The Maya Calendar

The Maya Calendar What is the Maya Calendar? The Maya, whose culture in Central America and southern Mexico peaked around 800 A.D. before going into steep decline, had an advanced calendar system that incorporated the movement of the sun, moon and planets. For the Maya, time was cyclical and repeated itself, making certain days or months lucky or unlucky for certain things, like agriculture or fertility. The Maya calendar reset in December of 2012, inspiring many to see the date as an end-of-days prophecy. The Maya Concept of Time: To the Maya, time was cyclical: it would repeat itself and certain days had characteristics. This notion of cyclical as opposed to lineal time is not unknown to us: for example, many people consider Mondays to be â€Å"bad† days and Fridays to be â€Å"good† days (unless they fall on the thirteenth of the month, in which case they are unlucky). The Maya took the concept further: although we consider months and weeks to be cyclical, but years to be lineal, they considered all time as cyclical and certain days could â€Å"return† centuries later. The Maya were aware that a solar year was roughly 365 days long and they referred to it as a â€Å"haab.† They divided a haab into 20 â€Å"months† (to the Maya, â€Å"uinal†) of 18 days each: to this was added 5 days annually for a total of 365. These five days, called â€Å"wayeb,† were added at the end of the year and were considered very unlucky. The Calendar Round: The earliest Maya Calendars (dating from the preclassic Maya era, or about 100 A.D.) are referred to as the Calendar Round. The Calendar Round was actually two calendars that overlapped one another. The first calendar was the Tzolkin cycle, which consisted of 260 days, which roughly corresponds to the time of human gestation as well as the Maya agricultural cycle. Early Mayan astronomers used the 260 day calendar to record the movements of the planets, sun and moon: it was a very sacred calendar. When used consecutively with the standard 365 day haab calendar, the two would align every 52 years. The Maya Long Count Calendar: The Maya developed another calendar, better suited for measuring longer periods of time. The Maya Long Count used only the haab or 365 day calendar. A date was given in terms of Baktuns (periods of 400 years) followed by Katuns (periods of 20 years) followed by Tuns (years) followed by Uinals (periods of 20 days) and ending with the Kins (number of days 1-19). If you added all of those numbers up, you would get the number of days that had passed since the starting point of Maya time, which was sometime between August 11 and September 8, 3114 B.C. (the exact date is subject to some debate). These dates are usually expressed as a series of numbers like so: 12.17.15.4.13 November 15, 1968, for example. Thats 12x400 years, 17x20 years, 15 years, 4x20 days plus eleven days since the beginning of Maya time. 2012 and The End of Maya Time: Baktuns - periods of 400 years - are counted on a base-13 cycle. On December 20, 2012, the Maya Long Count Date was 12.19.19.19.19. When one day was then added, the entire calendar reset to 0. The thirteenth Baktun since the beginning of Maya time therefore came to an end on December 21, 2012. This of course led to much speculation about dramatic changes: some predictions for the end of the Maya Long Count Calendar included the end of the world, a new age of consciousness, a reversal of the Earths magnetic poles, the arrival of the Messiah, etc. Needless to say, none of those things happened. In any event, historical Maya records do not indicate that they gave much thought to what would happen at the end of the calendar. Sources: Burland, Cottie with Irene Nicholson and Harold Osborne. Mythology of the Americas. London: Hamlyn, 1970. McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. New York: Norton, 2004.

