Initial Assessment Essay Example for Free

Initial Assessment Essay The reasoning for using Initial Assessment in my curriculum area is because the majority of students have not completed a formal education or if having done so hold little or no qualifications. The majority of the courses start at entry level therefore no qualifications’ are require, but to offer students progression on to higher levels they need to be holding or be able to achieve a level 1 in communication and application of number. This is the minimum requirement to complete an apprenticeship programme and the vast majority wish to follow the vocational route to being a ‘qualified tradesman’. Procedures Before the day of enrolment students are fore warned at the interview stage what the awarding bodies’ requirement is to do a particular course. In the case of Construction Awards Alliance they have their own assessment criteria to try a match the suitability of the student to a particular trade. However because we deliver from entry to level 2 with three bodies to keep to the assessment process standard the college format is used( booklet produced by the learning centre, attached). Hillier. J (2005 p62) states â€Å"Great care must be used with such assessment activities. Many potential learners will feel highly by being threatened by being asked to undertake a diagnostic assessment. † In my opinion as long as students are made aware that this is not a formal test the majority do not mind taking the test, provided that the reasoning behind it is explained correctly. As a tutor it is important I remember the purpose of the test as Lambert. D and Lines. D (2000 p20) state â€Å"formative assessment is undertaken so that positive achievements of a pupil can be recognised and the appropriate next step planned†. Once all the information is collated this is entered into the course/ student profile booklet, this enables me or any other tutors to look at a particular student or group qualifications and progress as they are recorded for each achievement. Personally I think that the process works well when we complete the diagnostics on line as students can not see how others are doing. Most students feel more comfortable using this method as they do not feel as much pressure as they can wear head phones if required. The whole purpose works well because as a tutor working on entry level and to a certain degree on level 1, communication and application of number can be imbedded into the practical aspects of the course. The major weakness that I feel of the assessment process is that they are not curriculum specific; aspects of application of number are not relevant to the vocational subject. As I have experienced my self and some mature students the terminology of key words has changed until we have had them explained. When using the paper versions students that struggle to read or write often do not complete enough of the booklet, for the tutor to find the true level the students capable / working at. An important aspect that is often missed is the fact that to help students there is a requirement to have extra support in place if require for individuals. If there is no support is there a need for assessment? Yes but ensure all the support is provided and available as required in a timely manner.

The History of the Panama Canal :: American America History

The History of the Panama Canal The Panama Canal has been called the big ditch, the bridge between two continents, and the greatest shortcut in the world. When it was finally finished in 1914, the 51-mile waterway cut off over 7,900 miles of the distance between New York and San Francisco, and changed the face of the industrialized world ("Panama Canal"). This Canal is not the longest, the widest, the deepest, or the oldest canal in the world, but it is the only canal to connect two oceans, and still today is the greatest man-made waterway in the world ("Panama Canal Connects). Ferdinand de Lesseps, who played a large role in building the Suez Canal in 1869 (Jones), was the director of the Compagnie Universelle Du Canal Interoceanique de Panama ("Historical Overview"). At first De Lesseps seemed to be "the perfect choice for the Panama task." Though as time went on De Lesseps was found to be "anything but the ideal" (Dolan). As soon as de Lesseps' company took over the canal it was doomed (Jones). De Lesseps was a 74-year-old man who was stubborn, vain, and very opinionated (Considine). Because of his experience with the Suez waterway, De Lesseps thought he was smarter than all the engineers beneath his command (Dolan). De Lesseps overrode all opposition of his sea-level canal due to his very popular reputation. He was sold on the idea of a sea-level canal and would not listen to the ideas of others such as French engineer, Adolphe Godin de Lepinary. De Lepinary's idea was to create two large lakes on either side of the mountains. In order to do this they w ould have to dam the Chagres River on the Atlantic side and the Rio Grande River on the pacific side (Considine). Although as time went on more than just a poor director held back the finalization of the canal. Disease, death, and rough terrain slowed down the completion of the canal. "The Terrain at the Isthmus was something they had never experienced and had not put a serious study of it, a very grave error" ("Panama Canal Connects"). Mosquitoes were responsible for many deaths. Illnesses such as yellow fever and malaria made "many of the work forces go to the hospitals or in some cases die" ("Panama Canal"). Mosquitoes carried the diseases and when a person got bit he would give a disease to the mosquito and the mosquito would pass it on to the next victim ("Historical Overview").

