Math Ib Ia Sl

Jonghyun Choe March 25 2011 Math IB SL Internal Assessment – LASCAP’S Fraction The goal of this task is to consider a set of fractions which are presented in a symmetrical, recurring sequence, and to find a general statement for the pattern. The presented pattern is: Row 1 1 1 Row 2 1 32 1 Row 3 1 64 64 1 Row 4 1 107 106 107 1 Row 5 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 Step 1: This pattern is known as Lascap’s Fractions. En(r) will be used to represent the values involved in the pattern. represents the element number, starting at r=0, and n represents the row number starting at n=1. So for instance, E52=159, the second element on the fifth row. Additionally, N will represent the value of the numerator and D value of the denominator. To begin with, it is clear that in order to obtain a general statement for the pattern, two different statements will be needed to combine to form one final statement. This means that there will be two different statements, one that illustrates the numerators and another the denominators, which will be come together to find the general statement.To start the initial pattern, the pattern is split into two different patterns; one demonstrating the numerators and another denominators. Step 2: This pattern demonstrates the pattern of the numerators. It is clear that all of the numerators in the nth row are equal. For example all numerators in row 3 are 6. 1 1 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 15 Row number (n)| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Numerator (N)| 1| 3| 6| 10| 15| N(n+1) – Nn| N/A| 2| 3| 4| 5| Table 1: The increasing value of the numerators in relations to the row number.From the table above, we can see that there is a downward pattern, in which the numerator increases proportionally as the row number increases. It can be found that the value of N(n+1) – Nn increases proportionally as the sequence continues. The relationship between the row number and the numerator is graphically plotted and a quadratic fit determ ined, using loggerpro. Figure 1: The equation of the quadratic fit is the relationship between the numerator and the row number. The equation for the fit is: N= 0. 5n2+0. 5n or n2+n2, n>0 Equation 1 In this equation, N refers to the numerator.Therefore, N= 0. 5n2+0. 5n or n2+n2, n>0 is a statement that represents step 2 and also step 1. Step 3: In relation to table 1 and step 2, a pattern can be drawn. The difference between the numerators of two consecutive rows is one more than the difference between the previous numerators of two consecutive rows. This can be expressed in a formula N(n+1) – N(n) = N(n) – N(n-1) + 1. For instance, N(3+1) – N(3) = N(3) – N(2) +1. Using this method, numerator of 6th and 7th row can be determined. To find the 6th row’s value, n should be plugged in as 5 so that N(6) can be found.As for the 7th row’s numerator, n should be plugged in as 6. 6th row numerator is therefore: N(5+1) – N(5) = N(5) – N( 4)+1 N(6) – 15 = 15 – 10+1 N(6) = 15+6 N(6) = 21 7th row numerator is therefore: N(6+1) – N(6) = N(6) – N(5)+1 N(7) – 21 = 21 – 15 +1 N(6) = 42 – 15 + 1 N(6) = 28 Not only by this method, but from the equation found in step 2, figure 1, 6th and 7th row numerator can be found also. 6th row numerator: N(6)=0. 5? 62+0. 5? 6 N(6)=0. 5? 36+3 N(6)=21 th row numerator: N(7)=0. 5? 72+0. 5? 7 N(7)=0. 5? 49+3. 5 N(7)=28 Consequently, these are the values of numerators up to the 7th row. 1 1 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 15 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 Using the method in step 3 and equation 1 in figure 1, it is evident that the numerator in the 6th row is 21. Since both equations have brought same values, it can be concluded that equation 1 is a valid statement that demonstrates the pattern of the numerator.Equation 1 will be used later also, in order to form a general statement of the pattern of whole LACSAP Fract ions. Step 4: When examining the denominators in the LASCAP’S Fractions, their values are the highest in the beginning, decreases, and then increases again. For example, the denominators in row 5 are; 15 11 9 9 11 15. From this pattern, we can easily see that the equation for finding the denominator would be in a parabola form. Element | 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Denominator | 15| 11| 9| 9| 11| 15|The relationship between the denominator and the element number is graphically plotted and a quadratic fit determined, using loggerpro. Figure 2: This parabola describes the relationship between the denominator and element number. The equation for the fit is : D = r2 – nr+r0 . In this equation, r refers to the element number starting from 0, and r0 being the first denominator value in the row. n refers to the row number starting from 1. To see if this equation work, the 3rd denominator value in the 3rd row was measured. D = 22 – 3 ? 2+6 D = 4 – 6 +6 D = 4With this equat ion, it is evident that the 6th and 7th row denominator values can be found. We already know the first and last denominators from when numerators were found; which are 21 and 28. 6th row second and sixth denominator: D = 12 – 6 ? 1+21 D = 1- 6+21 D = 16 6th row third and fifth denominator: D = 22 – 6 ? 2+21 D = 4- 12+21 D = 13 th row fourth denominator: D = 32 – 6 ? 3+21 D = 9- 18+21 D = 12 7th row second and seventh denominator: D = 12 – 7 ? 1+28 D = 1- 7+28 D = 22 7th row third and sixth denominator: D = 22 – 7 ? +28 D = 4- 14+28 D = 18 7th row fourth and fifth denominator: D = 32 – 7 ? 3+28 D = 9- 21+28 D = 16 Now, since the denominators in the 6th and 7th row are found, the sixth and seventh rows can be drawn and added in the LACSAP’S Fractions. Consequently, these are the fractions up to the 7th row. 1 1 32 1 1 64 64 1 1 107 106 107 1 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 1 2116 2113 2112 2113 2116 1 1 2822 2818 2816 2816 2818 2822 1 Now th at the patterns for the LASCAP’S Fractions are found, all fractions can be expressed in the form En (r) when it is the (r+1)th element in the nth row, starting with r=0. The general statement of the pattern is clearly found when using the equations for the nominator and the denominator.Therefore, the general statement for En r will be En (r) = 0. 5n2+0. 5n r2 – nr+r0 In order to see if the equation works correctly, we can plug in number and figure out if the general statement works out. For example, E7 (3) = 2816 = 0. 5n2+0. 5n r2 – nr+r0 = 0. 5 ? (7)2+0. 5 ? (7) 32 – 7? 3+28 = 2816 . Here, it is clear that the formula is applicable. In order to make sure that the general statement is valid, finding the additional rows of the recurring sequence of fractions by using the general statement above would be useful.Here, I chose to settle on 2 additional rows which are the 8th and 9th rows in the pattern. 8th row numerator: N(8)=0. 5? 82+0. 5? 8 N(8)=0. 5? 64+4 N8=36 9th row numerator: N(9)=0. 5? 92+0. 5? 9 N(9)=0. 5? 81+4. 5 N9=45 8th row second and eighth denominator: D = 12 – 8 ? 1+36 D = 1- 8+36 D = 29 8th row third and seventh denominator: D = 22 – 8 ? 2+36D = 4- 16+36 D = 24 8th row fourth and sixth denominator: D = 32 – 8 ? 3+36 D = 9- 24+36 D = 21 8th row fifth denominator: D = 42 – 8 ? 4+36 D = 16- 24+36 D = 28 9th row second and ninth denominator: D = 12 – 9 ? 1+45 D = 1- 9+45 D = 37 9th row third and eighth denominator: D = 22 – 9 ? +45 D = 4- 18+45 D = 31 9th row fourth and seventh denominator: D = 32 – 9 ? 3+45 D = 9- 27+45 D = 27 9th row fifth and sixth denominator: D = 42 – 9 ? 4+45 D = 16- 36+45 D = 25 Thus, these are the fractions up to the 9th row. 1 1 1 32 1 64 64 1 1 107 106 107 1 1 1511 159 159 1511 1 1 2116 2113 2112 2113 2116 1 1 2822 2818 2816 2816 2818 2822 1 1 3629 3624 3621 3628 3621 3624 3629 1 1 4537 4531 4527 4525 4525 4527 4531 4537 1 This shows th at the general statement for the symmetrical, recurring sequence of fractions is valid and will continue to work.

