Hurricane Season Definition, Dates, and Forecasts

A  hurricane season is a distinct time of year when tropical cyclones (tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) usually develop. Whenever we mention hurricane season here in the U.S. were usually referring to the  Atlantic Hurricane Season, whose storms most commonly affect us. But ours isnt the only season there is... Hurricane Seasons Around the World Besides the Atlantic hurricane season, 6 others exist: the Eastern Pacific hurricane seasonthe Northwest Pacific typhoon seasonthe North Indian cyclone seasonthe Southwest Indian cyclone seasonthe Australian/Southeast Indian cyclone seasonthe Australian/Southwest Pacific cyclone season  Ã‚   Season Name Starts Ends Atlantic Hurricane Season June 1 November 30 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season May 15 November 30 Northwest Pacific Typhoon Season all year all year North Indian Cyclone Season April 1 December 31 Southwest Indian Cyclone Season October 15 May 31 Australian/Southeast Indian Cyclone Season October 15 May 31 Australian/Southwest Pacific Cyclone Season November 1 April 30 The World's 7 Tropical Cyclone Seasons While each of the above basins has its own particular seasonal patterns of tropical cyclone activity, activity tends to peak worldwide in late summer. May is typically the least active month, and September, the most active. Rogue Hurricanes I mentioned above that hurricane season is the period when tropical cyclones usually develop. Thats because hurricanes dont always form within their season months -- they occasionally also form before the season begins and after it closes.   Hurricane Season Predictions Several months before the season starts, several well-known groups of meteorologists make predictions (complete with guesstimates of the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes) about how active the upcoming season will be. Hurricane forecasts are usually issued twice: initially in April or May in advance of the June season start, then an update in August, just before the historical September peak of hurricane season. The NOAA releases its initial outlook the week prior to the June 1 season start.  Heres what NOAA  scientists are predicting for the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.Colorado State Universitys Department of Atmospheric Sciences has been  making and publicizing  their  tropical forecasts  since 1984. Heres what theyre  predicting for 2017.Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) (a consortium of insurance, risk management, and climate forecasting experts based out of University College London in the UK), first introduced its tropical cyclone forecasts in the late 90s and early 00s. Heres their 2017 seasonal forecast for the Atlantic.The Weather Channel is considered a relative newbie to the hurricane forecast arena. (It began issuing its own hurricane outlooks in 2012.)  Heres what TWC is betting on for this years Atlantic hurricane season. Edited by Tiffany Means

Determining The Efficient Tool For Business Process...

Deciding the Efficient Tool for Business Process Management in Organizations Using Analytical Hierarchical Process Sravani Vadali Engineering Management University of Houston – Clear Lake Introduction to Business Process Management Business process management (BPM) is a management approach to make an enterprise’s activities and tasks to be more accurate, more competent and more efficient in adapting to the ever-changing needs of business. BPM is a far-reaching merging of Business Process Reengineering, Business Process Improvement, and Business Management strategies and procedures that are intended to convey both quick and long†term change. BPM is a structured approach to analyze and continually improve fundamental activities such as†¦show more content†¦It is good to consider an organization as a system because a system links inputs and outputs and the flow of information from one point to the other. Organizations also focus on cross-functional teams and it is a combination of complex resources. Organizations have a need which is defined and goals to reach their mission. People work as entities and they are a part of the organization. The work of Porter is significant in the emphasis of the business process. He says value chain is a comprehensive collection of all the activities that are performed to design, produce, and market, deliver, and support a product line (Porter, 1985). When we combine the concept of the value chain and system to the organization we understand that organizations span across functional departments like finance, marketing, sales, and support etc. Organizations implementing BPM Systems One of the influential factors on implementation success that emerges from research, trade literature and practice is the level of process orientation within an organization. (Parkes, 2002). Typical advantages of implementing a BPM system in an organization are reduced lead times, fewer hand-off errors, and more flexibility to change the structure of supported business processes. (Parkes, 2002). In the research community, there is some consensus that the essence of a BPMS is the functionality that has been attributed historically to a workflow management system. (WfMS). (Van der Aalst et al., 2003, p.Show MoreRelatedBusiness Economics : The Gap Between Abstract Theory And Business Practice Essay1275 Words   |  6 Pages RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT Assignment 1:- â€Å" Business economics which is the gap between abstract theory and business practice. It uses tools of economic analysis in classifying problems, in organizing and evaluating information and in comparing alternative courses of action.†Outline the nature and scope of business economics in the light of this statement. 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How to Survive an Ied Free Essays

Paper – Process Analysis Rough Draft Discussion: Writer’s Workshop – Process Analysis Rough Draft– This topic is designed to assist you with your writing and editing skills. When you have completed your rough draft of the Process Analysis paper, post it here. Then, review another student posting and offer advice on how he or she can improve his or her paragraph. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Survive an Ied or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example, you may note that the author of the paragraph has failed to support his or her topic sentence fully. Give that person advice on how he or she can add details that will make the paragraph more compelling. Or, you may wish to practice your grammar and punctuation skills on your fellow students by reviewing a paragraph or two for errors. Paper: Process Analysis – This paper is due week eight This week you will expand from paragraph to essay. Because this is a longer paper, please use this week and next for writing and revising. Please make sure to place your final draft in the appropriate Dropbox prior to the end of class in week eight. Please take the time to review the assigned chapters for detailed guidance on essay construction. Review the following websites for more information on essay construction: lt;! –[if ! supportLists]–gt;? lt;! –[endif]–gt;Sheey, Geoff. â€Å"5 Paragraph Essay Construction. †Ã‚   SlideShare. http://www. slideshare. net/sheehy/5-paragraph-essay-construction lt;! –[if ! supportLists]–gt;? lt;! –[endif]–gt;â€Å"The Five Paragraph Essay. †Ã‚   Guide to Grammar and Writing. Capital Com munity College Foundation. http://grammar. ccc. commnet. edu/GRAMMAR/five_par. htm 1. Using the methods you read about in Chapters 16, 17, 26 and 30, write a 500 word essay based on one of the Activities found in Chapter 21 pages 422 – 425. For example, you may choose to write a paper about â€Å"How to Accomplish a Daily Task† or â€Å"How to Write a School Assignment. †Ã‚   However, any of the topics listed within the pages are fine. You may decide which topic best suits you. 2. Length:   500 words – see page 471 for a Step-by-Step approach to writing a paper in the Process Analysis style. 3. Make sure your paper format includes the following: * Lines – Double spaced * Name Box – at top left corner * Page Numbers * Title 4. Above your paper, I want to see a short outline as describe on page 11 in Chapter 1. 4. * Conclusion 5. Make sure your paper has a TITLE – see the MLA section in your grammar handbook for step-by-step instructions. You may seek help on MLA by visiting the Columbia College writing website at http://www. ccis. edu/departments/WritingCenter/writing. html or Purdue’ Online Writing Lab http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resources/557/01/   6. Start your paper with an Introduction that grabs the reader’s attention. Remember that you only get one opportunity to make an impression. . Move on to the Thesis Statement. Remember that the Thesis lets the reader know what the overall paper will be about. For this paper, a thesis that states the nature of your idea and the two or three areas you plan to cover is a good idea. See the following websites for more information on thesis formation: * â€Å"Thesis Statements. †Ã‚   The Writing Center. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www. unc. edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis. html * Brunswold, Libby. â€Å"Thesis Statement. †Ã‚   Literacy Education Online. The Write Place. St. Cloud State University. 4 October 2003. http://leo. stcloudstate. edu/acadwrite/thesistatement. html 8. Your paper should have at least two Body Paragraphs that start with a Topic Sentence that includes only one idea aka a Controlling Idea. Remember that a topic sentence should focus on a single point you wish to convey to the reader. Remember that you support your topic sentence with detail. Review the assigned chapters if you are having trouble discerning what a topic sentence is. 9. Support your Topic Sentence aka Controlling Idea with sentences that include personalized examples. These sentences come from the â€Å"supporting detail† sections within your outline. 10. Remember a paragraph moves from the general idea (Topic Sentence) to specific examples that support your overall thought. Review Chapters 16 and 17 if you are still struggling. Remember that you are illustrating your point for the reader. 11. Finally, don’t forget your Conclusion. Simply wrap up your idea by returning to the topic sentence and adding one or two other thoughts or summarizing your entire paper. 12. See a sample Process Analysis How to cite How to Survive an Ied, Papers

Why do we need to save the environment free essay sample

All of us should be very thankful because we are blessed with such a beautiful environment to live in. Even so, the environment we are granted with may not last for a long period if we do not take necessary actions to save it. We must realize that each one of us is responsible and plays a role in saving the environment. Many people tend to question the reasons for saving the environment. There are several reasons why we need to save the environment; that is to prevent the extinction of living organisme, to prevent global warming, and to preserve Mother Nature. Firstly, saving the environment will help to prevent the extinction of living organism. Living organism refers mainly to the wildlife and also the plants which is the source of oxygen. The existence of flora and fauna is very important in order to maintain a balanced ecosystem. Illegal activities such as deforestation and logging are the main contributor for the extinction of flora and fauna. We will write a custom essay sample on Why do we need to save the environment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, wildlife needs certain habitats to survive or will become extinct if their habitats are destroyed. Before we even damage the environment, we should question ourselves, wouldn’t it hurt our eyes to see those cute bears, birds or insects become extinct? Plus, it would be a shame if we could not introduce those animals to our grandchildren. Besides that, caring for the flora and fauna shows the value of humanity we possess in ourselves. The government can prevent this extinction from happening by enforcing the law and maximizing the penalty to the offenders. Thus, to prevent the extinction of living organism is a reason why we need to save the environment. Next, we need to save the environment because it can prevent global warming. Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans. It is a big issue and can never be taken lightly. Global warming happens due to excessive production of chlorofluorocarbon in the atmosphere. When large area of trees are being cleared or open burning takes place, less carbon dioxide can be absorbed by the plants causing heat to be trapped in the atmosphere which then increase the risk of global warming. Global warming can cause climate change and rising of sea levels. We can prevent global warming by switching off electrical appliances when not in use. By doing this, we can save energy. Besides that, we can practice car pooling which can reduce the consumption of fuel and reduce the emission of harmful gases. Without global warming, we can enjoy a better and high quality life. Therefore, to prevent global warming is another reason why we need to save the environment. Last of all, we need to save the environment to preserve Mother Nature. The main reason of why we need to preserve Mother Nature is for the future generation. As we all know, earth has only finite resources and we need to make a good use out of them in order to ensure these resources can be passed on for the coming generation. For sure we would not want to see our grandchildren gasping for air in the next coming years. Our ancestors have left us with a lush and plentiful environment and now it is our duty to do the same for the next generation. We must preserve Mother Nature by not polluting the environment and also by preserving enough resources. Besides, we must also save the rainforest as it is an important resource for life. We get water, power and oxygen from the environment. We may run out of these resources if we do not preserve Mother Nature. In short,we need to save the environment to preserve the mother nature. In conclusion, it is important to save the environment because of several reasons such as those mentioned above. It is highly hoped that each one of us would be more sensitive and considerate when it comes to issues regarding saving the environment. With that, we may live a better and prosperous life.

