Thursday, October 31, 2019

Answer these questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Answer these questions - Assignment Example Since Brazil dependent on primary commodities, it experienced a case of Dutch Disease during this time. Another obstacle towards Brazilian development was the elastic supply of labor. Initially Brazil took advantage of the import of slaves from Africa but with the abolition of slavery that Brazil tried to ignore for as long as it could, Brazil began to gain labor from Southern Europe. The plantation owners began to press the government to transport labor from southern Europe at low costs. Thus an elastic supply of labor was maintained which resulted in a stable labor costs. While labor costs should have increased with the abolition of slavery, Brazil managed to keep them down through its lax immigration laws. One obstacle to the development of Brazil was the high cost of transportation. The country depended on waterways for the transportation of labor and other commodities. But the topography is Brazil is such that these waterways are not strategically placed within the country. Also the flow of certain rivers did not allow for an advantage through water transportation. The other option available to Brazil was land transportation. Unfortunately, land transportation was not a feasible option as most roads were broken and vehicles could not pass by them. The high cost of transportation therefore led to a limited interregional and international trade. Agriculture producers were only limited to market in their immediate vicinity. The surplus that was being produced in certain areas could not be transported in such a manner as to profit the crop owners. The inelasticity of supply that generated as a result meant that prices would increase every time the demand of advanced products increased i n the market. Thus the domestic agriculture sector of Brazil was unable to flourish as a result of the inelastic transportation system within the country. Even though the government realized the impact of the under development

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The dramatic significance Essay Example for Free

The dramatic significance Essay Although in the previous act we were briefly introduced to the characters, their statuses were made clearer than their personalities which are conveyed in further depth in this scene. Prosperos story told to Miranda gives the audience a grasp of the identities of the people on stage in relation to him and why he may want them on the island in the certain groups, which is imperative if the audience is to understand the motives behind the characters actions both beforehand and presently. This is shown in the conversation between Antonio and Sebastian, as we were made aware of their crudeness and selfishness in the first scene, but it is only now that the relationship between them is conveyed. This is depicted by the continuation of each others jokes, and the similar way in which they view the situation: ADRIAN: The air breathes upon us here most sweetly. SEBASTIAN: As if it had lungs and rotten ones. ANTONIO: Or astwere perfumed by a fen. The motive of Antonios subjugation over his brother is also explained sub-textually. Shakespeare never states specifically, but it is suggested towards the end of this scene when Antonios pure ambition and lack of conscience is expressed. The audience could have believed that he had honest intention beforehand, as maybe he took Prosperos position as he was neglecting his duty, but this scene proves differently. Although him and Sebastian both share the same sardonic cynicism, with Antonio it conceals an underlying cunning and manipulative nature, unseen and unheard of formerly. O, If you but knew how you the purpose cherish Whiles thus you mock it! Sebastian on the other hand, displays a weaker disposition and so Antonio grasps the opportunity to use this to his advantage and use him for his own personal gain, giving an element of suspense to this scene as the act is not completed. It is important that each scene has a certain element of this, as if it seems that nothing is to happen, the audience will loose interest. Antonio has not changed at all from 12 years ago when we were first informed of him, unlike Alonso.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Law Enforcement And The Law Enforcement Agencies Of The United States International Law Essay

Law Enforcement And The Law Enforcement Agencies Of The United States International Law Essay Law enforcement has two major objectives. First, law enforcement officials seek to prevent occurrence of unlawful acts which in some way are detrimental to the citizens. The second objective is ensuring that people who are suspects of crimes are investigated and tried in a way that falls in line with the predetermined law. Law enforcement officials are also supposed to hand over a retribution which is considered equitable for the crime committed. Law enforcement force of United States is one amongst the three components of criminal justice system. It lies along with judiciary and correction arms of law. These forces operate independently of the other. In addition, judiciary has more powers over the two because it is vetted with power of making legal determinations in regard to the conducts of the two. In addition to upholding and enforcing law and order, policing has the credibility to conduct an investigation of suspected criminals and referring investigations to the courts. In addition, law enforcement forces at different levels of governance and unlike agencies are commonly responsible for deterring criminal activities and preventing successful progressing crimes. In addition they are also charged with other responsibilities such as; providing quick responses to emergencies and other incidences that pose a threat to public safety, protecting public facilities, government and senior officials, public infrastructure and maintenance of public order in public