Long Term Financing Paper Final

Running head: Long-Term Financing Long-Term Financing University of Phoenix Online Introduction to Finance and Accounting MMPBL-503 James R. Sullivan November 3, 2008 Long-Term Financing An established company is considering expanding its operations, and to achieve their business objectives, the company will require additional long-term capital financing. Long-term financing involves debt or equity instruments with greater than one-year maturities, and the cost of this long-term capital can be calculated using either the Capital Asset Pricing (CAPM) or Discounted Cash Flows (DCFM) Model. The organization will have to compare and contrast the Capital Asset Pricing Model with the Discounted Cash Flows Model. The skill of comparing and contrasting financial options will help evaluate and organize the debt/equity mix and dividend policy. The organization must then decide what type of long-term finance alternatives will most likely benefit. Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Discounted Cash Flows Model Capital Asset Pricing Model is a linear relationship between returns on individual stocks and stock market returns over time (Block & Hirt, 2005). One use of CAPM is to analyze the performance of mutual funds and other portfolios (CAPM, 2008). Although, more than one formula exists for the CAPM, the most common is referred to as the market risk premium model presented below (Block & Hirt, 2005): r = Rf + beta (Km – Rf) Where: r is the expected return rate on a security Rf = the risk free rate of return (cash) B = beta coefficient, or historical volatility of common stock relative to market index Km = is the return rate of the appropriate asset class The market risk premium formula assumes that the rate of return or premium demanded by investors is directly proportional to the perceived risk associated with the common stock. Beta measures the volatility of the security relative to the asset class. The equation is saying that investors require higher levels of expected returns to compensate them for higher expected risk. This formula can be thought as predicting a security’s behavior as a function of beta: CAPM says that if a person knows a security’s beta then they know the value of (r) that investors expect it to have (see graph below) (CAPM, 2008). [pic] More volatile stocks will have a beta coefficient greater than 1. 0, whereas less volatile stocks will have a beta less than 1. 0. If the risk free rate of return (Rf) and average market return (Km) are considered fixed, then the required rate of return for company stock can be calculated for the required rate of return. As an example, if the market risk premium (Km – Rf) is 6% and a risk free rate of return (Rf) is 4%, then the required rate of return would equal 10% for B = 1 and 16% for B = 2. The Discounted Cash Flow Model (DCFM) is another standard way of determining the cost of equity. It assumes that a firm’s current stock price is equal to the present (discounted) value of all expected future dividends from the investment (Utility Regulation, 2008). Modern financial theory contends that the price of a firm’s stock is the present value of the future cash flows discounted at an appropriate interest rate (Freeman & Gagne, 1992). To calculate the current stock value, calculate the present value of future dividends and growth in the value of the stock at some future date. The discount rate used for this present value calculation is the weighted average cost of capital for the firm. Both the CAPM and DCF models involve applying data from a single or group of companies, to evaluate the current stock value of a single company. CAPM is more objective and complicated, and requires more calculation and data from the market. DCF is more subjective and simplified. One such DCF assumption is that future dividends will grow forever at a constant rate. Since this assumption is not always true, the DCF method gives a more qualitative estimate of the cost of capital. Limitations of CAPM includes, model uncertainty, it is difficult to know for sure if the use of the model is theoretically correct. Input uncertainty, is another limitation, it is difficult to estimate the appropriate risk premiums accurately (CAPM limitations, 2008). Limitations of the DCF model include miss growth options, options to expand and options to redirect (DCFM, 2008). Debt/Equity Mix Debt/equity mix is a financing strategy used by companies to help fund the business or other investments. Most companies use a combination of both in order to ensure stability and to keep long-term cost down. Debt is the borrowing of money from other lenders such as finance companies and banks. â€Å"Corporate debt has increased dramatically in the last three decades. † (Block & Hirt, pg. 468) Other forms of debt include issuing bonds and leasing. Debt has become a common item on balance sheet for many companies, including those just starting out. Debt financing allows companies to finance without having to sell stock or bring in more partners. The major benefit for debt financing, unlike with equity financing, the owner retains full ownership of their business. Bringing in more partners or stockholders in a company causes the loss of primary ownership and possibly the loss of the reason the company was created. Equity is another form of financing. Equity is also used by large and small companies. Equity is financed by other people. With equity financing the initial owner/borrower has a greater risk of losing their company to the partners that have become involved. On the other hand the borrower in an equity finance loan has flexibility on repayment terms and the form of repayment (ie. cash, stock, bonds or services). However, most major corporations have a mixture of debt and equity with making sure they do not have to much leverage in either one. The formula for figuring out what a company’s debt-equity ratio is: (Block & Hirt) Debt/Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities Shareholders’ Equity Dividend Policy A company’s dividend policy is up to the company and the profits that are made. If the company is just starting out they may not want to pay dividends to their stockholders. A beginning company may want to reinvest any earnings that are made in order to help the company expand. â€Å"In choosing either to pay a dividend to stockholders or to reinvest the funds in the company, management’s first consideration is whether the firm will be able to earn a higher return for the stockholders† (Block & Hirt, pg. 547). When deciding on a dividend policy the stockholders preference must be considered. The stockholder may or may not want to receive dividends and may only have concern with the value of their investment at relinquishment time. If expanding a business the dividends that are normally sent out will possibly be lower to help cover the cost of expanding. The expansion may also cause the dividends to increase. Some investors care about he future earnings and the increase that may occur because of the expansion and earnings increase. Characteristics and Costs of Debt and Equity Instruments The purchasers of equity instruments have the rights to vote on issues, gain ownership and future earnings of the business. Examples of equity instruments are common stock, preferred stock and retained earnings. Ask Dr Econ, 2008) Common stock is a form of equity instruments, advantages are the common stockholders will share in the company’s profitability, does not have to repay investment, dividends, and the votes can influence management. The disadvantages of common stock, the vote may dilute the management’s interest in the corporation’s growth, and the non-management stockholders can increase in the vot ing power, and the maximum risk falls on the investor. (Raymond, 2002) The cost of common equity is important as â€Å"the ultimate ownership of the firm resides in common stock† (Block & Hirt, 2005). The cost of issuing new common stock is expressed as: Kn = D1 / (Po – F) + g D1 = First year common dividend, Po = Price of common stock, F = Flotation selling costs, g = Constant growth rate in earnings (Block & Hirt, 2005) Preferred stock is another form of equity instruments, advantages are stocks offers stipulated dividend on an annual or semi-annual basis, preference rights over common stock and dividend payments and liquidating distributions. The dividends can accrue at a certain rate and paid on a cumulative basis. The disadvantage â€Å"includes a subordination of dividends to be paid on common stock and limitations on the use of corporate fund to the extent that pre-established dividend payments. † (Raymond, 2002) The cost of issuing new preferred stock is: Kp = Dp ( Pp – F) Where Dp = Preferred dividend, Pp = price of preferred stock, and F = Flotation selling costs. (Block & Hirt, 2005) Retained earnings are equivalent to â€Å"past and present earnings of the firm minus previously distributed dividends† (Block & Hirt, 2005). In order to convince shareholders that earnings will equal larger dividends and equity later, it is important to calculate the present value of projected future cash flow. The equation for cost of retained earnings is equivalent to the cost of existing common stock Ke = D1 / Po + g This can be used to reacquire outstanding treasury stock at market price. The cost of retained earnings does not include the flotation or sales cost associated with new issues of common or preferred stock. (Block & Hirt, 2005) Debt instruments are requires a fixed payment with interest, examples are bonds, government or corporation and mortgages. Ask Dr Econ, 2008) Bondholders do not gain ownership, paid before other expenses, less risky and not entitle to future profits in the business. (Raymond, 2002). Disadvantages include potential restrictions on operations, limitations on the use of working capital† (Raymond, 2002). Bond financing includes the zero-coupon rate bond and the floating rate bond. T he cost of debt is measured by the after-tax cost of debt and must be calculated as follows: Kd = Yield (1 – t) where Yield = yield to maturity and t = tax rate The yield to maturity of a bond is dependent on a number of variables: annual interest payment, principal payment, bond price and years to maturity. The yield to maturity for a bond can be calculated using a bond table, or using the equation below: Y' = annual interest payment + (principal payment – bond price) / years to maturity) (Block & Hirt, 2005) Evaluation of Long-Term Financing Alternatives Organizations have several opportunities for  alternative long-term financing to help the organization expand and grow, raise capital depleted by inflation and to supplement insufficient funds generated internally by the organization. Debts for organizations have risen over the past three decades. Organizations are faced with the task of continuing to raise capital to cover the organization’s debts. Organizations can use bonds, stocks, leasing and other options as options for long-term financing Bonds Most large organizations use corporate bonds for long-term financing. â€Å"The bond agreement specifies such basic items as the par value, the coupon rate, and the maturity date† (Block & Hirt, 2005). The initial value of a bond is the bond’s par value or face value. The interest rate on the bond is the coupon rate. The fluctuation of interest rates in the market affect the coupon rate of the bond after the bond has been issued. The ending date in which repayment of the principal of the bond is due is the maturity date. The bond agreement or indenture is the legal document that covers the bond from issuance to repayment. Organizations can put up a secured bond offering such as a mortgage agreement, where specific assets are promised to bondholders should they default on the bond or choose an unsecured, or debenture bond offering which doesn’t specify a specific asset. Stocks Common stock is on way an organization can secure long-term equity financing. Common stock is issued at a price per share to relatives, friends and investors. The funds are used by the organization to help the organization grow. The organization can issued to stockholders as dividends to show a payback on the capital investment. The remaining funds after the organization pays out dividends become retained earnings for the organization and are reinvested back into the organization. Individuals who have ownership in the organization can hold preferred stock. Preferred stock holders are repaid first should the organization file for bankruptcy. Leasing Organizations can lease assets instead of financing them. Leasing can give an organization that is short on funds or is not credit worthy enough to borrow funds a way to obtain assets. Leasing an asset is generally more expensive than purchasing the asset. By leasing assets, the organization reduces cash outflow so they can use those funds for other ventures. Organizations can lease assets such as furniture, equipment and land. The organization can choose a Capital Lease agreement where the organization purchases the asset at the end of the lease period. Organizations in a higher tax bracket can take advantage of a depreciation write-off tax advantage by purchasing an asset and leasing the asset to another organization in a lower tax bracket. Other Alternatives Organizations can use Factoring to borrow capital. The factor generally charges higher interest rates than banks. Factors generally review credit history, but the organization may still be able to borrow due to the quality of the organization’s collateral rather than their project projections. Conclusion Expanding a company can be a big step and many plans must be laid out and consider before the final decision can be made. Cost is the biggest factor that must be considered when expanding. The second factor to consider is who or how the cost is going to be covered. Most companies consider there finance options. Financing option that should be considered include taking on more debt, issuing bonds, and selling stock. With these options the interest rate, the selling price of the stock and how much of the company they would like to give up all must be considered when choosing an option. The better option would be to do a mix of all of the financing options to keep the balance sheet leveled, and the company in good financial standing. References Ask Dr Econ. (2008) † Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco:What are the differences between debt and equity markets? † Retrieved October 31, 2008 from http://www. frbsf. org/education/activities/drecon/answerxml. cfm? selectedurl=/2005/0510. html Block, S. B. , & Hirt, G. A. , (2005). Foundations of Financial Management (11th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. Capital Asset Pricing Model, (2008). Retrieved October 31, 2008, from http://www. moneychimp. com/glossary/capm/htm. Capital Asset Pricing Model

