Disturbance as a Crucial Process in Shaping the Modern Landscape When the Pieces of Mosaics Fall into Their Places

Disturbance as a Crucial Process in Shaping the Modern Landscape When the Pieces of Mosaics Fall into Their Places Of all the things that surround us, landscape seems by far the most stable of all; when looking beyond the horizon, one might think that years will pass, people will come and leave, but the mountains in the distance will always remain in their places.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Disturbance as a Crucial Process in Shaping the Modern Landscape: When the Pieces of Mosaics Fall into Their Places specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, this stability is only an illusion; according to the research results, the process known as disturbance shapes the landscape greatly. Because of the disturbance process, the landscape, especially its forest elements, maintain relative stability and display amazing diversity. As Turner, Gardner and O’Neill explain, â€Å"A disturbance is defined as a relatively discrete event that disrupts the structure of an ecosystem, community, or population and changes resource availabilit y or the physical environment† (Turner, Gardner O’Neill, 2001, 159). Therefore, any event within the specific ecosystem that leads to the gradual change of the latter can be classified as a disturbance. There have also been attempts to define an ecosystem disturbance as tectonic movement, which actually matches the key idea of a disturbance. However, it is essential to mention that a disturbance can be triggered not only by the movement of the tectonic blocks, but also by the factors that have much faster, though just as drastic effects, e.g., hurricanes, tsunami and storms. All in all, â€Å"the definition of disturbance is scale dependent,† as Turner, Gardner O’Neill (2001, 159) put it. While the above-mentioned disturbance processes doubtlessly have huge effect on the lives of a number of organisms, as well as on the shape of the landscape, it is still important to figure out why these phenomena are considered of great significance for the landscape e cology.Advertising Looking for essay on ecology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since disturbances do not happen often, their impact can be viewed as accidental and not quite long-lasting. Therefore, disturbances definitely deserve a better look. The existing evidence shows that disturbances play a great role in shaping landscape: â€Å"Natural disturbances and those caused by human actions can promote plant and animal diversity by influencing the composition, age, size, edge characteristics, and distribution of stands across the landscape† (Voller Harrison, 2011, 23). Judging by the given statement, the effects of disturbances are not necessarily grandeur or induced by a cataclysm. At the same time, the patterns and scale of disturbance depends on the type of the landscape greatly, which makes disturbance and landscape mutually dependent. One of the major positive aspects of disturbance, by the way, is its selectiveness; according to the research data, disturbances do not capture an entire area – instead, they seize a certain part of it, depending on their scale. Thus, the positive effect of a disturbance is provided; once a disturbance could be observed in all corners of a specific area, the species within the given area would have been extinct, and the balance between certain elements of the landscape, e.g., the young and old segments of the chosen area would have been broken. It is also noteworthy that disturbances pass relatively unnoticed in certain landscapes. On the one hand, it might seem that the disturbances on a grand scale must shape any landscape considerably; however, the specifics of certain areas make the landscapes greatly resilient to any sort of disturbance. For example, in the places like desert, where the herbage is very scarce or completely absent, fires will not have a tangible effect.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Disturbance as a Crucial Process in Shaping the Modern Landscape: When the Pieces of Mosaics Fall into Their Places specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Turner, Gardner and O’Neill say, â€Å"Landscape position appears to influence susceptibility to disturbance when the disturbance itself has a distinct directionality (e.g., hurricane tracks) such that some locations are usually ore exposed than the others† (Turner, Gardner O’Neill, 2001, 165). Unlike one might have thought, disturbances are not chaotic; they have their own specific patterns that can be researched and, thus, predicted with sufficient precision. Depending on the specifics of the area, the patterns of disturbances may vary. Among the most well known factors that influence the disturbance patterns the area of the patch must be named. While a smaller area soon becomes completely engulfed by a certain disturbance, larger areas do not allow a disturbance to spread further ; with many obstacles on its way, including mountains, canyons, rivers, etc., which actually make another factor, i.e., spatial distribution, a disturbance will most likely die out before it even reaches one third of the area. Finally, frequency and recurrence interval must be taken into account. While the latter means the mean time between the disturbance events and allows a specific area to renew and adapt to the changes brought on by the previous disturbance, the former is an approximate number of disturbances that happen in the given area within a certain amount of time (a year, as a rule) (Walker, 2011, 59). Generally speaking, the process of disturbance influences the landscape ecology positively and changes the landscape very slowly, which allows the latter to change so that all its elements, including the fauna, could adapt to the new environment without considerable problems.Advertising Looking for essay on ecology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, it is important to keep in mind that disturbances also characterize a landscape to a considerable extent. Literature Cited Turner, M. G., R. H. Gardner, and R. V. O’Neill, 2001. Landscape ecology in theory and practice. Springer, New York, NY. Voller, J. S. Harrison, 2011. Conservation biology principles for forested landscapes. UBC Press, Vancouver, CA. Walker, L. R., 2011. The biology of disturbed habitats. Oxford University Press, New York.

Serial Killer and Baby Killer, Janie Lou Gibbs

Serial Killer and Baby Killer, Janie Lou Gibbs Janie Lou Gibbs murdered her husband, three children, and a grandson by poisoning them with arsenic so she could collect on the life insurance policies she had on each victim. Good Home Cooking Janie Lou Gibbs, from Cordele Georgia, was a devoted wife and mother who spent much of her free time giving to her church. In 1965, her husband, Marvin Gibbs died suddenly at home after enjoying one of Janies good home cooked meals. Doctors concluded an undiagnosed liver disease caused his death. An Act of Giving The show of sympathy to Janie Lou and her three children from the church was overwhelming. So much so, that Ms. Gibbs decided to give part of Marvins life insurance money to the church to show her appreciation for their stellar support. Marvin, Jr. With Marvin gone, Gibbs and her children pulled together but within a year tragedy struck again. Marvin, Jr. age 13 seemed to have inherited his fathers liver disease and after collapsing with severe cramps, he too died. Again, the church community came to support Gibbs through the painful death of her young son. Janie, overwhelmed with appreciation gave a portion of Marvin, Jr.s life insurance payment to the congregation. A Family Plagued How so much could go wrong with one family was hard to understand, but one could not help to admire Gibbs inner strength especially when just a few months later, 16-year-old Lester Gibbs began complaining of dizziness, headaches and severe cramping. He died before ever getting to the hospital. Doctors decided the cause of death was hepatitis. To Give Is To Receive With disbelief but with the usual sympathy and support, the church helped Gibbs through her terrible loss. Gibbs, now broken hearted with all that she had to endure in two years, knew she could never have made it without the support of the church, and again, offered a portion of young Lesters life insurance payment to them to help show her undying gratitude. Grandmother Janie Her last and oldest son, Roger, was married and the birth of his son, Raymond seemed to lift Janie out of despair. However, within a month both Roger and his perfectly healthy newborn son were dead. This time the attending physician asked for an investigation into the deaths. When the tests came back showing that Roger and Raymond had been given arsenic poisoning, Gibbs was arrested. Goodbye Janie Janie Lou Gibbs was found guilty of poisoning her family May 9, 1976, and received a life sentence for each of the five murders she committed. In 1999, at age 66, she received a medical release from prison because she was suffering from the advanced stages of Parkinsons disease. Source Murder Most Rare The Female Serial Killer by Michael D. Kelleher and C.L. Kelleher Schechter, Harold. The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Paperback, Revised, Updated edition, Gallery Books, July 4, 2006. Deadly Women - Discovery Channelï » ¿

Homework assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Homework assignment - Research Paper Example Over the years, many employers have been faced with the dilemma of having to recruit workers but they lack ideas of how to get the right person for the job. This happens in situations where someone may require a house help, mechanic, electrician and many more to work for an individual. An example of the problem is that an individual may be travelling and their car experiences a mechanical breakdown and you are unaware of how to deal with this problem. This site will help an individual get a mechanic near their location. This section outlines the approach to the problem described above. The approach is from Foster et al. [2, Sec. 6], which discusses a scenario of service-based distributed query processing using OGSA-DAI. The key idea is to make the data available to all the users via a web service with the help of Grid Distributed Query Processing Service techniques (GQPS). An adequate method of solving this problem is to create a web browser where all interested personnel can sign up and fill a form which involve entry of personal details like; location, age, profession among others (Oliver, 2005). All those who sign up will have an account with their details that will be stored in a database. The web interface will contain a search option which will enable anyone interested in getting a worker will enter the profession and a list of all those in that category of profession will be. In case the employer needs some from a particular area, he or she needs only to specify the area while searching (Converse, 2004). The design delivers a web based interface for data access. The intended deliverable of this project is the development of a site for data access search of professions in a distributed environment, which indeed will provide more opportunities for work applications in real world scenarios (Vikram, 2005). The site will also have a rating system through which service providers can be rated. This is vital information that employers

Why are great Italian Renaissance architects more famous than their Essay - 1

Why are great Italian Renaissance architects more famous than their great gothic predecessors Discuss how and why the role and image of the architect changed during the Italian Renaissance - Essay Example European Renaissance is a period of history when a great deal of cultural change was noted. Among different expressions of the Renaissance period, Italian Renaissance remains the most widely known of all because they have distinctive styles to approach design and reality. Other than being the most well-known manifestation of European Renaissance, Italian Renaissance remains the oldest in terms of cultural change. It should be noted that the Italian Renaissance began by the end of thirteenth century as cultural shift became a part of European society. The transition in this era was particularly noted or observed within medieval and early modern ideology. Most of the historians claim that Renaissance itself is a symbol of modernity that took the cultural shift to a complete different level in terms of societal outlook. Among various contributors of Italian Renaissance, Jacob Burckhardt is the most well-known. A number of contributors other than Jacob Burckhardt tried to bring cultural change to a full swing. The fact remains that the change in culture or cultural shift did not attain its finest form until 19th century. Herein, it can be marked that the changes which were noted in the context of architecture during Italian Renaissance was increase theoretical practices. In simpler words, it can be said that the Italian Renaissance architects made use of roman theories for practice. A similar pattern was observed within the field of literature where roman influence was evident in different readings. Therefore, Roman theories were generally accepted which led Italian arts to feel confident about Roman theories in their practices. On evaluation of the classical Italian Renaissance architecture, it comes to understanding that Roman detailing was greatly used and practices such as columns, pilasters, pediments, domes etc. Also,

Generation Gap Essay Example for Free

Generation Gap Essay Do you know what a generation gap is? Even if you dont know the particular definition, you are aware of this problem, basing on your own experience. Generation gap is a popular term used to describe serious differences between people of two generations. To realize how to deal with it, you should keep in mind that generation gap includes several aspects: children must know as much as possible about their parents and parents — about the world outlook of their children, about relations between brothers and sisters, and also about the attitude to them of close relatives on both sides — fathers and mothers. Children demand a great deal of attention, time and patience, so, if you are not ready to devote all that to your baby, it is better not to hurry There are many families where both parents keep working after giving birth to their baby It is similar to the situation with a single-parent family, when a father or a mother hardly have enough time and neglect their childrens upbringing. In such cases most of the time the child has to spend on his own or with his friends. Due to the fact that he has not got any guidance from his parents he may be involved in some bad companies which commit violence or even crime and become alcohol or drug addicted. When the parents discover that, its usually too late to change anything. On the other hand, there is a different situation when the parents treat their children too strict and dont give them any freedom at all. In this case the children may become pariahs among their peers. Constant bans may increase the risk that the child will grow up insolent and defiant. This causes another big problem — lying. The child is forced to lie to the parents because of the fear to be punished. It can be anything from putting on make-up in the girls room at school to stealing. Some children rebel against discipline and family values. They listen to a loud music, wear inappropriate, to their parents mind, clothes, dye their hair in inconceivable colours, have all their bodies pierced and tattooed trying to show their ind ependence and establish their identity. They want to be treated as adults, but they are not ready to take all the necessary responsibilities. It doesnt mean that your child is bad and he will become a criminal. Of course, not! It only means that your child is in his transitional age and he is in need of your understanding and support. But how to handle such behaviour? Parents should become his close friends. First of all they should learn to respect his interests. Try to speak with him as often as possible, offer some parent-child activities like shopping or going in for sports. It is worth involving the child in discussing some family questions, just to show that he is a full member of the family. Moreover, children in their teens are very vulnerable when they are criticized in public, so try to avoid it. Parents should always be honest and sincere with their child; otherwise it would be unfair to require the same from him. Too authoritarian parents cant do any good to their children as well as parents who overindulge all the childs caprices. Overindulgence may lead to the same results as negligence. There are parents who are afraid of hurting the child by banning something when it is necessary. Such parents risk becoming powerless in the family and losing control over their children who may become spoiled and capricious. It demands to make a great effort from both parents and children to reach mutual understanding. There are many different opinions on the question of treating children if they disobey their parents, but every parent should decide for himself what will be best for his child and set him on the right path.

Biological Techniques :: essays research papers

1. (a) I. Plasmids are important tools in molecular biology. Plasmids are small circular DNA that has the ability to enter and replicate in bacterial cells and can be used as vectors to introduce foreign genes into bacteria for cloning and sequencing. Any gene must be inserted into an appropriate location of a plasmid to be expressed. The importance of a plasmid is in the step of cloning and sequencing when the construction of a recombinant DNA molecule occurs. The target gene fragment is ligated to a plasmid, and becomes recombinant DNA. Then the plasmid can replicate autonomously in an appropriate host organism. II. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the amplification of DNA sequence by repeated cycles of strand seperation and replication. This is a direct method of making copies of a desired DNA sequence, unlike the technique using plasmids. PCR is a process quite like DNA replication. It is still the process of two DNA strands unwinding, replicating, and then reannealing, however the strands are separated by heat. Generally temperatures must be increased to 94-96 degrees C for the hydrogen bonds to break and the separation to occur. Once the stands are separated they can be used as templates for complementary strands to be synthesized by DNA primers. After the strands are completely synthesized, the temperatures are brought back down to 50-65 degrees C for the primers to anneal with the template DNA, and a DNA polymerase can build complementary strands using free nucleotides that have been added to the solution. III. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis is a technique in which DNA regions are digested using restriction endonucleases, and subjected to radioactive complementary DNA probes to compare the differences in DNA fragment lengths between individuals. The DNA in question is digested using restriction endonuclease(s). The DNA is then run on a gel and appears to be very long. The gel is subject to a chemical that causes the double-stranded DNA to separate into to individual strands. The strands are then transferred to a nylon membrane with using an electric current, where it will bind. The transfer process is called Southern blotting.

Aed 201 Appendix a

Axia College Material Appendix A Final Project Overview and Timeline Final Project Overview Currently, many teachers and paraprofessionals are required to create a professional portfolio as part of their pre-service education. Use Appendix A to help you create a Professional Development Plan, which is a component that can be added to your professional portfolio. In a 2,100- to 2,500-word paper composed in Microsoft © Word, include answers to the following questions: * What are your goals in the next five years? In the next 10 or more years? * What steps are necessary to get you to your goals? What obstacles can you foresee and how will you overcome them? * What is one principle from the INTASC Principles Web site (http://cte. jhu. edu/pds/resources/intasc_principles. htm) that you feel you need to improve the most in order to be effective in the education profession? What existing professional development program(s) could you pursue to address the need to improve in this area? What professional development programs can you enroll in to help you prepare to meet the diverse needs of today's learners? * How will you evaluate your progress? What will help keep you motivated toward achieving those goals? * What professional organizations will you join? Why? What do you expect to gain from membership in these organizations? * What techniques will you use to help you develop leadership skills? Final Project Timeline You should budget your time wisely and work on your project throughout the course. As outlined below, some CheckPoints, assignments, and exercises in the course are designed to assist you in creating your final project. If you complete your course activities and use the feedback provided by your instructor, you will be on the right track to complete your project successfully. * Suggested in Week One: Read Appendix A. Consider how current reforms will affect your 5- and 10-year goals. Review the INTASC Principles at http://cte. jhu. edu/pds/resources/intasc_principles. htm Suggested in Week Two: Make note of anything you’ve come across while interviewing a teaching professional that could be an area of improvement for yourself before or during your first year in the classroom. * Suggested in Week Four: Begin searching for professional educator organizations and/or programs that interest you. * Suggested in Week Five: Begin outlining and writing your final project. * Suggested in Week Eight: Complete and proofread a rough draft of your final project. * Due in Week Nine: Submit your final project.

