The Role of Computers in Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Role of Computers in Childhood - Essay Example The conceivable negative effects of PC on every segment talked about additionally have been expressed. A general suggestion for the improvement of the effect of PC on each factor has likewise been included. The paper has been closed by expressing the means required in further exploration in the field and it additionally advances the proposals so as the amplify the helps of PCs on youth while limiting the banes. Each domain of consistently routine are progressively getting influenced by the advancements of PC innovation. The cooperation between the man and the machine, the job of mechanized orders in encouraging and controlling the expert and individual schedules of the day, all has since most recent couple of decades went to be an inescapable reality. Leave it alone the field of training, science or correspondence, PCs is turning into an indispensable factor in encouraging the effectiveness of way to deal with any utility. The large scale and miniaturized scale level of utilities of PCs and its applications has in a more extensive level made life simpler. The value and spontaneous creation in the entrance to information as gave by the utilization of PCs have made a significant number of the chances of the cutting edge world progressively amiable. Trade, Banking, Politics, Media, Industry, Education and the rundown of encouraged fields on the planet by the consistently ad libbing advancement including PCs and its applications are conceived to increment in the days to come. The job of PCs and related innovation on today’s youngsters and adolescence has had fascinating advancements with regards to the ongoing years. The parental society of today while imagining the amusing effect that PCs will have over the world later on, are empowering the entrance of the offspring of today to PCs and its various applications. The general public in that setting is of the general view that for kids to include in this new and diverse world socially, financially, and politically they should get a

The Mosque Essay Example

The Mosque Essay The mosque is the Muslim spot of love, which in Arabic is refered to as the Masjid this implies spot of surrender since Muslims bow low to God while supplicating. Mosques can be set up anyplace you place a supplication tangle and stoop down to prostrate yourself and appeal to Allah. It doesn't really should be a structure yet it is important to go to a mosque during celebration times as it encourages the Muslim people group to consolidate and turn out to be nearer. Another unmistakable component of a mosque is the Islamic image of the moon and star. This speaks to how the light of the moon and stars manage men through the desert, which interfaces in with the possibility that, the moon and stars direct Muslims through life. Male Muslims will supplication five times each day in the mosque, female Muslims don't have to go to the mosque to petition as much as it is viewed as their obligation to hold and keep the house together so they frequently ask at home. The Friday petition in the mosque, called the jumah is the most significant. Every single MALE Muslim in the zone will attempt to consolidate for that petition. It shows Muslims joining themselves all through the world. We will compose a custom article test on The Mosque explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now We will compose a custom exposition test on The Mosque explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer We will compose a custom exposition test on The Mosque explicitly for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Recruit Writer Most mosques have at least one thin towers called minarets. In Arab towns, a man would remain on the overhang at the top confronting Mecca and call to different Muslims to supplication. He is known as a Muezzin however these days in Arab towns, a chronicle or an amplifier will be utilized. Most mosques have an arch outwardly which is significant in more sweltering nations since it permits the air to stream around the structure all the more without any problem. Be that as it may, its primary reason in this nation is to make the voice stronger when somebody is talking and it likewise turns into a particular component of the mosque. To Muslims the state of the arch speaks to God and the unending length of time of life. It likewise shows the essentialness of Allah contrasted with the size of us as it speaks to Allah maker of the universe looking down on us. In the mosque that we visited there was no vault or minaret since it was a changed over lodging this additionally implies the call to supplication (adhan) was made inside the mosque and was noisy enough to be heard regardless of where you were in the mosque. Each Mosque must have some place for Muslims to wash themselves before going to supplicate. Huge mosques maybe in different nations may have a huge outside pool or drinking fountain. Be that as it may, in this nation and in the littler mosques there will in general be little restroom offices and now and again there is a cloakroom. Muslims should consistently have some place to put their shoes since they need to take them off before entering the mosque to stop soil and residue entering the heavenly structure. On our visit to Bournemouth mosque we saw that there was a little space to put your shoes and coat pegs to put any possessions on before entering the mosque. In the mosque there were two separate wudu zones, one for the lady and one for the men. Every Muslim must play out the ceremonial washings before asking with the goal that they are perfect when they are appealing to Allah. The noteworthiness of them being perfect outwardly represents them being spotless within as they have the correct aim or niyyah to appeal to Allah Below are a portion of the ceremonial washings all Muslims must perform: Inside the mosque it is extremely uncovered, there are no seats (aside from clinical reasons when the individual will sit on a little stool and play out the supplication developments intellectually instead of truly) and individuals either implore on their own mats or on the rug gave. It doesn't really make a difference if all the supplication developments are immaculate in light of the fact that it is the expectation (niyyah) to petition that matters. Muslims will commit their time and spotlight totally on Allah, which is the expectation of supplication. Muslims have nothing to divert them from their petition yet at Bournemouth Mosque there were two Medallions which helped Muslims to concentrate on their supplication. The emblems advise them that there is no God yet Allah and that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah . Just as custom mutual supplication Muslims likewise play out an individual petition which is known as the dua and can be presented previously or after the custom public supplication. Muhammad had halted individuals going to symbols since he was anxious about the possibility that that individuals may return to venerate them. This is called excessive admiration or Shirk in Islam and is the best sin to all Muslims as they accept that Allah can pardon all transgressions aside from evade. This is the reason there are no works of art or sculptures in the mosque. Muslims are not permitted to draw creatures or individuals since they accept that no one but God can make them. Mosque dividers might be enlivened with designs some are mosacis others are words written in calligraphy, which are normally entries taken from the Quran. This applied to Bournemouth Mosque, as there was an embroided calligraphy design that was produced using genuine gold thread(probably to speak to the importance and estimation of the composition) and was taken from the entryway of the Kabah. This particular bit of woven artwork is called Kiswah and is hallowed to Muslims it additionally contained the initial hardly any entries from the Quran and it contained a portion of the 99 names of Allah. It is additionally arranged in the sacred city of Mecca where no non-Muslims are permitted particularly in Ramadan. Just as this there were numerous photos of the sacred mosque in Median which is Known as the Prophets Mosque and has an incredible incentive to Muslims as it was the place the seal of the prophets Muhammad (pbuh) was conceived, lived and passed on (in Medina). In certain Mosques there are geometric compositions or structures on the dividers they are huge to Muslims as the examples inside them have noteworthy implications. The examples depend on a circle which speaks to the unfathomable length of time of Allah on the grounds that the examples nd circles will go on for all eternity. The supplication lobby is the most significant piece of the mosque and there isn't normally a lot to see separated from a great deal of room that is basic for huge quantities of Muslims to come and play out their petitions with all the developments. The supplication corridor can likewise be utilized for some, other various purposes like burial service administrations and a coumintey focus yet it is never utilized for weddings even at the back events when the wedding happens in the mosque. At the point when Muslims set out their mats to petition they lay them down with the goal that they point towards Kaba in Mecca. Every one of the petition development has a critical significance and all are a significant business as usual. The following are the grouping of the developments and the importance which Muslims must perform when the supplicate. The bearing wherein they face is known as the qiblah and they generally realize where to look as there is a recess on the divider which is known as the Mihrab. The Mirhab doesnt simply point to Mecca however it likewise assists with making the imams voice who drives the petition stronger. He will as a rule face it with his back towards the remainder of the Muslims who are adoring Allah Likewise in the mosque there is the mimbar which is a lot of three steps to raise the individual who is lecturing by then which is typically the imam. The mimbar is possibly utilized when the imam is lecturing at the jumah. Notwithstanding the primary highlights of the mosque there is likewise a cause enclose which Muslims can give any measure of cash to the mosque. They don't need to give cash constantly yet at any rate once every year, as giving 2. 5% of your yearly compensation to good cause is one of the 5 mainstays of Islam that all Muslims must attempt to finish. The Islamic word for the foundation box is Zakah and it implies precisely what it says. By and large the supplication lobby is presumably the most significant piece of the mosque. Notwithstanding this there is the network room which is utilized for mingling and becoming more acquainted with one another and a homeroom to instruct the youthful Muslims so they can show them the correct what to follow there religion and so forth. In the network room there is likewise a duplicate of the Quran which is the immediate expression of Allah and the hadith which contains the lessons and instances of Muhammad these are the two Islamic blessed books. numerous mosques these books will be kept on the most elevated rack however it isn't basic. Anyway it is basic to clean yourself before getting the book and it must be treated with a great deal of regard so nothing ought to ever be put on it. The Mosque is typically set out something like the accompanying: On the in that spot is the mimbar it has thre e stages and the Iman will remain on the second. The primary explanation behind this is it is a convention which Muslims like to follow In this image there are two mouthpieces at various statures, one for standing petition positions and one for the e low supplication positions which in Islam are called Salah. At long last in the Mosque there is a supplication clock to demonstrate what times the petitions are done as it they change during the time as indicated by the sightings of the moon and the hours of day break and sunset. Most mosques will have a load up yet in Bournemouth mosque they had gotten a computerized clock request to make it simpler and increasingly reasonable when perusing and changing the occasions.