Digestion of Starch by Salivary Amylase Essay Example

Digestion of Starch by Salivary Amylase Essay The role of salivary amylase in the digestion of starches remains controversial. In the absence of pancreatic amylase, the key enzyme for starch digestion, salivary amylase may well represent a potential compensatory alternate pathway for the digestion of amylose, amylopectin, and glycogen. Clinically significant depression of pancreatic amylase occurs in chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic resection, pancreatic neoplasm, cystic fibrosis, and other causes of pancreatic insufficiency. Quantitation of salivary amylase in these diseases has yet to be performed. It is also unclear whether the presence of starch in a meal protects salivary amylase from inactivation by the acidic gastric environment. In the first six months of life, pancreatic amylase is very low or absent. Despite this physiologic pancreatic amylase deficiency, young infants seem to tolerate moderate amounts of starches in the diet (1). Fi,rthermore, during acute diarrhea in infancy, soluble polymers of glucose derived from corn are well tolerated. The use of polymers of glucose have the advantage of providing the infant with potential mucosal injury with a carbohydrate source that can e readily absorbed and has a high caloric density with low osmolality (2). It seems, therefore, that salivary amylase and glucoamylase of the small intestinal brush border can compensate for physiologic amylase deficiency in infancy, even during diarrheal episodes. In this issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Fried, Abramson, and Meyer (3) utilized a selective salivary isoamylase inhibitor (4, 5) to quantitate the amount of salivary amylase in postprandial jejunal fluid. This is a comparatively simple method using a wheat isolate that inhibits 88% of salivary amylase nd 27% of pancreatic amylase. Standard curves of amylase inhibitor activity were constructed by mixing known concentrations of pure salivary and Address for reprint requests: Dr. E. Lebenthal, Childrens Hospital. of Buffalo, 219 Bryant St. , Buffalo, New York 14222. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Vol. 32, No. 10 (October 1987) pancreatic standard in four to six different ratios. The fraction of amylase uninhibited in the presence of the inhibitor is calculated and plotted against a known pancreatic-salivary amylase ratio. In their hands, 11% of total amylase output was found in ormal subjects. In contrast, 27% was obtained in an achlorhydric subject after a hamburger meal. We will write a custom essay sample on Digestion of Starch by Salivary Amylase specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Digestion of Starch by Salivary Amylase specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Digestion of Starch by Salivary Amylase specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is in agreement with previous work by Skude and Ihse (6). When gastric pH is below 3. 0, however, salivary amylase is not detected in the stomach (3, 7). Malagelada et al demonstrated that after a steak sandwich the gastric pH is gt;3. 0 for 60 min (8). Since the stomach will have emptied a substantial portion of its contents by that time, a significant amount of amylase could pass through the stomach without inactivation (8-10). It will be interesting to etermine whether starch alone will protect salivary amylase for inactivation in the stomach without the buffering capacity of other components of a meal; glucose polymers have been known to show some protective effect (11). Although the amylases found in saliva and pancreatic secretion in humans are similar immunologically, they have distinct characteristics in their structure, function, and genetics (12). Salivary amylase is controlled by the Amy 1 locus of the chromosome, while pancreatic amylase is controlled by the Amy 2 lo cus, which is distinctly different from the Amy 1 locus. Salivary amylase nd pancreatic amylases differ from one another by several properties and can be separated by ionexchange chromatography (13) or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (14) and isoelectric focusing (15, 16). The salivary and pancreatic amylases are similar in molecular weight (approx 55,000 vs 62,000) (17, 18) and amino acid composition (18). The two isoenzymes are further distinguishable in their sensitivity to selective inhibitors, particularly an isolate from wheat which inhibits salivary amylase to a higher degree than pancreatic amylase (4). Last but not least, salivary and pancreatic amylase diff

buy custom Constructivism Evaluation essay

buy custom Constructivism Evaluation essay Introduction Knowledge is acquired through interaction of learners with fellow students, teachers and learning materials. To help the learners, instructors should have an understanding of their students by examining them and the resources available to tackle the problem. They should also understand the problem to be solved and examine the kind of knowledge needed by learners to do it. This means that they should have an understanding of the learning process of their students and should be in a position to facilitate it. Learning is defined as modification of behaviour through practice, training and/or experience. According to researchers and scientist however, the definition of learning depends on the type of learning process used. These theories are behaviorism, social cognitive and constructivism (L. Nagowah S. Nagowah, 2009). This paper will focus on the theory of constructivism, its applicability in learning, strengths, weaknesses and an exhaustive comparison with other learning processes. Constructivism This is a learning theory whose basic idea is that learners should create their own understanding of an issue through interaction with others and in relation to knowledge that is already in existence. According to researchers, constructivism is not so much a theory of learning as a model of acquiring knowledge which can be used to create a learning theory (Richardson, 2003). To fully understand the constructivist theory, the following aspects are discussed. a) Social Constructivism This theory suggests that knowledge is constructed by people and its form is determined by the political environment, ideological perceptions, values, exertion of power and an attempt to preserve status, beliefs and economic interests of the people (Richardson, 2003). According to Richardson, an individuals learning process and understanding of their world is influenced by social factors. This means that the learning process involves accommodating shared social beliefs and ideologies to acquire formal knowledge. Social constructivism implies that theories and ideas developed by a learner or individual are viable and applicable in the larger social contexts. Social constructivists believe that knowledge is a function of shared reality which develops out of social limitations affecting the learning process of an individual (Karagiorgi Symeu, 2005). This implies that no learning can occur without interference from social environments surrounding the learner. This means that a learner creates meaning of a situation or a problem based on social interactions and experiences. b) Psychological Constructivism This theory suggests that construction of knowledge is based on experiences of an individual and depends on a learners prior knowledge (Richardson, 2003). According to Richardson, learners do not depend so much on the experiences and ideologies of a social group but on their personal experiences. The theory goes further to suggest that knowledge developed by an individual from his perspective can be adopted by groups formal knowledge. Psychological constructivists believe that realities and experiences are very unique to each individual (Karagiorgi Symeu, 2005). This means that the process of creating knowledge and the knowledge created by learners should be based on teir own experiences without the consideration of experiences from other individuals. To the constructivist, reality is not a function of socio-cultural practices within which a learner resides and social beliefs should therefore not influence the learners perspective in solving problems. This suggests that a learner should be motivated by his beliefs, ideologies and experiences to develop skills to cope with a problem. Behaviorism versus Constructivism Behaviorism as a learning process ignores the psychological ability of an individual and focuses on the observable actions of an individual (L. Nagowah S. Nagowah). Adherents to this theory suggest that learning can be measured by simply observing change in behavior of an individual. To them learning process is passive where knowledge is transferred and acquired by repetition of a new behavioral pattern. Behaviorists believe that the right behaviour pattern for learning can be reinforced by reward or punishment. They believe that learning should be a process of transferring knowledge from the teacher to the students who should be able to reproduce the knowledge when need be. The major difference between behaviorism and constructivism is that, constructivism allows student s to come up with their own understanding of a problem and device ways to resolve it. Constructivism encourages creativity while behaviorism encourages repletion of behavior and knowledge acquired. Cognitive Theory versus Constructivism Cognitive theory puts emphasis on the psychological activity of an individual in the learning process. The proponents of the theory argue that every task requires a unique and different cognitive process to resolve or understand. They insist that it is important to understand and appreciate the metal processes that enable an individual to acquire and retain knowledge so that the processes can be enhanced. To the cognitive psychologists, learning is an active activity for the learners that require creativity (L. Nagowah S. Nagowah). The cognitive theory relates to the role of information processing in learning. This is because the processing aspects such as memory organization and neurological connections form the basis of the cognitive theory. An individual requires cognitive knowledge in order to synthesis information acquired to form meaningful understanding. This theory suggests that learning is acquired at different levels by different individuals depending on their cognitive development. This theory is similar to the behaviorists because it suggests that learning is a process where knowledge is given and absolute. This means that knowledge is passed on from the teacher to the learners. The theory suggests that behavior can be used to deduce the cognitive ability of an individual to process information and apply it in learning (L. Nagowah S. Nagowah). This theory is different form constructivism because it only seeks to understand the processes of thinking that allows learning to take place. Unlike constru ctivism, it does not encourage innovation and it believes in the traditional way of learning where the teacher provides information and knowledge to the students. Constructivism as a learning model has generated a range of mixed feelings and criticism towards learning processes. The proponents support the ideologies and ht e expected outcomes of the model when used in education while those against it base their arguments on the weaknesses of the theory application as ddiscussed below. Strengths of the Constructivism a) Active learning Constructivism places a learner at the centre of the learning process. It fosters motivation of the learner because the students experience the pleasure that comes from solving a problem (Karagiorgi Symeu, 2005). The model also fosters creativity because it suggests that instructors should design problems that can be solved in different ways and leave the students to struggle through the solving process on their own. b) Authentic learning The model fosters authentic learning by offering an opportunity to model problems to fit real life occurrences. This stimulates the learner to own the problems and solve them in their own understanding as if in real life situations (Karagiorgi Symeu, 2005). Authentic learning motivates the learners to implement knowledge in a genuine way thus developing relevance and meaning to their learning process and knowledge. Weaknesses of the Model According to a research done in India, the model of constructivism generates major problems in the education system. The research shows that the model makes it hard to examine the knowledge acquired by learners because its learning process is based on practice and personal experiences. In the particular case of India, the model presented a problem in devising a methodology for written examination (Raina, 2011). The information formed by learners through constructivism learning is not acceptable at face value. It is must be measured against the acceptable already existing knowledge for its applicability in meaning. This is controversial to the aims of the model and the basis under which it is established. Those against the model argue that it is not logical to take the learners through the process of innovation and creativity only to measure them against already existing knowledge. To them, knowledge is information that has already been tested and approved as applicable and requires passing and assimilation. The protagonists of the model argue that acquisition of knowledge should be explicit until learners have acquired basic concepts and skills to engage in creative and active inquiry (Gibbons, 2003). Constructivism presents a problem when applied to absolute learning courses such as learning the English language as opposed to learning science. According to research, use of constructivism to teach language or absolute subjects is not applicable. The instructor cannot be able to allow the learners to formulate their own words so that they can understand the language they are learning. Conclusion Constructivism is applied in learning with the aim of stimulating learners to be creative in solving problems. However, the model presents controversy in evaluation method of the learning process. According to research, use of contemporary evaluation methods is pointless where the model has been used for learning. When applied in a learning context, the expected outcome of the process should be creativity and enhanced skills. However, the outcome is not always the same because the model largely depends on the social culture of an individual and the basic knowledge they can relate to their experiences. This leaves room for more research to be conducted on the models applicability to multicultural learning setup. Buy custom Constructivism Evaluation essay