Richard Character analysis Essay

The film Little Miss Sunshine directed by Valerie Farris and Jonathon Dayton tells of the Hoover Family’s emotional and physical journey from New Mexico to Florida for the youngest member, Olive’s beauty pageant competition. The viewing audience is introduced to several characters in the beginning of the film and are able to see their development and change as the film progresses. Richard Hoover is the father of the dysfunctional Hoover family who shows an important change in values and viewpoint of life and people. He is introduced as a narrow-minded and arrogant character, however as a result of his emotional journey he encounters he is later viewed as a respectable family man after re-evaluating his own perspectives, and priorities in life. Richard shows the change in thinking and life philosophy, from narrow-minded to accepting of those around him and himself. In the beginning Richard is very concerned about his status, and lives off his definitions of losers and winners. â€Å"There are two types of people in this world, winners and losers.† This shows the extent of his narrow-mindedness as he does not acknowledge or understand that an individual could exhibit traits of both a winner and a loser, and that we should not be defined by a superficial title. The diner scene is a key scene in the beginning of the film that shows Richard’s narrow-mindedness through his black-and-white perspectives about the controversial issue of concern for one’s appearance throughout the pageant society. Richard shows a clear bias towards those thinner through his words of â€Å"fat†¦or nice and skinny.† He is portrayed as a dislikeable character in the beginning scenes of the film. However, when faces with the difficulty of Olive’s eccentric character that does not fit in with the strict expectations of competitors in the beauty pageant, Richard accepts that fact although society may not condone or view Olive as the ‘winner’ of the pageant, Olive is still the ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ of their family and ultimately a winner. Through his consistent encouragement and support whilst Olive is performing on stage, we are able to see the newfound acceptance and appreciation he demonstrates. He exhibits the attributes of a supportive and caring father, who is able to accept Olive for who she really is. From this,  we see the change of Richard from a narrow-minded and careless character to an accepting and supportive father. Richard began as a character that was extremely conscious and perhaps uptight about pleasing society and upholding the law, however he develops into a character that is willing to break rules to meet the means of the situation at hand. When faced with a dangerous situation of getting pulled over by a police officer. Richard acts very cautiously, not wanting to displease the officer or raise suspicion for their potential crime. â€Å"Everyone pretend to be normal.† is a quote said by Richard, showing his need to please society and ‘acting normal’ when clearly they are a very unique, dysfunctional family of characters far from normal. We see his priority of upholding the standards of society and pleasing people. However, from this we can see his self-consciousness and uptight character displayed in the film. Later as the film progresses, Richard is able to develop into a character that is unafraid to break the rules at times to fulfil an ambition or goal. With the H oover family running late to the pageant venue, Richard is sent o make the abrupt decision of â€Å"I’m not going back!† and potentially puts his family at risk. He bypasses the chained gateways and parking barriers in order to fit the means of the situation and arrive on time through this shortcut. He is decisive in leading his family to the objective and now willing to bend rules, though he would have been reluctant to do so previously. Through this we are able to see the change in Richard’s behaviour and actions, as he is able to quickly assess the situation, be decisive and less uptight. Another significant change Richard demonstrates is the change in his priorities, where he begins as a selfish man with no regard for those around him including his family. He changes into a father wiling to sacrifice his pride, for the sake of his daughter’s potential happiness. In the beginning scenes of the film, we are able to see Richard’s selfishness as he hastily listens to the family’s voicemail machine recordings and dismisses all information irrelevant to himself. When talking on the phone about a business matter he te lls those around him to remain silent for him. His only shows concern for himself. We are able to see that he doesn’t tend to prioritise family above his personal matters, and displays his selfishness through this action. However, as the film progresses he becomes more  selfless and willing to sacrifice his pride to beg for Olive’s chance to compete in the pageant. As he gets down on his knees and begs â€Å"You don’t know what we’ve been through.† for a chance, we see the vulnerability and selflessness in Richard which contrasts greatly with his character in the beginning scenes. He changes into a more selfless character, with the newfound sense of what his priorities truly are, as he puts the happiness of Olive before his own pride. The character of Richard Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine displays a significant change in philosophy, attitude, priorities and behaviour through the contrasting in character in the beginning and end of the film. He is introduced and developed into a dislikeable character due to his selfishness, close-mindedness, uptight and need to please society’s expectations of people. However, he develops and changes into a selfless, accepting father with his family as a higher priority in his life. The happiness he receives and gives to those around him due to his change in perspectives and character show us the importance of discontinuing a life centred around ourselves. He demonstrates the change one goes through in behaviour, thinking, and actions when able to prioritise others before oneself.

Introduction Vision Mission Goals Obs Competitors ADI Research Paper

Introduction Vision Mission Goals Obs Competitors ADI - Research Paper Example It operates in one kind of segment, which is made of two distinct groups: one on products and one on end markets (Analog, 2011, p.3). The product group is concentrated on â€Å"core technology development and leadership in converters, amplifiers and RF, MEMS, power management, and DSP† (Analog, 2011, p.3). The end market-focused organization is focused on understanding, choosing, and resourcing activities that are more customized to specific markets or applications (Analog, 2011, p.3). ADI has direct sales offices, sales representatives, and distributors in more than 40 countries that are located outside of North America (Analog, 2011, p.7). Its products are used by more than 60,000 customers around the world (Analog, 2011, p.2). Total revenues in 2011 were $2.993 billion with net income of $867.4 million (Analog, 2011, p.26). Gross margin % is 66.4%, compared to 65.2% in 2010 (Analog, 2011, p.27). It has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion. ADI’s main strategy is to apply the wide array of its broad â€Å"technology portfolio to more integrated and targeted product strategies for the industrial, automotive, consumer, and communications markets† (Analog, 2011, p.3). Vision, Mission, Goals, and Objectives The vision of ADI is to be the global leader in the industry. Its mission is â€Å"to be the world’s best signal processing company† (Analog, 2011, Letter from Jerald G. Fishman). Its primary goal is â€Å"to manage a growth business and a product portfolio that is essential to myriad applications, resulting in a long-term compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for ADI that is greater than that of the overall semiconductor industry† (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). Its research and development strategy concentrates on enhancing technical leadership in â€Å"core technologies of converters, amplifiers and RF, MEMS, power management, and DSP† (Analog, 2011, p.7). To support its research and development acti vities, ADI hires thousands of engineers, who are in charge of the product and manufacturing process development (Analog, 2011, p.7). ADI seeks to outpace the industry by enhancing how it targets markets, where its technology produces a competitive advantage for its customers (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). To support this growth, it aims to generate excellent signal processing products through investing in research and development. It also seeks to optimize and to refine these investments to most successfully direct resources to opportunities that present ADI the strongest potential for differentiation, development, and profitability (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). In addition, ADI focuses on protecting its standing as â€Å"one of the highest quality and most reliable vendors in our customers’ supply chains† (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). It does this by maintaining short product delivery lead times and quickly scaling production levels to meet demand , as well as offering high quality levels of service that is responsive to customers’ needs (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). It also upholds the goal of maintaining the company’s profitability, however cyclical the semiconductor industry might be (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). Its operating model consists of major variable costs that assisted the company in attaining high margins, during both the economic downturn and upturn (Analog, 2011, Letter from Fishman). Competitive Analysis NVIDIA NVIDIA was incorporated

Mediation Critique Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mediation Critique Case Study - Essay Example The environment of the mediation room is deemed to be the most crucial factor for ensuring the success of mediation conducted between Randy and Brett. Apart from the physical setup of the room, the less tangible factors also contribute into influencing the decision-making of the parties as well as the mediator. From the mediation conducted, it can be understood that the environment was calm as well as safe for the parties with respect to negotiation (00:14). Besides, in order to ensure the success of the mediation plan, only three people were present at the conference room including the mediator, Randy and Brett (00:47). Furthermore, the comfort of both the parties involved in the mediation was deemed to be crucial and thus the environment was kept peaceful to facilitate proper communication and create a problem-solving atmosphere (00:25; 01:02).  In the opening statement, the mediator introduced herself and presented a brief idea about the tasks that will be performed for reaching into a common agreement between the involved parties (00:08). The mediator stated that the main objective of the session conducted was to reach a mutual agreement between Randy and Brett so as to evade any sort of conflicting situation further (01:19).  Besides, the mediator also highlighted the fact that full confidentiality of the information will be maintained. In addition, the mediator also mentioned that partiality will be avoided on both the sides in order to bring out favorable or positive outcomes.  

Windows Server Deployment Proposal Rubric Paper Research - 1

Windows Server Deployment Rubric Paper - Research Proposal Example It is imperative to understand that successful deployment often starts with good planning, and it is often never too early to begin planning changes in the IT environment. Therefore, throughout the infrastructure, Windows Server 2012 will be used, the enterprise edition on the other hand will be leveraged on all the other serves, this is because of its capability of having 4 virtual licenses per Operating system. In order to increase reliability as well as the security the Server Core will be on all the servers. All servers as well as operating systems will be installed using image files that will be retrieved from a master computer through the Windows Deployment services (WDS) (Tulloch, 2012). The installation of the operating systems from the Windows Deployment services will help dramatically increase the time taken for installation. All the server roles will be distributed in an equal way and it will help take advantage of fault tolerance, availability, security as well as allocation. The foundation of these placing workstations as well as servers, this will help in the deploying of operating system image files which could be completed in a day wit h one or two with system administrators. In the deployment of the Windows server, a hybrid DHCP infrastructure will be used with different relay agents. This will help save on the expenditure as well as the administrators time. Further, there will be also the maintenance of the main as well as backup DHCP at the office as well as several relay agents at the branch office. This will undoubtedly free traffic from the WAN link that exists between them. In order to further prevent the excessive network traffic at each site, there is a need to implement an automatic allocation of IP addresses. There often exists a solid network layout that often has large subnets which allows each department to grow exponentially (Stanek, 2012). The fault tolerance that will be used for the

