EPA †Policy-making in the Federal System Essay Example for Free

EPA – Policy-making in the Federal System Essay The federal government enacted the Clean Air Act, so as to protect the citizens of the United States. At the same time Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency with its primary role of regulating and the enforcement of environmental policies at the state and tribal levels. A brief history on air pollution, in October 1928 in the industrial town of Donora Pennsylvania a thick cloud formed. This thick cloud lingered for five days, causing sickness in 6,000 and killing 20 of the town’s people. And in 1952, over 3,000 people died in London to what is known as the â€Å"Killer Fog†. These events alerted the federal government to the dangers that can come from air pollution and the public health issues that can arise from pollutants in the air. The original Clean Air Act of 1963 was passed, establishing funding for the study and cleaning of air pollution. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established and began operating on December 2, 1970. The EPA’s primary responsibility is enforcing and regulating the laws, these regulations and laws are for protecting the environment and public health. The EPA is a regulatory agency that Congress has authorizes to write regulation that explains the critical details that are necessary to implement environmental laws. (epa.gov/laws-regulation) The Clean Air Act 42 U.S.C.  §7401 et seq. (1970), regulated air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. With the approval of this Act the EPA was able to establish the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) which regulates emissions of hazardous air pollutants that can harm public health. The Energy Policy Act 42 USC  §13201 et seq. (2005) addressing energy  production in the United States, such as Energy efficiency; Renewable energy; Oil and gas; Coal; Nuclear matters; Vehicles and motor fuels. This Act provides loan guarantees for entities that develop or use inventive was that avoid producing greenhouse gases. Another provision of the Act increases the amount of biofuel that must be mixed with gasoline sold in the United States. (epa.gov/laws-regulation) America’s federal environmental laws set national standards, and on the condition that a state can shoulder the crucial task by enforcing these standards, they do by adopting laws that are as severe as the federal laws. Many states have assumed these responsibilities of enforcing the national standards by giving responsibility of specific programs throughout agencies within the state. The federal government is the overseer that enforces all cases and supervises the states’ activities while also monitoring state and the tribal operations of the Environmental Protection Agency programs. The Environmental Protection Agency supports the states and tribes to achieve effective enforcement and environmental compliance, and maintains support approved state programs through grant funds, and involvement. The Environmental Protection Agencies and state agencies make active efforts to educate the regulated community. A numerous compliance assistance tools have been put in place to help business, industry and state governments to conform to the environmental requirements. Web sites have been developed; hotlines, workshops, compliance training, fact sheets, and additional compliance guidelines are given to the regulated community. The Clean School Bus Program unites businesses, education, transportation, and public health organizations to encourage actions to stop the unnecessary idling of public schools busses. Modifying old schools busses with better emissions control technologies and proving cleaner fuels. The EPA is publishing a proposed rule designed to reduce air pollution, in 2017 the Tier 3 design would set new standards for vehicle emissions criteria and lessen the sulfur found in gasoline. This new rule would reduce tailpipe and evaporative emissions. The lower sulfur gasoline will improve  fuel economy by reducing gas consumption as well as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency seeks to provide a healthy environment. By partnership-building with states and communities the reduction of environmental pollutants becomes a joint venture. References: Retrieved from: http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-energy-policy-act Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/documents/tier3/420f13016a.pdf Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/understand.html

Analysing The Challenges Facing Multilateral Organisations Today Politics Essay

Analysing The Challenges Facing Multilateral Organisations Today Politics Essay War is often the result of non negotiable problems/disputes. Since the end of the Second World War, liberal international theory advanced the establishment of international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and its sub bodies, in the belief that such international forums were where state members have a chance to discuss and air their common issues and grievances and could prevent war and, widen the corporations between nation states. However, since its creation, the legitimacy as well as the effectiveness of these multilateral institutions has always been questioned. The end of the Cold War marked a new era of world politics where the United States (US) became the predominant power in the international system. In addition, the Iraq war of 2003, led by the US, but was not authorised by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the issue raised a question about the hegemonic position of the US over the United Nations. This is just one of the many challenges multilatera l organizations like the UN are facing today. The terrorist attack on 9th November on the US and similar attacks elsewhere in the world, as well as the increasing threat of weapon of mass destruction (being used by either a rogue state such as Iran or a terrorist group) in the 21st Century is another major challenge for the United Nations and its administrative departments. Moreover, with the increasing involvement of non state actors and non governmental organizations nowadays, the value of formal institutions like the UN is clearly affected in adverse ways. To clarify if multilateralism is in crisis or not, it is essential to firstly look at the difficulties posed by these new dimensions to multilateralism, then evaluate its reaction and effectiveness at tackling them. In this essay, the focus will be on UN as this is often seen as the vanguard of multilateralism. Firstly, the essay will examine what multilateralism can be defined as and will name the current challenges which Mult ilateralism faces, it will then go on to give analysis of the sources of those troubles. Finally, it concludes that such multilateral institutions like the United Nations are under real challenge to the effectiveness of their multilateralism; however, it is not yet in a crisis situation. The leaders of these organizations can no long presume their exchanges to be business as usual but need to take into account these growing troubles and think more about reform if multilateralism is to continue to function in a stable way. Before discussing whether multilateralism is effective one needs to consider what exactly multilateralism is. For Paul Nielsson, UN Commissioner, multilateralism is about all parties carrying out concerted efforts to strengthen the international regulatory framework (Jorgensen, 2007, p.2) and involves states pooling both resources and sovereignty. The problem for many participants in multilateral processes is that the processes themselves are often slow and difficult, and rarely do their results satisfy every participant (ibid). Thus, multilateralism is by definition a process where participants cannot expect a zero-sum outcome, where they can clearly identify their gains or losses and say it was a success or failure. Multilateralism is a compromise between states where its greatest success is that everyone is a winner and everyone is a loser, because nobody gets everything they want. However, the UN has become the focus of most peoples idea of what a true multilateral organisation is and should be. Therefore the success of the UN in resolving modern international problems is also used as the guideline to whether or not multilateralism is effective or ineffective. The recent invasion of Iraq led by the Bush administration was preceded by concerted attempts to make it a UN operation. The fact that it did not led to US claims that the UN was ineffective and prior to the invasion of Afghanistan the US president Bush said the UN was so ineffective that dont call us, well call you (ibid). However, the debate between whether unilateralism or multilateralism is the most effective method of international relations is one fought as much within America as it is internationally and as Nye observed This battle between multilateralism and unilateralism is often played out between the president and Congress and has led to a schizophrenic America (Nye, 2000, 156). A final problem is that the UN always focuses on promoting free trade as a vehicle for expanding multilateralism and economic power is focused still within the major developed Western states. Thus, developing states often see the UN as biased and ineffective when it comes to promoting the interests of the Third World (Jorgensen, 2007, p.4) However, despite the criticism for the lack of UN support for Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and thus the claims by many unilateralists that it is an international body that is largely ineffective, there remain many who still see multilateralism as the finest success of the post- war environment. The Deputy Scretary-general Asha-Rose Migiro of the UN made it clear in a speech in 2009 that the world faced more than problems of security and terrorism. These include poverty and hunger in less developed countries, the lack of protection in many areas of human rights, the global financial crisis and discrimination against women. For Migiro these problems can only be solved through, global solutions to global problems and the UN is the only existing global organisation that can deal adequately with these challenges (Migiro, 2009, p.1). Other multilateral organisations exist but in Migiros view Solutions must be hammered out in a process involving all States.   Groups such as the G-8 and G-20 are important, but it is vital to return to the United Nations as the natural locus of action on global issues (Migiro Asha-Rose , 2009, p.2). War is often the evidence of a failure of multilateralism and the UNs avoidance of actually getting involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan maybe seen as an effective decision rather than a failure, especially as the UN is still often the first organization that enters into a conflict arena during and after the conflict in order to either make peace or sustain a peace process. The Secretary-General made it clear that there was no choice available between multilateralism and unilateralism as We either succeed together, or we fail alone (ibid). Obviously, the avoidance of involvement in conflict is often used by participants in the conflict as a reason why the UN and multilateralism is ineffective. However, the response to aggression in international affairs is often best tackled through multilateralism. AsKevin Hartigan argues, multilateralism is a demanding organisational form. It requires its participants to renounce temporary advantage and the temptation to define their intere sts narrowly in terms of national interests, and it also requires them to forego ad hoc coalitions and to avoid policies based on situational exigencies (Hartigan, 1992, p.604). The UN has proven to be the most effective forum within which this cooperation can occur, as witnessed in the first Gulf War. In defence of the UN, Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under-secretary General noted that relative peace in the second half of the last century depended on the idea that in order to keep the peace, in order to help human beings to progress and so on, you needed a mechanism, as well as a system of rules that would actually be to the benefit of all and that this role could only effectively be carried out by the UN (Tharoor, et al, 2006. P.4). As Shashi notes, todays world is one with problems without passports (such as terrorism, climate change, drug trafficking) and the UN provides a forum for states to discuss and develop solutions to these problems on an international level of cooperation. Tharoor later observes that the problems of today are often too large, too complex for one government, or bi-lateral relationship to adequately deal with and so the involvement of the UN means, that humanity is responsible, not one government.   In that process, the universality of the United Nations gives you a mechanism to actually deliver effective results. On the first hand, the value of those collective institutions like WTO or UN is undeniable, especially in the time of globalization when the world is becoming a borderless entity where not only trade, but also problems such as drugs and climate change cross from country to country unimpeded by the sovereign idea of borders between states. The UN reduces the expense, time and effort needed by any one country to deal with threes problems. It offers a forum within which states can confidentiality work out deals and strategies, and in the process states get to know about each other freely, thus increasing the confidence in future levels of cooperation (Robert o Keohen, p2). Furthermore, as international terrorism and transnational criminals are increasing problems then it bis easier to see that a threat to one is a threat to all. Very few states have the power to stand alone and confront those difficulties ( A more secure world, 2004). Although UN has been criticised for not responding e ffectively to these emerging challenges, there is little in the way of alternatives being offered. As Robert argued; terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction can only be addressed in concert with other countries, even the super power like US(Hutchings) does not have sufficient resources, political will or power to deal with these modern challenges. However, the UN is aware that it needs to reform and has set out five primary areas for change. Reform may involve drastic changes to the members and size of the Security Council and to the way it makes decisions, but essentially it needs reforms that assist it in, 1. Reforming management and operation procedures, 2. Strengthen humanitarian action, 3. Bring human rights to all in the world, 4. Strengthen efforts to maintain peace and security, and, 5. Significant movement forward on meeting development challenges (UN). Thus the extent of the need to reform to meet these challenges goes beyond just altering the size and methods of working of the Security Council. It requires dealing with the financing of the organisation, strengthening aspects such as the Human Rights Council and ensuring that the popular promotion of multilateralism is always more effective and long-lasting solutions to the modern problems of the international system rather than the unilateralism so often chosen by s tates and directly the cause of many of the wars of today and in the past. Hartigan, Kevin (1992), Matching Humanitarian Norms with Cold, Hard Interests: The Making of Refugee Policies in Mexico and Honduras, 1980-1989, International Organisation 46, Summer, 604. Knud Erik Jà ¸rgensen(2007) The European Unions International Identity: the Role of Multilateralism Nye, Joseph (1991) Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (Basic Books 1991). Nye, Joseph (2002) The Paradox of American Power, Ikenberry, G. John (2002) Americas Imperial Ambition, Foreign Affairs, 81(5): 44-60. Migiro Asha-Rose (2009) Tackling Current Global Challenges Requires Building An Effective Multilateralism, Speech to UN, 15th April 2009 Shasis Tharoor, et al (2006) DebateThe United Nations: Still Relevant After All These Years? Carnegie Council Essay question : Is multilateralism under challenge? Or in crisis? Or is it business as Questions to define What is multilateralism, the definition, are we talking specifically about UN or any other? IR theory, Realist, Liberalistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Crisis? How do you value /define/ classify if M is in crisis? Or is it only about emerging challenges?( in that case, list the challenges), in 21st century The increasing development/involvement of non-state factors not necessarily means the fail of formal institutions. Ad hoc coalition. Alternative arrangements. Strength and weakness. Argument: challenges are real. Ineffectiveness is real. Neither takes it as crisis nor business as usual. Need to fix it. Need to reform. Ref Robert L. Hutchings, 2003, The United Nations and the Crisis of Multilateralism, Keynote Address, University of Pennsylvania, Model United Nations Conference http://www.dni.gov/nic/speeches_un_multilateralism.html Keohane, Robert O., 2006, The contingent legitimacy of multilateralism, in Edward Newman, Ramesh Thakur and John Tirman eds., Multilateralism Under Challenge? Power, International Order, and Structural Change (Tokyo: United Nations University Press). Edward Newman, Ramesh Thakur and John Tirman eds., Multilateralism Under Challenge? Power, International Order, and Structural Change (Tokyo: United Nations University Press), introduction. Newman, Edward, 2007, A Crisis of Global Institutions? Multilateralism and International Security (Oxford, Routledge) Introduction, chapter 1 and 2. A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility, Report of the Secretary-Generalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change (New York: United Nations, 2004), summary. Available at: www.un.org/secureworld Forman, Shepard, and Derk Segaar, 2006, New Coalitions for Global Governance: The Changing Dynamics of Multilateralism, Global Governance, vol.12, no.2.

Effects of Lab by Inquiry in Educational Settings

Effects of Lab by Inquiry in Educational Settings Briana Bruske Abstract The purpose of this literature research was to distinguish the differences between verification and inquiry based laboratory experiments in educational settings, and their effect on student education. Examples of the incorporation of inquiry into course curriculum were found. The effect of inquiry on knowledge type gained by students, and classification of their laboratory reflective statements was analyzed based on results contained in various literature sources. Literature based survey results depicting student attitudes toward verification versus inquiry, and guided inquiry versus open inquiry were obtained and discussed. Suggestions for instructors as regards to the incorporation of inquiry into laboratory settings, and guidelines to do so were obtained and presented in this literature paper. It was determined that, though both verification and inquiry experiments have benefits, inquiry allows development of student skills that may not be otherwise obtained through a verification experiment, and allows for a more student-driven laboratory setting. Introduction: Experimenting in the lab is a way for students to learn hands-on about the concepts they cover in lecture.1 The average laboratory experiment falls within the category of â€Å"cookbook style,† or â€Å"verification experiment.† These terms will be used interchangeably throughout this research paper. A verification experiment consists of students following a list of instructions, provided to them by the instructor, to verify a concept learned in lecture.2 The laboratory instructions for verification experiments often follow a similar format to instructions in cookbooks; hence the term â€Å"cookbook style.† Various educational institutes have replaced a number of verification labs to incorporate lab by inquiry into chemistry courses.213 Lab by inquiry can be separated into two major categories. These categories are guided-inquiry and open-inquiry.1 Alan Colburn defines guided and open inquiry in his article, â€Å"An Inquiry Primer.†4 Guided inquiry consis ts of the instructor providing students with only a problem and the materials to solve it. Students devising their own laboratory procedures to solve the problem is a requirement for guided inquiry.4 Open inquiry is similar to guided inquiry, with the exception that students must come up with their own problem to solve along with their own procedure.4 Open inquiry involves a higher level of difficulty than guided inquiry, because students are provided with less information and guidance to devise problems and develop procedures. The National Scientific Education Standards state the importance of inquiry in learning scientific concepts, and outline the abilities required to do scientific inquiry. These abilities include identifying questions and concepts that guide investigation, designing and conducting investigations, using technology and mathematics to improve upon communications and investigations, formulation and revision of scientific explanations and models using evidence and logic, recognition and analysis of alternative explanations and models, communication and defense of scientific arguments, and understanding of scientific inquiry5. Appendix Research Involving the Creation of a Heat-Transfer Guided Inquiry Lab for Allied Health Students at Rochester Community and Technical College Undergraduate Research was done to create a heat-transfer guided inquiry based lab for Allied Health students at Rochester Community and Technical College, under the advising of Dr. Heather Sklenicka. The Allied Health student class did not have a heat-transfer lab, and no exposure to lab by inquiry. In this lab, students were given the opportunity to develop their own procedures to solve a given problem. The given problem applied to a real-life situation, which involved imagining they were opening their own coffee shops in a busy college town. Students had to determine the best container to sell their customers’ coffee in, i.e. the container that contained[ZJM3] heat most effectively. This required the students to test various coffee mugs, thermoses, and other containers for their efficiency in preventing the transfer of heat from the system to the surroundings. Students were asked various pre- and post-lab questions regarding the lab. Students were asked what their interest level in the lab was pre- and post-lab. Most students were interested in the topic of the lab prior to beginning experimentations, and remained interested or became more interested after the lab. Post-lab, students were asked whether the lab helped them further understand the concept of heat transfer as applied to a real-life situation, and all students surveyed that, in fact, it did. Students were asked if they had or planned to speak with others outside of lab about their experience with the lab, and most students surveyed that they had or planned to do so. When asked whether they enjoyed developing their own procedures, students surveyed that it was one of the most difficult parts of the lab, however, it was among one of their favorite portions of the lab. Results and Discussion: A group of researchers from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, studied the effects that different levels of inquiry had on General Chemistry students’ written lab reflections. Written lab reflections refer to post-lab responses regarding work done in lab, and analysis of data collected during experimentations. Figure 13 displays the results from this research of the various types of reflective statements shown by students and how they varied based on level of inquiry. The amount of evaluation statements varied little amongst the different types of labs. Evaluation statements consist of analysis of data obtained in lab.3 The largest portion of statements in written lab reflection fell under the category of knowledge statements. Knowledge statements consist of reflections regarding knowledge gained from lab experiments.3 Guided inquiry had the lowest amount of knowledge statements, likely due to a higher portion of improv ement statements. The amount of improvement statements in students’ written lab reflections varied the most among the different levels of inquiry in lab. Improvement statements consist of possible modifications that could be made to methods or the experiment itself.3 This is reasonable because, unlike verification experiments, inquiry requires students to develop their own procedures. This allows for a more significant amount of lab technique and procedural error, resulting in a more significant amount of inaccuracy in experimental data. Students must then explain error in results and this often consists of reflecting upon experimental mistakes and how improvements can be made to allow for improved experimental results. The University of Arizona researchers also focused on knowledge type gained from experiments based on students’ written reflections. Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy6 was used to categorize students’ reflective statements reguarding knowledge gained from laboratory work.3 Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy can be broken down into four knowledge type categories; metacognitive, procedural, conceptual, and factual.6 Metacognitive can be described as the knowledge regarding cognition. The awarness of one’s own cognition falls under this category as well. Examples of metacognitive knowledge would be strategic knowledge, knowledge regarding cognitive tasks, consisting of appropriate contextual and conditional knowledge, and knowledge of oneself and abilities. Procedural knowledge consists of knowing how to go about a task. Examples of procedureal knowledge would be agorithms, techniques, and determination of when to use proper procedures.6 Factual knowledge is the basic in formation students’ must know to be familiar with a discipline and solve problems related to it. Examples of this would be knowledge of terminology, specific details, and basic information regarding a topic.6 Conceptual knowledge consists of the ability to see the connection between basic concepts and a larger picture or problem, allowing them to work together. Examples of this type of knowledge would be knowing certain classifications, principles, categories, and generalizations, as well as theories, structures, and models.6 Figure 23 depicts the level of the various types of knowledge gained in the laboratory based on students’ written reflections and the level in inquiry involved in the experiment. As one can see, students’ reflections in inquiry labs display a larger portion of metacognitive and procedural knowledge than the verification, while the verification lab reflections showed more factual and conceptual knowledge. In guided inquiry, students are pushed to focus more on the procedure and how one would go about solving a given problem. This requires a higher level of thinking and problem solving skills than that involved in a verification lab. A group[ZJM4] of researchers from a Texas University conducted surveys of students’ attitudes toward guided inquiry and open inquiry.1 Before conducting these surveys, students were tested as to whether they were able to correctly distinguish between guided inquiry and open inquiry scenarios. The surveys regarding attitudes toward guided inquiry and open inquiry labs were then given to 322 students who were able to correctly identify both laboratory scenarios.1 This legitimizes the results of the surveys because the 322 students surveyed more than likely understood exactly what the questions were asking, and were able to accurately state their opinion of guided and open inquiry labs. Table 1: Students’ Survey Statements Regarding Guided Inquiry1 Table 11 depicts the results of the survey regarding guided inquiry laboratories. The left statements correspond to positive attitudes while the right statements correspond to negative attitudes. Students generally had a positive attitude toward guided inquiry experiments. This is shown by the higher percentages agreeing with the left statements over the right statements. Table 2: Students’ Survey Statements Regarding Open Inquiry1 Table 21 depicts the results from the survey regarding open-inquiry laboratory experiments. The left and right statements were the same as those shown in the guided-inquiry survey (see Table 1). Students generally had a less positive attitude toward open-inquiry experiments when compared to guided inquiry. Table 3: Students’ Survey Statement Regarding Both Open and Guided Inquiry1 Table 31 displays the results from the survey regarding both open and guided inquiry laboratory experiments. Left statements generally corresponded to positive attitudes toward open inquiry labs while right statements corresponded to positive attitudes toward guided inquiry. Students’ survey answers generally favored guided inquiry over open inquiry. This is shown by the higher percentages in Table 3 agreeing with the right statements. Research, regarding the conversion of verification experiments to guided inquiry experiments in the general chemistry classroom, was conducted by students at the U.S. Millitary Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York.2 The focus on the scientific method within the general chemistry course offered much room for improvement of students’ critical thinking skills through guided inquiry experiments.2 Table 42 depicts the results from a survey of USMA general chemistry students after completion of guided inquiry laboratory experiments. The results from the USMA research survey are much in line with the results from the Texas University group regarding students’ attitudes toward guided inquiry (see Table 1). Students generally showed a positive attitude toward guided inquiry. Though there are no concrete rules to converting verification labs to inquiry experiments, the USMA research group put forth general guidelines to assist instructors in creating their own inquiry experiments or converting old verification style to inquiry format.2 Step 1 would be to select an experiment from the course curriculum. The experiment should include fairly simple and easy-to-understand concepts. Data should be collected using an uncomplicated apparatus, and allow for a quantitative and mathematical relationship between variables. Conclusions from the analysis of experimental data should be able to be tested.2 Step 2 would be to alter the introductory (pre-lab) material so that major concepts would not be taught before lab time.2 Students should learn concepts based on experiments in lab and interpretation of data collected. Step 3 would consist of significantly reducing the amount of detail put into procedural steps in the lab handout. This would require more thought on th e part of the students regarding how to collect relevant data and how to interpret it.2 Step 4 includes adding a step or procedure to the end of the lab, allowing students to authenticate their analysis of data and conclusions regarding important concepts.2 The last step would be to include short questions to guide student thoughts and include in the laboratory report.2 An example of a conversion of a verification experiment to guided inquiry can be found in Table 5.2 The USMA converted a freezing point depression verification experiment to a guided inquiry lab.2 There are clear differences shown between the verification and inquiry versions of the lab regarding purpose, schedule of lab time, objectives, laboratory introduction, procedure, and instructior and teaching assistant duties[ZJM5]. Conclusion: Both verification and inquiry experiments have benefits. However, inquiry can provide a more challenging laboratory experience for students and lead to development of skills that may not have been otherwise acquainted[ZJM6] with in cookbook or â€Å"verification† experiments. Based on various literature sources132 and undergraduate research done at Rochester Community and Technical College (see Appendix[ZJM7]), lab by inquiry is an effective way to teach students critical thinking and problem solving skills, while allowing students to discover concepts within a laboratory setting before learning them in lecture. Students generally have a positive attitude toward inquiry.12 Inquiry also allows for a break from the typical verification experiment, and a more student-driven laboratory setting. Instructors can incorporate inquiry into curriculum by the conversion of previously developed verification experiments into inquiry labs.2 References: (1) Chatterjee, S.; Williamson, V. M.; McCann, K.; Peck, M. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2009, 86, 1427. (2) Allen, J. B.; Barker, L. N.; Ramsden, J. H. J. Chem. Educ. 1986, 63, 533. (3) Xu, H.; Talanquer, V. J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 21–28. (4) Colburn, A. Sci. Scope 2000, 23, 42–44. (5) Council, N. R. National science education standards; National Academy Press, 1996. (6) Krathwohl, D. R. Theory Pract. 2002, 41, 212–218. [ZJM1]When you elude to the fact that inquiry-based labs allow for better development of student skills, you might want to mention the measure(s) used to determine this. That way people know the assessment and can choose to read on from there. [ZJM2]I’d move the appendix to the end. It is really something appended to the article that doesn’t really belong in the flow of the article. [ZJM3]Retained? [ZJM4]Something you might consider is to add a few subheadings in the body of your discussion. You are really tackling two areas of inquiry labs: 1. The effectiveness of the labs and 2. Student attitudes toward inquiry. It might be nice to offset them with headings instead of just a paragraph indent to focus the reader’s attention even further. [ZJM5]Is there data on the effectiveness of these labs to corroborate your statements from the Arizona research group? [ZJM6]Acquired? [ZJM7]Do you have results in the form of tables/graphs for the research you did? It might help out here bridging your paper together†¦and in that case, you don’t necessarily need to call it an appendix either.

Devestation Man Brings upon Himself in Goldings Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a story that has hidden symbolism. It is about a group of British schoolboys fleeing from England during World War 1. Their plane crashes on a deserted tropical island. Once on the island they have to cope with their new ?adult-less? life and make rules to live by. After spending time on the island, the boys begin to struggle for power which leads to several problems. The experience on the island serves as a symbol of life in the outside world and the devastation that man brings upon himself. Setting, specific characters, and symbolism help show this. The setting of the story is an important symbol of the outside world. Certain circumstances that happen on the island coincide what happens in the outside world. The world is in the midst of World War 1. On the island Jack and Ralph have their own war happening. The boys set fire to the island. It was a mistake, but they were enjoying it: ?At the sight of the flames and irresistible course of fire, the boys broke into a shrill, excited laughter.? They were enjoying the fire, though it was causing destruction and even killed an innocent boy. However, they were not much bothered by the thought because it did not involve them directly. They built ?war like? forts, even though there was nothing worth protecting. The island is like a miniature world. Certain circumstances that happen in the world happen on a miniature scale on the island. Specific characters in the story represent people in the outside world. Jack represents a dictator, like Hitler or Mussolini. He controls everything around him and abuses his power. He would take littluns and randomly beat them because he had more power over them. The littluns represented the masses. They would flow towards the leader that seemed the best for them. All they wanted to do was have fun, relax, and hunt. Jack provided all of that. Piggy was the voice of intelligence and reasoning: ?Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up He was the most intelligent person on the island and the rules came from him. Each person?s true identity came out on the island, for better or for worse, and they are all representative of to people in the outside world. The symbolism throughout the entire novel was significant. Jacks mindless hunters never spoke out against their leader.

Causes of the Civil War Essay -- Papers Usa American History Essays

Causes of the Civil War Although some historians feel that the Civil War was a result of political blunders and that the issue of slavery did not cause the conflict, they ignore the two main causes. The expansion of slavery, and its entrance into the political scene. The North didn't care about slavery as long as it stayed in the South. South Carolina seceded, because Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, was voted into office. The Republican party threatened the South's expansion and so Southerners felt that they had no other choice. The United States was divided into three groups by the time the Civil War began: those who believed in the complete abolition of slavery, those who were against the expansion of slavery, and those who were pro slavery. The Republican party was formed in opposition to southern expansion. Their views were Free Soil, Free Men and Free Labor. The Republicans were anti-South but they were in not abolitionists. They believed that slavery was a flawed system that made the south ineffective and because the North's free labor system was superior it must be guarded from southerners. When the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, the South felt threatened, and because expansion was vital to the survival of slavery they also felt their way of life was being threatened. Because slavery was such an important part of Southern society, the South felt that they could not survive without it. That's why they were not willing to compromise with the north. To own slaves was a sign of wealth and social prestige and poor farmers who could not afford slaves had a goal to work for. In the election of 1860 you can see that Lincoln only secured 4% of the popular vote in the South, only wi... ... Bibliography: Coffey, Thomas M. The Long Thirst. New York: WW Norton and Co., 1975 Dumenil, Lynn. Modern Temper. New York: Hill and Wang, 1995 Hintz, Martin. Farewell, John Barleycorn. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1996 Karl, Barry D., The Uneasy State. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. Kerr, K. Austin, Organized For Prohibition. London: Yale University Press, 1985 Lee, Henry, How Dry We Were: Prohibition Revisited. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1963 Organized Crime . Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia  ©1996 SoftKey International Inc. and its licensors. Parrish, Michael E., Anxious Decades. New York: WW Norton and Co., 1992. Prohibition. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia  ©1996 SoftKey International Inc. and its licensors. Severn, Bill. The End of the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition and Repeal. New York: Julian Messner, 1969

Aliens and Faith Essay

There are many religions throughout our world. Some are even based on the actual worship of what these believers call, Aliens from outer space. The majority of religions though do not believe in intelligent life outside of human beings on planet Earth. Christianity is a main religion practiced worldwide; part of its belief for most believers is just that, that we are the only intelligent life created by the Christian God. The possible existence of extraterrestrial life though does not give reason that religious beliefs are not true. The belief of an omniscient creator of all things, including our never ending expanse of Universe and the possibility of what it holds, show that an omniscient creator’s power is never ending and our faith should be as well. All religions require you to have faith, and with faith we can accept any possibility. When people entertain the idea of extraterrestrial life they feel it casts doubt that the gods or God of many religious beliefs cannot coincide with the reality of life. Quoting an anonymous source, here is one opinion: Christians claim that the Bible has all the knowledge of how, when, where, what and why life was created and everything that God has done. The Bible explains that God created angels and humans and animals on earth. That pretty much covers everything God has created from earth to heaven. If God doesn’t mention aliens in His creations and only speaks of how He sacrificed Himself for us it could be claimed that God did not create any other life form outside earth. I think it would be absurd if God created other life forms in other parts of the universe and gave them free will and then going through another self-sacrifice. Besides, there is only one evil source, namely Satan that serves as our earthly test. This Satan only dwells on earth and not in other worlds. That is why aliens cannot exist. If aliens exist or come to earth it directly proves that Christianity is a fake (QTD). Yet we are taught in this religion in particular to have faith in the God of Christ. That our faith can move mountains or raise the dead, if we just believe, then it can be done. In Him all things are possible. Aliens can still be a possibility even with religious beliefs, extraterrestrials and religion can still exist together. Keeping in tune with the Christian religion, also being the popular religion worldwide, we hear that the catholic faith of Christian belief states that they believe and are researching the existence of extraterrestrial life being a reality. In my opinion this possibility exists,† Funes, the director of the Vatican Observatory, told L’Osservatore Romano. † Astronomers believe the universe is made up of 100 billion galaxies, each of which consists of 100 billion stars,†¦ Life forms could exist in theory even without oxygen or hydrogen. † (News). The Catholic Religion is the oldest Christian based religion historically and is very dominant and deeply rooted with many assets. They will have scientist, astronomers, and researchers continuously providing facts and reasoning behind this coexistence. Ted Peters writes: â€Å"During the formidable period of medieval Scholasticism, despite the forceful impact of Aristotelian philosophy, Christian Theology was by no means wedded to the idea that God created only one world†¦ Not only did some of our best minds affirm the idea of multiple worlds, some even spoke positively regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life. † (Delio 250) There is the belief that any other life forms created where angels or demons and that aliens are not part of these creations. We can show that alien life forms can coexist with even these creations and it not disprove religion still. There are few places in the bible that speak of life outside of humans and none mentioning aliens or extraterrestrial life, but they are there. â€Å"praise ye him , all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts†¦for he spoke and they were made. He commanded and they were created† (Psalm 148:2). Contrary to popular belief, the Bible does not say that the only intelligent beings populating the universe are humans, in fact God created countless â€Å"non-human intelligent beings† before mankind. God is known throughout the Bible as the Lord of Hosts (Flynn). To show faith in the God of Christ we can believe in the possibility of these beings and it not disprove them. Even in scriptures it does not come out and say it but it gives seed to the idea and possibility that God did create other hosts of this life. On a more general level the fact that alien life exists would mean that we are not the center of the universe. Most religions now recognize that the earth is just a lump of rock, they still believe that WE as human being are the most important thing in creation, that we occupy a special place in God’s plan. The existence of aliens would seem to make this implausible especially if they are more advanced than we are (on all levels, intellectually, spiritually) This would mean that God has acted in the development of the aliens in a away he did not act in ours, which in turn would mean that we do not occupy the paramount role in God’s creation, which as I said is a fundamental idea in religions. For Christianity, Judaism and Islam the existence of aliens is especially problematic. All these religions are based on the idea of a covenant between us and God. Weidemann, a self-confessed Protestant Christian, mentioned a few potential answers. Maybe aliens are not sinners, like human beings, and as a result are not in need of saving. On the other hand, the principle of mediocrity – the notion that own case in point is most likely standard except if there is proof to the opposite – casts skepticism on this, he pointed out. Weidemann stressed that if there are extraterrestrial rational creatures at all, it is safe to believe that virtually all of them are sinners as well. He added that if aliens are sinners Jesus did not save them too. Weidemann asserted that their position among intelligent creatures in the universe would be very outstanding (Delage). With extraterrestrial life in the universe being seen as a possibility and many biblical references giving seed to this as truth, believers maybe are being tested with this theory as another way that we are tested in our faith. We are asked to have faith without seeing, and to believe without question the infinite intelligence of God the infinite possibilities he has, to let the unknown exist and still believe with a faith unfounded.

Harrington Collection

Case Assignment #2 – Harrington Collection Outlook for overall women’s apparel industry Since the downturn that began in the early 2000s significantly impacted the women’s apparel industry, the increasing rate on overall sales had presented a slight decrease from 2004. Although it came up from 3. 5% to 5. 7% in 2004, it began to come down from that year as well with a relatively stable dropping rate. However, it led to a significant fluctuation among units that sold in different price ranges.Let’s take a look at Chart-1 below which is transformed from Exhibit-2 in the case to the form of increasing rate and proportion respectively. According to (a), units sold whose price is more than $200 and in the range of $100 and $200 increased well below the average increasing rate. While the units sold whose price ranged from $50-$100 and under $50 increased higher than the average increasing rate. What’s more, the growth rate of units sold under $50 had jump ed to 11. 50% in 2007 by 4. 28% which is in great contrast with that of only 1. 5% whose price ranged from $100-$200. Chart-1: (a) Price Point| 2006 (growth rate)| 2007 (growth rate)| difference| $200+| 0. 6508%| 2. 8736%| 2. 2228%| $100-$200| -0. 0457%| 1. 5075%| 1. 5532%| $50-$100| 7. 0548%| 9. 0851%| 2. 0303%| Under $50| 7. 2188%| 11. 5010%| 4. 2822%| Total| 5. 1272%| 8. 1631%| 3. 0359%| According to (b), the units sold proportions presented little difference from 2005 to 2006. However, in 2007, we found that 2 points less of units sold pricing up from $100 and 2 points more of that were priced under $50 compared with previous year.Chart-1: (b) Price Point| 2005 (proportion)| 2006 (proportion)| 2007 (proportion)| $200+| 10. 7601%| 10. 3020%| 9. 7982%| $100-$200| 17. 0388%| 16. 2004%| 15. 2036%| $50-$100| 34. 0776%| 34. 7025%| 34. 9983%| Under $50| 38. 0456%| 38. 8025%| 40. 0000%| Total| 100%| 100%| 100%| Although the statistics suggests a slight increase of the total demand in th e industry of women’s apparel, the shift in the structure of units sold in different price ranges indicates a downturn in the industry which led to a downward consumer purchasing behavior.Indeed the economic sluggish hit the segment targeted on upscale-class apparel pricing higher than $100, however, it provides a great opportunity for manufactures who engaged in the segments targeted toward â€Å"budget† and â€Å"moderate† classifications. As a result, consumers undergoing economic downturn would become more and more price sensitive, especially for those who were always purchasing â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† apparel even before the economic sluggish began. Competition Since the industry was moderately concentrated, it should belong to monopolistic competition market, under which sellers could differentiate their offers to buyers.Products can be varied in quality, features, or style, or the accompanying services can be varied. Sellers try to develop differentiated offers for different customer segments and, in addition to price, freely use branding, advertising, and personal selling to set their offers apart. Retailing Competition for the Apparel Market In current years, department stores have been squeezed between more focused and flexible specialty stores on the one hand, and more efficient, lower-priced discounters on the other.It results in a markedly falling in market share which can be found in Exhibit-5. In the contrast, specialty stores with narrow product lines and deep assortment, and supercenters who are actually giant specialty stores with broader product lines presented an enlightening future trend. The fierce competition, as a result, gave rise either to merger and consolidations between retailers in order to gain bargaining power with suppliers, or to contracting directly with manufacturers to produce private label products.Manufacturers also expanded their roles by integrating forward into retailing so a s to reduce expenditures and to take better control over their own business. Harrington Collection Harrington Collection targets itself at high-class fashion enthusiasts and divides the â€Å"upper-class† market into 4 further specific segments represented by 4 brands which focus on people with different income status, ages, self-concepts, etc. If we refer back to Chart-1: (b), we find that market share of total apparel industry pricing higher than $100 decreased in 2007.It would hit the performance of Harrington Collection since all of its products are priced up from $150. In addition, we also find a rapid growth was taking place in the low-end market in 2007. As a result, senior executives of the company is considering to introduce active-wear into manufacturing and stretch its product line downward to grab the opportunity in low-end market as well as to make up for their profit loss in high-end market. However, a brand’s price and image are often closely linked and a change in price can adversely affect how consumers view the company.When a cheaper product is introduced into the market, their loyal consumers would think that the quality has been reduced. Especially for luxury oriented company like Harrington Collection whose customers are extremely loyal to the brand and looking for status that the company’s brand stands for, lowering price would threaten the company’s position in the minds of its loyal customers. (disadvantage) On the other hand, when it comes to new customers who never purchased Harrington’s apparel before, lowering price might attract consumers in â€Å"moderate† or even â€Å"budget† segments to buy its products.Moreover, if prices are similar with that of competitors who target only in â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† segments, consumers are more likely to purchase Harrington’s apparel, because the brand would make them look wealthy. (advantage) However, it is not th e case. Consumers belonging to â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† segments are extremely price sensitive, especially under a downturn economic situation. When company slightly raise the price to meet a higher quality or service requirement, lots of consumers coming from these two segments would turn to its competitors.Even though the company makes profit due to the current fad, it would hurt the company’s profitability in a long run. (disadvantage) As a result, management of Harrington Collection should trade off both advantages and disadvantages when making decision of lowering its price to develop active-wear product line. Active wear According to the case, both the facts that the number of active-wear units sold was expected to double by 2009 and the extremely high turnover rate suggest a promising future of active-wear classification.So the point is to which segment active-wear classification should target and how this new product line should be priced. First of all, let’s refer back to our analysis right above. Although targeting to consumers who pinch pennies and lowering price to attract this kind of â€Å"new† purchasers might make profit in short term, the great price sensitivity and disloyalty hidden behind this group would result in a greater loss in a long run. Moreover, the inexpensive brand image would drive a lot of loyal customers away to its competitors.However, â€Å"10% of customers purchasing apparel in the $100-$200 price range would buy an active-wear set if one with superior styling, fabric, and fit was available. † â€Å"There is a sub set of Harrington customers who were loyal to the brands throughout their careers but no longer desire the tailored, professional look. They are now interested in something fresh and comfortable that fits with their active lifestyles. † â€Å"The aging baby boomer population wants clothing that does not make them feel old. All of these facts suggest that it seems safer and more conservative to remain in the existing classification and excavate the need of loyal customers. However, due to the high growth in low-end market, we don’t want to give up the opportunity to take a bite on that tempting market. So why don’t we price the product slightly higher than the â€Å"moderate† active-wear product, and increase the quality as well as add exceptional features to attract both old customers and new consumers who are not that sensitive to price?For instance, if customers purchasing active-wear from Liz Claiborne related themselves with sexy and glamorous image, Harrington could redesign the active-wear product adding features to attract customers who would like to relate themselves with elegant or sophisticated images which is more consistent with the company’s value. It can also increase the quality in fabrics, manual work and services. People would love to pay a little higher price in exchange of a much higher qu ality, unique style and better services.In this way, not only it would attract new customers who are less price sensitive with affordable prices and retain them by reliable quality compared with that of poorly made â€Å"moderate† products, but also it would bring fresh experience to its old customers and then increase the times of their purchasing behavior without eating up the sales of company’s other brands or hurting a luxury image. Secondly, if Harrington faces a host of smaller competitors charging high prices relative to the value they eliver, it might charge lower prices to drive weaker competitors out of the market. However, Liz Claiborne, one of Harrington’s major competitors, was also one of the leaders in the â€Å"better† active-wear category with relatively low price. As a result, the company may decide to differentiate itself with value-added products at higher prices. In conclusion, Harrington should price the new product line of active-we ar slightly higher as well as increase its quality and services in order to support the price and keep consistency with its luxury image.Furthermore, Harrington should differentiate its style and features to avoid direct competition with other leading manufacturers. Brand Targeting and Positioning Myer thought active-wear would be a perfect addition to the Vigor division for two reasons – Vigor styles were less traditional than the other Harrington divisions, and Vigor division emphasized comfort and fashion although it’s a career-oriented design. However, these two reasons cannot sufficiently support whether active-wear would well fit into Vigor brand.Even though attributes and benefits brought to customers could be varied among different products, the images, beliefs and values created for customers must be consistent with each of the product under the same brand. For instance, active-wear and existing Vigor’s product don’t have the same features, as ac tive-wear is more sporty and casual while the other is more work/professional oriented. The point is neither the same attributes they have in common nor the comfortable benefits they will bring to customers. The point is the same image customers would like to relate themselves with and values the company intends to create.Since Vigor has already successfully created an image of â€Å"Trend Setter†, the new product line must also create values of â€Å"breaking rules†, â€Å"looking exceptional†, â€Å"pursuing new life style† for customers to meet the requirement under the brand of Vigor. As a result, it’s not a bad idea to branch out Vigor to support active-wear manufacture. Advantages and Disadvantages Moreover, to extend a current brand name to a new category will give the new product instant recognition and faster acceptance. It also saves the high advertising costs usually required to build a new brand name.And it could also use the brand†™s existing support and functions to run the new business, which would decrease part of overhead expenditures. At the same time, branching out Vigor involves some risks. If a brand extension fails, it may harm consumer attitudes toward the existing products carrying the same brand name. Potential Retail Trade Since Company-owned stores accounted for about 20% of the manufacturing group sales, and the remaining sales were split 40:60 between specialty stores and department stores. It can be inferred that the sales proportion among these three outlets is 20: 32: 48 in manufacturing group.According to the sales information provided in Exhibit-6, the sales and corresponding proportions among different retailing terminals can be concluded as below: (For instance, in 2005, sales of Own store is $556*20%+$843=945. 2) Chart-2: (a) | 2005 (sales in millions)| 2006 (sales in millions)| 2007 (sales in millions)| Own Store| 945. 2| 921. 4| 913. 6| Specialty Store| 177. 92| 173. 44| 172. 16| D epartment Store| 266. 88| 260. 16| 258. 24| Total| 1390| 1355| 1344| Chart-2: (b) | 2005 (sales in pro)| 2006 (sales in pro)| 2007 (sales in pro)| Own Store| 68. 00%| 68. 0%| 67. 98%| Specialty Store| 12. 80%| 12. 80%| 12. 81%| Department Store| 19. 20%| 19. 20%| 19. 21%| Total| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| As we can see from Chart-2 above, sales from Company Owned Store account most of the company sales. By integrating itself forward into retailing or the entire value chain, company could be able to reduce the time required of distribution, to take control of promotion and retail prices directly, and to provide more personal selling services to customers by professionally trained salesperson so as to better meet customer needs.On the other hand, multiple channels offer many advantages as well to companies facing large and complex markets. With each non-company owned store, the company expands its sales and market coverage and gains opportunities to tailor its products and services to the specific needs of diverse customer segments. But such multichannel systems are harder to control, and they generate conflict as more retailers compete for customers and sales. The current channels of different brands are exhibited in Chart-3: Chart-3: | Harrington Ltd. | Sopra| Christina Cole| Vigor|Price Range| $500-$1000 (Dsn)| $400-$800 (Brd)| $300-$700 (Brd)| $150-$250 (Btr)| Retailer| 70 Company Own; Specialty;Department| Specialty| 70 Company Own; Specialty;Department| The other 50 Company Own;Specialty;Department| 40% (50 stores) of the Company Owned Stores sell Vigor exclusively. One of the reasons might be that Vigor stands for a less traditional image and a new life-style relatively to the others. As a result, environment, decorations and even salesperson of stores selling Vigor would be specifically designed to meet the specific expectation of the customer positioned in that segment.Since we’ve decided to branch out Vigor to integrate active-wear line into it due to the similar value they represented, we should display active-wear together with existing Vigor brand with separated segments in order to deepen the assortment of Company Owned Stores and give customer psychological suggestions about the value it intends to present. Secondly, since specialty store carry a narrow product line with a deep assortment, active-wear provides a great opportunity to enrich the classifications of the store. Thirdly, upscale-department outlets might also find active-wear an appropriate supplement for their product line.Since consumers with relatively high income would like to give the stylish, active and more casual clothes a shot in the case that the clothes have to be made in good quality. As Harrington’s active-wear has differentiated itself with exceptional quality, features and services, which implies nothing related to the cheap prices. As a result, upscale-department would love to support this product line regardless its low price range . What’s more, Harrington could develop its channel into Superstores which indeed is a giant specialty store, since it might attract a larger group of people with various income statuses and self-positioning.Reaction of Competitors If active-wear with Vigor’s logo performs brilliant once it is introduced, it would attract lots of small competitors into the market. Since it’s a monopolistic competition market which allows a wide range of price and competitors could differentiate their products with various qualities, features, values and services, small companies who are not able to find themselves competitive in quality and creativity would be more likely to cut their price down to attract customers coming from a more price sensitive and less loyal segment compared with the segment targeted by Harrington.Although the price would be slightly higher than that of those small competitors, Harrington has gained strong customer relationship and its newly brought-in pr oduct targets both to loyal customers and to new customers who are less price sensitive and who’d like to pay more attention to quality and features. As a result, Harrington would successfully avoid competitions from its competitors. Demand and Profitability Analysis Start-Up Costs:| Start-up Costs Pants Plant| $1,200,000| Start-up Costs Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $2,500,000| Equipment Pants Plant| $2,000,000|Equipment Hoodie and Tee- shirt Plant| $2,500,000| Launch-PR, Advertising| $2,000,000| Fixtures for Company Stores| $50,000*50| Total Start-up Costs| $10,200,000+$50,000*50| Annual Depreciated Start-up Costs| $2,540,000 (total start-up cost/5)| Annual Ongoing Operating Costs – Fixed:| Overhead Pants Plant| $3,000,000| Overhead Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $3,500,000| Rent Pants Plant| $500,000| Rent Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $500,000| Management/Support| $1,000,000| Advertising| $3,000,000| Total Fixed Operating Costs| $11,500,000|Direct Variable Costs:| Hoodie| Tee-shirt| Pants| Sew and Press| $3. 25*x| $2. 00*y| $2. 85*z| Cut| $1. 15*x| $0. 40*y| $0. 70*z| Other Variable Labor| $3. 20*x| $2. 40*y| $3. 05*z| Fabric| $9. 10*x| $2. 20*y| $7. 50*z| Findings| $3. 85*x| $0. 50*y| $2. 30*z| | $20. 55*x| $7. 50*y| $16. 40*z| Direct Variable Costs Translated into â€Å"Unit† Cost| Hoodie| Tee-shirt| Pants| | $20. 55| $7. 50| $16. 40| | *0. 5 (weight)| *1. 5 (weight)| *1 (weight)| | $10. 275| $11. 25| $16. 4| Indirect Variable Costs| Wholesale â€Å"unit† price| $100*50%*0. (weight)+$40*50%*1. 5 (weight)+$80*50%*1 (weight)=$95| Total variable costs as % of wholesale price| $(3+4+1+0. 7+0. 24+0. 15)%=9. 09%| Indirect variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $95*9. 09%=$8. 6355| Direct variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $10. 275+$11. 25+$16. 4=$37. 925| Indirect variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $8. 6355| Total variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $46. 5605| Contribution:| Wholesale price per â€Å"unit†| $95| Less tota l variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $46. 5605| Contribution per â€Å"unit†| $95-$46. 5605=$48. 4395| Breakeven:|Fixed annual costs (operating and depreciated start up) | $2,540,000+$11,500,000=$14,040,000| / Contribution per â€Å"unit†| $48. 4395| =Breakeven Units| 289,846 units| Profit Margin:| Revenue| $7,500,000*2*40%*7%*$95=420,000units*$95=$39,900,000| less fixed annual costs| $14,040,000| less total variable costs| $46. 5605*420,000units=19,555,452| Profit before tax| $6,304,548| Profit margin before tax| 15. 8009%| If Harrington could guarantee that there’ll be 289,846 units sold in the launch year, it won’t lose money.If market share of 7% â€Å"better† active-wear segment is accurately estimated, the breakeven point will be definitely met and the company will even earn a15. 80% profit margin. If the company decides to raise price in order to earn more on one unit in expense of losing part of its sales volume, consumers’ price elasticity would be extremely important for company to see whether the amount of money it makes more on one unit would cover the loss of volume decrease. Sometimes the price-demand curve slopes upward when it comes to prestige goods, but it is another case.