How does Mackay express his feelings for the two cultures he belongs to?

Claude Mckay was brought up in Jamaica and moved in the to New York in the 1930s. This was during America's post-economical depression, which meant getting enough money or getting enough money was a very big struggle. It was even a bigger struggle for him to get a good job as an immigrant worker, so he had to settle for menial jobs. Although there was not formal and legal ‘segregation' between black and white as there was in the South, there were areas for only blacks or only whites and prejudice was rife. Mckay became a political and social activist for human rights. In his poems, he evokes a strong sense of his homeland in order to assert the power of its beauty, to seek comfort in the emotional and spiritual warmth he remembers about the place. I SHALL RETURN The title ‘I shall return' suggests a sense of homesickness and emphasises his determination to go back. The title is a definite statement which may suggest a sense of disappointment or frustration which is reminding him of how beautiful his homeland is. It can also be seen as a promise, as if he was promising himself a reward in order to carry on with life struggle with a purpose. He repeats the same statement, almost as if he was trying to memorize it: â€Å"I shall return to loiter. I shall return to fiddle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This helps to add a certain flow as the reader reads through the poem. It also makes the statement ‘I shall return' become more alive and more promising to come to pass. It could be seen as him making himself a purpose for carrying on with life. He uses colour to describe the images in his homeland: â€Å"†¦like brown blade†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"†¦the forest fires burn wafting their blue-black smoke to sapphire skies†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This allows the images to be physical and easier to picture. He probably used this technique to make the idea of his returning more realistic for him to be able to picture himself there. He stresses on how much he misses his homeland, even its disadvantages by beautifying them: â€Å"†¦at golden noon the forest fires burn wafting†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He uses this to show that his homeland's bad views can be looked upon as exhibitions. This help to promote the idea of his returning even besides the negative aspects. He uses metaphors to describe his feelings for the New York: â€Å"†¦to ease my mind off long, long years of pain†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This technique portrays his feelings for New York in a way the reader can relate to. The structure of the text has a tremendous significance as it echoes the pattern of thoughts and feelings of the writer. It heads the reader to understand the message. The poem is written in a sonnet, which is important as a sonnet consists of two stanzas; an octave and a Sestet. The octave involves talking about the problems being faced, whilst the Sestet is about finding a solution to the problem: â€Å"I shall return again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  So in ‘I shall return' he uses the idea of returning to his homeland as a solution to his problem. THE TROPICS OF NEW YORK The title ‘The tropics of New York' suggests McKay evolving New York and turning it into his homeland. It could be said that he was missing home so much that he was starting to see visions of his homeland in New York. The title can also suggest Mckay getting used to the Yankees style of life and him finding positive aspects of their culture. He uses repetition and makes the rhythm comparable to that of an excited child at Christmas: â€Å"Bananas ripe and green and ginger-roots†¦and pears†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He uses this technique to illustrate the joy he had when he saw these fruits and vegetables. The excitement of the tone is only because the fruit reminds him of his homeland which just goes to show of how much he misses the place. In The Tropics of New York, he uses religious vocabulary to describe the landscape of his homeland: â€Å"†¦mystical blue skies. In benediction over nun-like hill†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He gives the landscape a significance, which suggests that he adores it. It also adds a sense of silence and peace to the landscape. He uses alliteration to describe his memories of his memories: â€Å"†¦of fruit trees laden by low †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"†¦and dewy dawn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This helps slow the pace down to help him emphasis the beauty of his homeland. It also adds a gentle sound and some resonance, which helps to produce a visual image of calm beauty. As these were memories, the qualities could not have been present in New York. He evolves senses in order to separate the three stanzas. In the first stanza, he uses the sense of taste and tells of the food he saw. He uses sight in the second stanza to describe what he was seeing and the sense of feeling in the third in order to show his emotions. This allows the reader to picture New York from different points of view. It also helps to convey his emotions in a way that the reader could relate to. He uses archaic syntax in the beginning of the third stanza to describe his emotions after seeing these fruits: â€Å"†¦I could no more gaze†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This helps to lead the calmness of the stanza. The calmness of the stanza can help evaluate how emotionally touched he was to see these fruits as he probably last saw them a long time ago. He uses a metaphor to describe how he misses his old homeland: â€Å"†¦hungry for the old familiar ways†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The metaphor signals a change from physical longing to emotional and spiritual longing. It shows of how desperate he is to go back to his country. Mckay uses a regular rhythm scheme (a/b/a/b). This helps to contain the emotion. The structure of the poem mirrors the process of seeing the fruit and wanting to eat it, whilst visualising the country it comes from to the spiritual way of life in that place. In conclusion, I found out that Mckay uses both poems to illustrate his feelings towards both places uses techniques such as alliteration, narrative voice, metaphors, vocabulary, structure of the poems etc. His overall feeling is that he misses home and has a great desire to return. He feels living in New York is very painful and he does not seem to want to get use to the its lifestyle: â€Å"†¦hungry for the old familiar ways†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Adv Top in Enterprise Analysis Essay