Health care reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Health care reform - Essay Example Therefore, physicians must be able to decide who to see first and the duration they will spend with each patient. Concisely, rationing must embrace efficiency where decisions are made so as to produce the good outcomes. In addition, all individuals must be treated equally but the worst off must be favored. Patients who are in critical conditions should be considered for treatment first, and those who are less ill should come later after the critical ones have been attended to (Hoffman, 2008). Doctors need to assist individuals without discrimination. The action of rationing in health care conforms to my professional and person ethics this is because it does not conflict with any ethical codes (White, 2010). Its main aim is to promote and protect the health of the public through reasonable decisions that will ensure every individual is treated depending on his or her condition. For instance, a doctor can decide to handle a particular case over another one since it is urgent and may lead to death if not handled quickly. This is not against any ethical code, but it is part of maintaining a healthy nation and reducing the mortality rates (Fuchs & Emanuel,

Marketing decisions and planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing decisions and planning - Essay Example For Hemopure, competitive market is represented by the donor blood market and substitute products. The main competitors of Biopure are Baxter and Northfield. Both companies are market leaders relying on the high quality of products and selling history. Competition refers to the creation of differential advantage particularly by the effective management of innovation to meet changing marketing opportunities (Cooper et al 133). Programmed innovation, like Hemopure, is the method of achieving continuous market adjustment; competition is its stimulus. The main difference between Baxter’s and Northfield’s products and Hemopure is that the latter is based on cattle blood used as the main source of hemoglobin. External factors that place a limit on competition and innovation include various types of governmental regulation, accepted industry practices and agreements, and the social. The main strengths of Hemopure are innovative methods of production and hemoglobin extraction. The main weakness is that the product is not ready for immediate launch and will need two additional years of research and development. Also, Northfield laboratories received FDI approval in 1999 (Biopure Corporation 8-9). Veterinary market proposes enormous opportunities for Biopure because it will be the only company producing such products. The main strength is that for the next 3-5 years, Biopure will be the only market leader in this sector. The main weakness is that any other company can enter this market and reduce the price level. Thus, even such lead

Analysis and discussion of non-markt and market behaviours, economic Term Paper

Analysis and discussion of non-markt and market behaviours, economic analysis of behaviour - Term Paper Example Its impact on RBC and various strategies adopted by the company because of those economic impacts on the organization has also been discussed in this study. The role of cooperative and political behaviors in relation with the market based behaviors of RBS has been studied. Different strategies and policies that have been employed by RBC or are planning to employ have also been included in this study. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Canadian Economy – An Overview 5 Financial Sector in Canada – An Overview 6 Royal Bank of Canada 7 Stakeholders of RBC 8 Clients 8 Employees 9 Shareholders or Investors 9 SRI Community 10 Suppliers 10 Governments 10 Environmental NGOs 10 Economic and Regulatory Environment of RBC 11 Canada 11 United States 11 Europe 12 Financial Markets 13 Regulatory Environment 13 Economic Impact 14 Corporate Strategies by RBC 15 Corporate Governance 15 Risk Management 17 Policies and Procedures 17 Mutual Funds and Governance 18 References 19 Canadian Economy – An Overview The economic system of Canada is very much similar to that of United States of America. The industrial society of Canada is high tech in nature and is quite affluent in its resources. The standard of living of the people is quite high. There has been a significant growth in various industrial sectors of Canada like mining, manufacturing, services sector, etc. after the end of World War II in the year 1945. It has resulted in the transformation of the Canadian economy which was rural in nature into an urban and industrial economy. United States serves as the main trading partner of Canada. There have been various trade agreements between these two countries recently like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This has helped in the development of economic integration and trade between the two countries to a considerable amount. Three-fourths of the exports generated from Canada are accounted through a sub stantial amount of surplus in trade with US. Canada is amongst one of the largest supplier of oil, gas, electrical power and other energy sources for United States. Canada managed to have a significant growth in its economy during the period of 1993 to 2007 because of its varied natural resources, modernized plants and labor forces which are highly skilled in nature. At the end of the year 2008, Global Financial Crisis (GFC) had an adverse effect on the Canadian economy and it went into economic recession. In 2009, the country experienced fiscal deficit for the first time in 12 years time. However the major banks in Canada have managed to recover for the ill effects of recession because of its tradition of having strong capitalization and lending practices which are highly conservative in nature. There has been a marginal growth of Canadian economy in the years 2010-2011. By 2005 it is supposed to be able to balance its budget. The petroleum sector of the country is growing at a rap id pace because of the discovery of many new natural oil reserves in Canada. Canada is ranked in the third position in the world with regards to the volume of oil reserves present in the country (CIA, 2012). Financial Sector in Canada – An Overview The financial services sector of Canadian economy consists of banks, loan companies, trusts, insurance companies, credit unions, securities dealers, companies of mutual funds, leasing companies, insurance agents, financial advisors, different types

Rapid growth of technology

Rapid growth of technology EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the current season, the rapid growth of technology, communication and especially the large volume of information have led many companies and organizations to use IT systems for the management and the safety of information. The main objective of this project is to implement a complete security assessment of the private hospital  «Elpis ». The firms which effectively allocate their resources for the better understanding of the risks they face, can more easily avoid unexpected situations and release resources in other directions and profitable activities (i.e. new investments), that otherwise would have potentially rejected as very dangerous. Therefore, the adoption of procedures that focus on Risk Analysis and Management can substantially help firms to prevent or control risky situations. Once, firms have identified an efficient way to measure the relationship between their risk and rewards they could significantly improve their current operations or find new profitable activities. This project investigates the risks related to the security of the hospital  «Elpis ». Specifically, it focuses on the hospital organization, the sources of operational risks and provides detail description of available technologies that can ensure the management and control of these risks. The hospital is located in Athens having two other subsidiaries called  «Mitera » in Chalkida. We know that the private hospitals interchange important medical information concerning their patients. The central IT department is established in Athens dealing with various services such as the patient registration data, patient diagnoses, management of medical information, other data saving, etc. On the other hand, the IT department in  «Mitera » hospital is obsolete with limited ability to send and receive large volume of data. Therefore, this project aims to investigate all the required procedures that can ensure the integrity and confidentiality of medical information transmission betw een the hospitals and the incessant operation of the IT services.  «Elpis » hospital is constituted by five departments: the Administrative Department, the Human Recourses Department, and Finance Department, the Secretariat-motion of Patient Department and the IT Department, while  «Mitera » hospital is organized into two departments, the Secretariat-motion of Patient Department and the IT Department. We analyse the IT department of  «Elpis » hospital which employs the head of the IT department, a network administrator, a medical software administrator, a database administrator and an information security administrator. Our analysis reveals some rules and practices that can ensure the information safety in the private hospital. Also, we have recognized significant sources of risk come from the outside environment and individuals that work in the hospital. The results of this report can be used in the improvement of medical information safety and the minimization of the possible risks. Next, we present the potential technological solutions that the hospital can adopt at a total financial cost of EURO 5000. They include the Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Antivirus, Spyware, Adware and firewall, Implementation of RAID 5, automatic fire detection mechanisms, emergency generator UPS, automatic Air conditioning control, User policy and Password policy. DETAILED ANALYSIS Description of the companys IT infrastructure In this section, we present organizational structure of  «Elpis » and  «Mitera » hospitals as well as their software part of their network. We continuous our analysis using the CRAMM methodology in order to uncover the threats and weaknesses of the IT departments. Finally, we present possible solutions that can face all these risks relevant with the operation of the IT department. The private hospital  «Elpis » is located in Athens at a building consist of 3 floors. In the first floor we find the hospitals administration and a computer room with the IT equipment. In the second floor is the pathological and chirurgical clinic, the secretariat of the clinics and the medical library. The third floor accommodates the cardiologic clinic, the secretariat of the clinic and the room of telemedicine. All the offices for each roof are connected to the same LAN. The organisational structure of private hospital  «Elpis » is constituted by five departments: The Administrative Department: has the total administrative responsibility of hospital. It applies the strategic decisions and rules which are taken through the administrative council. It aims in the appropriate allocation of responsibilities to employees and to provide the maximum good working environment. It has the responsibility for complaints and the implementation of regulation. The Human Recourses Department: Arrange for any matter relating to the official status of the hospital staff, as well as for the monitoring, organizing and control the personnel of all services of the hospital. The Finance Department: the care for the study of the economic needs of the hospital, and its contribution to preparing the budget of the hospital, making the expenditure, the liquidation of personnel acceptances and remaining compensations, procurement, management and storage of supplies and materials that needed to operate the hospital, the training of balance-sheet and assessment, the responsibility for the safeguarding of hospital fortune and the observation of economic statistical elements. The Secretariat-motion of Patient Department: arrange for any matter relating to the organization of secretarial support according with the decisions of management and other services at the hospital. It arranges the publication of tickets for admission of the sick, and compliance with waiting list admission. Also, it keeps detailed statistics of nursing movement and it grants certificates in the patients, afterwards the submission of relative application. The IT Department: has the responsibility for the organisation and operation of computerisation, processing and maintenance of computerized statistical data, providing and distribution of information in the services of hospital, in the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Social Welfare and in other relevant bodies and each other relevant work. It is responsible to research new technologies with aim to save money and increase productivity of the hospital. It provide technical support and training in the employees of hospital for each technology program that using. Also it is responsible for the security of IT programs and IT hardware. The IT infrastructure of hospital  «Elpis » consists of servers which running the medical application or others services and the ability to store all data, the network equipment (switches-Ethernet) which is used for connecting the computer room-servers and the personal computers of hospital staff and the firewall that is configured from the network administrator and monitor data traffic from the hospital on the Internet with specific criteria. In figure 1 presents the topology of the system. Hardware of Hospital Elpis: A Router (1 piece): The Router is a device which connects the workstation on the network of the hospital. The Router connects the local network of the hospital with the internet, using a leased line of 4 Mbps. Firewall (1 piece): The Firewall is a device or software that prevents access to or from a private network for which it was authorized. The Firewalls can also be applied to hardware and software, or a combination of both. It used to deter unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks. Also firewall controls the movement of data for the region that is responsible. Switch (4 pieces): a hardware device and used to connect different components in the same network. The switches cutting useless Internet traffic and allow you an affordable high-performance network. The switch is can be used for splitting the physical LAN in two small LANs. In network of hospital this switch splits the physical LAN in two small LANs. A central switch is connected with three other switches which connect the workstations. While another switch connects the servers. Database Server (1 peace): Database Server is a device that used by one or more machines as their database. By using a database server users of the hospital have the ability to manage and organize medical data Web Server (1 peace): O web server is a computer, allowing other computers to access files that manage, using the HTTP protocol (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). Please note that the basic web server administrator has the ultimate control of the server, unlike a simple user The Hospital uses Apache Server. Mail Server (1 peace): mail agent receives the e-mail from local users (incoming), and offered to surrender on outbound users. A computer dedicated to running such applications is also called a mail server. The transfer of medical results from the Mitera hospital to the hospital Elpis made via e-mails. Backup Server (1 peace): A Backup Server is a way to save your important medical files into one single compressed file. The best part of Backup Server is its affordable and you can transfer the compressed file onto another computer or hard drive. In addition, backup server has the possibility to administrate the tape backup machine. Tape Backup Machine (1 peace): Backup Machine provides the easiest way to backup your critical folders and files allowing access to local and network directories. The disk should be replaced at regular intervals and stored in a sheltered place. Workstastion PC (50): Each office holds, one or more desktop pc only for internal services access and development. Software of Hospital Elpis: Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Windows XP Professional ORACLE 8 The  «Mitera » hospital has a Secretariat-motion of Patient Department, the Pathological clinic and the IT department. The medical information (patients data, patient diagnoses, etc.) is exchanged between hospitals with web-hosting or email. The communication as achieved with an ADSL 4 Mbps. The technical characteristics (see figure 2) of  «Mitera » hospital are the same with  «Elpis » hospital. Hardware of  «Mitera » Hospital: A Router (1 piece), Firewall (1 piece) Switch (4 pieces) Mail Server (1 peace) Web Server (1 peace) Storage Devices (1): are used to store the medical data. The storage devices are one of the most important components of the computer system. Workstation Pc (5) Staff Members of the group will undertake to conduct the risk analysis in Chalkis hospital. They should be trained in project risk analysis in order to fulfill their goal. Specifically, the team has the following members: Director Management: He has the overall responsibility for the project in order to succeed. He is responsible for proper organization of the team and ultimately responsible for assessing the risk analysis. Chief: He is responsible for organizing team members. Has the responsibility to evaluate the job each team member. He is responsible for implementing the risk management program. Manager system and informations: they have the responsible for the integrity and availability of systems and information Security Department: they have the responsible for security programs and to identify risks and their eliminate with using the risk analysis Security Practitioners: they have the responsible for the evaluation of security requirements for each IT systems. Risk Analysis In the previous section we described the organizational and informational structure of  «Elpis » and  «Mitera » hospitals. Now, we are describing the assets that are classified into three categories: a) software assets, b) hardware assets and c) data assets. A system can be characterized as reliable and safe when it is: a) confidential: provide access only to authorized persons. They have access to important information (medical information, personal patient data), b) availability: the service that the IT facilities provide should be incessant, c) integrity: the system should be ready at any time to provide reliably any information. Also, the information should not change by unauthorized persons. Data assets The hospital manages important medical information. Thus, the access to the internal network should not be free and the communication between the hospitals should be characterized by safety and reliability. The data assets of private hospital  «Elpis » can contain the following: Patient Records: patient personal data (patient medical history) Personnel Records: staff personal data Financial Records: financial data concerning both hospitals Statistics records: statistical data related to the number of surgeries, patient entrances, deaths, etc. In this project, we perform a risk analysis and management for two data assets, the patient files and the statistical data. Hardware assets In this category, it is classified the physical assets like the equipment facilities, buildings. We focus our analysis on hardware assets. Specifically, the hardware assets of  «Elpis » hospital can be the followings: Application server: It is the most important part of the system. The medical application is installed on the application server where the medical data processing is implemented. Moreover, other staff and financial application are installed on the application server. Database server: It makes possible to the different software to ask for information, update and delete data. Backup server: It provide access to different saved data in the system relevant to medical data, patient personal data, staff data, and other general hospital data Mail server: It facilitates the interchange of mails between the  «Elpis » hospital and the hospital in Chalkida. Also, we perform a risk analysis and management for the most important hardware assets: application server and database server. Software assets This category of applications contains software that the staff of hospital uses for data processing. The software assets of private hospital  «Elpis » can be divided into: Staff Software: They are applications that manage data of hospital staff. They permit new records, delete of records and modifications. Patient folders Software: These applications manage data relevant to the patients (personal data patient medical history). Data Statistical analysis Software: They are applications that process statistical data and help in the creation of annual reports DETERMINATION OF COUNTERMEASURES In the above section was realised the analysis for the threats and the vulnerabilities for each assets (figure 3) . In this section we analyze the countermeasures which should be taken for each threat. In addition, we proposed solutions and technical relatively with the physical and hardware section as well as the architectures and security policies. The countermeasures will be supposed in such degree in order that the hospital working in an error-tolerant. Each employee will have the appropriate privileges in system, in relation to the work which he performs. The password policy should be changed. Users must renew the password once a month and use string passwords. For devices that contain important medical information that password should be changed once a week and the rights of the user accounts to be examined by managers every two weeks. As a reference the user policy should describe the rules that will prevent the user from illegal operations (even if accidental) aiming at the confidentiality of data. The company should implement a backup policy in order to store important medical information (patient file) and data which associated with the company (any company, personal information). The backups are major because theres a danger of losing important data from the disaster of equipment or external threats or by human error (deliberate or accidental). The backup will be made every day and in time that the workload of the hospital is small. Also it should be created a monthly backup that will be stored in a separate location, in case where the initial copies have been destroyed by a natural disaster or damage of equipment or human error. The storage of data will be realised with technical of Raid 5 because the price of the disc is significantly reduced and the costs of implementation Raid 5 is now within most organisms budgets. A measure that must be taken is the installation of an emergency generator UPS which will ensure continuous operation of IT equipment even if creates problems at the central UPS. Also an emergency generator UPS should be connected with the cooling system of the computer room. In the computer room there is a simple cooling system which may not ensure the proper operation of IT systems. The most effective measure is the installation of an completed cooling system which will have automatic air conditioning control with aim to minimize the risk of a sudden increase in temperature. The confidentiality and the data integrity is an important part of the hospital. The installation of IDS device provides control of the network and intrusion detection that can come from either inside or outside of hospital and detect violations of security policies. An IDS has the ability to produce reports on the above events. In addition, a measure that must be taken is the installation of completed fire protection equipment in all spaces of the hospital (patient rooms, offices, computer room). The fire system will have the ability to detect smoke or fire and more generally the change in the temperature also in case of emergency the possibility of telephone connection with the local fire station and the police. The education and training of hospital members in safety, confidentiality and organisation issues should are realised each 2 months. Thus, hospital members acquire feeling of personal responsibility and dexterities. Finally, it should be installed Software applications which will protect the network of hospital from malicious programs. The installation of Antivirus Spyware program will take place in server with a view to automatically install and update the antivirus programs on each workstation. CONCLUSION The main objective of this report was to evaluate safety in private hospital Elpis with the method of risk analysis. The hospital has implemented some measures for the correct and safe operation of hardware and software but these measures do not cover many of the threats. The most important areas that should provide the hospital are the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data. These areas should be applied to a greater degree in the user policy and the security policy. Also, it should be implemented specific technologies which ensure in the hospital proper functioning. Access to sensitive patient information and medical research should be protected specifically by unauthorized persons. Finally, it suggested equipment to help in case of emergency.

