Discussing the customer service policies Essay Example for Free

Discussing the customer service policies Essay In my assignment I will provide information about customers services levels, customer satisfaction, what is customer services , I will give examples and evidence about different institutions and their customers services levels and policies .I want to start with the definitions of customer services and customers service policies. Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. Â  Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. Some people say that ‘Customer is always right’ but nowadays if u work in the hospitality industry u will definitely disagree with that .Some customers are really informed about their rights so because of that the stuff should be really confident and well trained to reach the customer expectation. Every business should have customer service policies. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, the definition of a customer service policy is ‘the degree of assistance and courtesy granted those who patronise a business ’.The customer service policies apply, because for every business is important to give their best in way to satisfy the customers. Policies are written rules which customers can see and read at any time, and they protect the business owners. Why we use the customers service policies ?We use them because they inform the customers for their rights ,they give information for the place .That’s why they are very , very important and useful nowadays .There are so many hotels, pubs , bars and other hospitality businesses today which have very interesting customer service policies. I have choose Hilton London Wembley Hotel to give as an example with its customer service policies .The hotel is one of the world wide best hotels so they really know how to satisfy customers needs . Everyone knows that hotel so I want to inform you more about it .For example Hilton London Wembley Hotel check- in time is 3.00pm. , check- out time is 12.00pm.This time hours gives advantages to the stuff so they clean the rooms and prepare them for the next customers and of course they inform the guests when they should leave the room. References: 1. Google ,Wikipedia (2013) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service 2.Turban, Efraim (2002). Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. 3. Entrepreneur Magazine http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/customer-service

Latin jazz orchestra Essay -- essays research papers

If I were to use one word to describe the â€Å"Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra† that word would be astonishing. At first, hearing that I was required to attend a Jazz concert I was completely turned off. I am very closed minded and automatically thought to myself that the kind of music would be dreadful. That is not the case anymore. This genre of music is amusing and very pleasing to the ears. The band members are some of the most talented musicians that I ever saw or heard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Standing room tickets were sold out when we arrived at Mc Carter Theater. For ten dollars we purchased box seats right near the stage. My friend Kevin and I were thrilled with our seats which allowed the beat view of the whole stage. The theater it self was beautiful. The stage was set up well with nice a nice lighting. The entire band consisted of eighteen musicians. There were seventeen males and one female. In the front of the stage was the pianist and director Arturo O’ Farril. Also in the front was the musician on bongos. To the left of the stage was the saxophone players and to the right the trombone players. In the rear were the trumpet players with the musician on bass in front of them as well as the drummer. I believe this setup allowed for their superb sound. Over all our seats were incredible and made the performance much more enjoyable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Between songs the pianist and director Arturo O’ Farril would give a short introduction and history behind ...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fiber Optics

**Solvency** Not capable with current resources and timeframe to solve takes too long Fainberg, 2012 Max. BTOP Program Officer â€Å"Broadband Construction Season. † Home Page | NTIA. N. p. , 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013. . Broadband is a world of extremes: it takes heavy-duty, 10-ton equipment to install fiber strands that are as small as a human hair. It takes months and years of hot, sweaty, dust-filled workdays to build a network that will provide massive amounts of data to end users at speeds measured in millionths of a second.It takes hundreds of man-hours, at a pace of 1000 feet per day to install the fiber that will connect our schools and hospitals with resources on the other side of the planet with just the click of a mouse. Plan can’t solve alone Free Press Reports, 2009 Wired Less: Disconnected in Urban America. Washington D. C. : Free Press, 2009. Print. For many urban residents, high-speed Internet services, which typically  ¶ cost $40 to $60 per mont h, are simply too pricey. Compounding the  ¶ Internet access problem, many people are unable to afford a computer or  ¶ lack the skills to navigate the Web. And just like their rural counterparts, some urban areas have been redlined  ¶ by Internet service providers that refuse to offer service to communities  ¶ that may not provide as large a financial return.  ¶ Many urban residents are locked out, unable to participate fully in the  ¶ digital era. They’re prevented from applying for jobs, telecommuting,  ¶ taking online classes or even finishing their homework. It’s becoming  ¶ increasingly clear that Internet connectivity is key to a sound economy and  ¶ could assist those hit hardest by the economic downturn. Fiber-Optics are too vulnerable, delays solvency Seibert, 2009Paul. â€Å"The Advantages and Disadvantages of Fiber Optics | Hub Tech Insider. † Hub Tech Insider | Technology Trends in and around Boston and Beyond. Word Press, 4 June 2 009. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. . Fiber is a small and compact cable, and it is highly susceptible to becoming cut or damaged during installation or construction activities. Because railroads often provide rights-of-way for fiber optic installation, railroad car derailments pose a significant cable damage threat, and these events can disrupt service to large groups of people, as fiber optic cables can provide tremendous data transmission capabilities.Because of this, when fiber optic cabling is chosen as the transmission medium, it is necessary to address restoration, backup and survivability. **Executive Order Turns** Totalitarianism Turn Executive orders are instruments of totalitarianism Mayer, 2001 (Kenneth, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton University Press, â€Å"With the Stroke of a Pen†, 2001, http://press. princeton. edu/chapters/s7095. pdf, Accessed 7/23/2012) Observers who are even less sympathetic cast executive orders in analtogether sinister li ght, seeing in them evidence of a broad conspiracyto create a presidential dictatorship.The common theme of these com-plaints is that the executive order is an example of unaccountable power and a way of evading both public opinion and constitutional constraints. In the more extreme manifestations, executive orders are portrayed as an instrument of secret government and totalitarianism. Thepresident says â€Å"Do this! Do that! † and not only is it done, but the government, the economy, and individual freedom are crushed under the yokeof executive decree.Truman is said to have issued a top-secret executive order in 1947 to create a special government commission to investigate the alleged flyingsaucer crash in Roswell, New Mexico (the air force says no such orderexists, but not surprisingly the proponents of the UFO-order theory don’tbelieve it). 