesn?t want to attend to a pregnancy at this time. And both do not want to rear a child. She and her boyfriend are in a committed relationship but have never talked about getting married and having a family. Both she and her partner would like the pregnancy to be terminated.
What would be the morally correct way to view this situation according to either Don Marquis (BE) or Judith Jarvis Thomson (BE) and why&#65288;I will upload these two article to you in additional files&#65289;? In 230-250 words summarize and critically evaluate either Marquis? article or Thomson?s article. Do you find the author?s arguments convincing? What would be the morally correct way to view this situation according to Susan Sherwin (BE) and why? In 230-250 words summarize and critically evaluate her arguments. Do you find them convincing? Make sure you make clear how Marquis?/Thomson?s and Sherwin?s arguments differ. In your critique insert your own perspective on this situation. You may agree with any of the theorists or some other ethical theorist on abortion in our text, BE, or elsewhere. Refer to aspects of the moral theories we have been looking at (Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Care Ethics) to support your claims. So, for example, refer to rights, autonomy, responsibilities, duties, rules, laws, justice, or care of the vulnerable. You may do research outside of the discipline of philosophy but remember this is a philosophy paper and not, for instance, a sociology or biology paper. Any material you present should illuminate or support claims and arguments. 600 words.

Your essay should have a brief introduction (a few sentences) and a brief conclusion (a few sentences). Do not restate the case in your essay. Your entire essay (without the reference section) should be approximately 600 words. Marks will be deducted if you go more than 75 words under or over the word length. Please put a word count on your first page; do not include a title page. In your introduction get to the point immediately about what you will be up to step by step in the paper. Your conclusion should briefly sum up what you have argued and shown.

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June 18, 2013

School Finance Budget Reduction Plan and Justification Essay

This assignment is twofold. You will first make a Budget Reduction Plan for a public high school and then write a justification essay.

1) Budget Reduction Plan
a) You are a principal who has been told by the superintendent to cut the school budget. Use the information sheet, “Budget Cuts” (I will upload this with some other resources) to view content, context, and tools for completing this assignment, including details about your role as the principal and the school budget breakdown.

b) Use the School Budget Breakdown table as presented in the aforementioned resource (“Budget Cuts”) to fully develop a budget reduction plan that addresses the budget cuts required by the superintendent. Identify and describe the primary sources of revenue available to your school, including:
i) Maintenance and operations budget allocations
ii) Capital budget
iii) Soft capital budget allocations
iv) Bonds
v) Federal grants
vi) State grants
vii) Title money
viii) Overrides
ix) Extracurricular fees
x) Tax credits
xi) Other

c) Identify the primary items paid for with each of the aforementioned sources of revenue.

d) Identify the source of each revenue stream (e.g., the maintenance and operations budget is funded by the state on a per-student basis from primary property tax; bonds are levies voted on by the community and paid for through a secondary property tax).

e) Identify the primary use of each source of revenue (e.g., the maintenance and operations budget is used to pay salaries or purchase consumable instructional supplies).

f) Identify what, if any, limitations are placed on each source of revenue (e.g., soft capital dollars cannot be used for salaries or stipends).

g) Identify which of the budget items above could be cut to meet the district requirements and from which revenue streams. Place your suggested cuts in the three areas below: Priority 1 will be cut first and Priority 3 will be cut last. Identify those cuts that afford the least impact to student learning.
i) Priority 1 areas
ii) Priority 2 areas
iii) Priority 3 areas

h) Identify those in a school who might be included in and excluded from the budgetary decision-making process. These persons would comprise a stakeholder team. Provide a rationale as to why you included/excluded each.

i) APA format is not required, but solid writing skill in APA style is expected.

2) Justification Essay
a) Write an essay (1,000-1,250 words) that discusses your justification for the items you chose to remove from the school budget and how you will meet the district requirements as you implement your plan of action. Consider the following:

i) How will your plan ensure that the appropriate stakeholders were involved in the process?
ii) How will your plan be implemented?
iii) How will you identify the programs to be preserved?
iv) How does your plan ensure the continued educability of all in spite of the budget reductions?
v) How does your plan continue to embrace the district’s vision of high standards of learning?
vi) How will your plan be communicated effectively to staff, parents, students, and community members?
vii) How will your plan determine the effectiveness of the cuts over time?
viii) How does your plan identify alternative sources of funding to replace the funding lost?

b) Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines.

Rubric

School Finance Budget Reduction Plan and Justification Essay
Points Possible 30

Criteria Achievement Level
Unsatisfactory Less Than Satisfactory Satisfactory Good Excellent
Budget Reduction Plan: Budget Proposal 0 points
Fails to address criteria of the assignment. 7.8 points
Some assignment criteria are present, but they are limited in detail and scope. 9 points
All assignment criteria are clearly discernable within the budget proposal. Strategies, curriculum, and instructional programs are individualized to stakeholders and measurable in outcomes. School profile is fully integrated into the plan. School’s role within the community is defined. 10.2 points
Criteria are detailed, comprehensive, and creatively presented. 12 points
Strategies and descriptions are at a high level of specificity as to the roles and responsibilities of individual stakeholders.
Justification Essay Criteria 0 points
Fails to address criteria of the assignment. 4.88 points
Some assignment criteria are present, but they are limited in detail and scope. 5.63 points
All assignment criteria are clearly discernable within the body of the essay; justification for specific cuts is presented. 6.38 points
Criteria are detailed and comprehensive; justification is reasonable and credible. 7.5 points
Indicates a high degree of understanding of the effect of the cuts on the major stakeholders within a school community.
Critical Thinking 0 points
Plan demonstrates little original thought and is unclear or simplistic. 1.95 points
Plan presents guidance for informed decision making for continuous school improvement, though inconsistently and with some gaps. 2.25 points
Plan demonstrates original thought regarding its composition and ability to inform decision making. 2.55 points
Identifies and assesses conclusions, implications, and consequences of the plan. 3 points
Demonstrates ownership for constructing knowledge and framing an original plan.
Essay Structure, Paragraph Development, and Transitions 0 points
Paragraphs and transitions consistently lack unity and coherence. No apparent connections between paragraphs. Transitions are inappropriate to purpose and scope. Organization is disjointed. 0.98 points
Some paragraphs and transitions may lack logical progression of ideas, unity, coherence, and/or cohesiveness. Some degree of organization is evident. 1.13 points
Paragraphs are generally competent, but ideas may show some inconsistency in organization and/or in their relationship to each other. 1.28 points
A logical progression of ideas between paragraphs is apparent. Paragraphs exhibit a unity, coherence, and cohesiveness. Topic sentences and concluding remarks are used as appropriate to purpose, discipline, and scope. 1.5 points
There is a sophisticated construction of the essay. Ideas collectively progress and relate to each other. The writer has been careful to use paragraph and transition construction to guide the reader.
Paper Format
(Use of appropriate style for the major and assignment) 0 points
Template is not used appropriately, or documentation format is rarely followed correctly. 0.98 points
Appropriate template is used, but some elements are missing or mistaken. A lack of control with formatting is apparent. 1.13 points
Appropriate template is used. Formatting is correct, although some minor errors may be present. 1.28 points
Appropriate template is fully used. There are virtually no errors in formatting style. 1.5 points
All format elements are correct.
Research Citations
(In-text citations for paraphrasing and direct quotes, and reference page listing and formatting, as appropriate to assignment and style) 0 points
No reference page is included. No citations are used. 0.98 points
Reference page is present. Citations are inconsistently used. 1.13 points
Reference page is included and lists sources used in the paper. Sources are appropriately documented, although some errors may be present 1.28 points
Reference page is present and fully inclusive of all cited sources. Documentation is appropriate and citation style is usually correct. 1.5 points
In-text citations and a reference page are complete and correct. The documentation of cited sources is free of error.
Language Use and Audience Awareness (includes sentence construction, word choice, etc.) 0 points

Inappropriate word choice and/or sentence construction, lack of variety in language use. Writer appears to be unaware of audience. 0.98 points

Inconsistencies in language choice sentence structure, and/or word choice are present. The writer exhibits some lack of control in using figures of speech appropriately. 1.13 points