1. What is the main thrust of the strategy that AOL has been pursuing? In 1999, the major problem facing the â€Å"AOL Anywhere† strategy was how high-speed, broadband technologies would impact the company’s future growth. If AOL were to remain dominant against its competitors, it, too, would have to offer broadband access. Indeed, the emergence of broadband was the motivation behind the AOL/Time Warner merger, which was announced on January 10, 2000. The merged company became a formidable presence in the Internet, media, and entertainment fields. 2. What appear to be the strengths of this strategy? Do you think AOL’s strategy is proactive or reactive, and why? One of the strengths of the strategy is that the company was able to expand into the next level of the media venues that the world was achieving. The strategy was a reactive one, AOL needed to make major changes to adapt the new technologies in the new worldly age. 3. Telecommunication capacities are doubling every six months. What are the implications of this for AOL’s strategy? What are the implications of this for IT and other functional managers in most firms today? The merger for AOL did cause some implications for the company, one was expense, AOL would have needed to hire new employees that were skilled in the new areas of the company and create a new division for the company to keep and manage the new areas. 4. Research reveals that office automation as an issue has been declining in importance for IT executives. What might this mean in terms of strategic information systems? Strategic information systems (SIS) are information systems whose unique functions or specific applications shape an organization’s competitive strategy and provide it with competitive advantage. Office automation in the IT system is not an easy accomplishment, systems are used constancy with no breaks by far more personal across a company, the process needs to be monitored and watch. 5. The six strategic thrusts we presented are not mutually exclusive. Discuss the implications of this fact. * Differentiation, Cost, Innovation, Growth, Alliance and Time these six strategies have their good and bad aspects for the company. The good points are that the strategies can help the company meet its goals; the bad points are working against the company if the goals are not meet in their set dates and times. 6. De-regulation has encouraged new entrants into the airline industry. Given the enormous advantages of competitors who own reservation systems, how can new entrants overcome barriers to entry? By sharing the technology with other companies who wanted to be in the airline business, Sable shared the technology for the reservation system. They also became the company that managed, updated and maintained new technologies for the system. 7. Discuss the role that IT managers play within a firm as it seeks to improve its competitive posture. What contributions can they make, and in what areas must they take the lead? IT manager keep their departments in the lead by including all department from IT as well as other areas from within the company. They will also attend seminars for new technologies that are coming out onto the market, I know in previous companies that the managers would attend these seminars for this very purpose, they also will upgrade their systems such as workstations every three years and major server systems every 5 – 10 years depending on its rate of use by the company. These timelines will usually keep the company in the completive edge since they will need to know what other companies are using and if they are happy with the technology. 8. What are the implications of new wireless technology such as Satellite TV, Web-enabled cell phones, and other handheld devices to the financial industry? One such implication is that new technologies are a risk for any company to take, especially early on in the development and test stages. Apple for instance knows this very well, The took a chance when they introduced the iPhone to the world. They could have had a disaster on their hands if they had not played the part correctly. 9. Discuss the importance of telecommunications to the Federal Express’ strategy. Telecommunications in the federal express industry is very important, it has allowed the industry to have the companies and the customers to work together and make the ability more efficient. Telecommunications systems enhance information flow between organizational entities, bridging the gap in space and time. 10. What is the significance of new economy e-business systems? Give some examples of the impact of telecommunications on internal business systems. Although expensive, the importance has provided the companies that use the internet for some of the services are more attractive to customers. Some of the features enabled the customers to make orders and ship their packages themselves online, this helps the company with scheduling because then they can determine a particular place and time for the customer to bring the packages to them to be processed. 11. How might firms seeking international competitive advantage rely on information technology? What strategic thrusts might they employ? Recognizing the immense importance of e-business, many firms are rapidly building infrastructures, re-engineering business practices, and developing partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and others as they adopt new technology. Case Study 2 1. Use on-line library databases to identify articles in trade publications that provide case studies of ERP implementations. These articles may provide some insight into each of these questions: a. How widespread is the use of ERP across certain industries? ERP systems help organizations deal with the supply chain, receiving, inventory management, customer order management, production planning, shipping, accounting, human resource management, and other business functions. b. What are the benefits reported from implementing ERP? Organizations have a business justification for implementing ERP systems. The business benefits of ERP include improved accessibility of information; real time access to data benefits the organization, improved cycle time for orders, decreased financial close time, and reduced operating costs, and lowered inventory levels. c. What are its limitations? One of the limitations is time, most ERP plans need years to full implement and show the true level of success. 2. Research and learn about the implementation of ERP. Use trade publications and on-line library databases (e.g., ABI Inform, ProQuest, First Search, Wilson Select Plus, available through your library) to conduct a search for articles. d. Find a success story of ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the success of this implementation? Some of successes in the case studies that I read have to do with the proper planning and the timeline goals of the business plan. e. Find a story of problems encountered with an ERP implementation. What factors contributed to the encountered obstacles? One common factor that I notice was the human obstacle, companies needed to rely on a good staff to make the company run smoothly and grow. The ERP implementation time line takes years to complete, and as long as the company has the staff it does succeed.

Voc wk 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Voc wk 7 - Essay Example In these cases, the consultant is looked at as an expert. The career coach seems to expand the role of the career counselor by combining several types of consulting processes. Career coaches put themselves in mentoring roles with their clients and they seem to be more business oriented. Some of the things that career coaches do is guide a client towards making better career goals, help them create strategies to make more money and make them more valuable to their boss (Simpson, 2006). In using these models with clients, I would concentrate on helping my clients identify their strengths and weaknesses using career coaching. This would help the client take more control of their own career needs. As a consultant, I would work with groups rather than individuals because it seems that groups and organizations are more conducive to consulting. When comparing the roles of a career counselor in consulting, coaching, and supervision, there are many distinctive similarities and differences. The focus of these three is similar in that they all work with people. With consulting and coaching, the client is more important. In supervision, the focus is on the counselor and their performance. In consulting, the focus is on developing a plan that will help the clients personal functioning. Coaching is more action oriented than the other two and is focused on specific interventions for specific clients. The goals of the three roles are to provide feedback in some way. As a consultant, the role is to "advise and educate" (Simpson, 2006, p. 247) the consultee. In coaching, the coach engages actively with the client to identify their skills, goals, and talents to show them how to maximize their potential. In supervision, the supervisor provides feedback to the counselor to help them improve their skills to better serve their clients (Simpson, 2006). When looking at the examples, both consulting and coaching worked directly with professional clients who wanted to

Bojangles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bojangles - Essay Example Here in this place, his tap lessons were learned and became 'Bojangles'. In this particular place, he learned the ways to earn a living through dancing and entertaining in local beer gardens, worked as bootblack and danced in public passing a hat around. Here in this place, he experienced maturity against life's challenges which gave him the courage to go and explore possibilities. At age 12, he left Richmond and rode a freight train to Washington, DC. Starting his journey of self-sufficiency as race track worker, Robinson took the road in hard work. After the first taste of professional show business gig in The South before the War and enlisting himself during World War I serving as the drum major of the 369th Infantry Regiment, the so-called "Harlem Hellfighters.", Robinson was determined to be a performer. This foot-work driven undaunted by the then racial discrimination managed to catch the limelight of entertainment amidst the world of white racial dominance in New York City. Among his achievements, he became George W. Cooper's foil, became solo performer and became famous for his debut tap stair dance. To become a show headliner, some of his gimmicks planned together with his manager Marty Forkins include setting a world's record in the backwards 75-yard dash (in 8.2 seconds) beating athletes and won sports world attention. He was offered Broadway shows and was able to enrapture the audience with his performance. Such kind of performance even made its way to New York's 1939 World's Fair. His entertainment skills also provided him the means to invade film industry with the movie phenomenon Shirley Temple. Having grown in poor conditions but managed to live decently, Robinson was able to earn his living using his talents of entertainment, a skill he learned in his childhood. Having known poverty, he was kind hearted and had lived generously both in spending, gambling and in charity works. He was known to donate in kind and in deeds to several organizations and foundations and also in Richmond. His gambling addiction and unsystematic charity works were said to drain his wealth such that he died poor despite of his million dollars earnings during his more than fifty-year show business career. His interests in this lavish spending and gambling episodes can be traced back to the time when he was just a boy earning his penny and spending his time in corner streets. Though a compulsive gambler, he did not drink. Robinson's tasteful dressing was also one of the most notable characteristic. In his sixties, Robinson was far from a kid who tap danced to earn pennies; he had achieved wealth and fame in a racist society. Instead of opting for retirement he continued to perform. He lived a principle of hardwork in his performances, "what success I achieved in the theater is due to the fact that I have always worked just as hard when there were ten people in the house as when there were thousands. Just as hard in Springfield, Illinois, as on Broadway" to quote him. The circumstance in which he was forced into retirement even culminates in his major benefit for the American Heart Association, held at the Copacabana, in New York City, a month before his seventieth birthday. After doing extra, more vigorous steps than the standard routine, he suffered a massive heart attack backstage.

Jane Goodall What Separates Us from the Apes Movie Review

Jane Goodall What Separates Us from the Apes - Movie Review Example They also had feathers in their headdresses. Noteworthy is that these humans fought to keep their way of life. They protected their uncontaminated land and maintained their culture. Surprisingly, they were enthusiastic to acquire knowledge of new things including the use of computers and solar panels to pump water up to the villages. Goodall’s findings were innovative than any other form of research on humans and apes. According to Goodall, both chimpanzee and humans can use technology. The local tribe in Ecuador struggles to keep up with the new technology (Goodall 1). This is depicted form the chief with his headdress using a laptop. The same technology is applicable in educating non-human animals. This is evident in the case of Ai that shows fascination with her laptop. Whenever Ai had an awful score, she immediately starts again and tries. Similarly, this is a major character among humans. Humans tend to repeat things over again when they make mistakes. According to Goodall’s findings, chimpanzees can adapt to the culture of using technology similar to the tribes in Ecuador forests. Ai is a chimpanzee that can use a computer, for instance. Humans use language to communicate. Language use, however, varies from Japanese, English and Chinese among other groups. Similarly, the chimpanzees also have their own language used for communication. For instance, they salute each other using particular signs. Chimpanzees, therefore, use sign language like human beings (Goodall 1). Humans in Ecuador have devices that simplify their work and make it easy. They use the solar panel to pump water to their homes, for example. This eases work for women since they do not have to fetch water manually. The chimpanzees’ also have their own way to ease work. Notably, chimpanzees use grass to aid in pulling insect from the holes before they feed on them. Besides their linkages, Goodall notes one major difference

Employee Assistance Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Employee Assistance Programs - Essay Example Employee Assistance Programs can be categorized into five types which can be referred to as full service, peer-assisted, integrated, compliance, and wrap-around versions. A Full-Service EAP, as the term implies, provides a wide array of programs that are internally staffed, well-financed and entails a management support system. It likely provides on-site counseling services and takes a proactive role in managing critical employment issues such as debriefing the staff following unforeseen incidents and preparing the staff both economically and psychologically prior to changes in their job status which could include coping with a planned layoffs due to corporate downsizing. Full-service EAP’s constantly review the employee’s needs at a particular company and develop services to meet the demands. As a result, many programs include disability, financial, legal and sexually transmitted disease counseling in addition to child and elderly parent care assistance for employees. The program is managed by an outside firm such as Value Behavioral Health or Ceridian which performs these services and offers many types of employee assistance packages. Though the full-service programs are a costly up-front expense for the employer, currently in the $50 per-employee per-year range, the long-term savings resulting from a full-service EAP makes it a sound investment for the future. Peer-assisted Peer-assisted EAP’s often are implemented for employees that do not have access to a formal EAP service.