CEAs Guide to the 2016-17 Common Application

CEAs Guide to the 2016-17 Common Application CEAs Guide To The 2016-17 Common Application CEAs Guide To The 2016-17 Common Application We know it sounds crazy, but the Common Application release date is our favorite day of the year. It’s the day we finally get to see what the application process will look like for most of our students. It’s the day we discover what the Common App has deemed important in the realm of college application features. Its the day when students can no longer say “It’s too early to start my admissions essay.” (Not that it ever was.) The 2016-17 Common Application launch has finally come. You can’t escape it. Mwahahahaha. Our love of evil laughs aside, and in all seriousness, we love this day because it is a day on which we consistently conclude that the admissions process will be manageable for each year’s crop of applicants. Sure, there will be glitches here and there, but so many tools  are available to help students tackle the process. And luckily for students around the globe, the Common App seems to have put a marked effort into making some of these resources  even more useful for the 2016-17 application season. The organization’s website and platform have both gotten a bit of facelift this year, aiming not only to provide students with a streamlined outlet for reaching hundreds of colleges around the country, but also for educating students and parents on the application process, college options and even financial aid. Let’s get down to the things you really need to know as you dive into the college application process. What’s New…   On the Common App Website: Educational Resources: It’s clear (at least to us) that this year’s Common App aims to be more than just a vessel for the submission of apps en masse. The platform has graduated to incorporate a suite of robust educational resources, from a Plan Ahead section that details steps in the application process from grades 9 through 12 to an Explore Colleges feature that allows students to search colleges by location, review a school’s basic stats and application requirements and link directly to a school’s application within the platform. There is even an Application Dictionary for those who need the terms “Restrictive Early Action” and “FERPA” decoded. Don’t forget to check out the section aimed specifically at parents! Virtual Counseling: An entire section of the Common App website is now devoted to providing online guidance for students. Take advantage of the application-related tips, delivered via articles and video from a wide variety of high school counselors, admissions officers and application specialists. (And then visit our YouTube channel for more specific advice on how to tackle the essay, obvs.) Within the Application: Extensive Customer Support: The Common App has been criticized in the past for its slow responses to technical issues and their inability to provide quick and personal feedback. The new platform seems to have addressed these complaints with the Applicant Solutions Center, accessible via the Instructions and Help button towards the top right of your application home screen. Some incredibly useful resources can be found in this section including: Known Issues and Progress Updates: This section allows you to instantly submit an issue report as well as read about other problems you might encounter, along with the recommended temporary solutions. Training Resources and Timely Tips: These portals offer a library of simple instructional videos to answer your questions about the online application process. Live Common App Member Schools: A pair of alphabetical school lists allows an applicant to see which participating institutions have already made their apps available â€" and which ones we’re still waiting on â€" at a glance. (So you won’t spend time searching for supplements in vain!) Integrated Video Tutorials: They’re easy to overlook at first, but once you know to zone on on in the top right corner of each section of your Common Application tab for these video guides, you will have easy access to some of the FAQ’s about the process of filling in your basic required info. New College Search Filters: For the first time, using the College Search feature, students can screen for criteria like standardized testing policies (never required, always required, flexible) and college-specific essay requirements (or lack thereof). We here at CEA clearly don’t support dropping colleges from your list simply because they require the writing of essays; in fact, we recommend you submit your personal statement even if it is only optional, as any chance to speak to admissions in your own voice is one you want to take advantage of. Still, it is incredibly helpful for applicants to be able to see things like which schools require application fees, and get an idea of how large their supplemental essay load might look before solidifying a final target school list. Scholarship Info: It’s better than info, actually. The Common App linked up with Scholar Snapp, a technology that helps connect students with scholarships and seems to function similarly to the Common App in its streamlined submission functionality. Since this is such a new feature, our students will need to experiment with it before we give our final verdict, but we love that the Common App is making the process of finding and applying to scholarships easier for students. Individual school applications (like Vanderbilt’s!) also contain links to their school-specific scholarship opportunities, so keep your eyes open for those as well! The Additional Info Essay: Finally, the Additional Info section gets some time in the sun. Not many applicants know about this section â€" most breeze through the process without ever having expanded this lonely little bar in the Common App’s Writing tab. This year, however, the Common App draws attention to this glorious text box, both in the Writing Tutorial and the Activities Tutorial, suggesting students use this additional 650 word space to detail anything important that might not fit within the confines of the activity section. This is yet another amazing tool an applicant can use to set him/herself apart from other students â€" if, of course you have something truly valuable to add in that space. Downloaded Status aka OMG, you can see when admissions has looked at your app!!: In the bottom right corner of your app platform home screen, so discreetly placed you probably missed it, there is an expandable description labeled “Downloaded Status.” Apparently students will be able to see when a school has downloaded and printed an application for review. Really though: Has life ever been so exciting?!!! (Not for us, but we’re clearly nerds.) While we don’t recommend you spend every day from November to December or January through May refreshing your submission page until you see that status change just so you can “squee” and victory jump in the air when it happens, we wouldn’t blame you if you did. With all of these welcome changes What stayed the same? The General Format: Students who have been experimenting with last year’s application will be happy to know that transition from the 2015-16 Common App platform to the 2016-17 app was relatively seamless â€" at least for us. For those of you who have been tinkering with the 2015-16 Common Application in preparation for this day, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the general organization of the platform will be easily recognizable. Things are basically where you left them. And the functionality should feel familiar as well, with some helpful additions, mostly informational. Word Counts: Just like last year, the Activity section gives students the opportunity to list 10 of their most important activities, allowing 50 characters for the entry of each “Position/Leadership description and organization name” and 150 characters for describing each activity and any related accomplishments. This is not a ton of space, but if you have been working within last year’s platform, it’s likely what you have been expecting. The Common App personal essay word count has also remained the same, asking students to bear their souls to admissions in 250-650 words. Supplemental Essays: Just like last year, the supplemental essay situation is a bit of a free-for-all, and we mean this in a couple different ways. First of all, as we have seen consistently over the past few years, schools continue to pile on the supplements. Colleges want to hear from students in their own voices and as general proponents of the written word we understand why this is a valuable assessment tool for an admissions officer. Unfortunately, finding these supplements in the Common App is not always the most intuitive process. Cornell’s writing supplement only appears after a student fills in his/her academic details, which may wrongly lead a student to believe that there is no 650 word (max) supplement for this school in their future â€" and there is. Cornell also couches its opportunity to submit an extended (uploadable) activity resume in its own Activity section. Vanderbilt offers the same activity resume option in its school-specific Activity section, along with a ( somewhat unexpected for the uninitiated) 150-400 word activity essay assignment. The problem continues to be both that the supplements are stored in non-obvious places and that their location varies from school-to-school. Still, given the other improvements to the platform, we’re willing to give the CA a pass on this one, with the caveat that all students should be meticulous in their search for supplements, and prepare to be surprised by at least one or two lurkers when you think you’ve caught ‘em all. The Personal Statement: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, at least as far as were concerned, the Common App’s essay prompts (and general structure and functionality) remain the same. The prompts are not a surprise, as the Common App mercifully announced their plan to reissue last year’s questions back in March. Still, it’s comforting to see these old friends nestled neatly in the app, as they’re questions students responded to with feeling, conviction and quite a bit of introspection last year. We are also happy to say that we have a guide to the 2016-17 Common App Essay Prompts all ready and waiting for you. With today’s app launch, we can also confirm that the text box function and formatting are also consistent with last year’s setup, restricting applicants to the most basic stylistic applications (bold, italic and underline) and allowing them to expand the text box for easier typing and Preview the essay during the drafting phase. That’s pretty much it! At least for now. We’re sure more secrets will be revealed and more tricks and tips will be uncovered as the application season unfolds, so sign up for our newsletter in the footer below, or follow us on social media (see the sidebar!) to stay up-to-date. In the meantime, you might be asking: “What do I do now?” Might we suggest you start with the essay? It is the perfect time to identify  that magic topic and get a solid draft on the page. Do it before before the homework piles up and soccer practice kicks in. Don’t let this nice summer jump start pass you by. And if all of this information has you on overload and you don’t know where to start, try watching the first chapter of College Essay Academy to wrap your head around what makes for a winning admissions essay. It’s FREE! (And it’s fun.) Or contact us. We can help! No matter what, enjoy the rest of your (productive!) summer and good luck! *Correction: In a former version of this article we indicated that the College Board was responsible for the Common App, which is not the case. Excited to get started? Check out our top tips for writing a winning Common App essay. Check out our guide to the 2017-18 Common App prompts! Prefer to consume your advice Netflix-style? Binge watch our awesome, on-demand video Academy. Remember, the Common App isnt alone this year. Don’t forget to check out our guide to the brand new Coalition App! About Stacey BrookStacey Brook is an accomplished writer and admissions expert who has spent the last decade helping students conceptualize, edit and refine their college essays.View all posts by Stacey Brook » | Website

How Should One Face Death Be Controlled By Humans

According to Epictetus, how should one face death – both one’s own death and the death of people close to you? Compare and contrast this attitude with the attitude of another figure we have studied in the course (e.g., Hector, Achilles, Antigone, Socrates). Do you accept either of these attitudes? Why In his handbook, Epictetus asserts that the gods created a perfectly just universe. Humans must align their beliefs with the wills of the gods and acquiesce to whatever happens in the world. In order to live a life of equanimity, Epictetus believes that people must understand that life is a fragile and temporary gift from the gods and that death must be recognized as inevitable. In the Iliad, Hector and Achilles’ attitudes to death†¦show more content†¦Epictetus affirms that people must trust the gods’ judgment in establishing a well and just universe. People must understand that death, like the rest of the universe’s events, is a deliberate element of the gods’ world. Therefore, people â€Å"should want [events] to happen as they do happen, and [their] life will go well† (Epictetus, 13). When people shape their perception of death in accordance with the gods’ wills, they are able to maintain equanimity. On the other hand, Epictet us argues, â€Å"If [people] are averse to illness or death or poverty, [they] will meet misfortune. So [people must] detach [their] aversion from everything not up to [them] (Epictetus, 12). People must not dwell on uncontrollable courses of events, like death, because it places their wills in opposition to the will of the gods, resulting in suffering. However, when people accept that death is an intentional aspect of the gods’ immaculate set up of the universe, they bring their wills in agreement with the gods’ wills and may live with composure. In addition, Epictetus argues that people must remember that human life in the gods’ well and just universe is a transitory gift from the gods, which justifies its preordained revocation—death. In other words, as long as life is given to humans by the gods, people must â€Å"take care of it as something that is not [their] own, just as

School Gossip Can Destroy Teachers and Staff Members

A teacher conducts an activity to show her class just how silly gossip can be. She whispers something to a student and then that student whispers it to the next until it had been passed to every student in class. What started as, We are going to have a long three day weekend starting tomorrow ended up as, We will be lucky if three of you arent killed this weekend. The teacher uses this activity to teach her students why you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. She also discusses why it is essential to stop gossip instead of helping to spread it.​ The lesson above is sadly not limited to the students in the school. Gossip runs rampant in just about any workplace. Schools should be a safe haven where this is not a significant problem. The faculty and staff within a school should never start, participate in, or promote gossip. However, the truth is that all too often schools are the focal point of gossip in the community. The teacher’s lounge or the teacher’s table in the cafeteria is often the center of where this gossip occurs. It is mind-boggling as to why people need to talk about what is going on with other people. Teachers should always practice what they preach. Particularly those who have seen the negative impact gossip has had on their students. The truth is that the effect of gossip can be the same or worse as an adult. When Empathy Proves Elusive As a teacher, you have so much going on in your own classroom and life that it can be difficult to truly understand that there is just as much or more going on in every other classroom and co-workers lives. Empathy sometimes proves elusive when it should be commonplace. Gossip is frustrating because it builds walls between teachers and staff members that need to be working together. Instead, they feud because someone said something about the other to someone else. The entire idea of gossip among a school faculty and staff is disheartening. Gossip can split a schools faculty and staff in half and in the end, the people who are hurt the worst will be your student body As a school leader, it is your job to discourage gossip among the adults in your building.  Teaching is difficult enough without worrying about what others are saying.   Teachers should have each other’s back, not talk behind each other’s back. Gossip creates a large part of your discipline issues with students, and it will create even larger problems within your faculty and staff if it is not dealt with quickly. The key to minimizing the gossip issues among your faculty/staff is to educate them on the topic. Being proactive will go a long way in keeping gossip issues to a minimum. Have regular conversations with your faculty and staff members discussing the bigger picture about the damage that gossip can cause. Furthermore, implement strategic team build activities that bring them together and naturally forge solid relationships. When it comes to gossip, make sure they know what your expectations are and how you will deal with it when it becomes an issue. How to Proactively Defeat Conflict It is also not realistic to have a faculty and staff where there is never any conflict. A policy or set of guidelines must be in place when this happens that leads towards resolution between the two parties instead of division. Encourage your faculty and staff members to bring these issues to you and then act as a mediator between the two parties. Having them sit down together and talk out their issues will help. It may not be effective in every case, but it will peacefully solve the majority of conflict issues that you have with your faculty and staff. It is better to take this approach than to have them gossiping about it with other members of the faculty and staff which can lead to bigger issues down the line.

Special Education Free Essays

Special Education Free Essays From the first day a child is born, parents are there to nurture their child, to support them as they grow and develop. There is a lot to learn about raising a child under normal circumstances, but when a child has special needs parents must learn this whole new language of medical and special education terms (Overton, 2005). Parents enter this new world where navigating for the best interest of their child is riddled with challenges and obstacles that they need to somehow overcome. We will write a custom essay sample on Special Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is especially true when parents are dealing with the special education program in their child’s school. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires parental involvement in the education of children with disabilities (Smith, Hilton, Murdick, ump; Gartin, 2005). The IDEA also guarantees civil rights to children with disabilities and encourages parents to act as an advocate for their child. This seems like it would encourage school professionals and parents to work close together in obtaining the best services needed for the child. Unfortunately it often leads to a struggle in balanc†¦ http://www. 123helpme. com/family-collaboration-in-special-education-preview. asp? d=206428 One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.. , 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarde d population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless to a child with mental retardation. Schooling for the disabled requires a special environment—one that only a few teachers have the gift to care for. Instead of looking out for the child’s needs, the government is focused on passing test grades and social skills. Mentally retarded children require a highly trained special education teacher, patience for behavioral issues, and are also required to pass standardized tests; public education for these students move at a faster pace than they can comprehend and lack the personal focus that †¦ http://www. 123helpme. com/special-needs-education-preview. asp? d=206359 Special education essays have become common in recent years because of the need to address this issue in modern days. As a result, students especially those studying special education are oftentimes required to write special education essays by their tutors. As a result, it is essential for students to develop competitive writing skills. When asked to write a special education essay, students n eed to have factual information in order to have a coherent flow of information. This flow is crucial in helping the reader to understand the essay with a lot of ease. Above all, it is necessary to define special education, the people who need it, and why they need it. Special Education Education is very important in any society. For this reason, some people have gone ahead to describe education as the source of knowledge. In other worlds, one cannot be knowledgeable when he or she does not have education. Importantly, various groups require different forms of education. For instance, the society is made up of people with various needs, like the sick, elderly, children or even disabled ones. In this regard, special education essays must address the fact that special education is designed for students with special needs in the society. In most cases, this education is tailored in manner that addresses the needs of the students. In order to achieve this, teachers are tasked with drafting of teaching procedures and equipment to enhance the learning process. Together with accessible settings, these conditions are necessary to enhance the learning process and ensure that students with special needs are not denied chance gain knowledge and sharpen their skills. In other words, special education eliminates barriers, which exist when a student with special needs is admitted and exposed to a normal classroom setting without any special consideration. What are these special needs, which qualify a student to be considered for special education? Firstly, students with challenges in learning have to be considered. In a normal class, there could students who find it hard to learn because of some reasons. Such students need specialized attention so that they are not disadvantaged in the learning process. When writing special education essays, it is also important to address the issue of communication challenges. These challenges occurs because of poor proficiency in the language being used, thus causing a communication barrier. The commonest factor is physical disabilities. Students with disabilities require specialized education for them to gain knowledge and become productive in the society. These disabilities may include hearing and sight problems. They may also have deformed limbs, as a result of natural birth or accidents. Additionally, students with emotional, behavioral, and developmental disorders require special education. Are you looking for competitive essay writing help? Are you in need of essay writers online? Do you want to buy research papers? We have excellent homework help to meet your needs. Our custom essays focus on your instructions. We provide you with high quality online homework help and best essay writing service to guarantee you A+ grades. http://www. stellacostello. net/special-education-essay/ One of the largest controversies faced by schools today is the mandated implementation of inclusion of students with special needs into general education classrooms. Many administrators, teachers, and parents question the possible academic effects of students with special needs being placed into general education classrooms and being held accountable for the material taught. _______ Rather than segregating students based on their differences, inclusion recognizes that all students are learners who benefit from a meaningful, challenging, and appropriate curriculum delivered within the general education classroom, as well as from differentiated instruction techniques that address each students’ unique strengths and challenges. Inclusion seeks to provide all students with fairness rather than sameness by establishing supportive, and nurturing communities that are based on giving all students the services and accommodations they need to succeed, as well as respecting and learning from each other’s individual differences (CITE TEXT). While inclusion has focused on individuals with disabilities, it is designed to the educational system so that it is more able to accommodate and respond to the diverse strengths, challenges, and experiences of all students. Inclusion programs also provide all students with access to a challenging, engaging, and flexible curriculum that helps them be successful in society. To achieve this, educators establish individualized expectations for all students that are based on the general education curriculum, and offer differentiated teaching practices to accommodate students’ individual differences and to help all students succeed. Inclusion of special education students into general classrooms is How to cite Special Education, Papers Special Education Free Essays Early childhood education is traditionally defined as any education-taking place before the primary grades of first through third grades in elementary school. It encompasses all education from birth to first grade, but usually the term is used to refer to the more formalized nursery or preschool environments and kindergartens. These classroom environments have different emphases from developmental to academic. We will write a custom essay sample on Special Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now The most appropriate type of educational structure for children this age focuses on their individual level of development and their individual interests; therefore, most academic classrooms are inappropriate because of their emphasis on seatwork and teacher directed learning. The best available curriculum for teachers of this age group is found in a book called The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood, by Diane Trister Dodge and Laura J. Colker. The Creative Curriculum is a comprehensive, child development-based curriculum that allows teachers to set-up an effective learning environment for preschool and kindergarten classrooms.It is based on child development theories, it is easy to use, practical and flexible in its approach to teaching, and allows each child to proceed on the path of learning at the child’s own pace. Jean Piaget was a pioneer in the field of early childhood education. The legacy of Jean Piaget to the world of early childhood education is that he fundamentally altered the view of how a child learns. In addition, a teacher, he believed, was more than a transmitter of knowledge she was also an essential observer and guide to helping children build their own knowledge.As a university graduate, Swiss-born Piaget got a routine job in Paris standardizing Binet-Simon IQ tests, where the emphasis was on children getting the right answers. Piaget observed that many children of the same ages gave the same ki nds of incorrect answers. What could be learned from this? Piaget interviewed many hundreds of children and concluded that children who are allowed to make mistakes often go on to discover their errors and correct them, or fined new solutions. In this process, children build their own way of learning.From children’s errors, teachers can obtain insights into the child’s view of the world and can tell where guidance is needed. They can provide appropriate materials, ask encouraging questions, and allow the child to construct his own knowledge. Piaget’s continued interactions with young children became part of his life-long research. After reading about a child who thought that the sun and moon followed him wherever he went, Piaget wanted to find out if all young children had a similar belief. He found that many did indeed believe this. Piaget went on to explore children’s countless â€Å"why† questions, such as, â€Å"Why is the sun round? , or â€Å"Why is grass green? † He concluded that children do not think like adults. Their thought processes have their own distinct order and special logic. Children are not â€Å"empty vessels to be filled with knowledge† (as traditional pedagogical theory had it). They are â€Å"active builders of knowledge-little scientists who construct their own theories of the world. An old Chinese proverb states: Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand. In three short statements, this proverb represents my outlook on education. Over-all my philosophy could be ? escribed as eclectic; nonetheless, the main emphasis I plan to make stems from progressivism. I also plan to incorporate behaviorism into my teachings and I will maintain an open mind throughout my teaching career in order to adapt to the needs of my pupils. Furthermore, my classroom philosophy also contains elements from behaviorism. I believe rewarding and positive reinforcement is the best way to get the results one desires from his/her students. Having an idea of the philosophies I will use is great for now, but I plan to be flexible in my teaching style.My job is relay information that I have obtained and allow my pupils to acquire the skills necessary to be successful in life. To do so, I need to be able to change my style of teaching from class to class or in some cases from student to student in order to cater to each individual. Through experience, I have found that not all students learn the same way and that the progressivism or behaviorism approach may not always work. As a teacher, I can only teach what I know, so to increase my effectiveness as a teacher it seems necessary to further my education.Shortly after graduation, I plan to get my masters degree in the Special Education field. Even though I believe that participation and positive reinforcement are the best ways for a student to learn necessary skills, it is also best to keep an open mind. Through my own experiences, I have learned that not all students learn this way and it is my duty as a teacher to adjust my style to fit their needs. As a teacher, it is also my responsibility to further my education in order to teach my pupils and help them reach their fullest potential How to cite Special Education, Papers

Cost Theory free essay sample

Once a plant owner spends money to manufacture goods, that money is no longer available for something else. Production facilities, machinery used in the production process and plant workers are all examples of costs. Cost theory offers an approach to understanding the costs of production that allows firms to determine the level of output that reaps the greatest level of profit at the least cost. 2. Features * Cost theory contains various measures of costs. These include a firms fixed costs and variable costs. The former do not vary with the quantity of goods produced. Rent on a facility is an example of a fixed cost. Variable costs change with the quantity produced. If increased production requires more workers, for example, those workers wages are variable costs. The sum of fixed and variable costs is a firms total costs. * Additional Measures * Cost theory derives two additional cost measures. Average total cost is the total cost divided by the number of goods produced. Marginal cost is the increase in total cost that results from increasing production by one unit of output. Marginalsincluding marginal costs and marginal revenueare key concepts in mainstream economic thought. Falling and Rising Costs * Economists often use graphs, similar to supply-and-demand charts, to illustrate cost theory and firms decisions about production. An average total cost curve is a U-shaped curve on an economic diagram. This shape illustrates how average total costs decline as output rises and then rise as marginal costs increase. Average total costs decline at first because as production rises, average costs are distributed over a larger number of units of output. Eventually, marginal costs of increasing output rise, which increases average total costs. Maximizing Profits * Economic theory holds that the goal of a firm is to maximize profit, which equals total revenue minus total cost. Determining a level of production that generates the greatest level of profit is an important consideration, one that means paying attention to marginal costs, as well as marginal revenue (the increase in revenue arising from an increase in output). Under cost theory, as long as marginal revenue exceeds marginal cost, increasing production will raise profit. Types of Cost Economics Economists factor costs in many different ways. Though you may read the cost of a soup can at $1 as it’s listed on the grocery store shelf, economists view the cost of the soup can in very different ways. For example, an economist asks what you are giving up to buy that can of soup over another item. They measure the firm’s cost of producing that soup can as it relates to their output and factors of production. Thus, the different types of economic costs are varied. 1. Sunk Cost * A sunk cost is an expense that cannot be recouped. Mark Hirschy, author of the book, â€Å"Fundamentals of Managerial Economics,† explains that sunk costs should not factor into a decision when deciding between alternatives. For example, say a person spent $50,000 on a degree in education and earns $60,000 as a teacher. She is later offered a job in marketing that pays her $80,000. Though she may be tempted to factor in her education degree as reason to stay in her current teaching job, her $50,000 degree is regarded as a sunk cost. She already spent this money, and it cannot be recouped. In this case, she should only compare the respective salaries of the positions. If all else is held equal, she should pursue the marketing job. Opportunity Cost * An opportunity cost is the value of an alternative choice. Though the word â€Å"cost† usually equates to a numerical value, like a dollar figure, this is not always the case. William Baumol and Alan Blinder, authors of the book, Economics: Principles and Policy, state that an opportunity cost calculates intangible things like time, location and job satisfaction. They explain opportunity costs are what you give up to follow one course of action. For example, a college graduate is deciding between a job as a tech consultant in Seattle or an investment broker in New York City. If the grad pursues the investment broker position, the opportunity costs of foregoing the job in Seattle could be a slower pace of life, $10,000 higher salary and lower costs of living like rent and food. * Marginal Cost * A marginal cost is the amount it takes to produce one more item. Under this view of costs, they vary along the production line and in most cases the cost to produce a good reduces over time. Intuitively, this makes sense: the more proficient you become at producing a good, the faster you can do it and less waste is produced. The savings in labor and material as you achieve â€Å"economies of scale† means the cost of production usually decreases. The way economists find the marginal cost is by taking the derivative of the total costs as it relates to the total output. How to Find Marginal Cost in Economics Deciding whether to produce more units is often based on marginal cost. The economic concept of marginal cost is the cost associated with producing one additional unit. This information is important to businesses because it allows the company to decide if the additional unit is worth producing from a financial standpoint. When a company produces a small amount of product, the cost of additional units often decrease. However, marginal costs increase when additional units are added once the production level reaches a minimum. This is based on the law of diminishing marginal returns. Instructions 1. * 1 Calculate the change in total variable cost. This is the amount that the costs increased by after additional units are produced. For example, if youd like to produce more T-shirts and the increase in output would change the costs by $100, then the total variable cost is $100. * 2 Find the change in quantity produced. This represents how many additional units you would like to produce in the given scenario. For example, the change in quantity would be 50 if youd like to produce 300 T-shirts instead of 250. * 3 Divide the change in total variable costs from Step 1 by the change in quantity from Step 2. This will give you the marginal cost (marginal cost = the change in total variable cost/the change in quantity). For this example, $100 (the change in total variable cost) / 50 (the change in quantity) = $2 in marginal costs, which is the cost of producing each additional T-shirt. What Is the Relationship Between Production amp; Cost? Production costs are linked to th e cost of materials and labor. The relationship between production and cost in any manufacturing process varies based on volume produced and whether any part of the manufacturing process is outsourced or performed by subcontractors. Additionally, production and cost ratios vary based on the amount of automation involved in production and the amount of human oversight and involvement required. 1. Factors of Production * The main factors of production are labor, capital and supply costs. Capital is defined as equipment, cash reserves, and physical location or production facility. Labor is defined as the amount of and cost of manpower required to bring a product to market. This includes not only the physical labor and oversight related to product production, but also the associated costs of salaries of positions such as managers, delivery drivers, warehouse supervisors, marketing directors and even administrative assistance. Supply costs are any fee associated with securing necessary materials for production. Subcontractor or outsourced work is considered a supply cost as well, as the manufacturer is essentially purchasing a product or service for use in the production process. In this example, work such as offsite creation of product packaging or assembly of minor components of a finished product are considered supply costs in the same way the purchase of raw materials are considered supply costs. Volume of Production * Volume of production figures signify the amount of products being produced. Typically, the greater the volume the lower the cost per unit as raw material suppliers often offer discounts on mass or bulk orders. Volume of production is based on a company’s anticipated product needs, past sales records and placed orders. * Volume of Business * The relationship between production and cost is frequently determined by the volume of business a company is doing. An example that illustrates this point is a multinational vitamin supplement company that produces vitamins in bulk compared to a small health food chain that produces its own vitamin line in small quantities. The cost of the product produced by the small company will typically be greater than the cost of the product offered by the bulk manufacturer because the smaller company produces its product in smaller volumes. Price Points The more it costs a company to produce a product, the greater price the company will have to charge consumers. A company’s production costs include the price of materials, the cost of manpower, the production and packaging process, advertising, and distribution. Mass producers may be able to offer more competitive pricing to end users because they have the luxury of working on a thin margin due to the large volume of production. In microeconomics, the long run is the conceptual time period in which there are no fixed factors of production as to changing the output level by changing the capital stock or by entering or leaving an industry. The long run contrasts with the short run, in which some factors are variable and others are fixed, constraining entry or exit from an industry. In macroeconomics, the long run is the period when the general price level, contractual wage rates, and expectations adjust fully to the state of the economy, in contrast to the short run when these variables may not fully adjust. [1] In the long run, firms change production levels in response to (expected) economic profits or losses, and the land, labor, capital goods and entrepreneurship vary to reach associated long-run average cost. In the simplified case of plant capacity as the only fixed factor, a generic firm can make these changes in the long run: * enter an industry in response to (expected) profits * leave an industry in response to losses * increase its plant in response to profits * decrease its plant in response to losses. Long-run average-cost curve with economies of scale to Q2 and diseconomies of scale thereafter. The long run is associated with the long-run average cost (LRAC) curve in microeconomic models along which a firm would minimize its average cost (cost per unit) for each respective long-run quantity of output. Long-run marginal cost (LRMC) is the added cost of providing an additional unit of service or commodity from changing capacity level to reach the lowest cost associated with that extra output. LRMC equalling price is efficient as to resource allocation in the long run. The concept of long-run cost is also used in determining whether the long-run expected to induce the firm to remain in the industry or shut down production there. In long-run equilibrium of an industry in which perfect competition prevails, the LRMC = Long run average LRAC at the minimum LRAC and associated output. The shape of the long-run marginal and average costs curves is determined by economies of scale. The long run is a planning and implementation stage. [2][3] Here a firm may decide that it needs to produce on a larger scale by building a new plant or adding a production line. The firm may decide that new technology should be incorporated into its production process. The firm thus considers all its long-run production options and selects the optimal combination of inputs and technology for its long-run urposes. [4] The optimal combination of inputs is the least-cost combination of inputs for desired level of output when all inputs are variable. [3] Once the decisions are made and implemented and production begins, the firm is operating in the short run with fixed and variable inputs. [3][5] Short run All production in real time occurs in the short run. The short run is the conceptual time period in which at least one factor of production is fixed in amount and others are variable in am ount. Costs that are fixed, say from existing plant size, have no impact on a firms short-run decisions, since only variable costs and revenues affect short-run profits. Such fixed costs raise the associated short-run average cost of an output long-run average cost if the amount of the fixed factor is better suited for a different output level. In the short run, a firm can raise output by increasing the amount of the variable factor(s), say labor through overtime. A generic firm already producing in an industry can make three changes in the short run as a response to reach a posited equilibrium: * increase production decrease production * shut down. In the short run, a profit-maximizing firm will: * increase production if marginal cost is less than marginal revenue (added revenue per additional unit of output); * decrease production if marginal cost is greater than marginal revenue; * continue producing if average variable cost is less than price per unit, even if average total cost is gre ater than price; * shut down if average variable cost is greater than price at each level of output. Transition from short run to long run The transition from the short run to the long run may be done by considering some short-run equilibrium that is also a long-run equilibrium as to supply and demand, then comparing that state against a new short-run and long-run equilibrium state from a change that disturbs equilibrium, say in the sales-tax rate, tracing out the short-run adjustment first, then the long-run adjustment. Each is an example of comparative statics. Alfred Marshall (1890) pioneered in comparative-static period analysis. [6] He istinguished between the temporary or market period (with output fixed), the short period, and the long period. Classic contemporary graphical and formal treatments include those of Jacob Viner (1931),[7] John Hicks (1939),[8] and Paul Samuelson (1947). [9] The law of diminishing marginal returns The law of diminishing marginal returns to a variable factor applies to the short run. [10] It posits an effect of decreased added or marginal product of from variable factors, which increas es the supply price of added output. [11] The law is related to a positive slope of the short-run marginal-cost curve. 12] Macroeconomic usages The usage of long run and short run in macroeconomics differs somewhat from the above microeconomic usage. J. M. Keynes (1936) emphasized fundamental factors of a market economy that might result in prolonged periods away from full-employment. [13] In later macro usage, the long run is the period in which the price level for the economy is completely flexible as to shifts in aggregate demand and aggregate supply. In addition there is full mobility of labor and capital between sectors of the economy and full capital mobility between nations. In the short run none of these conditions need fully hold. The price is sticky or fixed as to changes in aggregate demand or supply, capital is not fully mobile between sectors, and capital is not fully mobile to interest rate differences among countries amp; fixed exchange rates. [14] A famous critique of neglecting short-run analysis was by John Maynard Keynes, who wrote that In the long run, we are all dead, referring to the long-run proposition of the quantity theory of, for example, a doubling of the money supply doubling the price level. 15] Marginal  Analysis Thinking at the  Margin From Mike Moffatt, former About. com Guide From an economists perspective, making choices involves making decisions at the margin that is, making decisions based on small changes in resources: * How should I spend the next hour? * How should I spend the next dollar? On the surface, this seems like a strange way of considering the choices made by people and firms. It is rare that someone would consciously ask themselves How will I spend dollar number 24,387? , How will I spend dollar number 24,388? . Treating the problem in this matter does have some distinct advantages: * Doing so leads to the optimal decisions being made, subject to preferences, resources and informational constraints. * It makes the problem less messy from an analytic point of view, as we are not trying to analyze a million decisions at once. * While this does not exactly mimic conscious decision making processes, it does provide results similar to the decisions people actually make. That is, people may not think using this method, but the decisions they make are as if they do. Marginal Analysis An Example Consider the decision on how many hours to work, as given by the following chart: Hour Hourly Wage Value of Time Hour 1 $10 $2 Hour 2 $10 $2 Hour 3 $10 $3 Hour 4 $10 $3 Hour 5 $10 $4 Hour 6 $10 $5 Hour 7 $10 $6 Hour 8 $10 $8 Hour 9 $15 $9 Hour 10 $15 $12 Hour 11 $15 $18 Hour 12 $15 $20 The hourly wage represents what I earn for working an extra hour it is the marginal gain or the marginal benefit. The value of time is essentially an opportunity cost it is how much I value having that hour off. In this example it represents a marginal cost what it costs me by working an additional hour. The increase in marginal costs is a common phenomenon; I do not mind working a few hours since there are 24 hours in a day. I still have plenty of time to do other things. However, as I start to work more hours it reduces the number of hours I have for other activities. I have to start giving up more and more valuable opportunities to work those extra hours. It is clear that I should work the first hour, as I gain $10 in marginal benefits and lose only $2 in marginal costs, for a net gain of $8. By the same logic I should work the second and third hours as well. I will want to work until which time the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit. I will want to work the 10th hour as I receive a net benefit of #3 (marginal benefit of $15, marginal cost of $12). However, I will not want to work the 11th hour, as the marginal cost ($18) exceeds the marginal benefit ($15) by three dollars. Thus marginal analysis suggests that rational maximizing behavior is to work for 10 hours. Next Lesson: Market Distortions: Altering the Supply and Demand Equilibrium. Marginal Analysis * Marginal Revenue Glossary Dictionary Definition of Marginal Revenue * Marginal Significance Value Glossary Dictionary Definition of Marginal Si * Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Practice Question Related Articles * Running a Private Practice Working with Animals * Work Stress Long Work Hours Are Not the Culprit * Open for Business: Scheduling Your Week Being a Personal Trainer * Three Union Work Rules That Increase the Cost of Operating Transit * Hold On to Your Sanity Start Your Own Business AN INTRODUCTION TO COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS| * Background * Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) estimates and totals up the equivalent money value of the benefits and costs to the community of projects to establish whether they are worthwhile. These projects may be dams and highways or can be training programs and health care systems. * The idea of this economic accounting originated with Jules Dupuit, a French engineer whose 1848 article is still worth reading. The British economist, Alfred Marshall, formulated some of the formal concepts that are at the foundation of CBA. But the practical development of CBA came as a result of the impetus provided by the Federal Navigation Act of 1936. This act required that the U. S. Corps of Engineers carry out projects for the improvement of the waterway system when the total benefits of a project to whomsoever they accrue exceed the costs of that project. Thus, the Corps of Engineers had created systematic methods for measuring such benefits and costs. The engineers of the Corps did this without much, if any, assistance from the economics profession. It wasnt until about twenty years later in the 1950s that economists tried to provide a rigorous, consistent set of methods for measuring benefits and costs and deciding whether a project is worthwhile. Some technical issues of CBA have not been wholly resolved even now but the fundamental presented in the following are well established. * Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis * One of the problems of CBA is that the computation of many components of benefits and costs is intuitively obvious but that there are others for which intuition fails to suggest methods of measurement. Therefore some basic principles are needed as a guide. There Must Be a Common Unit of Measurement * In order to reach a conclusion as to the desirability of a project all aspects of the project, positive and negative, must be expressed in terms of a common unit; i. e. , there must be a bottom line. The most convenient common unit is money. This means that all benefits and costs of a project should be measured in terms of their equivalent money value. A program may provide benefits which are not directly expressed in terms of dollars but there is some amount of money the recipients of the benefits would consider just as good as the projects benefits. For example, a project may provide for the elderly in an area a free monthly visit to a doctor. The value of that benefit to an elderly recipient is the minimum amount of money that that recipient would take instead of the medical care. This could be less than the market value of the medical care provided. It is assumed that more esoteric benefits such as from preserving open space or historic sites have a finite equivalent money value to the public. * Not only do the benefits and costs of a project have to be expressed in terms of equivalent money value, but they have to be expressed in terms of dollars of a particular time. This is not just due to the differences in the value of dollars at different times because of inflation. A dollar available five years from now is not as good as a dollar available now. This is because a dollar available now can be invested and earn interest for five years and would be worth more than a dollar in five years. If the interest rate is r then a dollar invested for t years will grow to be (1+r)t. Therefore the amount of money that would have to be deposited now so that it would grow to be one dollar t years in the future is (1+r)-t. This called the discounted value or present value of a dollar available t years in the future. * When the dollar value of benefits at some time in the future is multiplied by the discounted value of one dollar at that time in the future the result is discounted present value of that benefit of the project. The same thing applies to costs. The net benefit of the projects is just the sum of the present value of the benefits less the present value of the costs. * The choice of the appropriate interest rate to use for the discounting is a separate issue that will be treated later in this paper. CBA Valuations Should Represent Consumers or Producers Valuations As Revealed by Their Actual Behavior * The valuation of benefits and costs should reflect preferences revealed by choices which have been made. For example, improvements in transportation frequently involve saving time. The question is how to measure the money value of that time saved. The value should not be merely what transportat ion planners think time should be worth or even what people say their time is worth. The value of time should be that which the public reveals their time is worth through choices involving tradeoffs between time and money. If people have a choice of parking close to their destination for a fee of 50 cents or parking farther away and spending 5 minutes more walking and they always choose to spend the money and save the time and effort then they have revealed that their time is more valuable to them than 10 cents per minute. If they were indifferent between the two choices they would have revealed that the value of their time to them was exactly 10 cents per minute. * The most challenging part of CBA is finding past choices which reveal the tradeoffs and equivalencies in preferences. For example, the valuation of the benefit of cleaner air could be established by finding how much less people paid for housing in more polluted areas which otherwise was identical in characteristics and location to housing in less polluted areas. Generally the value of cleaner air to people as revealed by the hard market choices seems to be less than their rhetorical valuation of clean air. * Benefits Are Usually Measured by Market Choices * When consumers make purchases at market prices they reveal that the things they buy are at least as beneficial to them as the money they relinquish. Consumers will increase their consumption of any commodity up to the point where the benefit of an additional unit (marginal benefit) is equal to the marginal cost to them of that unit, the market price. Therefore for any consumer buying some of a commodity, the marginal benefit is equal to the market price. The marginal benefit will decline with the amount consumed just as the market price has to decline to get consumers to consume a greater quantity of the commodity. The relationship between the market price and the quantity consumed is called the demand schedule. Thus the demand schedule provides the information about marginal benefit that is needed to place a money value on an increase in consumption. * Gross Benefits of an Increase in Consumption is an Area Under the Demand Curve * The increase in benefits resulting from an increase in consumption is the sum of the marginal benefit times each incremental increase in consumption. As the incremental increases considered are taken as smaller and smaller the sum goes to the area under the marginal benefit curve. But the marginal benefit curve is the same as the demand curve so the increase in benefits is the area under the demand curve. As shown in Figure 1 the area is over the range from the lower limit of consumption before the increase to consumption after the increase. * Figure 1 * When the increase in consumption is small compared to the total consumption the gross benefit is adequately approximated, as is shown in a welfare analysis, by the market value of the increased consumption; i. e. , market price times the increase in consumption. * Some Measurements of Benefits Require the Valuation of Human Life * It is sometimes necessary in CBA to evaluate the benefit of saving human lives. There is considerable antipathy in the general public to the idea of placing a dollar value on human life. Economists recognize that it is impossible to fund every project which promises to save a human life and that some rational basis is needed to select which projects are approved and which are turned down. The controversy is defused when it is recognized that the benefit of such projects is in reducing the risk of death. There are many cases in which people voluntarily accept increased risks in return for higher pay, such as in the oil fields or mining, or for time savings in higher speed in automobile travel. These choices can be used to estimate the personal cost people place on increased risk and thus the value to them of reduced risk. This computation is equivalent to placing an economic value on the expected number of lives saved. * The Analysis of a Project Should Involve a With Versus Without Comparison * The impact of a project is the difference between what the situation in the study area would be with and without the project. This that when a project is being evaluated the analysis must estimate not only what the situation would be with the project but also what it would be without the project. For example, in determining the impact of a fixed guideway rapid transit system such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco Bay Area the number of rides that would have been taken on an expansion of the bus system should be deducted from the rides provided by BART and likewise the additional costs of such an expanded bus system would be deducted from the costs of BART. In other words, the alternative to the project must be explicitly specified and considered in the evaluation of the project. Note that the with-and-without comparison is not the same as a before-and-after comparison. Another example shows the importance of considering the impacts of a project and a with-and-without comparison. Suppose an irrigation project proposes to increase cotton production in Arizona. If the United States Department of Agriculture limits the cotton production in the U. S. by a system of quotas then expanded cotton production in Arizona might be offset by a reduction in the cotto n production quota for Mississippi. Thus the impact of the project on cotton production in the U. S. might be zero rather than being the amount of cotton produced by the project. * Cost Benefit Analysis Involves a Particular Study Area The impacts of a project are defined for a particular study area, be it a city, region, state, nation or the world. In the above example concerning cotton the impact of the project might be zero for the nation but still be a positive amount for Arizona. * The nature of the study area is usually specified by the organization sponsoring the analysis. Many effects of a project may net out over one study area but not over a smaller one. The specification of the study area may be arbitrary but it may significantly affect the conclusions of the analysis. * Double Counting of Benefits or Costs Must be Avoided Sometimes an impact of a project can be measured in two or more ways. For example, when an improved highway reduces travel time and the risk of injury the value of property in areas served by the highway will be enhanced. The increase in property values due to the project is a very good way, at least in principle, to measure the benefits of a project. But if the increased property values are included then it is unnecessary to include the value of the time and lives saved by the improvement in the highway. The property value went up because of the benefits of the time saving and the reduced risks. To include both the increase in property values and the time saving and risk reduction would involve double counting. * Decision Criteria for Projects * If the discounted present value of the benefits exceeds the discounted present value of the costs then the project is worthwhile. This is equivalent to the condition that the net benefit must be positive. Another equivalent condition is that the ratio of the present value of the benefits to the present value of the costs must be greater than one. * If there are more than one mutually exclusive project that have positive net present value then there has to be further analysis. From the set of mutually exclusive projects the one that should be selected is the one with the highest net present value. * If the funds required for carrying out all of the projects with positive net present value are less than the funds available this means the discount rate used in computing the present values is too low and does not reflect the true cost of capital. The present values must be recomputed using a higher discount rate. It may take some trial and error to find a discount rate such that the funds required for the projects with a positive net present value is no more than the funds available. Sometimes as an alternative to this procedure people try to select the best projects on the basis of some measure of goodness such as the internal rate of return or the benefit/cost ratio. This is not valid for several reasons. * The magnitude of the ratio of benefits to costs is to a degree arbitrary because some costs such as operating costs may be deducted from benefits and thus not be included in the cost figure. This is called netting out of operating costs. This netting out may be done for some projects and not for others. This manipulation of the benefits and costs will not affect the net benefits but it may change the benefit/cost ratio. However it will not raise the benefit cost ratio which is less than one to above one. For more on this topic see Benefit/ cost Ratio Magnitude. * An Example * To illustrate how CBA might be applied to a project, let us consider a highway improvement such as the extension of Highway 101 into San Jose. The local four-lane highway which carried the freeway and commuter traffic into San Jose did not have a median divider and its inordinate number of fatal head-on collisions led to the name Blood Alley. The improvement of the highway would lead to more capacity which produces time saving and lowers the risk. But inevitably there will be more traffic than was carried by the old highway. * The following is a highly abbreviated analysis using hypothetical data. TRIP DATA| No Extension, Blood Alley Only| 101 Extension and Blood Alley| Rush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips ( per hour)| 3,000| 4,000| Trip Time (minutes)| 50| 30| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 10| $0. 10| Nonrush Hours|   |   | Passenger Trips (per hour)| 500| 555. 55| Trip Time (minutes)| 35| 25| Value of Time ($/minute)| $0. 08| $0. 08| Traffic Fatalities per year)| 12| 6| * The data indicates that for rush-hour trips the time cost of a trip is $5 without the project and $3 with it. It is assumed that the operating cost for a vehicle is unaffected by the project and is $4. * The project lowers the cost of a trip and the public responds by increasing the number of trips taken. There is an increase in consumer surplus both for the trips which would have been taken without the project and for the trips which are stimulated by the project. * For trips which would have been taken anyway the benefit of the project equals the value of the time saved times the number of trips. For the rush-hour trip the project saves $2 and for the nonrush-hour trip it saves $0. 80. For the trips generated by the project the benefit is equal to one half of the value of the time saved times the increase in the number of trips. * The benefits per hour are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| 6,000. 00| 1,000. 00| 7,000. 00| Nonrush Hour| 400. 00| 22. 22| 422. 22| * To convert the benefits to an annual basis one multiplies the hourly benefits of each type of trip times the number of hours per year for that type of trip. There are 260 week days per year and at six rush hours per weekday there are 1560 rush hours per year. This leaves 7200 nonrush hours per year. With these figures the annual benefits are: TYPE| Trips Which Would Be Taken Anyway| Trips Generated By the Project| Total| Rush Hour| $9,360,000| $1,560,000| $10,020,000| Nonrush Hour| $2,880,000| $160,000| $3,040,000| Total| $12,240,000| $1,720,000| $13,960,000| * The value of the reduced fatalities may be computed in terms of the equivalent economic value people place upon their lives when making choices concerning risk and money. If the labor market has wages for occupations of different risks such that people accept an increase in the risk of death of 1/1,000 per year in return for an increase in income of $400 per year then a project that reduces the risk of death in a year by 1/1000 gives a benefit to each person affected by it of $400 per year. The implicit valuation of a life in this case is $400,000. Thus benefit of the reduced risk project is the expected number of lives saved times the implicit value of a life. For the highway project this is 6x$400,000= $2,400,000 annually. * The annual benefits of the project are thus: TYPE OF BENEFIT| VALUE OF BENEFITS PER YEAR| Time Saving| $13,960,000| Reduced Risk| $2,400,000| * Let us assume that this level of benefits continues at a constant rate over a thirty-year lifetime of the project. * The cost of the highway consists of the costs for its right-of-way, its construction and its maintenance. The cost of the right-of-way is the cost of the land and any structures upon it which must be purchased before the construction of the highway can begin. For purposes of this example the cost of right-of-way is taken to be $100 million and it must be paid before any construction can begin. At least part of the right-of- way cost for a highway can be recovered at the end of the lifetime of the highway if it is not rebuilt. For the example it is assumed that all of the right-of-way cost is recoverable at the end of the thirty-year lifetime of the project. The construction cost is $200 million spread evenly over a four-year period. Maintenance cost is $1 million per year once the highway is completed. * The schedule of benefits and costs for the project are as follows: TIME (year)| BENEFITS ($millions)| RIGHT-OF -WAY ($millions)| CONSTRUCTION COSTS $millions)| MAINTENANCE ($millions)| 0| 0| 100| 0| 0| 1-4| 0| 0| 50| 0| 5-29| 16. 36| 0| 0| 1| 30| 16. 36| -100| 0| 1| * The benefits and costs are in constant value dollars; i. e. , there was no price increase included in the analysis. Therefore the discount rate used must be the real interest rate. If the interest rate on long term bonds is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is 6 percent then the real rate of interest is 2 p ercent. Present value of the streams of benefits and costs discounted at a 2 percent back to time zero are as follows:   | PRESENT VALUE $ millions)| Benefits| 304. 11| Costs|   | Right-of-Way| 44. 79| Construction| 190. 39| Maintenance| 18. 59| Total Costs| 253. 77| |   | | Net Benefits| 50. 35| | *independent rounding| * The positive net present value of $50. 35 million and benefit/cost ratio of 1. 2 indicate that the project is worthwhile if the cost of capital is 2 percent. When a discount rate of 3 percent is the benefit/cost ratio is slightly under 1. 0. This means that the internal rate of return is just under 3 percent. When the cost of capital is 3 percent the project is not worthwhile. It should be noted that the market value of the right-of-way understates the opportunity cost of having the land devoted to the highway. The land has a value of $100 million because of its income after property taxes. The economy is paying more for its alternate use but some of the pay ment is diverted for taxes. The discounted presented value of the payments for the alternate use might be more like $150 million instead of $100 million. Another way of making this point is that one of the costs of the highway is that the local governments lose the property tax on the land used. * Summary By reducing the positive and negative impacts of a project to their equivalent money value Cost-Benefit Analysis determines whether on balance the project is worthwhile. The equivalent money value are based upon information derived from consumer and producer market choices; i. e. , the demand and supply schedules for the goods and services affected by the project. Care must be taken to properly allow for such things as inflation. When all this has been considered a worthwhile project is one for which the discounted value of the benefits exceeds the discounted value of the costs; i. . , the net benefits are positive. This is equivalent to the benefit/cost ratio being greater than on e and the internal rate of return being greater than the cost of capital. * History of Cost-Benefit Analysis * CBA has its origins in the water development projects of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers had its origins in the French engineers hired by George Washington in the American Revolution. For years the only school of engineering in the United States was the Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1879, Congress created the Mississippi River Commission to prevent destructive floods. The Commission included civilians but the president had to be an Army engineer and the Corps of Engineers always had veto power over any decision by the Commission. * In 1936 Congress passed the Flood Control Act which contained the wording, the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs. The phrase if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs established cost-benefit analysis. Initially the Corps of Engineers developed ad hoc methods for estimating benefits and costs. It wasnt until the 1950s that academic economists discovered that the Corps had developed a system for the economic analysis of public investments. Economists have influenced and improved the Corps methods since then and cost-benefit analysis has been adapted to most areas of public decision-making.