The Invention of Paper Money

The Invention of Paper Money Paper money is an invention of the Song Dynasty in China in the 11th century CE, nearly 20 centuries after the earliest known use of metal coins. While paper money was certainly easier to carry in large amounts, using paper money had its risks: counterfeiting and inflation. Earliest Money The earliest known form of money is also from China, a cast copper coin from the 11th century BCE, which was found in a Shang Dynasty tomb in China.  Metal coins, whether made from copper, silver, gold or other metals, have been used across the globe as units of trade and value.  They have advantages- they are durable, difficult to counterfeit, and they hold intrinsic value.  The big disadvantage?  If you have very many of them, they get heavy. For a couple thousand years after the coins were buried in that Shang tomb, however, merchants, traders, and customers in China had to put up with carrying coins, or with bartering goods for other goods directly.  Copper coins were designed with square holes in the middle so that they could be carried on a string.  For large transactions, traders calculated the price as the number of coin strings.  It was workable, but an unwieldy system at best. Paper Money Takes the Load Off During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), however, merchants began to leave those heavy strings of coins with a trustworthy agent, who would record how much money the merchant had on deposit on a piece of paper.  The paper, a sort of promissory note, could then be traded for goods, and the seller could go to the agent and redeem the note for the strings of coins.  With trade renewed along the Silk Road, this simplified cartage considerably.  These privately-produced promissory notes were still not true paper currency, however. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), the government licensed specific deposit shops where people could leave their coins and receive notes.  In the 1100s, Song authorities decided to take direct control of this system, issuing the worlds first proper, government-produced paper money.  This money was called jiaozi.   Jiaozi to Chao to Djaou The Song established factories to print paper money with woodblocks, using six colors of ink.  The factories were located in Chengdu, Hangzhou, Huizhou, and Anqi, and each used different fiber mixes in their paper to discourage counterfeiting.  Early notes expired after three years, and could only be used in particular regions of the Song Empire. In 1265, the Song government introduced a truly national currency, printed to a single standard, usable across the empire, and backed by silver or gold.  It was available in denominations between one and one hundred strings of coins.  This currency lasted only nine years, however, as of the Song Dynasty tottered, falling to the Mongols in 1279. Mongol Influence The Mongol Yuan Dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan, issued its own form of paper currency called chao; the Mongols brought it to Persia where it was called djaou  or djaw.  The Mongols also showed it to Marco Polo during his stay in Kublai Khans court, where he was amazed by the idea of government-backed currency.  However, the paper money was not backed by gold or silver.  The short-lived Yuan Dynasty printed increasing amounts of the currency, leading to runaway inflation.  This problem was unresolved when the dynasty collapsed in 1368. Although the succeeding Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) also began by printing unbacked paper money, it suspended the program in 1450.  For much of the Ming era, silver was the currency of choice, including tons of Mexican and Peruvian ingots brought to China by Spanish traders.  Only in the last two, desperate years of Ming rule did the government print paper money, as it attempted to fend off the rebel Li Zicheng and his army.  China did not print paper money again until the 1890s when the Qing Dynasty began producing yuan. Sources Lande, Lawrence, and T. I. M. Congdon. John Law and the Invention of Paper Money. RSA Journal 139.5414 (1991): 916–28. Print.Lui, Francis T. Cagans Hypothesis and the First Nationwide Inflation of Paper Money in World History. Journal of Political Economy 91.6 (1983): 1067–74. Print.Pickering, John. The History of Paper Money in China. Journal of the American Oriental Society 1.2 (1844): 136–42. Print.