Piaget Essay -- essays research papers fc

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jean Piaget was born on August9, 1896, in the French speaking part of Switzerland. At an early age he developed an interest in biology, and by the time he had graduated from high school he had already published a number of papers. After marrying in 1923, he had three children, whom he studied from infancy. Piaget is best known for organizing cognitive development into a series of stages- the levels of development corresponding too infancy, childhood, and adolescence. These four stages are labeled the Sensorimotor stage, which occurs from birth to age two, (children experience through their senses), the Preoporational stage, which occurs from ages two to six, (motor skills are acquired), the Concrete Operational stage, which occurs from ages six to eleven, (children think logically about concrete events), and the Formal Operational stage, which occurs after age eleven, (abstract reasoning is developed here). (www.psychcentral.com). (Bee and Boyd 149). The focus of this paper will be on the Preoporational stage and how the child’s cognitive abilities develop according to Piaget.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Preoperational stage is Piaget’s term for the second major stage of cognitive development. It is in this stage that Piaget states that children acuire symbolic schemes, such as language and fantasy, that they use in thinking and communicating. Piaget saw evidence of symbol use in many aspects of children aged two to six. As a Pre-School teacher myself, I have witnessed many of the same behaviors that Piaget himself observed while developing his theory of cognitive development. Children this age begin to pretend in their play. The dramatic play area in my classroom is always one of the most busy areas of the room. The children love to role-play and create imaginary games. According to Piaget, such symbol use is also evident in the emergence of language and in the preschoolers primitive ability to understand scale models or simple maps. Dramatic play gives the children the chance to role-play. If they work through situations in their classroom, they’ll be better prepared for real-life scenarios. Through role-playing, children not only express emotions, but also exercise creativity and develop skills like cooperation and problem solving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Pre... ...get viewed children as little philosophers and scientists building their own individual theories of knowledge. By focusing on what children con do as well as what they cannot do, he was able to understand and explain their cognitive growth and development. His theory is a valuable â€Å"road map† for understanding how children think. However, many psychologists are convinced that Piaget gave too little credit to the effects of learning. For example; Children of pottery-making parents can correctly answer questions about the conservation of clay at an earlier age than Piaget would have predicted. According to learning theorists, children continuously gain specific knowledge; they do not undergo stage-like leaps in general mental ability. (Coon 109). Thus, the truth may lie somewhere between Piaget’s stage theory and modern learning theory. Works Cited 1. Coon, Dennis. Essentials of Psychology. 9th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2003 2. Bee, Helen and Boyd, Dennis. The Developing Child. 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004 3. http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.cfm?term=Egocentrism 4. http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Jean_Piaget Piaget Essay -- essays research papers fc Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jean Piaget was born on August9, 1896, in the French speaking part of Switzerland. At an early age he developed an interest in biology, and by the time he had graduated from high school he had already published a number of papers. After marrying in 1923, he had three children, whom he studied from infancy. Piaget is best known for organizing cognitive development into a series of stages- the levels of development corresponding too infancy, childhood, and adolescence. These four stages are labeled the Sensorimotor stage, which occurs from birth to age two, (children experience through their senses), the Preoporational stage, which occurs from ages two to six, (motor skills are acquired), the Concrete Operational stage, which occurs from ages six to eleven, (children think logically about concrete events), and the Formal Operational stage, which occurs after age eleven, (abstract reasoning is developed here). (www.psychcentral.com). (Bee and Boyd 149). The focus of this paper will be on the Preoporational stage and how the child’s cognitive abilities develop according to Piaget.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Preoperational stage is Piaget’s term for the second major stage of cognitive development. It is in this stage that Piaget states that children acuire symbolic schemes, such as language and fantasy, that they use in thinking and communicating. Piaget saw evidence of symbol use in many aspects of children aged two to six. As a Pre-School teacher myself, I have witnessed many of the same behaviors that Piaget himself observed while developing his theory of cognitive development. Children this age begin to pretend in their play. The dramatic play area in my classroom is always one of the most busy areas of the room. The children love to role-play and create imaginary games. According to Piaget, such symbol use is also evident in the emergence of language and in the preschoolers primitive ability to understand scale models or simple maps. Dramatic play gives the children the chance to role-play. If they work through situations in their classroom, they’ll be better prepared for real-life scenarios. Through role-playing, children not only express emotions, but also exercise creativity and develop skills like cooperation and problem solving.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Pre... ...get viewed children as little philosophers and scientists building their own individual theories of knowledge. By focusing on what children con do as well as what they cannot do, he was able to understand and explain their cognitive growth and development. His theory is a valuable â€Å"road map† for understanding how children think. However, many psychologists are convinced that Piaget gave too little credit to the effects of learning. For example; Children of pottery-making parents can correctly answer questions about the conservation of clay at an earlier age than Piaget would have predicted. According to learning theorists, children continuously gain specific knowledge; they do not undergo stage-like leaps in general mental ability. (Coon 109). Thus, the truth may lie somewhere between Piaget’s stage theory and modern learning theory. Works Cited 1. Coon, Dennis. Essentials of Psychology. 9th Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2003 2. Bee, Helen and Boyd, Dennis. The Developing Child. 10th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004 3. http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.cfm?term=Egocentrism 4. http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Jean_Piaget

