Research Project case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Project case study - Assignment Example This affects not only the quality of care but also the cost of care incurred by the organizations. As such, it is important for proper measure to be put in place including team-building measures, to allow proper team collaboration towards patient safety. Adequate conflict prevention and resolution measures are also important towards maintaining a positive relationship among health professionals and the patients. In an interview with Human Resource Manager from UPSON Regional Medical Center, various operational approaches were identified, which have allowed for the success of the organization in knitting its employees together towards one course. However, some measures could be put in place to further advance the relationship between the health professionals and the patients towards attaining patient-oriented quality care, an aspect that would reduce the cost of management through minimizing errors, promoting safety, and enhancing quick response to treatment. The communication mechani sms can also be important in reducing on-show rates; hence, promoting profitability. 2. What challenges are faced in ensuring proper communication between health professional both within and between departments at UPSON Regional Medical Center and what measures have been put in place to uphold proper communication? With increasing advancement in technology within the health care system, different organizations including UPSON Regional Medical Center have embraced clinical information systems that facilitate patient care. It is important to note that the security of patient information is highly important in the health care organizations and thus the different individuals from different departments who make up the teams that manage the patients are faced with an important role in safeguarding patient information(Freshman, Rubino, & Chassiakos, 2010). In some organizations, traditional information safety practices

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay A key theme in Great Expectations and April Raintree is the growth and change of the characters towards their acceptance of social class. This will be proven by Pip not accepting himself in the lower class and April not accepting herself in the native class. Then, there will be proof of how Pip and April attempted to change their social class. Finally the proof of how Pip accepted himself in the social class he was in and how April accepted herself as a Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip did not accept himself in the lower class. He wanted to be in the upper class just like Miss Havisham is. Pip was ashamed of his family and its lower class status. How he wasnt as fortunate as Estella who is a member of the higher class, especially when Estella insulted Pip saying that he is common and how he has coarse hands. He did not have a reason to think about his class status before this, and now that he does, hes disturbed to think he might be just common. This ensured Pip to not accept himself in the lower class. He didnt see any good from it. Pip felt he needed to impress Estella. She was the one who changed Pips perspective in everything. Before meeting Estella, Pip really looked up to Joe, blacksmith or a gentleman, Joes class status makes no difference. It is not until later, when he learns that the world cares about class, thats when Joes status mattered to Pip. After seeing Estellas house and everything she had, he wanted more to look forward to. Pip did not accept his life in the lower class. April is a young woman who has so many issues with her family and the people in her life. April always hid her feelings of shame from her sister Cheryl. April did not accept herself in the native class. Although she did not look native, she was sometimes ashamed that her sister Cheryl looked more native than she did. There were two different groups of children that went to the park. One group was brown-skinned children who looked like Cheryl in most ways. They were dirty-looking and they dressed in real raggedy cloths. I didnt care to play with them at all. The other group was fair-skinned and I envied them especially the girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. They seemed so clean and fresh. Some of them were freckled but they didnt seem to mind. To me, I imagined they were very rich and lived in big, beautiful houses. I wondered what their lives were like and I wished we could play with them. But they didnt care to play with Cheryl and me. They just called us names and bullied us. (Pg. 6) Since April was young, she always wanted to be with the people who were fair-skinned. She didnt like seeing her sister being called names especially, when they had to live with the DeRosiers. Half breeds were all that was said in that house. I heard you half breeds were dirty but now I can see that its true. (Unknown :() At one point, April hated being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She felt that being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis changed her life because when you think of Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis, you think of living off the streets and bums on Main Street. She wasnt any of these and she didnt want to be labelled as them. She was not happy being the person she knew she was. April did not accept her life in the native class. Pip changed his social class by going off to school to become a gentleman. He was lucky to have a benefactor. Ive put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half-forgot wot mens and womens faces wos like, I see yourn. . . . I see you there a many times plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. Lord strike me dead! I says each time-and I goes out in the open air to say it under the open heavens-but wot, if I gets liberty and money, Ill make that boy a gentleman! And I done it. (pg. 340) Magwitch reveals himself as Pips secret benefactor and how he got all his wealth. This quote changed Pips idealistic view of wealth and social class by forcing him to realize that his own status as a gentleman is owed to the loyalty of a lower-class criminal. Year after year, he moved further away from Joe and his lower class. Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one mans a blacksmith, and ones a whitesmith, and ones a goldsmith, and ones a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come. (pg. 236) Joe comes with a smart and content attitude toward the changes in Pips social class that have driven them apart, and he shows his goodness and loyalty by blaming the division not on Pip but on the unchangeable nature of the human condition. Pip as a gentleman makes a lot of money and as he gets wealthy, he forgets his family and the people that are important to him. In other words, he worries about trying to impress people, rather than being moral. April Raintree changed her identity of a native by marrying a rich white man named Bob Radcliff. She always wanted to be rich and forget about her heritage. She moved away from Winnipeg to Toronto. She tried running away from the life she did not want, to try to live a life she wanted. You think I dont know why you married Bob? It was to get away from me, thats why. Ill be you wished you were an only child. I bet you wished I was dead. (pg. 155) It was almost like she did not want Cheryl in her life at all. You never loved that man. You loved his money. You figured you were going to be Miss High Society. (pg. 158) April did not love Bob Radcliff; she only married him for his money. Pip learns from his mistakes growing up. After realizing what kind of person he has become, and how he has treated his loved ones, he felt he was better off being in the lower class. Pip realized that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and inner worth. When he is finally able to understand that, besides the esteem in which he holds Estella, someones social status is not what so ever connected to that someones character. Bentley Drummle is a symbol to this because even though he is a minor character, he gave an important message. Drummle is an upper class member. He gave Pip proof that social class has no connection to attitude, personality or moral worth. Drummles negative example helps Pip to see the inner worth of characters such as Magwitch and Joe, and Pip eventually scraped his immature fantasies about wealth and class. Everything changes for Pip after he learns the class status of his benefactor because he realized that Magwitch, a kind-hearted man who was never able to come out of the status into which he was born but in the end he was able to get wealthy. April realized that she wasnt happy with Bob, so they got a divorce. From that divorce, she received a good amount of money. She immediately went back home to her sister, but things were not good between Cheryl and April. After Cheryl committed suicide, April found her diaries and read them. She finally realized what Cheryl has gone through while April wasnt in her life and what she thought of everything especially what she thought of April. April accepted being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis then and there. Like her sister, she is proud to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Since she loved Cheryl, she was glad that a part of Cheryl was alive in her son, Henry Liberty. All life dies to give new life. (pg. 184) It was tragic that it had taken Cheryls death to bring April to accept her identity but she would strive for a better tomorrow now. For her sister and her son, her parents and her people. In conclusion, Pip accepted himself in the social class that he used to be in. Even though he remained in the higher class, Pip realized that he still cared for his loved ones in the lower class. For April, she accepted herself in the social class she was born in. Even though Cheryls life had to be taken away before April realized how important her heritage was. Pip carried a snobby attitude for a great portion of his life. He treated the people he loved without realization of how he wasnt respectful towards them. April had tried hiding, she had attempted to be someone shes not, she had tried being with someone she didnt love, and she had also undertook to blocking her own sister out of her life. No matter what April did, she couldnt get away from what she really was inside. She was born Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She just didnt feel proud of it nor did she want to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip and April both had issues with the people in their lives and they both found their true identities from being ashamed of their social class to peace with their lives.

The Importance of Latin in the Curriculum Essay -- Latin Language Educ

The Importance of Latin in the Curriculum My memories of Latin in high school are less than fond. I remember slouching in my chair, staring blankly at my desk as I tried to remember the form of the word agricola (farmer) in the ablative plural. Much of the class consisted of mundane activities like this. We translated endless Bible passages from Latin, translated what seemed like the entire body of Greek mythological literature, and read hundreds of lines from The Aneid, The Odyssey, and The Iliad. I signed up for Latin because I was considering going into medicine, and I had heard that doctors need to know Latin. As high school progressed, though, a medical career seemed less and less likely so it appeared I had no real use for Latin, except that I knew the meaning of phrases like carpe diem and semper ubi sub ubi (always wear underwear). When someone would ask me why I took Latin, I would either mumble something about how Latin is the foundation on which all modern languages are based, or I would laugh and agree w ith them that it was a waste of my time, and that it’s a dead language. And it is a dead language, at least in spoken form. Regardless of what Dan Quayle thinks, Latin is not the official language of Latin America. Latin has dropped from being the language spoken by almost the entire known Western world to an obscure language known mainly in scholarly circles. After the fall of the Roman Empire to Germanic invaders in 476 AD, Latin began a shift from being the common tongue to a language used mainly by upper-class and learned people (Hammond 243). Because the Church used Latin extensively, it became, along with ancient Greek, â€Å"the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is lodged,† as Martin Luth... ...s managed to escape from the wrath of the approaching Greek army. Works Cited â€Å"Amo, Amas, Latin – How Schools Are Using the Ancient Tongue to Teach English.† Time 11 December, 2000: 61. Culham, Phyllis, and Edmunds, Lowell, ed. Classics: A Discipline and Profession In Crisis. Lanham: University Press of America, 1989. Davis, Sally. Latin in American Schools: Teaching the Ancient World. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991. Hammond, Mason. Latin: A Historical and Linguistic Handbook. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1976. Kopff, E. Christian. The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition. Wilmington: ISI Books, 1999. Smith, Sharwood. On Teaching Classics. London, Henley and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977. Waquet, Francoise. Latin Or The Empire Of A Sign. Trans. John Howe. New York: Verso, 2001

American Community Survey

American Community Survey An Overview of the American Community Survey Have you ever thought about how, or why, new roads, schools, after-school programs, or hospitals are placed in communities? What makes communities attractive to new businesses or tourists? Why there is no ATM or video store on a street corner? The answers often lie in the numbers: numbers that reflect what our communities look like, how our communities have changed, and how those changes impact our daily lives. Most importantly, the numbers reflect how our communities are meeting the needs created by these changes.Traditionally, these numbers have been collected during the census every 10 years. Those numbers play a critical role for states and local communities in determining their share of federal money for schools, roads, senior citizen centers, and other services. In today’s world, our communities can change very quickly. Between decennial censuses, local governments, organizations and businesses need t imely data to assess and plan for local needs. Costly mistakes can result when planners do not have current data on which to base their decisions. That is one of the reasons why the U. S.Census Bureau has moved to a whole new way of gathering data to help answer those questions. Rather than taking a snapshot of a community once every ten years, the American Community Survey provides a dynamic and much timelier moving picture of the nation, every year. Overview * What is the American Community Survey? * Content * Survey Methodology * Data Products * How is it different from Census 2000? This presentation will give you an overview of the American Community Survey. We will answer the question â€Å"What is the American Community Survey? † and then move on to discuss the content, methodology, and data products.We will wrap up with a brief summary of how the American Community Survey is different from Census 2000. What is the American Community Survey? The American Community Surve y, sometimes referred to as the ACS, is a nationwide survey that collects essentially the same information on people and housing that was collected on the long-form questionnaire used in Census 2000. The American Community Survey is a continuous survey, in which each month a sample of housing unit addresses receives a questionnaire. About three million addresses are surveyed each year.The American Community Survey is a critical element in the Census Bureau's new approach to future censuses. Decennial Census In Census 2000, the census used 2 forms 1. â€Å"short† form – asked for basic demographic and housing information, such as age, sex, race, how many people lived in the housing unit, and if the housing unit was owned or rented by the resident 2. â€Å"long† form – collected the same information as the short form but also collected more in-depth information such as income, education, and language spoken at home * Only a small portion of the population, called a sample, received the long form.Two forms were used during Census 2000. The â€Å"short form† asked several questions on the most basic demographic and housing topics. These questions asked about age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, the number of people living in the housing unit, and if the housing unit was owned or rented by the resident. The â€Å"long form† collected the same information as the â€Å"short form,† but it also asked questions on additional topics. Thirty-two questions were asked of each resident of the housing unit on such topics as marital status, education, language spoken at home, employment, occupation, and others.Twenty-one questions were asked about the housing unit itself, so only one resident of that housing unit was asked to provide information on such topics as plumbing and kitchen facilities, type and cost of utilities, value of the property, and others. Only a sample of the total U. S. population received the long form. The dat a from the long form are called â€Å"sample data. † The basic data collected on both the short and the long forms are called â€Å"100 percent data† since these questions were asked for 100 percent of the U. S. population. 2010 Census and American Community Survey * 2010 Census will focus on counting the U.S. population * The sample data are now collected in the ACS * Puerto Rico is the only U. S. territory where the ACS is conducted * 2010 Census will have a long form for U. S. territories such as Guam and U. S. Virgin Islands * Same â€Å"short form† questions on the ACS The upcoming 2010 Census will include only one form sent to the entire U. S. population. That form will ask only questions similar to those contained in previous census short forms. The 2010 Census will provide a basic count of the U. S. population, collecting only the most basic demographic and housing information.Detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data will no longer be col lected as part of the decennial census. * The data that were collected from the long form sample are now produced from the American Community Survey. * The American Community Survey collects data from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. The American Community Survey does not collect data from the other U. S. territories, such as Guam and the U. S. Virgin Islands. The 2010 decennial census will continue to collect long form type data for these areas. The questions that are asked on the 2010 Census are also asked on the American Community Survey questionnaire.American Community Survey Content The content collected by the American Community Survey can be grouped into four main types of characteristics – social, economic, housing, and demographic. Let’s take a closer look at the type of information each of these categories contain. American Community Survey Social Characteristics * Education * Marit al Status * Fertility * Grandparent Caregivers * Veterans * Disability Status * Place of Birth * Citizenship * Year of Entry Language Spoken at home * Ancestry/ Tribal Affiliation Social characteristics include topics such as education, marital status, fertility, grandparent caregivers, veterans, disability status, place of birth, citizenship status, year of entry, language spoken at home, ancestry and tribal affiliation. American Community Survey Economic Characteristics * Income * Benefits * Employment Status * Occupation * Industry * Commuting to Work * Place of Work Economic characteristics include such topics as income, benefits, employment status, occupation, industry, commuting to work, and place of work.Data on the economic characteristics of the population are collected to assess the well-being of individuals and households. American Community Survey Housing Characteristics * Tenure * Occupancy ;amp; Structure * Housing Value * Taxes ;amp; Insurance * Utilities * Mortgage/M onthly Rent Housing characteristics include topics such as tenure, occupancy and structure, housing value, taxes and insurance, utilities, and mortgage or monthly rent. This housing data gives us a measure of the housing stock of the country. American Community Survey Demographic Characteristics * Sex Age * Race * Hispanic Origin The American Community Survey also collects the basic demographic characteristics such as sex, age, race and Hispanic origin. This is the same information that will be collected by Census 2010. American Community Survey 2008 Content Changes * Three new questions * Health Insurance Coverage * Veteran’s Service-connected Disability * Marital History * Deletion of one question * Time and main reason for staying at the address * Changes in some wording and format Several changes were made to the American Community Survey questionnaire at the beginning of 2008.Three new questions were added and one question was deleted. The three new questions are on heal th insurance coverage, veteran’s service-connected disability, and marital history. These new data will begin to be available during the data release in 2009. The deleted question measured the time and main reason for staying at the sampled address. These data were used for internal research purposes and the data were not published in the data products. Changes were also made to some of the demographic questions so that they are consistent with the questions that will be on the 2010 Census questionnaire.American Community Survey Methodology * Sample includes about 3 million addresses each year * Three modes of data collection * mail * phone * personal visit * Data are collected continuously throughout the year About 3 million addresses are selected for the American Community Survey sample every year. The American Community Survey data collection operation uses three modes that take place over a three-month period: mail, telephone, and personal visit. For most housing units th e first phase of data collection includes a questionnaire mailed to the sample address for the household to complete and return by mail.If no response by mail is received, the Census Bureau follows up with computer assisted telephone interviewing, or CATI, if a telephone number is available for the address. If the Census Bureau is unable to reach an occupant of the unit using CATI, or if the household refuses to participate, the address may be selected for computer assisted personal interviewing, or CAPI. At any point in this process, receipt of a completed questionnaire from the sampled address results in the address being removed from the data collection workload. Data for the American Community Survey are collected continuously throughout the year.Interviews conducted between January 1st and December 31st of a given year are aggregated to produce annual estimates for calendar years. For example, interviews conducted between January 1st and December 31st of 2009 are aggregated to produce estimates for 2009. American Community Survey Target Population * Resident population of the United States and Puerto Rico * Living in housing units and group quarters * Current residents at the selected address * â€Å"Two month† rule Interview and residence rules define the target population for a survey.These rules therefore identify the units and the people eligible for inclusion in the survey. The sampling frame reflects this choice of universe, as do the instructions on the forms and in the procedures used by survey interviewers during follow-up. The American Community Survey collects data from all persons without regard to their legal status or citizenship. In 2005 the target population was limited to the housing unit population of the US and Puerto Rico. For the first time in 2006, and for every year thereafter, the American Community Survey has included the resident population living in BOTH housing units and group quarters.The American Community Survey resid ence rules were established to collect data from people who are currently living at the selected address. For inclusion in the survey, these rules require that, at the time the questionnaire is completed, the respondent is living or staying at the housing unit address for more than two months. American Community Survey Group Quarters Group quarters are places where people live or stay that are normally owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or services for the residents.These services may include custodial or medical care as well as other types of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving these services. The group quarters population is divided into two categories, the Institutional group quarters population and the Non-institutional group quarters population. The Institutional group quarters population includes residents under formally authorized supervised care. Examples of these facilities include skilled nursing facilities, adult correctional facilities, and psychiatric hospitals. The Non-institutional group quarters population includes residents of college/university housing, ilitary barracks, and group homes. American Community Survey Period Estimates * ACS estimates are period estimates, describing the average characteristics over a specified period * Contrast with point-in-time estimates that describe the characteristics of an area on a specific date * 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year estimates will be released for geographic areas that meet specific population thresholds American Community Survey period estimates describe the average characteristics of the population or housing over a specified period of time. In the case of American Community Survey one-year estimates, the period is the calendar year.For example, the 2007 American Community Survey data describe the population and characteristics of an area from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007, not for any specific day within the year. The Ame rican Community Survey collects survey information continuously nearly every day of the year and then aggregates the results over a specific period of time – one year, three years, or five years. The data collection is spread evenly across the entire period represented so as not to over-represent any particular month or year within the period. American Community Survey Data Products Release ScheduleAmerican Community Survey period estimates describe the average characteristics of the population or housing over a specified period of time. In the case of American Community Survey one-year estimates, the period is the calendar year. For example, the 2007 American Community Survey data describe the population and characteristics of an area from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007, not for any specific day within the year. The American Community Survey collects survey information continuously nearly every day of the year and then aggregates the results over a specific period of time – one year, three years, or five years.The data collection is spread evenly across the entire period represented so as not to over-represent any particular month or year within the period. American Community Survey Data Products Profiles * Data Profiles * Narrative Profiles * Comparison Profiles * Selected Population Profiles Tables * Detailed Tables * Subject Tables * Ranking Tables * Geographic Comparison Tables * Thematic Maps * Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files The American Community Survey data products are similar to those produced from the decennial census long form.Like the decennial sample data products, the American Community Survey products show the characteristics of the country’s population and housing. These products include four broad types of products – profiles, tables, thematic maps, and Public Use Microdata Sample, or PUMS, files. There are multiple types of profiles and tables – data profiles, narrative profiles, compar ison profiles, selected population profiles, detailed tables, subject tables, ranking tables, and geographic comparison tables. All of the data products are available on the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder.The data products are explored in depth in the presentation titled â€Å"Data Products from the American Community Survey. † American Community Survey Learning More * ACS Main Page * 2007 Data Product Details * Subject Definitions * Guidance on Comparing 2007 Data to Other Sources * Design and Methodology Report * The ACS Compass Products The American Community Survey Web site has a lot of information about the program, its data products, and evaluation of the data. The next several slides will present some valuable resources for learning more about the American Community Survey.We will look at the ACS Main page, the 2007 Data Product Details, Subject Definitions, Guidance on Comparing 2007 Data to Other Sources, the ACS Design and Methodology Report, and The ACS Compass Products. The upcoming slides show static images of the American Community Survey Web site taken in late-September 2008. As the Web site is continually updated, these images may differ slightly from what is currently on the active Web site. At the bottom of each of the upcoming slides are the Internet addresses for the Web page that the slide is referencing. American Community Survey ACS Main PageThe American Community Survey Main Page has links to valuable information. Currently, one of those links is the â€Å"2007 ACS Data Release. † It is accessible under the â€Å"Highlights† section on the main American Community Survey Webpage: http://www. census. gov/acs/www. The Highlights section changes periodically so the most recent American Community Survey happenings are highlighted. You can always access information on the latest data release by clicking on â€Å"Access Data† in the top menu bar or by directly typing in the Web address, http://www. censu s. gov/acs/www/Products/. American Community Survey 2007 Data ReleaseThe 2007 ACS Data Release page includes links to four ways to access American Community Survey data. They are the American FactFinder, the File Transfer Protocol or FTP site, the Public Use Microdata Sample or PUMS files, and Request a Custom tabulation. It also contains data user tools and tips as well as important documentation. This page is where you can access much of the information you may need when using American Community Survey data. In the image on this slide, arrows highlight hyperlinks to 2007 Data Product Details and Comparing ACS Data, both located under the Data User Tools and Tips column.Under the Documentation column, arrows highlight hyperlinks to Subject Definitions, Errata, User Notes, and the ACS Design and Methodology report. We will now briefly explore each of these resources. American Community Survey 2007 Data Product Details The 2007 Data Product Details contains table shells and their ID numbers, maps, geographic areas, and more. At the top left of the page, you can use the drop down menu to select the state you’re interested in and it will produce the list of geographic areas that are published for that state. There will be a similar tool for the three-year estimates that will be released in December 2008.The box in the middle of the page allows you to look at table shells by topic. These table shells do not contain any data, however they are a useful mechanism for seeing the data that are offered and the format of those data before going to American FactFinder to begin your data retrieval. At the bottom of the page you’ll find some downloadable files that contain detailed documentation on the data products. One of these files allows users to see if the 2007 American Community Survey produced a table that is comparable to a table produced from the Census 2000 Summary File 3.Another file lists all of the tables that are new, have been deleted, or have been modified since the release of the previous year’s data. Also on this page is a document that provides instructions for applying statistical testing to American Community Survey data, so that you can test to see whether changes in the data are statistically valid. Each of these files will open in a new window and can be saved on your computer. American Community Survey 2007 Data Product Details The image on this slide shows the table crosswalk that is found by clicking on the link titled â€Å"Census 2000 Summary File 3 detailed tables with comparable ACS tables. The crosswalk offers information about the table’s title, id number and the subject area for both the Census 2000 Summary File 3 and the 2007 American Community Survey. It also contains information on how the 2007 American Community Survey and Census 2000 Summary File 3 tables correspond to one another.This is available as a downloadable Excel file from the Data Product Details page. American Community Su rvey Comparison Guidance * Comparing 2007 ACS to 2006 ACS * Census Bureau supports comparisons made between 2006 and 2007 ACS data * Comparing 2007 ACS to Census 2000 Differences between the 2007 ACS and Census 2000 include residence rules, universes, and reference periods. The Census Bureau provides guidance to users that want to compare 2007 American Community Survey data with data from other sources. You will also find a link on this web page to guidance on comparing 2006 ACS data to other sources. Guidance is needed before drawing conclusions because in some instances comparisons could be misleading due to differences in questions or methods. The Census Bureau supports comparisons made between 2006 and 2007 ACS data.When comparing 2007 American Community Survey data to Census 2000 data, the user should keep in mind the differences that exist between the 2007 ACS and Census 2000. As noted earlier, these include differences in residence rules, universes, and reference periods. For example, the 2007 ACS uses a â€Å"two-month† residence rule – defined as anyone living for more than two months in the sample unit when the unit is interviewed whereas Census 2000 used a â€Å"usual residence† rule – defined as the place where a person lives or stays most of the time.We encourage you to review the guidance on our website which provides useful information for every variable. American Community Survey Comparing Data The Census Bureau provides guidance to users that want to compare 2007 American Community Survey data with data from other sources. You will also find a link on this web page to guidance on comparing 2006 ACS data to other sources. Guidance is needed before drawing conclusions because in some instances comparisons could be misleading due to differences in questions or methods. The Census Bureau supports comparisons made between 2006 and 2007 ACS data.When comparing 2007 American Community Survey data to Census 2000 data, the u ser should keep in mind the differences that exist between the 2007 ACS and Census 2000. As noted earlier, these include differences in residence rules, universes, and reference periods. For example, the 2007 ACS uses a â€Å"two-month† residence rule – defined as anyone living for more than two months in the sample unit when the unit is interviewed whereas Census 2000 used a â€Å"usual residence† rule – defined as the place where a person lives or stays most of the time.We encourage you to review the guidance on our website which provides useful information for every variable. American Community Survey User Notes The user notes section provides important information about the data by specific year. For example, the first note listed on the screen references the â€Å"Modification Made in 2007 ACS Weighting Methodology for Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes in Louisiana. † It states the following: â€Å"The review of the 2007 operational data disco vered evidence that suggests a high incidence of misclassification of uninhabitable units as vacant units.The effect of misclassification was almost entirely removed through a modification in the weighting methodology for Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. The effect of the weighting adjustment was to down-weight units that had the vacancy status of ‘Other Vacant. ’ This modification resulted in more consistent and accurate ACS estimates of the number of vacant units and ‘persons per household’ in these two parishes. This modification was also made to the 2006 ACS weighting methodology. † American Community Survey Errata NotesThe Errata notes page will provide users with information on any updates made to the data due to detected errors. For example, the errata note 46, which is the first entry on the screen, references â€Å"Subject Table S2101 and Base Table B21002 for years prior to 2007, period of military service. † The errata note states t he following: â€Å"Due to an editing error, veteran's period of service (VPS) was being incorrectly assigned for some individuals. The majority of the errors misclassified some people who reported only serving during the Vietnam Era as having served in the category â€Å"’Gulf War and Vietnam Era. The remainder of the errors misclassified some people who reported only serving between the Vietnam Era and Gulf War as having served in the category ‘Gulf War. ’ These errors have been resolved for the 2007 tabulations. â€Å" American Community Survey Subject Definitions The Subject Definitions document is a glossary of all American Community Survey measures. In the 2007 version, definitions of the quality measures describing American Community Survey data have been added. Versions for the 2002 through 2007 American Community Surveys are available. American Community SurveySubject Definitions The Subject Definitions document includes explanations of the measures. For example, the partial definition of the â€Å"Language Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English† measure that is shown on this slide tells us that the questions are only asked of people aged 5 years and older. The full definition provides other important information about this measure. American Community Survey Design and Methodology Report * Important reference document covering methods used in producing ACS data * American Community Survey How to Use the DataThe ACS Design and Methodology paper describes the basic design of the American Community Survey and details the full set of methods and procedures that are currently in place. An updated version of the paper is forthcoming. This report can be accessed from the 2007 Data Release page. American Community Survey How to Use the Data The geography notes section provides a brief explanation of the Census Bureau’s geographic terms. Geography notes are located on the â€Å"How to Use the Data† Web page. The yellow toolbar that sits just below the American Community Survey banner is accessible from all pages on the AmericanCommunity Survey Web site. Click on â€Å"How to Use the Data,† which is the fourth tab from the right. American Community Survey Geography Notes The geography notes provide an overview of the types of geographic areas that are presented in American Community Survey data products. At the bottom of the page are printable . pdfs for the current year and past years of the American Community Survey. American Community Survey The ACS Compass Products * Set of educational handbooks aimed at specific audiences * Presentation slides on important ACS topics E-learning tutorial In recognition of the need to provide guidance on new concepts and the challenges they bring to users of American Community Survey data, the U. S. Census Bureau is developing a series of educational materials called The ACS Compass Products. The ACS Compass Products include user-specific handbook s, PowerPoint presentations, and an on-line tutorial. The handbooks provide user-friendly information about the ACS and the multiyear estimates available in 2008. Each handbook targets a specific user group including first time ACS data users.The PowerPoint presentations, such as this, provide important information on various aspects of the American Community Survey. These presentations were developed for two main purposes: (1) for individual to use to learn more about the ACS and (2) to provide a wide audience with the tools needed to conduct training on the ACS. Each presentation consists of approximately 35 slides and the accompanying speakers’ notes. The presentations have also been recorded as multimedia files so users can learn about the ACS without having to read the presentations or attend a training session.An on-line tutorial that enables users to understand and appropriately use ACS data is also planned for future release. American Community Survey Similarities wit h Census 2000 * Same questions and many of the same basic statistics * 5-year estimates will be produced for same broad set of geographic areas including census tracts and block groups Now that we have explored the American Community Survey program and products, let’s wrap up by answering the question â€Å"How is the American Community Survey different from Census 2000? As mentioned earlier, the American Community Survey asks many of the same questions and produces many of the same basic statistics as the sample data from Census 2000.American Community Survey data will be produced for geographies as large as the nation and as small as block groups. Five-year estimates will be produced for the same broad set of geographic areas that received sample data from Census 2000, including census tracts and block groups. American Community Survey Key Differences from Census 2000 Beginning in 2010, data for small geographic areas will be produced every year versus once every 10 years * Data for larger areas are available now and data for mid sized area will be available in December 2008 * Census 2000 data described the population and housing as of April 1, 2000 while ACS data describe a period of time and require data for 12 months, 36 months, or 60 months As opposed to the decennial census which produced data once every 10 years, the American Community Survey will provide a continuous stream of updated information for states and local areas.Updated data from the American Community Survey will be released every year. Updated data have been available since 2005 for areas with populations of 65,000 or more. Data in the form of three-year estimates will be available for areas with populations of 20,000 or more in December 2008. American Community Survey estimates provide information about the characteristics of population and housing for areas over a specified period of time.American Community Survey single-year and multiyear estimates contrast with â€Å"point-in -time† estimates, such as those from the decennial census long form samples, which are designed to measure characteristics as of a certain date or narrow time period. For example, Census 2000 was designed to measure the characteristics of population and housing in the United States based upon data collected around April 1, 2000, and thus its data reflect a narrower timeframe than American Community Survey data. American Community SurveyKey Differences from Census 2000 * The goal of ACS is to produce data comparable to the Census 2000 long form data * These estimates will cover the same small areas as Census 2000 but with smaller sample sizes * Smaller sample sizes for 5-year ACS estimates results in reductions in the reliability of estimates In Census 2000 approximately 17 percent of the housing units received a long form. Statistics from this sample were produced for a broad set of geographic areas including the nation, all states, counties, census tracts, and block groups.Fi ve years of American Community Survey data are needed to produce estimates comparable to the estimates produced from the Census 2000 long form. A benefit that users will gain from the American Community Survey is the more timely issuance of the data and the greater frequency with which the data are released. Also, it produces information for small areas, including tracts and block groups, which will be updated every year instead of once every decade. The sample sizes for the 5-year ACS estimates will be smaller than the sample sizes were for Census 2000. This will result in a reduction in the reliability of the estimate.

Different Type of Budgeting Technique

Budgeting lies at the foundation of every financial plan. It doesn’t matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or earning six-figures a year, you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds. Here’s everything you need to help you create a budget using different approach. a)Incremental Budgeting This is where the current budget and actual figures act as the starting point or base for the new budget. The base is adjusted for forecast changes to, for example, the product mix, sales volume, sales price, expenses and capital expenditure that are expected to occur over the next budget period. It is called incremental budgeting as the approach does not focus on the base, but focuses on the increment (the changes from the base). An example would include increasing last years operating expenses by the rate of inflation to calculate the new budgeted figure. The major disadvantage of this is that the major part of the expense (the base) does not change and in fact is overlooked and not questioned under this approach. For example the base figure may be distorted due to extraordinary events in the previous period which are not expected to reoccur. Thus if this is not taken into account, the budget could be misleading. Advantages of Incremental Budgeting Easy to implement If you are looking for a budget that is very simple to implement, incremental budgeting might be for you. You do not have to send your department managers to any special type of training in order to utilize this budgeting system. It is easy to learn and the process can be completed within a very short period of time. Gradual Change One of the benefits of incremental budgeting is that it allows gradual change for the business. If you value gradual change instead of trying to change everything quickly, this type of budget is ideal. Many times, if your business tries to change too fast, it can become unstable and lose sight of what it does best. There are some other benefit regarding the incremental budgeting: * Flexibility–This type of budgeting is very flexible. You can easily do it from one month to the next. This allows you to see change very quickly when you implement a new policy or budget. * Avoid conflict–Companies with many different departments often run into conflict between departments because of their different budgets. With this method of budgeting, it is easier to keep everyone on the same page and avoid conflicts between departments. * The model operates under a stable and predictable system and any change will be gradual. * Managers can operate their departments on a consistent basis. * Conflicts should be easily avoidable if departments can be seen to be treated similarly. It is Appropriate where there is a large number of cost centres/budgets to calculate and forecasts do not change significantly from one year to the next * Co-ordination between forecasts is easier to achieve. * The impact of change can be seen quickly. Disadvantages of Incremental Budgeting * It assumes that activities and methods of working will continue in the same way. * It allows no proper ince ntive for managers to develop new innovative ideas. * Its normally on an upward trend, hence providing no incentive for managers to reduce costs. It encourages spending up to the budget limits so that future estimates are maintained next year. * The forecast may become out of date and no longer relate to the level of activity or type of work being carried out. * The priority for resource allocation may have changed ever since the prior estimates were originally set. * May perpetuate past inefficiencies. In other words incremental budgeting does not cause serious challenge to the status quo of managers concerned because different methods of achieving performance objectives are not put to test * There may be budgetary slack built into the estimates, which is never reviewed. In other words Managers might have overestimated their requirements in the past in order to obtain a forecast which is easier to work towards, and which will allow them to achieve favorable results. * Does not account for change–This method is based on the idea that expenses will run pretty much as they did before. However, in business, this is rarely the case. There are always variables. * No incentives–Such a simple method of budgeting really does not provide your employees with much reason to be creative. They have no incentive to innovate and come up with new ideas or policies. When a budget allows a little extra room for innovation, you might find that your employees come up with something great. * Use it or lose it–Many employees view this as a â€Å"use it or lose it† system. They know that next year's budget is going to be incrementally based on this year's. Therefore, if they do not spend everything that is allocated to them, they may not have enough money to work with next year. This creates an environment where waste is encouraged. (b)Zero Based Budgeting his method was briefly popular during the 1970s but didn’t quite make it as a widely held practice. Yet in today’s current business set-up, the method is being revived and regarded as the better approach. ZBB starts off with practically nothing on which to base one’s budget assumptions. This stands in contrast to the traditional method, in which managers and supervisors calculate their proje ctions by using the previous year’s budget as their baseline. ZBB as a budget preparation method lost its popularity due to the numerous documentation requirements imposed. Managers and supervisors have to justify every projected cost and its purposes, plus the presentation of one or more alternative courses of action, which should be similarly justified. The procedure doesn’t end there, as every proposed budget and its alternatives have to be measured in terms of productivity and efficiency performance, including the results of cost-to-benefits analyses. Moreover, the manager is also required to present the consequences, in case a majority of the top management members would vote against the proposed cost projection. It’s no wonder that ZBB lost its following in its early years, since the procession of numerous calculations, justifications, analyses and documentation are indeed too tedious for comfort. But that was in the '70s, when computerization was still in its budding stage and personal computers were unheard of. Under the current business set-up, in which research and data analyses are common, all those requirements can be produced in a jiffy, by simply using business intelligence capabilities. Inasmuch as the best budget estimations are those that are closest to the real thing, zero-based rojections may finally come of age by getting the support it needs from today’s data marts and data warehouses. (Charles, 1995) Pros and Cons of Zero-based-budgeting This budget preparation method is actually a spin-off of the budget plans introduced during the 1920s. Due to the excesses and corrupt practices of local public officials, the federal government developed a system of controlling the disbursements of public funds by way of a revised budget plan. The success of this method encouraged other industries to adopt the same system. It was modified through the years, along with certain developments in the methods of accounting for manufacturing costs. However, as businesses grew and flourished, the financial managers and accountants became overly burdened by the processes involved in developing ZBB plans. Too much time and effort were being wasted in collecting, summarizing and analyzing recorded data, only to be set aside for future implementations, which oftentimes did not materialize. Despite this drawback, ZBB was regarded as a sensible approach because of its high degree of efficiency in controlling costs and maximizing productivity. In fact, government sectors and non-profit organizations still make use of the ZBB approach, as it allows each organization to visualize the incoming year’s performance based on present trends and conditions. In summarizing all documentation to support the master budget, redundancies in initiatives and functions become more visible and are thus eliminated. Although no longer popular, some industrial companies still make use of a zero-based budgeting approach on a per-department or per-project basis. This is particularly true if the departments or projects require a greater degree of cost leveling, inasmuch as their outputs do not directly contribute to business profitability Financial managers today are hardly affected by the re-emergence of this budget approach, as their trainings are basically founded on methodologies that make use of research and data analysis. Not only that, the advent of PCs and business intelligence applications and tools makes the preparation of supporting documentation as easy as pie, so to speak. All they have to do is click or double-click on their mouses and the BI financial report writers will simply drill-down, drill-around, and drill-through databases and data warehouses or even from web-based browsers to produce reports that will provide up-to-date information. There is spreadsheet integration and its capability to automate calculations, as well as the intelligent trees, process diagrams, and balance scorecards that can establish hierarchies, workflow mapping and key performance indicators. The drawback that was once attributed to the zero-based budget planning method has become part of its history, but its usefulness fits perfectly with the methodologies of the 21st century. (Cantoria, 2011) (c)Rolling Budget Businesses are increasingly using rolling budgets. Also called continuous budgeting, rolling budgets always involve maintaining a plan for a specified time period in the future. To implement rolling budgets, many advocate leveraging new technological resources, which means software. It must be understood that the technology (e. g. , bolt-on software packages) is not the solution. It is a tool by which and an environment in which management can have the opportunity to develop solution sets. Published surveys of financial officers of the largest industrial companies in the United States, Australia, Holland, Japan, and the United Kingdom show a number of interesting similarities as well as differences in budgeting practices across countries. (1) First, the use of master budgets is very widespread in all of these countries. Another significant finding is that financial managers in many countries distinguish between cost behavior patterns–variable versus fixed costs–for a common reason: They want to prepare more meaningful budgets by building flexibility into the model. How do these facts impact the concept of rolling budgets? Rolling budgets always involve maintaining a plan for a specified time period in the future. This result is achieved by adding a new time period in the future as the current time period that ended is dropped. Large companies, such as Electrolux and General Electric, prepare strategic plans and then integrate annual operating budgets that are divided into four-quarter rolling budgets, and smaller high-tech public companies, such as Keithley Instruments in Solon, Ohio, follow a similar pattern of planning. The annual operating budgets are prepared based upon best estimates of what management expects to occur and wants to achieve during the coming year. Flexibility is built into the process by considering how costs and revenues will change if different levels of activity occur (e. g. flexible budgeting), and each quarter's changes are made to reflect changes in the economic and financial environment–things such as what the competition is doing, how the economy is spending for capital goods, and any planned changes in their product mix (adding or dropping a product line). In short, sound managers operate an entity with one eye always on the horizon, and a well-prepared business plan as reflected in a â€Å"flexible rolling budget† can be one of the financial managers' best tools to assist them in their role of planning and controlling the operations of this company. For publicly traded companies, an earnings forecast â€Å"miss† can have an immediate and devastating impact on share price. And for both public and private companies, effective allocation of resources mandates that the organization have the best possible understanding of what the short-term and long-term future brings. The speed of change in today's economy has generated a trend toward adopting continuous forecasting as part of the planning process. While this type of â€Å"rolling forecast† offers many benefits, organizations often have trouble separating their forecast from and coordinating their forecast with the operational budget. Instead of truly forecasting–which ideally should be a higher-level projection–organizations end up preparing mid-year or even quarterly â€Å"re-budgets,† with all of the associated effort. The result is a budget that takes too much time and effort–not a forecast that provides vision and direction. Advantages of Rolling budget No More Free Ride The result: an always-current financial forecast that reflects not only the company’s most recent monthly results but also any material changes to its business outlook or the economy. In addition, it provides fewer opportunities for account directors to ride the coattails of past performance. Although traditional one-year budgets are still the norm at most companies large and small, many accountants argue that rolling budgets can be a far more useful tool. Unlike static budgets, they encourage managers to react more quickly to changing economic developments or business conditions. They discourage what is too often a fruitless focus on the past (â€Å"Why didn’t we meet our numbers? †) in favor of a realistic focus on the future. And they produce forecasts that, over the near term, are never more than a few months old, even when companies are rolling them forward on a quarterly basis—the more common approach—rather than REL’s monthly basis. Implementing rolling budgets doesn’t necessarily require any fundamental change in the way a company has been doing its budgets—except, of course, it no longer does the job just once a year. However, companies that decide to step up to rolling budgets may want to take advantage of the decision to make a change and consider what else they can do to improve the process. After all, if a company can get everyone on board to make such a fundamental change, a further nudge to make the process more effective and efficient in other ways may be possible, too. (Morrow, 2010) The Problem Of Relevance In the view of many accountants, traditional budgets too often are useless because they are out of date soon after they are assembled. Assuming that much of the decision making that goes into them gets done in the fourth quarter of the prior year, by the end of the following year, traditional budgets reflect thinking and data more than 12 months old. Not surprisingly, such documents tend to get short shrift from front-line managers. In worst-case scenarios, they can even promote behaviors and business decisions that are counterproductive. Consider the real-world example of a Fortune 500 company that has been talking with REL about how it might improve its forecasting to produce better financial results. The company uses a traditional static annual budgeting process in which it sets monthly sales goals for each of its products. If the company misses its sales targets in the first month, product managers will typically push those projected sales into the final quarter of the year. By doing that, corporate management is acting as if the outlook for the full year remains unchanged even though sales were off to a slow start. But if the slow pace continues and product managers begin to realize that their lost sales can’t be made up in the last quarter, they start to budget them out over all of the remaining quarters of the year. Frequently, they wind up running massive discounting programs at the end of each quarter to hit their annual targets. Fortunately, the company can afford such budget maneuvering because it enjoys relatively high margins on its products, but such manipulation isn’t maximizing its return on investment. Acting Rationally The static budget encourages managers to create artificial demand for their products, not end-user demand. In other words, the company stuffs its distribution channel and simply delays future shipments. If the company had a more realistic budget, product managers would be able to act more rationally, eliminating the last-minute forced discounts. Payne, 2010) Not only are static annual budgets restrictive, it turns out that many managers don’t really like them. Most of the clients complain that their current planning process is extremely painful and time-consuming. General manager of the Stanford, Connecticut, office of Parson Group, a national consulting firm focused on finance, accounting and business systems. Assuming the client is operating on a calendar year, everyone runs around feverishly in October and November to do budgeting, and then at the end of the process, they’re happy to get it over with—knowing they don’t have to do it again until the next November. Manage The Information Implementing a rolling budget involves more than going through the annual budgeting process four times a year instead of one. Because the time between budgets has been compressed, management must access and process information more quickly than it was able to do in the past. To do that, line managers must become more involved in the process and the company must embrace technology that will allow it to quickly capture and disseminate the raw data needed for decision making and forecasting. Most organizations today rely on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to do their budgeting. They work, but they can be laborious, requiring finance managers to piece together input from all the operations managers throughout the organization. The process was slow and exhausting, producing a static and reactive product that was built on data that was typically at least six months old. Today, that company uses a specially designed budget planning, forecasting and analysis software product to do the job. (For a list of such software, see the sidebar â€Å"Software for Budget Planning and Analysis. ) This kind of software makes it easier for managers throughout a company to access, enter and share data on a real-time basis, using the Internet as a communications medium. â€Å"Managers used to spend a lot of time allocating expenses among different segments of the business. Since the new software automates the process, managers can spend more time analyzing the data. (Swaller, 2010) The Big Pi cture For public companies, the benefits of more timely and accurate budgets may ultimately extend beyond operations. Under Wall Street’s close scrutiny, meeting earnings forecasts has become more important than ever. A misstep, even one that’s just a penny per share below expectations, can translate into a sharp stock sell-off and, in the long run, drive up a company’s cost of capital. Theoretically, between rolling budgets and predictive accounting, companies can minimize the controllable factors that cause inaccurate earnings projections, Therefore, they would have fewer actual-to-forecast variations, which in turn would help cut down on stock price volatility. † Although no budgeting technique can predict the future, these techniques allow companies to get much closer to the ideal. The only holdback is the willingness of a company’s managers to use these new technology tools that are now available. Unfortunately, most â€Å"static† annual budget processes fail to provide a clear vision of the enterprise's impending direction. Forecasting allows organizations to close the gap between the overall strategic plan and the detailed operational budget. An ideal planning cycle includes an ongoing forecasting component that flows directly from the overall strategic plan and integrates with the operating budget. The output from this higher-level planning system then directly impacts the outcome of the detail budget. This principle of a continuous/rolling forecast that drives a target-based detail budget is a key financial component of many organizations' highest-level strategic planning process. The â€Å"Strategic Plan† involves many nonfinancial processes (competitive analyses, initiative-focused plans, and the like) and becomes the driver for the rolling forecast. The forecast translates broad-based initiatives into key statistical and operational factors and results. The operating budget, in turn, provides plans and budget-to-actual control functions at the lower levels of the organization (e. g. cost center) Another useful feature of the forecasting system is to visually portray trends of such metrics. For example, a forecast for product revenue might include the historic revenue-per-salesperson ratio and allow a manager to forecast this future rate, in combination with the expected number of salespeople, in order to determine future revenue (see Figure 2 for a parameter-driven forec asting layout). Statistic- or parameter-driven results provide a useful basis for review of the forecast. (Montgomery, 2010) DISADVANTAGES OF ROLLING BUDGET. 1. It is very expensive because of the elaborate set up of the budget department. . The budget might be so reviewed on such a manner that there will be no significance between the budgeted and actual results. The managers may tune budget to actual and it will not serve as a good yardstick 3. It requires account forecast of changes in economics, political, social ecological and business conditions. In practice this changes may not be ascertainable because of lack of statics. Above is the major limitation of rolling budget. 4. It is very expensive and elusive fro small organization. 5. It is cumbersome for data collection except where computer is in use. (d)Activity Based Budgeting Activity based budgeting is an approach to the budgeting process that focuses on identifying the costs of activities that take place in every area of a business or organization, and determining how those activities relate to one another. The data regarding those activities and how they relate to one another is used to establish goals that allow the organization to move forward. By understanding the relationship between all the activities of the organization, it is often possible to create realistic budgets for each department that are more equitable and in the best interests of the company in the long run. The concept of activity based budgeting is different from the process known as cost-based budgeting. Often, the cost-based approach relies on assessing the actual expenditures connecting with a previous budgetary period, and simply adjusting those amounts based on the current rate of inflation, or to account for changes in the amount of revenue generated. By contrast, activity based budgeting is more concerned with what is being done within the organization, how those actions or activities work together, and then allocating funds to each activity based on how much it will cost to successfully complete those activities. Brimson, 1991) Proponents of activity based budgeting see this approach as more realistic, since it involves looking inward at activities and costs rather than basing the budget on outward influences. From this perspective, this strategy is understood to create financial forecasts that are more accurate, and thus prompt the organization to make the most efficient use o f its resources. As a bonus, the analysis of each activity and its contribution to the ongoing success of the organization means that any activities that do not appear to relate to other activities within the organization structure may in fact be unnecessary, and can be eliminated without having an adverse effect on the overall operation. Those who favor a cost-based approach over the use of activity based budgeting note that this approach does not necessarily allow for the possibility of events such as an increase in the cost of raw materials or the need to replace outmoded equipment. According to this line of thinking, the inward focus of the activity based method only accounts for part of the data needed to develop a workable budget. Only when this inward analysis is coupled with consideration of outside factors that could exert some degree of influence during the upcoming budgetary period can the organization hope to draft a budget that is truly practical and likely to meet the needs of the organization over the course of the upcoming period. ( Gietzman, 1992) Disadvantages of Activity-Based Budgeting Complexity The many advantages of activity-based budgeting notwithstanding, this technique remains a comprehensive and time-consuming exercise. The process requires identification of activities, estimation of activity output demands, and estimation of the costs of resources needed to provide the demanded activity output. The budgeting of physical inputs and costs as a function of a planned activity requires the use of an activity-cost hierarchy and making estimates on the consumption by such activities. Activity-based costing bases itself on defining or analyzing the relationship among costs and activities, which might not always be possible. Even otherwise, the contextual information that plays an important role in shaping the results may not always be available or considered. Success of activity-based budgeting depends on a thorough and in-depth understanding of the business processes and an accurate activity analysis. Not all managers remain competent to perform such tasks, and the resultant distortions make the activity an exercise in futility. Resources Among the major disadvantages of activity-based budgeting is its consumption of organizational resources. Spending too much resource on an analytical function such as activity-based budgeting becomes counterproductive. The complexity of the activity-based budgeting exercise means that it takes away considerable organizational resources in the form of managerial time and money. Such resources, if deployed in a core operational activity, would contribute to a much better bottom line. The broad scope of activity-based budgeting invariably necessitates an activity-based budgeting software, as well as training all managers to use the software and learning how to make correct activity analyses, adding to the resource demands. Duplication A major limitation of activity-based budgeting is that it is not a control budget and as such does not replace the department or line-item budget. Activity-based budgeting only provides supplemental information, and it acts as a panacea rather than a tool. It therefore does not eliminate or substitute any process but adds to the administrative functions of an organization. Short-Term Focus Finally, another major activity-based budgeting disadvantage includes its tendency to focus on the immediate and short term and ignore the long term. Activity-based budgeting uses historic data for forecast analysis, which may not always be practical. Focusing on activities that create immediate results might work well in the short term, but might cause long-term damage to an organization. While activity-based budgeting helps the organization if implemented with the correct data, preparing an activity-based budget with distorted data runs the risk of arbitrary budget cuts and creates a dysfunctional organization. (Morrow,1991) Behavior Aspect of Budgeting A main problem involves a variety of behavioral conflicts that are created when the budget is used as a control device. To be effective, the budget must be used by the managers it is designed to help. Thus, it must be acceptable to all levels of management. The behavioral literature on budgeting supports the view that the budget should reflect what is most likely to occur under efficient operating conditions. If a budget is to be used as an effective planning and monitoring device, it should encourage a high level of performance and efficiency, but at the same time, it should be fair and obtainable. If the budget is viewed by managers as unfair, (too optimistic) it may intimidate rather than motivate. One way to gain acceptance is referred to as participative (rather than imposed) budgeting. The idea is to include all levels of management in the budget preparation process. Of course this process must be coordinated by a budget director to ensure that a fair budget is obtained that will help achieve the goals of the total organization. Rahman,2011) Another way to reduce the behavioral bias against budgeting is to recognize the concepts of variation and interdependence when using the budget to evaluate performance. Recall from our discussion of the statistical control concept in that there is variation in all performance and most of this variation is caused by the system , (i. e. , common causes) not the people working in the system. The concept of interdependence refers to the fact that the various segments of a company are part of a system. Inevitably, these segments, or subsyst ems influence each other. Failure to adequately recognize the interdependencies within an organization tends to cause behavioral conflicts and motivate participants to optimize the performance of the various segments (subsystems) rather than to optimize the performance of the overall system. THE ‘BEYOND BUDGETING' MODEL – PRIVATE SECTOR In the private sector, managers are forced to consider current and future opportunities and threats, particularly where rolling monthly forecasts of financial performance operate together with a focus on other non-financial ‘value drivers'. In essence, the ‘beyond budgeting' model entails devolved managerial responsibility where power and responsibility go hand in hand. The view held by proponents of the beyond budgeting model is that the following benefits may accrue as a result of its successful application by management: (Johnson,1995) * It creates and fosters a performance climate based on competitive success. Goals are agreed via reference to external benchmarks as opposed to internally-negotiated fixed targets. Managerial focus shifts from beating other managers for a slice of resources to beating the competition. It motivates people by giving them challenges, responsibilities and clear values as guidelines. Rewards are team-based, in recognition of the fact that no single person can act alone to achieve goals. * It devolves performance responsibilities to operational management who are closer to the ‘action'. This uses the ‘know-how' of individuals and teams interfacing with the customer, which in turn enables a far more rapid adaptation to changing market needs. * It empowers operational managers to act by removing resource constraints. Key ratios are set, rather than detailed line-by-line budgets. For example, gearing and liquidity ratios may be used to show there is enough cash in the bank to meet liabilities. Local access to resources is thus based on agreed parameters rather than line-by-line budget authorisations. This is aimed at speeding up the response to environmental threats and enabling quick exploitation of new opportunities. * It establishes customer-orientated teams that are accountable for profitable customer outcomes. These teams agree resource and service-level requirements with service departments via the establishment of service level agreements. It creates transparent and open information systems throughout the organisation, which should provide fast, open and distributed information to facilitate control at all levels. The IT system is crucial in flexing the key performance indicators as part of the rolling forecast process. THE PUBLIC SECTOR The legal framework of public sector organisations would probably prevent such a system being introduced. As with al l alternatives, the success of a particular process depends on the needs of the individual organisation. The alternative of the beyond budgeting model places considerable emphasis on the need for organisational, managerial and cultural changes in order that it may be successfully applied by organisations. This will present considerable behavioural challenges and individual managers might become overwhelmed by the complexity of decision-making in such an unregulated decision-making environment. In the public sector, the budget process inevitably has considerable influence on organisational processes, and represents the financial expression of policies resulting from politically motivated goals and objectives. Yet the reality of life for many public sector managers is an increased pressure to perform in a resource-constrained environment, while also being subjected to growing competition. In essence, a public sector budget: * establishes the level of income and expenditure * authorises that expenditure, once agreed, out of the planned income * acts as a control on expenditure and income * communicates policies and plans * focuses attention on the future * motivates managers and staff. While these issues may be common with the private sector, a number of issues arise which are specific to the public sector. For example, UK local authorities are prevented by law from borrowing funds for revenue purposes or budgeting for a deficit. If the beyond budgeting model is to allow greater freedom for managers then it will take a considerable change of mindset in the public sector to achieve the flexible agenda envisaged, especially where such flexibility would involve considerable and increased delegation to managers. One wonders therefore, from a behavioural perspective, if such managers are capable of making this change, as it would entail the adoption of a radically different approach. Local authority financial regulations also tend to prevent the transfer of funds from one budget head to another (otherwise known as virement) without compliance with various rules and regulations. These rules (expressed in the financial regulations of public sector organisations) will be consistent with the policies of the organisation and are designed to prevent expenditure on items such as permanent staff where such costs would go beyond the budget year and represent a commitment of future resources. Budgets in the public sector tend to concentrate on planning for one financial year ahead. Attempts are being made by UK central government, through the comprehensive spending review, to place an emphasis on the longer-term. However, considerable difficulties exist within the individual organisations that make up the public sector when creating a budget system that reflects longer-term objectives and goes beyond the annual cycle. It also remains to be seen how the relatively new system of resource accounting in central government will fit into the budgeting framework. Traditional methods of budgeting in the public sector centre on the bid system and incremental budgeting. These approaches focus on changes at the margin and generally reflect acceptance of the budget base from the previous year. This is partly a reflection of the size and complexity of public sector organisations, but also the internal political power of large departments, which protect their positions through their relative strength. Bid systems also minimise conflict, as debate and power struggles are only concerned with the ‘incremental' items. More advanced approaches are represented within financial planning systems, and include such concepts as zero-based budgeting and planned programme budgeting systems with a timeframe greater than one year. Whether the public sector can adapt to the concept of greater flexibility – which lies at the heart of beyond budgeting – remains a matter of ongoing debate. Such an adaptation would require a mindset which not only moves away from control but also requires a reduction in the internal political power of large departments which has been at the heart of public sector budgeting for many years. The desire to generate improved performance – essentially considered the driver for the beyond budgeting model – is present in the public sector evidenced in initiatives such as key performance indicators and ‘best value' plans. But this is not matched by a desire for the flexibility inherent in the model. In terms of beyond budgeting, managers in such organisations are likely to remain constrained by the inability of their organisation to change. Finally, the behavioral conflicts associated with budgeting are reduced by using flexible budgets when evaluating performance Other factors affecting behaviour Dysfunctional behaviour may be caused by the following budgetary problems: †¢ Budget targets that are perceived by employees as too difficult to attain will result in resentment and a feeling of stress. †¢ Budget targets that are perceived by staff as too easy to achieve do not provide a challenge and may lead to a slipshod performance by staff. †¢ Managers may experience a loss of autonomy by being hemmed in by the budget and not having sufficient flexibility to use their own initiative. †¢ Managers may become narrow minded, focusing only on their own department, and create disadvantages for the organisation as a whole. The emphasis on financial goals to the detriment of non-financial goals may havea debilitating effect on the organisation. Budgetary slack or sometimes it is referring to budgetary bias, is a common process where implementer intentionally underestimates revenue or overestimates expenses in the tight budget. Managers may attempt to create budgetary slack in three ways. Managers may deliberately underestimate the production or sales budgets potential. For example, the sales budget for the month of July is RM 1 million. If the manager is able to achieve the target budget then the sales budget for the following month will be increases to RM 1. million. Manager creates budgetary slack by undervalue the budget so that the budget for August will be easier to achieve although they are able to hit the tight budget. Manager may also attempt to achieve slack by cost overestimation. They purposely used more than the budgeted expenditure so that the budget will be increases for the following months. After that they spend less than the budgets to shows that they have improve in their performance. For instance, the cost budget is set to be RM 1 million in January. Then the manager spends RM 1. 2 million in their expenditure so that the cost budget will be increase to RM1. million in February. Subsequently, they spend only RM 1. 1 million i n March which is RM 0. 1 million lesser than February to prove that they have better performance. Moreover, manager may use up all the budgets to pretend that there is no slack in the recent budget. Manager may waste his extra cost budget on non-essential expenses. Let say the cost budget is RM 2 million for March, the manager will try to finish his allowance although he only spend RM1. 8 million. This may cause by the fear of the manager that the future budget will be reduces unless the allowance is fully utilise. Rahman,2011) We see the behavior aspect of budgeting as having particular relevance for knowledge-based companies which are increasingly a feature of a developed economy. Other companies may see specific benefits in such a system, given the rapidly changing environment in which they also operate. These changes will not be introduced without conflict and difficulty due to the challenges faced in introducing change. Such challenges may be beyond the achievement of the publi c sector, due to the expression in the budget of politically-motivated policies and objectives eveloped within a complex legal and financial framework. What we can say, however, is that if we are to see the successful application of the beyond budgeting model in both private and public sectors, then this must be underpinned by a considerable organisational, cultural and managerial change. Otherwise it is doomed to failure. (John, 1995). References * Brimson, J&Fraser, R. (1991), The Key Feature of ABB, 42-43 * Cantoria. c. s, (2011)Walking Through an Example of Creating a Zero-Based Budget * Gietzman, MB,(1992) The Development and Design of An Activity Based Budgeting System, Initial Experience. Johnson, HT. (1988)Activity Based Infromation:A blue Print for World Class Management. 23-30 * Johnson, S. (2005), Beyond Budgeting, Retrieved from, http://www. acca. co. uk/students/acca/exams/p5/technical_articles/2950520 * Lynn, M. P, Madison, R. L,(2004) A closer look at rolling budgets: the challenges associated with an effective implementation of rolling budgets are management challenges, and software technology can only become part of the solution when managers are ready to use it to enhance their decision making * Montgomery,P. 2010) Effective rolling forecasts: Make sure your projections are high-level strategy and not just a Rehash of the operating budget. (Budgeting/Forecasting). * Morrow, M & Connolly,T. (1991)The Emergence of Activity Based Costing. 38-43 * Randy Myer(2001), Budget on a Roll, Retrieved from http://www. journalofaccountancy. com/Issues/2001/Dec/BudgetsOnARoll. htm. * Rahman, K. A. (2011) The Pattern of Behaviour in Response to Budgeting. * Sargent,Charles W. PH. D. (1995), Zero-Base Budgeting  and the library,   http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC225295/pdf/mlab00085-0055. pdf

Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration

Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration Origin and Traditions of Halloween First associations that come to our mind when thinking about Halloween are popular trick-or-treat tradition, bobbing for apples, costume parades, parties and other family-friendly activities. Though, do you know or have you ever been interested in the true story behind the origin of this holiday? In fact, the origin of Halloween has 2000 years history, when Celtic tribes inhabited lands, nowadays, known as Great Briton and northern France. At that time, November 1st was known as a day of huge celebrations of a festival called Samhain. People were marking the end of the harvest and the beginning dark, cold time of a year. It was believed that the night before Samhain festival, October 31st, the dead return to the world of mortal as ghosts. For this reason, Celts would leave food and wine next to their doors as well as light bonfires in order to protect themselves from the evil. Later, when Celtic territories were conquered by the Roman Empire, the celebrations of Celtic festival acqu ired new traditions of Roman origin. Since then, Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, and the apple symbol had become an integral part of the festivities. In 609 A.D., Christian church together with Pope Gregory III turned Samhain festival into All Hallows Day or All Saints Day and the night before the feast became known as Hallow Eve, eventually, Halloween. Talking about todays Halloween famous trick-or-treating, most of us dont know that souling and guising were the activities preceding the trick-or treat tradition and originated from Medieval Briton. Souiling was committed on All Souls Day, November 2nd, and included the activity of giving soul cakes for poor people, who in return would pray for peoples dead relatives. While guising was popular among young people, who used to dress up in diverse costumes and accept gifts like food, drinks and other offerings in exchange for reciting works of literature, dancing, performing jokes, and etc. Lots of traditions, though, were nt widely spread among population of colonial New England for a long time. It happened due to the rigid Protestant belief system. However, in 1950s, Halloween customs started to be revived thanks to Irish and Scottish immigrants, who brought the activities of souling and guising back and favored the appearance of trick-or-treating and many other kid-centered activities like bobbing for apples and costume parties. Nowadays, Halloween is considered to be one of Americas most commercial and world-wide know holidays after Christmas, of course. Both family-friendly and children oriented, Halloween festivities create fun for everyone. No matter what age or nationality you are, join the great atmosphere of joy, fear that Halloween traditions have prepared for you on the night of October 31st.

Best Character Analysis Myrtle Wilson - The Great Gatsby

Best Character Analysis Myrtle Wilson - The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In most books and movies, the â€Å"other woman† – the woman having an affair with a married man – is often painted as a villain. But what about in The Great Gatsby, a novel in which both married women (Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan) are having affairs? Especially given that one (Daisy) ends up killing the other (Myrtle), is Myrtle just a one-note â€Å"other woman,† or is there more to her? Myrtle’s role in the story isn’t as large as Daisy’s, Gatsby’s, or Tom’s. However, she is crucial to the plot of the story, and especially to its tragic conclusion. Find out more about Myrtle’s role in Gatsby in this guide! Article Roadmap Myrtleas a character Physical description Myrtle's history before the novel begins Actions in the novel Character Analysis Myrtle quotes Common discussion topics and essay ideas Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Myrtle Wilson's Physical Description Then I heard footsteps on thestairs and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. (2.15) Unlike Nick’s description of Daisy, which focuses on her voice, mannerisms, and charm, and unlike his description of Jordan, which focuses on her posture and athleticism, Nick’s description of Myrtle focuses almost entirely on her body itself. Perhaps this fits with her role as Tom’s mistress, but it also indicates Nick sees little in Myrtle in terms of intellect or personality. This description also speaks to the strong physical attraction between Tom and Myrtle that undergirds their affair. This attraction serves as a foil to the more deep-seated emotional attraction between Gatsby and Daisy, the novel’s central affair. Myrtle Before the Novel Begins We don’t know a ton about Myrtle Wilson’s background except what we can gather from the passing comments from other characters. For example, we get the sense Myrtleloved her husband when they got married, but has since been disappointed by his lack of cash and social status, and now feels stifled by her twelve-year marriage: "I married him because I thought he was a gentleman," she said finally. "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe." "You were crazy about him for a while," said Catherine. "Crazy about him!" cried Myrtle incredulously. "Who said I was crazy about him? I never was any more crazy about him than I was about that man there." She pointed suddenly at me, and every one looked at me accusingly. I tried to show by my expression that I had played no part in her past. "The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out. She looked around to see who was listening: " 'Oh, is that your suit?' I said. 'This is the first I ever heard about it.' But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon." "She really ought to get away from him," resumed Catherine to me. "They've been living over that garage for eleven years. And Tom's the first sweetie she ever had." (2.2-7) She begins her affair with Tom Buchanan after he sees her on the train and later presses against her in the station: I was going up to New York to see my sister and spend the night. He had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes and I couldn't keep my eyes off him but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head. When we came into the station he was next to me and his white shirt-front pressed against my armand so I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn't hardly know I wasn't getting into a subway train† (2.120). Myrtledesperately wants to come off as sophisticated and wealthy despite herhumble roots. Nick finds her efforts tacky and vulgar, and he spends a lot of time commenting on her clothes, mannerisms, and conversational style. She is oblivious about upper-class life: she tells her sister at one point Tom doesn’t divorce Daisy because Daisy is Catholic. This is a small inside joke on Fitzgerald's part - since Tom and Daisy are part of the community of uber-WASPy residents of East Egg, there's almost nochance that Daisy could be Catholic. That Myrtle thinks accepts Tom's lieshows that she is not a well-schooled as she thinks she is about the life and customs of the elite class she wants to be a part of. Still, before the novel begins, Tom has gotten comfortable showing Myrtlearound in popular restaurants and doesn’t hide the affair. Perhaps this causes Myrtle to misunderstand what she means to Tom: she doesn’t seem to realize she’s just one in a string of mistresses. To see Myrtle's life events alongside those of the other characters, check out our timeline of The Great Gatsby. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Summary of Myrtle's Action in the Novel The idea of Myrtle Wilson is introduced in Chapter 1, when she callsthe Buchanans’ house to speak to Tom. We get our first look at Myrtle in Chapter 2, when Nick goes with Tom to George Wilson’s garage to meet her, and then to Myrtle’s apartment in Manhattan for a party.On that day, she buys a dog, has sex with Tom (with Nick in the next room), throws a party, and is fawned on by her friends, and then ends up with a broken nose when Tom punches her after she brings up Daisy. This doesn’t prevent her from continuing the affair. Later on, in Chapter 7, George starts to suspect she’s having an affair when he finds her dog’s leash in a drawer at the house. He locks her upstairs in their house, determined to move out west once he gets the money from the car sale he’s waiting on from Tom. Myrtle glimpses Tom, along with Nick and Jordan, as they drive up to Manhattan in Gatsby’s yellow car. Myrtle and George fight later that evening, and Myrtle manages to run out of the house after yelling at George to beat her and calling him a coward. Just then, she spots the yellow car heading back for Long Island. Thinking it’s Tom, she runs toward and then out in front of the car, waving her arms. But Daisy is driving the car, and she decides to run over Myrtle rather than get into a head-on collision with an oncoming car. She hits Myrtle, who dies instantly. Myrtle’s death emotionally and mentally devastates George, which prompts him to murder Gatsby (who he mistakes for both his wife’s killer and lover), and then kill himself. The death car. Key Myrtle Wilson Quotes Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air. (2.56) Here, we see Myrtle transformed from her more sensuous, physical persona into that of someone desperate to come off as richer than she actually is. Wielding power over her group of friends, she seems to revel in her own image. Unlike Gatsby, who projects an elaborately rich and worldly character, Myrtle’s persona is much more simplistic and transparent. (Notably Tom, who immediately sees Gatsby as a fake, doesn’t seem to mind Myrtle’s pretensions – perhaps because they are of no consequence to him, or any kind of a threat to his lifestyle.) "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai" Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. (2.125-126) Here we see Myrtle pushing her limits with Tom – and realizing that he is both violent and completely unwilling to be honest about his marriage. While both characters are willful, impulsive, and driven by their desires, Tom is violently asserting here that his needs are more important than Myrtle’s. After all, to Tom, Myrtle is just another mistress, and just as disposable as all the rest. Also, this injury foreshadows Myrtle’s death at the hands of Daisy, herself. While invoking Daisy’s name here causes Tom to hurt Myrtle, Myrtle’s actual encounter with Daisy later in the novel turns out to be deadly. "Beat me!" he heard her cry. "Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!" (7.314) When George confronts his wife about her affair, Myrtle is furious and needles at her husband – already insecure since he’s been cheated on – by insinuating he’s weak and less of a man than Tom. Also, their fight centers around her body and its treatment, while Tom and Daisy fought earlier in the same chapter about their feelings. In this moment, we see that despite how dangerous and damaging Myrtle’s relationship with Tom is, she seems to be asking George to treat her in the same way that Tom has been doing. Myrtle's disturbing acceptance of her role as a just a body - a piece of meat, basically - foreshadows the gruesome physicality of her death. Michaelis and this man reached her first but when they had torn open her shirtwaist still damp with perspiration, they saw that her left breast was swinging loose like a flap and there was no need to listen for the heart beneath. The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long. (7.317) Even in death, Myrtle’s physicality and vitality are emphasized. In fact, the image is pretty overtly sexual – notice how it’s Myrtle’s breast that’s torn open and swinging loose, and her mouth ripped open at the corners. This echoes Nick’s view of Myrtle as a woman and mistress, nothing more – even in death she’s objectified. This moment is also much more violent than her earlier broken nose. While that moment cemented Tom as abusive in the eyes of the reader, this one truly shows the damage that Tom and Daisy leave in their wake, and shapes the tragic tone of the rest of the novel. The graphic and bloody nature of Myrtle's death really sticks with you. Common Essay Topics/ Areas of Discussion You will most likelybe asked towrite about Myrtlein relation to other characters (especially Daisy), or in prompts that ask you to compare the â€Å"strivers† in the book (including also Gatsby, George Wilson) with the old money set (Tom, Daisy, Jordan). To learn how best to approach this kind of compare and contrast essay, read our article on common character pairings and how to analyze them. It’s less likely, but not impossible, that you will be assigned a Myrtle-specific essay. In either case, Myrtle’s most important chapters are 2 and 7, so close read those carefully. When writing about her, pay close attention to Myrtle’s interactions with other characters. And if you’re writing an essay that discusses Myrtle as someone trying to live out the American Dream, make sure to address her larger influences and motivations. We’ll take a look at some of these strategies in action below. Why Do Tom and Myrtle Get Together? What Do They See in Each Other? For readers new to Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle’s relationship can seem a bit odd. There is obvious physical chemistry, but it can be hard to see why the classist, misogynist Tom puts up with Myrtle - or why Myrtle accepts Tom's mistreatment. For Tom, the affair – just one in a string he’s had since his honeymoon – is about taking and being able to get whatever he wants. Having an affair is a show of power. Especially since he’s been taking her around popular restaurants in Manhattan (2.4), it’s clear he’s not exactly hiding the relationship – instead, he’s flaunting it. He’s so assured of his place in society as a wealthy man, that he’s free to engage in some risky and socially inappropriate behavior – because he knows no one can actually touch his wealth or social position. For Myrtle, the affair (her first) is about escape from her life with George, and a taste ofa world – Manhattan, money, nice things – she wouldn’t otherwise have access to. It’s clear from how Myrtle moves and speaks that she’s confident and self-assured, and assumes that her relationship with Tom is a permanent ticket into the world of the wealthy – not just a fleeting glimpse. The fact that Tom sees Myrtle as disposable but Myrtle hopes for more in their relationship is painfully apparent at the end of Chapter 2, when she insists on bringing up Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking Myrtle’s nose. But despite this nasty encounter, the two continue their relationship, suggesting that this kind of abuse is the norm for Tom’s affairs, and Myrtle is too eager to stay in the new world she’s found – or even believes that Tom will still leave Daisy for her – that she stays as well. By the end of the novel, Myrtle doesn't seem to have been completelymistaken about Tom's affection for her. After all, Tom says he that he â€Å"cried like a baby† (9.145) when he found dog food for the dog he's bought her in Myrtle’s apartment. Of course, since it's Tom, his grief is probablyself-pitying than selfless. Either way, their relationship is indicative of both their values: Myrtle's ambition and Tom’s callousness. What Does Myrtle’s Life (and Tragic Ending) Say About the American Dream? Myrtle, like George and Gatsby, was obviously not born into money, and instead is relying on her own wits to make it in 1920s America. In a manner quite similar to Gatsby’s, she consciously adopts a different persona to try and get access to a richer circle (while George seems to be the only one relying on honest work – his shop – and honest relationships, through his loyalty to Myrtle, to improve his lot in life). But Myrtle aims too high, and ends up killed when she mistakes Gatsby’s yellow car for Tom’s, and runs out in the road assuming the car will stop for her. In the same way that Gatsby overestimates his value to Daisy, Myrtleoverestimates her value to Tom. Even if Tom had been driving the car, and even if he had stopped for her, he would never have whisked her away from George, divorced Daisy, and married her. Furthermore, the fact she assumed the garish yellow car was Tom’s shows how little she understands the stiff, old money world Tom comes from. Myrtle’s complete misunderstanding of Tom, as well as her violent death, fit the overall cynical message in the book that the American Dream is a false promise to those born outside of the wealthy class in America. As hard as anyone tries, they don’t stand a chance of competing with those in America born into the old money class. They will never understand the strange internal rules that govern the old money set, and will never stand a chance of being their equal. How Does Myrtle's Home Reflect Her Character, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values? This is a prompt that you can obviously use for any of the characters, but it’s especially interesting in Myrtle’s case, since she has two residences: the house above the auto shop that George owns, and the apartment that Tom Buchanan rents for her in the city. Myrtle'shome with George is a dark, hopelessimage of working class life in America: it's an apartment above a baregarage, nestled in the dreadful Valley of Ashes. George is utterly mired in this home, even coated with a thin layer of ash from the factories outside. In contrast, Myrtle is vivacious and free of the ash, which gives her a layer of separation from her actual home. Myrtle’s apartment with Tom is overstuffed and gaudy, and she seems much happier and more at home there. The mix of high-brow pretension in the decor with her low-brow entertainment speaks to how Myrtle values the appearance of wealth and sophistication, but doesn’t actually understand what upper-class taste looks like the way Tom and Daisy Buchanan do. So while the Wilson’s garage is a testament to the struggle of the working class in American in the 1920s, Myrtle and Tom’s apartment is a physical representation of the airs Myrtle puts on and the appearances of wealth she values. Myrtle's taste in decor overlaps quite a bit with King Louis XIV's. Why Exactly Does Myrtle Run Into the Road? One of the novel’s most important events is also one that can be confusing for students: namely, Myrtle’s death at the end ofChapter 7. How exactly does she end up in the road? What does it have to do with her strange encounter with Tom, Nick, and Jordan in the garage earlier in the day? The incident is confusing because we come at it from many narrative angles: Setup from Nick's point of view Michaelis’s inquest testimony about the accident Nick'sdescription of the accident sceneright after Myrtle's death Gatsby's explanation of the accident to Nick after the fact Additional information from Michaelis in Chapter 8 about George’s actions both before and after Myrtle’s death A final revelatory confession from Tom about his role in George's violence in Chapter 9 Piecing together these three takes on the incident, this is what happens, in order: Before the accident, George has begun to suspect Myrtle's affair. George locks Myrtle up above the garage, saying "She’s going to stay there till the day after to-morrow, and then we’re going to move away† (7.3). Michaelis, uncomfortable, finds an excuse to leave. Tom, Jordan, and Nick driveup to the gas station in the yellow car. Tom brags that the car is his. Myrtle looks downstairs and concludes two things: first, that Jordan is Tom’s wife, and second, that Tom owns the yellow car. Later that evening, Myrtle fights with George about being locked up. We don’t see much of this fight. All we know is that she cries â€Å"throw me down and beat me!† (7.314) to George. Meanwhile, Gatsby and Daisy are driving back from Manhattan to East Egg after the Plaza Hotel showdown. Myrtle runs outside. Outside, Myrtle sees the yellow car and assumes it’s Tom on his way back to Long Island. Myrtle runs out to the car, waving her arms, likely because she thinks Tom will stop for her and rescue her from George. At the same time, another car is driving in the opposite direction towards Manhattan. When Daisy sees Myrtle in the road, she has to make a quick decision: either run over Myrtle, or swerve into the oncoming car to avoid Myrtle. Daisy first drives toward the oncoming car, but at the last second, turns back into her own lane and hits and kills Myrtle instead. What’s Next? Still a bit confused about the climax of the novel? Get a detailed recap of Chapters 7,8and 9 to understand exactly how the three deaths play out. Learn more about Myrtle’s marriage and her relationship with Tom over at our post about love and relationships. Still a bit confused about the old money/new money/working class themes? Read about social class in the novel in our post on the role of social classes in this novel. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: