An Introduction to the Bell Curve

An Introduction to the Bell Curve A normal distribution is more commonly known as a bell curve.   This type of curve shows up throughout statistics and the real world.   For example, after I give a test in any of my classes, one thing that I like to do is to make a graph of all the scores. I typically write down 10 point ranges such as 60-69, 70-79, and 80-89, then put a tally mark for each test score in that range. Almost every time I do this, a familiar shape emerges. A few  students do very well and a few do very poorly. A bunch of scores end up clumped around the mean score. Different tests may result in different means and standard deviations, but the shape of the graph is nearly always the same. This shape is commonly called the bell curve. Why call it a bell curve? The bell curve gets its name quite simply because its shape resembles that of a bell. These curves appear throughout the study of statistics, and their importance cannot be overemphasized. What Is a Bell Curve? To be technical, the kinds of bell curves that we care about the most in statistics are actually called normal probability distributions. For what follows we’ll just assume the bell curves we’re talking about are normal probability distributions. Despite the name â€Å"bell curve,† these curves are not defined by their shape. Instead, an intimidating looking formula is used as the formal definition for bell curves. But we really don’t need to worry too much about the formula. The only two numbers that we care about in it are the mean and standard deviation. The bell curve for a given set of data has the center located at the mean. This is where the highest point of the curve or â€Å"top of the bellâ€Å" is located. A data set‘s standard deviation determines how spread out our bell curve is. The larger the standard deviation, the more spread out the curve. Important Features of a Bell Curve There are several features of bell curves that are important and distinguishes them from other curves in statistics: A bell curve has one mode, which coincides with the mean and median. This is the center of the curve where it is at its highest.A bell curve is symmetric. If it were folded along a vertical line at the mean, both halves would match perfectly because they are mirror images of each other.A bell curve follows the 68-95-99.7 rule, which provides a convenient way to carry out estimated calculations:Approximately 68% of all of the data lies within one standard deviation of the mean.Approximately 95% of all the data is within two standard deviations of the mean.Approximately 99.7% of the data is within three standard deviations of the mean. An Example If we know that a bell curve models our data, we can use the above features of the bell curve to say quite a bit. Going back to the test example, suppose we have 100 students who took a statistics test with a mean score of 70 and standard deviation of 10. The standard deviation is 10. Subtract and add 10 to the mean. This gives us 60 and 80. By the 68-95-99.7 rule we would expect about 68% of 100, or 68 students to score between 60 and 80 on the test. Two times the standard deviation is 20. If we subtract and add 20 to the mean we have 50 and 90. We would expect about 95% of 100, or 95 students to score between 50 and 90 on the test. A similar calculation tells us that effectively everyone scored between 40 and 100 on the test. Uses of the Bell Curve There are many applications for bell curves. They are important in statistics because they model a wide variety of real-world data. As mentioned above, test results are one place where they pop up. Here are some others: Repeated measurements of a piece of equipmentMeasurements of characteristics in biologyApproximating chance events such as flipping a coin several timesHeights of students at a particular grade level in a school district When Not to Use the Bell Curve Even though there are countless applications of bell curves, it is not appropriate to use in all situations. Some statistical data sets, such as equipment failure or income distributions, have different shapes and are not symmetric. Other times there can be two or more modes, such as when several students do very well and several do very poorly on a test. These applications require the use of other curves that are defined differently than the bell curve. Knowledge about how the set of data in question was obtained can help to determine if a bell curve should be used to represent the data or not.

Writing Descriptive Paragraphs for English Learners

Writing Descriptive Paragraphs for English Learners Writing descriptive paragraphs can be successful as one of the first writing activities for students. Start by helping students understand the difference between simple and complex sentences, and move on to practice writing complex sentences. Students should also be familiar with a wide range of descriptive adjectives. Start by having students answer basic questions below. Next, use the writing exercise to expand the answers into a well-formed descriptive paragraph. Descriptive paragraphs are often used to describe what a person looks and acts like. Read this example descriptive paragraph, notice how descriptive paragraphs are arranged by putting together all the sentences about the same thing. Here is an example of a descriptive paragraph: I am forty years old, rather tall and I have blue eyes and short black hair. I wear casual clothes as I teach students in a relaxed atmosphere. I enjoy my job because I get to meet and help so many different people from all over the world. During my spare time, I like playing tennis which I play at least three times a week. I also love listening to classical music and I must admit that I spend a lot of money on buying new CDs! I live in a pretty seaside town on the Italian coast. I enjoy eating great Italian food and laughing with the likable people who live here. Written Exercise I Answer these questions about yourself on a piece of paper. How old are you?What do you look like?What kind of clothes do you wear? Why?What kind of job do you do? Do you like it?What are your favorite hobbies? Why do you like them?Where do you live?Do you like living there? Why or why not? Written Exercise II Now that you have the information about yourself ready. Fill in the gaps in to complete this descriptive paragraph about yourself. I am _________ years old, I _________________ (your looks). I wear ________________ because ______________. I am a ______________. I like / dont like my job because _____________________. I enjoy ______________. I often _____________ (describe how often you do your hobby). I also like ________________ (write about another hobby) because ________________. I live in ____________. People in ____________ are ________________ . I enjoy / dont enjoy living in ______________ because ____________. Practice Ask your friends the same questions as in Exercise I and write paragraphs about them.

Compare newsreels to television news today. What do they have in Essay

Compare newsreels to television news today. What do they have in common and how do they differ - Essay Example But newsreels were not access centered. It was about bringing news even if not everyone was able to see it as newsreels were only available in movie theatres - and not in all movie theatres. This fact is also important for another characteristic. Television news today brings us the latest news. We are connected to the entire globe and we are told events that may have occurred a couple of minutes earlier. It was not the case for newsreels which brought images of events which were sometimes one or two weeks old. It was therefore impossible to receive instantaneous news as it is today, and live news could only be a dream for the decades to come. This dream come true thanks to the development of other Medias that help the broadcasting and the making of television news. Comparing newsreels and television news is not only a matter of accessibility. We also have to consider the format. The newsreels were often short, no longer than fifteen minutes. Today, television news can be an hour long and can present - with more details - several events that happened during the day. Newsreels were often commented by an off voice who only described the playing images. In television news there is one - or sometimes two TV hosts - who introduce the subject.

Poetry Analysis on Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven Essay

Poetry Analysis on Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven - Essay Example Before â€Å"The Raven,† none of Poe’s writings â€Å"garnered him much recognition in the literary world.† However, â€Å"The Raven† was â€Å"hailed by critics as a work of genius, earning Poe a respected reputation as a serious writer† (Iorillo). The work became one of the most recognizable poems of the twentieth century, and Iorillo attributes this to Poe’s meticulous skill, stating that he â€Å"was a deliberate, precise wordsmith.† The setting of â€Å"The Raven† is a good example of Poe’s precise execution of language, with his images combining to create an atmosphere that is quintessentially Gothic. Iorillo states, â€Å"Poe was not the first Gothic writer but he is undeniably one of the most potent.† The term â€Å"Gothic literature† is defined as â€Å"literary style popular during the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th. This style usually portrayed fantastic tales dealing with horror, despair, the grotesque and other ‘dark’ subjects† (Taylor). The Gothic setting of â€Å"The Raven† is evident from the very beginning of the poem. The poem begins to paint its setting by describing the night as a â€Å"midnight dreary,† creating suspense, misery and dread even before the finish of the poem’s first line. The next image Poe presents is â€Å"a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.† Poe’s diction heightens the mysterious and eerie setting by using the words â€Å"curious† and â€Å"forgotten† to describe the book that the narrator is reading as the poem begins. As the narrator peruses the pages of his â€Å"curious† book, he hears a noise outside his door, which he dismisses as an unwelcome visitor. The next stanza further enhances the poem’s Gothic setting as the narrator clearly recalls the â€Å"bleak December† night when he first encountered the raven. He tells us how he recalls the burning wood in his fireplace as each â€Å"separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the

The people motivated Essay Example for Free

The people motivated Essay There are many different motivation theorists who each with there own theory as to the way people are motivated, but do people actually behave the way these theories tell us they do or are the people motivated by other things. Elton Mayo conducted some experiments in 1927-32 and found that better lighting equalled high productivity. He set up to groups of workers; these included a test group and also a control group. When he turned up the light in-group one, but not in the other productivity rose in both groups. While in further experiments he reduced the lighting to its original level and turned the lighting up in the other group productivity still rose in both groups. The experiments showed no correlation so Elton Mayo changed the variables within his experiment. Working with a group of women, the experimenters made a number of changes, rest breaks, no rest breaks, free meals, no free meals, more hours in the work-day / work-week, fewer hours in the work-day / work-week. Their productivity went up at each change. Finally the women were put back to their original hours and conditions, and they set a productivity record. The reason for this was that both groups were being consulted and workers developed cohesiveness as a social group. This was mainly due to workers sensing belonging and the UN-weighted desire for higher pay and the need for many to reach productivity targets. This showed that workers were motivated by the carrot and stick theory that people would be motivated by bonuses. An example of these ideas being used in business today is the Volvo plant in Uddevalla, opened in 1989, was designed to allow workers to work in teams of 8-10. Each team built a complete car and made decisions about production. It was found that the absenteeism rates at the Uddevalla averaged 8 per cent, compared to 25 per cent in their Gothenburg plant, which used a production line system. Proving that workers performed better when they felt belonging to a group. Frederick Taylor took a more scientific approach to the way he felt people were motivated, but just like many other theorists he believed people were motivated by money. He believed that if output could be linked to pay then output could rise. So piece rates were introduced, an idea that meant the higher your output the higher your wage would be. However at the time this wouldnt work as many businesses didnt have management and therefor the employees were not always sure of what to do, so Taylor recommended they should have managers to have control over the work of the employees and therefor make the business more efficient. This is also a carrot and stick but the workers would be motivated to get a greater wage.

Poetic Inspiration in Kubla Khan and Rime of the Ancient Mariner Essay

Poetic Inspiration in Kubla Khan and Rime of the Ancient Mariner      Ã‚  Ã‚   An examination of the characters that Coleridge presents in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan" and the situations in which they find themselves reveals interesting aspects of Coleridge's own character that are both similar to and different from the characters named in the titles of these poems. In particular, an examination of these characters with an eye toward Coleridge's conception of poetic inspiration and success can be fruitful.    In "Kubla Khan," Coleridge depicts a powerful character who "did ... a stately pleasure dome decree" ("Kubla Khan" lines 1-2). The fact that Kubla Khan is able merely to decree a pleasure-dome and know that his orders will be executed implies that he is a character of both strong will and great creative power. This faith in himself is not misplaced. The Khan decrees that a pleasure-dome be built and his order is immediately executed: "So twice five miles of fertile ground/ With walls and towers were girdled round" (6-7). Some aspects of the landscape and the dome echo the hardness implied by the chieftain's single-minded determination: the fountain "with ceaseless turmoil seething," the "dancing rocks" that are tossed into the air by the fountain, the "ancestral voices prophesying war," and the fact that the sacred river itself is "flung up momently" by the fountain (18, 23, 30, 24). As the Khan's creation, the dome can reasonably be expected to contain clues to his character, and th e characterization of the Khan harmonizes well with these clues about his character given by the pleasure dome: the image of a Mongol chief is one associated with danger, war, and a large amount of strength.    ... ... of a broken and essentially conciliatory force. When seen in these terms, it seems that the mariner may be the image with which Coleridge most closely identified himself, but both are symbols of his creative process.    References The Bible. Authorized (King James) Translation. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "Kubla Khan" in Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. H J. Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere, in Seven Parts" (1798 text) in Romanticism: An Anthology, Second Edition. Ed. Duncan Wu. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1998. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In Seven Parts" (1817 text) in Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Critical Edition of the Major Works. Ed. H J. Jackson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.   

Andrew

Andrew Springiness Module 1 CSS: Information Networking as Technology: Tools, Uses, and Socio- Technical Interactions DIMMIT: Management of Information Systems and Business Strategy Dry. Mary Lind June 17, 2014 Information Overload â€Å"Are organizations likely to find better solutions to information overload through changes to their technical systems or their social systems or both? Why? To answer this question, this paper will discuss the technical and social systems of companies specifically based on review of the articles by Blair, Belling, et al, Green, ND Lie and Ere as well as other information on related data companies such as Amazon and ASS. The context of the paper will aide in the understanding of an ideal way to process the information present in the market and then use it for company benefits.This paper will also review and analyze the importance of info-tsunami in context of specific markers and give specific examples on how data storage and analysis is now the latest trend in the market. Various big data software present in the market and comment on the future trends of the market will be reviewed. Finally, I will propose an answer to the original question posed of what betterment is most important in dealing with information overload social systems, technological systems, or both?History of Data Mining/Sharing In order to truly understand information overload and how to deal with it, we must start by analyzing various aspects of data starting from its history through the current and probable future trends of the market. Today there are zillions of pieces of data in the market growing for over 30% per year bases (Blair, 2010). The roots of the big data come from ancient days when people used to huge manuscripts and biblical resources to pass on the knowledge of present generation to the next one.They not only documented information, but also backed up or made it easier to share that information by creating duplicates of the original work. Peopl e with different philosophies discussed the same issues with a different context and vision to give alternate versions of the existing issues. However, this increase in the amount of information collected led to what may have appeared to be an insurmountable collection that could not be fully read in an acceptable amount of time or never being blew to find specific information, which could be described as an information overload (Blair, 2010).People would have too much information to sift through to find what they needed, which would need to lead to an evolution in that form of data storage such as different note-taking capabilities as well as organization (Blair, 2010). Note- taking capabilities enabled the researchers to organize the structure of different ancient texts and later on printing evolved the structure of writing as indexes and bibliographies became norm for the research papers, which helped people to find he specific information they were looking for or the source of m ore information.Encyclopedias were created to serve as a set of easily accessible and searchable information on a broad amount of topics. Also, the advent of the Dewey Decimal System meant that a lot of general information could be found in a short amount of time. The Dewey Decimal Classification initially sorts information into 10 categories, and then into another 100 sub-categories, giving you 1, 000 specific categories to search (University Library, n. D. ). For example, you could search the ass's forTechnology or Applied Sciences categories and find sub-category (also known as a â€Å"call number†) 621 and search specifically for Applied Physics (University Library, n. D. ). All of these things lead to less of a feeling of information overload as people did not need to spend a lifetime searching for the data that they needed. However, personal collection of information would take up large amounts of space. Fast forward time a millennia or two and you have the advent of el ectronic media, which meant that a galore of information could be stored in a much smaller space.This educed limits of how much information people and organizations could collect. People and organizations could now store a large amount of information onto cassettes, disks, diskettes, compact discs, etc. Rather than in hundreds or thousands of books or written documents. Today, we can carry a flash drive with a program to read electronic books as well as hundreds or thousands of electronic books that is the size off pack of chewing gum. In addition to the space, the information itself was now only a touch away.People no longer needed to use indexes or bibliographies as they could sears for keywords and a computer would help to find he information they were looking for. Computer systems can search through programs, documents, or the world wide web and find information that people are looking for in milliseconds. However, there is now also a feeling that maybe there is too much informa tion accessible through the internet nowadays. We are at a point where there is what appears to be an insurmountable pile of information available on the internet, even when computer systems help us sift through the information.Companies may again have to sift through a lot of minutia in order to get the specific information they need. In another point of view, there were initial concerns regarding the electronic system of storage. There have been many instances where digital data has been hacked or accessed without the consent of the original writer in order to change the information or utilize it for other purposes than it was originally intended. There is also the possibility of data redundancy and the fear of data getting lost of due hardware complications.However, with the advent of more and more advance technologies in data storage and sharing electronic storage, there are greater security and back-up procedures added to hardware and software. This leads to the it is the only feasible medium conceivable in the future. Data Analysis To help understand information overload, data analysis must be defined. According to Russell Kickoff, a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, the content of the human mind can be classified into five categories: data, information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (Belling, Castro, & Mills, 2004).According to Belling, et al (2004), the data can be described as symbols; information is â€Å"data that can be processed to be useful† and provides answers to four of the five Was (who, hat, where, and when); knowledge is â€Å"the application of data and information† and answers the question of how; understanding gives an â€Å"appreciation of the question of why'; and wisdom is an elevated level of â€Å"evaluated understanding. † Data is seen as a raw entity which, for the proposes of this research paper, only exists either in digital or in ink.The significance of data is to be present i n any accessible format to the user. Information is the processed data and it is specific to any context to the user. Knowledge is the output gained from that information, essentially by realizing tatters formed by information. Although ultimately wisdom will help with future operations, industry is primarily concerned regarding retrieving knowledge, as this parameter is a tool which is used by the company to either make direct or indirect revenues. Knowledge is the basic building block of data analysis that can be gained directly from computer software.Companies such as MM, Accentuate and other consulting companies are focus teams to exploit knowledge as a parameter to give specific insights for industries and sectors. Understanding is one step ahead of knowledge in which problems are solved in a specific context. Understanding is the point which the reason for the patterns discerned from knowledge can be understood. It is involved in selecting the required information and processi ng it to provide the best solutions for a specific problem or multiple problems.Getting to the understanding phase is difficult with such a superfluous amount of data available to companies. In modern era this process is called Data Analytics or Just Analytics. This is slightly different according to Green (2010) who refers to only four sections of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. The first three sections namely data, information, and knowledge are concepts of past data, but wisdom is a future analysis and vision concept. It develops our internal experience which helps in our future decision making.Wisdom is very similar to understanding, with the main difference being that wisdom allows one to predict fracture outcomes based on understanding the reasons behind specific patterns and how changes will affect behaviors of related processes. The first four sections can be represented in a hierarchy and the level of complexity will increase downwards from data to wisdom. In addi tion, the amount of effort and technological resources used will decrease from top to bottom as you require maximum resources to build and maintain data.The advance methods of data capturing tools have been efficient in blurring the lines between information and knowledge as companies are becoming efficient in data analysis. Socio-Technical System According to Lie and Ere (2006), â€Å"the Socio-Technical Systems theory considers that every organization is made up of people (the social system) using tools, techniques and knowledge (the technical system) to produce goods and services that are valued y customers (who are part of the organization's external environment). Essentially, this can be described as the interaction between personnel in an organization, or people in general, with that of technology. People and employees have certain behaviors that may need to be modified along with technology in order to create an optimized process or improve quality of fife. The Socio-Technic al Systems theory also considers the usage of social information and incorporates it into the development of technology to make it more relevant and desired. Amazon's Analytics Concept Data analysis has now become a latest trend in the market.Amazon. Com has become a leader in promoting the analytics-as-a-service concept. They are approaching this as a cloud-enabled business model and not Just an innovation in the industry. It is a great model and will provide as an alternative having better architectural patterns to Justify business priorities. Amazon aims at firms dealing with large amount of data and need flexible infrastructure. Targeted domains in web analytics include gene sequencing, cyber- security, human resource workforce and others.The challenge is to bind data and draw insights without building complex entities and spending years in restoring those entities. Predicting entities infrastructure is yet emerging and the case is not trivial for Amazon. The model is to give fo recast estimations to the companies using their own data which stored with Amazon cloud computing servers. Additionally, Amazon uses data analysis to evaluate data on historical purchases and â€Å"wish-lists† to predict the amount of specific products that will be ordered and need to be shipped to certain locations (Devils, 2014).Amazon can then pre-ship items to hubs in bulk shipments prior to people ordering, which saves in future costs and enables faster shipping services (Devils, 2014). Role of Advance Technology in Data Analysis and Future Trends Technology plays a crucial role for big data analysis as it enables the forecasters to apply the data onto the model and get significant results. With tests such as the Durbin Watson Test, white noise is a small statistical test but needed to implement on all of the data to identify the required useful parameters.There are trillions of megabytes worth of data in companies. So, how are results found using simple tools such as ex cel which, according to Microsoft Office (n. D. ), has a limitation of â€Å"1 ,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns? † Dedicated servers and software's are built and designed specifically for these kinds of requirements. The open source language R is specially built for statistical operations, to extract and interpolate data and can run on multiple operating systems (Wirtschaftuniversitat Wine, n. D. ). A lot of additional software has also come along the way.Some of these include SAPS, ASS, Maintain, Stats, Jump, Mathematical and others. All have their pros and cons but ASS and SAPS are considered two of industry favorites (Munched, 2014). Another technology which is on the rise is Apache Hoodoo. Hoodoo is designed to create a partition in the virtual memory and allows different users to implement the same function on large databases to give the results (The Apache Software Foundation, 2014). It is more of a server application and can be combined and other technologies to get opt imum results.To solve the memory problem these days, companies are shifting to cloud computing as an alternative. Cloud computing is where all the data is saved n the dedicated servers of a third party vendor and not with the company itself. Whenever the data is required it is processed from those servers and for each transaction a certain sum is paid by the company to the third party. Although cloud computing isn't 100% effective all of the time either as several companies have found out in the past decade according to Dan Mariner's (2013).In the next five years, a trend of adaptation of analytics in more and more countries and in different domains can easily be predicted. As of now, pharmaceutical industry has endorsed use of clinical trails led by analytics. Also, the concept of â€Å"Moneybags† has been in used in baseball for several years now. Additionally, credit risk has been managed by these same analytical financial models. All signs for the rising demand of analyti cs in future. Software's like ASS, Hoodoo are here to stay and we will see more data managing software been introduced in the industry.Analytics will act as a backbone of E-commerce industry driving their profits and market share. In the future, big data analysis will not Just be a tool to gain competitive edge but will become a necessity for the survival of the company in highly competitive market. In marry, information and its quest have been long running from the past. Companies are inclined to use as much information possible to enhance their productivity and achieve competitive level in the ever evolving market.The trends of the market suggests that companies are more inclined to use technology and data mining software and there dependency has been shifting from senior officials to software inputs. Still the importance of experience cannot be neglected and companies must make a balance between the two to achieve high growth rates. I believe the priority will focus on improvemen t of the technical system; however, any many that refuses to look at the importance of the social system will continuously see high turnover rates. References Blair, A. (2010) Information Overload, Then and Now.

Management and Organizational Structure of Goddard Catering

Management and Organizational structure of Goddard Catering Group Ltd. Bottling water company Mission Statement Your Health is our Concern Your thirst is ours to quench Vision Statement To be the number one consumer choice for purified drinking water in St. Lucia and other territories. About the Company Paradise Water, formally known as Paradise Springs is a private limited company, subsidiary of Goddard catering group St. Lucia Ltd and was established in 1988. The company is located at the Hewanorra International Airport, and is a leading supplier of bottled water in St Lucia, and currently holds the most modern water plant on the island.From the initial stage of blowing up the bottles for distribution of water to sales and marketing of the product Paradise Water aggressively promotes its product both locally and regionally in countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada, and is continuing to expand at a rapid rate. Paradise Water is endorsed by the St Lucia Bureau of Standard s and carries the approval seal on every bottle produced. The company began as a spring water bottling company in 1988 providing drinking water to local retail outlets island wide. They began operations with 12 employees which included 1 sales person, a general manager and an operations supervisor.As the years progressed and the company’s sales volume increased the number of employees increased to 87 by 1994. The organizational structure now included an HR Assistant, Operations Manager, and Financial Controller. In that same year the company and all of St Lucia suffered massive losses as a result of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Debby on September 10th. The company’s water source was completely destroyed forcing them to rethink their product strategy. The decision was then taken to transform the company from bottling spring water, to a water purification plant hence the name change.Organizational Structure Organizational Structure The company follows a functional structure with horizontal linkage. In this organization the employees report to their department managers and theses managers report to the general manager. A cross functional information system is used to routinely exchange information about problems, opportunities, activities within the company. Departmental managers along with the General Manager are the ones making decisions regarding the company. Each department also has project teams responsible for handling mini tasks within their department. Changes over the past 20yearsOver the past 20 years the company has seen some major changes to its product; the switch from bottling purified water to purified water. The increase in the 500ml bottle size to 600ml The introduction of the 3 gallon bottle and hand pump Increase in the number of staff and the introduction of new managerial post such as accounts and human resources. The Product Paradise Water is available in a variety of bottle sizes which are 600ml, 1. 5L, 5L, as well as 3 and 5 gallon sizes. Rigorous testing standards are employed in order to ensure that the water quality meets the highest international standards.Paradise water also provides free coolers to customers who sign up to receive 10 or more 5 gallon bottles of water per week. They also provide the option of rental of the coolers if the criteria for receiving the free cooler cannot be met. Description of Competitors Paradise water manufactures branded water for TEMPO, Coconut Bay, BARON Foods and GL Food Market. Paradise Water holds 40% of the market share however its main competitors are Blue Waters and Crystal Clear Water. Blue Waters is a Trinidad based company with a distribution center in the north of the island.Blue waters also provides customers with similir services as Paradise water which includes 1. 5L, 5L, and 5 gallon bottles of water. They also provide 650ml, 400ml and 8L bottles of water which are not manufactured by Paradise Water. Blue waters currently hold 25% of the market share. Another competitor is Crystal Clear purified water which also holds 25% of the market. Crystal Clear water is a new commer to the market however the company is slowly making strides to improve its product and gaining them a ? of the market providing consumers with cheaper prices for larger sizes of water.The remaining 10% is shared among smaller water companies. Pricing Paradise Water| | Blue Waters| | Crystal Clear Water| Product| Price| | Product| Price| | Product| Price| 600ml| $ 2. 00 | | 400ml| $ 0. 99 | | 355ml| $ 0. 99 | 1. 5L| $ 3. 00 | | 650ml| $ 2. 50 | | 650ml| $ 2. 50 | 5L| $ 6. 00 | | 1. 5L| $ 3. 00 | | 1. 5L| $ 3. 00 | 3 Gal| $ 15. 00 | | 5L| $ 7. 00 | | 2liter pk (2 2liter bottles)| $ 5. 00 | 5 Gal| $ 20. 00 | | 8L| $ 10. 0 | | | | | | | 5 Gal| $ 25. 00 | | | | Paradise water provides a competitive pricing advantage on its products showing a lower price for most of its products except that of the 1. 5L which is sold at the same price for all the companies. Org anizational Culture Responsibility to Customers Paradise Water strives to provide the best quality water and the highest quality of customer service to its customers. After the passing of Hurricane Tomas in 2010 the company has realized a tremendous increase in the demand for bottled water as people are more health conscious.Paradise water has a rigiourous filtration system to ensure that all impurities are removed from the water, the filtration system is as follows: Responsibility to employees The company recognises that the company’s success depends on the corporation and contribution of all its employees therefore, the company aims to provide all employees a safe working environment, ensuring that competitive terms and conditions of service ar provided to these employees and encouraging employees to get involved in the planning and direction of work.The company also promotes employee development through scholarships for employees wishing to further their education. Employe es also receive one free 5 gallon of water a week as an inccentive. Social Responsibility Social Responsibility is high on the list of priorities of Paradise Water. The company seeks to conduct business as a responsible corporate member of society, observing the laws of the country and seeking to improve the quality of life for all St Lucians through education, health, sports and culture.The company believes in the true meaning of community living and makes every effort to enhance the quality of life for as many people as possible. The company sees giving back to the community as a way of saying thank you to all St Lucians. Paradise Water is the sponsor of * District 6 school sports meets * The official sponsor of high jump champion Levern Spencer’s 2012 olympic campaign – All customers purchasing the specially labeled Levern Spencer bottles of water will be contributing to the sponsorship of Ms.Spencer’s trip to the 2012 olympic campaigh as proceeds from the pu rchase of any size of Paradise Water go towards Levern's 2012 Olympic campaign. * the official water of Pinehill funwalk * the company also sponsors many other local youth groups and activities Awards: The company has received numerous awards throughout its existance these include: * 2008 -2011 Ministry of Social Transformation – Outstanding Contributions to St Lucia sports * 2008 St. Lucia Amateur Swimming Association – Sponsor of the Year * 2012 St Lucia Manufacturers Association: Platinum Award for Implementation of Standards and Best Practices -Gold award for Social Responsibility -Gold award for Leadership Business Strategy Paradise water strives to go beyond what its competitors are offering as far as a product line and the price of their product. This has been achieved for the last five years and the company plans to continue to do so by continually developing new product ideas along with ways to make its production aspect run more efficiently. The research team currently is developing a new product line: flavored water with all natural ingredients.This new product will increase the company’s revenue by 10%. The company plans to extend its geographic market to include St. Vincent and Trinidad . The bottle design team has finished a 5 liter design that will be fitted to a water dispensing unit. These units will be rented to office buildings and houses for a very low cost per month. Product Strategy Paradise Water hopes to begin testing flavored water to see how the public would respond to this new product line In addition to it’s current line of products, the company will be adding a new product to it’s line which is in its final stages of designing.That is an improved 5 liter bottle with a water dispenser unit that will be rented to office buildings and available for sell to the home user. Price Strategy Paradise Water keeps their products reasonably priced so as to maintain its competitive advantage, keep loyal custom ers and attract new customers. Promotion Strategy Paradise Water Sales and marketing team conducting a hydration class at the OPSR expo2012. The company seeks to promote its products through sponsorship of various community activities.The company also uses radio and tevevision advertisments to promote its product. Its current campaign being the raise the bar campaign – sponsorship of Levern Spencers journey to the Olympics. Distribution Strategy In addition to its effective distribution of water to all supermarkets on the island and convenience stores; Paradise Water undertakes extensive home and office delivery of bottles and coolers for Monday to Friday. This ensures that customers receive the service befitting their top quality product. Company’s S. W. O. T Analysis StrengthsParadise water is the leading retailer of purified water on the island Products prices are the lowests among competitors Weakness Production of bottled water is dependant on clean running water from the water company, should a disaster occur and the water system is damaged or a drought, then production would be at a stand still. Opportunities Distribute to over 55 communities within the region Place paradise water and water dispensers in local grade schools. We plan to donate the dispensers and stock and provide the schools with free water for a year. ThreatsThere is the constant fear another company trying to sell a better product will steal our loyal customers away. If the public percives Paradise Water as nothing but tap water rather than purified water they may opt to puchase a different brand of water. Bibliography Cozier, M. (2012, June 8). General Manager, Paradise Springs. (S. Christophe, Interviewer) http://www. entrepreneur. com. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. entrepreneur. com. Paradise Water. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://slupsl. net Williams, C. (2011-2012). MGMT. In C. Williams, MGMT4th Ed. South-Western Cengage Learning.

The Life Cycle of Fleas

The Life Cycle of Fleas In order to control fleas effectively, you must understand the flea life cycle. Though there are several species of fleas that can infest your home, by far the most common species found on cats or dogs is the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), so well focus on cat fleas in this article. The Flea Life Cycle Fleas undergo complete metamorphosis with four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Environmental variables influence the length of each developmental stage. Fleas prefer a warm, humid environment, with temperatures ranging between 70 and 90 F and a relative humidity of 75 percent or more. Under ideal conditions, the cat flea life cycle takes just 18 days, from egg to adult. Adult fleas (both male and female) require a blood meal prior to mating. They prefer blood from your pet, but in the absence of a canine or feline host, fleas will bite people. Once mated, the female flea may deposit up to 50 eggs per day on your dog or cat. An adult flea typically lives for several months, so just a single flea can cause a significant infestation in a short amount of time. As your pet walks around your home, many of the flea eggs fall off. Cat flea eggs are tiny, measuring a mere 1/32 inch, so they can go unnoticed in your pets bedding, in carpets, or on upholstered furniture. Within 2 to 5 days, wormlike larvae emerge from the eggs. Lacking eyes and legs, you might think that flea larvae would have a tough time surviving in your carpet. But flea larvae do just fine hunkered down between the carpet fibers, where they feed on anything organic, from hair to adult flea excrement. The larvae feed and molt for 1 to 2 weeks, and then pupate within silken cocoons. The flea cocoon is often camouflaged with debris, including hair, skin particles, and carpet fibers. In a warm environment and with your cat or dog available for a blood meal, the adult may emerge in about a week. The new adult flea will jump on your pet when he passes by, and immediately begin feeding on his blood. Can Fleas Survive If My Pet Is Away? You might think you can beat a flea infestation by simply removing your pet from the home for a while. After all, no host, no parasite, right? But fleas are clever pests. A fully formed adult flea can sit tight inside its cocoon for a year, just waiting for a host animal to reappear. The fleas stay safely in their pupal cases until they sense vibrations that suggest an animal is moving nearby. Like many insects that feed on blood, they can also sense an increased presence of carbon dioxide, which signals that a host is in the area. So as soon as your dog or cat returns, the adult fleas will emerge and feast. And remember, theyll gladly feed on your blood if your pet is unavailable, so unless you are prepared to abandon your home for a year, you really must treat for fleas.

Word Choice Farther vs. Further - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Farther vs. Further - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Farther vs. Further â€Å"Farther† and â€Å"further† mean the same thing, right? Well, sometimes. But in American English we distinguish between these terms in some contexts, so it’s worth knowing the difference. This is especially true in academic and other formal writing, where precision is vital. To find out how these terms should be used, learn the traditional distinction below. Farther (Physical Distance) Although these terms are increasingly used interchangeably, technically, â€Å"farther† is reserved for discussing physical distances. As such, we might say: The library is farther down the road from here than the post office. Here, â€Å"farther† simply means â€Å"at a greater distance,† since it’s the comparative form of â€Å"far.† The same rule applies to â€Å"farthest,† which means â€Å"at the greatest physical distance.† It might be worth distinguishing between farther and a father, while were at it. Further (Metaphorical Distance) So, how does â€Å"further† differ? When referring to physical distance, not at all. As such, it would be correct to say: The library is further down the road from here than the post office. This means exactly the same thing as using â€Å"farther† in the same sentence. However, â€Å"further† is also used for figurative or non-physical distances. For instance, if we were referring to something that happens at a later point in time, we’d have to use â€Å"further†: Proofreading happens further along in the publication process than editing. Likewise, â€Å"further† is used when referring to things such as how far prices rise and fall or the point we’ve reached in a book: Before you read any further, stop and reflect on the themes in this chapter. If referring to the greatest figurative distance, â€Å"furthest† is the correct term to use. This â€Å"metaphorical† sense of â€Å"further† is also reflected in its use to mean â€Å"additional,† such as when we say that something requires â€Å"further study.† In all of these cases, using â€Å"farther† would be incorrect according to the conventional distinction. Farther or Further? The good news is that â€Å"further† is usually correct regardless of context. Throw in the fact that â€Å"farther† is much less common these days, as shown in this n-gram chart, and you might be safer using â€Å"further† for all senses of the word. Farther or further? However, if you want to ensure in your work, it’s a good idea to maintain the traditional distinction between â€Å"farther† and â€Å"further.† Remember: Farther = At a greater physical distance Further = At a greater figurative or non-physical distance

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

Answers - Essay Example Places which were previously cold have now diseases of warmer climates due to movement of carriers of such diseases into these new regions because of suitable weather conditions. Toxicity diseases with unusual symptoms will start to emerge mainly eco-toxic disease in Canada due to long term exposure to chemical such as DDT and PCB’s. Apart from that diversity in population will increase as immigrants will continue to move into Canada. Effect of this has both positive and negative impacts. There will be healthier immigrants shifting into new environments but at the same time there will be some who’ll bring diseases of their native environments hence requiring extra precautionary measures to be taken. By 2020 the population dominance of Canada will be belonging to seniors and children and the major rises will be felt in three major states of Canada hence increasing inter state competition for getting highest health budget allocated. Hence we can infer from this that disea ses related to old age will spike up requiring additional efforts for curing diseases. However the efforts being put in today for better health and curing illnesses will resolve occurrences of diseases related to certain type habits. ... Apart from the mentioned trends the authorities have to b e proactive and react to the predicted scenarios by taking strong steps. People all around Canada in schools, offices, on the streets should be made well aware of importance of staying fit and healthy. A prototype of a system should be created which shall integrate the medical records of people. The system of health care that we know today will be quite different in 2020 which will look into all factors including diversity, taking extra care of patients and use of new technology. Explain how health psychology can make a contribution to health promotion. Where appropriate, use eating behavior which leads to obesity as an example. Ans: Health is something which everyone desires and staying healthy throughout is a dream for everyone. Yet normally no one makes significant efforts on daily basis to live this dream. Health like other things you want comes with effort. There are many things in our daily routine which if we ignore can make significant improvement in our health and on the contrary there are things which will only take little time of our day but by doing that we can stay healthy. For knowing these things awareness is needed. Either people can be made aware directly or we can influx awareness in their minds which will subconsciously make them put in effort to stay healthy or avoid unhealthy habits . Health psychology can help us achieve this task. The purpose of Health Psychology is to create awareness among groups of population regarding health. By creating this awareness segments of population previously involved in bad health habits can take a positive step towards moving towards a healthier lifestyle which will help them have a better and secure life ahead free from