ceremonies. However, police force is the major law enforcement agency in a country. Historically in the United States of America, the force was started in 1626 through foundation of New York Sheriffs Office in New York City. In 1635, another force was founded in Boston town. In Boston, it is said to have started as a night watch security group over criminal activities that were distressing to the public in the town. In 1835 the security group became a police department and after the success of these security forces a modern police department was founded in New York City in 1845. Earlier to this time police forces were not respected by the public because of corruption. As time went by, police forces increased to all other states in the country. Later on in early 20th century, police forces were provided with important facilities such as police cars, radio calls and other police facilities were introduced into the force to enhance their performance (Neocleous, 2004). In the same period, centralization of policing law enforcement officers was made. This was made through an idea from August Vollmer who by then was a police chief in Berkeley, California. He was a military officer before joining the force and also an official in criminal justice in Europe. It this earlier experience that is thought to have made him come up with the idea. This improved the policing monitoring and control in the states. In addition, he spearheaded establishment of centralized police recording system from all over the states that led to efficient organization of criminal investigation activities. Additionally, he is said to have innovated a lie detector in the police force that helped in investigating suspected criminals of law. Later on police commanders felt the need to train their police officers after recruitment so as to improve performance and this led to establishment of police training institutes. In 1960s, American law enforcement was improved by additional shifts and agencies at a time when government focused more on community issues. This was due to arouse of racial apprehension and urban conflict in the midst of the Americans. The law enforcement was forced to increase its diversity by hiring more officials so as to containment the situation. In 1990s, community policing agency was introduced. This agency was introduced in a belief that community relations would help to recognize suspects and call the attention to problems facing communities. In the United States of America, policing law enforcement is done by various types of agencies and at various levels. There are mainly three types of law enforcement officers; local, state and federal. They have various jurisdictions, rules and requirements. They function independently of the other but in some cases they are forced to cooperate. Each state of the United States of America has its own constituted rules and nomenclature for agencies. Their powers, responsibilities vary from state to state except for the federal force. Federal police have been empowered to uphold and enforce law at the federal level it is the most powerful law enforcement agency operating within the country. In one way or the other they also maintain law and public order at state and local level as well. They are charged with the mandate by various parts of United States Code, to only carrying out investigations which are explicitly under the power of federal government. Passage of USA Patriot act in 2001, broadened the investigative powers of federal police. The act led to the formation of a new permanent police force called United States Secret Service Uniformed Division. The force is subject to supervision of secretary of Homeland Security. It is empowered to make arrests without warrant for offences which are against the law but the said offence must be committed in their presence or for felony recognized under the law of the United States of America. Federal police department have numerous sub-divisions that have different responsibilities. These include the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, U.S Marshals Service, State Department of Diplomatic Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal police force agency which lies under United States Department of Justice. The force was established in 1973 a result of Reorganization Plan which was signed by President Nixon in 1973. The plan proposed formation of a federal agency which would enforce and uphold drug laws and coordinate governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s drug containment activities. As a result federal offices which included Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement among others merged and formed the force. Since its formation, its head offices were located in Washington DC but later it was relocated to Arlington, Virginia and other offices have since been located in various cities within the country. The force is headed by Administrator of Drug Enforcement who is an appointee of the president and has to be vetted by the u. senate. The administrator is required to report to the Attorney General through the office of Deputy Attorney General. Drug Abuse Law Enforcement recruits competitive personnel who then are taken through a rigorous training for 16 weeks which include firearms proficiency, and deadly force decisions tasks. For a trainee to graduate, a trainee must acquire 80 percent on training examinations. This ensures that only qualified personnel are in the force. The force does not employ candidates with history of drugs use. The force is charged with control of drug use and smuggling within the country but it can pursue drug cases which federal government is involved in outside the country. In addition, the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a law enforcement force which falls under United States Department of Justice. The force was part of United States Department of Treasury which was formed in 1886 which then was a Revenue Laboratory within the treasury. The force is charged with the responsibilities which include carrying out investigations and preventing illegal use, manufacture, possession of illegal fire arms and explosives, arson and bombing acts, and illegal transportation of alcohol and tobacco products. In addition, force carries out regulation through licensing sale, possession, and trafficking of firearms, ammunition among other sensitive commodities. During the wake of terrorist attack in 2001, President Bush signed Homeland Security Act into law. As a result of creation of Department of Homeland Security, the force was shifted from Department of Treasury to Department of Justice. In addition the force was charged with responsibilities of collecting federal tax revenue from tobacco and alcohol products and regulating functions related to protecting public against production of such goods. The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), is made up of different forces with each having respective responsibilities and acts under the command of a director. Special agents of the force are empowered to conduct their own criminal investigations, defend American citizens against domestic or international terrorism acts and act together with state and local law enforcement forces to reduce criminal acts at national level. The force has the greatest responsibility among all other federal police forces. The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent hiring and training is highly competitive in comparison to other federal police forces. Hired trainees do their training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center which is situated in Glynco, Georgia. The rigorous training is completed after twenty seven weeks. The training program consist of pre-Basic training for one week, criminal investigation program for twelve weeks and Special Agent Basic Training Course for the rest period In addition, there is United States Secret Service which is a component of federal police that forms a part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The force is divided into two groups whereby the sworn in officials are either in the Special Agents or in the Uniformed Division. In addition, the force has two major functions; first, treasury role whereby they cover prevention and investigation missions on cases such as counterfeiting of currency and treasury bonds notes, second, is preventive roles whereby the force is responsible of ensuring safety to former and current national leaders. Uniformed Division of the United States Secret Service is charged with the responsibility of providing security. This divisional force was established in 1922 as the White House Police Force, it was later integrated into secret service in 1930.the force currently carries out protective responsibilities through a network of security posts, bicycles, vehicles, foot and motorcycle mode of security patrols. The force is also required to offer support to Secret Serviceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s protection mission when need arises. Another sub-division of federal police is United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The force is under United States Department of Homeland Security. It charged with responsibility of identifying, and investigating cases related to national borders. Force is headed by an officer who is appointed at cabinet level by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The force was founded in 2002 following the 2001 attack. Headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are located in Washington D.C. the force comprises of four sub-divisions with each having its own director. These sub-divisions serve American citizens by providing investigation, interdiction and security. The main objective of the force is to investigate and interdict cases that threaten security of the United States of America at national and international level. In addition, another crucial sub-division of the federal police is Department of Homeland Security. The force is under the cabinet of United States. It is primarily charged with the responsibility of offering protection services to the United States and responding to national disasters. It has a sub-division called Department of Defense which is charged with the responsibility of military missions abroad. The force has the largest number of officers compared to all the others. This force is headed by Secretary of Homeland Security who is assisted by Deputy Secretary. It was founded in 2001 as a response to the terrorist attack in September 2001. Its headquarters are located in Washington D.C. following its establishment many cabinet agencies merged their responsibilities into a single unit. It is also responsible to respond to any security threatening issue within the country regardless of the states boundaries (Brodeur, 1992). However, another important sub-division of federal police force is the United States Marshals Service. The force is the oldest federal police force. It lies under the Department of Justice at federal level. It is mandated to give protection to the Department of Justice. Their main work is to protect court officials, structures, prisoners and transporting prisoners and equipments of the department. It is also responsible for issuing arrest warrants and pursuing fugitives. Marshalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ service is located in Arlington, Virginia. Force is under the authority of the Attorney General but headed by a Director. Director and State Marshals are appo9inted by the president of United States. In addition, the force is responsible for protecting witnesses and managing assets recovered from criminals. The force officials are allowed to maintain law and order even when they are off duty and wearing civilian clothing. Furthermore, there is another sub-division of the federal police called the United State Department of Diplomatic Security Agency. It is under the United States Department of State. The force has mandate of carrying out investigations around the globe. Risky threats to the security of United States are handled by this force. The force also offers personal protection to the United States Secretary of States and other dignitaries who visit the country. Local mandates of the force are carrying out investigations into visa and passport affairs. Internationally, they are responsible for protecting embassies, and carrying out law enforcement missions of the United States. The force has the toughest hiring process to a candidate compared with all other sub-divisions of federal police force. Qualified candidates go through a six months basic training program in Glynco, Georgia, thereafter joining Foreign Service Institute (FSI) which is situated in Arlington, Virginia. After training an agent is assigned to a domestic tasks intended for two years prior to captivating overseas assignments (Goldsmith, 2007). Another crucial sub-division of federal police is the United States Customs and Border Protection agency. The force lies under the United States Department of Homeland Security. The force is responsible for regulation and facilitation of international trade affairs which United States is involved. They also collect import duties and enforce regulations as stipulated by trade laws of United States. The main duty of the force is to prevent security threatening materials from entering the country through imported goods. Its headquarters are located in Washington, D.C (Deflem, 2004) Lastly, another sub-division of federal law enforcement force is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It is in the United States Department of Justice. It is charged with the mandate of caring out investigation both locally and internationally. Headquarters of the agency are located in Washington D.C. The goal of the force is to protect and defend United States against attacks and foreign threats (Nadelmann, 1993). The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was established in 1908 as a Bureau of Investigation but its name later changed in 1935. Officials who carry out investigations are appointed by Attorney General. The force is provided with authority to use communication networks such as internet in carrying out investigations. It also has power to carry out specific investigations. The force is allowed to break into criminals residences when carrying out house search (Walker, 1977). Apart from federal police there is State Police force divisions in the United States. This is a police body which conducts law enforcement duties at state level. Each state has its own police force unique from the other since laws are different from one sate to the other. Their main duties are to carry out investigations at state level, patrol state highways and interstate highways as well. They offer personal protection to state senior officials such as the governor and visiting dignitaries. Additionally, state forces also have sub-divisions such as State Investigation Bureau, State Department of Investigations among others of forces does not matter what matters is the responsibilities of each agency (Ratcliffe.J, 2007). Additionally, there is another type of police force called county or local police force. The force exists at county level but they also have countrywide jurisdiction. The force has three sub-divisions: Full service division which enforces traditional law, patrol and carrying out investigations at county level, Limited service force which perform policing duties by contract when their is need, and Restricted service which performs justice related services at county level. Lastly, there is a law enforcement agency which performs its duties at municipality level. This force is called Municipal police. Municipal police are under the local government and found in large towns and cities all over the country. Their responsibilities vary from one town to the other. Their jurisdiction is to control car parking and collecting parking fees in towns they also monitor public service transport in the cities and ensuring no illegal trade is carried out within the town or city. In conclusion, there are many law enforcement agencies in the United States of America. The game of numbers has been played but in real sense without these forces the country will be venerable to attacks and threats from other countries around the world. A country needs security against all manners of criminal activities and to combat these threats a country must have effective law enforcement agencies. United States has many forces but each force has an important jurisdiction of ensuring our safety. The number of law enforcement forces does not matter, what matters is where each force is carrying out its jurisdiction as it is required by law.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Men and Women in Music Essay -- Gender Roles

Gender is a set of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that we typically associate with masculinity and femininity (Brym, 2011, p.76). A lot of times, these differences are socially constructed through various outlets – one of them being music. Often times there is a lot of confusion between the definition of â€Å"sex† and â€Å"gender†. An easy way to understand the two definitions is to remember that â€Å"sex† refers to biological differences between men and women and â€Å"gender† refers to culturally defined ways of being male or female. Through a process of gender socialization, we are enabled to understand how to be more masculine or feminine (Brym, 2011, p.89). Music is definitely a contributor in the process of gender socialization. In a sociology 100 class, on February 3rd 2011, a class discussion suggested that men are often characterized as violent, assertive, strong, and sexual instigators (reinforced by Pruitt, 2007). Since the beginning of time, men have been considered the dominant sex. In the same class discussion it was also suggested that women were emotional, motherly and insecure (again, reinforced by Pruitt, 2007). Unfortunately, women are seen as the weaker sex in society. This simplistic way of categorizing women and men is commonly referred to as gender stereotyping. Gender stereotyping is the â€Å"simplification† of common beliefs about men and women and the traits that they possess (Brym, 2011, p.156). Gender roles are socially constructed expectations on how males and females are required to behave in social settings (Brym, 2011, p.76). The problem with gender roles is that they’re socially constructed – meaning, it’s constantly changing. The term assumes that there are strict differences between men and women and the truth of t... ...be a part of. The women promote concepts like independence and freedom for women and have helped fuel the feminist movement in the world through music. Conversely, rap music is a Black male-dominated genre that promotes aggressiveness, sexuality and dominance over women (Conrad et al., 2009). This genre is notorious for being misogynistic and sexist towards women (Conrad et al., 2009). As the world continues to evolve and grow, hopefully women will get the recognition they deserve in music and in the world in general. This way, there can be equality between the sexes in every aspect of life. However, the only way that this can happen is by allowing space for women in male-dominated genres like rap. Music is a social phenomenon that is constantly bringing people all over the world together. Hopefully in years to come, we can eradicate all inequalities within music.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Counterintelligence Policies

One of threatening crime these days in the U. S. is terrorism like the 9/11 tragedy and other similar terrorism attacks. The reason is obvious that such attacks turn out to be suddenly happened that scare most people to go into public venues like malls, office buildings, bus or railway stations, and other places of interests. Prior to 9/11 tragedy, the U. S. experienced impressive economy growth in terms of GDP in which, according to CIA Factbook, â€Å"before 2001 the country became the largest and the most powerful economy in the world with a per capita GDP of $36,200† (†CIA Factbook 2001†).However, the situation turned upside down when terrorists attacked the Pentagon and Two Buildings of World Trade Center in September 2001. It turned out that the 9/11 brought the country’s economy to experience a great suffer since some industries experienced great losses and slow growth afterwards. In order to prevent such huge loses in the future; U. S. government tak es some necessary actions in both foreign and domestic policy especially regarding the home country defense initiatives (counterintelligence) to protect U. S. citizen from foreign espionages that threatens the U.S. nation security, which also impacts the country economy. Concerning the counterintelligence issues that the U. S. faces, therefore, the thesis statement for this paper is â€Å"As foreign intelligence action becomes threats to the U. S. national security, what goals and policies that U. S. counterintelligence has within the past six decades and in the future and what factors in the counterintelligence initiatives that need fixing to improve future successes in counterintelligence† 2. Counterintelligences in the U. S. 2. 1 History and Recent Cases of Counterintelligence in the U.S. A great power is the result of the great pressure. This condition highlights the roadmap of the U. S. counterintelligence initiatives within the past six decades. To date, United States i s still perceived as the most powerful nation on the earth that suggests many actions threat the country to challenge their defense system. Due to the current position as a super power country, such actions to the country’s land will take months or even years of preparation since the attackers must have reliable information about the country’s defense before prior to execute it.Since any attacks to the country take some times by sending the intelligence, therefore, the country has to have the capability to counteract any intelligence performed by country’s counterparts by securing vital information about their national security plans. One of action to secure it is through counterintelligence. Historically, counterintelligence started several decades ago when John Jay became the first coordinated a national level of counterintelligence efforts.At that time, the goal of committing the counterintelligence is to lead a legislative committee to investigate a plot to sabotage defense and infrastructure targets in New York. In his investigations, Jay employs at least 10 agents; a few of the famous ones are Nathaniel Sackett, Elijah Hunter and Enoch Crosby. All of his agents were operating under enormous pressure. Some were undercover; being unmasked meant death to all of them (Rose P. K. , 1999). Enoch Crosby is the best secret agent that John Jay has.He uses various names and identity to retrieve information about the pro-British’s activities. After he get â€Å"to famous† for his work in one place, he was assign to another area, joining another pro-British Colony (Rose, 1999).In addition, one of recent cases in counterintelligence was on the arrests of two Chinese, Fei Ye and Ming Zhong, who found guilty for their actions of committing economic espionage, highlights the importance to conduct counterintelligence to secure the U. S. critical resources including trade secrets. The cases occurred when they found to bring the stolen tr ade secret in their luggage in San Francisco International Airport in November 2001. According to their statement, they intend to take the trade secrets of two well-known IT companies in the U. S. -Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Transmeta Corporation- to support and profit the development of the respective industry in China (Department of Justice, 2006).Similarly, the case of 9/11 attack also highlights that the country experiences information leaks about sensitive defense material that let the tragedy happens. Other leaks of information might cause another threats to America in the future. Here is where American Counterintelligence takes a vital role. American Counterintelligence has found that leaks of information have often happened in the United States governmental and intelligence environments. It turned out; the history of Americans sold out their country goes back a very long way.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Week 2 Problems Essays - Costs, Evaluation, Quality Control

Week 2 Problems Essays - Costs, Evaluation, Quality Control Week 2 Problems ISCOM/305 September 21, 2015 Dr. Matthew Keogh Problem 1-1 Tried and True Clothing has opened four new stores in college towns across the state. Data on monthly sales volume and labor hours are given below. StoreAnnandaleBlacksburgCharlottesvilleDanville Sales Volume$40,000$12,000$60,000$25,000 Labor hours25060500200 1)Which store location has the highest labor productivity? The Blacksburg store is the most productive. StoreAnnandaleBlacksburgCharlottesvilleDanville Sales Volume$40,000$12,000$60,000$25,000 Labor hours25060500200 Productivity = Sales/Labor$160$200$120$125 Problem 1-2 Tried and Trues accountant (from Problem 1-1) suggests that monthly rent and hourly wage rate also be factored into the productivity calculations. Annandale pays the highest average wage at $6.75 an hour. Blacksburg pays $6.50 an hour, Charlottesville $6, and Danville $5.50. The cost to rent store space is $1800 a month in Annandale, $2000 a month in Blacksburg, $1200 a month in Charlottesville, and $800 a month in Danville. 2)Which store is most productive? Charlottesville is the most productive. AnnandaleBlacksburgCharlottesvilleDanville Sales Volume$40,000$12,000$60,000$25,000 Labor hours25060500200 Labor cost/hr$6.75$6.50$6.00$5.50 Rent$1,800$2,000$1,200$800 Productivity1151413 3)Tried and True is not sure it can keep all four stores open. Based on multifactor productivity, which store would you close? What other factors should be considered? Based on productivity, the Blacksburg store should be closed. Other factors to consider is revenue, potential for growth, and options for reducing costs. Problem 2-1 Backwoods American, Inc. produces expensive water-repellant, down-lined parkas. The company implemented a total quality management program four years ago. Following are quality-related accounting data that have been accumulated for the past five-year period, beginning one year prior to the programs start (denoted as Year 0). Year 0Year 1 Year 2 Year 3Year 4 Quality Costs ($ 000s) Prevention3.210.728.342.650.0 Appraisal26.329.20.64.119.6 Internal failure9.11.38.435.932.1 External failure118.6110.5105.291.365.2 Accounting Measures ($000s) Sales2,700.62,690.12,705.32,810.22,880.7 Manufacturing cost420.9423.4424.7436.1435.5 a)Compute the companys total quality failure costs as a percentage of total quality costs for each of the five years. Does there appear to be a trend to this result? If so, speculate on what might have caused the trend. Total Failure Cost as % of Total Quality Cost: 2006: 0.8424 or 84.24% 2007: 0.8022 or 80.22% 2008: 0.7288 or 72.88% 2009: 0.6560 or 65.6% 2010: 0.5830 or 58.3% The failure costs decrease as a percentage of total quality costs. This may be attributed to an increase in product monitoring and inspection. Fewer defective products are reaching the consumer, as evidenced by the sharp decline in external failure costs. b)Compute prevention costs and appraisal costs, each as a percentage of total costs, during each of the five years. Speculate on what the companys quality strategy appears to be. Prevention costs as % of total quality costs Appraisal costs as % of total quality costs 2006: 0.0171 or 1.71% 0.1404 or 14.04% 2007: 0.0530 or 5.3% 0.1448 or 14.48% 2008: 0.1332 or 13.32% 0.144 or 14.4% 2009: 0.2197 or 21.97% 0.1243 or 12.43% 2010: 0.2996 or 29.96% 0.1174 or 11.74% The increase in prevention costs as a percentage of total quality costs indicates that Backwoods American is placing more emphasis on prevention of defects rather than correction of them. Perhaps they are spending more in the areas of quality planning, product design, process, training, and information. This is contributing to a decline in the need for inspection and testing, equipment testing, and operators to test quality; thus appraisal costs decline, both absolutely and as a percentage of total costs. Prevention also contributes to the decline in external and internal failures, because fewer defective products are produced to begin with. Increases in prevention expenditures will result in a decrease in all other quality costs. c)Compute quality-sales indices and quality-cost indices for each of the five years. Is it possible to assess the effectiveness of the companys quality-management program from these index values? To compute quality-sales index, calculate: (100) . For 2006, this is: (100) (100)(0.0693) = 6.93 To compute quality-cost index, calculate: (100) . For 2006, this is: (100) (100)(0.4448) = 44.48. Continuing in this way for the other years, we have: Quality Sales IndexQuality-Cost Index 20066.9344.48 20077.5047.64 20087.8550.04 20098.3944.46 20105.7938.32 These index values do not provide much information regarding the effectiveness of the quality assurance program. They are, however, useful in making comparisons from one period to the next and in showing trends in product quality over time. d)List several examples of each quality-related cost-that is prevention, appraisal, and internal and external failure- that might result from the production of parkas. Prevention: Market research, that is, producing what consumers want; purchasing only high-quality down and other materials, designing an efficient and effective manufacturing process; training employees in making quality products. Appraisal: Inspection of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished product; equipment testing (pattern cutter, sewing machines, etc.), inspection. Internal