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example As it is evident in any organization, the vision and mission always enable a company achieve its objectives when adhered to. For instance, the success that was attained by Enron Company before its collapse was attributed to the investments and the commitment they made on the objectives and vision of the company (Dimma, 2002). It is evident that D2, like any other company such as Enron was able to achieve the same success. The fact that one of the plants of D2 was in a strategic place in the UK shows that the company was well placed in the European market. The company has been able to manage the competitive market in the manufacturing industry despite the stiff competition from manufactures from other countries with lower cost of services. However, in the recent past, D2 has gone through economic difficulties and is struggling to survive in the market due to economic downfall and the world’s financial crisis in the recent past. This therefore called for the management of the co mpany to make some changes to enable the company continue with its activities and fulfill its vision. As it is argued by Dimma, a good board of management in an organization is one which can be able to foresee a problem coming and be able to lay down a solution to the problem. The management board of D2 has had to take an urgent decision aimed at cutting down costs. The decision was to stop production of some components and focus on others in fewer sites than the one they operate with. This strategy was basically aimed at minimizing the costs and ensuring that the number, and not the variety, of goods produced will increase and hence get more benefits. This decision was taken by the management board as a quick remedy for the current problems faced by the company. The decision has already been made and is yet to be announced to the rest of the employees (Seel, 2006). In ensuring the benefits from economies of scale, the company decided that the production at Blois which is the main f actory in France is expanded. The main reason is because Blois has the most advanced technology than the other plants and there is still room for expansion in the company. This move is believed by the management that it’s the best in cutting down the costs of the company. The management has also suggested a closure of the manufacturing plant in the UK as another second step since it is the most outdated manufacturing technology (Seel, 2006). The workers at the UK plant which is to be closed are so much hopeful of the company investing more in their region as they expect. However, it is obvious that the company will not be able to offer employment opportunities to her workers in the other plants in France and Spain and there will be so much loss of manpower due to this closure (Seel, 2006). D2 wants product development engineers (B2) team to be relocated to Blois from Didcot since there will be no more work at Didcot. This is the group that has been behind the success of the c ompany before the current recession. Didcot is an international centre and has been a place where production of auto products is done by many other companies apart from D2. This has therefore led to the place being a world class production area with plenty of

Asian philosphy Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asian philosphy - Article Example This is quite iterating as yoga is becoming more accepted globally, and it will beneficial to know where the tradition comes from and how it has benefited individuals from a variety of backgrounds. In addition, I am particularly interested in Buddhism as I understand it one of the five main religions of the world, and most predominate through much of Asia, yet little is known about it outside of the East. Buddhist philosophy contains many great principles and ideals for living. While it might be different than the beliefs I am used to, it is nonetheless important to understand where the philosophy comes from and why so many people in Asia have chosen to follow its teachings. In short, it appears that this course is going to teach me a great deal about how to respect other philosophies and cultures. By opening my eyes and truly deciding to grasp that which I am taught, I will hopefully be a much better person in the end for having taken this

Recycling Waste Essay Example for Free

Recycling Waste Essay With the increasing human population the needs for the people also increases. But the point of concern is that are there enough natural resources to service all your needs. What if these resources finish, this is one thing we need to ponder upon. We need to start recycling waste to converse our natural resources. Recycling is simply the process of reusing the items from which utility can still be derived. It is important to recycle waste so that you can at least converse some of our natural resources for our generations to come. Many products such as paper, cardboards, and cups come from trees. In fact trees are our natural assets, you can converse trees by recycling the paper products we can minimize the number of trees cut down a year. This is one form of waste recycling. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials. One simple benefit of recycling is it saves our resources. It will be wise to reuse metal item as metal reserves may be depleting. You can sold your wore out metal items for recycling. As mentioned earlier, recycling of waste papers can save our forests. Recycling waste not only save our natural resources but also help save energy. By simply recycling an item or making a basic fix to it, we can we save all the energy that would have been consumed in the process of making it. The same example can be taken with plastic items. A large amount of energy can be saved by simply reusing the plastic items. To recycle waste is to simply reduce pollution. By recycling plastic material we can reduce air pollution as well as water pollution. Plastic factories produced large amount of smoke when producing plastic material at the same time if we don’t have proper waste disposal system those waste emissions will cause water pollution. Recycling waste in a way helps reduce pollution. In simple words, recycling or recycling waste is essential to both natural environment and humans. To sum up, recycling minimizes the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved. Great amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources. One needs to know the importance of recycling at the same time being earth friendly can help our planet a better place to live in.