Sentence structure is correct and occasionally varies. Language is appropriate to the targeted audience for the most part. 1.28 points

The writer is clearly aware of the audience; uses a variety of sentence structures and appropriate vocabulary for the target audience; uses figures of speech to communicate clearly. 1.5 points

The writer uses a variety of sentence constructions, figures of speech, and word choice in unique and creative ways that are appropriate to purpose, discipline, and scope.
Mechanics of Writing
(includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, and language use) 0 points
Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Inappropriate word choice and/or sentence construction are employed. 0.98 points
Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) and/or word choice are present. 1.13 points
Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but are not overly distracting to the reader. Audience-appropriate language is employed. 1.28 points
Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of sentence structures and effective figures of speech. 1.5 points
The writer is clearly in command of standard, written academic English.
The Reality of School Finance

Some of the following reading for the course. May some will help. The pdfs will be uploaded to this assignment.
• Read “8th Annual Salary Survey” by Dessoff, from District Administration (2008).
• Read “Environmentally Friendly Schools Payoff” by LaFee, from Education Digest (2008).
• Read “The Dutch Experience With Weighted Student Funding” by Fiske and Ladd, from Phi Delta Kappan (2010).
• Read “Property Taxation and Equity in Public School Finance” by Kent and Sowards, from Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration (2009).
• Read “The Effect of School Finance Reforms on the Level and Growth of Per-Pupil Expenditures” by Downes and Shah, from Peabody Journal of Education (2006).
• Read “Finance Structures and How They Constrain Resource Allocation,” located on the Center on Reinventing Public Education Web site at http://web.archive.org/web/20080602015344/http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/view/projects/3?page=initiatives&initiative=11
• Explore The Education Trust Web site, located at http://www.edtrust.org/issues/our-advocacy-agenda/funding-fairness, for information about school funding.
Introduction
Determining where to allocate resources is a big job for school administrators. While the majority of the school budget is allocated toward staff compensation and benefits, the rest of the budget allocations need to be prioritized in a manner that helps the district meet goals and standards for student academic performance. This lesson will discuss district resource allocation, including teacher salaries, building level allocations, and the education of special populations.
How Schools Allocate and Use Resources
Expenditures are usually divided into categories, such as professional salaries, classified salaries, employee benefits, materials and supplies, and capital expenditures. States also collect expenditure data by broad program area or function, such as instruction, administration, transportation, plant operations and maintenance, and debt service. In addition to hiring licensed staff members such as teachers, administrators, and specialized staff (librarians, counselors, etc.), school districts also hire instructional aides, cafeteria workers, custodians, and other staff members to keep the school running. The single biggest expenditure in school districts is for personnel. However, the number of instructional staff is declining while more instructional aides are being hired (Silva, 2009).
In 1950, teachers made up 74% of the total school staff. In 1960, that percentage fell to 64% and in 1995 that number dropped to 52% of individuals identified as instructional staff (Picus, 2000). The percentage of teachers dropped nearly 33% in the second half of the 20th century; many teachers have been replaced by instructional aides and pupil support staff, which cuts down on human resources (HR) expenses. However, the budget cut is not proportional; technology expenses and other programs have increased in the budget while the core teacher percentage has decreased (Odden&Picus, 2004). On the other hand, President Obama promised to allocate $517.3 million of the 2010 federal budget toward teacher salary incentives (U.S. Department of Education, 2009).
Teacher Salary
Most districts compensate teachers under a single salary schedule wherein teachers are provided compensation based on years of experience and level of education (Strizek et al., 2006). These schedules typically set a minimum and maximum salary. The advantages of a single salary schedule include:
• Equality in awarding pay.
• Salaries are awarded based on objective criteria.
• A predictable and easily understood system for calculating pay. (Goldhaber et al., 2007)
Disadvantages to single salary schedules include:
• They provide rewards for things that are at best loosely connected to teacher performance quality (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).
• They do not differentiate job rigor between teaching positions (Prince, 2002).
• They reduce the opportunity for rewarding those with special skills or aptitude additional pay (Goldhaber et al., 2007; Goldhaber& Liu, 2003).
Keep in mind that teacher salary schedules are created to inform both teachers and the system. From a teacher standpoint, the advantage of a scale includes predictability of compensation and acknowledgement for taking on additional duties or pursing advanced degrees. Ideally, these systems serve to promote the values and beliefs the organization intends to promote.
From the position of the Board of Education, salary scales create a predictable mechanism for budget alignment that allows the district to ensure that they have the appropriate resource levels available to sustain the work being done in the classroom. Over time, districts can begin to become strategic in predicting how staff members move through the scale and in anticipating cost implications. This level of transparency and organization also helps in maintaining relationships with the community.
Building-Level Allocations
The establishment of building-level allocations is driven to a great extent by factors such as the size of the school district and its management philosophy (Brimley & Garfield, 2008). Some districts, for example, have highly centralized management structures wherein many budgetary line items are centralized rather than allocated for control at the building level. A more centralized allocation is often easier to manage from a district perspective and can provide economy of scale due to point-of-purchase leverage (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).
Conversely, a more decentralized budget allows for increased levels of control at the building level. Fundamentally, this allows principals or building project managers to change their line item allocations as needs arise and opportunities avail themselves. For example, a principal may be working with staff and decide to shift line item allocations for field trips and paper and instead purchase technology resources. With more technology, the need for paper may diminish and Internet accessibility may allow teachers to take advantage of virtual field trips, thus saving money in the long run. This local flexibility is not possible in highly centralized districts where building level allocations are neither flexible nor negotiable (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).
However, from a district perspective, the capacity to drive down price when making purchases is dramatically increased when, for example, a district’s budget director purchases consumables such as paper or hardware on a much larger scale. Just about every district ebbs and flows in its degree of comfort between both centralized and decentralized budget functions (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).
Education Special Populations
What districts must also keep in mind is that educating groups of children can have very different cost structures from one district to the next based on the cost of doing business and based on the special needs of the population being served. For example, the state of New York could look at the average cost of educating a child in its state and come up with a per-pupil dollar amount. That dollar amount however, may be much lower than the actual cost of educating a child from a highly impoverished urban area where very few community members speak English as their primary language (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).
Conversely there are rural areas in New York state where the cost of living is much less than in Buffalo or New York City. However, the per-pupil transportation costs in these urban settings would be dramatically influenced by the geographic challenges they face. Other times, communities can be dramatically impacted by shifts in the population. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, there were a number of school districts in Texas that inherited thousands of families from New Orleans, all migrating to Texas to find relief from the devastation they experienced.
Furthermore, some districts experience unplanned immigration of citizens from other countries; all moving into the area due to work or family connections (Brimley & Garfield, 2008). If a dozen families from Vietnam decide to all come to a community to live and work, the children served in that public school will likely have unique needs that will need to be considered when establishing a budget allocation.
Finally, other factors such as shifts in the economy have a huge impact as well. If a large and profitable manufacturing plant is erected in town, it will likely bring hundreds or even thousands of new community members to the area. Depending on the work being done, the needs of the students who come along with these new families must be considered in constructing a budget. What makes school finance so challenging is the fact that even the most sensitive economic and population predictors cannot account for these types of changes coming to the district (Brimley & Garfield, 2008).

CONCLUSION:
All of the aspects of this course should be addressed when developing a school budget. Administrators must be aware of all of the revenue sources for the budget, as well as how to respond to changes in available resources. In addition, legal knowledge will empower school leaders to make appropriate decisions regarding grants and other programs. When creating a budget, the more administrators know about the school’s rights and responsibilities, the better they will be able to address the needs of all the educational stakeholders.