Compare and contrast aristotles and platos idea of the good Term Paper

Compare and contrast aristotles and platos idea of the good - Term Paper Example Thus, the ethics of Aristotle is associated with his idea of telos or purpose. And this purpose consists in the contemplative activity of the intelligence, that is, the true human Good. It is in this regard that for both Plato and Aristotle, the Good is not only characterized by ethics but also of epistemology, for the Good is always, for both of them, that which leads to true knowledge and wisdom. This paper will be divided into three main parts. The first part will discuss Plato’s Idea of the Good. Herein, a discussion of some of his dialogues will take place. Some of which are Laws, Gorgias, and The Republic. One the other hand, the second part will discuss Aristotle’s Idea of the Good. In doing so, two treatises on Aristotle’s ethics will be covered: Eudemian Ethics and the Ethics to Nichomachus. Finally, the third part will serve as the conclusion and final analysis of the matter. Herein, the author of this paper will show that despite the differences betwee n Plato and Aristotle’s doctrines and philosophical approaches, their Idea of the Good are both associated with the gradual improvement of the soul in search for intelligence, knowledge, truth, and wisdom. Plato: Wisdom, Truth and The Good The doctrine of Ideas constitutes the center of Platonic thought. For Plato, there are two orders of reality – one which is sensible and material; another which is immaterial and invisible, and which can only be grasped by the intellect. Plato had conceived of a multiplicity of Ideas: there were moral and aesthetic ideas, ideas of sensible realities, and ideas of artificial things: everything that existed had a corresponding idea. But there had to be an order or hierarchy among the Ideas, and a First from which all the other Ideas proceed. Thus, Plato gives order among the ideas in his Republic. In the Republic, Plato establishes a hierarchy among the Ideas, with the Idea of the Good as the unconditioned principle of the truth and be ing of the other ideas. He presents his doctrine with descriptive imagery: That which imparts truth to the known and the power of knowing to the knower is what I would have you term the idea of good, and this you will deem to be the cause of science, and of truth in so far the latter becomes the subject of knowledge†¦ so in this other sphere, science and truth may be deemed to be like the good, but not the good; the good has a place of honor yet higher†¦ the good may be said to be not only the author of knowledge to all things known†¦ (Plato, â€Å"The Republic† 136). In relation to this is his philosophy of man, wherein he distinguishes between the body and the soul of man. For Plato, body and soul are not only different from each other but also opposed and irreconcilable. Our body is the tomb or prison of the soul (Reale and Catan 157). Human beings are thus deprived from true life for as long as he remains chained to the body since the essence of man is his soul. It is the body that gives rise to every conceivable (Word Count: 353) evil, i.e. to ignorance. Plato’s ethics looks, therefore, to freeing the soul from its bondage to the body. Moreover, courage and knowledge are often distinguished from pleasure and good: â€Å"The good are good by the presence of good, and the bad are bad by the presence of evil. And the brace and wise are good, and the cowardly and foolish are

Market for Condoms Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Market for Condoms - Thesis Example Like every other European country, Belgian population has a deep concern about having a safe sex. They do not want to plunge in the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s) or to end up being a patient of HIV/AIDS. With this increased concern, there has been an increase in the condom market. There has been an increased awareness amongst the Belgians regarding the use of condoms to have a safe sex. Not only the locales but also the immigrants are exposed to STD’s and HIV. Awareness about condom use is also created amongst these people who are not so aware about it before (PARKER, P. M. 2006; FOX, M. P. 2000; COLLIER, A. 2007) Belgium is a very liberal country. It is the 2nd country in the world to legalize the same-sex marriages. It has given equal rights to the lesbians, gays and bisexuals. The use of condoms in Belgium is very common. Currently, in the year 2011, it has a total population of 10,431,477 (Population Labs 2011) 66.3% of the Belgian population comprises of males and females who lay within the age bracket of 15 years to 65 years. The sex ratio of 1.02 suggests that there are more males in the population than the females who lay within the age bracket of 15-65 years. And it is under this age bracket where the target market of â€Å"WITH† lies. There are a huge number of gays and lesbians living in Belgium. ... Other important stats that can be of use are the population of Belgium over the several years up till now. The trend of population can help to deduce that with increasing population, it is likely that the number of gays and lesbians have also increased. The following statistical graph will show this trend. After 2003, there has been an increasing trend in the population of Belgium. In 2011 it has the highest population. This leads to a fact that increase in population has given rise to more gays and lesbians and thus the market for condoms has increased. There are more people than before who are condom users. So it is evident that there is a huge market of condoms in Belgium (CIA 2010) Part of this huge market are also the people who have been exposed to HIV infection but have yet not developed the symptoms of AIDS (FORBES 2009) These people also form a large part of the condom users as they want to protect their partners and themselves against this dangerous infection. The following statistical figure will help to determine the people living in Belgium who are carrying the HIV virus. In 2011 the number of people carrying HIV virus have decreased. This may be due to increased precautionary measures taken by the consumers against the STD’s (CIA 2010) There is large market for condoms because they are easy to use than any other contraceptive measure and has no side effects at all. Teenagers also represent a huge chunk of the condom market. Condoms are mostly used by the teenagers as measure to prevent teenage pregnancy rather than a protection measure (HYDE, M. O. 2006) Competition in the condom industry of Belgium is fairly high. There are already well established brands like

You can choose a topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You can choose a topic - Assignment Example ch as television broadcasting and radio entertainment, marketing advertisements in newspapers and magazines and advertisement using banners and billboards (Baines, Fill, & Page, 2011). The Russ All construction limited company located in California United States is to produce steel products, design process and produce high quality components and machinery that exceed the consumer requirements. This is by employing appropriate art technology and highly skilled work force. This is to ensure production of quality goods to meet the demands of the consumers. It is also in line to ensure a healthy competition with other steel and manufacture companies. The company vision is to be the regional and international market leader in production and designs of steel products and components. Core values incorporated include customer focus, integrity, teamwork, social responsibility, professionalism and environmental responsibilities. The area to be involved for the survey is California area in United States to determine their view and perception of the products produced by the Russ All construction limited company. The reason for conducting the survey is determining the awareness among the residents of the company. The survey will also determine preference of customers to buy the products produced by the company over other companies producing similar products. The survey will later be used by the company improvement on the production, marketing process, and meeting demands of consumers for the company, to reach the desired target market (Leung, 2001). The method to be used to collect data is the use of questionnaires to the sample identified. Members in the company have been selected to conduct the survey. They are divided to groups, and they are to provide residents with the questionnaire papers to fill under guidance (Kruschke, 2010). Data for the survey was collected analyzed, and the finding presented. ‘The Russ All construction limited company produces steel products,

Management case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

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Conservation areas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Conservation areas - Essay Example Then the stakeholders in the Denham Conservation Area will be identified. Criteria for determining the effectiveness and impact of the regulations governing the area will then be considered. Subsequently, using the criteria defined the success, or lack thereof, of the regulations governing the Denham Conservation Area will be evaluated. Finally, the analysis will conclude with recommendations for how the instrument or its implementation might be improved, and identification of what more information is needed to provide a full evaluation. The instrument under consideration is the South Bucks District Council, Denham Conservation Area Character Appraisal as it impacts on residents and property owners within the Conservation area. The Conservation Area was designated under the authority granted to local councils under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c. 9). (a)shall from time to time determine which parts of their area are areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance, and The research involved consultation with historic maps and parish records as well as surveys of the natural and build features of the area under consideration, examination of individual structures, and consideration of sight lines and other factors. Appendix I illustrates one of the historic maps that was used in the research process and Appendix II illustrates the boundaries of the conservation area and listed buildings within it. The South Bucks District Council publication, Conservation Areas: Guidance for Residents details the constraints imposed by the regulations that are applicable within the conservation area. â€Å"Conservation Area Consent is required for: Demolition of unlisted buildings with a volume of 115 cu. M. or more [and] demolition of boundary walls over a certain height.† (South Bucks District Council, 2009, n.p.) Additionally,

Short Pest or Pestle analysis Essay Example for Free

Short Pest or Pestle analysis Essay This short ‘PEST’ or ‘PESTLE’ analysis will be carried out on the supermarket sector and discount retailers in Northern Ireland with the majority of the analysis being carried out specifically on Lidl. A PESTLE analysis will be ideal for Lidl in terms of effective market research and will help them come to decide how much they should expand given the fact that they have plans to do so particularly in the UK over the next 12 months. The PESTLE analysis directly and comprehensively evaluates the industry’s external environment elements in order to identify the overall available opportunities and dangers of specific procedures. It cannot be undermined how crucial effective market research is for companies such as Lidl who are constantly looking to gain a competitive advantage in the supermarket sector. Specifically, a PESTLE analysis mainly highlights the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental variables of the company and, if carried out efficiently, can be instrumental in terms of helping Lidl to improve their overall profit margins through expansion and their profits in terms of their overall net income. EXPRESS REFERENCE From the opening of its first ever store in the early 1970’s in Germany, the Lidl brand has grown a great deal to become one of Europe\s leading food retailers, a growth beyond their wildest expectations. Lidl first opened its doors in the UK in 1994 and since then they have went from strength to strength as they now have a grand total of over 650 stores and ten distribution centres across Great Britain employing some 20,000 people. Lidl has just recently just beaten close competitor Waitrose to become the UK’s seventh largest supermarket chain, according to the latest grocery market share figures (BBC, 2017). Lidl are currently drawing on a net income of  £5.8 billion for 2017 rising some  £800 million thus growing their overall market share by 0.6 percentage points to 5%. Aswell as being active in the retail business, Lidl also carry out a number of services such as DVD rental (launched in 2009) and bakery services which have been an excellent addition since their introduction in 2012. Through expansion, in what can be considered an oligopolistic market, companies like Lidl are hoping to get ever closer to the ‘big 4’ who are currently Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. Companies such as Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose have thrived after the economic crash of 2007-08 as consumer behaviour since then has led us to believe that the trend of low prices for good quality products is a popular one and has led to a shift to the right in demand for the products and services of such companies. The first aspect of this PESTLE analysis is the political aspect. With over 10,000 stores in Europe alone, Lidl have the tricky task of managing many unique political factors that affect their everyday business operations. One of these major political components that heavily influences the day to day running of the organisation comes in the form of natural assurance laws. These specific laws compel companies to comply with all the government requirements. Another imperative law that Lidl must abide by is the UK government vitality advance for innovative work of retail products. With the sheer political anarchy that the UK is currently going through at this moment in time Brexit negotiations and the legal trading aspects surrounding it are another external component that Lidl must carefully juggle. According to Mintel, following the Brexit vote, political and economic volatility and uncertainty are widespread across consumer markets with the BPC market which Lidl operate in no excepti on. While changes to laws and regulations will affect business operations and brand practices, consumers already report that they are feeling the impact of the UK’s divorce with the EU. This is likely to result in BPC companies facing challenges following the changes in legislations, while consumers are likely to feel the impact of Brexit on their disposable income. With potentially limited spending money the BPC market might note fluctuations in retail value across various segments. As a result of the instability, over 40% of Irish consumers are unsure how Brexit will affect their finances, with a quarter of NI consumers worrying about the future. Only a fifth of NI consumers believe that their personal situation may improve. In addition Lidl uses economic internal and external factors.