Macbeth Servant Diary Entries Essay

Dear diary, as I am a servant in Thane Macbeth’s castle I have noticed a sudden change in his behaviour. I have always thought of Macbeth as a courageous, honest loyal man, however I have witnessed many events that have forced me to think otherwise. When Macbeth returned from battle, he was greeted by Lady Macbeth in the Castle. I was cleaning the floors in the room next door to ensure that everything was presentable for the arrival of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth seemed very excited to see him and Macbeth looked just as happy. They seemed to be having a pleasant short conservation. Nevertheless, whilst I was going out to fetch some clean water I overheard Lady Macbeth say something very strange to Macbeth. She said â€Å"Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t.† I replayed this over and over in my head yet I could not understand what it could have meant. Macbeth had always been loyal and truthful. What actions were he going to take that were so evil that they would reveal the serpent inside him? All these questions remained unanswered, well not for long anyway†¦ Dear diary, I went to the courtyard of the castle with Macbeth. There we met Banquo and Fleance. Banquo was feeling rather uneasy about going to sleep because he was fearing that he will dream of three, weird sisters. Macbeth persuaded Banquo to talk about the things he was seeing in his dreams with him sometime. After they had finished talking, everyone left leaving Macbeth alone in the courtyard. I decided to observe his actions therefore I hid in the shadow. Macbeth started talking to himself about how he can see a dagger before him. He seemed really confused about whether or not the dagger was really there or if it was just a vision in his mind. What was he going on about? I was standing right there as well and I could see everything in his view. There was nothing there; not a dagger in sight! What I could not understand was why he as acting so crazy all of a sudden? Normal people do not imagine seeing daggers before their eyes. Perhaps the fact that the object was a dagger may be related to something that was on his mind. I can just tell from the abnormalities in Macbeth’s behaviour that something is going on which is going to lead to tragedy. Dear diary, King Duncan has been murdered! I was startled to hear the ringing of the alarm bell this morning. I ran out of my bed and heard Macduff announce the murder. I could not believe it happened, right under our very noses. Through all the hustle bustle, I kept a close eye on Macbeth who had reacted very strangely in the situation. I would have expected him to be in deep grief as he had a great relationship with King Duncan and they were thought of as good friends. Instead he killed the servants that had supposedly murdered King Duncan and claimed he acted out of great fury and without thinking. Personally, I don’t think that the servants killed King Duncan as they had no motive whatsoever. Macbeth has become a changed man and he should be watched in everything he does. The thruth will always come out and whoever murdered King Duncan will pay the price for doing so.

A Guide to a Painless Undergrad Econometrics Project

A Guide to a Painless Undergrad Econometrics Project Most economics departments require second- or third-year undergraduate students to complete an econometrics project and write a paper on their findings. Many students find that choosing a  research topic  for their required  econometrics  project is just as difficult as the project itself.  Econometrics is the application of statistical and  mathematical theories  and perhaps some computer science to economic data. The example below shows how to use  Okuns law  to create an econometrics project. Okuns law refers to how the nations output- its  gross domestic product- is related to employment and unemployment. For this econometrics project guide, youll test whether Okuns law holds true in America. Note that this is just an example project- youll need to chose your own topic- but the explanation shows how you can create a painless, yet informative, project using a basic statistical test, data that you can easily obtain from the U.S. government, and a computer spreadsheet program to compile the data. Gather Background Information With your topic chosen, start by gathering background information about the theory youre testing by doing a   t-test. To do so, use the  following function:   Yt 1 - 0.4 Xt Where:Yt  is the change in the unemployment rate in percentage pointsXt  is the change in the percentage growth rate in real output, as measured by real GDP So you will be estimating the model:  Yt b1 b2 Xt Where:Yt is the change in the unemployment rate in percentage pointsXt is the change in the percentage growth rate in real output, as measured by real GDPb1 and b2 are the parameters you are trying to estimate. To estimate your parameters, you will need data. Use  quarterly economic data  compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. To use this information, save each of the files individually. If youve done everything correctly, you should see something that looks like this  fact sheet  from the BEA, containing quarterly GDP results. Once youve downloaded the data, open it in a spreadsheet program, such as Excel. Finding the Y and X Variables Now that youve got the data file open, start to look for what you need. Locate the data for your Y variable. Recall that Yt  is the change in the unemployment rate in percentage points. The change in the unemployment rate in percentage points is in the column labeled UNRATE(chg), which is column I. By looking at column A, you see that the  quarterly unemployment rate  change data runs from  April 1947 to October 2002  in cells G24-G242, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. Next, find your X variables. In your model, you only have one X variable, Xt, which is the change in the percentage growth rate in real output as measured by real GDP. You see that this variable is in the column marked GDPC96(%chg), which is in Column E. This data runs from April 1947 to October 2002 in cells E20-E242. Setting Up Excel Youve identified the data you need, so you can compute the regression coefficients using Excel. Excel is missing a lot of the features of more sophisticated econometrics packages, but for doing a simple linear regression, it is a useful tool. Youre also much more likely to use Excel when you enter the real world than you are to use an econometrics package, so being proficient in Excel is a useful skill. Your Yt  data is in cells G24-G242 and your Xt  data is in cells E20-E242. When doing a linear regression, you need to have an associated X entry for every Yt  entry and vice-versa. The Xts in cells E20-E23 do not have an associated Yt  entry, so you will not use them. Instead, you will use only the Yt  data in cells G24-G242 and your Xt  data in cells E24-E242. Next, calculate your regression coefficients (your b1  and b2). Before continuing, save your work under a different filename so that  at any time, you can revert back to your original data. Once youve downloaded the data and opened Excel, you can calculate your regression coefficients. Setting Excel Up for Data Analysis To set up Excel for data analysis, go to the tools  menu on the top of the screen and find Data Analysis. If  Data Analysis  is not there, then youll have to  install it. You cannot do regression analysis in Excel without the Data Analysis ToolPak installed. Once youve selected  Data Analysis  from the  tools  menu, youll see a menu of choices such as Covariance and F-Test Two-Sample for Variances. On that menu, select Regression. Once there, youll see a form, which you need to fill in. Start by filling in the field that says Input Y Range. This is your unemployment rate data in cells G24-G242. Choose these cells by typing $G$24:$G$242 into the little white box next to  Input Y Range  or by clicking on the icon next to that white box then selecting those cells with your mouse.  The second field youll need to fill in is the Input X Range. This is the percent change in GDP data in cells E24-E242. You can choose these cells by typing $E$24:$E$242 into the little white box next to  Input X Range  or by clicking on the icon next to that white box then selecting those cells with your mouse. Lastly, you will have to name the page that will contain your regression results. Make sure you have New Worksheet Ply selected, and in the white field beside it, type in a name like Regression. Click OK. Using the Regression Results You should see a tab at the bottom of your screen called  Regression  (or whatever you named it) and some regression results. If youve gotten the intercept coefficient between 0 and 1, and the x variable coefficient between 0 and -1, youve likely done it correctly. With this data, you have all of the information you need for analysis including R Square, coefficients, and standard errors. Remember that you were attempting to estimate the intercept coefficient b1  and the X coefficient b2. The intercept coefficient b1  is located in the row named Intercept and in the column named Coefficient. Your slope coefficient b2  is located in the row named X variable 1 and in the column named Coefficient. It will likely have a value, such as BBB and the associated standard error DDD. (Your values may differ.) Jot these figures down (or print them out) as you will need them for analysis. Analyze your regression results for your term paper by doing  hypothesis testing on this sample t-test. Though this project focused on Okuns Law, you can use this same kind of methodology to create just about any econometrics project.

A Introduction to Sociology Statistics

A Introduction to Sociology Statistics Sociological research can have three distinct goals: description, explanation, and prediction. The description is always an important part of the research, but most sociologists attempt to explain and predict what they observe. The three research methods most commonly used by sociologists are observational techniques, surveys, and experiments. In each case, measurement is involved that yields a set of numbers, which are the findings, or data, produced by the research study. Sociologists and other scientists summarize data, find relationships between sets of data, and determine whether experimental manipulations have affected some variable of interest. The word statistics has two meanings: The field that applies mathematical techniques to the organizing, summarizing, and interpreting of data. The actual mathematical techniques themselves. Knowledge of statistics has many practical benefits. Even a rudimentary knowledge of statistics will make you better able to evaluate statistical claims made by reporters, weather forecasters, television advertisers, political candidates, government officials, and other persons who may use statistics in the information or arguments they present. Representation of Data Data are often represented in frequency distributions, which indicate the frequency of each score in a set of scores. Sociologists also use graphs to represent data. These include pie graphs, frequency histograms, and line graphs. Line graphs are important in representing the results of experiments because they are used to illustrate the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics summarize and organize research data. Measures of central tendency represent the typical score in a set of scores. The mode is the most frequently occurring score, the median is the middle score, and the mean is the arithmetic average of the set of scores. Measures of variability represent the degree of dispersion of scores. The range is the difference between the highest and lowest scores. The variance is the average of the squared deviations from the mean of the set of scores, and the standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Many kinds of measurements fall on a normal, or bell-shaped, curve. A certain percentage of scores fall below each point on the abscissa of the normal curve. Percentiles identify the percentage of scores that fall below a particular score. Correlational Statistics Correlational statistics assess the relationship between two or more sets of scores. A correlation may be positive or negative and vary from 0.00 to plus or minus 1.00. The existence of a correlation does not necessarily mean that one of the correlated variables causes changes in the other. Nor does the existence of a correlation preclude that possibility. Correlations are commonly graphed on scatter plots. Perhaps the most common correlational technique is Pearsons product-moment correlation. You square the Pearsons product-moment correlation to get the coefficient of determination, which will indicate the amount of variance in one variable accounted for by another variable. Inferential Statistics Inferential statistics permit social researchers to determine whether their findings can be generalized from their samples to the populations they represent. Consider a simple investigation in which an experimental group that is exposed to a condition is compared with a control group that is not. For the difference between the means of the two groups to be statistically significant, the difference must have a low probability (usually less than 5 percent) of occurring by normal random variation. Sources: McGraw Hill. (2001). Statistics Primer for Sociology. mhhe.com/socscience/sociology/statistics/stat_intro.htm

Dell Corpation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dell Corpation - Case Study Example (Gitman, 2007, 21) Dell alo introduce the latet relevant technology much more quickly than companie with low-moving, indirect ditribution channel, turning over inventory every three day on average. In 1985 the company tarted aembling it own PC brand. Ever ince, Dell had achieved phenomenal growth and by 2000 had topped $25 billion in ale and over $2 billion in net income. In late 2000, however, (erwer, 2005, 63) the PC indutry' average 30-year growth rate crahed to a negative 10% due to low economy. Dell Corp. had to make difficult deciion on how to utain it profitability in light of it broad product portfolio--PC, worktation, and erver on torage product for a broad cro-ection of cutomer in the United tate and worldwide. Dell' high return to hareholder ha been the reult of a focued effort over time to balance growth with profitability and liquidity. Dell ha conitently led it larget competitor in each of thoe categorie. The future for Dell and the ret of the computer indutry i haping up to be a fairly difficult one mainly due to the weak economy. But, Dell' economic problem are normal and hared by all companie in any indutry. What' not normal with Dell however, i it dilemma of how to maintain it leading poition over it competition and achieving ambitiou growth rate in an environment with which the economy i haped up to be wort than anticipated, due to it flat buine tructure, which make conumer kittih and pending down. Therefore, (Gitman, 2007, 21) in light of the above ituation, we believe that Dell could be facing a predicament of whether they hould maintain their trategic coure or fundamentally change it in order to achieve the targeted growth rate Dell' fortune do look better than it rival, though. Dell Computer' trategy wa built around a number of core element: build-to-order manufacturing, ma cutomization, partnerhip with fewer upplier, jut-in-time component inventorie, direct ale, market egmentation, cutomer ervice, market ening, early integration of the Internet, low operating cot, and extenive data and information haring with both upply partner and cutomer. Through thi trategy, the company hoped to achieve what Michael Dell called "virtual integration"--a titching together of Dell' buine with it upply partner and cutomer in real time uch that all three appeared to be part of the ame organizational team. (erwer, 2005, 63) upply Chain Efficiency: e-Buine i jut like any buine in at leat one repect: you have to maintain your edge. Whether reponding to a flood of new cutomer and product, or reducing cot while maintaining cutomer loyalty during period of economic decline, Dell believed that a more efficient upply chain would contribute ignificantly to it long-term ucce. By extending it build-to-order model all the way from material and component upplier to the cutomer, Dell could maximize both operational efficiency and cutomer atifaction while reponding immediately to change in the marketplace. The company' goal wa to integrate the upply and demand ide of the buine with the help of thi falt buine tructure in order to eliminate the guework that lead to inventory hortage and overage. Concluion Dell hould have a tranformational model intead of it traditional model which would penetrate aggreively the High-end erver market, Joint venture with