The Indigo Spell Chapter One

THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TIME I'd been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I'd been subjected to such a personal line of questioning. â€Å"Are you a virgin?† â€Å"Huh?† I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream that would disappear. An urgent phone call had dragged me out of bed five minutes ago, and I was having a little trouble adjusting. My history teacher, Ms. Terwilliger, leaned closer and repeated the question in a stage whisper: â€Å"I said, are you a virgin?† â€Å"Um, yes. . .† I was fully awake now and glanced uneasily around my dorm's lobby, making sure no one was around to witness this crazy exchange. I didn't have to worry. Aside from a bored-looking desk attendant on the far side of the room, the lobby was empty, probably because no sane person would be up at this time of night. When Ms. Terwilliger's call had woken me, she'd demanded I meet her here for a â€Å"life-or-death† matter. Getting interrogated about my personal life wasn't quite what I'd expected. She stepped back and sighed in relief. â€Å"Yes, of course. Of course you're a virgin.† I narrowed my eyes, unsure if I should be offended or not. â€Å"Of course? What's that supposed to mean? What's going on?† She immediately snapped back to attention and pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. They were always slipping down. â€Å"No time to explain. We have to go.† She grabbed hold of my arm, but I resisted and stayed where I was. â€Å"Ma'am, it's three in the morning!† And then, just so she'd understand the severity of the situation: â€Å"On a school night.† â€Å"Never mind that.† She turned in the direction of the desk attendant and called across the room, â€Å"I'm taking Sydney Melrose with me. Mrs. Weathers can argue with me about the curfew tomorrow.† The attendant looked startled, but she was just some college student who'd been hired to sit there overnight. She was no match for the formidable Ms. Terwilliger, with her tall, gangly stature and birdlike face. The real authority keeping girls in my dorm was the security guard outside, but he simply nodded in a friendly way when Ms. Terwilliger dragged me past. It made me wonder just how many girls she'd abducted in the middle of the night. â€Å"I'm in my pajamas,† I told her. It was the last protest I could offer as we reached her car, which was parked in a fire lane. She drove a red Volkswagen Beetle with flowers painted on the sides. Somehow, this didn't surprise me in the least. â€Å"You'll be fine,† she said, fishing car keys out of her massive velvet purse. Around us, the desert night was cool and silent. Tall palm trees created dark, spiderlike shapes against the sky. Beyond them, a full moon and smattering of stars glittered. I wrapped my arms around myself, touching the soft fabric of my microfleece robe. Underneath it, I had on full-length striped pajamas paired with fluffy beige slippers. The ensemble worked well in my cozy dorm room but wasn't exactly practical for a Palm Springs night. But then, going out in pajamas wasn't really practical in any place. She unlocked the car, and I stepped gingerly inside, having to dodge empty paper coffee cups and old issues of Utne Reader. My neat sensibilities cringed at that kind of mess, but it was the least of my worries right now. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger,† I said, once we were driving through the suburban streets. â€Å"What's going on?† Now that we were out of the dorm, I hoped she'd start talking sense. I hadn't forgotten her â€Å"life-or-death† comment and was beginning to grow nervous. Her eyes were on the road ahead of us, and lines of worry marked her angular face. â€Å"I need you to cast a spell.† I froze as I tried to process her words. Not long ago, this proclamation would've sent me into protests and fits of revulsion. Not that I was comfortable with it now. Magic still freaked me out. Ms. Terwilliger taught at my private high school, Amberwood Prep, by day and was a witch at night. She said I, too, possessed a natural affinity for magic and had managed to teach me some spells, despite my best efforts to resist. I actually had a few good reasons for wanting to avoid anything arcane. Aside from inborn beliefs about magic being wrong, I simply didn't want to get caught up in any more supernatural affairs than I had to. I already spent my days as part of a secret society that kept vampires secret from the human world. That and my schoolwork were enough to keep anyone busy. Nonetheless, her magical training had gotten me out of some dangerous situations recently, and I was no longer so quick to dismiss it. So, her suggesting I perform magic wasn't the weirdest thing going on here. â€Å"Why would you need me for that?† I asked. There were few cars out, but occasionally, passing headlights would cast a ghostly light over us. â€Å"You're a million times more powerful. I can't cast a fraction of the things you can.† â€Å"Power is one thing,† she admitted. â€Å"But there are other limitations and factors at work here. I can't cast this particular spell.† I crossed my arms and slouched back in the seat. If I kept focusing on the practical aspects, I could ignore how worried I was growing. â€Å"And it couldn't have waited until morning?† â€Å"No,† she said gravely. â€Å"It could not.† Something about the tone of her voice sent chills down my spine, and I fell silent as we continued our drive. We were headed outside of the city and suburbs, into the wilds of the true desert. The farther we drove from civilization, the darker it became. Once we were off the freeway, there were no streetlights or houses in sight. Spiky desert shrubs created dark shapes along the side of the road that put me in mind of crouching animals, ready to pounce. There's no one out here, I thought. And no one back at Amberwood knows you're here either. I shifted uneasily as I recalled her virgin question. Was I going to be a sacrifice in some unholy ritual? I wished that I'd thought to bring my cell phone – not that I could have told my organization, the Alchemists, that I was spending so much time with a magic user. And not just any magic user – one who was teaching me to become one too. Better to risk being sacrificed than face the Alchemists' wrath. Twenty minutes later, Ms. Terwilliger finally pulled to a stop along the side of a dusty one-lane road that seemed to be a direct route to nowhere. She got out of the car and motioned for me to do the same. It was colder here than it had been back at Amberwood. Looking up into the night sky, I caught my breath. Free of the city lights, the stars were now out in full force. I could see the Milky Way and a dozen constellations usually hidden to the naked eye. â€Å"Stargaze later,† she said curtly. â€Å"We need to hurry, before the moon progresses much further.† A moonlight ritual, a barren desert, virgin sacrifice . . . what had I just foolishly walked into? The way Ms. Terwilliger pushed me into magic always annoyed me, but I never thought she posed a threat. Now I berated myself for being so naive. She tossed a duffel bag over one shoulder and headed off into a desolate stretch of land, dotted with rocks and scraggly vegetation. Even with the brilliant celestial display there wasn't much light out here, yet she walked purposefully, as though she knew exactly where she was going. I dutifully followed, wincing as I crossed the rocky ground. My fuzzy slippers had never been intended for this sort of terrain. â€Å"Here,† she said when we reached a small clearing. She carefully set down the duffel bag and knelt to rifle through it. â€Å"This'll do.† The desert that was so mercilessly hot in the day became cold at night, but I was still sweating. Probably my own anxiety had more to do with that than the temperature or heavy pajamas. I retied my robe more tightly making a perfect knot. I found that kind of detail and routine soothing. Ms. Terwilliger produced a large oval mirror with a scalloped silver frame. She set it down in the middle of the clearing, glanced up at the sky, and then shifted the mirror over a little. â€Å"Come here, Miss Melbourne.† She pointed to a spot opposite her, on the other side of the mirror. â€Å"Sit there and make yourself comfortable.† At Amberwood, I went by the name of Sydney Melrose, rather than my true one, Sydney Sage. Ms. Terwilliger had gotten my made-up name wrong on the first day of class, and it, unfortunately, stuck. I followed her directions, not that I could really get all that comfortable out here. I was pretty sure I could hear some large animal scuffling out in the brush and added â€Å"coyotes† to my mental list of dangers I faced out here, right below â€Å"magic use† and â€Å"lack of coffee.† â€Å"Now then. Let's get started.† Ms. Terwilliger peered at me with eyes that were dark and frightening in the desert night. â€Å"Are you wearing anything metal? You need to take it off.† â€Å"No, I – oh. Wait.† I reached around my neck and unfastened a delicate gold chain that held a small cross. I'd had the necklace for years but had recently given it to someone else, for comfort. He'd given it back to me recently, by way of our mutual friend Jill Mastrano Dragomir. Even now, I could picture the angry look on her face as she'd stormed up to me at school and thrust the cross into my hand without a word. I stared at the cross now as it gleamed in the moonlight. A queasy feeling welled up in the pit of my stomach as I thought about Adrian, the guy I'd given it to. I'd done so before he professed his love for me, something that had caught me totally off guard a few weeks ago. But maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised. The more I looked back – and I did so all the time – the more I began to recall telltale signs that should have tipped me off to his feelings. I'd just been too blind to notice at the time. Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if I'd seen it coming or not. Adrian was totally unsuitable for me, and it had nothing to do with his many vices or potential descent into insanity. Adrian was a vampire. True, he was a Moroi – one of the good, living vampires – but it made no difference. Humans and vampires couldn't be together. This was one point the Moroi and Alchemists stood firmly together on. It was still amazing to me that Adrian had voiced those feelings to me. It was amazing that he could even have them or that he'd had the nerve to kiss me, even if it was a kiss that had left me dizzy and breathless. I'd had to reject him, of course. My training would allow nothing less. Our situation here in Palm Springs forced the two of us to constantly be together in social situations, and it had been rough since his declaration. For me, it wasn't just the awkwardness of our new relationship. I . . . well, I missed him. Before this debacle, he and I had been friends and spent a lot of time together. I'd gotten used to his smirky smile and the quick banter that always flowed between us. Until those things were gone, I hadn't realized how much I relied on them. How much I needed them. I felt empty inside . . . which was ridiculous, of course. Why should I care so much about one vampire? Sometimes it made me angry. Why had he ruined such a good thing between us? Why had he made me miss him so much? And what had he expected me to do? He had to have known it was impossible for us to be together. I couldn't have feelings for him. I couldn't. If we'd lived among the Keepers – a group of uncivilized vampires, humans, and dhampirs – maybe he and I could have . . . no. Even if I had feelings for him – and I firmly told myself I didn't – it was wrong for us to even consider such a relationship. Now Adrian spoke to me as little as possible. And always, always, he watched me with a haunted look in his green eyes, one that made my heart ache and – â€Å"Ah! What is that?† I squirmed as Ms. Terwilliger dumped a bowl full of dried leaves and flowers over my head. I'd been so fixated on the cross and my memories that I hadn't seen her coming. â€Å"Rosemary,† she said matter-of-factly â€Å"Hyssop. Anise. Don't do that.† I'd reached up to pull some of the leaves out of my hair. â€Å"You need that for the spell.† â€Å"Right,† I said, getting back to business. I set the cross carefully on the ground, trying to clear my mind of green, green eyes. â€Å"The spell that only I can do. Why is that again?† â€Å"Because it has to be done by a virgin,† she explained. I tried not to grimace. Her words implied that she was not a virgin, and even if that made sense for a forty-year-old woman, it still wasn't a thought I wanted to spend a lot of time on. â€Å"That, and the person we're looking for has shielded herself from me. But you? You she won't expect.† I looked down at the shining mirror and understood. â€Å"This is a scrying spell. Why aren't we doing the one I did before?† Not that I was eager to repeat that spell. I'd used it to find someone, and it had involved me staring into a bowl of water for hours. Still, now that I knew how to do it, I knew I could perform it again. Besides, I didn't like the idea of walking into a spell I knew nothing about. Words and herbs were one thing, but what else might she ask of me? Endanger my soul? Give up my blood? â€Å"That spell only works for someone you know,† she explained. â€Å"This one will help you find someone you've never met before.† I frowned. As much as I didn't like magic, I did like problem solving – and the puzzles magic often presented intrigued me. â€Å"How will I know who to look for, then?† Ms. Terwilliger handed me a photograph. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I looked into the face of a pretty young woman. There was a striking resemblance between her and my teacher, though it wasn't initially obvious. Rather than Ms. Terwilliger's dull brown hair, this woman's was dark, nearly black. She was also much more glamorous, dressed in a black satin evening gown that was a far cry from Ms. Terwilliger's usual hippie attire. Despite those ostensible differences, the two women shared the same high cheekbones and aquiline eyes. I glanced back up. â€Å"She's related to you.† â€Å"She's my older sister,† Ms. Terwilliger confirmed, her voice remarkably flat. Older? I would've guessed this woman was at least ten years younger. â€Å"Is she missing?† I asked. When I'd scried before, it had been to find a kidnapped friend. Ms. Terwilliger's lips twitched. â€Å"Not in the way you're thinking.† From the never-ending duffel bag, she produced a small leather book and opened it to a marked page. Squinting at where she indicated, I could make out handwritten Latin words describing the mirror and herbal concoction she'd dumped on me. Following that were directions on how to use the spell. No bloodletting, thankfully. â€Å"It sounds too simple,† I said suspiciously. I'd learned that spells that only had a few steps and components usually required a lot of mental energy. I'd passed out from the other scrying spell. She nodded, guessing my thoughts. â€Å"It takes a lot of focus – more than the last one. But, as much as you don't want to hear this, your strength has grown enough that you'll probably have an easier time than before.† I scowled. She was right. I didn't want to hear that. Or did I? Part of me knew I should refuse to go along with this madness. Another part of me worried she'd abandon me in the desert if I didn't help. And still another part was insanely curious to see how this would all work. Taking a deep breath, I recited the book's incantation and then set the picture in the middle of the mirror. I repeated the incantation and removed the picture. Leaning forward, I stared into the shining surface, trying to clear my mind and let myself become one with the darkness and moonlight. A hum of energy coursed through me, much more quickly than I expected. Nothing changed in the mirror right away, though. Only my reflection peered back at me, the poor lighting dulling my blond hair, which looked terrible both from sleeping on it and having a bunch of dried plants hanging in its strands. The energy continued to build in me, growing surprisingly warm and exhilarating. I closed my eyes and sank into it. I felt like I was floating in the moonlight, like I was the moonlight. I could've stayed that way forever. â€Å"Do you see anything?† Ms. Terwilliger's voice was an unwelcome interruption to my blissful state, but I obediently opened my eyes and looked into the mirror. My reflection was gone. A silvery gray mist hung in front of a building, but I knew the mist wasn't physical. It was magically produced, a mental barrier to keep me from seeing the image that lay beyond it. Strengthening my will, I pushed my mind passed that barrier, and after a few moments, the mist shattered. â€Å"I see a building.† My voice echoed oddly in the night. â€Å"An old Victorian house. Dark red, with a traditional covered porch. There are hydrangea bushes in front of it. There's a sign too, but I can't read it.† â€Å"Can you tell where the house is?† My teacher's voice seemed very far away. â€Å"Look around it.† I tried to pull back, to extend my vision beyond the house. It took a few moments, but slowly, the image panned out as though I were watching a movie, revealing a neighborhood of similar houses, all Victorian with wide porches and creeping vines. They were a beautiful, perfect piece of history set in the modern world. â€Å"Nothing exact,† I told her. â€Å"Just some quaint residential street.† â€Å"Go back further. See the larger picture.† I did, and it was like I drifted up into the sky, looking down upon the neighborhood the way some soaring bird would. The houses extended into more neighborhoods, which eventually gave way to industrial and commercial areas. I continued moving back. The businesses became more and more densely packed. More streets crisscrossed between them. The buildings grew taller and taller, eventually materializing into a familiar skyline. â€Å"Los Angeles,† I said. â€Å"The house is on the outskirts of Los Angeles.† I heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by: â€Å"Thank you, Miss Melbourne. That will be all.† A hand suddenly waved across my field of vision, shattering the city image. Also shattered was that state of euphoria. I was no longer floating, no longer made of light. I came crashing down to reality, down to the rocky desert landscape and my stuffy pajamas. I felt exhausted and shaky, like I might faint. Ms. Terwilliger handed me a thermos full of orange juice, which I drank greedily. As the nutrients hit my system and strengthened me, I began to feel a little better. Intense magic use depleted blood sugar. â€Å"Does that help?† I asked, once I'd downed the thermos. A nagging voice inside me started to chastise about how many calories were in orange juice, but I ignored it. â€Å"Was that what you wanted to know?† Ms. Terwilliger gave me a smile that didn't extend to her eyes. â€Å"It helps, yes. Was it what I wanted?† She stared off into the distance. â€Å"No, not exactly. I was hoping you'd name some other city. Some city far, far away.† I picked up my cross and refastened it around my neck. The familiar object brought on a sense of normality after what I'd just done. It also made me feel guilty, looking back on the euphoric high the magic had given me. Humans weren't supposed to wield magic – and they certainly weren't supposed to enjoy it. Running my fingers over the cross's surface, I found myself thinking of Adrian again. Had he ever worn it? Or had he just kept it around for luck? Had his fingers traced the cross's shape like mine often did? Ms. Terwilliger began gathering her things. When she stood up, I followed suit. â€Å"What does it mean exactly, ma'am?† I asked. â€Å"That I saw Los Angeles?† I followed her back toward the car, and she didn't answer right away. When she did, her voice was uncharacteristically grim. â€Å"It means that she's much closer than I would like. It also means, whether you want to or not, you're going to have to work on improving your magical skills very, very quickly.† I came to a halt. Suddenly, I felt angry. Enough was enough. I was exhausted and ached all over. She'd dragged me out here in the middle of the night and now had the presumption to make a statement like that when she knew how I felt about magic? Worse, her words frightened me. What did I have to do with this? This was her spell, her cause. Yet, she'd given the directive with such force, such certainty, that it almost seemed as though I was the reason we'd come out here to this wasteland. â€Å"Ma'am – † I began. Ms. Terwilliger spun around and leaned toward me so that there were only a few inches between us. I gulped, swallowing whatever outraged words I'd been about to utter. I'd never seen her look like this. She wasn't scary, not exactly, but there was an intensity I'd never seen before, far different from the usual scattered teacher I knew. She also looked . . . frightened. Life or death. â€Å"Sydney,† she said, in a rare use of my first name. â€Å"Let me assure you that this is not some trick on my part. You will improve upon your skills, whether you like it or not. And it's not because I'm cruel, not because I'm trying to fulfill some selfish desire. It's not even because I hate seeing you waste your ability.† â€Å"Then why?† I asked in a small voice. â€Å"Why do I need to learn more?† The wind whispered around us, blowing some of the dried leaves and flowers from my hair. The shadows we cast took on an ominous feel, and the moonlight and starlight that had seemed so divine earlier now felt cold and harsh. â€Å"Because,† Ms. Terwilliger said. â€Å"It's for your own protection.†

Statistical concepts essays

Statistical concepts essays Statistical concepts have literally thousands of applications. These include both the hard' sciences and social sciences but also fields such as political science. Statistics are so key to the nature of certain fields that most of them could not exist without concepts such as the The mean, median and mode are often used in political campaigns. These campaigns are designed to appeal to targeted demographics, which form the basis for blocks of voters. Presidential speeches are designed to specifically appeal to a hypothesized median' voter. Swing votes often represent a mode or block' of voters who can be expected to vote in a similar fashion. Where the political support of one's party members can be predicted with safety, the fate of elections always swings with popular opinion. If the opinion of the hypothetical median' citizen were not courted to, one of the two parties would eventually become marginalized. A concept like the Axis of Evil' or Lock Box' seems adolescent to university professors and political analysts, but speechwriters didn't have these people in mind when they created the concept; by definition, the mean IQ is 100. Political pundits see their voters in groups like Soccer Moms;' concerned mothers who vote in the interest of their families. On any given opinion, these groups constitute modes reflecting a certain Political campaigns use extensive population sampling in order to gather data. These often revolve around the outcome of polls conducted by the Gallup company. After a speech is made, questions will be designed to neutrally assess the opinion of those who listened to the speech. Gallup approaches a group with a large enough sample size to diminish the margin of error. They'll ask questions such as "what do you think of candidate Shwartzenegger's comments regarding the terminally ill" so as to assess ...