Are banks losing their traditional role Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Are banks losing their traditional role - Essay Example However, over the last few years, banking has changed radically and is expected to continue changing in a foreseeable future. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the principal functions of banks, the emerging challenges and the impact of market and global dynamism on the future of banks and banking institutions. The types of institutions performing banking business have been changing. Banks seem to be foregoing their traditional role. In many countries, the income coming off-balance sheet exceeds the income coming from the traditional intermediary roles in finances. Banks have become financial services organizations. The actual role of banks is increasingly becoming ambiguous since it is no longer clear what banks are or the details of the businesses they conduct. The actual definition of a bank seems to be missing. This has caused banks to be under intensive regulations compared to many financial institutions. Banks the world over are experiencing formidable challenges. Banking institutions have been losing their past monopolies and perceived comparative advantages. These attributes have underpinned the dominant positions taken by the banks in the financial systems. Banks are increasingly facing stiff competition from potential or actual suppliers of banking services (Fredrick 2005). Some of these include non-financial institutions of banking, capital markets, non-banking institutions of finances and money markets. The entry of electronic banking has caused the retail banking markets to become relatively closed (Skinner 2007). This has made it difficult for the foreign banks to enter into such markets. In other cases, the corporate clients are considering having in-house banks. Under this initiative, the banking operations are conducted through internalized banking operations. This is forcing banks to shed staff and closed down branches. The entry of new technologies and alternative means of banking services delivery is pushing banks to the reconsider rest ructuring to meet the demands of the dynamic nature of the market (Skinner 2007). Banks have been squeezed by inroads affecting their conventional businesses and ever growing competition, banks are swiftly expanding to unit trusts, insurance and life insurance sectors (King 2010). As these trends emerge, banking institutions have been coerced to conduct major structural changes in their mode of operations. Major structural changes have been emerging in the financial systems. There has been a push to increase the strength of institutions that deal with saving and investment businesses (Gap 2003). These institutions have a growing role in the modern financial systems. At the same time, the financial markets have been experiencing extreme dynamism. The world is having complex financial instruments and globalised financial markets. The role of the managers of institutional funds has been on the rise in the financial markets (Skinner 2007). The traditional distinctions between financial institutions have been gradually eroded. New financial suppliers have been entering the markets at an increasing rate. There seems to be a declining share of bank loans in the corporate sector borrowing (Skinner 2007). The money markets mutual funds have experienced tremendous growth. The business of the corporate lending has been steadily declining which the financial mar

Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Strategy - Essay Example Most women live on the shadow of what really is the truth about mammography. They should be taught about the whole process and the outcomes of it. They should know that early detection of cancer can be very helpful in the treatment process. The second strategy should be reduction of the cost of acquiring screen mammograms. It is very expensive; most women can’t afford the screening process due to their financial nature. Even after the screening, the treatment itself is still so expensive. The team should get some donors to support the whole process in the low-income regions. The final strategy is to make the mammography always available in the region. The once in a while program is not helpful due to the undecided nature of the locals. If the program is made available, and a proper teaching process is conducted, the long run effect may see even the hard hearted women accepting to undergo the mammography (Nielsen, 2011) The understanding of the underlying social problems would ease the planning process. It would point out the reasons why women have low turnout for the mammography. For example, if it is a financial problem, the team would try to find a way before starting the program to remove the burden of high costs to the region. The understanding of the region is greatly helpful to the team. They would be ready for any problem which arises socially in the process of executing the program (Nick,

Organizational Intelligence Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Intelligence Policy - Essay Example To remain competitive and afloat in such a business environment, computer and information technology organizations must embark on the search for revolutionary and forward-looking techniques not only for creating but also for collecting, storing, capturing, organizing, managing, and distributing data/knowledge through its structure. Importantly, these techniques should allow for the easy and effective retrieval of needed information at the convenient moments (Ali et al., 2007). Organizations must however appreciate the level and nature of skills and competence required to develop and apply such knowledge and data management practices and techniques. Besides the need for IT and computer system executives, managers, systems analysts to be skilled and possess the competitive edge to perform the above functions and realize their data-related objectives, it is important that effective and elaborate Intelligence Organization policies are developed to ensure processes related to data collect ion, database systems’ security measures, data storage, diverse knowledge availability, information update, data-based decision-making processes, and data management training are not only relevant but also effective and support the attainment of organizational and personal growth among employees (Ali et al., 2007). ... Organizational intelligence Policy Organizational Intelligence refers to the capacity and the ability of an organization to utilize various methodologies, concepts, techniques, and tools to achieve information or knowledge-related functions and processes, including data collection, database systems’ security measures, data storage, diverse knowledge availability, information update, data-based decision-making processes, and data management training (James, 1999). A sound Organizational Intelligence policy should, of most importance, outline the purposes for which the OI has been developed. First, an Organizational Intelligence policy should ensure that an organization comprehends and makes productive conclusions from all the knowledge/information relevant to its operations and objectives (James, 1999). Second, an IO should outline an organization’s abilities to use knowledge, data/information to create sense out of complex business situations, prompting employees and ma nagers to act appropriately, maximizing on the opportunities presented by immediate or past circumstances. Third, an OI policy should be helpful in highlighting an organization’s ability not only to interpret but also to act on relevant circumstances, signals, or events in its environment. Fourth, an Organization Intelligence policy should promote the development, sharing, and usage of all information and knowledge relevant to an organization’s purposes by the promotion of learning by experiences and exposures. Gathering Competition Intelligence As the IT and computer industry develops, it becomes necessary that organizations develop an OI policy that would ensure the above functions are developed towards the building of a stronger, more relevant, and equally competitive Organizational

Strengths and Opportunities of Walmart Essay Example for Free

Strengths and Opportunities of Walmart Essay Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart, is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the worlds third largest public corporation, the biggest private employer in the world with 2. 2 million employees and is the largest retailer in the world. Walmart is also one of the worlds most valuable companies. First of all, Walmart has good reputation for convenience and their low price strategy and these become their advantage to attract customers. Walmart reclaimed the top spot in the Fortune 500 in 2012 after slipping to No. last year. The retailer’s refocus on low prices continued to attract frugal shoppers into the discounters U. S. stores. Everyday Low Price (EDLP) is the cornerstone of the company strategy and their price focus has never been stronger. Today’s consumer seeks the convenience of one-stop shopping that they offer. From grocery and entertainment to sporting goods and crafts, Walmart provide the deep assortment that the customers appreciate. The company price investments across a broad assortment allow them to deliver a lower-priced market basket. Through Walmart’s localised and national market basket media campaigns, they show customers market by market that they are the low price leader on baskets of merchandise. In fiscal 2013, Walmart U. S. delivered a strong 1. 8 percent comp increase or an additional $4. 7 billion in comp store sales from last year. Net sales rose to $274. 5 billion, a 3. 9 percent increase and operating income grew by 5. 4 percent to $21. 5 billion. They are driving growth and meeting the customers’ needs by offering lower prices on a broad assortment of relevant merchandise. Each week, more than 245 million customers and members visit their 10,800 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. By offering everyday low prices on a broad merchandise assortment, the company builds customer trust and resonates with consumers globally. Besides that, Walmart also has some successful cost leadership strategies. The strategies are efficiency in operations and distribution strategies, efficiency in supply chain management and the strong bargaining power. For fficiency in operations and distribution strategies: the Organisation Development (OD) strategies have helped Walmart achieve low prices- Walmart opens the stores outside of large cities and within 200 miles of existing stores. By bunching stores together in small areas, distribution costs are below average. Moreover, Walmart seeks to meet different customers’ needs with four main distinct retail options; these include supercenters, discount stores, Sam’s Club, and neighborhood markets. For the efficiency in supply chain management: Walmart is incredibly successful in managing its supply chain. The company applies the most reliable supply chain management system which is very efficient because almost all product data can be tracked to and from the manufacturer, warehouse, and the store shelf. Efficiency in supply chain system may save Walmart several million dollars as it can prevent losses from faulty product management. For the strong bargaining power: Walmart buys its products at rock-bottom prices, exchanges high purchase volumes for low cost while passing the savings onto its customers. The bargaining power of suppliers is weak. Many suppliers even give in to Walmart’s pressure because they depend on the discount retailer for the majority of their sales. Obviously, suppliers would do what Walmart wanted them to do if they hoped to maintain their sales. The cost leadership strategy enables Walmart to offer products at low price points. The company offers its grocery products at prices about 12% lower than the market. This strategy ensures a steady, recurring stream of customers for its goods, making Walmart synonymous with inexpensive and this keeps constant pressure on competitors. In addition, Walmart also has a focused strategy in place for human resource management and development. The employees are the key to Walmarts business and they are willing to invest time and money in training and developing them. They believe that the success of the business model relies on entrepreneurial employees who desire to learn and grow within the industry. They invest in the training and development of each employee, offering equal opportunities for learning at all levels. Training and development of employees provides a competitive advantage, enabling continual improvement of performance across the whole organisation. The employees must develop the knowledge, skills and abilities to serve, support and sell within the operating framework of their division. Therefore, the company’s goal is to expose employees to training that is specific to their area of responsibility and provide opportunities for further learning and development for ongoing growth within the organisation. Opportunities Retail market growth in Walmart’s emerging markets gives an opportunity to the company. Retail markets grew by at least 5% on average in emerging markets in the last year, opening huge opportunities for Walmart’s revenue growth. The business currently operates in Brazil, Mexico, China and India markets. Since 2008 to 2012, the number of international locations has nearly doubled. Walmart International serves more than 105 million customers per week in 26 countries. The company’s portfolio provides a balance of growth with improved profitability and higher returns. In fiscal 2013, Walmart International contributed almost 30 percent of the company’s net sales, with an increase of 7. 4 percent from the prior year to $135. 2 billion. Besides that, the company operating income also grew 8. percent to $6. 7 billion. Walmart ended the year with 497 more new stores, totalling approximately 19 million square feet. As the largest retailer in the world, the retail market growth in its emerging markets has given Walmart a new reason to be successful. Another opportunity for Walmart is the concentration on grocery and food trends continue to grow. The perception that home-prepared foods are much healthier and an unmet desire to enjoy affordable, restaurant-type food at home have given food marketers the opportunity to recapture mealtime. The current trend of eating healthier food has resulted in higher demand for grocery products. Walmart’s largest part of the overall business food and grocery had successfully continued to gain share from the market from this trend. As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has an opportunity to expand its grocery stores to earn more income from this trend. Besides that, the significant growth in the online grocery shopping has given an advantage to Walmart as Walmart had started to offer the customers the option to shop online using mobile devices since the year 2000. A 2012 Nielsen survey of consumers in 56 countries uncovered some fascinating insights on this trend. The number of people stating that they intend to buy food and beverages online grew 44% over the last two years and 26% of global respondents say they plan to purchase food and beverage products through an online connected device in the next three to six months. In addition, Online grocery sales are also expected to increase 9. 5 percent annually to become a $9. 4 billion industry in 2017, according to data from IBISWorld. The service fulfilled the customer desire for quick, easy, cost-efficient grocery shopping. Walmart is trying to expand their e-commerce operations with several tactics. One success of the company is the new search engine for walmart. com which delivers more relevant results to online shoppers and led to increased sales conversions. They are also testing some great innovations, such as same-day delivery of purchases from the company’s U. S. website. The company just expanded mobile self-checkout through their Scan and Goâ„ ¢ app. They have also launched a multi-year process to build the next generation global technology platform. Moreover, Walmart had also carried out many projects which will boost the companys public image. In the year 2012, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation’s charitable contributions surpassed $1 billion in cash and in-kind donations to positively impact local communities around the globe. This includes $1 billion in cash and in-kind gifts in the United States and $82. 2 million in cash and in-kind gifts in international markets. In addition, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Logistics employees volunteered more than 2. million hours, generating $18 million to U. S. nonprofits. At 20 June 2013, the Walmart Foundation announced $14 million in grants to provide more than 1. 7 million children and families with free meals and nutrition education programs. The grants will expand access to meals for children outside of school this summer and throughout the year, while also teaching families how to develop healthy, low-cost eating habits. Ethical sourcing is also practiced by the company. The foundation of Walmart’s business has always centered on helping people live better. This mission applies not only to their customers but also to the workers who make the products. The company collaborate with other retailers, brands, NGOs and government leaders to verify the products they sell are produced in a way that provides dignity and respect for workers in their supply chain. As the world’s largest retailer, they strive to positively influence global supply chain practices by raising their own standards and improving working conditions in the countries from which they source. These projects had successfully increased the company’s public image and community relations.