Perfect competition Essay

The focus today’s lecture is the examination of how price and output is determined in a monopoly market. Pure monopoly is a single firm producing a product for which there are no close substitutes. It is important for us to understand pure monopoly since this form of economic activity accounts for a large share of output and it provides us with an insight into the more realistic market structure of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. It is characterised by: †¢ a single seller producing a product with no close substitutes. The firm and the industry are the same. The product is unique – there is no close substitute for it. You either buy the product or go without. †¢ effective barriers to entry into the market (legal, technological, economic). These barriers block new firms from entering the industry, blocking potential competition. †¢ the firm is a price maker; faces a downward sloping demand curve for its product (this demand curve is the market demand curve). The firm has considerable control over price since it controls the quantity supplied and can cause price to change by varying the amount supplied. †¢ effective barriers to entry One special type of monopoly is a natural monopoly, a monopoly that arises because of the existence of economies of scale over the entire relevant range of output and competition is impractical, e. g. , water, electricity. These industries are usually given exclusive rights by the government, with the proviso that government regulates the operations to prevent abuses of monopoly power. A larger firm will always be able to produce output at a lower cost than could a smaller firm. The pressure of competition in such an industry would result in a long-run equilibrium in which only a single firm can survive (since the largest firm can produce at a lower cost and can charge a price that is less than the ATC of smaller firms). Natural monopolies have low MC and it is to their advantage to expand output. Barriers to entry The absence of competition in an industry is due largely to barriers to entry. Barriers to entry may take different forms: 1. economies of scale: costs – efficient, low cost producers are usually large firms operating under conditions of economies of scale, where AC falls over a range of output. 2. Legal barriers: Patents and Licences – government creates legal barriers in giving patents and licences. Patents: this is the exclusive right to control a product for a number of years, protecting the inventor from rival competitors who did not spend any money and time in its development. Licences: the issuing of licences by the government limits entry into an industry. 3. ownership of critical raw materials: a firm that owns a critical raw material can block the creation of rival firms. 4. unfair competition – rivals may be eliminated and the entry blocked by aggressive, cut-throat tactics such as pressure on resource suppliers and banks to withhold materials and credit, aggressive price cutting designed to bankrupt competitors. Unfair competition is illegal or borders on illegality. Under conditions of economies of scale, large firms can produce output at a lower cost than can smaller firms. Assume that the ATC curve of all firms in the industry is ATCo; however, one firm has become larger than the others, thereby producing at a lower ATC. This larger firm can sell its output at a lower price (at P’) at which point smaller firms will experience economic losses. At Po, smaller firms would receive zero economic profit. At P’ the larger firm will receive zero economic profit, but smaller firms would receive economic losses and so leave the industry or merge with others. This situation will continue until only one large firm remains. This gives us a â€Å"natural monopoly†. A large firm can operate as a regulated monopoly in which the government regulated the prices that could be charged for product/services. [pic] A firm may acquire monopoly power by having sole ownership of a raw material. Firms can also raise the sunk costs associated with entry into an industry to help discourage entry by new firms. Sunk costs are costs that cannot be recovered upon exit from an industry – advertising expenditures. If firms know that they’d lose a large amount in the form of sunk costs, they may hesitate to enter an industry. Large sunk costs are also difficult to finance. Patents and licenses provide two types of barriers to entry that are created by the government. While patent protection is necessary to ensure that there are sufficient incentives for firms to engage in research and development expenditures, it also provides the patent holder with some degree of monopoly power. A local monopoly is a monopoly that exists in a specific geographical area. Monopoly Demand, AR, MR, TR, and elasticity The demand curve facing a monopoly firm is the market demand curve (firm is the market). Since the market demand curve is a downward sloping curve, marginal revenue will be less than the price of the good. The monopolist can increase its sales only by lowering its price. This is different from the perfectly competitive firm which faces a perfectly elastic demand curve at the market price. Recall that MR is: †¢ positive when demand is elastic, †¢ equal to zero when demand is unit elastic, and †¢ negative when demand is inelastic. We will examine the implications of a downward sloping demand curve. i) P > MR – the monopolist can only increase sales if price falls, this causes MR < P (AR) for all output except the first. The falling MR means that TR will increase at a decreasing rate. Since it must lower price to sell more, the firm’s MR lies below its demand curve. ii). Price elasticity Recall the TR test for price elasticity of demand. TR tests tells us that when demand is elastic (inelastic), a decline in price will increase (decrease) TR. A monopolist or other imperfectly competitive firm will not chose to lower price into the inelastic segment of its demand curve, this will reduce TR and increase production costs, thereby lowering profits. The relationships between demand, MR and TR curves are shown in the diagram below, TR is maximized at the level of output at which demand is unit elastic (and MR = 0). Since the objective is to maximize its profit, the firm will look at its costs and revenue in determining its output level. As long as TR is increasing, MR is positive. When TR is at its maximum, MR = 0 and when TR is decreasing, MR is negative. [pic] Note that, as in all other market structures, AR = P of the good. (AR = TR/Q = (PxQ)/Q = P. ) This means that the price given by the demand curve is the average revenue that the firm receives at each level of output. iii) Cost Data The price-quantity combination depends not only on the MR and demand data, but also on costs. Profit-maximising firms produce the level of output where MC = MR (as long as P > AVC). For the monopoly firm, MR = MC at an output level of Qo and firm will charge Po. Since Po > ATCo at this level of output, the firm receives economic profit. These monopoly profits, though, differ from those received by a perfectly competitive firm in that these profits will persist in the long run (due to the barriers to entry that characterize a monopoly industry). [pic] A monopoly firm may experience losses (see diagram below) if P < ATC. The economic losses equal to the shaded area. Since price is above AVC, it will continue operations in the short run, but will leave the industry in the long run. [pic] A monopoly firm will shut down in the short run if the price falls below AVC. [pic] It may be a widely held view that a monopolist can charge any price s/he wants, but the firm is constrained by the demand for its product. If a monopoly firm wishes to maximizes its profit, it must select the level of output at which MR = MC. An increase in the price above this level would reduce the profits received by the firm. Some misconceptions about monopoly pricing i) One common misconception is that the monopolist will charge the highest price it can get. This is not true. Monopolist may not seek higher prices since these bring in smaller than maximum profit. Total profit = TR – TC, and these depend on the quantity sold, price and unit cost. ii) The monopolist is more concerned with maximum total profit, not maximum unit profits. He accepts a lower than maximum per unit profit since additional sales will more than make up for the lower unit profits, e. g., willing to sell 5 units at a profit of $30 per unit (total profit = $150) than 4 units at a profit of $70 (total profit = $140). Economic effects of monopoly It will be profitable for the monopolist to sell a smaller quantity and charge a higher price than would a competitive producer. The profit maximizing output will result in an under allocation of resources since the restricted output uses fewer resources. Given the same costs, a monopolist will find it profitable to charge a higher price, produce a smaller output and mis-allocate resources compared with a perfectly competitive industry. X-efficiency: occurs when a firm’s actual costs of producing any output are greaterthan the minimum possible costs. Price discrimination and dumping Firms operating in markets other than those of perfect competition are able to increase their profits by engaging in price discrimination, where higher prices are charged to those customers who have the most inelastic demand for the product. It takes place when a given product is sold at more than one price and these price differences are not justified by cost differences. Necessary conditions for price discrimination include: i) Monopoly power: the firm control output and price (not be a price taker); ii) separation of buyers – the firm must be able to sort customers according the their elasticity of demand or willingness to pay for the product, and iii) no reselling – resale of the product must not be feasible – cannot buy low and sell high.. The diagram below illustrates how price discrimination may be used in the market for airline travel. Vacation travelers are likely to have a more elastic demand than business travelers. The optimal price is higher for business travelers than for vacation travelers. Airlines engage in price discrimination by offering low price â€Å"super saver† fares that require a weekend stay and tickets to be purchased 2-4 weeks in advance. These conditions are much more likely to be satisfied by individuals traveling for vacation purposes. This helps to ensure that the customers with the most elastic demand pay the lowest price for this commodity. [pic] Other examples of price discrimination include daytime and evening telephone rates, child and senior citizen discounts at restaurants and movie theaters, and cents-off coupon in Sunday newspapers. When countries practice price discrimination by charging different prices in different countries, they are often accused of dumping in the low-price countries. Predatory dumping occurs if a country charges a low price initially in an attempt to drive out domestic competitors and then raises the price once the domestic industry is destroyed. Consequences of discrimination The monopolist will be able to increase profits by engaging in discriminatory price practices. Monopolist will produce a larger output than a non-discriminating monopolist. Comparison of perfect competition and monopoly The diagrams below show a perfectly competitive market and the loss in consumer and producer surplus that results when a perfectly competitive industry is replaced by a monopoly. The introduction of a monopoly firm causes the price to rise from P(pc) to P(m), while the quantity of output falls from Q(pc) to Q(m). The higher price and reduced quantity in the monopoly industry causes consumer surplus to fall by the trapezoidal area ACBP(pc). This does not all represent a cost to society, though, since the rectangle P(m)CEP(pc) is transferred to the monopolist as additional producer surplus. The net cost to society is equal to the blue shaded triangle CBF. This net cost of a monopoly is called deadweight loss. It is a measure of the loss of consumer and producer surplus that results from the lower level of production that occurs in a monopoly industry. [pic] Some economists argue that the threat of potential competition may encourage monopoly firms to produce more output at a lower price than the model presented above suggests. This argument suggests that the deadweight loss from a monopoly is smaller when barriers to entry are less effective. Fear of government intervention (in the form of price regulation or antitrust action) may also keep prices lower in a monopoly industry than would otherwise be expected. A related point is that it is unreasonable to compare outcomes in a perfectly competitive market with outcomes in monopoly market that results from economies of scale. While competitive firms may produce more output than a monopoly firm with the same cost curves, a large monopoly firm produces output at a lower cost than could smaller firms when economies of scale are present. This reduces the amount of deadweight loss that might be expected to occur as a result of the existence of a monopoly. On the other hand, deadweight loss may understate the cost of monopoly as a result of either X-inefficiency or rent-seeking behavior on the part of monopolies. X-inefficiency occurs if monopolies have less incentive to produce output in a least-cost manner since they are not threatened with competitive pressures. Rent-seeking behavior occurs when firms expend resources to acquire monopoly power by hiring lawyers, lobbyists, etc. in an attempt to receive governmentally granted monopoly power. These rent-seeking activities do not benefit society as a whole and divert resources away from productive activity. Regulation of natural monopoly A monopoly firm can produce at a lower cost per unit of output than could any smaller firms in a natural monopoly industry. In this case, the government generally regulates the price that a monopoly firm can charge. The diagram below illustrates alternative regulatory strategies in such an industry. If the government leaves the monopolist alone, it will maximize its profits by producing Q(m) units of output and charging a price of P(m). Suppose, instead, though, that the government attempts to emulate a perfectly competitive market by setting the price equal to marginal cost. This would occur at a price of P(mc) and a quantity of output of Q(mc). Since this is a natural monopoly, though, the average cost curve declines over the relevant range of output. If average costs are declining, marginal costs must be less than average costs (this relationship between marginal and average costs was discussed in detail in Chapter 9). Thus, if the price equals marginal costs, the price will be less than average total costs and the monopoly firm will experience economic losses. This pricing strategy could only exist in the long run if the government subsidized the production of this good. [pic] An alternative pricing strategy is to ensure that the owners of the monopoly receive only a â€Å"fair rate of return† on their investment rather than monopoly profits. This would occur if the price were set at P(f). At this price, it would be optimal for the firm to produce Q(f) units of output. As long as the owners receive a fair rate of return, there would be no incentive for this firm to leave the industry. Roughly speaking, this is the pricing strategy that regulators use in establishing prices for utilities, cable services, and the prices of other services produced in regulated monopoly markets.

The Great Expectations By Charles Dickens - 794 Words

Softball is a difficult sport to play. While playing the game, players must follow the rules. Some rules can change, kind of like people. It is up to that person to make a positive or negative change. In the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, many of the characters change dramatically. If Miss Havisham was still alive in this novel, she would make positive changes for herself, Estella, and Pip. First, Miss Havisham would learn to express her feelings. She realizes days before her death that she made a mistake refusing to love. She exclaims her remorse to Pip. â€Å"‘What have I done! What have I done!’ She wrung her hands and crushed her white hair, and returned to this cry over and over again. ‘What have I done! Until you spoke to her the other day, and until I saw in you a looking glass that showed me what I once felt myself, I did not know what I had done. What have I done! What have I done!’† (Dickens 173). Miss Havisham feels guilty for making Pip feel the heartbreak she once felt herself. If she were still alive, she would leave her heartbreak in the past. Miss Havisham realizes far too late that she wasted her life. An example of this is when she begs Pip for forgiveness. If she were still alive, she would encourage herself to correct her wrongdoings. She would take off her wedding dress, fix her clocks, and move on to live a happy life outside of her lair. If Miss Havisham had the chance to change herself, she would allow herself to love again. Next, MissShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like the story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Estella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1347 Words   |  6 Pagespoor status of the economy, social mobility does not seem to be occurring at high rates, with the poor getting poorer and rich getting richer. Despite this, social mobility is alive and well, and has been for centuries. In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens voices the concerns of many that lived in Victorian England during the 19th century by promoting such a desire to live life in a more prosperous social class. One of the most fundamental and reoccurring themes in the novel is that ofRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve-year-old Charles dickens gets ready for bed after a long day at the blacking house. These Victorian-aged memories will provide him with many ideas for his highly acclaimed novel Great Expectations. Set in 1830 England, Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story about a common innocent boy named Pip and his road to becoming a gentleman through the influence of others. Pip is influenced both positively and negatively by Estella, Herbert, and Magwitch. Estella left a huge impression on PipRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens984 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringingRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations943 Words   |  4 Pages This is true in many cases but none as much as in Great Expectations. In many ways the narrator/protagonist Pip is Charles Dickens in body and mind. While there are many differences between the story and Charles Dickens life there remains one constant. This constant is the way Pip as the narra tor feels, because these feelings are Dickens s own feelings about the life he lead. Since Great Expectations was written towards end of Charles Dickens life, he was wiser and able to make out the mistakesRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. Both of these texts consider the criticisms of rich social contexts (wealth and status), societal morality (whether a society is good or not. Status [can lead to the wrong people being in a high position i.e. making bad decisions affecting the community/society] Appearance [society appears to be moral/good (if you’re from a higher status) {dickens criticisesRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1223 Words   |  5 PagesBeloved author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. Growing up in a life of poverty, his childhood hardshi ps provided the inspiration to write a myriad of classic novels including his 1861 seminole masterpiece, Great Expectations (â€Å"BBC History - Charles Dickens†). Great Expectations follows the life of an orphan named Pip, who’s perspective of the world is altered when he is attacked by an escaped convict in his parents’ graveyard in the town of Kent. Throughout hisRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens924 Words   |  4 Pagesa character driven novel, or a mix of the two. In order for a novel to be character driven, it must revolve more around the characters’ individual thoughts, feelings, and inner struggles, rather than around the quest of the story. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a character driven novel. While the story does have a plot, it is not contingent upon that plot, but rather is reliant upon its characters and their natures. This is evident from the beginning of the novel. From the opening ofRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1669 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens He was one of England s greatest authors of the 1800 s, better known as the Victorian era. The various themes and ideas of that time are perfectly showcased in his many novels and short stories, such as Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Much of the inspiration for these works came from the trials and conflicts that he dealt with in his own life. His volumes of fictional writing show the greatRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went through