REFERENCES:
Brimley, V., & Garfield, R. (2008).Financing education (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Goldhaber, D., DeArmond, M., Liu, A, & Player, D. (2007).Returns to skill and teacher wage premiums: What can we learn by comparing the teacher and private sector labor markets? School Finance Redesign Project Working Paper No. 8. Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Goldhaber, D., & Liu, A. (2003). Occupational choices and the academic proficiency of the teacher workforce. In Developments in school finance: 2001-02 – Fiscal proceedings from the annual state data conferences of July 2001 and July 2002. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics.
Odden, A., &Picus, L. (2004). School finance. New York: McGraw Hill.
Picus, L. O. (2000). How schools allocate and use their resources. ERIC Digest 143. Retrieved December 6, 2004, from http://eric.uoregon.edu/publications/digests/digest143.html
Prince, C. D. (2002).Higher pay in hard-to-staff schools: The case for financial incentives. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
Silva, E. (2009). Teachers at work: Improving teacher quality through school design. Education Sector Reports. Retrieved October 16, 2010 from http://www.educationsector.org/usr_doc/Teachers_at_Work.pdf
Strizek, G. A., Pittsonberger, J. L., Riordan, K. E., Lyter, D. M., &Orlofsky, G. F. (2006). Characteristics of schools, districts, teachers, principals, and school libraries in the United States: 2003-04 schools and staffing survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics.
U.S. Department of Education. (2009). Fiscal year 2010 budget summary—May 7, 2009.Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget10/summary/edlite-section1.html

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June 18, 2013

AHMED Tawfik

United Kingdom – 44-7909455120 (land line)

AHMED Tawfik khamis al-naimi kha.alnaimi@yahoo.com
salsam350@hotmail.com

Engineering

Topic: Collage 5 Essays

Details:

college foundation program
1-005 Electrical and Electronic Principles Assign 3.
2-006 HS assignment brief for overseas 2012.
3-007 Business Management Techniques Assign 3.
4-065 Utilisation of Electrical Energy Assign 3.
5-001 Analytical Methods Assign 3.

——————————————
Unit 7: Business Management Techniques for Engineers
Assignment 3 –Planning and Control

Student Name: __________________________

Unit Tutor Assessor Signature Date Assessed
R Hyde
Grading Criteria
Pass Achieved Merit Achieved Distinction Achieved
3.1 M1 N/A D1 N/A
3.2 M2 N/A D2 N/A
3.3 M3a N/A D3
4.1 M3b N/A
4.2 M3c
4.3
Assignment Author IV signature
(brief) IV signature
(assessment)
R Hyde Dr Muhammed Al-Asadi

ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK
Note: the Notional Score is for formative feedback purposes only. 5 is allocated as sufficient for meeting the criteria, less than 5 is an indication of extra work required, more than 5 is an indication extra work included.
PASS grade must be achieved:
Outcomes Learner has demonstrated the ability to: Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)

Outcome 3

Understand the key functions of financial planning and control
LO3.1:Explain the financial planning process in an engineering business
Task 1

LO3.2:Examine the factors influencing the decision-making process during financial planning
Task 2

LO3.3:Analyse standard costing techniques
Task 3

Outcome 4

Be able to apply project planning and scheduling methods to an engineering project
LO4.1:Establish the project resources and requirements

Task 4

LO4.2:Produce a plan with appropriate time-scales for completing the project

Task 5
LO4.3:Plan the human resource requirement and costs associated with each stage of the project

Task 6
MERIT grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
M1

Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions

n/a
M2

Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques

n/a
M3c

Present and communicate appropriate findings
Throughout the report, the solutions are coherently presented using technical language appropriately and in a professional manner

All Tasks

Distinction grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
D1

Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions

n/a
D2

Take responsibility for managing and organising activities

n/a
D3

Demonstrate convergent/ lateral/ creative thinking
Careful consideration of a greater number of factors affecting financial planning.
Task 2

General Information

Q1: In order to achieve its objectives and profit targets, an engineering business must have in place an adequate financial plan. Explain the main steps in forming a financial plan for a typical engineering company.
(350 words)

Task 2 – Learning Outcome 3.2
Examine the factors influencing the decision-making process during financial planning

Q2: Several factors will influence the directors of an engineering company in formulating the financial plan. List and examine three of these factors and discuss what effect they might have on the decision making process during the financial planning.
(300 words)

Task 3 – Learning Outcome 3.3
Analyse standard costing techniques

Q3: Mega Widgets Ltd have designed a new Super Widget which may revolutionise inter-stellar sandwich making.

Production costs:
Variable, material, labour etc: £10 per item
Fixed, machinery, tolling heating etc £20,000 per year

Administration + selling overheads:
Fixed: £35,000

The company have to decide whether to make the widgets and sell them. Calculate the selling price based on absorption and marginal costing techniques. The company wish to make a 40% profit on each unit.
Analyse the most appropriate costing method if production is at a rate of 100 widgets per hour and sales are predicted to be 20,000 per year.
(300 words + calculations)
For the following three tasks, use the following information:
You have been passed some notes from an initial project planning meeting after a design breakthrough. You have been tasked with preparing the feasibility study.

Super Widget Manufacturing Project

To manufacture the new super widget requires 3 manufacturing processes and a packing process. Quotations for the machinery have been obtained.
1. Squidging machine, £10k, 2 operators, 50 units per hour, maintenance 6 month intervals @ 4hours, running cost £25/ hour
2. Banging machine, £20k, 1 operator, 100 units per hour, maintenance yearly @ 8hours, running cost £30/ hour
3. Thumping machine, £5k, automated, 200 per hour, maintenance monthly @ 1hour, running cost £10/ hour
4. Packing process, current equipment can be used, 1 operator, 20 units per hour, maintenance by operators daily @ 30 minutes.

Installing the machines takes 1 half day each and requires 1 electrical and 1 mechanical fitter.
Training takes 1 hour per operator and requires the machine being available.
Commissioning each machine takes 2 days, requires both fitters and 1 operator.
Production is to be spread evenly across the year, with batches produced in a single run, once per week.
Labour costs are £10 per hour per operator, £15 per hour for fitters.

Task 4 – Learning Outcomes 4.1
Establish the project resources and requirements

Q4:List the total resources and associated costs required to complete the whole project for a 2 year production run.

Task 5 – Learning Outcomes 4.2
Produce a plan with appropriate time-scales for completing the project

Q5: Produce a project plan covering installation, commissioning, training and operating production for the two years.

Task 6 – Learning Outcomes 4.3
Plan the human resource requirement and costs associated with each stage of the project

Q6:Plan the human resources required listing the requirements on a weekly basis and costs on a monthly basis.
End of assessment brief

——————————
Loughborough college

Unit 6: Health & Safety and Risk Assessment

Assignment – international students only

Student Name: __________________________
Unit Tutor Assessor Signature Date Assessed
J A D Melville J A D Melville
Grading Criteria
Pass Achieved Merit Achieved Distinction Achieved
1.1 M1 D1
1.2 M2 D2
1.3 M3 D3
2.1
2.2
2.3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
Assignment Author IV signature
(brief) IV signature
(assessment)
J A D Melville

PASS grade must be achieved:
Outcomes Learner has demonstrated the ability to: Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)

Outcome 1

Be able to select and apply safe working procedures to engineering operations.

LO1.1:Select and justify choice of protective clothing and equipment to ensure personal protection in a given environment.

Task 1

LO1.2:Evaluate a range of permit-to-work systems and identify isolation requirements for given applications.
Task 1, 2

LO1.3:Use monitoring equipment to ensure the promotion of a safe working environment.

Task 1

Outcome 2

Understand the nature and use of current health and safety legislation.

LO2.1:(a) Identify industrial work areas where current regulations would apply and (b) describe the role of the HSE inspectorate.
Task 2

LO2.2:Implement a schedule for the setting up of a safety audit system.
Task 2

LO2.3:Select the relevant codes of practice to enhance safety.

Task 2

Outcome 3

Be able to analyse engineering activities for the assessment of risk
LO3.1:Identify a hazard and produce a risk rating.
Task 3

LO3.2:Evaluate frequency and severity of an identified hazard.

Task 3

LO3.3:Produce a hazard proforma for a given application.
Task 3

LO3.4:Analyse a recording system that tracks and highlights potential hazards.

Task 4

Outcome 4

Be able to manage and minimise risk to life, property and engineering activities within an industrial environment.

LO4.1:Evaluate evidence that would specify the existence of a risk or risks.
Task 4

LO4.2:Analyse the implications of the risk and the effect on life, property and activities.
Task 4

LO4.3:Obtain and use accurate information on the risk for protection of others.

Task 4

LO4.4:Produce a report on how best to minimise the risk to people, property and activities and recommend effective methods of implementation and control.

Task 4

LO4.5:Identify routes and methods of implementation within a company to ensure that compliance with codes of practice and regulations pertaining to the risk are fully understood.

Task 4
MERIT grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
M1

Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions

Use of appropriate sources to identify appropriate legislation, regulations and codes of practice
M2

Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques

Appropriate recommendations for action made

Present and communicate appropriate findings
The report is coherently presented using technical language appropriately and in a professional manner

Distinction grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
D1

Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions

Justification of recommendations
D2

Take responsibility for managing and organising activities

All elements appropriate to the intended audience, linked to legislation where required, achieved independently of undue support.

Demonstrate convergent/ lateral/ creative thinking
Critical understanding of the implications of H&S on business and vice versa

General Information

Case Study 1

An oil storage tank is located below ground level. Access is by one hatch in the top. The tank has been drained and has been out of use for some time. An inspection is to be carried out on the condition of the tank base and it has already been identified that welding will be necessary at one location.
Task 1, Learning Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
Be able to select and apply safe working procedures to engineering operations.

Describe in detail a procedure where the tank can be inspected and welded safely. Consider what aspects of the environment require monitoring and how that will be achieved. Identify any personal protective equipment required and any procedures to be followed to ensure the safety of any operative(s) during the inspection and welding operation.

Deliverables: This can be bullet points or a report, with justification of any recommendations for equipment or procedures. Maximum 600 words.

Case Study 2

An engineering workshop contains five pillar drills, six milling machines and six lathes, all powered by 3-phase 415V. Up to twelve people may be undertaking manufacturing operations in there in a normal working day.
Task 2, Learning Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
Understand the nature and use of current health and safety legislation.

(a) Identify all the UK legislation, regulations and relevant codes of practice which must be complied with to ensure the safety of personnel in the workshop.
(b) Describe the role of the Health and Safety Inspectorate in respect of day-to-day management of Health and Safety and in the event of an accident.
(c) Create a bullet-point list of all the aspects of the workshop which should be considered in a Safety Audit, and suggest how often each aspect should be audited.

Deliverables: A report for the first part, which must clearly state which documents you consider relevant. Maximum 600 words. The second part should be a list of aspects to be inspected, with a suggested frequency for each.

Case Study 3

A cement plant has multiple operations, each of which is controlled by PLCs which are controlled from a central control room in a different building. One of the PLCs for the stone-crushing operation has malfunctioned; it is located inside a cabinet on the wall in the crusher house. It requires replacement.
Task 3, Learning Outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
Be able to analyse engineering activities for the assessment of risk.

Using the template in the Appendix at the end of this document, start a Risk Assessment for the operation of replacing the PLC. Consider three of the main hazards and complete the template for those only.

Deliverables:Completed Risk Assessment.

Case Study 4

A distribution warehouse for a manufacturing company has vehicles both delivering and collecting from one end and movement of both fork-lift vehicles and people in the main warehouse area. Routes for the road vehicles, lifts and pedestrians are segregated. The company are proposing to undertake a study into the warehouse to make the operation safer, after one worker sustained a minor injury in a collision with a fork-lift truck.

Task 4, Learning Outcomes 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5

Be able to manage and minimise risk to life, property and engineering activities within an industrial environment.
Write a report for the company management outlining a strategy for the study. Suggest three different sources of safety / accident data to base the study on and explain how the data can be used to identify hazards and analyse the risks. Explain how the risk analysis can be developed into an action plan for the workplace and suggest how this can be implemented, including any staff training which might be required, and how and when the process should be reviewed.

Deliverables: A report on the strategy for risk reduction. Actual data and detailed recommendations are not required. Maximum 400 words.

Useful resources:http://www.hse.gov.uk/
Essentials of Health and Safety at Work (free download from HSE website)
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
Noise at Work Regulations 2005
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Health and Safety in Engineering Workshops (free download from HSE website)
Five Steps to Risk Assessment (free download from HSE website)
All the free downloads from the HSE website are also located on LearnZone. Provide references for all sources of information.

APPENDIX : RISK ASSESSMENT
Location:
Type of Risk Assessment
Date:
Review Date:

Assessor:

Assessment carried out with assistance from:
Date:
Safety Officer Initial

Risk Rating: Probability x Severity = Risk Level
P= Probability of Accident Occurring

Score Probability Score Severity
1 Very Unlikely 1 Injury Unlikely
2 Unlikely 2 Minor Injury- First aid
3 Possible 3 Injury requiring Hospital Treatment
4 Likely 4 Major Injury
5 Extremely Likely 5 Possible Death or Permanent Disability
S=Severity of likely injuries Scoring and actions:
Overall score Risk rating Action
1-5 Low No immediate action (keep under review)
6-10 Moderate Action to be taken to recify faults
11-15 Medium Action required within 3 months
16-25 High Urgent action required to reduce the risk
Risks with the highest score should be given the highest priority

Additional comments:

Ref No. Task/ Hazard Identified Associated Risks Existing Control Measures Persons
at Risk P S Risk Rating Comments

Remedial Action Required (include any other types of RA required)

Ref.
No. Recommendations Agreed Actions / reasonably practicable Person/s responsible Agreed
timescale Final risk rating Completed and verified: To be completed by Safety Officer
———————————
Unit 65: Utilisation of Electrical Energy
Assignment 3 –Circuit Protection and Polyphase Motors

Student Name: __________________________

Unit Tutor Assessor Signature Date Assessed
Grading Criteria
Pass Achieved Merit Achieved Distinction Achieved
2.1 M1 N/A D1 N/A
2.2 M2 D2 N/A
2.3 M3a N/A D3
5.1 M3b N/A
5.2 M3c
5.3
Assignment Author IV signature
(brief) IV signature
(assessment)
S Johnston Muhammed Al-Asadi

PASS grade must be achieved:
Outcomes Learner has demonstrated the ability to: Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)

Outcome 2:

Understand the applications of circuit protection for distribution and installation systems
LO2.1: Explain the construction of over-current protection devices
Task 1, parts i, ii, iii

LO2.2:Explain the operating principles of circuit over-current protection devices
Task 1, parts i, ii, iii

LO2.3:Explain the operating principles of earth fault protection devices
Task 1, parts iv, v

Outcomes Learner has demonstrated the ability to: Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)

Outcome 5:

Understand the operation of a polyphase induction motor
LO5.1: Describe the types and explain the construction of induction motors

Task 2

LO5.2:Explain the operating principles and methods of starting induction motors
Task 3

LO5.3:Analyse the methods of speed control of induction motors
Task 4

MERIT grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
M2

Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques

The explanation for the operating principles has been extended to include a slip-torque curve
Task 3, question 3
M3c

Present and communicate appropriate findings
Throughout the report, the solutions are coherently presented using technical language appropriately and in a professional manner

All Tasks

DISTINCTION grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Distinction Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
D3

Demonstrate convergent/lateral/creative thinking

Significant detail on the operation of Inverters has been included and consideration of the benefits and dis-advantages has been fully explored

Task 3 question 4 and Task 5

General Information

All submissions to be electronic in MS Word format with a minimum of 20 typed words. All answers must be clearly identified as to which task and question they refer to. All work must be submitted through Learnzone.
Task 1 – Learning Outcomes 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Explain the construction of over-current protection devices
Explain the operating principles of circuit over-current protection devices
Explain the operating principles of earth fault protection devices

1. Explain, with the aid of diagrams, the construction and operating principles of the following types of protection devices:

a. Airblast circuit breaker

b. Oil-filled circuit breaker

c. High rupture capacity fuse

d. Residual current device

e. Earth fault relay

Task 2 – Learning Outcome 5.1
Describe the types and explain the construction of induction motors

2. Describe the construction of the following types of three-phase induction motors; you may use diagrams to aid your description.

a. Single cage

b. Double cage

c. Wound rotor

Task 3 – Learning Outcome 5.2
Explain the operating principles and methods of starting induction motors
3. Explain the operating principles of a three-phase cage rotor induction motor. Your explanation must include the terms:

a. Rotating magnetic field
b. Mutual inductance
c. Slip
d. Synchronous speed
e. Torque
4. The following are all methods of starting a three-phase induction motor. In each case, explain how the starting method works, state the type of motor the starter is used on, and a typical power range for that motor.

a. Direct-on-line

b. Star-Delta

c. Inverter / soft start

Task 4 – Learning Outcomes 5.3
Analyse the methods of speed control of induction motors

5. Describe and analyse two different methods of controlling the speed of three-phase induction motors.

End of assessment brief

————————————–
Unit 1: Analytical Methods
Assignment 3 – Modelling Engineering Situations Using Statistics and Probability

Student Name: __________________________

Unit Tutor Assessor Signature Date Assessed
Grading Criteria
Pass Achieved Merit Achieved Distinction Achieved
4.1 M1 N/A D1
4.2 M2 N/A D2
4.3 M3a N/A D3
4.4 M3b N/A
M3c
Assignment Author IV signature
(brief) IV signature
(assessment)
S Johnston Thanuja Goonetilleke

PASS grade must be achieved:
Outcomes Learner has demonstrated the ability to: Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)

Outcome 4

Be able to analyse and model engineering situations and solve problems using statistics and probability
LO4.1:represent engineering data in tabular and graphical form

Task 1, parts a, b, c, and d

LO4.2:determine measures of central tendency and dispersion
Task 1, parts e, f

LO4.3:apply linear regression and product moment correlation to a variety of engineering situations
Task 2

LO4.4:use the normal distribution and confidence intervals for estimating reliability and quality of engineering components and systems
Task 3

MERIT grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Merit Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
M3c

Present and communicate appropriate findings
Throughout the report, the solutions are coherently presented using technical language appropriately and in a professional manner

All Tasks

DISTINCTION grade descriptors that may be achieved for this assignment:
Distinction Grade Descriptors Indicative Characteristics Source of evidence Tutors comments Notional Score (10)
D1

Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions

A discussion on how this information would be used in a manufacturing context is fully justified.
Task 1 and/or Task 3

Take responsibility for managing and organising activities
An alternative regression method has been used to estimate the hardness and conclusions have been drawn as to the accuracy of both methods.

Task2

Demonstrate convergent/ lateral/ creative thinking

A discussion has been included to consider the usefulness of the different techniques used to gather information in the assignment.

All Tasks

General Information

Task 1 – Learning Outcomes 4.1 and 4.2
Represent engineering data in tabular and graphical form
Determine measures of central tendency and dispersion

1. The masses of 50 castings were measured. The results in kilograms were as follows

4.6 4.7 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.8 4.3 4.2 4.8
4.7 4.5 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.6
4.8 4.3 4.8 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.6 4.7
4.4 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.7 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.8
4.9 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.7 4.5 4.6

a. Arrange the data in 8 equal classes between 4.2 and 4.9kilograms.

b. Determine the frequency distribution.

c. Draw the frequency histogram and frequency polygon.

d. Calculate the mean, median and interquartile range.

e. Calculate the standard deviation for the data. You may wish to use a coded method.

f. Calculate the limits within which you would expect (i) 95% and (ii) 99% of components to fall.

Task 2 – Learning Outcomes 4.3
Apply linear regression and product moment correlation to a variety of engineering situations
2. Following the machining process the components are to be hardened and then tempered. As part of the design process a sample of eight components was tempered at different temperatures with the following results:

Temperature °C Hardness Vpn
240 550
275 532
300 525
335 514
360 474
395 470
420 458
455 446

a. Draw a scatter diagram of this data and calculate the correlation coefficient. Comment on the nature of the relationship between temperature and hardness.

b. Use least-squares linear regression analysis to establish an equation with which hardness can be predicted from temperature for this particular steel.

c. Use the equation found above to estimate the hardness values for temperatures of 260°C and 370°C.

d. Comment on the accuracy and reliability of estimates that may be obtained using the preceding analysis.

Task 3 – Learning Outcome 4.4
Use the normal distribution and confidence intervals for estimating reliability and quality of engineering components and systems
3. A machine produces components whose diameters should be distributed Normally with mean 0.15 cm and Standard Deviation 0.01 cm. It is suspected that the mean may have changed over a long period of use.

To test for this possibility, a sample of 150 components is drawn and the mean is computed at 0.147. Using the assumption that μ is true, determine whether there is any evidence at the 5% level that the mean of the components has changed.
4. The blanks are to be machined to the component profile. The machining equipment can only accept blanks which are no more than 120mm wide and 500mm long.

The probability of the length being greater than 500mm is 2.5% (0.025) and the probability of the width being greater than 120mm is 3% (0.03).

a. Calculate the probability of a blank being oversize in both dimensions.

b. Show that the probability that a blank is unacceptable (i.e. is oversize in either dimension) is 0.05425.

c. Use the binomial distribution to find the probability that two blanks selected at random from a sample of six will be oversize, if the probability of a blank being oversize in either dimension is 0.05425.

d. Use the Poisson distribution to find the probability that two blanks selected at random from a box of 20 will be oversize, using p = 0.05425 as above.
End of assessment brief
————————————–
Unit 7: Business Management Techniques for Engineers

Assignment 3 –Planning and Control

Task 1 – Learning Outcomes 3.1: Explain the Financial Planning Process in an Engineering Business
These are the steps for a typical financial plan for an engineering company business;
1) Gathering of Information
This is a very important part of the process as it gives the business owner about the prevailing market conditions for the products or services to be offered. This is also the point at which the owner establishes the goals for the engineering company. Some legal and financial documents are also involved in this stage and they include budgets, financial statements, attorney documents, tax returns and so on.
2) Information Analysis And Plan Development
This is where the collected information and goals are brought together into a concrete plan. In developing the action steps for the engineering firm, you look into insurance for machines and equipment, review liabilities and assets, look at the income for the firm and investments as well.
3) Presenting The Plan
In this step, the various stakeholders of the engineering firm are given the plan for discussions and recommendations. This is the goals and expectations of the firm are reviewed, and additional questions are raised. Whoever is drafting the finance plan must ensure that those running the firm understand fully about every bit of the plan, otherwise it might be too difficult to implement it.
4) Plan Implementation
This is where the engineering firm starts acquiring all the investments that will enable it carry out the mandate. If there is need to sell some of the investments, this is also done at this step. Habits in terms of saving and spending are also changed. The core aim of this step is to ensure that the objectives of the engineering firm are met.
5) Performance Monitoring
With the full understanding that a financial plan for an engineering firm might not be perfect, the quality of the services or products offered must be reviewed. This advices the management of the firm whether there might be need for any corrective action.
6) Review and Revise The Plan To Attain Goals
The financial planning process ought be reviewed and reviewed constantly with the full understanding that engineering market circumstances are bound to change. This plan will be reviewed until the financial goals laid are achieved.
Task 2- Learning Outcome 3.2: Examine the Factors Influencing the Decision-Making Process during Financial Planning
In looking at factors that will influence decision making process during financial planning for an engineering company, a number of guidelines for this process come into focus. Firstly, each financial planning exercise is unique for each engineering firm. This means that there is no way a plan from another company can suit a seemingly similar one. Another thing that the directors will look into is how simple the financial plan is. In this planning, simplicity is the key. Simplicity in this case refers to the financial products the directors intend to use to meet their goals. Another winning strategy the directors of the firm need to consider is being realistic in their plan. In an engineering firm, directors are most likely dealing with a long term goal. In such a scenario, the directors should employ diversification of financial products.
Having considered the factors unique to the firm, it becomes imperative to analyse the external factors that could affect the financial planning decisions. The political stability or instability is a major factor which the directors may not have control over. Taking the main issues at play here as growth of the economic and social issues, the government of the day will determine how financial products perform. The economic performance of the country will also affect financial planning. Only after analysing the economic cycle will the directors make sound financial plans for the engineering company. Talking of the economic cycle, interest rates are a crucial consideration for any business. The prevailing interest rates will determine the growth rate of a business. In this line, the directors will seek to know the inflation rate.
These days, whenever directors sit to discuss financial plans they will in most cases look into the bigger picture, which is the global issues. For example in an engineering firm, the unstable oil prices are a big problem. This is a global issue but its effects trickle down to most parts of the world.

Task 3-Learning Outcome 3.3: Analyse Standard Costing Techniques

Marginal costing and absorption costing are the two techniques used to calculate cost. Although the two methods are used for costing, they have some fundamental differences that might be useful for this case. So let us look into the basics of the two methods.
Marginal costing is applicable for costing where variables are considered. The absorption costing method is a bit different because it covers both variables and fixed costs. What are variable costs? Variable costs for Mega Widgets Limited are not constant and they include material, labour etc. On the other hand, fixed costs are fixed costs don’t usually change and may be used for financial projections of the firm.
Marginal costing method is easier than absorption costing. However, this makes the approach less accurate as it looks at only one aspect.

Fixed costs:
Fixed, machinery, tolling £20,000 per year
Administration + selling overheads: £35,000 per year
Total fixed cost £55,000
Variable cost per unit £10
Budgeted sales units 20,000
Marginal costing
Total contribution required=total fixed costs+ required profit
The selling price per unit is £14(40% profit on variable cost per unit)
Contribution per unit is 14-10 which is £4
Total fixed costs=£55,000
For breakeven the firm must sell 13,750 units (£55,000/£4)
From this method, the breakeven units are less than the budgeted sales units.
Absorption costing
Variable materials and labour= £10 per item per unit
Fixed selling +administration overhead=£35,000=£1.75
Fixed machinery, tolling, heating etc=£20,000=£1
Unit product cost=£10+£1.75+£1=£12.75
Adding 40% profit gives £17.85
Therefore, target selling price per unit is £17.85.
Task 4-Learning Outcomes 4.1: Establish the Project Resources and Requirements
Resources and Requirements for the Project
Machine Resource Requirement in terms of cost/amount
Squidging machine Cost £10,000
Operators 2
Production 50 units per hour
Running £25 per hour
Maintenance 16 hours
Banging machine Cost £20k
Operator 1
Production 100 units per hour
Maintenance 16 hours
Running £30 per hour
Thumping machine Cost £5k
No operator(automated)
Production 200 units per hour
Maintenance 24 hours
Running cost £10
Packing Use current equipment
Operator 1
Production 20 units per hour
Maintenance 30 minutes daily

Task 5-Learning Outcomes 4.2: Produce a Plan with Appropriate Time-Scales for Completing the Project
Project Plan
Activity Start Finish
Machine installation, training, and commissioning of machines January 1st 2013 January 15th 2013
Maintenance of squidging machine June 15th 2013 June 15th 2013
Maintenance of banging machine January 15th 2014 January 16th 2014
Maintenance of squidging machine January 15th 2014 January 15th 2014
Maintenance of squidging machine June 15th 2014 June 15th 2014

Task 6-Learning Outcomes 4.3: Plan the Human Resources Requirement and Costs Associated With Each Stage of the Project
Human Resource Plan
Assuming machine runs (1 day) 24 hours in a week
Machine Weekly Requirement(s) Monthly Running Cost
Squidging machine 2 operators £2400+£480=£2880
Banging machine 1 operator £2880+£240=£3120
Thumping machine Automated £960
Packing machine 1 operator £240

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June 18, 2013

Analysis for Credit Risk

Task 1
In Task 1 of this Assignment 4 you are required to follow the six step CRISP DM process and make use of the data mining tool RapidMiner to analyse and report on the creditrisk_train. csv and creditrisk_score.csv data sets provided for Assignment 4. You should refer to the data dictionary for creditrisk_train.csv (see Table 1 below). In Task 1 and 2 of Assignment 4 you are required to consider all of the business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modelling, evaluation and deployment phases of the CRISP DM process.

a) Research the concepts of credit risk and credit scoring in determining whether a financial institution should lend at an appropriate level of risk or not lend to a loan application. This will provide you with a business understanding of the dataset you will be analysing in Assignment 4. Identify which (variables) attributes can be omitted from your credit risk data mining model and why. Comment on your findings in relation to determining the credit risk of loan applicants.
b) Conduct an exploratory analysis of the creditrisk_train.csv data set. Are there any missing values, variables with unusal patterns? How consistent are the characteristics of the creditrisk_train.csv and creditrisk_score.csv datasets? Are there any interesting relationships between the potential predictor variables and your target variable credit risk? (Hint: identify the variables that will allow you to split the data set into subgroups). Comment on what variables in the data set creditrisk_train.csv might influence differences in credit scores and credit risk ratings and possible approval or rejection of loan applications?
c) Run a decision tree analysis using RapidMiner. Consider what variables you will want to include in this analysis and report on the results. (Hint: Identify what your target variable and predictor variables are.). Comment on the results of your final model.
d) Run a neural network analysis using RapidMiner, Aagain consider what variables you will want to include in this analysis and report on the results. (Hint: Identify what your target variable and predictor variables are.) Comment on the results of your final model.
e) Based on the results of the Decision Tree analysis and Neural Network analysis – What are the key variables and rules for predicting either good credit risk or bad credit risk? (Hint: with RapidMiner you will need to validate your models on the creditrisk_train.csv data using a number of validation processes for the two models you have generated previously using decision trees and neural network models). Comment on your two predictive models for credit risk scoring in relation to a false/positive matrix, lift chart and ROC chart (Note: for the evaluation operator reports – charts Lift and ROC you will need to convert the target variable credit.risk to a nominal variable with two values (Good and Bad). Comment on the results of your final model.
Overall for Task 1 you need to report on the output of each analysis in sub task activity a to f and briefly comment on the important aspects of each analysis and relevance to credit risk scoring in determining whether to approve a loan with an appropriate credit risk rating or to not lend to a loan application.
Note the final outputs from your statistical analyses in RapidMiner (graphs, decision trees, neural network, statistical analysis results tables should be included as an appendices in your report to provide support for your conclusions regarding each analysis and are not included in the word count.
Explore, Modify, Model,Assessment) and CRISP-DM (Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining) are the three major attempts to standardize the data mining process (Azevedo, 2008). Even though they have similar processes, CRISP-DM is the popular methodology in the fields of data mining. In the previous assignment, we have discussed about CRISP-DM through the analysis for the survival rate of passengers on the Titanic.

In this assignment, we will pay more attention to evaluation and visualization of analysis. The important of evaluation and visualization as well as validation of modeling and deployment will be discussed in task 2 and task 3. However, we will still use CRISP-DM to analyze the credit risk.

2. Task 1

2.1 Subtask a
2.1.1 Business Understanding
Credit risk refers to the risk that a borrower will default on any type of debt by failing to make payments which it is obligated to do. The risk is primarily that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial and can arise in a number of circumstances (Wikipedia.org).To reduce a financial institution’s credit risk, the lender may perform a credit check on the potential borrowers to determine whether a borrower should lend at an appropriate level of risk or not lend to a loan application.

2.1.2 Data Understanding
You have two data sets. One is creditrisk_train.csv, which is a training data set containing the previous history, borrower’s financial informationand the target variable (Credit.Risk). The other is creditrisk_score.csv, which is a dataset to will be predicted. Two data sets include 10 variables. The data dictionary for two data sets is shown in Table 1.

Attributes Data Type Description
Row.No integer Unique identifier for each row.
Application.ID integer Unique identifier for loan application
Credit.Score integer Credit score give to the loan application
This is a measure of the creditworthiness of the applicant.
Late.Payments integer History of late payments with existing loans
Months.In.Job Integer Months in current job
Debt.To.Income.Ratio Real The percentage of borrower’s gross income that goes toward paying debts
Loan.Amount Integer Loan amount requested
Liquid.Assets Integer Liquid.assets
Num.Credit.Lines Integer Number of credit lines
Credit.Risk Polynominal Credit risk rating(Very Low, Low, Moderate, High, Do not lend)
Table 1 Data Dictionary for credit risk data sets

With two data sets and an understanding of what it means, we can proceed to data preparation process.

2.2 Subtask b

2.2.1 Data preparation
We need to consider data consolidation, cleaning and transformation to be sure that the data sets should keep consistency. Firstly, in the data sets, there are two unique identifiers. We do not need one of them, because these are duplicated. Using Select Attributes in RapidMiner, the attribute, RowNo has been eliminated for the analysis (Figure 2-1).
Figure 2-1. Omitting an unnecessary attribute

Secondly, we need to consider that there will are any missing values in the data sets. Fortunately, there is no missing value (Figure 2-2), so we do not need to replace or impute missing values. Are there any variables with unusual patterns? As we consider the data understanding, all attributes have valid types and ranges. For example, Months_In_job (months in current job) attribute has the proper range between 2 and 102 months, with about overall 27 months. How about consistency between creditrisk_train and creditrisk_score? All values in the scoring data set are in the range of the training data set. For instance, in terms of Liquid_Assets attribute, the range from 834 to 24297 in the scoring data set is a subset of those of the training data set, in which the range is between 830 and 24699 (Figure 2-2 and Figure 2-3). As a result, we do not need any data cleansing.
Lastly, as data transformation, the Application.ID attribute has been used as an id, which is implemented by Set Role in RapidMiner. One of the nice side-effects of setting an attribute’s role to ‘id’ rather than removing it using a Select Attributes is that it makes each record easier to match back to individual people later, when viewing predictions in results perspective (Matthew, 2012). Before applying some modeling such as decision tree and neural network in this assignment, as a target variable, Credit.Risk attribute should be set role into a ‘label’ attribute. Most predictive model operators expect the training stream to supply a ‘label’ attribute. The label attribute has five values; Very Low, Low, Moderate, High and DO NOT LEND, which will be predicted in the scoring data set. That is why all values in Credit.Risk attribute are missing. Figure 2-2 and figure 2-3 are meta data for the two data sets, respectively.
Figure 2-2. Meta data for the training data set
Figure 2-3. Meta data for the scoring data set

The next step is to add predictive model operators to the training data set. In this assignment, we will use only two models; decision tree and neural network. One of the main reasons to choose a decision tree is that the appeal of decision trees lies in their relative power, ease of use, robustness with a variety of data and levels of measurement, and ease of interpretability (Barry, 2006).Decision trees are a simple, but powerful form of multiple variable analyses. When it comes to artificial neural networks, it has been shown to be very promising computational systems in many forecasting and business classification applications due to their ability to learn from the data, their nonparametric nature (i.e., no rigid assumptions), and their ability to generalize (Haykin, 2009).
Firstly, we added the basic decision tree in the main process (Figure 2-4). In RapidMiner, there are four criterion on which attributes will be selected for splitting; gain_ratio, information_gain, gini_index and accuracy. In this step, we will use accuracy criterion. Other criterion will be applied at the evaluation progress.

Figure 2-4. The Decision Tree operators added to the model

In Figure 2-5, we will see the preliminary tree using the accuracy criterion. As we see, Credit_Score is the best predictor to determine which Credit_Risk borrowers are belonging to. In the case that credit score is less than or equal to 518, the next best predictor is Debt_Income_Ratio attribute. If Debt_Income_Ratio is greater than about 10%, the borrowers expect their credit risk to belong to the ‘DO NOT LEND’.

Figure 2-5. Decision tree results using accuracy

In Figure 2-6, the prediction for the class ‘DO NOT LEND’ is 100%, because there are no other class frequencies in the class. Although the training data is going to predict that if Debt_Income_Ratio is less than 10%, the borrowers belong to the ‘High’ credit risk class, the model is not 100% based on that prediction, because there are 163 ‘High’ frequencies and one ‘DO NOT LEND’ frequency (Figure 2-6). When we get to the Evaluation process, we will discuss how this uncertainty translates into confidence percentages and how to validate these confidences.
Figure 2-6. Class frequencies for DO NOT LEND and High

Like this, we can predict other credit risks following to the nodes and leaves of the decision tree. The interesting thing is that in the decision tree using accuracy criterion only four variables have influenced on the prediction of the credit risk, which are Credit_Score, Debt_Income_Ratio, Late_Payments and Months_In_Job. The three attributes; Loan_Amt, Liquid_Assets and Num_Credit_Lines have not been related to the prediction. Of cause, if we change accuracy criterion to other criterion such as gain_ratio, information_gain and gini_index, the three attributes are used for the prediction.

Secondly, like the decision tree, we have prepared two data sets and applied the Set Role operator as well as the Select Attribute operator. Then we added the neural network operator in the main process (Figure 2-7).
Figure 2-7. The Neural network operators added to the model

2.3 Subtask c
2.3.1 Modeling – Decision Tree
While we were preparing the data, we decided to use only four predictor variables. Through the Select Attribute operator, four variables, id variable and the target variable are selected. The next step is to apply the decision tree model to the scoring data. In Figure 2-8, the CreditRisk Scoring data set is linked to the unlabelleddata port (unl). To show the results, the label predictions (lab) port and the decision tree model (mod) are connected to res ports.

Figure 2-8. Applying the decision tree model to the scoring data, and outputting label predictions (lab) and a decision tree model (mod).

When we apply the model, we will see familiar results in the decision tree. However, the tree has been applied to the scoring data.
Figure 2-9 Meta data for scoring data set predictions.

Confidence attributes have been created by RapidMiner, along with a prediction attribute. Also we can see four predictor attributes; Credit_Score, Late_Payments, Months_In_Job and Debt_Income_Ratio (Figure 2-9). The interesting thing is that the max value of confidence Moderate is 0.972, which means there will be false positive predictions. In the evaluation process, we will validate decision trees.
Figure 2-10 Predictions and their associated confidence percentages using the decision tree

RapidMiner is completely convinced that Applicant ID 88858 is going to be Very Low (100%), while applicant 628458 is going to be Low with 98.2% confidence. Even though applicant 628458 has 1.8% at confidence Very Low, this applicant is predicted as the Low credit risk. The confidence will be changed according to the criterion. As for this, we will discuss at the evaluation stage.

2.4 Subtask d
2.4.1 Modeling – Neural Network
We can see the graphical view of the neural network model. The circles in the neural network graph are nodes, and the lines between nodes are called neurons. The input circles have each predictor attribute, while the output nodes have each target value, in which there are Moderate, High, Low, DO NOT LEND and Very Low. The thicker and darker the neuron is between nodes, the strong the affinity between the nodes (Matthew, 2012).
Figure 2-11 A graphical view of the improved neural network

Like the decision tree, we can see similar metadata for the scoring data set predictions. However, the predictions and confidence make a little difference. Only the Very Low value has 100% convince. As for DO NOT LEND, it’s max confidence is 0.498 (49.8%) so that there is no prediction for DO NOT LEND.
Figure 2-12 Meta data for scoring data set predictions using the neural network.

As we selected four attributes instead of the all predictor variables, we can see similar result. Thus, we can be sure that the four predictor variables are enough to predict the credit risk. However, we cannot close our eyes, because as the range of the other attributes change in the real world, they are able to become a potential predictor variable.

Figure 2-13 Meta data with four predictor variables

In Figure 2-14, like the decision tree, 888858 and 628458 have similar confidences, in which they are going to be Very Low and Low, respectively. In terms of applicant 863682, there is a great difference. Even though, the prediction for Credit Risk is Moderate, confidence in the neural network is only 0.622 (62.2%), while those of the decision tree is 0.972 (97.2%).
Figure 2-14 Predictions and their associated confidence percentages using the neural network

2.5 Subtask e
2.5.1 Evaluation (Confusion Matrix)
Model Evaluation is an integral part of the model development process. It helps to find the best model that represents our data and how well the chosen model will work in the future.
This step assesses the degree to which the selected model meets the business objectives and, if so, to what extent (Efraim et al, p.174). In this assignment, we used Cross-Validation, which is a statistical method of evaluatingand comparing learning algorithms by dividing datainto two segments: one used to learn or train a modeland the other used to validate the model (Payam, 2008).
In Figure 2-15, we can see two Validation operators. One is for the decision tree and the other is for the neural network. We used the Multiply operator, which copies its input object to all connected output ports. It does not modify the input object.