The Poor But Efficient Hypothesis Economics Essay

The Poor But Efficient Hypothesis Economics Essay In Chapter one we set in motion the purpose for this research and explain to the reader the essence of quantifying the amount the household is willing to pay for abating malaria both in the present and in the future. In this chapter we go a step further by reviewing literature in this area. This chapter is important because it provides the reader with a sort of history into this area of research. It also gives the reader an opportunity to understand where our research stands vis-à  -vis other researches in this area. Obtaining a value for the marginal effect of malaria on farmers technical efficiency is one of the live wires on which precise estimates for our Willingness-To-Pay depend. We therefore want to start by reviewing literature in the area of efficiency measurement; afterwards, we will research into literature in the area of Willingness To Pay. Before we go ahead we highlight the purpose of measuring technical efficiency to the reader. Technical efficiency primarily enables one to understand the relationship between input used and the output (total harvested crop). It also enables us to measure the performance of individual farms in an industry as well as provide an index for the average performance of the overall industry. This then leads us to propose policy recommendations that could help shift the production frontier- the maximum attainable harvest from each input- of the farm closer to the industry frontier at the prevailing technology. As we progress in this research the reader will further appreciate this concept and the reason why it is one of the most talked about concepts in development/resource economics. At the moment, our aim is to examine some literature that relates to our area of research. We therefore start Section 2.1 by reviewing literature relating to the poor but efficient hypothesis of Schultz (1964). Section 2.2 reviews some agriculture-based literature on efficiency and health. In doing this we divide the study on inefficiency into two; the Frequentist (Section 2.2.1) and the Bayesian (Section 2.2.2) studies. Using another method of classification, we classify the study of efficiency into single output studies (Section 2.2.3) and multiple output studies (Section 2.2.4). This puts us in good standing to review literature on Willingness-To-Pay in Section 2.4. Productivity/Efficiency Studies in Agriculture The Poor but Efficient Hypothesis The huge volume of research on efficiency in agriculture draws motivation from Schultz (1964) book Transforming Traditional Agriculture. In the book he explains why rural farmers are efficient in the management and allocation of resources. He advances a hypothesis popularly called the poor but efficient hypothesis. Researchers try to verify this hypothesis quantitatively; in doing this, a lot of issues come to the fore, part of which is; the best way to measure productivity. Before the advent of the deterministic measure of productivity pioneered by Aigner and Chu (1968), and, Afriat (1972) researchers attempt to measure efficiency. Of great importance to us in this area are the works of Welsch (1965), Chennareddy (1967) and Lipton (1968) because they specifically test the validity of Schultzs poor but efficient hypothesis. Chennareddy (1967) utilizes the linear regression analysis on a data of one hundred and four rice and tobacco farmers in South India using a Cobb-Douglas production function. His findings were in accord with Schultz hypothesis. He recommends that South Indian farmers should adopt modern technology and extension education in order to move to a higher frontier. Lipton (1986)  [1]  disagrees with this recommendation. He argues that if Schultzs findings are correct then the rural farmers do not need any expert advice to improve their productivity in other words moving to a higher frontier should not be a problem for them. He further queries Schultzs assertion believing that it only works under a neo-classical theory of perfect competition; he affirms that if Schultz uses linear programming to analyse his data his findings would show that the rural farmer is inefficient. Welsch (1965) in his study on Abakaliki rice in Eastern Nigeria makes use of the linear regression to affirm that peasant farmers respond to economic inducement by allocating efficiently among several resources at their disposal. Hence, he supports Schultzs hypothesis. One thing we want the reader to note in the above groups of literature is; the writers who concur with Schultzs assertion use parametric techniques to arrive at their conclusion while Lipton (1968) employs a non-parametric linear programming technique that assumes at least one factor is not fully employed. Just as the argument is about to cease, Sauer and Mendoza-Escalante (2007) involve themselves in it. Their work serves to reconcile these diametrically opposing schools of thought. It puts to use a parametric normalized generalized Leontief (GL) profit function technique to analyse joint production of Cassava flour and maize by small-scale farmers in Brazil. The small-scale farmers are allocatively efficient, they assert, but they show considerable inefficiency in the scale of operation. At this juncture, we remind the reader that our digression is intentional. Our aim is to show how Schultzs assertion has brought an upsurge in the number of efficiency studies in agriculture with special focus on the developing economies of the world. We like to say that the work not only instigates research in development/resource economics but it also prompts research in anthropology and sociology (see Adams, 1986 and the review by Michelena, 1965 pp. 540-541). Proper measure of productivity starts with Aigner and Chu (1968), Afriat (1972) and Richmond (1974) where they propose a deterministic method of frontier measurement. Though their studies are obsolete they however underscore the popularity of the Cobb-Douglas functional form in the early literature to show the relationship between input and output. Aigner, Lovell and Schmidt (1977), Meeusen and van den Broeck (1977), and, Battese and Corra (1977)  [2]  introduce the modern stochastic frontier analysis as we know it today simultaneously. Their model apart from incorporating the efficiency term into the deterministic model it also includes the effect of random shock, hence, the name stochastic. Lau and Yotopoulos (1971) also introduce a dual profit function model to measure efficiency but their method is not as popular in production analysis because it only yields efficiency measures for a group of farms while the frontier method gives efficiency values for individual farms in the industry (Fà ¸rsund et al 1980). The reader should note that the linear regressions of Chennareddy (1967) and Welsch (1965) give the shape of the technology of an average farm in the industry while the stochastic frontier model gives the shape of the technology of the most productive farm in the industry against which the efficiency of every other farm is measured (Coelli 1995). In other words, Chennareddy (1967) and Welsch (1965) use an average response model for their analysis. The specification of a functional form and/or distributional assumption confers on a technique the nomenclature parametric while the non-specification of a functional/distributional form confers on a technique the non-parametric nomenclature. The non-parametric nomenclature means, in the words of Koop (2003), you are letting the data speak. This he says is very difficult to achieve as even in the non-parametric system, just like in the parametric, one need to impose certain structure on a particular problem in order to achieve ones objectives. The use of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) (another technique is the Free Disposal Hull, FDH) overshadows every other technique in the non-parametric class. Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (1978) introduce this technique and gave it the name as we know it today. The data envelopment analysis technique uses the linear programming method to generate a piece-wise envelop over the data points. The technique is widely used in technical efficiency studies but it has the shortcoming of not incorporating randomness in measuring efficiency. Also, the envelop curve is not everywhere differentiable. Our focus in this research is the parametric technique. The parametric technique has progressed so much in the literature that there are now two different econometric schools of thought for estimating efficiency. The first school of thought are the Frequentists who dominate this field since its inception and the second school of thought are the Bayesians into which our research belongs. The Frequentist Studies The first set of Frequentist study is deterministic in nature and use the technological structure of the mathematical programming approach (see Aigner and Chu, 1968; Timmer, 1971; and, Fà ¸rsund and Hjalmarsson, 1979 for exposition on mathematical/goal programming). Richmond (1974) introduces the Modified Ordinary Least Square (MOLS) approach to analyse the efficiency of Norwegian manufacturing industries specifying a Cobb-Douglas production function. Richmond (1974) is a modification of the Corrected Ordinary Least Squares (COLS) approach. Winsten (1957) introduces this model by assuming a distribution (such as half normal or exponential) for the disturbance term. The Corrected Ordinary Least Square technique involves a two step process. The first step involves the use of the Ordinary Least Squares to obtain consistent and unbias estimates of the marginal effect parameters; on the contrary, the intercept parameters are consistent but bias. The second step involves the shifting of t he intercept upwards so the frontier envelops the data from above. Greene (1980) takes Richmond (1974) work a step further as he assumes a gamma distribution for the random error term using the maximum likelihood approach. He uses the data from Nerlove (1963) which is a sample of one hundred and fifty five firms producing electricity in the United States in 1955. Apart from replicating the results of Aigner and Chu (1963), Greene (1980) tries to explain the statistical relevance of his model. The reader should note that Greene (1980)s model is deterministic. One of the early applications of the deterministic frontier were Shapiro and Mà ¼ller (1977), Shapiro (1983), Belbase and Grabowski (1985). Shapiro and Mà ¼ller (1977) attempt to estimate the technical efficiency of forty farms in Geita district of Tanzania. They follow Timmer (1971) method of analysing technical efficiency by applying the linear programming to a Cobb Douglas production frontier. Their result which is similar to that of Chennareddy (1967) shows that the traditional farmer can improve his technical efficiency by adopting modern farming practices through easy access to information. This, they say, will be at the expense of non-economic costs like the farmer being branded unsociable by his community. Shapiro (1983) working in the same district as Shapiro and Mà ¼ller (1977) tries to confirm the poor but efficiency hypothesis but discovers the hypothesis may not be applicable in terms of peasant agriculture in Tanzania because their output could still be increased if all farmers had the same efficiency as the most efficient farmer in the sample. These assertions echo the conclusion of Lipton (1968). He uses the same model and method of analyses as Shapiro and Mà ¼ller (1977). Belbase and Grabowski (1985) introduce a technique that is different from the other two stated above. They apply the Corrected Ordinary Least Square (COLS) approach of Winsten (1957) on cross-sectional sample of farms in Nuwakot district of Nepal. They record an average technical efficiency value of 80% for joint production of rice, maize, millet and wheat. The average technical efficiency value for individual frontier calculation for rice and maize is given as 84% and 67% in that order. They find correlation between technical efficiency and other variables which are nutritional level, income and education. Technical efficiency is however not correlated with farming experience. Some studies investigate the impact of certain agricultural policies on productivity. A priori one expects these policies to actually increase productivity but this is not always the case. One of such study; Taylor, Drummond and Gomes (1986) use a deterministic production function and discover the World Bank sponsored credit programme PRODEMATA did not impact positively on the technical efficiency of farmers in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Their result shows that there is no difference between the technical efficiency of farmers who participate in the programme and those that did not participate. This paper is one of the few that compare both the results of the Corrected Ordinary Least Square and the maximum likelihood approaches. Unexpectedly, the participant farmers in the PRODEMATA programmes have slightly lesser allocative efficiency than non-participant farmers. The researchers also favour Schultzs hypothesis. We want the reader to note that the deterministic frontier is still popular in the literature for example, Alvarez and Arias (2004) use Lau and Yotopoulos (1971) dual profit function model to measure the effect of technical efficiency on farm size using data from one hundred and ninety-six dairy farms in Northern Spain. They introduce technical efficiency as a parameter to estimate in a simple production function. They observe a positive relationship between technical efficiency and farm size after they control for output prices, input prices and quasi-fixed inputs. Also Amara et al (1999) use the deterministic frontier to discover the relationship between technical efficiency and the adoption of conservation technologies by potato farmers in Quebec. They found that farming experience and the adoption of conservation technologies have positive influence on technical efficiency. Croppenstedt and Demeke (1997) use a fixed-random coefficients regression to analyse data for small-scale farmers growing cereal in Ethiopia. They observe that land size is a major constraint to crop production and large farms are relatively less productive than small farms other things being equal. They note that most of the farms are inefficient. They also observe inefficiency in the use of inputs especially labour and fertiliser. Share cropping is positively correlated to technical efficiency. Karagiannis et al (2002) propose an alternative for separating technical change form time varying technical inefficiency. Their proposition uses the general formulation index to model technical change (Karagiannis et al 2002 cites Baltagi and Griffin 1988). They also model technical change as quadratic function of time. Their proposition does not assume any distributional assumption for the one sided stochastic error term. They then apply their proposition to the United Kingdom dairy sector from 1982 to 1992 using a translog production frontier. They obtain a mean technical efficiency value of about seventy-eight per cent for the dairy industry with this period. One major disadvantage of the deterministic frontier model is that it over-values our inefficiency estimates. For example, Taylor and Shonkwiler (1986) discover the deterministic frontier gives over seventy per cent inefficiency while the stochastic frontier gives twenty per cent value for inefficiency. At present, a lot of papers utilize the stochastic frontier model in their analysis. Coelli et al (2003) makes use of the stochastic frontier to calculate the total factor productivity for a panel data of crop agriculture in Bangladesh. The data contains thirty-one observations collected between 1960/61 and 1991/92 from 16 regions and the result reveals technical change is convex in nature with increase starting about the time of the introduction of the green revolution varieties in the 1970s. Technical efficiency reduces at an annual rate of 0.47 per cent during the period they investigate. This has an effect on the total factor productivity which declines at the rate of 0.23 per cent per annum with the rate of reduction increasing in later years. This, they say, raises questions of food security and increase in agricultural productivity in Bangladesh. They point out the non-use of price data in their analysis which makes their work different from other authors (Coelli et al; 2003 c ites Pray and Ahmed, 1991, and, Dey and Evenson, 1991). Wadud and White (2000) compare the stochastic frontier approach with the data envelopment analysis and discover both methods indicate efficiency is significantly affected by irrigation and environmental degradation. There are a few papers that attempt to analyse technical, allocative and economic efficiencies at once in a single research. Bravo-Ureta and Pinheiro (1997) carry out a frontier analysis using the self-dual Cobb-Douglas production function to analyse farm data from Dominican Republic. They justify the use of the Cobb Douglas production function because the method they adopt requires both the use of the production and cost frontiers. Their research is important because they use the maximum likelihood technique to emphasize the essence of not only estimating the technical efficiency but also, the allocative and economic efficiency. Another paper that follows in this light is that of Bravo-Ureta (1994) who attempts to measure the technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of cotton and cassava farmers in eastern Paraguay. He estimates economic efficiency for cotton and cassava farmers to be around forty per cent and fifty-two per cent respectively. There could be spatial differences in the technical efficiencies of different farms based on ecological differences, farm size and interactions between these two variables. Tadesse and Krishnamoorthy (1997) set out to investigate this in their research on paddy rice farmers in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. They remark that the farmers still have opportunity of increasing their efficiency by seventeen per cent. They observe significant variation in the variation of mean technical efficiency in the four zones that make up Tamil Nadu. They use a two stage approach where the first task is to obtain farm-specific technical efficiency and then use a Tobit model to compare the differences in the technical efficiencies of each region and zone. Wang and Schmidt (2002) note a bias in the results obtained by this process and they went ahead to use the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique to prove that there is serious bias at every stage of the procedure. Chen et al (2009) also examine the technical efficiency of farms in four regions of China. The four regions are North, North-East, East and South-West. They observe that different inputs need to be put to efficient use in the different regions. For example, inefficient use of industrial input is the main problem in the East while in the North it is capital. They assert that farms in the North and North-East are relatively more efficient than farms in the East and South-West. They recommend a change in the land tenure system to eliminate land fragmentation in China. Other researchers have used the stochastic production frontiers to investigate the impact of government programmes on farmers efficiency. For example, Seyoum et al (1998) use the Battese and Coelli (1995) stochastic production function to compare between farmers that participate in Sasakawa-Global 2000 project and those who do not in Ethiopia. They collect twenty samples from two different districts (Keresa and Kombolcha) of eastern Ethiopia and show the difference in the levels of production in these two districts by use of a dummy for one district. The data is panel in nature which justifies their use of the Battese and Coelli (1995) model. Battese and Coelli (1995)  [3]  is a panel data extension of the Kumbhakar et al (1991) research work. Seyoum et al (1998) recommend that policy makers should expand the Sasakawa-Global 2000 project as farmers who participated have better output, productivity and efficiency than farmers that did not. Still on the impact of government programmes on efficiency, Abdulai and Huffman (2000) look at the impact of the Structural Adjustment Programme on the efficiency of rice farmers in Northern Ghana using a stochastic profit function. Their results show rice producers in the region are highly responsive to market prices for rice and inputs. They support the introduction of the structural adjustment programme because it makes the farmers more market oriented. Also, Ajibefun and Abdulkadri (1999) find the Cobb-Douglas production function as being adequate to represent the efficiency of Nigerias National Directorate of Employment Farmers Scheme. They reject the half-normal distribution assumption for the inefficiency term. Ajibefun (2002) simulates the impact of policy variables on the technical efficiency of small-scale farmers in Nigeria. He discovers that increase in education level and the farming experience would significantly improve the small-scale farmers technical efficiency. Ama za and Olayemi (2002) investigate the technical efficiency of food crop farmers in Gombe State, Nigeria and arrive at similar mean technical efficiency as Ajibefun and Abdulkadri (1999). However, the difference between the minimum and maximum technical efficiency score for Amaza and Olayemi (2002) is seventy-six per cent while for Ajibefun and Abdulkadri (1999) is about sixty-six per cent. Jara-Rojas et al (2012) look at the impact of the adoption of soil and water conservation practices on productivity and they discover a positive relation between soil and water conservation and technical efficiency. They discover that an enhancement of the technical efficiency also improves the net returns on investment. The use of the stochastic frontier model to estimate the effect of health on farmers efficiency is also very important in the literature. Croppenstedt and Mà ¼ller (2000) take up this challenge when they research into the role of the Ethiopian farmers health and nutritional status on their productivity and efficiency. They find that distance to the source of water as well as nutrition and morbidity affect agricultural productivity. Surprisingly, elasticities of labour productivity regarding their nutritional status are strong. They further affirm that this strong correlation continues with technology estimates and wage equations. However, they record considerable loss in production due to technical inefficiency even after accounting for health and nutrition of workers. Ajani and Ugwu (2008) look at the impact of adverse health on the productivity of farmers living in the Kainji basin of North-Central Nigeria. Their study shows the health variable as being positive, large and statistically significant. They therefore conclude that health capital is an essential input in agriculture. A paper that successfully combined the non-parametric technique of data envelopment analysis and an econometric model is Audibert et al (2003). They use a combination of the data envelopment analysis and the Tobit model to infer on the social and health determinants of the efficiency of cotton farmers in Northern Cà ´te dIvoire. They use the high density of the malaria parasite in the blood of an individual as a proxy for the health of the household. They use a two step process; firstly, they use the data envelopment analysis to arrive at relative technical efficiency values and then they regress this efficiency scores against factors they think will affect efficiency. The high density of malaria parasite in the blood variable enters the model at the second stage. Their results show that malaria greatly reduces farmers technical efficiency. They further conclude that it is intensity of infection by the disease that is important rather than its presence. Our research collects data on the prevalence of the disease in an area rather than just hospital reported cases; this we believe will give further credence to our results. Ajani and Ashagidigbi (2008) use numbers of days of incapacitation as a proxy for malaria incidence in Oyo State, Nigeria. Surprisingly, they ran a normal linear regression to investigate the effects of malaria on agricultural productivity. Their analysis shows that age and days of incapacitation are insignificant statistically. Olarinde et al (2008) explore the factors that affect bee keepers technical efficiency in Oyo state, Nigeria. They observe that the bee keepers are efficient by about eighty-five per cent there is still room for to increase their efficiency by fifteen per cent. They point out that some of the farmers do not take bee-keeping as their main occupation. This, they say, is a major determinant of efficiency. Marital status is also another variable that affects technical efficiency, they note. They observe that a farmer who is single is likely to be more efficient than a married farmer. Mochebelele and Winter-Nelson (2000) examine the effect of migratory labour (to mine fields in South Africa) on farm technical efficiency. They try to establish if migrant labour actually complement farm production or not. They establish that households with migrant farmers have higher production and are more efficient than households without migrant farmers. In the use of the panel data for efficiency estimation, some researchers try to see if differences exist in efficiency values between the fixed effect model and the stochastic frontiers. Ahmad and Bravo-Ureta (1996) use panel data of ninety-six Vermont dairy farms between the periods 1971 to 1984. They carry out statistical tests to investigate the better model between the fixed effect model and the stochastic frontier model. The fixed effect model gave better results than the stochastic frontier model. Hence, they conclude that the fixed effect model needs to be considered in panel data analysis. Reinhard et al (1999) estimate the technical and environmental efficiency of a panel of dairy farms. They assume the production of two outputs dairy and excessive use of Nitrogen. They analyse their efficiencies separately. Their objective involves investigating whether farmers can both be technically and environmentally efficient. They also examine the compatibility of these two types of efficiencies. They obtain a mean output-technical efficiency of 0.894 while the input-oriented environment efficiency is 0.441. They remark that intensive dairy farming is both technically and environmentally more efficient than extensive dairy farming. Reinhard et al (2000) examine comprehensive environmental efficiency in Dutch dairy farms. This paper is a continuation of Reinhard et al (1999) paper. In this paper, apart from surplus Nitrogen which they use in their earlier work, they also investigate excess use of phosphate and total energy use of these farms. They compare efficiency scores in the stochastic frontier analysis with the data envelopment analysis. The mean technical efficiency values for the two methods of analysis are different. The stochastic frontier has an output technical efficiency value of eighty-nine per cent while the data envelopment analysis has an efficiency value of seven-eight per cent. There is significant difference between their environmental efficiencies also. The stochastic frontier analysis records a value of eighty per cent while the data envelopment analysis records a value of fifty-two per cent. It is evident from the result of the two efficiencies that the stochastic frontier method over-valu es efficiency scores. Before we close this section we refer the reader to a work by Strauss (1986). The work is important because it attempts to investigate the effect of nutrition on farm labour productivity in Sierra Leone. He uses an average response model to capture this effect. He estimates a Cobb-Douglas production function which accounts for simultaneity in input and calorie choice. His exercise shows calorie intake has significant impact on labour productivity. He, however, places a caveat on this result because individual-level nutrient and anthropometric data are not included in the analysis. His result supports the nutrition productivity hypothesis to a great extent. In the last few pages we attempt to explain to the reader the preponderance of the Frequentist method of analysing the stochastic frontier especially in agriculture. We emphasize the diverse uses of the parametric method of efficiency measurement in agriculture. We believe that other literature in agriculture will fall into one of the categories we peruse above. Next, we take a look at the Bayesian econometrist view. The reader should note how few the literature is compared to the Frequentist method. Also, for a thorough perusal of the literature from the Frequentist perspective we refer the reader to Bravo-Ureta et al (2007) Delete. The Bayesian Studies The works of van den Broeck, Koop, Osiewalski and Steel (1994); Koop, Osielwalski and Steel (1994, 1997); Koop, Steel and Osielwalski (1992), and, Fernà ¡ndez, Osiewalski and Steel (1997) herald the Bayesian technique for estimating the compose-error model. van den Broeck, Koop, Osiewalski and Steel (1994) is a primer for estimating a Bayesian cross-sectional composed-error data. They resolve the problem of choosing the best functional form experienced in classical econometrics by mixing over a number of distributions. They use the Bayesian model averaging to average over the results of the Jondrow et al. (1982) and Greene (1990). In other words van den Broeck, Koop, Osiewalski and Steel (1994) solve the problem of choosing the better distribution between the two. They also carry out predictive inference on their results using the Monte Carlo technique of importance sampling. In continuation of van den Broeck, Koop, Osiewalski and Steel (1994) work; Koop, Osielwalski and Steel (1994) show how to use the Gibbs sampling Monte Carlo method to arrive at estimates for the stochastic cost frontier model. They fit an asymptotically ideal price aggregator, non-constant returns to scale composed error cost frontier. They use Barnett, Geweke, and Wolfe (1991) method for generating the asymptotically ideal price aggregator (Koop, Osielwalski and Steel, 1994 cite Barnett, Geweke, and Wolfe 1999). They caution that care should be taken in the choice of functional form for frontier analysis. We believe the use of the Bayesian model Averaging technique should circumvent this problem. Also, they discover that imposing regularity condition on the price aggregator is found to reduce the spread of the Mà ¼ntz- Szatz expansion. Koop, Steel and Osielwalski (1995) essentially show how to draw the different parameters in the composed-error model using the Gibbs sampler. They provide an algorithm to draw the different parameters of choice in the composed-error model. They show the ease with which this can be done using the Gibbs sampler. They also note the use of 0.875 as an informative prior for the inefficiency value. van den Broeck, Koop, Osielwalski and Steel (1994) propose this value. Fernà ¡ndez, Osiewalski and Steel (1997) introduce the Bayesian method for estimating panel data using a class of non- or partly-informative prior. They assert that using this type of priors for a cross-sectional data will make its posterior inference unreliable and inaccurate. This is because the total number of parameters in the entire model is larger than the sample size. They circumvent this problem in the panel data where the researcher can impose a structure on the inefficiency terms. Koop, Osielwalski and Steel (1997) take Fernà ¡ndez et al (1997)

Importance of Ensuring That Others Are Aware Of Own Whereabouts

Importance of Ensuring That Others Are Aware Of Own Whereabouts 1.1 Identify legislation relating to general health and safety in a health or social care work setting. The Health and Safety at Work act 1974 relates to the general health and safety in a healthcare work setting. This acts as an umbrella for the other legislations which we must follow: MANUAL HANDLING OPERATION REGULATIONS 1992 -Moving Handling Techniques which are used to move people and objects in a manor which will avoid injury CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH 2002 (COSHH) carers should have a full understanding of disposing of and storing of all substance especially with regards Infection control. All carers must understand the importance of infection control whilst caring for individuals REPORTING OF INJURIES DISEASES AND DANGEROUS OCCURENCES 1995 (RIDDOR) The carer should have a good understanding of the requirements of reporting accidents and ill health FOOD SAFETY ACT 1990 Food Hygiene The carer should be able to cook, prepare and store foods which are safe and would avoid food poisoning. Describe the main points of the health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer. HEALTH SAFETY AT WORK ACT 1974 This was the first act to protect all employees regardless of their work place. It puts the onus on the employer to create a safe working environment for all employees. It says the employer must ensure the health safety of all people on the premise sand to eliminate risks where ever possible. It also states that employers must maintain their safety and that of others with whom they work. The types of things you must do in relation to this act are: Attend all mandatory and any other relevant training eg. Manual Handling, Fire safety, S.O.V.A, Infection Control. Recognise and report signs of potential danger eg worn carpets, trailing cables, blocked fire exits Recognise and report signs of potential violence or abuse Report all accident in the accident book Never work if you are ill with a communicable illness, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs Follow COSHH regulations dispose of contaminated waste correctly. Store Dangerous substances correctly CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH2002 What are hazardous substances? This can include things such as chemicals, fumes, dust, vapours, mist, gases. It is most likely that the main hazardous substances you will encounter will be cleaning chemicals, clinical waste, soiled laundry and body fluids such as urine and blood. You will need to have a full understanding of the correct way to handle and store hazardous substances and also the correct way to dispose of them. Wear apron and gloves wash hands before and after to maintain infection control Store hazardous substances according to the manufacturers instructions Know correct procedure in the event of a spillage Dispose of hazardous waste in the correct manner REPORTING OF INJURIES DISEASES AND DANGEROUS OCCURENCES 1995 The reporting of accidents and ill health at work is a legal requirement. All accidents and dangerous occurrences should be reported to the incident contact centre which was established in April 2001. Reportable diseases include: Certain poisons Some skin diseases such as dermatitis, skin cancer, ulcers Lung disease, including occupational asthma Reportable injuries include: Fractures other than fingers, thumbs or toes Amputation Burns Dislocation of shoulder, hip, knee or spine Carers should always report accidents in the accident book and to their Line Manager FOOD SAFETY ACT 1990 This act makes it an offence to offer a service user contaminated food which may be injurious to health. It is important as a carer that you check the date on food, ensure it has been stored correctly, and it is cooked correctly. Ensure it has not been contaminated by cross infection, therefore always wear appropriate PPE when handling and preparing food. The carer should be able to cook prepare and store foods which are safe and would avoid food poisoning. Outline the main health and safety responsibilities of: Self Take reasonable care for your own safety and that of others Co-operate with the employer in respect of health safety matters Not intentionally damage any health safety equipment or materials provided by the employer Using the systems and procedures correctly Reporting flaws or gaps in the systems, equipment or procedures in use the employer or manager Provide a safe workplace Ensure safe access to and from the workplace provide information on health safety provide health safety training undertake risk assessments for al hazards Update systems and procedures others in the work setting Express their needs and preferences in the area of their health and well-being Individuals should be encouraged to understand and take responsibility for promoting their own health care Assess and manage risks to their health and well-being Identify and report any factors that may put themselves or others at risk Visitors to sign in on arrival and wear id badges if appropriate Identify tasks relating to health and safety that should not be carried out without special training Carers should not complete any tasks they do not feel competent to do or which they have not been fully trained to carry out. This could include: Manual handling Medication Health emergencies Explain how to access additional support and information relating to health and safety Any support or advice Ii need with regards Health safety can be obtained from my line manager or from the workplace policies and procedures. Understand the use of risk assessments in relation to health and safety Explain why it is important to assess health and safety hazards posed by the work setting or by particular activities It is important to risk assess health and safety hazards at work because they may cause harm or loss of life to members of the workforce. This would then result in the owner of a company being sued and prosecuted that is why risk assessment is needed. Explain how and when to report potential health and safety risks that have been identified I would report health and safety concerns to my line manager, and would report these as soon as they come into direct contact with me. It is my duty as a Care Worker to report any potential health and saftefy risks that have been identified, in conjunction with the GSCC Code of practice, which states; Bringing to the attention of your employer or the appropriate authority resource or operational difficulties that might get in the way of the delivery of safe care. Informing your employer or an appropriate authority where the practice of colleagues may be unsafe or adversely affecting standards of care. The Health Safety at work Act 1974 also states that employers must maintain their safety and that of others with whom they work. Explain how risk assessment can help address dilemmas between rights and health and safety concerns Risk assessment can address dilemmas with rights and health and safety because clients can express their own rights to do what they want even though it can be defined as risky behaviour. If it is documented and a risk management plan is put in place the company can cover their own backs if anything goes wrong whilst a client is participating in risky behaviour. Understand procedures for responding to accidents and sudden illness Describe different types of accidents and sudden illness that may occur in own work setting The most common types of accidents are: Slipss due to spills/Wet areas (bathrooms) Trips due to trailing wires/Objects left lying around/Frayed carpets, Falls out of bed/down steps/stairs The types of sudden illness could be: Sickness diarrhoea, food poisoning, stroke, heart attack, shingles, influenza, scabies Outline the procedures to be followed if an accident or sudden illness should occur The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 Carers have legal duties under RIDDOR that require us to report and record some work-related accidents by the quickest means possible. Any major injuries must be reported to RIDDOR immediately. This includes fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes and loss of sight (Temporarily or permanently) Any injury which occurred at work and causes a person to be off work for over 3 days must be reported. Be able to reduce the spread of infection Demonstrate the recommended method for hand washing Demonstrate ways to ensure that own health and hygience do not pose a risk to others at work Wash hands before and after attending a service user Wear PPE when assisting individuals with personal care Dont attend work if you have a contagious illness Be able to move and handle equipment and other objects safely Identify legislation that relates to moving and handling Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 The employer must : decide what could harm you in your job and the precautions to stop it. This is part of risk assessment. In a way you can understand, explain how risks will be controlled and tell you version of pocket card who is responsible for this. Consult and work with you and your health and safety representatives in protecting everyone from harm in the workplace. Free of charge, give you the health and safety training you need to do your job Free of charge, provide you with any equipment and protective clothing you need, and ensure it is properly looked after. Carer must: Follow the training they have received when using any work items the employer has provided . Take reasonable care of their own and other peoples health and safety Co-operate with their employer on health and safety. Tell someone if they think the work or inadequate precautions are putting anyones health and safety at serious risk Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as reasonably practicable; assess any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided; and reduce the risk of injury so far as reasonably practicable. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 PUWER In general terms, the Regulations require that equipment provided for use at work is: suitable for the intended use safe for use, maintained in a safe condition and, in certain circumstances, inspected to ensure this remains the case; used only by people who have received adequate information, instruction and training accompanied by suitable safety measures, eg protective devices, markings, warnings. Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (1992) -LOLER Generally, the Regulations require that lifting equipment provided for use at work is: strong and stable enough for the particular use and marked to indicate safe working loads; positioned and installed to minimise any risks; used safely, ie the work is planned, organised and performed by competent people; and subject to ongoing thorough examination and, where appropriate, inspection by competent people. 