36 When John F. Kennedy issued a series of executive orders authorizing federal agencies to prepare studies of how they would respond to national emergencies, some saw this as evidence that the government was getting ready to take over the economy and establish totalitarian regime. 37 The Justice Department in 1963 complained of an â€Å"organized campaign to mislead the public† about these orders. The department had presumably grown tired of responding to members of Congress, who referred letters from constituents expressing outrage and alarm over the dictatorship that was right around the corner. 38 Conflict Turn Presidential funding approval without Congressional agreement causes inter-branch conflict Rosen 98 Colonel Richard, Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army, â€Å"Funding â€Å"Non-Traditional† Military Operations: The Alluring Myth Of A Presidential Power Of The Purse† Military Law Review 155 Mil. L. Rev. 1, Lexis] Finally, if a situation is sufficiently grave and an operation is essential to national security, the President has the raw, physical power–b ut not the legal authority–to spend public funds without congressional approval, after which he or she can either seek congressional approbation or attempt to weather the resulting political storm.To the President's immediate advantage is the fact that the only sure means of directly stopping such unconstitutional conduct is impeachment. 703 Congress could, however, [*149] certainly make a President's life miserable through other means, such as denying requested legislation or appropriations, delaying confirmation of presidential appointments, and conducting public investigations into the President's actions. Interbranch battles hold up agency action – major delays on implementation- the impact is no solvency Cooper 2 Phillip, Professor of Public Administration @ Portland State University, By Order of the President: The Use and Abuse of Executive Direct Action† 232-233] A president who is focused on the short-term, internal view of a possible decision may elect a power management approach. The emphasis is on efficient, effective, prompt, and controlled action within the executive branch. This is an increasingly common approach employed by new administrations; certainly it has been by Reagan and his successors.Whether spoken or unspoken, the tendency to adopt a power management perspective as the base for the use of presidential direct action tools may grow from an assumption that alternative approaches will simply not work or not work rapidly enough because of recalcitrant administrative agencies or opposition by other institutional players inside or outside the Beltway. The executive orders on rulemaking issued by presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton and the Bush memoranda on the rulemaking moratorium are clear examples of this approach.The tendency to use this approach may also stem from the idea that the situation confronting the White House is a real or a perceived emergency in which the executive branch must be mobilized for ac tion. Another tendency is to use this type of approach in national security matters where the White House holds the view that time is of the essence and a particular window of opportunity exists that must be seized. This kind of action is common in the use of national security directives.Control of sensitive materials, personnel practices, or communications is often the focus of this kind of activity. Another feature of the power management approach is the attempt to use the policies of the executive branch to make a wider political point. Certainly the Reagan administration's Drug Free Workplace order is an example, as are many of the Clinton-era orders and memoranda associated with the reinventing government initiative.Still, the power management approach presents many of the dangers and challenges of the various types of instruments. The costs can be high, and the damage both within government and to people outside it can be significant. The rulemaking orders have tied administra tive agencies up in knots for years and have trapped them in a cross fire between the Congress that adopted statutes requiring regulations to be issued and presidents who tried to measure their success by the number of rulemaking processes they could block.Reagan's NSD 84 and other related directives seeking to impose dramatically intensified controls on access to information and control over communication during and after government employment incited a mini rebellion even among a number of cabinet level officials and conveyed a sense of the tenor of leadership being exercised in the executive branch that drew fire from many sources. The Clinton ethics order was meant to make a very public and political point, but it was one of the factors contributing to the administration's inability to staff many of its key positions for months.Tyranny Turn Executive orders are bad, cause tyranny and a loss in democracy Kissinger 92, Henry, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, 3/21/08,[â€Å"Executive T yranny,† http://www. cassiopaea. org/cass/exec_tyranny. htm / With the unearthing of old and newly improved executive orders recently we come to realise that this has been an ideological strategy that was designed long before the present U. S. administration. We are seeing the death throes of the US constitution and any semblance of democracy that may have initially existed with the founding fathers.It seems inevitable that the U. S. will become the epitome of a totalitarian rule with a further mandate to build on its already established cultural â€Å"McDonaldization† and geopolitical destruction of the planet. The above words from Kissinger giving a speech at the 1992 Bilderberg meeting in Evian, France, was recorded by a Swiss delegate, no doubt much to the chagrin of this â€Å"elder statesman†, who was unaware of the taping. The barely disguised contempt for humanity is only too familiar within the ranks of the â€Å"Elite†, and this man is particular ly active at the moment.No doubt he is seeing the beginnings of a Faustian pay-off for services rendered. I dread to think what misanthropic propaganda he is peddling behind the closed doors of conferences and special â€Å"interest groups† in 2003. The impact is value to life – moral side constraint Petro, 1974 Wake Forest Professor in Toledo Law Review, (Sylvester, Spring, page 480) However, one may still insist, echoing Ernest Hemingway – â€Å"I believe in only one thing: liberty. † And it is always well to bear in mind David Hume's observation: â€Å"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Thus, it is unacceptable to say that the invasion of one aspect of freedom is of no import because there have been invasions of so many other aspects. That road leads to chaos, tyranny, despotism, and the end of all human aspiration. Ask Solzhenitsyn. Ask Milovan Dijas. In sum, if one believed in freedom as a supreme value and the proper orderin g principle for any society aiming to maximize spiritual and material welfare, then every invasion of freedom must be emphatically identified and resisted with undying spirit.

