Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems

Corporate and Market Developments

Morgan Stanley's talks to unload its commodities business are heating up again after months of fruitless negotiations with potential buyers.

Retail and Consumer Insights

• Small Business Wellness: Manta’s Q3 index surveyed owners regarding holiday retail marketing plans.
• Customer Service: Steve Williams, MD of customer flow management firm Qmatic, shares strategies to improve service this Christmas.
• Etsy Growth: Etsy, a website for handmade and vintage goods, has sold more than $1 billion in merchandise this year as customers increasingly view products on mobile devices.
• Wireless Rankings: Print tumbled to last place in this year's Consumer Reports rankings for U.S. wireless service providers.

Economic and Regulatory

Understanding Map Generalization

What is Cartographic Generalization?

Reality has far too much information to be conveyed on a single two-dimensional map. Map generalization is the process of selecting and simplifying map features appropriate to the map's scale and purpose.

Key Techniques in Map Generalization

• Selection: Choosing only relevant line, point, and area features to be mapped. This decision is based on the map's intended use.
• Simplification: Reduction of unnecessary detail, often involving reducing the number of vertices (corners) in a polygon shape or line.
• Smoothing: Similar to simplification, this technique smooths out abruptly joined lines, improving aesthetic quality.
• Displacement: Shifting overlapping features slightly so that all

Atomic Structure and Isotopes

Proton number: The number of protons in an atom (and the number of electrons in an uncharged atom).
Nucleon number: The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom.

In the periodic table, moving one element to the right increases the proton number by 1. Moving one element down increases the proton number by 8 in the first three periods (excluding transition elements).

Isotopes and Radioactivity

Isotopes: Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons (e.g., Carbon-12 and Carbon-14).

• Non-radioactive isotopes: Stable atoms.
• Radioisotopes: Unstable atoms that decay and emit radiation.

Applications of Radioisotopes

• Medical: Cancer treatment (radiotherapy) using Cobalt-60 to kill cancer cells.
• Industrial:

The Problem of Induction

Inductive reasoning goes from the particular to the general, from the observed to the unobserved.

Practical Problems

• How many observations are enough?
• Even well-confirmed hypotheses can later turn out to be wrong.
• Most scientists believe they really are discovering the fundamental laws of the universe, yet we have observed only a minute fraction of the universe.

Theoretical Problem

Science is supposed to be an empirical discipline that makes no claims beyond what is observed. However, this would stop any hypothesis from going from the particular to the general.

Key Thinkers and Scientific Method

Karl Popper (1902-94)

Rejected theories that tried to explain everything.

Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

Believed that human beings are dominated... Continue reading "The Problem of Induction in Science" »

Financial Definitions

• Actual Dollars (A_n): Dollars that reflect the inflation or deflation rate.
• Constant Dollars (A’_n): Year 0 dollars.
• Market Interest Rate (i): A rate which combines the effects of interest and inflation; used with actual dollar analysis.
• Inflation-Free Interest Rate (i’): A rate from which the effects of inflation have been removed; this rate is used with constant dollar analysis.

Capital and Financing

• Equity Financing: Capital coming from either retained earnings or funds raised from an issuance of stock.
• Debt Financing: Money raised through loans or by an issuance of bonds.
• Capital Structure: The means by which a firm is financed. Well-managed firms establish a target capital structure and strive to maintain the debt ratio.

Key Concepts in Engineering Economics

Engineering Economics is the science dealing with quantitative analysis techniques for selecting the most preferable alternative from several technically viable options.

Fundamental Principles

Four fundamental principles must be applied in all engineering economic decisions:

• The time value of money
• Differential (or incremental) cost and revenue
• Marginal cost and revenue
• The trade-off between risk and reward

Core Terminology Explained

Ethics

A set of principles that guides a decision-maker in distinguishing between right and wrong.

Market Interest Rate

The interest rate quoted by financial institutions, which refers to the cost of money for borrowers or the earnings from money for lenders.

Interest Rate

The cost, or price,

Benefits of Computers in Education

Enhanced Learning Experience

• Interactive Learning and Visualization: Computers make learning more interactive. For instance, a physics teacher can demonstrate complex concepts like nuclear fission using simulations on a computer and an LCD projector, allowing students to visualize experiments that are too dangerous to conduct in a school lab. This enables a deeper understanding.
• Personalized Learning and Curiosity: The use of computers matches learner development needs with personal interests. Students, inherently curious, are always seeking new information to stimulate their brains. Computers make learning more real and engaging by providing access to a vast array of resources.

Information Accessibility and Storage

• Vast

117 Ways to Pass the Earth Science Regents

1. The same substance always has the same density.

2. As pressure increases, density increases.

3. As temperature increases, density decreases.

4. Water expands when it freezes.

5. Most changes are cyclic.

6. Water is most dense at 4^oC, when it is a liquid.

7. The true shape of the Earth is an oblate spheroid, but from space it looks like a sphere.

44. As temperature increases, air pressure decreases.

45. As moisture increases, pressure decreases.

46. Air pressure decreases with altitude.

47. Highs are cool and dry; lows are warm and wet.

48. Wind is due to air pressure differences.

49. Wind blows from high to low pressure.

50. Wind is named from the direction that it is coming from.

51. The accepted value is the... Continue reading "Earth Science Regents: 117 Key Concepts" »

Psalm 73: Faith, Envy, and the End of the Wicked

Book III of Psalms

A Psalm by Asaph (World English Bible Translation)

1 Surely God^[a] is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm. 5 They are free from the burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck; violence covers them like a garment.

7 Their eyes bulge with fat; their minds pass the limits of conceit. 8 They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression. 9 They have set their mouth... Continue reading "Psalm 73: Finding Strength When the Wicked Prosper" »

Vladimir: The Rational Mind in Crisis

Vladimir represents the rational part of the duo, the mind; however, despite this, he is unable to react and remains powerless. Unlike Estragon, he is more intelligent and is the one who looks after Estragon's physical well-being. He raises philosophical questions but never achieves an answer. His suffering is purely intellectual; an example of this is seen when he fails to understand why Pozzo keeps Lucky as a slave. We can observe Descartes' influence in this character through the lens of "I think, therefore I am."

Pozzo and Lucky: Power and Class Dynamics

Pozzo and Lucky may represent a capitalist-working class relationship; the former enslaves Lucky and gives him leftovers. Paradoxically, despite being... Continue reading "Existentialism and Symbolism in Waiting for Godot" »