Influences of a Teacher Essay -- Learning Education Essays

" A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."-Unknown What does a teacher do? Well, besides giving out tons of papers, numerous tests, and stories that the students aren't interested in reading (or just too lazy to read), teachers are responsible for creating the future leaders of tomorrow. In today's society one may find advancement difficult without a formal education. Education is one of society's institutions that helps to infuse in our younger generation the norms, values and morals of the world we live in. Teachers lead their students on the trip to success. Have you ever wondered how you would have gotten where you are today, or how you will get where you will be tomorrow without a great instructor? According to a private pedagogical survey of sources (teachers and students), some of the main qualities of teachers should be discipline, motivation, and above all, respect. I have interviewed three teachers and three students from the High School, Middle School, and Elementary School levels. How do we define discipline? When most people hear the word "discipline" they imagine an eighty year old, six foot five matron holding a long stick, preparing to give some outspoken child his just punishment. In modern terms, having a disciplined classroom is simply the act of maintaining structure and consistency in the working environment. Discipline is hard to achieve in a class where the teacher and students are viewed as equals. In this form of study, students will tend not to listen to the teacher when the time comes to work or be productive. In his article, " I'll ... ... able to apply what they learned. Just think, the positive influence of a teacher today creates the successful individual of tomorrow. Works Cited Cheney, Lynne V. " P.C. Alive and Entrenched" The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J.Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 112 Haffamier, Suzanne & Lauren. Personal Interview. 6 Mar. 1999 Harr, Kerry. Personal Interview. 8 Mar. 1999 Schwartz, Arnie. Personal Interview.7 Mar. 1999 Shaw, Megan. Personal Interview.6 Mar. 1999 Thom, Chris. Personal Interview. 8 Mar.1999 Zawodniak, Christian. "'I'll Have to Help Some of You More Than I Want To'":Teacher Power, Student Pedagogy." The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 127- 130.

Best Ways to Analyze Data in Order to Improve Decision-Making Essay

Descriptive Analysis: Defined as quantitatively describing the main features of a collection of information. Descriptive analysis are distinguished from inferential analysis (or inductive analysis), in that descriptive analysis aim to summarize a sample, rather than use the data to learn about the population that the sample of data is thought to represent. Two types of descriptive measures are: 1. Measures of central tendency: used to report a single piece of information that describes the most typical response to a question. 2. Measures of variability: used to reveal the typical difference between the values in a set of values. Two types of descriptive analysis are: 1. Univariate analysis: Univariate analysis involves describing the distribution of a single variable, including its central tendency (including the mean, median, and mode) and dispersion (including the range and quantiles of the data-set, and measures of spread such as the variance and standard deviation). 2. Bivariate analysis: Used when a sample consists of more than one variable. Bivariate analysis is not only simple descriptive analysis, but also it describes the relationship between two different variables. Descriptive statistics provides simple summaries about the sample and about the observations that have been made. In the business world, descriptive statistics provides a useful summary of many types of data. For example, investors and brokers may use a historical account of return behavior by performing empirical and analytical analyses on their investments in order to make better investing decisions in the future. Inferential Analysis: Used to generate conclusions about the population’s characteristics based on the sample data. For example to estimate the population mean weight using the sample mean weight. They can use inferential statistics to make judgments of the probability that an observed difference between groups is a dependable one or one that might have happened by chance. They can help in  fact-based management to drive favorable decision making. Differential Analysis: Defined as a technique in which evaluation is confined to only those factors which are different or unique among possible alternatives. Also called incremental analysis or relevant cost analysis. It usually involves four steps: 1. Compute all costs associated with each alternative. 2. Ignore the sunk costs. 3. Ignore costs that remain largely constant among the alternatives. 4. Select the alternative offering the best cost-to-benefit ratio. It’s important to note that differential analysis is a process that may be stretched beyond mere numbers. There could be intangible benefits to a certain decision that might eventually affect the business’ profits or even go beyond monetary gain. Predictive Analysis: Encompasses a variety of techniques that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, or otherwise unknown, events. The approaches and techniques used to conduct predictive analytics can broadly be grouped into regression techniques and machine learning techniques. 1. Regression techniques: Regression models are the mainstay of predictive analytics. The focus lies on establishing a mathematical equation as a model to represent the interactions between the different variables in consideration. Depending on the situation, there is a wide variety of models that can be applied while performing predictive analytics. 2. Machine learning techniques: Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, was originally employed to develop techniques to enable computers to learn. Today, since it includes a number of advanced statistical methods for regression and classification, it finds application in a wide variety of fields including medical diagnostics, credit card fraud detection, face and speech recognition and analysis of the stock market. In certain applications it is sufficient to directly predict the dependent variable without focusing on the underlying relationships between variables.  In other cases, the underlying relationships can be very complex and the mathematical form of the dependencies unknown. For such cases, machine learning techniques emulate human cognition and learn from training examples to predict future events. In business, predictive models exploit patterns found in historical and transactional data to identify risks and opportunities. Models capture relationships among many factors to allow assessment of risk or potential associated with a particular set of conditions, guiding decision making for candidate transactions. They also help uncover hidden patterns and associations thus improving business outcomes.

Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices Essay

Based in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike had been a corporate success story for more than three decades. It was a sneaker company, but one armed with an inimitable attitude, phenomenal growth, and the apparent ability to dictate fashion trends to some of the world’s most influential consumer. Selling a combination of basic footwear and street-smart athleticism, Nike pushed its revenues from a 1972 level of $62,000 to a starting $49 million in just 10 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nike had been plagued by a series of labor incidents and public relations nightmares; underage workers in Indonesian plants, allegations of coerced overtime in China, dangerous working conditions in Vietnam. For a while, the stories had been largely confined to labor circles and activist publications, until a young female worker had died in a Nike contracting factory in 1997, the labor conditions at Nike had hit the mainstream. While the marketing of Nike’s products was based on selling a high profile fashion item to affluent Americans, the manufacture of these sneakers was based as an arms-length and often-uneasy relationship with low paid, non-American workers. Key Issues Nike’s strategy of shaving costs caused ethical dilemmas that ultimately damaged its reputation. Nike outsources all of its manufacturing. This approach has provided Nike with huge profits, from a 1972 level of $60,000 to a startling $49 million in just 10 years. Production is now globalised, with different countries concentrating on different parts of the process depending on what they are good at, or what they can do most efficiently or cheaply. Poorer countries get the less lucrative activities such as lowly paid semi-skilled or unskilled production or assembly. This approach also allows Nike to keep an arms-length arrangement with its subcontractors, stating that, it is not they who employ cheap labor, but their contracted suppliers, hence the responsibility lies with the latter. Define the Problem  Nike has a difficult situation to resolve. Its strategy to use celebrity endorsements to develop a strong brand identity had the result that Nike became by the 1990s one of the world’s best known brands, as well as a global symbol of athleticism and urban cool. This situation began to change by 1998, when currency woes in Asia along with the damage to its image resulted in Nike experiencing a loss for the first time in 13 years. This strategy resulted in Nike requiring steep wage concessions from its subcontractors to continue its intense growth patterns. Nike has always paid the lowest possible wages in Indonesia, claiming year after year that it could not afford even to pay the country’s minimum wage. Each year, Nike contractors in Indonesia refused to pay minimum wage raises of a few cents a day. Thanks to a corrupt and inefficient government, they usually got away with it. Adding to this problem was the issue of child labor. Nike went into Pakistan, knowing full well that child labor is an ages-old practice there and taking no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the production of its soccer balls. We have to conclude that Nike expected to profit from its Pakistani contractors’ known usage of bonded child labor. Nike further tarnished its reputation by attempting to dilute information that had come to the attention of the general public regarding its practices, resulting in a lawsuit. Mike Kasky is suing Nike, Inc. Under California laws regulating unfair competition and false advertising. Kasky claims that when an internal audit was leaked to the press that revealed illegal employment practices in Nike’s factories in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Nike responded by issuing to the press numerous statements it knew to be false. The California courts ruled last year that Nike’s PR effort was meant to bolster its image and improve its sales – so indeed, it did amount to advertising, and, as such, it needed to be truthful. Alternative Solutions Nike must to enforce its own Code of Conduct with its subcontractors. This Code has been amended several times, but had been very general in its listing of business practices. Its current version stipulates many requirements that we take for granted, one of which is that a subcontractor certifies that it pays at least the minimum total compensation required by local law, including all mandated wages, allowances and benefits. Another option for Nike would be to contract with a U. S. shoe manufacturer. Although the benefit of having its suppliers overseas has been the low prices for the finished goods, Nike would gain an advantage by providing work for the people at home. Made in USA labels are very important to many Americans. Also, the combination of job creation and openness to providing equitable wages and benefits for its workers as required in this country could reduce the uproar about its labor practices, especially among the youth. In addition, Nike could incorporate at least one factory into a tourist attraction, providing visitors with the opportunity to tour the plant, learn the history of the company, and become more familiar with the products Nike produces, thus developing more customer loyalty. A third option for Nike would be to both enforce its Code of Conduct and invest at a high level in the countries where it has factories, and highly advertise those efforts. Regarding to Nike’s web site, since 1997, Nike, with help from several of its key partners, has supported micro-enterprise ventures in Asia, playing a small but significant and direct role in building and expanding the number of locally-owned businesses in mostly rural areas throughout the region. Nike has funded micro loans and provided technical assistance in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, working with the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), Vietnamese Women’s Union and Opportunity International, respectively. The press has given faces to the people who have been affected by Nike’s contractors’ exploitation. Nike must rectify the damages by giving faces to the people who have been affected in a positive way by the loans and other assistance given to the local populations. This, coupled with Nike’s firm stance on the treatment of those making its goods, would help regain its lost positive image. In addition, this option would forge a stronger relationship with the countries where the factories producing Nike’s products are located. It would also help Nike’s subcontractors to entice and retain the best local employees, thus ensuring higher quality products. Selected Solutions to The Problem This change in how Nike will handle its operations has significant drawbacks. Closely adhering to its Code of Conduct will be very expensive for Nike. Nike’s success has been heavily driven by the aggressive stance it has taken on labor costs. In addition, Nike’s subcontractors have used the freedom given to them to provide Nike the labor expense level they expect while also allowing themselves to profit as well. Nike will now be monitoring their subcontractors’ workplaces and wage practices, which will place a strain on their relationship. This new focus for Nike will require the company to divert some of its attention from its main marketing focus to supervise the overseas operations. Expected Results An immediate benefit of this decision would be the good press it would generate that Nike would be willing to put pressure on its suppliers so that the people who produce its goods are treated fairly. Another benefit would be to align Nike’s suppliers’ actions with Nike’s vision as listed on its web site www. nike. com to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world†. This would include those employed by Nike because the company considers all people to be athletes. A third benefit would be to prevent work stoppage strikes that had previously affected the company in Indonesia. Positive and Negative Results This option would require Nike to make a major shift in its focus from having a limited, long-distance relationship with subcontractors to playing a more active role in the manufacture of its products due to the proximity of its suppliers. This significant change in how Nike does business would be very expensive, both in terms of the financial outlay and use of personnel. It would require a more direct involvement of the company in a portion of the business in which it has no first-hand experience, which would entail a considerable learning curve. This would result in major upheaval for the company, and a loss of confidence by investors. Nike would also lose the competitive edge of its competitors who have lower foreign wages. To reinstate the Nike image back to its earlier prominence, Nike would be wise to pursue the option to enforce its Code of Conduct, and invest in the countries in which its factories are located. The Code of Conduct should require unannounced audits of Nike’s factories at random, frequent time intervals to ensure compliance to rules and regulations. Equipment should be inspected to meet higher safety standards than would be required in the host country. For example, if the factory is located in Indonesia, the equipment should be inspected to be compliant to United States’ Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) safety standards. Doing so is above-and-beyond what may be considered reasonable† and should shed positive light on Nike’s effort. In addition, hiring documentation should be verified in the audits to assure that workers are of the appropriate age, and that children are not placed into the workforce. Subcontractors would be trained in cultural awareness and required to maintain consistent and reasonable management practices. This approach would be expensive for Nike. The company will also have to expend more energy to both monitor the manufacturing facilities and determine which small businesses to support, diverting its attention from the company’s primary focus of marketing its products and making a profit. In addition, making investments in other countries will help Nike relate in more personal ways to their local environments. This will make it more difficult for Nike to direct its subcontractors to move to another country when local labor wages have become too expensive. However, there would probably be no lack of interest if movement to new countries became necessary with Nike’s products so well known. It would ultimately hinder the company’s ability to be competitive with the other shoe manufacturers who use Indonesian labor.

What to Do Before Leaving for College

What to Do Before Leaving for College Overwhelmed with everything you need to do before heading to college? Familiarizing yourself with everything on this list can help make the process easier. 1. Contact Your Roommate That first conversation is pivotal for getting to know each other, for building your relationship as roommates, and for figuring out whos going to be bringing what. A great roommate can make all the difference in school. 2. Organize All Your Purchases Knowing what to bring is just as important as knowing what not to bring. Deciding on what kind of computer youll have is also a big decision that will influence several aspects of your college life. (Can you bring it home? Is it powerful enough to run graphics programs or economic models youll need for your major?) 3. Understand Your Financial Aid The last thing you want to have happen is for finances to get in the way of your academic progress (yes, it really does matter if you miss that deadline for submitting your FAFSA). Make sure your finances are in order- and that you understand all you need to do while youre in school. 4. Make a Budget Youll need to know, from your first day on campus, how much money you can spend on certain things, whether or not youll need an on-campus job, and how much money you should have at the end of every month so you dont have to beg your roommate for food come December. 5. Take Care of Your Physical Health Picking the right meal plan and knowing how to make healthy choices in your new environment will greatly aid your time in school. Who wants to miss a midterm because of a stress-induced cold? 6. Familiarize Yourself With College Terminology If your RA tells you that the problem youre having with your TA can best be handled by the dean, will you know what all of that means? What if your cute lab partner is complaining because adjunct professors werent invited to convocation? College life is full of acronyms and new lingo: do what you can to familiarize yourself with it before you arrive. 7. Get the Most out of Orientation Everything from meeting people to making it through your first week takes a lot of courage- but pushing yourself through will make a huge difference during your entire time at school. 8. Plan to Keep in Touch With Friends and Family Its a good idea to know how to manage relationships with your boyfriend or girlfriend, parents, and even siblings. If you talk about how to keep in touch before you leave, everyone will know what to expect. 9. Develop a Time Management System Figuring out how to manage their time is often one of the biggest challenges for college students. Set yourself up early with a system that you know will work for you. 10. Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe The last thing you need to be worried about while in school is dealing with something that may have been preventable. Losing your computer, for example, can wreak havoc on your academics- and, if someone breaks into your room while you left the door open, can wreak havoc on your roommate relationship. Its easier to stay safe than to deal with theft. Lastly- an unofficial #11- congratulate yourself on a job well done for getting here in the first place, and have fun!