Figure 2-15 Validating the decision tree and the neural network.

RapidMiner calculates a 95.41% accuracy rate for this model. This overall accuracy rate reflects the class precision rates for each possible value in the Credit_Risk attribute. For example, the class precision (or true positive rate) of pred.Moderate is 94.54%, leaving us with a 5.46% false positive rate for this value. Surprisingly, the true positive rate of pred.DO NO LEND is 0%. That’s why there is no prediction in the DO NOT LEND value.
Figure 2-16 Evaluating the predictive quality of the neural network

When it comes to the decision tree using gain_ratiocriterion, the overall accuracy is 97.19%, which is higher than those of the neural network. Even the class precision rate for pred.DO NOT LEND is 87.50%, leaving us with a 12.50% false positive rate.
Figure 2-17Evaluating the predictive quality of the decision tree using gain_ratiocriterion

Now, we can see another confusion matrix, which is derived from the decision tree using accuracy criterion. The model’s ability to predict is significantly improved. Even though the probability of false positive is only 2.07%, we can trust the prediction of the decision tree.
Figure 2-18 Evaluating the predictive quality of the decision tree using accuracy criterion

2.5.2 Evaluation (Lift Charts)
To use lift charts and ROC curves for evaluating models, we need to convert the target variable credit.risk to a nominal variable with two values (Good and Bad). In order to do this, the Map operator is used. Figure 2-19 show how to change the old values to the new values. What value belongs to Good or Bad depends on the decision of real business. It will be sure that DO NOT LEND and High values are bad credit risk as Moderate, Low and Very Low to Good.
Figure 2-19 Converting the target variable to a nominal variable with two values (Good and Bad)

Figure 2-20 is the final main process for both Compare ROCs and Create Lift Chart operators. We have applied Create Lift Chart to two models; the neural network and the decision tree using accuracy criterion. The target class is Bad, because lenders do not want to lose their money.

Figure 2-20 Compare ROCs and Create Lift Chart for evaluating two models

Firstly, let’s consider the neural network. In the case of the confidence for Bad from 0.87 (87%) to 1 (100%), RapidMiner predicts Bad credit risk with 100%. When the confidence goes down to 0.01 (1%), the false positive rate is only about 16%. However, it does not influence overall true positive rate. As we see the figure 2-16, the accuracy rate for this model is 95.41%.
Figure 2-21 Lift Chart for Credit_Risk = Bad of the neural network

In the case of the decision tree with accuracy criterion, it is simpler to analyze. When confidence for Bad is 1 (100%), 209 out of 209 are predicted accurately. Considered the overall accuracy is 97.93%, it is natural. When we see the two lift charts, it is essential to choose the decision tree for our prediction of credit risk.
The ROC chart is similar to the gain or lift charts in that they provide a means of comparison between classification models. The ROC chart shows false positive rate (1-specificity) on X-axis, the probability of target=1 when its true value is 0, against true positive rate (sensitivity) on Y-axis, the probability of target=1 when its true value is 1. Ideally, the curve will climb quickly toward the top-left meaning the model correctly predicted the cases (Sayad, 2011). The AUC (Area Under the Curve) is almost 1, because the overall accuracy is 97.93% and 95.41% for the decision tree and neural network, respectively. The graph demonstrated that the decision tree is more accurate than the neural network.
In the previous evaluation stage, we proved that the decision tree is better. Especially, accuracy criterion has overall 97.93% accuracy. Moreover, it reduced the predictor variables from seven to four. Now we has the decision tree that shows credit institutions which attributes matter most in predicting the credit risk. However, we need to keep in mind that the deployment phase can be as simple as generating a report or as complex as implementing a repeatable data mining process. Whenever business needs change or predictor variables added or modified, we have to recycle the CRISP-DM processes.

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June 18, 2013

Cultural Studies

Subject: Communications and Media

Minimum requirements for the Cultural Studies Assignment are as follows:

A fashion- related image of your choice, where you can explain in 750 words what the image connotes* to the viewer.

A bibliographic list in the Harvard format of 3 academic texts that you have used in the above task.

A 300 word summary of ‘Youth’, a chapter by Elizabeth Rouse (1988) from her book Understanding Fashion. Also, a list of 3 quotations that you could use to write an essay about subculture from this text. These should be correctly referenced in the Harvard format.
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June 18, 2013

“Physicians Moving to Mid-Sized, Single-Specialty Practices.”

“Physicians Moving to Mid-Sized, Single-Specialty Practices.”
Case Study
Go to http://www.hschange.org, and search for the article title “Physicians Moving to Mid-Sized, Single-Specialty Practices.”
Part 1: What does this research indicate about trends for physician group practice? Are doctors likely to practice alone these days, with one partner, or in larger groups? Explain the trend you are seeing in this data. Why is it happening?
Part 2: Study the trends reported here for doctors in solo or duo practice versus for those in larger group practice. Pay special attention to the Supplementary Table at the end of the report, which breaks this data down into physician specialties. Which types of specialties are most likely to continue in solo or duo practice? Which specialties are showing the strongest trends in forming groups? Why do you feel that this is the case?

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June 18, 2013

compare between Emirates refreshments company and Dubai refreshments company

This comparison should cover only profitability ratios, and market value measures. The comparison should cover the year 2012 only.

Introduce the selected company: industry, number of employees, international presence, and collect its annual reports for 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Analyze the company?s performance in related to short term solvency or liquidity ratios, long term solvency ratios, asset management ratios, profitability ratios and market value measures. This analysis should cover the period (2010- 2012)
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June 18, 2013

International finance

International finance
A) Compare and contrast the fixed, freely floating, and managed float exchange rate
systems. (6 marks)
B) Suppose you have £1,000,000 to invest and assume the following information:
Quoted Price
Value of Canadian dollar in British pounds £0.60
Value of New Zealand dollar in British pounds £0.20
Value of Canadian dollar in New Zealand dollars NZ$3.02
i) Explain the concept of triangular arbitrage (3 marks)
a) Given this information, is triangular arbitrage possible? If so, explain the steps
that would reflect triangular arbitrage, and compute the profit from this strategy
using the £1,000,000 you have. (6 marks)
b) What market forces would occur to eliminate any further possibilities of
triangular arbitrage? (3 marks)
C) Assume that the annual US interest rate (continuous compounded) is currently
8% and Germany’s annual interest rate (continuous compounded) is currently
9%. The euro’s one-year forward rate currently exhibits a discount of 2%.
a) Does interest rate parity exist in this case? (4 marks)
b) Can a US firm benefit from investing funds in Germany using covered interest
arbitrage? Explain. (3 marks)
c) Can a German subsidiary of a US firm benefit by investing funds in the United
States through covered interest arbitrage? (3 marks)

Question 6
A) Compare and contrast transaction exposure and economic exposure. (4 marks)
B) Remington ltd exports products from Australia to the US. It obtains supplies and
borrows funds in Australia. How would the appreciation of the dollar be likely to
affect its net cash flows? Explain. (6 marks)
C) Assume that Johnson ltd needs £3 million for a one-year period. Within one year,
it will generate enough Sterling Pounds to pay off the loan. It is considering three
options:
(1) borrowing Pounds at an annual interest rate (continuous compounded) of 6%,
(2) borrowing Japanese yen at an annual interest rate (continuous compounded)
of 3%, or
(3) borrowing Canadian dollars at an annual interest rate (continuous
compounded) of 4%.
Johnson expects that the Japanese yen will appreciate by 1% over the next year
and that the Canadian dollar will appreciate by 3%.
a) What is the expected “effective” financing rate for each of the three options?
(6 marks)
b) Which option appears to be most feasible? Explain. (4 marks)
c) Why might Johnson not necessarily choose the option reflecting the lowest
effective financing rate? Explain (5 marks)

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Analysis for Credit Risk

Cultural Studies

“Physicians Moving to Mid-Sized, Single-Specialty Practices.”

compare between Emirates refreshments company and Dubai refreshments company

International finance

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