Tensions in Colonial Society Essay Example for Free

Tensions in Colonial Society Essay Both the Bacon Rebellion and the Pueblo revolt were ignited by the mounting apprehension of preserving safety and a way of life as white settlers and Native Americans come together on the same land. Because European settlers were trying to settle on land already occupied by Indians, many conflicts arose. For many white settlers, as was the case in the Bacon Rebellion, the clash of the two races caused an uneasy apprehension. The white settlers felt threatened by the Native Americans, and, as a result, resorted to unnecessary violence. In the Bacon Rebellion, this ongoing tension caused farmers to kill many Indians, even friendly ones. For many Native Americans the clash of the two races resulted in tension as the white settlers tried to change the Indian way of life. This was true of the Pueblo Indians in present day New Mexico who felt threatened by the Spanish because they were trying to impose an unfamiliar, Christian life on the Indians. With both groups we see a common tension: people are feeling threatened as a result of Native Americans and hite settler interaction. As with these uprisings, tension created by Indian/colonist interaction in colonial America often erupted into violence and rebellions. While the Pueblo revolt was mainly the result of Indian/Colonist conflict, the Bacon rebellion had many more aspects to it. The Bacon rebellion was inpart fueled by the strain between the most elite Americans and everyone else. For Bacon and his friends, who were upper-class Englishmen who came to America, the tension came rom resentment toward the Virginia elite for not including them. For the farmers, it was the belief that the elite government did not understand or sympathize with the danger Indians posed to farmers. When the two groups teamed up to fight out the tension against the elite, many Indians and innocent colonists were killed and injured. The deaths occurred when colonists vented their frustrations by taking matters into their own hands against the Indians and, later, fighting against the litists. The Bacon rebellion started because of uneasiness about the Indian situation, but it ended as a full on war with the elites. It was this end that reflects the growing tension between the elite and the common people of American colonial society. Colonial society in America was a new frontier for those that settled there. As with anything new, problems and tensions arose and these growing tensions were reflected in uprisings, such as Bacons Rebellion and the Pueblo Revolt. One of the ain tensions of colonial America was the result of two very different cultures, the Indians and the Colonists, wing for survival in this new situation. Other tensions arose when tight knit elitist groups excluded and disregarded the well being of others. Tensions between races and different social classes werent new to history. Nevertheless, their ubiquitous quality does not make them any less significant, nor did it help the colonists when the tensions exploded into Bacons Rebellion and the Pueblo revolt.

Software Engineering Ambiguities And Omission Computer Science Essay

Software Engineering Ambiguities And Omission Computer Science Essay Ambiguities and omission are statement that can be explained in number of ways. For example, the following statement is ambiguous. The operator identity consists of the operator name and password; the password consists of six digits. It should be displayed on the security vdu and deposited in the login file when an operator logs into the system. According to the question there are so many ambiguities and omission can be found in the given scenario. The main ambiguities and omission includes in given scenario as follows: The structured approach described in study text can be dividing as follows: Preface, introduction, glossary, user requirement definition, system architecture, system requirements specification, system models, system evolution, appendices, and index. The first category of structured approach is preface. In this stage should define the expected readership of the document and describe its version history, including a rationale for the creation of a new version and a summery of the changes made in each version.  [2]  In the second stage of structured approach is the introduction. In this stage this should describe the need for the system. There should be a brief explanation about its functions and will it works with other systems.Acooding to the given scenario the ticket machine is made for perches rail ticket quickly rather than waiting in the que to perches rail ticket. When the user enters the start button he can chooses the destination. After selecting the destination user can se e the availability of trains ,train time, what kind of trains available(slow or fast,overground or underground train).When the customer chooses the destination,train,and the time user can purchases the rail ticket by paying card or cash. In the next stage of the structured approach which is user requirement definition, needs to define the services provide for the user. User requirements can be explained as follows: When user enters the start button he should abele to see the destinations. When the destination chooses he should be abele to see the train time and the ticket price. If the customer confirms the selected destination he should be abele to pay by card or cash. If the customer wants purchases more than one ticket their should be a option to select the numbers of ticket .After that customer should abele to chooses the payment method (cash or card).If the customer user wants to pay by card he should abele to input the card. After input the card if the user change his mind and wants to pay by cash there must be option to cancel the payment method as a card and choose the payment method as cash. If the customer paid by cash change and receipt must be given. The next stage of structured approach involves to given scenario is system requirement specification. This should explain about the functional and non functional requirement s in detail. According to the system requirement the system should be able to display the destination when the user selects the start button. When the customer chooses the destination system should be abele to display the availability of trains, time.and price. If there are no trains for chosen time system should be abele to display the alternatives (eg; replacement bus services). When the customer selects the train the system should be abele display the payment method (cash or card).According to the scenario user can only pay by credit card or cash, but the system should be able to take debit cards as well. Because most people use r debit cards more than credit cards).If the user input a card before choosing the payment method or input a invalid card system should abele to displays the error massage. If user has been paid by cash system should able to gives the change back. After purchasing rail ticket by card or cash, the system should able to print the valid ticket to chosen destination and abele to provide the receipt for the payment which has been done? The next stage of the structured approach is System models, which has been don in question (e.) .The last stage which involves to given scenario is system evolution. This refers to the fundamental assumptions on which the system is based and anticipated changes due to hardware evolution, changing user needs.etc..(Eg: if the user wants to purchases the ticket online at home he should be able to log in to the system and purchases the train ticket. (c.)Write the user requirements definitions. The user requirements for a system could be divided to functional and non functional requirements, because it helps to the user to understand the system without technical knowledge. User requirements are defined using natural language, tables and diagrams as these can be understood by all users. There are so many problems can be generated when requirements are written in natural language. Lack of clarity It is something difficult to use language in a precise and unambiguous way without making the document wordy and difficult to read. Requirements confusion- Functional requirements, non-functional requirements, system goals and design information may be clearly distinguished. Requirements amalgamation- Several different requirements may be expressed together as a single requirement User requirements can be defined as: the software must provide a means of representing and accessing external files created by other tools.  [3]  According to the above scenario user requirements can be explained as follows. When the user presses the start button he should be able to choose the options (For example customer selecting a specific destination, the destination is in which zone, etc) When the customer chooses the destination user should be able to find out the train times and what kinds of trains (fast train or slow train, underground train or over ground train) are available for that time. If trains are not available or delays at that time user should be able to find out the alternatives such as when is the next train available?, Is there any replacement bus service available?, etc.. After choosing the destination, train and the train time, user should able to see the ticket price. User should able to choose the payment method (card payment or cash payment) to purchases the rail-ticket. If the user wants to pay by cash he should able to enter the cash and confirms the cash payment. After confirming the cash payment, rail ticket should be printed and receipt for the payment and change needs to be given. If the user wants to pay by card he should able to input the credit card or debit card and enter the validation pin. User should be able to get the rail ticket and the receipt after payment has been made. (d.)Write the system requirements specifications. System requirements are expanded versions of the user requirements that used by software engineers as the starting point of the system design.  [4]  Normally they add details and explain how the user requirements should be provided by the system. According to the given scenario software requirements can be highlight as follows: When the user enters the start button the system should be able display the destinations. When customer chooses the destination the system should be displayed the train availability, what kind of trains available (fast, slow train or over ground, underground) of chosen destination and the departures time. If there are no trains available at that time the system should able display saying that there are no trains available at chosen time enter the more option button to check the alternatives. When the alternatives selects system should be abele to display the alternatives(eg.take the replacement bus 472 towards London bride and take the northern line towards Morden -estimated time 1 hour and 32 minutes) If the trains available, after the choosing the destination and the departure time, the system should be able to display the ticket price for the all kinds of trains. For example if the user wants to take underground train within zone 1-6 the travel card will be  £6.30. When the customer selects the ticket type for the chosen destination the system should be able to display the payment method (pay by card or cash). If the customer chooses the payment method as cash system should display how much user needs to pay totally and also should display a massage saying input the cash for perches the ticket) When the customer input the cash the system should be able to charged exactly for the ticket price and change need to be given. Because most of the time users do not keep exact amount for the ticket.mostely they keep  £10 or  £20 notes. If the customer chooses the payment method as card he should confirmed the payment method as card and needs to input the card. When the customer enters the pin the system should abele to verify the card and take the money from users account, but the card is invalid there should be a error massage should be displayed saying you have entered a invalid card please enter the valid card. I f the validation is successful system should de abele to charge from uses account and provide the receipt. (e.)Draw a sequence diagram showing the actions performed in the ticket-issuing system. You may make any reasonable assumptions about the system. Pay particular attention to specifying user errors. Sequance diagram (f.)Write a set of non-functional requirements setting out its expected reliability and its response time. Requirements that are not directly concerned with the specific functions delivered by the system known as none functional system requirements. None functional requirements are not only concern with the software system to be developed, some may concern with the process that should be used to develop the system. There are three non-functional requirements. They are Product Requirements: Which specify the behaviour of the product? Ex: how fast are the system executed and how much memory dose it requires? Speed can be measured by processed transaction, event response time and screen refresh time. Organisational Requirements: requirements driven by polices and procedures in the customers and developers organisation. Ex implementation requirements such as the programming language or design method used. External requirements: Requirements that are driven from factors external to the system and its development process. Also the time that the user take to get familiar with the system and number of help forums that are available, robustness of the system , how much time it take to restart the system in case of a failure occurred. Reliability that measures mean time to failure. Rate of failure accuracy availability and portability of unavailability. Portability of percentage is non-functional requirements that are important when designing a ticket issuing system. (g.)Develop a set of use-cases that could serve as a basis for understanding the requirements for ticket-issuing system. Use Case (h.)Briefly describe the requirements validation process. Discuss all the checks that you have to perform to validate the above requirements in ticket-issue system. Requirement validation concern with the specification of the system that customer wants is functioning according to the requirements. Requirement validation also examines the specification to ensure that all software requirements have been stated unambiguously; that inconsistence, omission and errors have been identified and correct them. Following checks have been carried out on requirements Availability checks Since this is a ticketing system that is used by public. There are multiple users with multiple requirements. Therefore the requirement validation should be favourable for all users. However some users may find there requirements are fulfilled and some may not. Consistency Checks There should be no contradictory constrains or descriptions of the system function. Completeness Checks To check all the requirements have been achieved Realism Checks Once the requirements being gathered it is important to check that the system can be implemented with the current technologies and also it is possible to finish the project with the given time period with the allocated budget. Verifiability To reduce the potential of dispute between customer and contractor, system requirements should always be written so that they are referable (i.)Create a semantic data model for the above scenario. Data model (j.)What is the impact if when the customer pays cash, he is allowed not to have the exact amount? According to the given scenario if the user pays by cash he needs to pay the exact amount. For example if the rail ticket is  £6.30 user must pay exactly  £6.30.Specialy the cities like London most people dont carry change with them they keep  £5,  £10 or  £20 notes. It is a user requirement to get the change back if the user inserts cash more than exact amount. System should abele to give the change back. However in the real life most of the ticket machines, if you put cash you get the change back.

Compare and contrast the ways In which Grace Nichols represents The Ess

Compare and contrast the ways In which Grace Nichols represents The theme of slavery in her poems I coming back and sugar cane. The two poems written by Grace Nichols are similar because both of them are about slavery. But they are very different in some ways like "I coming back" is about getting revenge and "sugar cane" is about the suffering of slaves. The styles of the poems are different from each other. This essay will try to explore these poems similarities and differences. The two poems content is different but their subject is the same. The subject is about slavery but they are written in different ways. "I coming back" is about a slave woman who want's to take revenge on her master while she is living and, when she Is dead by the help of her spirit or ghost. She wants to terrorise her master while she is living and haunt him with her spirit or ghost when she is dead. She is shown as a powerful figure that wants to take revenge on her master for treating her as a slave and an animal. She is very threatening against her master this is shown when she says "Bone in yuh throat And laugh in yuh skull I coming back." (L: 17-19) Only this sentence shows how threatening the poems could be. She has used many threatening phrases another one could be "Ball-a-fire A skinless higue I coming back." (L: 11-13) She is very repetitive on saying "I coming back." This could mean she is keen on getting revenge. "Sugar cane" describes the slave as a weak harmless person. Also in her poem she describes the kind of diseases the slave get and how. She also describes the slave as a person who can't control his life and is controlled by the master. In "sugar cane" the slave is shown as a weak pe... ...ole. "Some Creole expressions are vivid and concise and have no equivalent English." Grace Nichols said this in her introduction. She means that Creole is used for fierce things that is why it is more obvious in "I coming back" then "sugar cane." "I coming back" is more fierce than "sugar cane" that is why it is more obvious in "I coming back." Conclusion The poem has many differences and similarities although the same writer writes them. I think they are more differences than similarities. I think "I coming" is more alive and vivid of the two. "Sugar cane" is more descriptive but sad. "I coming back" is more revengeful and violent. "I coming back" is more repetitive and has limited number of lines per stanza and it uses more Creole. "Sugar cane" has more personification and it uses folklore characters. The contents of the poems are different.

The Five Themes Of Geography :: essays research papers fc

The Five Themes of Geography During the 1980's the United States showed unacceptably low test scores on simple Geographic tests. The point Committee on Geographic Education could only attribute these results to Geographic Illiteracy, not only on the part of the students, but more importantly on the educators themselves. By 1984 it had become inexplicably clear that immediate action must take place to counteract this ongoing problem in our educational institutions (Journal of Geography 89). In response, the Joint Committee on Geographic Education produced a landmark publication entitled "Guidelines for Geographic Education". This document contained a scope and sequence in Geography with suggested learning results for the nations primary and secondary school systems, as well as suggested educational strategies for analysis on the part of the students and teachers. Most importantly, this article provided the Five Fundamental Themes in Geography, which have evolved to become an integral element of social studies education, because they take the world of geographic study beyond the realm of basic memorization, and into a new plane of analysis and implementation. These five themes include location, place, human-environment interactions, movement, and regions. Location answers the question of "where?". If you plan to meet someone at a specific time, and a specific place, the question of "Where will you meet?" must first be answered. To resolve this situation, Geography employs Absolute Location, and Relative Location. Absolute Location applies a grid-matrix system to the earth's surface in the form of coordinates. These coordinates, longitude and latitude, allow geographers to pinpoint exact areas of the earth's surface, and other planetary bodies as well. If Geographers wish to apply satellite technology to observe an area of the earth's surface, coordinates are used to pinpoint an exact location. Relative Location answers the simple question of where you would meet a person. For example: "Let's meet at Martin Hall, the building next to the Library." But, relative location is much deeper than simple location. It also involves interdependence of a location based upon its resources, people, and environment. If one wishes to build a ski resort, the location of that resort must be relative with the environment of the location. It would be illogical, and non- profitable to build a ski resort in the Mojave desert. However, it would be logical to build a resort in the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Idaho, or Montana. Every area on the surface of the earth is defined by some type of characteristic. Siberia is known to be very cold, but also a part of the Soviet Union, a formerly communist country. Belize is known to be very warm, but it is

Weapons of War :: Essays Papers

Weapons of War â€Å"War on Iraq† and â€Å"sexual identity† showcase instructive new tactics for contemporary politics. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. In conventional warfare. The US military no longer needs nuclear weapons for its better-publicized outings when they’ve built a 10-ton conventional bomb and aren’t above firebombing civilian centers. At a moment when anti-militarist criticism had crystallized around activism against specialized forms of military machinery (the Bradley was too expensive, the School of the America’s too brutal, the nuke too indiscriminate), all such criticism can be blown with the broadcasted desert winds to the enemy and yanked on for leverage - thus permitting/demanding all the kinds of actions (with or without marked technologies) that were the initial object of criticism. Now it’s Iraq who has dangerous WMD’s, not the US (a country with a nuclear policy of first strike against non nuclear nations). What may once have been a criticism of military violence became one of the weapons themselves (Depleted Uranium Bullets, land mines, space weapons, ‘bunker-busters’), and now ‘we’ shall fight clean against an enemy who (gasp!) might not. Just as the crime becomes the criminal, Saddam becomes his weapons programs; he â€Å"is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction" (Bush). Programs that are mostly despicable because they aren’t supposed to have these weapons (according to international agreements, and sometimes early 90’s US mandates, to which, of course, US policy and rhetoric always shows such commitment). The trick is simultaneous with, and analogous to, the more obvious game of peace versus threat. â€Å"We are resolved today, to confront every threat, from any source, that could bring sudden terror and suffering to America† (Bush), except threats from America, naturally. But, the weapon issue focuses on technologies in a way that makes the two rhetorical devices non-homologous and makes weapons more relevan t here, because the question is not just of representations but also of instruments. Such conditions are not governed by banker’s rules of an economy of power (we get some percent more, you get so much less), or by a monarchical power that runs roughshod over (innocent) individuals, trampling the green grass of knowledge. Rather, the banker’s rules matter in the bank, and work only if there is a commitment to the illusion of the bank. Go ahead, tell â€Å"Bush† he isn’t a good king, he isn’t using power responsibly.

Human Growth & Development Through the Life Stages Essay

In this assignment I will research on the lifespan of someone in older adulthood 65+ years that I know personally and I’ll conduct an interview with my chosen individual. My chosen individual was my Grandma. She is 95 years old and she has experienced all the life stages expect for one because she has not reached them yet. Here is the information I found out about her physical, intellectual, social and emotional development during each life stage. P1: Task 1 Describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual. Physical Development Physical Development of my Grandma from Life stage 3 my grandma at the age of 3 could go to the toilet on her own. This was due to environment around her. In life stage 4: Childhood the main that happened to her was the start of school because she was so protect an became more aware of herself physical especially when she was age 10. Life stage 5: Adolescence. Is when puberty started and physical my grandma could see that she had inherited a lot of physical features for example her mother and her grandma had large breast and she started developing large breast. Her period start and because my grandma got married young this meant she could have her first child and in Africa this is a big thing because this means that you have become a lady. Life stages 6 Adult hood, in this time my grandma said that in the begin of this stage when she was 21-22 years old that she was at her peak she had three kid and was happy but as the years pasted and she had more children it started become difficult and tried. She said â€Å"at first it felt weird but when I got use to it better this way†. Life stage 7: Older Adulthood My Grandmother is 95 years old so physical she is in good shape she can still walk and move around, but the illness that makes get around because she got arthritis but as for everything else is good. Intellectual Development Intellectual Development of my grandma. Life stage 3: 0-3 years language skills developed because she could understand her native language and French this mad communication with the other around her easier. When she was 4-10  years old Life stage 4: Childhood the start of school was the main thing her it allowed her to learn new things and she enjoy it. Her each improve and by the year of 6 she could write and read in fluent French and her native language. My grandma at 8 years old use to families because with her sibling. By the time she was 10 her parent could not effort to send her to school anymore. Life stage 5: adolescence because my grandmother had to drop out of school she wanted to get married so she did at the age of 14, this allowed her to develop her mind more then the other girls in her age because she learnt about what it was like to be married at a young age. She also became smart street wise because she learnt thing that she never knew before. Life stage 6: Adulthood My grandmother has never had a job in her life because her job was to looking her children and husband. In this life stage my grandmother found out what it is like to have a family and how to take care of them. Life stage 7: My grandma in this stage has become so very wise because she has gone past more then 65 years of her life, the only problem is that she has started to forget thing that are in her short term memory but not the long term part. Social and Emotional Development Life stage 3 my grandmother social and emotional development during this stage my grandmother didn’t get a lot of social practice because it was only her and her parents at that time. By the time she reached 6 years old (life stage 4) is developed even more especially emotional because she was able to understand that things were hard for her parent so there would be time where she would want something but because she knew that they didn’t have she wouldn’t ask, she started feeling bad for her parents. At this age she could I identify her feelings. Her Social Development improved to because as she was going to school it allowed her to socialize and make friends with other children. And building friendships was easy. Life stage 5: At the age of 10 my grandma was pulled out of school because so she know not speak to any of her friend or teacher the only relationships she had was the one that were made with her younger siblings. Emotional she was angry, hurt, crushed and frustrated and she lash out on her parents but after a while she understood. Also during this stage she married at the age of 14 and she fell in love with someone other then a family member. Life stage 6: AT this stage in her life she informed long term friends and a long term partner. She  began thinking about her own family. Life stage 7: My grandma 95 so she is lucky to still be live that long, but she says it’s a blessing and a curse because she watched two husbands die and has out lived 7 of her children. She said it was painful, but she believe that god want her to se all her great grandchildren. M1: Task 2 discusses the nature-nurture debate and relate to the development of your chosen individual. Historically most philosophers and theorist have argued that we are boat o be the way we are. Other theorists have argued that it is the way we are brought up and influenced by our surroundings that makes us the way we are. This historical argument is known as the nature and nature debate Nature-is the genetic and biological influences Nurture- is the economic and environmental influences Biological programming Genes provide the instruction for structuring our bodies shape and size as we’ll as out behavior depending on the interaction of our biology with border environmental factors. A human being is the result of the interaction of genes and the environmental influences they are exposed to. It’s argued that our genes can program the amino acids which influence our body cells. Human developments are not programmed by genes although development may be influenced by genes. The maturation theory  some aspects of development such as the ability to speak a first language are thought to be due to an in built genetic process. Genetic factors  each living cell in the human body have a nucleus with 23 pairs of chromosomes inside it. One chromosome comes from the father, one comes from the mother. Each chromosome carries units of inheritance known as genes and these genes interact to create a new set of instructions for making a new person. This means in these chromosomes there is DNA which holds which controls what a person looks like, how there behave etc. For example when my grandma was in her teens she never grew as much in height as she wanted to  this was because her mother and father were not tall people and no one in her family grew above 5.11ft. she inherited this from her mother and father it is a her genes. Environmental factored Culture, religion and belief Culture can be identified by distinct aspects of language self-presentation religion music art architecture and literature; children learn the custom associated with their families. In the past most children would have learned the culture and religion associated with their local community everyone on a particular estate, street or work and social roles. Values and attitudes your beliefs values and attitudes are influenced by your socialization with family careers and peer groups. Your values and attitudes can also be influenced by your life experiences and the culture that you are exposed to in your neighborhood and that your access. P2: Explain the potential effects of five different life factors on the development of your chosen individual. Genetic When my grandma was in her teens she started to develop big breast, she may have gotten them from her mom this is because when it came to height she wasn’t tall because no one grow above 5.9ft. This is a hereditary trait in our family. From her mum she got her mum she got her facial structure for example her mouth her nose and her eyes. This shows that her mum had the most dominate genes. Biological factors As a teenager my grandma never left school at the age of 10 so she never really did anything expect look after her brothers and sisters while her mother and father worked. Her mother had 12 kids and got married at 13, because my grandmother thought at the time that she wanted to be exactly like her mother when reached age 14 and a half she was married. This meant that my grandmother never got to know what, because she would have needed to look after her children and her husband. This affect her in a big way because she thought that it would be easy but it was difficult. Environmental According to my grandma growing up in West Africa, Sierra Leone and at that time there was no independents and it was hard because of the high crime rate and how people where treated such as killing ECT. Her parents farm got taken away and they to become diamond miners which was one of the worst jobs ever due to this my grandmother sometimes had to slave for food just to survive because her mum didn’t want to do much. She said â€Å"we were poor but we were happy† it was nice at times because she was able to spend time with her family a lot. Where she lived was like the suburbs so she knew all her neighbors and they also helped to bring her up when her mum and dad had to work. Socio Economic My grandma came from a lower class family in Sierra Leone the only people black people who had money ere the croyos they were the tribe who did what the British said and forgot there roots. This affected my grandma in a way that she had to stop going to school because her parents couldn’t afford. Peer wise she was ok because most of her friends were like her so she was fine being what was and it affects her intellectually. Life style My grandma got married at an old age she lived her life by what her husband says, it is just the way it is in Africa, for example she always want to work but her husband said NO because she has to look after the kids. The way she spend her money and time was simple the money her husband give her was to go out and buy the things that she needed to cook and clean the house for that day and that is the way it was everyday. P3: Explain the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of the individual Though out life every person will go many different events in their life. Theses life events will be: During our life we are influenced by a range of life factors and we are influenced by the events which happen to us. Some major changes in life can be predicted and even chosen while others maybe un predicted. If your life suddenly changes there is always the risk that you will feel out of control and stressed. But some life 2events can be predicted to a point where they were planned. A Predictable life event for my chosen individual was Marriage because my grandmother knew that she would have to get married, especially due to the time in which she was born in marriage was a must. This event was positive because she loved the man she married someone that she could trust and get comfort from whenever she needed it. The negative influences may be the change of lifestyle. Parenthood- My grandmother new that she had to have kids she even planned it with her husband because she Could continue her husband and her bloodline, but she was not expecting to have as many as she did. This was a negative because it changed her lifestyle in a huge way. Unpredicted life events Bereavement: †¢After the loss of my grandfather, my grandmother was left pregnant with her first born so she had to deal with bereavement during pregnancy with their 4 which wasn’t good for the baby. The positive effect was that she was able to remain strong for her child and begin a new lifestyle, got married and had more children. †¢Another lost that had a huge impact is the 7 of children especially the 4 recent deaths, this had a negative effect on physically and mentally because she would think that god was punishing her. Said if it was not for her grand-children or family members she would have gone crazy. P4: Explain two theories of ageing. Activity theory states that the elderly person who ages in a positive and healthy way, are the one who stays active and continue to interact with the world around resist the withdrawal of the social world. The individual who is able to maintain the activities of the middle years for as long as possible will be well adjusted and satisfied with life in the later years. Disengagement theory looks at aging as a process in with an older person withdraws themselves from their community, as expected by society. The theory states that the withdrawal of the older person benefits both individuals and society. This theory is one of the earliest and controversial theories of aging because of the way that they view aging as a process of gradual withdrawal between society and the older adult. Is called disengagement because it is when a person get to a point of their lives way  they decide to stop interacting with society and it known to be a natural, acceptable, and universal process that comes with growing old. M2: Discuss two major theories of ageing in relation to the development of your chosen individual Activity theory states that the elderly person who ages in a positive and healthy way, are the one who stays active and continue to interact with the world around resist the withdrawal of the social world. An individual who is able to maintain the activities of the middle years for as long as possible will be well adjusted and satisfied with life in the later years. This theory effect my chosen person in a positive way because not being able to meet as many people friends family because of not being able to get around easily did not affect my individual because she always had her family around her so her social interaction with others did not change, she also did not withdrawn from interacted her community she would attended community get to gathers. Say it is due to the support her family gives her if not would have disengaged with the outside world. Biological changes – changes in the body muscles and cells deterioration of eye sight, hearing, movements, muscles illnesses and diseases, but there theories are all based around how this works. One theory of biological changes is Genetic Cellular theory. This theory states that you will live according to the age that the elderly members of their families did. â€Å"Humans with long lived parents and grandparents live an average of 6 years longer than those whose parents die before the age of 50.† This theory also affected my chosen individual because she is 95 years old and she believes it is due to the fact that the woman in her family live longer. For example her grandmothers die in august 2007at the age of 109 years old and so on. The negative is they tend to outlive husband and children, especially my grandmother she has outlived 7 of her children and 2 husbands. P5: Explain the physical and psychological changes which may be associated with ageing. Psychological changes – losing mental functions can lead to loss of self –esteem and withdrawal from others. Women tend to live longer they experience more losses from family and friends, this factor can  influence our wellbeing. A Psychological theory called the Disengagement theory looks at aging as a process in with an older person withdraws themselves from their community, as expected by society. The theory states that the withdrawal of the older person benefits both individuals and society. This theory is one of the earliest and controversial theories of aging because of the way 8that they view aging as a process of gradual withdrawal between society and the older adult. Is called disengagement because it is when a person gets to a point of their lives where they decide to stop interacting with society and it is known to be a natural, acceptable, and universal process that com es with growing old. Biological changes – changes in the body muscles and cells deterioration of eye sight, hearing, movements, muscles illnesses and diseases, but there theories all around as to how this works. One theory of biological changes is Genetic Cellular theory. This theory states that you will live according to the age that the elderly members of their families did. This theory says that â€Å"Humans with long lived parents and grandparents live an average of 6 years longer than those whose parents die before the age of 50.† Sociological changes – not being able to meet as many people friends family because of not being able to get around easily may move to other areas not knowing people have network of support. The social world may withdraw from older people, making it more difficult for them to fulfill these needs. A Sociological theory called the Activity theory states that the elderly person who ages in a positive and healthy way, are the one who stays active and continue to interact with the world around resist the withdrawal of the social world. The individual who is able to maintain the activities of the middle years for as long as possible will be well adjusted and satisfied with life in the later years. M3: Discuss the effects on self-esteem and self-confidence of the physical changes associated with ageing. During ageing wrinkles start to develop, your vision may start to deteriorate, many older people have good-to-adequate vision, and your hearing may also deteriorate. Hearing loss affects the older person’s ability to talk easily with others. Older persons may be frustrated or embarrassed about not being able to understand what is  being said. They may have to ask people to repeat themselves, or endure shouting when a speaker tries to be heard. They even refrain from making conversation out of fair of making unrelated comments or they may just be embarrassed. You may even lose some taste; the loss is minor and does not seem to occur in most people until well after 70. Addition, joints stiffen and connecting ligaments between bones lose their elasticity. Hand and foot pain may occur. Some will have poor circulation; the older heart slows down and is less able to pump blood through the body than the younger heart. A decrease in circulation also contributes to cold sensitivity, particularly in the hands and feet. This will have an effect on older person self-esteem; they will begin to feel like they have no more purpose in life and some may feel like they are a bourdon on people because they can’t really help themselves much. If an older person starts felling like this, it will allow the disengagement theory to be put in play because when a person like they have one purpose in the world then they will not engage with yours because they feel alone and will most likely become anti-social and will isolate themselves form others. This will also effect there self-confidence because they might not want to show there face because of the way there look.

Road Rage

A coin is tossed four times. The probability is ? or 0. 25 that all four tosses will result in a head face up. Answer Correct Answer: False A firm offers routine physical examinations as part of a health service program for its employees. The exams showed that 8% of the employees needed corrective shoes, 15% needed major dental work and 3% needed both corrective shoes and major dental work. What is the probability that an employee selected at random will need either corrective shoes or major dental work? Correct Answer: 0. 20A group of employees of Unique Services will be surveyed about a new pension plan. In-depth interviews with each employee selected in the sample will be conducted. The employees are classified as follows. What is the probability that the first person selected is classified as a maintenance employee? Correct Answer: 0. 025 A probability is a number from -1 to +1. Correct Answer: False When are two events mutually exclusive? Correct Answer: If one event occurs, the n the other cannot There are 10 rolls of film in a box and 3 are defective.Two rolls are selected without replacement. What is the probability of selecting a defective roll followed by another defective roll? Correct Answer: 1/15 or about 0. 07 Three defective electric toothbrushes were accidentally shipped to a drugstore by the manufacturer along with 17 non-defective ones. What is the probability that the first two electric toothbrushes sold will be returned to the drugstore because they are defective? Correct Answer: 3/190 or 0. 01579 The first card selected from a standard 52-card deck was a king.If it is NOT returned to the deck, what is the probability that a king will be drawn on the second selection? Correct Answer: 3/51 or 0. 0588 The first card selected from a standard 52-card deck was a king. If it is returned to the deck, what is the probability that a king will be drawn on the second selection? Correct Answer: 1/13 or 0. 077 If there are ‘m' ways of doing one thin g and ‘n' ways of doing another thing, the multiplication formula states that there are (m) †¢ (n) ways of doing both. Correct Answer: TrueA study by the National Park Service revealed that 50% of the vacationers going to the Rocky Mountain region visit Yellowstone Park, 40% visit the Grand Tetons and 35% visit both. What is the probability that a vacationer will visit at least one of these magnificent attractions? Correct Answer: 0 The closer a probability is to 0, the more likely the event will happen. Correct Answer: False The classical approach to probability requires that the outcomes of an experiment are not equally likely. Correct Answer: False The numbers 0 through 9 are used in code groups of four to identify an item of clothing.Code 1083 might identify a blue blouse, size medium. The code group 2031 might identify a pair of pants, size 18, and so on. Repetitions of numbers are not permitted, i. e. , the same number cannot be used more than once in a total sequen ce. As examples, 2256, 2562 or 5559 would not be permitted. How many different code groups can be designed? Correct Answer: 5,040 A discrete random variable can have only certain clearly separated values. Correct Answer: True A listing of all possible outcomes of an experiment and their corresponding probability of occurrence is called a _____________.Correct Answer: Probability distribution A statistics professor receives an average of five e-mail messages per day from students. Assume the number of messages approximates a Poisson distribution. What is the probability that on a randomly selected day she will have five messages? Correct Answer: 0. 175 David's gasoline station offers 4 cents off per gallon if the customer pays in cash and does not use a credit card. Past evidence indicates that 40% of all customers pay in cash. During a one-hour period twenty-five customers buy gasoline at this station.What is the probability that more than ten and less than fifteen customers pay in cash? Correct Answer: 0. 380 David's gasoline station offers 4 cents off per gallon if the customer pays in cash and does not use a credit card. Past evidence indicates that 40% of all customers pay in cash. During a one-hour period twenty-five customers buy gasoline at this station. What is the probability that at least ten pay in cash? Correct Answer: 0. 575 Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a binomial probability distribution? Correct Answer:Each outcome results from two trials The weight of an offensive linesman may be 205. 15 pounds, 210. 23 pounds, 225. 05 pounds or 219. 14 pounds. What is this an illustration of? Correct Answer: Continuous random variable The variance of a binomial distribution is found by ? ? (1 – ? ). Correct Answer: True The mean of a binomial distribution is the product of n and ?. Correct Answer: True A true-false test consists of six questions. If you guess the answer to each question, what is the probability of getting all six qu estions correct? Correct Answer: 0. 016