How to Conduct a Hypothesis Test in Statistics

How to Conduct a Hypothesis Test in Statistics The idea of hypothesis testing is relatively straightforward. In various studies, we observe certain events. We must ask, is the event due to chance alone, or is there some cause that we should be looking for? We need to have a way to differentiate between events that easily occur by chance and those that are highly unlikely to occur randomly. Such a method should be streamlined and well defined so that others can replicate our statistical experiments. There are a few different methods used to conduct hypothesis tests. One of these methods is known as the traditional method, and another involves what is known as a p-value. The steps of these two most common methods are identical up to a point, then diverge slightly. Both the traditional method for hypothesis testing and the p-value method are outlined below. The Traditional Method The traditional method is as follows: Begin by stating the claim or hypothesis that is being tested. Also, form a statement for the case that the hypothesis is false.Express both of the statements from the first step in mathematical symbols. These statements will use symbols such as inequalities and equals signs.Identify which of the two symbolic statements does not have equality in it. This could simply be a not equals sign, but could also be an is less than sign ( ). The statement containing inequality is called the alternative hypothesis and is denoted H1 or Ha.The statement from the first step that makes the statement that a parameter equals a particular value is called the null hypothesis, denoted H0.Choose which significance level that we want. A significance level is typically denoted by the Greek letter alpha. Here we should consider Type I errors. A Type I error occurs when we reject a null hypothesis that is actually true. If we are very concerned about this possibility occurring, then our value for alpha shoul d be small. There is a bit of a trade-off here. The smaller the alpha, the most costly the experiment. The values 0.05 and 0.01 are common values used for alpha, but any positive number between 0 and 0.50 could be used for a significance level. Determine which statistic and distribution we should use. The type of distribution is dictated by features of the data. Common distributions include z score, t score, and chi-squared.Find the test statistic and critical value for this statistic. Here we will have to consider if we are conducting a two-tailed test (typically when the alternative hypothesis contains a â€Å"is not equal to† symbol, or a one-tailed test (typically used when an inequality is involved in the statement of the alternative hypothesis).From the type of distribution, confidence level, critical value, and test statistic we sketch a graph.If the test statistic is in our critical region, then we must reject the null hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis stands. If the test statistic is not in our critical region, then we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This does not prove that the null hypothesis is true, but gives a way to quantify how likely it is to be true.We now state the results of the hypothesi s test in such a way that the original claim is addressed. The p-Value Method The p-value method is nearly identical to the traditional method. The first six steps are the same. For step seven we find the test statistic and p-value. We then reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is less than or equal to alpha. We fail to reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is greater than alpha. We then wrap up the test as before, by clearly stating the results.

Compare Vygotsky's and Feuersteins contributions to Educational Essay

Compare Vygotsky's and Feuersteins contributions to Educational Learning - Essay Example Building therefore on this base, Vygotsky developed a theory in which society and culture contribute to the learning process of children and is in large part responsible for their learning. Feuerstein's great contribution has usually been to operationalize the concepts propounded by Vygotsky. Such components as sociocultural mediation and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), identified by Vygotsky, have been further developed and probed by the capable instruments created by Feuerstein for enhancement of mediated learning. The theories of social and cultural mediation as propounded by Vygotsky and Feuerstein will be explored in this essay. It will also consider the ZPD and the instruments that have been developed to enhance learning using these theories. Vygotsky argues that children develop higher levels of cognition through the mediation that occurs in a social context. Lower mental processes are genetic and instinctive; they come naturally to an individual. The higher mental processes, on the other hand, are definitive of a cognitive stage unique in man as a species through which he is able to distance himself from the world and, through the use of various symbols and in conjunction with other men, abstractly manipulate its contents to extract and develop his knowledge and understanding of them (Panofsky, 2003). Because of the meaning these higher mental functions have for society, and because they exist before (and independent of) the individual, they must be learned through mediation. This means that higher levels of cognition are necessarily mediated by society, and it is only once a lesson is learned on the societal level that it becomes internalised and manifests itself on a psychological level. Social agents of mediation ta ke a variety of forms and provide the learner with access to what has been given a variety of names ranging from psychological, to cultural or cognitive tools (Smagorinski). How a human person acts within a given society is dependent on the forms and qualities of interactions available to him as a model. If adequate mediation is provided, learning occurs; if not, learning suffers. This theory then goes on to describe the child and/or learner as limited in his or her ability to acquire knowledge when left on his own. What a child is able to perform when placed in a social setting is almost invariably more than that which he or she is able to do alone, and this additional capability gives the educator an idea of the child's potential (Salomon and Perkins, 1998). This potential (denoted by Vygotsky as the Zone of Proximal Development) cannot be realised, however, unless learning is mediated by another in a social setting. Feuerstein also advocated the theory of mediation in learning. He developed the cognitive map which denotes the dimensions of cognition, and contributed to the mediation theory by formulating an operation that delineates the different stages and participants in the mediation process. The Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) he defined as "The quality of interaction directed towards ensuring meaningful learning by parents, teachers, caregivers and peers, interposed between the child and the stimuli they receive" (Feuerstein). It was his idea that these social mediators