5.2 Explain principles for moving and handling equipment and other objects safely Avoid hazardous manual handling operations so far as is reasonably practicable, for example by redesigning the task to avoid moving the load or by automating or mechanising the process. Make a suitable and sufficient assessment of any hazardous manual handling operations that cannot be avoided. Reduce the risk of injury from those operations so far as is reasonably practicable. Where possible, you should provide mechanical assistance, for example a sack trolley or hoist. Where this is not reasonably practicable, look at ways of changing the task, the load and working environment Move and handle equipment or other objects safely Ensure you attend manual handling training on a regular basis Check the equipment is in a clean, safe working condition before use Check the environment for obstructions, trip hazards Avoid manual handling operations where reasonably practical Always use equipment that is provided Wear appropriate footwear and clothing Check the individuals care plan risk assessment Communicate with the individual and other staff how the move will take place Report any changes to the individuals mobility for risk assessment reassessment Know how to handle hazardous substances and materials Identify hazardous substances and materials that may be found in the work setting Cleaning chemicals such as bleach clinical waste e.g. Soiled pads, soiled dressings, used sharps soiled laundry body fluids such as urine and blood Describe safe practices for: Storing hazardous substances Every workplace must have a COSHH file. The file lists all the hazardous substances used in the workplace. It should detail: Where they are kept How they are labelled Their effects The maximum amount of time it is safe to be exposed to them How to deal with an emergency involving one of them Hazardous substances such as cleaning materials should be returned to a locked cupboard at all times, and always stored in their original container, then ensured that clearly labelled. This is to avoid service users being able to obtain and accidentally swallow them. Using hazardous substances When using or handling hazardous substances the Carer should wear appropriate PPE, which would include gloves, apron, mask, and eye shield depending on what the substance is. For example, The COSHH Approved code of Practice (ACoP) recommends that exposure be prevented by: Altering work methods so that the task that causes exposure is no longer carried out à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" for example, the Carer should be aware that mixing common household cleaning products such as bleach, chlorine or other similar general home cleaning products can cause serious injuries and respiratory problems: Common cleaning products may be dangerous when mixed. Therefore the Carer must be aware of the following when carrying out tasks within the service users home: Do not mix bleach and ammonia. Do not mix bleach and acids. Do not use two drain cleaners together, or one right after the other. The following are some of the chemicals that may be hazardous if mixed/not used correctly: Ammonia: In addition to ammonia purchased as a cleaning product, ammonia may be found in the following: some glass and window cleaners urine (be careful if you clean cat litter boxes or use a diaper pail) some interior and exterior paints. Acids: Products containing acids include: vinegar some glass and window cleaners some automatic dishwasher detergents and rinses some toilet bowl cleaners some drain cleaners some lime, calcium and rust removal products some brick and concrete cleaners Dangers of mixing these common cleaning products include: Mixing bleach and ammonia: When bleach is mixed with ammonia, toxic gases called chloramines are produced. Exposure to chloramine gases can cause: coughing shortness of breath chest pain wheezing nausea watery eyes irritation to the throat, nose and eyes pneumonia and fluid in the lungs Mixing bleach and acids: When chlorine bleach is mixed with an acid, chlorine gas is given off. Chlorine gas and water combine to make hydrochloric and hypochlorous acids. Chlorine gas exposure, even at low levels, almost always irritates the mucous membranes (eyes, throat, and nose), and causes coughing and breathing problems, burning and watery eyes, and a runny nose. Higher levels of exposure can cause chest pain, more severe breathing difficulties, vomiting, pneumonia, and fluid in the lungs. Very high levels can cause death. Chlorine can be absorbed through the skin, resulting in pain, inflammation, swelling, and blistering. Hydrochloric acid also causes burns to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, mouth and lungs. Mixing bleach and other cleaning products: Bleach also reacts with some oven cleaners, hydrogen peroxide, and some insecticides. With the above cautions in mind the carer should therefore ensure their own safety and the safety of the Service User by ensuring the following, when deemed appropriate and necessary: modifying the process to remove hazardous substances, including by-products or waste substituting the hazardous substance with a less hazardous type or form of the substance, e.g. using granules instead of powder to reduce dust levels or a less volatile solvent in a process. If exposure cannot be prevented, it must be adequately controlled. The hierarchy of control measures can be summarised as follows. Eliminate Dont use the hazardous substance or avoid the procedure which causes exposure. Substitute Change the material or working practice to one less hazardous. Enclose Enclose the hazardous substances or process in a closed system. Disposing of hazardous substances and materials The Carer should always ensure clinical waste is placed into the yellow bag (if available) or double wrapped in a plastic bag, soiled linen into the correct laundry bag, sharps into the used sharps bin. Other chemicals should be disposed of as indicated on the label. All clinical waste handling and disposal procedures must comply with The controlled Waste Regulations, The environmental Protection Act including Duty of care regulations, The carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations and the Hazardous Waste Regulations. All these regulations come under the umbrella regulation The Environment Protection Regulations (Waste Disposal). Understand how to promote fire safety in the work setting Describe practices that prevent fires from: Starting and spreading No smoking on the premises except in designated areas à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" check workplace polices No candles to be lit in the building à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" check workplace policies Ensure fire doors are kept closed Attend regular fire safety training Know where alarms, extinguishers, fire blankets can be located in the building and how to use them Regular fire drills Ensure empty boxes etc are disposed of outside the building immediately they are empty Dont leave open flames unattended in the kitchen. Dont leave electric irons unattended Dont leave flammable items near heat source Outline emergency procedures to be followed in the event of a fire in the work setting Each workplace will have their own procedures which must be followed in the case of an emergency. All workplaces must display information about what actions to take in case of fire. The procedure is likely to be similar to: Raise the alarm Dial 999 Ensure that everyone is safe and out of danger If it is safe to do so, attack the fire with the correct extinguisher Go to the fire assembly point (This will be stated on the fire procedure notice) Do not return to the building for any reason Explain the importance of maintaining clear evacuation routes at all times The Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 requires that all workplaces should be inspected by the fire authority. Part of the regulation states that routes to emergency exits from a workplace and exits themselves are kept clear at all times and that all emergency exits and routes lead as directly as possible to a place of safety. This is important for the safety of yourself, the service users, colleagues and any visitors to the building 8 Implement Security measures in the work setting Use agreed ways of working for checking the identity of anyone requesting access to: Premises: Check workplace procedures. The identity of all visitors to the workplace should be checked. This can be done in a variety of ways Check their id card Check with the person they have the appointment with All visitors should sign in the visitors book. This aids the number count in case of a fire. If someone wanted to gain access to the premises while I was at a service users property, I could phone my line manager to confirm whether I am scheduled any visits from anyone. Open the door on latch and get the person to present some identification to who they are and what they want. If I am still suspicious, phone the police. Implement measures to protect own security and the security of others in the work setting If anyone requests information on a client, I would refer them to my manager if they are claiming to be a fellow healthcare professional. My manager would have a better insight as to who is involved in a persons care and should be able to pass them onto the companys Caldecott Guardian who protects all confidential information within the company. Practicing safely and professionally will protect own security and others in the workplace, such as following policies and procedures, reading my service users personal care plan and risk assessments, and just basically knowing my job inside out and practicing in a safe manner. 8.3 Explain the importance of ensuring that others are aware of own whereabouts The importance of letting others know where you are helps stop staff getting kidnapped or assaulted whilst in a clients house. Also, if there is a fire in a building and you sign in, the fire brigade know exactly how many people are left in that building when it comes to evacuating it. 9 Know how to manage own stress 9.1 Identify common signs and indicators of stress Common signs of stress are depression, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, and illness due to lower immune system. 9.2 Identify circumstances that tend to trigger own stress Circumstances that tend to trigger my own stress are over tiredness and dealing with complex traumas. 9.3 Describe ways to manage own stress I manage stress through my days off, exercise, eating a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy sleep pattern à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" these are all vital for my own well-being and therefore enable me to be more professional and proficient in my work role and duties.

Mental Health State Essay -- Healthcare, Vision, Mental Health

Low vision assessments as a routine normally include case history and psychophysical measurements. By adding mental health state and low vision quality of life questionnaires during case history, a better quality of low vision rehabilitation can be offered to low vision patients. Low vision rehabilitation is very rewarding because much can be offered to assist the low vision patients. We report a 43-years old female who had tractional retinal detachment secondary to diabetic retinopathy and how low vision rehabilitation can be improved by adding simple steps incorporating mental health state and quality of life questionnaire which can be measured objectively during case history in low vision assessment. As this case report shows, recognition of the mental health and quality of life impact on visual impairment is very critical to institution of appropriate rehabilitation and referral for low vision patients. Introduction Currently, low vision assessment routine normally involved mainly the case history which includes the patient’s main complained, patient’s requirements, patient’s ocular history, patient’s general health plus medication, family history of ocular diseases and general health. The psychophysics measurement such as visual acuity (VA), refraction, visual field measurement, contrast sensitivity function test, assessment of anterior and posterior part of the eyes were the common examination conducted during low vision assessment (Jackson & Wolffsohn 2007). However, mental health state i.e The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) (Ramli et al. 2007) and Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaires (LVQoL) (Walffsohn & Cochrane 2000) are not routine in case history during low vision assessment at Low Vision Clinic, U... ...sians. Asia Pac J Public Health 21(1):43-50. 12. Norhani, M. & Suzainah, Y. 1998. Profile of low vision clinic population. Clinical and Experimental Optometry 81(5):198-202 13. Ramli, M., Mohd Ariff, F. & Zaini, Z. Translation, validation and psychometric properties of Bahasa Malaysia version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). ASEAN Journal Psychiatry 8(2):82-89 14. Wolffsohn, J. S. & Cochrane, A. L. 2000. Design of the Low Vision Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (LVQOL) and Measuring the Outcome of Low-vision Rehabilitation. American Journal of Ophthalmology. 130(6):793-802. 15. Zainal, M., Ismail, S. M., Ropilah, A. R., Elias, H., Arumugan, G., Alias, D., Fathilah, J. Lim, T. O., Ding, L. M. & Goh, P. P. 2002. Prevalence of blindness and low vision in Malaysian population: results from the National Eye Survey 1996. Br J Ophthalmol. 86:951-956

Stagecraft :: essays research papers

Sunrise in my Pocket, an American folk drama originally written by Edwin Justus Mayer, but adapted by Jeffrey Hayden for the Playmakers Repertory Company recounts the epic adventure of Davy Crockett, Tennessee statesman and frontiersman and his subsequent journey to Texas. Davy Crockett, portrayed effortlessly by Playmaker’s leading actor, Kenneth P. Strong, is accompanied by his faithful companion, Crawling Caterpillar, the gallant ex-pirate Hardin, the woman hating Thimblerig, and the man-hating Annie; each part was played respectfully by Douglas Spain, Mike Regan, Jeffrey Blair Cornell, and Jamie Rose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The success of Jeffrey Hayden’s production should be attributed to the talented cast and their professional zeal that was evident in each individual performance. The main plot, the actual journey and the carefully woven sub-plots, between for example Thimblerig and Annie became the foundation for fun-loving adventure and perhaps in the imagination of the audience greater adventure upon arrival in the Texas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The audience and thus the play greatly benefited from the use of the thrust stage, extending beyond the proscenium arch, the stage was surrounded on three sides by the audience. The thrust stage moved the action into the crowd; the audience became an extra, part of the play, no longer an audience removed, but an audience part. The stage was also raked, or maintained a permanent slope atop a level auditorium floor. The sloped stage increased the effectiveness of the thrust stage, further projecting the action into the audience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The task of simulating the American frontier was given to scene designer Narelle Sissons and lighting designer Mary Louise Geiger. Sissons created a beautifully naked set, backed by a grove of trees that was brought to life by Geiger’s gentle moonbeams, water reflections, and campfire light. Not nearly as empty as Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot; however, both sets allow the imagination to improvise and individually interpret the play. Sissons and Geiger created an appropriately classy set and lighting scene that added to the plays performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Costume Designer, Marianne Custer, continued with the idea of simplicity while selecting the worn frontier clothing. Annie became the notable standout however, with her tight fitting buckskins. The costume only added to the character, a frontier feminist, Annie could compete with the bravest of males, but was still very feminine and had the beauty only a woman could.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sound Designer, M. Anthony Reimer, provided the audience with a subtle, yet effective portrayal of backcountry sounds.

The Fall of Innocence in A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

â€Å"Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud, It was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make. With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear forgotten.† (Knowles 59-60). Gene Forrester, one of the main characters in John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, describes his best friend Phineas' fall from a â€Å"tremendous tree, an irate steely black steeple beside a river,†(Knowles 6) at their all boys boarding school, Devon. Gene is an introverted young boy who is very academically gifted. Finny, however, is an extremely extroverted childish young boy who is very athleticaly gifted. Finny's fall eventually leads to terrible thi ngs, such as death and guilt. Throughout the novel Knowles uses Phineas' fall from the tree to symbolize his loss of innocence, to show Gene's guilt, and to develop Phinea's death. After Phineas, also known as Finny, falls from the tree, he slowy begins to change. He begins to lose his innocence, It can be seen in the beginning of the novel that Finny acts very innocent. For example, Finny's game of Blitzball shows his spontaneous style of play, and his innocent child like personality. However after Finny's tragic fall from the tree, he begins to seem less innocent and childish. He begins to reveal secrets to Gene, such as when he tells Gene about trying to enlist in the war. â€Å"I've been writing to the Army and the Navy and the Marines and the Canadians and everybody else all winter..†(Knowles 190). War is not an event for innocent little boys. When readers find out that Finny had been trying to enlist in the war all winter it shows that after the fall Finny becomes less and less innocent. He no longer begins to play his childish games, and no longer tries to preform his crazy stunts. Though he is hurt, he does not seem to want to watch or help pa rticipate in any of these activies. On the day Finny fell from that tree, he did not just plument down into the river beneath him, but also fell from innocence.