Comm essay

The council members consist of Mayor Adam Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Russell Beets and council members, Joe McKee, Jan Rye, and Scott Mats. Eric Johnson s a consultant with Revenue Cost Specialist; he discusses his company and matches costs with revenue. Within twenty-five years he's worked in over two hundred agencies and five different states. It started with two city managers after the passage of proposition 4 and 13, in which they saw the need for cities to be able to match up the cost with their revenues.Proposition 13 limits what can be done with taxes, compared to Proposition 4, which allows fees. â€Å"You are not going to stay in business very long if you don't know what revenues you are bringing in verses what cost you are bringing' said Johnson ruing his brief presentation. In his introduction, Eric mentioned questions such as ‘What services are being provided to the public? † Who's providing those services? † and â€Å"What does that cost? † With tha t being said he went through and made adjustments to public fees and some have gone up as well as down.Although, I am not too aware of what exactly was being discussed, these questions definitely made me think about how money is being spent. I may not be familiar with certain topics, however I do pay taxes and I should make it a priority to be involved and know exactly where my money is being invested. It's up to the city council to decide how fees are paid, but it is our tax money that is being used so it is important to be aware of these decisions. Another topic that was brought up was the mural; the public does not agree that it takes eight hours to approve a mural.The city manager Martin States the benefits, salaries, and overhead cost are included, then a staff report along with an agenda that is published by the adman assistant is sent to the commission. The city council claims it is the true cost for the current staffing that they have to process one application to go to the commission. Larry Ken has complained several times about the meeting taking to long to process a mural, as he is talking he is cut off and does not appreciate that he is being rushed as he states his concerns.The council uses the â€Å"save a pet mural† to demonstrate the steps that take place, for example sometimes a meeting with the chair is necessary and furthermore the artist themselves to discuss numbers etc. Another topic that was brought up was the cost of business license, so many people work out of their homes and many are complaining that they are not being paid due to high prices. Currently, if you do not have a business location in the city and your business is in Palm Springs and your doing landscaping in Desert Hot Springs it is double the business license fee.A city council member is concerned to whether this is reasonable and how it is being monitored. Some cities do not even require a business license, however DISH has a business license tax per ordinance. In closing, it was brought up amongst the council that city matters are better off handling administratively to avoid public hearings. As council members or mayors they eve a tendency to get over involved in city business instead of referring to staff, which would make it much easier to conduct city business.Council member McKee feels it is necessary to be friendly to the people that live there as well as the businesses. There are several things that need to be reduced such as the event fee, mural fees, and possibly get rid of the garage sales fee. However it is argued that if the garage sales fee is removed perhaps residents will try to make it and everyday event, then again it should not be a fee everyone has to pay. Business licenses need to be simplified and made a lot heaper so it will encourage people actually to get them rather than avoid them.As a city council, a policy should be made every three years compared to seven years, this is for good management and to be aware Of whe re money is being spent due to current budget issues. I'm glad we had this assignment it gave me a different perspective to how important I am as a resident. I pay taxes yet I am not even aware fatwa they are being used for, that alone is a main concern of mine. I've become more interested in what goes on in my own city, and plan to go to the next council meeting that is held.Some of the arguments that were brought up were reasonable but some also did not have enough evidence to back up their statement. It is important to do research before you speak because council members are not afraid to cut you off based on how much information that must be covered in such a short period of time. It is not in a sense to be rude, however with so much to discuss it is important to Stay on track and take more time on the bigger issues going on. As a city we should all be more involved and voice our opinions that is one of the reasons why these meetings are held to begin with.

Bshs/382 Research and Statistics Dq’s

Week 1 DQ 1 1. Voluntary consent of the participant is absolutely essential. The subject must be capable of giving consent without coercion, and full responsibility for obtaining consent rests with the principal investigator. 2. The experiment must be designed to bring forth results that will benefit society and that cannot be obtained in any other manner. 3. Human experimentation should be based on animal research results as well as knowledge of the natural course of events, disease, or problems. 4. All unnecessary mental or physical harm should be avoided. 5. When there is reason to believe that death or disabling injury may occur, no experiment should be conducted except, perhaps, when the experimenting physicians also serve as subjects. 6. The degree of risk should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved. 7. All precaution should be taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death. 8. Only qualified personnel should be allowed to conduct experiments. The principal investigator must be ready to terminate the experiment at any stage if it appears that injury or death will result. Research Techniques for the Health Sciences, Fourth Edition Chapter 4: Considering Ethics in Research Explain two basic principles for humane treatment of human subjects in research. Drawing on the course readings or a current news item, provide an example of a study in which ethical principles were not followed. How might study design have been improved in that case? The two basic principles for human treatment of human subjects in research most significant to me are, making sure all precaution is taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death, and allowing the subject to withdraw from the experiment at any time if a point is reached that may bring about physical or mental harm. It is important that we do not use humans in research as crash dummies, as if they are simply replaceable after harm and injury. It is only right to take all precautions and allow the human subject to change their mind about participating in the research. Ethical principles were not followed in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study found in our text. The human subjects were not fully aware of the study, and the purpose of the research was more so the subjects could die and they could perform an autopsy. Week 1 DQ 2 What are the advantages of using a mixed method approach to research? What are the challenges? Provide an example of how you have used (or, in the future, could use) this approach in your professional role. The strength of the research; 2) Use of multiple methods in a research helps to research a process or a problem from all sides; 3) Usage of different approaches helps to focus on a single process and confirms the data accuracy. A mixed research complements a result from one type of research with another one. This research does not miss any available data. The aim of a mixed method design is to summarize positive aspects of two approaches and produce a highly accurate data. When you use several methods in your research process, then you can use the strength of every type of information collection and minimize the weak points of every of both approaches. A mixed method approach of gathering and evaluation can increase the validity and accuracy of the information. The advantages of using a mixed method approach to research are having several different outcomes in the process of your research. What this does is allows the researcher to use the strengths from the information collected and minimize the weaknesses from the information collected. Using a mixed method approach can ultimately increase the accuracy and validity of the information. The challenges of using a mixed method approach will be that the time of researching will be extended. Extending the time of research could definitely be a challenge if there is a time frame to find results in. Depending on the purpose of the research, using a mixed method approach can be a waist of time. An example of using the mixed method approach was when I wanted to explore (qualitative objective) why people shop on-line. I conducted open-ended interviews (qualitative data collection) asking people why they shop on-line, and then I quantified the results by counting the number of times each type of response occurred (quantitative data analysis). Week 2 DQ 1 What is the difference between reliability and validity? Imagine that you are going to develop a new instrument for research in your field, using course readings, provide specific examples of how you might go about establishing its reliability and validity. (Make sure to cover at least one approach for determining reliability and one for determining validity. Reliability is, roughly, whether you could replicate an experiment and get comparable results – either because an individual's responses are consistent (for example, their reaction times in a test are consistent when the test is carried out again), or the general overall results are consistent (for example, the average score on a test is the same or similar when carried out again on a c omparable group) Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure. For example, if you devised a test to measure people's self-esteem, does it really measure self-esteem, or something similar such as extraversion? Reliability refers to the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity refers to the accuracy of those results. You could perform the same experiment many times and get the same results, but they may not be correct (if the experiment is flawed for example). This would be reliable, but not valid. Conversely, you could perform an experiment that yields accurate results once, but not when it is repeated. This would be accurate (one time anyway), but not reliable. Reliability is the consistency of the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects; in short, it is replicating an experiment and getting comparable results. For example, a second test measuring reaction time showing the same reaction times as the first test. Reliability is all about the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure. It is essentially the strength of our conclusions, inferences or propositions. For example, a test measuring people's confidence, does it really measure confidence, or something similar such as faith in something? Week 2 DQ 2 What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of survey research? Provide an example of survey research findings that were recently published in the news. First, briefly summarize the study design and findings. Second, based on what we have read about survey research, provide critical feedback on this study's design or explain what additional information you would need to make a critical assessment of this study. Strengths: 9. Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys). 10. Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No other method of observation can provide this general capability. 11. They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or telephone. 12. Consequently, very large samples are feasible, making the results statistically significant even when analyzing multiple variables. 13. Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the analysis. 14. There is flexibilty at the creation phase in deciding how the questions will be administered: as face-to-face interviews, by telephone, as group administered written or oral survey, or by electonic means. 15. Standardized questions make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform definitions upon the participants. 16. Standardization ensures that similar data can be collected from groups then interpreted comparatively (between-group study). 17. Usually, high reliability is easy to obtain–by presenting all subjects with a standardized stimulus, observer subjectivity is greatly eliminated. Weaknesses: * A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop questions general enough to be minimally appropriate for all respondents, possibly missing what is most appropriate to many respondents. * Surveys are inflexible in that they require the initial study design (the tool and administration of the tool) to remain unchanged throughout the data collection. * The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply. * It may be hard for participants to recall information or to tell the truth about a controversial question. As opposed to direct observation, survey research (excluding some interview approaches) can seldom deal with â€Å"context. † Advantages of survey research could be cost efficiency since surveys are relatively inexpensive. Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population and not a lot of other methods of observation can provide this general capability. They can be administered fr om distant locations. Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving flexibility to the analysis. Disadvantages of survey research could be researchers being forced to develop general questions. Surveys are inflexible because they remain unchanged throughout the data collection. Also, with surveys the researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply, otherwise the survey would not be sufficient. In the news there was a survey about homelessness in Santa Cruz County. A count and survey conducted by the United Way of Santa Cruz County and the nonprofit research firm Applied Survey Research, and it showed that the homeless population in Santa Cruz County has jumped 22 percent in two years. The survey design was cross-sectional. It asked several questions at one oint in time. The survey collected age, gender, race, and reason for being homeless. http://www. santacruzsentinel. com/opinion/ci_18565125 http://www. phc-santacruz. org/_pdfs/2011%20Santa%20Cruz%20Homeless%20Report%20-%20FINAL. pdf Week 3 DQ 1 How can you avoid bias when selecting samples for human services research? Imagine that you are going to design a survey that will be administered to consumers/clients in your field (e. g. , nursing home residents, youth mentors, single mothers); how would you go about sampling from this population in order to generate meaningful data? What might be some of the challenges in ending up with a representative sample? To avoid bias when selecting samples for human services research a diverse set of individuals should be chosen within the same community. Different ethnicities, different genders, equals different beliefs, backgrounds, and futures. Selecting individuals in this manner should avoid bias. Hypothetically I work for an organization that offers services to young and troubled girls, especially those who have been to juvenile hall. Schools and juvenile halls if permitted would be great places to begin my sampling. Schools and juvenile halls both have a diverse population where bias could be avoided. The barriers I could see myself running into would be getting the permission to survey the minors in the first place. The biggest barrier would be knowing what girls are considered troubled or not and who they are specifically to get only their feedback and not girls who are not considered troubled. Week 3 DQ 2 List different measures of variability discussed in the readings and, using your professional field, provide an example to illustrate the concept. If you were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, what may they tell you about an individual's or team's performance? The range is the most obvious measure of dispersion and is the difference between the lowest and highest values in a dataset. The range is based solely on the two most extreme values within the dataset. The range is simple to compute and is useful when you wish to evaluate the whole of a dataset. The standard deviation indicates how tightly the values in the dataset are bunched around the mean value. The standard deviation is the most vigorous measure of variability because it’s measuring how every value in the dataset varies from the mean. You must be careful when calculating the standard deviation to consider whether the entire population or a sample is being examined and to use the appropriate formula. If I were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, the range would point out the highs and the lows of the team performance. This would allow me to know my team’s strength and weakness, and then I would be able to work on ways to minimum the weaknesses in performance. Week 4 DQ 1 Based on the textbook readings, describe the â€Å"third variable problem† as it relates to correlation and provide an example of how you might see this played out in your own field. Week 4 DQ 2 How does hypothesis testing contribute to the scientific knowledge base? Based on the textbooks' descriptions of hypothesis testing, provide an example of how you might implement this in your work. othesis is an edjucated guess an it is some time's the closest we can get to the trueth of things we do not yet understand Scientists use a scientific method to investigate phenomena and acquire knowledge. They base the method on verifiable observation — i. e. , on empirical evidence rather than on pure logic or supposition — and on the principles of reasoning. [1] [2] Scientists propose explanations — called h ypotheses — for their observed phenomena, and perform experiments to determine whether the results accord with (support) the hypotheses or falsify them. They also formulate theories that encompass whole domains of inquiry, and which bind supported hypotheses together into logically coherent wholes. They refer to theories sometimes as ‘models’, which usually have a mathematical or computational basis. [3] [4] determining the focus and direction of the research, it forces researcher to state the purpose of the activity, determines what variable are being studied and or considered and also it allows to a required operational definition of the variable that are being studied. Hypothesis testing is a must for any person to successfully test their studies and make sure there are no flaws. Hypothesis is an educated guess an it is some times the closest we can get to the truth on matters that we do not yet understand. Scientist base their method on verifiable observation rather than on logic. Hypothesis testing forces researchers to address the purpose of the activity while determining what variables need to be studied and also requires operational definition.

Case study for entrepreneurship and small business course

For entrepreneurship and small business course - Case Study Example The source of Lugar’s startup idea is his participation in his mother’s garage sale. Even though he took part in the garage sale to assist his mother, he eventually realized that many more people would be interested in the same service he offered his mother. In this respect, being part of a garage sale actually gives Lugar his startup idea. At a personal level, this startup concept is worth giving a try. There are a number of supporting observations in Lugar’s idea. First, garage sales lack key business principles and underpricing or overpricing is highly likely. Secondly, marketing is critical as far as sales are concerned. The need to reach out to the target market validates Lugar’s idea. Most importantly, sales are just as successful as marketing. Lugar’s idea addresses these concerns and further provides a mechanism for effective pricing. Finally, the concept is potentially

Jurisprudence Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Jurisprudence Law - Essay Example The law concept has to offer an account of the most essential or important aspects of a legal system and also accounts for the laws normativity4. It is important to establish the indispensable aspects of law so that it is possible to differentiate the legal and non-legal and also the legal validity and the legal invalidity. The law is widely known as a social institution that influences the realistic reasoning of agents. Social facts are a matter of what is considered as law and what is not considered as law; as a result we can determine the validity of the law by referring to social sources as opposed to moral evaluation. Law is not essentially obligatory because of its morality validity. Judges and lawyers should not bother with the question if a law is just or not but if there is any law of a particular issue. The law has particular features, and it have them because of its very essence or nature as law wherever and whenever it is established5. The law is a normative social practi ce because it asserts to direct human actions, bringing about a reasons for taking action. There is need to comprehend the general circumstances that would render all types of accepted norm legally valid. Judges and lawyers should consider the source of the norm as well as the matter of the content of the norm(s). This entails the general question on the legal validity conditions. Second, the normative feature of the law should also interest the lawyers and judges. Each legal norm has to be composed of a threat supported by sanctions. This takes in two different claims. To begin with, a law should be normative and norms, which are supported by sanctions of the political autonomy. Second, the close interrelatedness between the law and... The law is a normative social practice because it asserts to direct human actions, bringing about a reasons for taking action. There is need to comprehend the general circumstances that would render all types of accepted norm legally valid. Judges and lawyers should consider the source of the norm as well as the matter of the content of the norm(s). This entails the general question on the legal validity conditions. Second, the normative feature of the law should also interest the lawyers and judges. Each legal norm has to be composed of a threat supported by sanctions. This takes in two different claims. To begin with, a law should be normative and norms, which are supported by sanctions of the political autonomy.   Second, the close interrelatedness between the law and threat of imposing sanctions is a thesis about the law’s normativity. From the moral perspective, we cannot take the recognition rules in themselves as basis for requirement to follow the law. The law is an institutionalized normative system, which is upheld by an agreement among the officials (judges and lawyers) who apply the rules and who are in a manner differentiated from the normal workings of value and reason. Alternatively judges and lawyers legal principles acquire their authority from a combination of content-based or the source- based considerations. Laws are integrity law propositions, which are true if they follow if figure in from the principles of fairness, justice, and the due process of process.

TMA02 B300 Part 2 Policy issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TMA02 B300 Part 2 Policy issues - Essay Example The Diamond Model consists of four attributes which are interlinked and interrelated with each other. These four attributes must be present in order to ensure rapid growth and development in the industrial sector. Porter stated that national competitive advantage is based upon the application of smart and prudent strategies. Flexible, agile, and reliable government policies will assist in the creation of advanced industries. Other variables like productivity, quality, knowledge base, innovation, and creativity were identified as enhancing the competitive edge of nations. This research paper will explain the four attributes of the Diamond Model. It will analyze the impact of four attributes on national policy. Previous theories related to industrial development and production focused on the availability of human and material resources. However these theories were considered to be flawed because of their linear and simplistic line of reasoning. Most developing countries have abundant material and human resources, yet they have failed to improve economic standards of living. Porter sought to address these concerns by proposing the theory of competitive advantage. National strategy is based upon the application of smart and prudent methods. Governments should have clear and precise goals which encourage investment and business growth. Porter argued that labor intensive industries lead to the production of low level products and services (Suneja, 2002: Pg 113). Competitive advantage helps in knowledge acquisition, quality, innovation, and productivity. It creates highly efficient and effective industries that can eventually target the international market. Porter assumed that competitive advantage occurs in a systematic and methodical manner. An organization focuses on a single process or attribute in order to develop its capabilities. The systematic

UK Property Price Volatility Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

UK Property Price Volatility - Term Paper Example In the Interim Report no. 91 of the Miles review, The bank borrowers consider the bank mortgage interest rates, mostly short-term interest rates,   when applying for bank loans. This is the reason why short-term interest rates have higher volatility rates than long-term loans.  Ã‚   Starting thirty years ago, the United Kingdom housing market has been very volatile. The factors affecting the volatility of the house prices are the level of bank loans and the related loan interests and the sudden increasing trend of housing transactions. There is now a move to transit the variable rate mortgage basis in housing loans tot eh fixed rate mortgage basis.   The volatility of the housing market can be decreased if longer term, fixed rate mortgages will be implemented to replace the more delicately sensitive current variable charge housing mortgage rates. The short-term or variable mortgage interest rate basis, according to the findings of Meen(2002) has resulted to short-term sensitivity analysis of house prices of six times the elasticity of United Kingdom market as compared to the housing price industry of the United States.   The structure of the housing finance industry has contributed to the macroeconomic volatility. Based on Chart   6.1, The house prices are affected by the Gross Domestic Product and the Consumption in the United Kingdom. This only proves that when consumption increases and the gross domestic products increase, the house prices will follow behind as the house prices also increase and decrease to keep in step with the two variables mentioned. The three variables (GDP, consumption and house prices) in turn act as a major push on the United Kingdom economy. The Oxford Economic Forecasting and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research did a study on housing prices.   Chart 6.2 shows that as the growth rate increases, house prices also increase to keep in step thereby contributing to the macroeconomic volatility.

Crucial Stakeholders and Key Playes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crucial Stakeholders and Key Playes - Essay Example This article highlights on some of the ways that communication plan and the software would be useful for the project leader. The communication plan helps in setting up standards for communication. The project leader would need to establish the standards within which the communication will occur. The stakeholders would also need to be aware of the course of the communication with the indication of how and when it will take place. The communication plan enables the project leader to set the scope for all the communications that are relevant to the project. The communication plan is also significant for scheduling various projects, within a period, thereby making the stakeholders to be aware of the progress. The SharePoint software package offers a framework useful for keeping the publishing content relevant to the project management. Further, the software is also efficient in proper management of time since it offers the option of a search engine. Time saving is important in any projec t management especially when there is need to achieve a mission within a given period. The project leader would only need to enter a search phrase in order to access any needed information. The SharePoint enables the project leader to avoid wastage of time when searching for any content. The SharePoint is also important in helping the project leader to manage every processes occurring during the project. The software offers workflows, which makes it easy to manage the firm processes. This will be important in supporting sustainable practices within the offices and the departments. The use of the SharePoint during the project would help the project leader in keeping track of any incoming or outgoing communication. The ability to keep track of the flowing information is important in ensuring that every stakeholder is aware of the ongoing processes. In proper management of the firm’s processes, the project leader would need a proper communication plan to help in ensuring consist ency in the communication process. The presentation of the communication plan to the stakeholders helps them to maintain consistent communication with each other. The stakeholders would need to follow the communication plan to identify any information about the project management. The communication plan helps in harmonizing the stakeholders since all of them have similar information about the situation of the project. The project leader also has the ability to make the stakeholders aware about any change in the project. Consequently, the communication plan helps the project leader to avoid delays associated with the stakeholders being misinformed. Further, the communication plan and the SharePoint software also increases the productivity of the workers. The establishment of a communication plan ensures that every employee remains informed of every activity included in the project. For instance, the project leader of the company would need to keep the stakeholders aware of the need f or their input in reducing the volume of the solid wastes by 50%. This calls for the need of a communication plan, which is efficient in equipping the stakeholders with the necessary information. The communication plan helps in restricting the stakeholders to the scope of the project since keeps them within a loop of project happenings (Turner, 2003). With the communication