Cuzco :: essays research papers

The first place, on my exploration of time, I arrived was in Cuzco the center of the Incan civilization in the year 1505 A.D. Their was much to observe on arrival. The first thing one notices is that Cuzco is in the center of the â€Å"four quarters† of the Incan Empire, Tawantinsuyu. The surrounding four quarters or the four â€Å"suyus† were to the north Chincasuyu, to the west Cuntisuyu, to the east Anitsuyu, and to the south Chinasuyu the largest quarter. Cuzco sat at the center of these four quarters of the empire and served as the capital. This capital of the Incan Empire severed as a home to the political center of the Incas. The rich political and social system proved the most interesting to me as I stayed in Cuzco.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The political system of the Incans proved rather ridged and complex. At the top of their society is the emperor. The Incan emperor was thought to be the a direct descendant of the sun god, Inti. The entire power of the Incan Empire belonged to its emperor. His system of checks and balances were that of their rich culture and of course the possibility of his subjects revolting. The emperor had only one wife that was recognized; though he had many concubines and hundreds of illegitimate children. Many of these children held the positions of advisors to the Emperor. The other relatives of the Emperor and other Emperors before him held the other high posts in the government, religion, and military. The last few government officials were the high nobles of the lands conquered by the empire. The practice of nepotism obviously was embraced by this society#.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The division of power in this civilization was a remarkable system. The governors of each quarter, once again, were blood relatives of the Emperor. Each governor had ten district governors who oversaw approximately ten thousand subjects. The governors then had leaders of about one thousand people who reported to them. Each leader of these small villages then had a foreman who over saw one hundred Incans. This process of division then ends in a series of low officials who would look over at least ten subjects1. This division the will of the emperor to be passed swiftly to the lowest members of society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The emperor allocated his resources, through this rigid division of the society, to become more economically and politically sound.

Managing Change in Organisation Essay

Today, teams and organizations face rapid change like never before. Globalization has increased the markets and opportunities for more growth and revenue. However, increasingly diverse markets have a wide variety of needs and expectations that must be understood if they are to become strong customers and collaborators. The ability to manage change in an organisation, while continuing to meet the needs of stakeholders, is a very important skill required by today’s leaders and managers. Organizational change is undertaken to improve the performance of the organization or a part of the organization, for example, a process or team. When an organizational system is disturbed by some internal or external force, the change may occur. The change is modification of the structure or process of a system that may be positive or negative. It disturbs the existing equilibrium or status quo in an organization and may affect the whole organization, or various other parts of the organization i n varying degrees of speed and significance. It may affect people, structure, technology, and other elements of an organization. It may be reactive or proactive in nature. When change takes place due to external forces, it is called reactive change. However, proactive change is initiated by the management on its own to enhance the organizational effectiveness. The change is one of the most critical aspects of effective management. Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. The goal of planned organizational change is to find new or improved ways of using resources and capabilities in order to increase an organization’s ability to create value and improve returns to its stakeholders. An organization in decline may need to restructure its resources to improve its fit with the environment. According to Ackerman (1997) organisational change can be distinguished in three types, namely, developmental change, transitional change and transformational change. Developmental change refers to organisational change in which what already exists is continually improved but no radical progress is achieved or aimed at. Transitional change is a shift in the way a process is completed or designed to increase efficiency. A transitional change could involve the automation of a manufacturing process that was once done by hand. Transformational change refers to a shift in the business culture of an organisation resulting from a change in the underlying strategy and processes that the organisation has used in the past. A transformational change is designed to be organisation-wide and is enacted over a period of time. Significant organizational change occurs, for example, when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or wants to change the very nature by which it operates. It also occurs when an organization evolves through various life cycles, just like people must successfully evolve through life cycles. For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant change at various points in their development. That’s why the topic of organizational change and development has become widespread in communications about business, organizations, leadership and management. Leaders and managers continually make efforts to accomplish successful and significant change as it’s inherent in their jobs. Some are very good at this effort (probably more than we realize), while others continually struggle and fail. That’s often the difference between people who thrive in their roles and those that get shuttled around from job to job, ultimately settling into a role where they’re frustrated and ineffective. In this paper, it will be explained how the Digicel Corporation has converted from the traditional model to a transformed organizational model over the last five years. Digicel Corporation ia a telecommunication based company who provides land line, internet services, sale of handsets, credit for pay as you go customers, contract accounts, sale of tablets, etc. Digicel opened its very first store in 2001 by Irishman Denis O’brian. Digicel has transformed from a company into the region’s largest telephone corporations, leading in sales year after year. One of Denis O’brian techniques for change is technological changes. By the 2000’s the organisation had been so successful and had more increasing growth than any other telecommunication companies in the Eastern Caribbean region resulting in the purchase of AT&T in St. Lucia. Digicel provides consumers with low prices under the slogan â€Å"The Bigger Better Network† (digicel.com). The price sensitive merchandise allows customers to get more for their dollar. Digicel offers its customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week services, which is appealing in any retail market. The goal is to satisfy the growing telecommunication needs of customers. The best example of this organisational change that I can think of is the globalization of Digicel. This Organisational change began in 2001 when Denis O’brian opened in Jamaica. This was the beginning of Digicel’s vision of becoming an international company. Since then, Digicel has been aggressively expanding its markets and investments throughout the Eastern Caribbean Region, and Ireland. The company currently has operations in a number of countries including Ireland, Central America, Oceania, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, Panama, Bermuda and Grenada to name a few. Digicel also employs more than 5,500 associates worldwide, with more than 1000 stores currently in operation. Digicel is committed to achieving leadership as a telecommunication service provider. In order to achieve this goal, it has implemented specific business strategies that include globalization. Digicel leaders believe that globalization is critical to the company’s growth and continued success. In its quest to remain competitive, Digicel is pressing onward on its mission of seeking new opportunities, innovations, solutions, and talent in the global markets. Major advances in technology and communication and the growth of the Internet have also made it possible for Digicel to conduct and manage business globally. The company’s utilization of technology has been and will continue to be critical in its business success. Digicel being a communication company, along with other global companies are now dependent heavily on electronic communication devices to conduct business transactions. Integration of enhanced information system has a significant impact on the way Digicel collects, access, and disseminate information. Technological innovations have increased the efficiency and quality of business processes. Digicel uses the internet through the social networks lik e twitter and facebook to attract new customers and advertise their services. However, in spite of all the advantages, technology also has its drawbacks. Digicel is now online and services can be done at local banks and connected through computers. Therefore, the company is vulnerable to hackers and computer viruses that can paralyze its business. Computer crime is also a threat and has damaging effects on any global information systems. Computer security and protection is critical to the business. The use of technology in the business also has a major impact on privacy issues. Violation of privacy, computer monitoring, and computer matching, unauthorized personal files are examples of privacy issues that can destroy the reputation or integrity of any company (O’Brien, J. 2003). Digicel must take these threats seriously as it continues to compete in both national and international markets. An issue that faces Digicel or any company that uses technology is that technology is not static. In fact, the dominant attribute of technology is that it is always changing. Digicel must continue to invest to keep its technology up-to-date and able to help make the company compete successfully in the global markets. It has to ensure that its employees are effectively trained on the use of technology to achieve maximum productivity and quality. Digicel’s managers and employees involved in international business regularly interact with people from different countries. They are constantly exposed to different social, political, cultural, and economical challenges. The globalization of Digicel can present complex problems for its international managers and employees. Post, Lawrence, and Weber , 1999 states that to do business in the international market, a company must â€Å"design a business plan that fits with the cultural, competitive, and political realities of diverse societies defined by features such as language, customs, religion, and traditions† (p.125). It is important for Digicel to not only appreciate the cultural differences, but also to understand how these differences can affect its international business operations. Digicel should vary its management process and practices to take these differences into account. Maintaining current or potential multinational customers is a challenge for any global business. Each time Digicel opens a store in a different country, it has to integrate the â€Å"company’s unique culture and effective retailing concepts to each new country†. However, the emergence of multinational customers’, demand that Digicel also has to take into account and be sensitive to the difference s in customer preferences, needs and requirements. The company has done considerable market research and analysis before its expansion to other countries. The globalization of a company’s market poses a challenge to the individuals responsible in the management of knowledge. Companies use knowledge management technologies to have a focused view of its customers around the world. Development of technology and expanding markets in different economic regions necessitates the use of knowledge management technologies. Organizational change is a major strength for Digicel. They are consistently redefining processes to reduce costs in the area of telecommunications, inventory replenishment lead times, purchasing and defining the appropriate product and merchandise mix at each of their locations. Operations at Digicel are built on the premise that they can offer everyday low prices. This has been a competitive area that Digicel has had success in. Digicel has been able to build consumer trust by delivering the promise of the cutting-edge technologies and services at a competitive price. By driving down costs in all portions of their business they have a successful business strategy. What makes Digicel successful is its â€Å"ability to apply technology to its critical processes† (www.digicelgroup.com). It is important to note that new knowledge and technology comes from the innovative and creative minds of employees and leaders. The need to be better and/or faster inspires new way of thinking. A company that encourages innovative and creative thinking and integrates these into its organizational culture will attain competitive advantage. The goal of planned organizational change is to find new or improved ways of using resources and capabilities in order to increase an organization’s ability to create value and improve returns to its stakeholders. An organization in decline may need to restructure its resources to improve its fit with the environment. At the same time even a thriving organization like Digicel may need to change the way it uses its resources so that it can extend its business and find new markets for its existing products. One of the findings from my studies revealed that the employees of Digicel resisted the change to conduct business online and through the local financial institutions. In a sense, this is positive. It provides a degree of stability and predictability to behavior. If there weren’t some resistance, Digicel may have taken on characteristics of chaotic randomness. Resistance to change can also be a source of functional conflict. For example, resistance to Digicel’s transformational change or its reorganisation stimulated a healthy debate over the merits of the idea and resulted in a better decision. But there is a definite downside to resistance to change. It hinders adaptation and progress. Resistance to change doesn’t necessarily surface in standardized ways. The resistance to change at Digicel was overt and immediate. It made it easier for management to deal with resistance when it is was this way: For instance when the change was proposed and employees quickly responded because they thought their jobs were being made redundant by voicing complaints, engaging in a work slowdown, threatening to go on strike, or the like. The greater challenge for management would have been managing resistance that was implicit or deferred. Implicit resistance efforts are more subtle – loss of loyalty to the organization, loss of motivation to work, increased errors or mistakes, increased absentism due to sickness and hence, more difficult to recognize. Similarly, deferred actions cloud the link between the source of the resistance and the reaction to it. A change may produce what appears to be only a minimal reaction at the time it is initiated, but then resistance surfaces weeks, months or even years later. A single change that in and of itself might have little impact becomes the straw that breaks the company’s back. Reactions to change can build up and then explode in some response that seems to tally out of proportion to the change action it follows. The resistance, of course, has merely been deferred and stockpiled what surfaces is a response to an accumulation of previous changes. When management is willing to discuss openly with their employees all aspects of an impending change, it is desirable that ample time be planned between the initial mention of the change and the state of its actual initiation. Management should use this interval to ensure that all involved attain maximum understanding of the change and its probable consequences. Management should plan the length of this interval by working out a trade-off betwe en two considerations. Often these will be in conflict with each other. The first of this is a question of how long it takes for the processes of accommodation and rationalization to occur for the most people involved. The second consideration is an evaluation of those situational factors which determine when the change must be instituted and implemented and when the benefits must be realized. To achieve the best trade-off between these two considerations, management needs to evaluate the relative costs of two alternatives; delaying the introduction of the change to gain more preparation time in the interest of realizing optimum benefits, conforming to the intended schedule with the possibility of an increased risk of resistance and the resultant probability of reduced benefits. In many instances, management may discover that it will be economical to delay the change until the possibility of its acceptance is enhanced. If management decides not to delay, resistance may cause not only reduction in the possible benefits but also probable delays in their re alization, management should plan sufficient time during the early phase of the change for accommodation and rationalization to occur and for understanding to be developed. Involvement and participation are perhaps the most powerful techniques management can use to gain acceptance of change. Commitment to carry out these decisions is intensified. Personal satisfaction derived from the job is increased. The extent of personal involvement can range from merely being informed, to discussing problems and voicing opinions and feelings to actually making and implementing decision. Digicel has become one of Caribbean’s most successful telephone companies by offering communication services at low prices for individual, families and corporations. It is strong because it shapes perception better than any company in the region. Digicel’s power position relative to the key policy issues and stakeholders is one of domination. The size, wealth, and financial power of the company are impressive. It is the largest communication company in the Eastern Caribbean States. It is the largest political and social donor in the retail sector. This dominance, and the company’s finances, coupled with retaining the top lobby shops in the Region give the company an advantage. The company manages its relationship with its key stakeholders in a way that maximizes the tactical advantage of Digicel. With groups that the company perceives as hostile, such as other communication companies, complaining former employees, or even local ad hoc opposition groups, who are fighting to keep Digicel out of their community, the company uses every means available to it in order to win. Digicel has established a foundation in an effort to give back to the community where the company is based by issuing scholarships, sponsoring sports personnel and assist the less fortunate. The company applies its retail philosophy, of being the best, and winning, into its political and public affairs strategy. Using tools at its disposal, such as the top law firms, and top Public Relations firms, the company does battle in court with those who challenge it. In public, Digicel uses top of the line Public Relations strategy firms to produce commercials for its stores and to portray the best possible image. Another way the company is successful is its ability thus far to keep out of the headlines any significant negative publicity. The company has also avoided being probed by regulators for some of its aggressive retailing and competition practices. In the case of Digicel and government relations, the goal is to have a low profile, and to keep government regulators away. Its relationships with key stakeholders are maintained as well by the communication of corporate statements on its Internet site and through other paper based corporate communications. It keeps contact with the Government offices and retained political groups. The strategic and tactical advantage of Digicel when pursuing a political and public affairs strategy is the use of its financial resources and to provide handset for communications. It can buy an army of the top lobby firms, lawyers, and public relations specialists should it need to. Since the company has a history of fighting back, and winning, when it is challenged, that may be keeping larger groups away from fighting the retail giant. From a scan of recent headlines, the company does not appear to be involved in fighting any major federal legislation. Notably, Digicel is involved in numerous municipal zoning disputes across the Region. In an attempt at meeting the demands of its customers within the region, Digicel embarked on purchasing various pieces of property in which to erect transmission towers. The top issue within this venture is the question of zoning regulations and the proximity of these towers in the communities and the population on the whole. The company has been making large payouts in an attempt to keep the towers which were erected and to erect more so as to establish greater services. The company’s strategic and tactical activities are more apparent at the state and municipal levels. Mainly, the company fights legislation through the courts. Top issues are municipal zoning regulations. At the federal level, it is worth noting that Digicel gives heavily to political candidates, who happen to be generally pro business in their voting. Digicel does not generally employ a grassroots campaign strategy, as it has no established infrastructure to do this. It has over five thousand, five hundred employees. Should the company wish to tap its â€Å"associates† to become active on an issue, such as trade, for example, they would have a large base of people to draw upon. May of the She Magazine noted that Digicel sometimes stages grassroots efforts to oppose local companies who are rallying against technological advances. Digicel will send in professionals and staff from its headquarters to form business development and revitalization committees, and use these fronts to challenge the anti Digicel groups (She Magazine, 33) In terms of consistency, the company has much to improve in the way of dealing with communities and groups. The company chooses to cut costs and push the boundaries of existing regulations. Then it falls victim to lawsuits and is sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The company has a goal of keeping out unions. Yet, the company by its frugal employee wage compensation practice, the reliance on part-time workers, and unfair shift scheduling practice, is creating discord among its employees. These conditions foster the development of labor unions. If the company were to improve its payment and treatment of employees, perhaps it can avoid future problems and issues such as turnover. The company is well positioned to tackle any obstacle. While not maintaining a large government relations department, the company retains top lobbyists, making it ready and capable to deal with issues as needs warrant. In conclusion, Digicel is the number one retailer in the Caribbean Region and operates in many countries and is moving into new countries every year. Digicel is also expanding as a telecommunication giant. Each year, the number of people who have a stake in Digicel also grows since gives shares to the employees. Digicel has had reasons to file law suits against its competitors as injunctions were placed against them as it relates to use of similar networks within the same region. Digicel is often able to uncut many other local industries and more communication companies are shutting down when Digicel moves into town. As a result of Digicel’s ever growing size and variety of services they offer, their public affairs department is going to become more and more important. As Digicel attain sectors of the marketplace, there is going to be more regulation against them and their public affairs department is going to have to work harder to make it possible for Digicel to continue to grow. And as the animosity against Digicel becomes more widespread, here and in foreign countries, Digicel is going to have to work harder to maintain their good reputation. Digicel’s foundation will become increasingly more important for giving things back to the community. In order for Digicel to stay at the top of their game and follow the company’s strategy and achieve their key policy goals, they are going to have to deal better with their stakeholders and make sure they guard their reputation well. Bibliography Module – Managing Change in Organisations. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/organizational-change-management-OCM http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/transformational-change.html (2008) About Digicel. Retrieved November 8, 2008 http://www.digicel.com/wps-portal/storelocator/St.Lucia- About_Digicel.jsp May Wayne. She Margazine† Into Their Business Model. Volume 3. Star Publishing Company. October 2010. Page 33. Post, J.E, Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (1999). Contemporary Business Issues with Readings. Based on selected materials from the ninth edition of business and society: corporate strategy, public policy, ethics, New York, McGraw-Hill Gareth R. Jones (2004). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change: Text and Cases. Fourth Edition. Pearson Education, New Delhi. Kavita Singh (2005). Organisation Change and Development. New Delhi :Excel. 2000-2001. National Directory of Corporate Public Affairs.

Free Essays on Journal Critique

How the Act of Writing Effects a Person’s Health This study examined how the act of writing can have positive effects on a person’s health. This study published initially in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 1999;281:1304-1309)found that some people with chronic illness had improvements in their health after writing about life stressors. The study looked at 112 patients, in a randomized controlled trial. The patients spent an hour a day writing. When the patients were evaluated in four months, the study found that almost half had improved heath. The researchers said, "These gains were beyond those attributable to the standard medical care that all participants were receiving. It remains unknown whether these health improvements will persist beyond four months or whether this exercise will prove effective with other diseases." It seems the results of this study are skewed. The researchers want us to believe that writing is proven to help with our overall health. The actual data combining all completing patients, 33 (47.1%) of 70 experimental patients had clinically relevant improvement, whereas nine (24.3%) of 37 control patients had improvement (P=.001). This indicates that less than half of the patients actually improved. The researchers believe that the writing is effective due to the fact that there was a marked improvement in those patients that wrote as opposed to the control group. The control group had no improvement. Discussion: This study was a foundation for other studies in relation to writing and chronic illness. Statistically if we were to flip a coin relative to the same amount of patients we may come up with the same numbers. After reading this study and reading articles that referenced this study, it seems to me the data is not conclusive. Data suggests that people feel better when they are venting or when someone pays attention to them. When a person is not under dist... Free Essays on Journal Critique Free Essays on Journal Critique How the Act of Writing Effects a Person’s Health This study examined how the act of writing can have positive effects on a person’s health. This study published initially in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 1999;281:1304-1309)found that some people with chronic illness had improvements in their health after writing about life stressors. The study looked at 112 patients, in a randomized controlled trial. The patients spent an hour a day writing. When the patients were evaluated in four months, the study found that almost half had improved heath. The researchers said, "These gains were beyond those attributable to the standard medical care that all participants were receiving. It remains unknown whether these health improvements will persist beyond four months or whether this exercise will prove effective with other diseases." It seems the results of this study are skewed. The researchers want us to believe that writing is proven to help with our overall health. The actual data combining all completing patients, 33 (47.1%) of 70 experimental patients had clinically relevant improvement, whereas nine (24.3%) of 37 control patients had improvement (P=.001). This indicates that less than half of the patients actually improved. The researchers believe that the writing is effective due to the fact that there was a marked improvement in those patients that wrote as opposed to the control group. The control group had no improvement. Discussion: This study was a foundation for other studies in relation to writing and chronic illness. Statistically if we were to flip a coin relative to the same amount of patients we may come up with the same numbers. After reading this study and reading articles that referenced this study, it seems to me the data is not conclusive. Data suggests that people feel better when they are venting or when someone pays attention to them. When a person is not under dist...

Animal Cruelty

Animal Cruelty A little bit opinionated, but lots of info -The topic of animal cruelty is one of great importance to the wold today. Why we humans have the right reserved to treat animals as lesser individuals is beyond me. Animals are fulfilling their part in the ecosystems and communities of the earth, and to the best extent that they are able. For example, a spider is being the best possible spider that it can be, spinning webs and working diligently at what it knows best, not bothering any creatures of the earth besides the ones which it needs to capture for food. We, as humans, decided that we are a much advanced life form and can basically treat anything else in this world in ways which we cannot imagine being treated. As a result the threads holding our earth together tightly in the balance are being slowly unraveled to lead into ultimate self-destruction.Mouse in Research for Animal TestingIn 1988, 16, 989 animals died in laboratories in the United Kingdom. This was due to such tests as acu te and chronic toxicity experiments, where the animals are forced to consume substances such as perfume, make-up and other beauty products and are often literally poisoned, their systems literally overloaded by the substance in question. Another testing method is the Lethal Dose 50 percent test or LD50. In this procedure at least half of the animals must die in order for the government to figure out how much a human can ingest without dying.In one such test some animals were fed 4. lb. of lipstick and one ended up dying of intestinal obstruction. In another, 7 pints of melted eye shadow was fed to rats. In yet another, mice were wrapped in tin foil and grilled in ultraviolet light to test a sun block cream for a...

4 Expert PSAT Calculator Tips + Approved Calculators

4 Expert PSAT Calculator Tips + Approved Calculators SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips PSAT math can be intimidating, so it would be nice to be able to have some computerized help. But can you use a calculator on the PSAT? Yes, you can, though only on the second of the two Math sections on the PSAT.But what kind of calculator can you use, and when does it make sense to use a calculator on the PSAT? Read on for the complete list of approved calculators for PSAT test day and our top tips for using your calculator effectively. Can You Use a Calculator on the PSAT? Like the SAT, the PSAT has four sections: Reading, Writing, Math (No Calculator), and Math (Calculator). The No Calculator Math section is 25 minutes long, and has 17 questions, while the Calculator section is 45 minutes long and has questions. As the name suggests, the only time during the PSAT where you can use your calculator is on thefinal Calculator mathsection. According to College Board, most questions on the Calculator Math section can be answered without using a calculator, but a calculator could be useful on some questions. Translated from the College Board's cautious official language: you absolutely should use a calculator when it’s called for to make your life easier, but don’t over-complicate questions by using a calculator when it would be quicker to solve by hand. For example, it’s faster (and presents lower chances of error) to use your calculator to multiply 34 x 174. However, it’s much faster to solve an equation like 3x + 4y = 17, 4x + 8y = 26 by hand than to use your graphing calculator to do it. Approved Calculators for PSAT Test Day The College Board allows three types of calculators on the PSAT: four-function calculators, scientific calculators, and graphing calculators. Four-function calculators are so-called because they can basically just do four things: add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Although you could theoretically use just a four-function calculator on the PSAT, it's not recommended, most likely because four-function calculators usually lack useful features like parentheses and entry lines. The only advantages of four-function calculators are that they tend to be relatively inexpensive and take up less space. But honestly, the disadvantages of not being able to see what you just entered into the calculator far outweigh the benefits. All scientific calculators are permitted for use on the PSAT. A scientific calculator has all the features of a four-function calculator plus a few other useful things. Key functions included in all scientific calculators are parentheses, pi, and trigonometric functions, as can be seen below: AJC1/Flickr Parentheses in particular are great because you can use them to make sure your calculations happen in the right order. For example, ((15 x 19) – (13/2)) /100 is a whole lot easier to enter in all at once with parentheses, instead of having to break it up into its individual parts and then re-use the parts; every extra calculation entry you do introduces the chance of more error. The final type of calculator you can bring to the PSAT is a graphing calculator. Graphing calculators are great because they will definitely have features like entry lines as well as everything a scientific calculator has. They can also be helpful in visualizing solutions to linear equations – for instance, if you want to find out where the two equations cross, you can just look at the graph to get the coordinates The only problem with graphing calculators is that their multifunctionality can trick students into using them when not using a calculator would be faster. Avoid this trap by using a graphing calculator as you take practice tests and challenging yourself to question each time you use the calculator if it’s really necessary, or if it’s taking up more time than it’s saving. Unlike with scientific calculators, not all models of graphing calculator are allowed under the PSAT calculator rules. Below is a chart of acceptable PSAT graphing calculators, sorted by brand. Casio Hewlett-Packard Radio Shack Sharp Texas Instruments Other Brands FX-6000 series HP-9G EC-4033 EL-5200 TI-73 Datexx DS-883 FX-6200 series HP-28 series EC-4034 EL-9200 series TI-80 Micronta FX-6300 series HP-38G EC-4037 EL-9300 series TI-81 Smart2 FX-6500 series HP-39 series EL-9600 series (stylus not permitted) TI-82 FX-7000 series HP-40 series EL-9900 series TI-83/TI-83 Plus FX-7300 series HP-48 series TI-83 Plus Silver FX-7400 series HP-49 series TI-84 Plus/TI-84 Plus T FX-7500 series HP-50 series TI-84 Plus CE/TI-84 Plus CE-T FX-7700 series HP Prime TI-84 Plus Silver FX-7800 series TI-84 Plus C Silver FX-8000 series TI-85 FX-8500 series TI-86 FX-8700 series TI-89 FX-8800 series TI-89 Titanium FX-9700 series TI-Nspire/TI-Nspire CX FX-9750 series TI-Nspire CAS/TI-Nspire CX CAS FX-9860 series TI-Nspire CM-C/TI-Nspire CM-C CAS CFX-9800 series TI-Nspire CX-C CAS CFX-9850 series CFX-9950 series CFX-9970 series FX 1.0 series Algebra FX 2.0 series FX-CG-10 (PRIZM) FX-CG-20 Want to improve your PSAT score by 150 points? We have the industry's leading PSAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: Avoid These PSAT Calculators Some calculators, like TI-92 Plus or Voyage 200, are banned from the PSAT because they violate College Board PSAT calculator guidelines. Most of these guidelines are common sense, like that you can’t use a calculator that makes noise or a calculator that can access the Internet. A few of the other qualifications, though, are less obvious, like the fact that you can’t use a calculator that requires an electrical outlet. If your calculator meets any of the following criteria, you cannot use it on the PSAT: It’s part of a portable/handheld computer, laptop, electronic writing pad, or pocket organizer. Shockingly, you can't use your computer while taking the PSAT. It has QWERTY (i.e., typewriter) keypads as part of hardware or software (e.g., TI-92 Plus, Voyage 200). You also can’t use any â€Å"hardware peripherals† with an otherwise approved calculator (e.g. an external keyboard or LCD screen) It has pen-input/stylus/touch-screen capability (e.g., Palm, PDAs, Casio ClassPad) It has wireless or Bluetooth capability It paper tapes It can "talk" (terrifying) or make noise It requires an electrical outlet It can access the Internet It has cell phone capability or audio/video recording capability. No using your cellphone calculator on the PSAT! It has a digital audio/video player It has a camera or scanning capability No external view screens allowed on yourPSAT calculator! (Joe Haupt/Flickr) 4 PSAT Calculator Tips Now that you know what your options are for approved calculators for PSAT testing, let's go through a few key tips to help you use your calculatoreffectively on test day. Tip 1: Bring an Approved Calculator to the Test It’s better to have a calculator you can use and end up not needing it than to need a calculator and not have one. The same thing goes for making sure it’s an approved calculator; there’s no point in bringing a calculator with you that you can’t use. Tip 2: Be Familiar With Your Calculator One of the main reasons to use a calculator is that it enhances your speed and accuracy on the test. If you’re using a calculator you’ve never used before, you’ll be slower and more prone to errors, no matter how fancy the calculator is. Avoid test-day peril by using the calculator you plan to use on the PSAT for your everyday schoolwork and homework as much as possible. That way, when PSAT time comes, you’ll be comfortable with your calculator. Tip 3: Check the Calculator's Entry Line When you’re doing calculations during the test, it can be easy to get caught up in the rush to finish the test in time and accidentally hit "8" instead of "5," or "x" instead of "-". To limit the impact of these errors on you, double check the entry line before hitting â€Å"enter† to make sure you haven’t entered in the wrong number or operation. Double-checking the entry line is particularly important if you’re not using a graphing calculator that keeps a running log of all the calculations you’ve done. Tip 4: Know When Not to Use Your Calculator Especially if you have a graphing calculator, it can seem like the easier thing to do is to let the calculator work for you. Meticulously entering in an equation into the calculator and getting it to solve it for you, however, can take way more time than just doing it by hand would. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the calculator at all; rather, use it as a supplement to your skills, rather than as a replacement. Be warned,you shouldn't rely on calculator apps to do the hard work for you. PSAT proctors have the right to inspect your calculator and delete all programmed apps on there, and if you’d grown accustomed to using apps to solve problems, you’ll be in hot water. Hot water: beautiful to watch spewing from a geyser, less beautiful to be in. What’s Next? Now that you've gotten your calculator figured out, what's left to do? Only to learn what a perfect PSAT score is and how to get it, naturally. Ready to get into the details of what you'll be tested on when you take the PSAT? We discuss what's covered (and what's not) in our complete guide to the PSAT. Find out when you can take the PSAT with our up-to-date PSAT test dates article. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Downloading Music Off the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Downloading Music Off the Internet - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that  the Internet has become the means of generally the entire population to access information anywhere in the world without leaving the comfort of their seats. As the Internet has â€Å"exploded into an awesome resource of information ... it allows for the transfer of mass amounts of information between users ... with the mere click of a mouse†.This study highlights that  attention should be focused on the legalities or illegalities of Internet music downloading. Internet users, especially students, stand in their grounds that purchasing CDs are â€Å"too expensive† and merely a marketing deception by recording companies where the music lover can only find a couple of good songs in the entire album. There have been download reductions after the series of lawsuits filed by RIAA to peer-to-peer networks, but it is undeniable that there are still numerous options for those seeking files, music files especially, in the digital world. Other legal steps taken like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 presented by Congress have been criticized as not fully effective to eradicate this illegal act. Government, schools and media have all debated regarding this matter, and it seems that there is still no clear-cut boundaries as to which is morally acceptable or what is to be considered stealing in a gigantic digital galaxy.  The Internet, being extensive and diverse, cannot be fully controlled by both legal offices or supplier of goods as technological advancements continue to rise.

Characteristics of Public Health Summary Measures Essay

Characteristics of Public Health Summary Measures - Essay Example Additionally, it will indicate how these characteristics contribute to and improve our understanding of diseases burden in the population. One of the characteristics that I believe a public health summary measures should possess is absolute or relative change. This should be in term of health status for a given period of time. For example, if the mortality rate is 10 percent in a given location for a certain month, then in the next month it increases to 12 percent, this indicates an absolute increase infant mortality (Zack, 1993). Measures should be taken to ensure that there is a reduction in relative change in infant mortality which is a useful measure of the public health. This will reduce the cost of living since the fund that would be used to cater for infant mortality will be used in other economic growth activities and increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The second characteristic is validity, which is a measure that indicates the health status of an individual like a report of health indicating as excellent, good, and poor among others means of rating. This means a record for this validity should be kept where it reflects a change in the health status of individuals (Murray, 1994). This characteristic will be of importance since when one visit a health care then his or her status will be known and intensive care will be undertaken depending on the report. The third characteristic is that population should be sensitive to major health changes for example in the case where alcohol and tobacco taxation is increased. This means the reduction in the consumption of alcohol and tobacco in the location, will be a measure to improve the health of individuals by addressing mental health, chronic diseases among others (McKenna and Michaud, 2005).  Ã‚