Human Resource Management in the Public Office Essay

Is money the most important incentive tool in the public sector? Is performance-based pay an effective way to motivate employees to be more productive? Discuss the positive and negative benefits associated with broadbanded pay systems. The public sector mainly deals with the economic and administrative delivery of goods and services from the government to the nation’s people. Such a role requires true commitment to service and to the objective of improving the general welfare of individuals. Moreover, public servants uphold such commitments with a unique set of priorities that are not centered on material and financial gains but rather on what their capabilities and achievements could contribute to others’ betterment. This ideal may just as easily set public servants apart from members of the labor force that render their services for profit. This in consideration, financial rewards may not be the top priority of public servants but it is definitely an effective incentive tool across sectors from private to public. A way of granting incentive to employees is thru performance-based pay. This compensation scheme entails salary increases and rewarding of bonuses to employees that were able to achieve or surpass the goals related to their scope of work. Under such a scheme, employees become more motivated to produce high quality service with the end goal of producing evidently positive results. At the same time, since such a scheme requires that the salary increase be justified by the exemplary performance of the employee, there would be less incidences of increases and promotions made on the mere basis of office politics. Once it becomes evident to employees that they now have an equal playing field, this would additionally motivate them to prove themselves worthy of recognition and incentives. In line with effective human resource management, public sectors are developing broadband pay systems, which essentially implement broad pay ranges to groupings formed on the basis of like duties while maintaining high flexibility in order to cater to the needs and demands of a diverse workforce. Such pay systems may pose both advantages and disadvantages to the employees and agencies. An example of advantages to the employees is that the method of grouping may provide an opportunity for their positions to be reclassified to a higher grade as indicated by the complexity and breadth of their responsibilities. This would probably work in the favor of an employee who handles several tasks that are usually performed by more than one person in some offices. Another advantage is for the part of government offices because by utilizing high technology and efficient information systems to implement the broadband pay mechanisms, an optimized data gathering method shall be in place and process will be systematized. This would ultimately lead to more practical and efficient use of available human and financial resources, and big cumulative savings for the government. On the other hand, a disadvantage for the agencies could be that negotiations on job classifications or groupings might require them to disclose to labor unions sensitive information that might result to operational security concerns. How can an organization utilize employee benefits as part of its recruitment and retention efforts? How can an organization’s commitment to learning result in lower worker turnover? How do issues related to employee benefits and learning affect worker performance? Human resource is the best asset that any establishment could possibly have. Every day, a great number of organizations and establishments rise up or crumble by the excellence or mediocrity of their employees. In fact, any institution may employ the best possible technologies and may even be in the most dynamic and progressive industry but all these would not make the business a success if without talented and skillful employees. Thus to ensure the best possible recruits and the capacity to retain the most seasoned and esteemed talents, organizations build attractive compensation packages and employee development programs. By nurturing employees under these development programs and with attractive rewards, organizations hope to keep the loyalty of their talent pool and add new recruits that possess the same aptitude and skills. All these steps are taken by organizations under the knowledge that all employees would base their employer preferences that cater to their needs and growth t he most. Furthermore, these needs and growth expectations must be taken to mean not just financial benefits but more importantly how the organization could enrich one’s talents and allow him or her to maximize potentials. In order to nurture its talent pool, organizations may enroll their employees to various classes that teach or further establish the knowledge that they have related to the tasks that they perform in the office. Through these classes, employees develop a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because they find that they are able to tap in to more of their potentials. Thus, with the knowledge that there are more things that they could learn and do, they find that they also have more to offer the organization that they are part of. By allowing their employees to grow into high potential individuals, organizations not only keep their employees loyal and their turnover rates low, they also gain from the enriched talents and skills that their human resources apply in their day to day work. An organization’s spending on training and development programs for its employees is part of its human resource investment. As with products sold in banks or stock market, or purchases of equipments by production companies, expenses incurred by organizations related to employee training are acknowledged with the expectation that they will bring forth returns to the organization by way of improved employee performances that lead to better working processes and achievement of the organization’s vision and mission. Pershing, Stolovitch, and Keeps (2006) further support the relationship between employee performance and learning by stating that the latter allows the workforce to become more connected to the organization through an increased knowledge of how better he could be of service, and that the nurturing process offered to these employees allow them to be better prepared for changes and more open to process improvements. In essence, all employees are practical individuals in that they stay in the organization that appreciate them the most and reward them sufficiently for the quality of work that they render. It is with this knowledge that organizations build progressive employee benefit and retention programs. These organizations know all too well that employees perform best under development and reward programs that offer holistic growth. Such growth pertains to several factors in the lives of an individual. Compare and contrast the difference in terminating workers in public organizations versus private companies? What at the implications of at-will employment for public sector workers? One of the major differences between public organizations and private companies is the objective or mission with which their workforce operates. As established earlier, public sector workers can be largely considered as volunteers for social, economic, and even political causes whereas the workforce of private companies are mostly there for profitable gains. This in mind, the mere concept of a decrease in the workforce in the public sector poses several challenges because it may not be easy for the organization to come by public servants who are willing to work for the same cause. One way in which the workforce of any institution is reduced is thru employee termination. Termination is the process by which the organization puts a stop to an individual’s membership or service to the organization against his or her will. There are various reasons why termination is imposed on an individual. It may be that the employee has violated certain organizational policies or ethical standards, or rendered unsatisfactory job performance, or may even have been because he or she had a conflict with his or her supervisor. On the other hand, the employee may also be subject to termination when the company undergoes a restructuring phase that necessitated downsizing in its workforce, or if the employee’s responsibilities have been found to be redundant. Employee termination occurs in both public and private offices but there are some notable differences. One such difference is that employees of private companies are often hired under contract whereas those working in public offices are often employed at-will, meaning that they do not have a formal employment contract binding him or her and the employer. Although all employees are protected by labor laws, employees in the public sector are more vulnerable to termination because of the at-will nature of their employment.

SAT Subject Test Math 1 vs Math 2 Which Should I Take

SAT Subject Test Math 1 vs Math 2 Which Should I Take SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're considering taking SAT Subject Tests and math is a strong subject for you, you’ll need to decide which SAT Subject Test in math to take. There are two Math SAT Subject Tests: Math 1 and Math 2 (also written as Math Level 1 and Math Level 2, or Math I and Math II). Math 2 is meant for students with more high school math coursework and covers a broader range of topics than Math 1 does. Other than that, the two tests are pretty similar: both have 50 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute time limit. In this article, I’ll go over what’s covered in Math 1, what’s covered in Math 2, their similarities and differences, whether Math 1 is easier than Math 2, and how to choose which Subject Test to take. Note: This article deals with the two Math SAT Subject Tests, not the Math section on the regular SAT. To learn more about the SAT Math section and how to do well on it, check out our ultimate SAT Math prep guide. What’s Covered on SAT Math 1? SAT Subject Test Math 1 covers the topics you learn in one year of geometry and two years of algebra. Here's what you can expect to see on the test: Topics and Subtopics % of Math 1 SAT Subject Test Approximate # of Questions Number and Operations 10-14% 5-7 Operations, ratio and proportion, complex numbers, counting, elementary number theory, matrices, sequences Algebra and Functions 38-42% 19-21 Expressions, equations, inequalities, representation and modelling, properties of functions (linear, polynomial, rational, exponential) Geometry and Measurement 38-42% 19-21 Plane geometry 18-22% 9-11 Coordinate: Lines, parabolas, circles, symmetry, transformations 8-12% 4-6 Three-dimensional: solids, surface area and volume (cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, prisms) 4-6% 2-3 Trigonometry: right triangles and identities 6-8% 3-4 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8-12% 4-6 Mean, median, mode, range, interquartile range, graphs and plots, least squares regression (linear), probability Source: SAT Subject Tests Student Guide As you can see, most of the questions will be about algebra, functions, or geometry. This means that when you are studying for Math 1, these are the main areas you should focus on. There will also be a few questions (about five) on data analysis/statistics/probability. I’m calling this out because it’s something many students haven’t spent a lot of time on in class. What’s Covered on SAT Math 2? The SAT Subject Test Math 2 covers most of the same topics as Math 1- information that would be covered in one year of geometry and two years of algebra- plus precalculus and trigonometry. However, the geometry concepts learned in a typical geometry class are only assessed indirectly through more advanced geometry topics such as coordinate and three-dimensional geometry. Here is a chart with topics and percentage breakdowns: Topics and Subtopics % of Math 2 SAT Subject Test Approximate # of Questions Number and Operations 10-14% 5-7 Operations, ratio and proportion, complex numbers, counting, elementary number theory, matrices, sequences, series, vectors Algebra and Functions 48-52% 24-26 Expressions, equations, inequalities, representation and modelling, properties of functions (linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, periodic, piecewise, recursive, parametric) Geometry and Measurement 28-32% 14-16 Coordinate: lines, parabolas, circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, symmetry, transformations, polar coordinates 10-14% 5-7 Three-dimensional: solids, surface area and volume (cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, prisms), coordinates in three dimensions 4-6% 2-3 Trigonometry: right triangles, identities, radians, law of cosines, law of sines, equations, double angle formula 12-16% 6-8 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8-12% 4-6 Mean, median, mode, range, interquartile range, standard deviation, graphs and plots, least squares regression (linear, quadratic, exponential), probability Source: SAT Subject Tests Student GuideIt’s worth noting that on the main College Board page for Math 2, they (incorrectly) state that the test is 48-52% geometry. But in the SAT Subject Tests Student Guide, you can see that the actual percentage is 28-32%. Let’s all be glad that the questions on College Board tests are much more closely vetted than what goes on their website! In terms of individual topics, the Math 2 test is, by far, weighted most heavily toward algebra and functions, with about half the questions in this area. You can also expect to see a sizable chunk of trigonometry. Knowing the properties of all different types of functions, including trigonometric functions, is the single most important topic to study for the Math 2 test. If you don’t know all of that backwards and forwards, there will be a lot of questions you simply don’t understand. Your friend, the triangle. SAT Subject Test Math 1 vs Math 2: Similarities and Differences To give you an easy-to-follow overview when you are comparing tests, I’ll quickly go over which topics are covered on both exams and which you can expect to see only on Math 1 and only on Math 2, respectively. Topics on Both Math 1 and Math 2 We'll start by looking at the general topics that are present on both Math Subject Tests. Numbers and Operations Operations: Basic multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Remember the proper order of operations! Ratio and Proportion: Value comparisons and relationships between value comparisons. (Think: how many of one thing relative to another thing? Three cows for every two sheep?) Complex Numbers: Numerical expressions that include imaginary numbers. Counting: How many combinations are possible given certain conditions. For example, if there are eight chairs and eight guests, how many orders could the guests sit in? Elementary Number Theory: Properties of integers, factorization, prime factors, etc. Matrices: Basic operations with number grids. Sequences: Number patterns. Geometry Geometry on the coordinate plane, including questions about lines, parabolas, circles (and circle equations), symmetry, and transformations. With the exception of circles, coordinate geometry is less concerned with the actual functions making the figures and more with the properties of figures: is the shape symmetrical? How long is this segment of the line? And so on. Three-dimensional: Calculating the surface area and volume of cylinders, cones, pyramids, spheres, and prisms. Trigonometry: Right triangles and the Pythagorean theorem as well as basic trig identities such as sine, cosine, and tangent. Algebra Expressions: Mathematical phrases with variables, numbers, and operators (like $x+3$ or $2x+9y−4$). You must know how to factor, expand, and manipulate these expressions. Equations: An expression that is set to be equal to something, like $x+3=10$. You’ll need to understand how to solve these. You'll also need to be able to solve systems of equations. Inequalities: Expressions set to be greater or less than a value, like $x+310$. You'll need to know how to solve these, and how to solve systems of inequalities. Representation and Modeling: Creating equations that model a given scenario. You’ll need to know how to create and interpret these. Properties of Functions: You’ll need to be able to identify the following kinds of functions and understand how they work, how they look when graphed, and how to factor them. You should also know how to identify $x$- and $y$-intercepts and any unique characteristics they may have. Linear: Straight-line functions, generally written as $f(x)=mx+b$ or $y=mx+b$ Polynomial: Functions in which variables are elevated to exponential powers. This includes quadratic functions like $y=x^2+2x+2$ as well as functions like $y=x^5+4x$. Rational: Functions in which polynomial expressions appear in the numerator and the denominator of a fraction. For example: $$y=(x^2+4)/(x^3+x^2+9)$$ Exponential: Functions in which $x$ appears as an exponential power. Here's an example: $$y=3^(x+2)$$ Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability Mean, Median, Mode, Range: Basic properties of data sets. Interquartile Range: A measure of a data set variability based on the range between data quartiles 3 and 1. Graphs and Plots: Creating and interpreting visual representations of data sets. Least Squares Regression (Linear): How closely correlated two variables are, and how much a data set resembles a straight line. Probability: Mathematical determinations of how likely a certain outcome is to occur; you’ll need to be able to create and interpret these. You could also skip standardized testing and go live alone in the desert. Topics on Math 1 Only The only topic on Math 1 that's not directly addressed at all on Math 2 is plane geometry, which is a fairly significant 20% of Math 1. Note that plane geometry concepts are addressed on Math 2 via coordinate and 3-D geometry. Topics on Math 2 Only Math 2 contains a fairly large number of topics that aren't tested on Math 1. Numbers and Operations Series: The sum of a sequence. Vectors: Geometric objects with size (length) and direction; you’ll need to be able to do basic operations with vectors. Geometry Coordinate: Equations and properties of ellipses and hyperbolas in the coordinate plane, and polar coordinates. Three-Dimensional: Plotting lines and determining distances between points in three dimensions. Trigonometry: Radian Measure: An alternative way to measure angles in terms of Ï€. You must know how to convert to and from degrees. Law of Cosines and Law of Sines: Trigonometric formulas that allow you to determine the length of a triangle side when one of the angles and two of the sides are known. You'll need to know the formulas and how to use them. Equations: Know how to identify and solve algebraic equations involving trigonometric identities, like $10=cos(x+8)$. Double Angle Formulas: Formulas that allow you to find information on an angle twice as large as the given angle measure. Algebra Properties of Functions: You’ll need to be able to identify the following kinds of functions and understand how they work, how they look when graphed, and how to factor them. You should also be able to identify $x$- and $y$-intercepts and any unique characteristics they might have. Logarithmic: Functions that involve taking the log of a variable. For example: $f(x)=log(x)$ Trigonometric Functions: Graphs of sine, cosine, tangent, etc. For example: $f(x)=sin(x)$ Inverse Trigonometric Functions: Graphs of the inverse of sine, cosine, tangent, and other trig identities. For example: $f(x)=arcsin(x)$ or $f(x)=sin$-1$(x)$ Periodic: Any function that repeats its values over an interval; trigonometric functions are periodic. Piecewise: A function that is defined by a different equation for different ranges of $x$. Recursive: A function defined in terms of other functions. Parametric: Equations of curves in which x and $y$ are defined via some third variable, normally t. $x=cos(t)$$y=sin(t)$is the equation for the unit circle, a parametric equation. Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability Least Squares Regression (quadratic, exponential): How well the points of a data set correspond to a quadratic or exponential shape. As you can see, there's a lot of overlap between the two Math SAT Subject Tests. However, Math 2 also tests more advanced versions of the topics tested on Math 1. It leaves off directly testing plane Euclidean geometry, though the concepts are indirectly tested through coordinate and 3-D geometry topics. Even with that cut out, Math 2 still covers a much broader swath of topics than Math 1 does. This means that question styles for Math 2 and Math 1 can be pretty different, even though many of the same topics are addressed (see the next section for elaboration on this). A broad swath. Is Math 1 Easier Than Math 2? Given that Math 2 covers more advanced topics than Math 1 does, you might think that Math 1 is going to be the easier exam. But this is not necessarily true. Since Math 1 tests fewer concepts, you can expect more abstract and multi-step problems to test the same core math concepts in a variety of ways. The College Board needs to fill up 50 questions, after all! Below is an example of a tricky question you might see on the Math 1 test. (Note that all practice problems in this article come from the official SAT Subject Tests Student Guide.) The above problem is testing fundamental plane Euclidean geometry concepts but in a way that makes you apply these concepts differently than you might expect to. Let’s walk through it. To figure out the area of the shaded region, we’ll need to subtract the area of the rectangle from the area of the circle. The area of the rectangle is pretty straightforward- $\ov{AB}$ is 5 and side $\ov{BC}$ is 12. So that would be $5*12 = 6$0. Now, we’ll need to find the area of that circle. $Ï€r^2$ is the formula for a circle’s area, but we don’t have the radius or diameter. However, we can find the diameter with the help of our friend, the Pythagorean theorem. We know that $\ov{AC}$ is going to be the same length as the diameter. How do we know this? Since ABCD is an inscribed rectangle, angle ∠ ABC is an inscribed right angle. Therefore, AC, the diameter, is the hypotenuse of right triangle ââ€" ³ABC. The Pythagorean theorem states that $a^2+b^2=c^2$ and we know a and b are 5 and 12, respectively. Therefore, $$5^2+12^2=c^2$$ $$25+144=c^2$$ $$169=c^2$$ $$13=c$$ With a diameter of 13, the radius is 6.5. The area of the circle = $$Ï€(6.5)^2=132.73$$ Area of the circle minus area of the rectangle: $$132.73−60=72.73$$ The answer is C! The above problem didn’t test any difficult concepts, but it did make us combine a few Euclidean geometry concepts (and three formulas!) in interesting ways to make the problem appear tricky. On the other hand, problems on Math II tend to take fewer steps to solve and are more straightforward, high-school-math-test-type questions: identify the concept, plug in, and go. For example, see this pretty straightforward plug-in-and-go 3-D volume/basic algebra question: Let’s walk through it. The volume of a right circular cylinder is $h*Ï€(1/2 d)^2$ We know the volume; we also know that the diameter and height are equal. Since the radius is equal to half the diameter, we can express the radius in terms of the height. This gives us the following equation: $$h*Ï€(1/2 h)^2=2$$ which can be simplified as $$(Ï€h^3)/4=2$$$$(h^3)/4=2/Ï€$$ and then $$h^3=8/Ï€$$ All of a sudden, we’ve got a pretty simple single-variable algebra problem. Plug and go to get 1.37, or answer choice A. The number-crunching in this problem might be a little ugly, but it’s pretty simple conceptually: a single-variable algebra problem that only uses one formula.These two problems showcase the difference between problem types on Math 1 and Math 2. Additionally, the curve is much steeper for Math 1 than it is for Math 2. Getting one question wrong on Math 1 is enough to knock you from that 800, but you can get seven or eight questions wrong and still potentially get an 800 on Math 2. Essentially, Math 1 is the easier exam only if you don’t know the advanced topics tested on Math 2. If you do know the Math 2 concepts, you'll find it easier than Math 1 because the material will be fresher in your mind, the questions are more straightforward, and the curve is kinder. A kind (and mathematical!) curve. How to Decide Which Math Subject Test to Take There are, in general, two factors to consider when deciding between Math 1 and Math 2: (1) what math coursework you have completed and (2) what the colleges you're applying to recommend or require. Which Math Courses Have You Taken? In general, if you're going to take a Math Subject Test, you should take the one that most closely aligns with the math coursework you've completed. If you’ve taken one year of geometry and two years of algebra, go with Math 1. If you’ve taken that plus precalculus and trigonometry (which is taught as one yearlong math class at most high schools), then take Math 2. Down-testing (i.e., taking Math 1 when you have the coursework for Math 2) is likely to backfire due to the fact that the material won't be as fresh for you and the curve for Math 1 is so unforgiving. If you’re in the middle of precalculus/trigonometry, things are a little more complicated. If it’s the beginning or middle of the year, take Math 1. If you try to take Math 2 too early, there will be material on the exam you haven’t covered yet, so you’ll either have to learn it or accept that you won’t get those points (which is a risky move I don’t recommend at all!). If you're close to the end of the year and you'd like to take Math 2, I'd advise you to simply wait to take the test until you’ve completed the requisite coursework. Which Test Do the Colleges You're Applying to Recommend or Require? Though many institutions that recommend or require SAT Subject Tests give you flexibility in what subjects you send, others have more stringent requirements, particularly engineering or medicine-based programs. Some notable programs and institutions that require Math level 2 include the following: Caltech- requires Math 2 from all applicants Harvey Mudd- requires Math 2 from all applicants Northwestern- select programs require Math 2 Most institutions in the University of California system strongly recommend (not require) Math 2 for engineering and science applicants If you know that you have your eye on a program that requires or recommends the Math 2 Subject Test, plan ahead to take the necessary math coursework. Programs that require or prefer the Math 2 Subject Test often have required introductory math coursework for first-year students that necessitates a certain background level in math, which is why they require Math 2. Therefore, try to get in the coursework necessary to be able to take and do well on the Math 2 Subject Test. If you don’t plan ahead, you might end up in a situation in which you are set to go into precalculus your senior year. In this case, you should aim to take precalculus the summer after your junior year and the Math 2 Subject Test in the fall of your senior year. Some high schools don’t offer an advanced enough math track for you to be able to get through precalculus by your senior year. It’s not super fair if you’re in this situation, but you can make up for it by taking a math class over the summer or at a local community college. On the other hand, some engineering programs and schools will accept either Math Subject Test (i.e., they have no preference). If your program accepts Math 1 or Math 2, take them at their word and opt for the test that better aligns with your regular coursework. The reason the College Board offers two levels of math isn’t to suggest that those who take Math 2 are somehow better at math, but rather that they understand not all high schools will offer the same math classes. High schools with fewer resources often do not offer as much advanced math coursework, and the colleges that accept either math exam do so for this exact reason. In fact, the colleges that require Math 2 are unfortunately penalizing underprivileged students, even if they are doing so because their introductory math coursework starts at too high a level to accept a less-advanced Math test. Note: In general, colleges will not accept Math 1 and Math 2 as two separate Subject Tests because there's so much overlap between the material. This doesn’t mean you can’t take both- just that they won’t count as two separate Subject Tests in the eyes of the college you're applying to. What If You Still Can't Decide Which Math Subject Test to Take? If you're still at a loss (or even if you just want to validate your choice before you register for one of the two Math tests), answer some practice questions for each Math Subject Test and compare how you do on them. If you score a lot higher on one test, choose that one. You can find practice questions for both exams in the College Board’s SAT Subject Tests Student Guide. Don’t forget that you can also retake Subject Tests, and there’s no rule that if you take one of the math tests that you can’t then take the other one if you feel as though you didn’t choose the better test for you the first time around. I don’t recommend taking both Math Subject Tests as a first-line strategy because you’ll waste time prepping for both when you don’t need to, and you already have enough to study and prepare for when you apply to college. However, it's something to keep in mind. You should also double-check that you actually have to take a Math Subject Test for the programs you're applying to since many schools will accept a science Subject Test instead. Choose your exam carefully, like this intrepid soul choosing which rocks to step on. SAT Subject Test Math 1 vs Math 2: The Final Word The College Board offers two SAT Subject Tests in math: Math 1 and Math 2. Math 1 is designed for those who've taken two years of algebra and one year of geometry, while Math 2 targets those who've also taken precalculus/trigonometry. Although they cover many of the same topics, Math 1 involves more tricky applications of math concepts since the scope of the exam is narrower. In general, you should take the Math Subject Test that best corresponds to the coursework you've completed. Taking Math 1 when you have the coursework for Math 2 might backfire given Math 1's steeper curve. By contrast, taking Math 2 without the requisite coursework will leave you completely lost for much of the exam. If you're applying to programs that require or strongly recommend Math 2, plan ahead so that you can complete the necessary coursework before you take the exam. And remember, if you end up taking both Math Subject Tests, most programs will only accept one toward your total of required or recommended Subject Tests. What's Next? Ready to test out your ratio and proportions skills? Try calculating how many seconds there are in a day, week, and year, then compare the result to our guide. Planning to take the Math 2 Subject test but a little shaky on your coordinate geometry? Make sure to review our articles on graph quadrants and how to complete the square so that you're not caught unaware on test day. Want some more specific advice on when to take the Math 2 Subject Test? Read our guide to learn how to choose the best test date for you. You might also want to check out our guide to SAT Subject Test scores for the Ivy League to learn how high to aim on test day. If you're taking AP tests and SAT Subject Tests, you might be wondering which exams are more important. In this guide, we explain which tests to prioritize for your college applications. Taking the regular SAT, too? Let us walk you through the format of the SAT Math section. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Homo Erectus Colonization in Europe

Homo Erectus Colonization in Europe Geoarchaeologists working on the coast of the North Sea of Britain at Pakefield in Suffolk, England have discovered artifacts suggesting that our human ancestor Homo erectus arrived in northern Europe much earlier than previously thought. Homo Erectus in England According to an article published in Nature on December 15, 2005, an international team led by Simon Parfitt of the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain  (AHOB) project has discovered 32 pieces of black flint debitage, including a core and retouched flake, in alluvial sediments dated to about 700,000 years ago. These artifacts represent the debris created by flintknapping, the manufacture of a stone tool, possibly for butchering purposes. The flint chips were recovered from four separate places within the channel fill deposits of a stream bed which in-filled during the inter-glacial period of the Early Pleistocene. This means that the artifacts were what archaeologists call out of primary context. In other words, fill in stream channels comes from soils moved downstream from other places. The occupation site- the site where the flintknapping took place- may be just a little upstream, or quite a ways upstream, or may, in fact, have been completely destroyed by movements of the stream bed. Nevertheless, the location of the artifacts in this old channel bed does mean that the artifacts must be at least as old as the channel fill; or, according to researchers, at least 700,000 years ago. The Oldest Homo Erectus The oldest known Homo erectus site outside of Africa is Dmanisi, in the Republic of Georgia, dated to approximately 1.6 million years ago. Gran Dolina in the Atapuerca valley of Spain includes evidence of Homo erectus at 780,000 years ago. But the earliest known Homo erectus site in England prior to the discoveries at Pakefield is Boxgrove, only 500,000 years old. The Artifacts The artifact assemblage, or rather assemblages since they were in four separate areas, include a core fragment with several hard-hammer percussion flakes removed from it and a retouched flake. A core fragment is the term used by archaeologists to mean the original hunk of stone from which flakes were removed. Hard hammer means the flintknappers used a rock to bang on the core to get flattish, sharp-edged chips called flakes. Flakes produced in this manner may be used as tools, and a retouched flake is a flake that shows evidence of this use. The rest of the artifacts are unretouched flakes. The tool assemblage is probably not Acheulean, which includes handaxes, but is characterized in the article as Mode 1. Mode 1 is a very old, simple technology of flakes, pebble tools, and choppers made with hard hammer percussion. Implications Since at the time England was connected to Eurasia by a land bridge, the Pakefield artifacts dont imply that Homo erectus needed boats to get to the North Sea coastline. Neither does it imply that Homo erectus originated in Europe; the oldest Homo erectus are found at Koobi Fora, in Kenya, where a long history of earlier hominin ancestors is also known. Interestingly, the artifacts from the Pakefield site also do not imply that Homo erectus adapted to a cooler, chillier climate; during the time period in which the artifacts were deposited, the climate in Suffolk was balmier, closer to the Mediterranean climate traditionally considered the climate of choice for Homo erectus. Homo erectus or heidelbergensis? The Nature article merely says early man, referring to either Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis. Basically, H. heidelbergensis is still very enigmatic, but may be a transitional stage between H. erectus and modern humans or a separate species. There are no hominid remains recovered from Pakefield as of yet, so the people who lived at Pakefield may have been either one. Resources and Further Reading Parfitt, Simon L. The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe. Nature 438, Renà © W. Barendregt, Marzia Breda, et al., Nature, December 14, 2005. Roebroeks, Wil. Life on the Costa del Cromer. Nature 438, Nature, December 14, 2005. An unsigned article in British Archaeology titled Hunting for the first humans in Britain and dated 2003 describes the work of AHOB. The December 2005 issue of British Archaeology has an article on the findings. Thanks to members of BritArch for their additions.

New Laws have Changed Criminal Investigators Over Time Assignment

New Laws have Changed Criminal Investigators Over Time - Assignment Example These new laws have in many ways improved conviction rates of those that are guilty while at the same time ensuring that those that those that are innocent are not unfairly charged. These laws have gone a long way in equipping law enforcement agencies and their officers with invaluable tools in their work. Introduction Just like any facet of life, criminal activities have also improved over the years, with many more of them utilizing the latest technologies and tools in the commission of crime. This has meant that the investigators of crime have also had to change their tack and keep up with the advances in the nature and types of criminal activities that offenders of the twenty first century engage in. Many advances have been made especially in the areas of investigation of terrorist activities as well as investigation of scenes of crime using DNA and other types of technologies not only to catch criminals but also to prevent those planning to commit crime from being successful whil e at the same time exonerating those who may be arrested using inaccurate, incomplete or illegal evidence. 1. The development of new laws has significantly changed the responsibilities and working of the criminal investigator over the past few years. ... he most significant change that the new laws have brought is the fact that the forensic field has now become a more scientific, more accountable and increasingly more accurate ensuring that the perpetrators or crime – and more specifically – the correct perpetrators of crime are presented in court and, even more importantly, significantly reducing the numbers of those brought to court unfairly due to insufficient evidence (American Civil Liberties Union, 2011). New laws have been made giving the law enforcement agencies more and more powers in the collection of electronic communication data such as mobile phone records, internet usage, instant messaging, making the collection of gathering evidence that would stand up in a court of law and ensure conviction of those charged with different crimes. A lot of these laws, such as those contained in the rather wordyUniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (more easily known as the Patriot Act) have made it easier for investigators to not only collect a lot of data on crimes committed but to, even more importantly, collect evidence that enables the them to prevent potential crimes from being committed (American Civil Liberties Union, 2011). Another set of laws that has also significantly changed the way criminal investigation takes place is the set of laws governing the collection, storage and analysis of DNA evidence. 2. DNA analysis has been hailed as the most significant criminal investigation development since the then revolutionary development of fingerprint technology. The use of DNA data and information has had a game changing impact on criminal investigation the world over and nowhere has this been more evident than in the United