Single Variable Equations in Algebra ACT Math Strategies

Single Variable Equations in Algebra ACT Math Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Single variable equations are some of the most common types of problems on the ACT math section. You must know how to set up, use, and manipulate these kinds of equations, as they are a foundational element of mathematics upon which more complicated expressions (multiple variable, quadratics, etc.) are based. So make sure you are prepared to tackle the ins and outs of single variable equations (no matter how they are presented on the ACT), before you take on some of the more complicated elements of ACT math. This guide will be your complete walk-through of single variable equations for the ACTwhat they are, how you’ll see them on the test, and how to set up and solve them. And the mystery unfolds. What Are Single Variable Equations? To understand a single variable equation, let us break it into its two components: the variable and the equation. A variable is a symbolic placeholder for a number we do not yet know. It’s very common to see $x$ or $y$ used as a variable in math problems, but variables can be represented by any symbol or letter. $x + 4 = 14$ In this case, $x$ is our variable. It represents a number that is currently unknown. An equation sets two mathematical expressions equal to one another. This equality is represented with an equals sign (=) and each side of the expression can be as simple as a single integer or as complex as an expression with multiple variables, exponents, or anything else. $({x +y^2})/14 - 65(x - 3) = 2$ The above is an example of an equation. Each side of the expression equals the other. So if we put together our definitions, we know that: A single variable equation is an equation in which there is only one variable used. (Note: the variable can be used multiple times and/or used on either side of the equation; all that matters is that the variable remains the same.) ${(x + 4)}/2 = 12$ $6x + 3 - 2x = 19$ $4y - 2 = y + 7$ These are all examples of single variable equations. You can see how some expressions used the variable multiple times or used the variable in both expressions (on either side of the equals sign). No matter how many times the variable is used, these still count as single variable problems because the variable remains constant and there are no other variables. Finding your missing variable is like finding that last missing piece of the puzzle. Typical Single Variable Equations on the ACT Single variable equations will fall into two broad categories on the ACTgiven equations and word problems. Let’s look at each type. Given Equations A given equation will provide you with the equation you need to use to solve the problem. We will go through the exact processes needed to solve this kind of problem in the next section, but for now just understand that your goal is to isolate your variable. (We will go through how to solve this question later in the guide) As you can see from this problem, the isolated variable may not be your final answer. Sometimes the question will ask you to solve for $x$, sometimes the question will ask you to solve for $x$ to a different term (as in this case, where they ask you to find $2x$). Always pay close attention to exactly what the question is asking you to find! You need to first isolate your $x$ to solve the problem, but if you stop there then you will get the final answer wrong. Word Problems A word problem describes a scene in which you must set up your own single variable equation to solve it. Again, your final answer may be the value of your variable ($x$ or $y$, etc.) or your variable taken to a different term ($2x$, $y/2$, etc.). (We will go through how to solve this question later in the guide) How to Manipulate a Single Variable Equation In order to solve a single variable equation, we must isolate our variable on one side of the equation. And the way we do this is by shifting the rest of our terms to the other side of the equation. In order to shift our terms (numbers), we must therefore cancel them out on their original side by performing the opposite function of the term. Opposite function pairs are: Addition and subtraction Multiplication and division So if we have a term on one side that has a plus sign (addition), we must subtract that same amount from both sides. $x + 2 = 6$ $x + 2 - 2 = 6 - 2$ $x = 4$ If we have a term that is multiplied, we must divide that same amount from both sides. $3x = 18$ ${3x}/3 = 18/3$ $x = 6$ And so on. Whatever you do on one side of the equation, you must do on the other. This cancels out like terms and essentially moves your terms from one side of the equation to the other. Single variable equations are all about maintaining balance. Steps to Solving a Single Variable Problem Let us take a typical variable expression and break it into the steps needed to solve it. $3y - 10 + 2y = 15$. Find $y$. 1) Combine like terms If there is more than one term with a same variable, we must combine them in order to ultimately isolate that variable. We can add or subtract terms with a same variable in the same way we can any other numbers. $3y - 10 + 2y = 15$ Here we have a $3y$ and a $2y$. They are both positive, so we add them together. $3y + 2y = 5y$ So now our equation looks like this: $5y - 10 = 15$ 2) Isolate the term with your variable Once we have combined our variables, we must isolate the variable term. If the term is simply the variable itself (e.g. $y$), then we can skip this step. But since our term her is $5y$, we must isolate the whole term first. $5y - 10 = 15$ So we must add 10 to either side of our equation. Why? Because we have a negative 10 and addition is the opposite of subtraction. And we must do it to either side to cancel out the 10 on the first expression in order to isolate our variable. $5y - 10 + 10 = 15 + 10$ $5y = 25$ 3) Isolate your variable Now that we’ve isolated our term ($5y$), we can further isolate the variable itself. Again, we perform an opposite function of the term. In this case, we have $5y$, which uses multiplication. In order to isolate the variable, we must therefore use division (the opposite of multiplication) by dividing on both sides. $5y = 25$ ${5y}/5 = 25/5$ $y = 5$ 4) Double-check your variable by plugging it back in Now that we’ve solved for our variable, let us check to make sure it is correct by plugging it back into the original equation. $y = 5$ $3y - 10 + 2y = 15$ $3(5) - 10 + 2(5) = 15$ $15 - 10 + 10 = 15$ $15 = 15$ Success! We have correctly isolated the variable and found its value. 5) And, finally, double-check to make sure you are answering the right question! In this case, we are done, because our initial question asked us to find the value of $y$. But you must always double-check to make sure you are answering the right question. If they had asked us the value for $5y$ or $y/3$, then we would have gotten the answer wrong if we had stopped here at $y = 5$. Always double-check that your variable is correct and that you are answering the question the test is asking you to answer. Now let’s try it again with our problem from earlier: We have $7 + 3x = 22$ and we must isolate our variable in order to ultimately find $2x$ Step 1, combine like terms: There are no like terms to combine, so we can skip step 1. Step 2, isolate variable term: $7 + 3x = 22$ $7 - 7 + 3x = 22 - 7$ $3x = 15$ Step 3, isolate variable: $3x = 15$ ${3x}/3 = 15/3$ $x = 5$ Step 4, double-check answer: $7 + 3(5) = 22$ $7 + 15 = 22$ $22 = 22$ Success. But wait! We’re not done just yet. Step 5, look at what the final question is asking: We must finish the question by finding $2x$ $x = 5$ $2(5) = 10$ So our final answer is G, $2x = 10$ It may appearthatperforming a single variable equation requires a lot of steps, but the more you practice, the easier and more instinctive this process will become. Test Your Knowledge 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Answers:C, G, B, G, E Answer Explanations: 1) Ms. Lewis begins by driving 900 miles at 50 miles per hour and we want to find out how much faster she must go to travel the same amount of miles in three hours less time. Because she is driving the same amount, we can set these terms equal. We are also only working with the variable of miles per hour, so this is a single variable equation. Now, the two sides of the equation are dealing with miles and miles per hour. The first half of our equation will look like this: $(900/50) - 3$ Why? Because Ms. Lewis is driving 900 miles at 50 miles per hour, so we need to divide the miles by mph in order to find out her travel time. And then we must reduce that amount by 3 because we are told that her new travel time will be 3 miles less than that. This means that the other half of our equation will look like this: $900/x$ Why? Because we know that the number of miles she drives will be the same, but our unknown is her miles per hour. Now let's put them together and solve for our variable. $(900/50) - 3 = 900/x$ $18 - 3 = 900/x$ $15 = 900/x$ Now we must isolate our $x$ value. Because it is acting as a denominator, we must multiply both sides of the equation by $x$. $x * 15 = (900/x) * x$ $15x = 900$ Now, we can divide both sides by 15 in order to isolate our $x$ value. $15x = 900$ ${15x}/15 = 900/15$ $x = 60$ Finally, let us plug this value back into our original equation to double-check our answer. $(900/50) - 3 = 900/x$ $(900/50) - 3 = 900/60$ $15 = 15$ We have successfully found our $x$ value, which is the new mileage per hour that Ms. Lewis must travel. But wait, we're not done yet! The question asked us to find out how much faster she must drive, not the new miles per hour at which she must travel. This means we must take the difference of the original miles per hour and the new miles per hour. $60 - 50 = 10$ She must drive 10 miles per hour faster in order to drive the same amount in three hours less time. So our final answer is C, 10. 2) Here we have two cable companies and we are told that we must solve for when their rates are equal after an equal number of months. That means we have a single variable (the number of months) and we have an equation because we are setting each side equal (since the question specifies that their prices will be equal after an unknown number of months). Uptown Cable has a flat fee of 120 dollars and an additional fee of 25 dollars per month. The flat fee will be unchanged (it only happens once), but the 25 dollars will be affected by the number of months. Since the number of months is our unknown variable, let’s give it a value of $x$. So our first expression will look like this: $120 + 25x$ Now Downtown Cable has a 60 dollar flat fee (occurs only once) and a 35 dollar per month fee. We are trying the find the equal number of months for a Downtown Cable package and an Uptown Cable package, so our variable, $x$, will remain the same. So our second expression will look like this: $60 + 35x$ Now we set the two expressions equal to one another. (Why? Because we are told that the prices will be equal after a certain number of months.) $120 + 25x = 60 + 35x$ Now we solve by shifting the terms on each side of the equation. First, let us combine our variable terms by subtracting 25x from each side. $120 + 25x - 25x = 60 + 35x - 25x$ $120 = 60 + 10x$ Now, let us subtract 60 from each side. $120 - 60 = 60 - 60 + 10x$ $60 = 10x$ And finally, let us isolate our variable. $60/10 = {10x}/10$ $6 = x$ So our final answer is G, in exactly 6 months, the prices of each cable package will be equal. 3) This question relies on manipulating fractions. If this process is unfamiliar to you, definitely check out our guide to ACT fractions and ratios. If this is familiar to you, then let’s keep going. ${1/3}k + {1/4}k =1$ We must find a common denominator of the two fractions in order to combine our like terms. In this case, the least common factor of 3 and 4 is 12. (For more on this process, check out our guide to ACT fractions and ratios.) ${4/12}k + {3/12}k = 1$ ${7/12}k = 1$ Now we have a number (7) being divided by another number (12). We know that division is the opposite of multiplication, so we must multiply each side by 12. $12 * {7/12}k = 1 * 12$ $7k = 12$ And finally, we must divide each side by 7 to isolate our variable. $7k = 12$ ${7k}/7 = 12/7$ $k = 12/7$ So our final answer is B, $12/7$ 4) We have a consultant with a flat (one time) fee of 30 dollars and an additional fee of 45 dollars per hour. Because the 45 dollars is hourly, it changes based on our variable (the number of hours). We do not know the number of hours she works, but we do know that her final earnings were 210 dollars. So let’s set this up as an equation. $30 + 45x = 210$ There are no like terms, so we can start isolating our variable. $30 - 30 + 45x = 210 - 30$ $45x = 180$ ${45x}/45 = 180/45$ $x = 4$ So our final answer is G, she worked 4 hours to earn 210 dollars. 5) This is a single variable problem that can be solved in one of two waysyou can either distribute first and then solve, or you can solve without the need to distribute. We’ll go through both ways here. Solve with distributing: $9(x - 9) = -11$ First, distribute your 9 across the expression $(x - 9)$ $9(x) - 9(9) = -11$ $9x - 81 = -11$ Now, isolate your variable term as usual. $9x - 81 + 81 = -11 + 81$ $9x = 70$ And finally, isolate your variable. $9x = 70$ ${9x}/9 = 70/9$ So our final answer is E, 70/9. Alternatively, you can solve this problem without the need to distribute your 9 across the expression (x - 9) Solve without distributing: $9(x - 9) = -11$ Divide each side by 9 ${9(x - 9)}/9 = -11/9$ $x - 9 = -11/9$ Now, we must add 9 to each side. $x - 9 + 9 = -11/9 + 9$ $x = -11/9 + 9$ In order to add $-11/9$ and 9, we must give them a common denominator. Again, check out the guide on fractions and ratiosif this process is unfamiliar to you. $x = -11/9 + 9/1(9/9)$ $x = -11/9 + 81/9$ $x = 70/9$ So again, our answer is E, 70/9. Phew! I think this calls for dessert. The Take-Aways Single variations make up the backbone of many other ACT problems. By knowing how to manipulate these kinds of expressions, you’ll be able to build on these techniques to solve much more complex problems and equations. Just remember to always perform the same act to each side of the equation and save isolating your variable for last. Now take your single variable knowledge and conquer the rest of our math guides. You’ve got this. What’s Next? You’ve build up your mathematical foundation and now you’re raring to take on more. Before you start in on another guide to an ACT math topic, make sure you have a good idea of all the topics covered on the ACT math. Think you might need a tutor? Check out the best ways to shop around for a tutor whosuits your needs, whether online or in person. Taken a practice test and don’t know how you match up for schools? Make sure you have a good idea of what your ideal score truly is. And if you feel like you’ve got a handle on the math itself, but struggle with the timing, then be sure to check out on our article on how to stop running out of time on the ACT. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: