Category: APA (edition “APA 7”)

statistics

Scenario/Summary

This week’s lab highlights the use of probability and normal distribution.

Follow the directions below to gather data, calculate using Excel spreadsheets, and interpret the results.

Deliverables

The deliverable is a Word document with your answers to the questions posed below based on the data you find.

Required Software

Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Steps to Complete Week 5 Lab
Use the Weeks 3 and 5 spreadsheets to help you answer the questions below.

Step 1: Survey or measure 10 people to find their heights. Determine the mean and standard deviation for this group by using the Week 3 Excel spreadsheet. Post a screen shot of the portion of the spreadsheet that helped you determine these values. How does your height compare to the mean (average) height of the group that you surveyed? Is your height taller, shorter, or the same as the mean of your group?

Data Example of 10 people with different heights
Step 2: Give some background information on the group of people you used in your study. You might consider using the following questions to guide your answer.

How did you choose the participants for your study (sampling method)?
What part of the country did your study take place in?
What are the age ranges of your participants?
How many of each gender did you have in your study?
What are other interesting factors about your group?
Step 3: Use the Week 5 Excel spreadsheet for the following.

(Use the Empirical Rule tab from the spreadsheet). Determine the 68%, 95%, and 99.7% values of the Empirical Rule in terms of the ten heights in your height study.
What do these values tell you?
Post a screen shot of your work from the Week 5 Excel spreadsheet.

Week 5 Spreadsheet Example
(Use the normal probability tab from the spreadsheet). Based on your study results, what percent of the study participants are shorter than you? What percent are taller than you?
Post a screen shot of your work from the Week 5 Excel spreadsheet.

Example: If my height is 73 inches, then 20.86% of the relevant population is shorter. The other 79.14%, of course, is taller.

Week 5 Spreadsheet Example

Examine the foreign exchange currency of your choice from the list mentioned versus the U.S. Dollar over any recent consecutive five-year period as to why the exchange rate fluctuated during that period.

Introduction

Every country has its own currency. The value of a countrys currency is directly related to its economics. Therefore, the value of each countrys currency is different.

The question becomes, How can countries and businesses do business with each other when the value of each countrys currency is different?

The answer is The Currency Exchange Rate.

With the advent of the Internet, there has been an explosion in the Forex Market to the point where this market dwarves all other markets. The Forex Market (FX for short) is where currencies are bought and sold and a price is fixed on a moment-by-moment basis between the values of different currencies. This is known as the currency exchange rate.”

For example, as of this writing, $1 U.S. will get you $1.31 Canadian. This difference in the exchange rate means that the U.S. Dollar (the U.S. economy) is stronger than the Canadian Dollar (the Canadian economy) because for each U.S. Dollar, you get more Canadian Dollars.

Conversely, for $1 U.S., you’ll only get $0.80 Sterling or British Pound. The U.S. economy is weaker than Englands economy because for each U.S. Dollar, you get less British Pounds.

Project Instructions

Choose one country from the following list:

Japan
UK (United Kingdom England Great Britain)
Australia
Canada
South Korea

This final project will require you to examine the FX currency of your choice from the list above versus the U.S. Dollar over any recent consecutive five-year period as to why the exchange rate fluctuated during that period.

Writing Guidelines

Use the following writing guidelines to complete and submit your paper:

Using Microsoft Word or a Word-compatible program, include the following information at the top of the paper:
Your Name
Student ID Number
Course Title and Number
Graded Project Number (the six-digit number found on your student portal)
The paper will contain three parts:
An Introduction
The Main Body
A Summary or Conclusion
Your paper must be a minimum of five pages in length, including a Works Cited page.
The submission will be double-spaced, in a standard print font of size 12. Use a standard document format with 1-inch margins. Do not use any fancy or cursive fonts.
Be sure to use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Use the tools available in Word or other software programs such as Grammarly to check and correct the English Composition.
Citing Your Work:
A minimum of five citations is required.
When it comes to citing source material that isn’t your own, there are two parts to a citation. The first one is the in-text citation and the second one is the citation presented on the Works Cited page itself.
Improperly formatted citations, or missing either of the two parts of citations, constitutes Plagiarism and results in a failing grade of 1.
The citations must follow APA formatting.
If you don’t remember how to make a properly formatted APA citation, go to the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) website by following these steps:
Do a search on the Internet for Purdue OWL and go to the homepage.
In the menu on the left, click on Research and Citation.
From the drop-down menu, click on APA Style.
Click on APA Formatting and Style Guide.
Select Reference List: Electronic Resources.

Alternatively, go to Penn Fosters Writers Block, or call and speak with an English instructor to refresh your memory on how to make a proper citation.

Writing Steps

To write your paper, follow these suggested steps:

Step 1

Select a foreign currency you want to analyze versus the U. S. Dollar. Find the FX ticker symbol for the currency.

Step 2

Perform your research. Go to a website such as www.xe.com or Bloomberg that has charting capabilities for the currency selected versus the US Dollar. Even a search in Google for the name of the currency exchange rate (such as searching China currency exchange rate) can be done to view a chart.

Decide on a five-year period that you’ll want to analyze. Record the currency exchange rate over the five years showing the significant points in time such as:

The starting point for the five-year period
The high points
The low points
Any relatively major ups and downs in the exchange rate
The ending point for the five-year period

Be sure to save the web address, as it will be used as one of the citations required later on in your Works Cited page.

Step 3

Once you have the exchange rates for the five-year period, research to formulate an opinion as to why the exchange rate fluctuated over that period.

Using your knowledge of Macroeconomics, research the economics of the country selected (such as GDP figures, supply/demand, housing, and labor, just to name a few of the economic concepts that you’ve learned about) and the events (such as political events, natural or unnatural disaster events, war events) that had an effect on the economy of the country.

Do the same research for the economics of the United States during that five-year period.

Step 4

Write a first draft of your paper following the guidelines presented above.

The introduction should include what the paper is about, the currency selected, and a table listing the currency exchange rates as of specific dates for the country selected versus the U.S. dollar. This table should have an in-text citation and a properly formatted citation on the Works Cited page so that these figures can be verified based upon the citation presented. Work, facts, figures, and any other elements that aren’t your own must be properly cited; otherwise, this is plagiarism and will warrant a grade of 1. This introduction should be one or two paragraphs at most and include the table.

The main body of the paper will present your opinion as to why the currency exchange rate fluctuated over the five-year period. You must support your opinion with at least four in-text citations and include these citations, properly formatted, on the Works Cited page.

The economic analysis needs to include both sides of the currency exchange rate. There can be no exchange rate if there’s only one side (one country). Therefore, the analysis must include the selected currency and the U.S. dollar.

For this analysis, you’re being asked to provide a minimum of four pages as a summary of your opinion.

The parts of the paper should include:

The introduction which states what the paper is about and includes a table with the exchange rates over the selected five-year period listed.
The main body of the paper which discusses both economies providing an opinion as to why the exchange rate fluctuated and include in-text citations to show support for that opinion. Remember the in-text citations also need to be included on a Works Cited page.
The summary or conclusion, which is a summary of what was presented in the introduction and main body of the paper. It should only be one or two paragraphs in length.

Remember: Follow the writing guidelines, use 12pt font, double spacing, and the analysis needs to be a minimum of four pages.

Step 5

Create a Works Cited page following APA guidelines as stated above. Not having correct in-text citations or properly formatted citations is Plagiarism and warrants a grade of 1.

Step 6

Proofread the draft getting ready for its submission. Put it away for a day or two and then come back to it. Good writing is about rewriting. Be sure to grammar check and spell check the paper. There is no excuse for having these types of mistakes.

Step 7

When ready, submit your paper following the instructions for submitting your project.

Grading Criteria

Your project will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Introduction                          20 percent
Main Body (Analysis)          50 percent
Summary or Conclusion      10 percent
Written Communication      10 percent
Format                                10 percent

Introduction
Provides one or two paragraphs for an Introduction which also includes a table with the currency exchange rates for a consecutive five-year period
Main Body (Analysis)
Provides an economic analysis for the currency selected
Provides an economic analysis for the US Dollar
Provides an opinion based upon the economic analysis of the two currencies as to why the exchange rate fluctuated during the five-year period
Provides at least four valid citations to support the opinion stated
The economic analysis is a minimum of four pages in length
Summary or Conclusion
Provides a clear summary or conclusion restating the analysis in one or two paragraphs
Written Communication
Uses correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure
Provides clear organization and transitional words when necessary (such as first, however, on the other hand, consequently, since, next, and when)
No typographical errors
Provides in-text citations and includes citations on a Works Cited page
Provides a minimum of four citations
The paper is a minimum of five pages in length
Format
Double-spaced
12pt font
APA format
Properly formatted citations and Works Cited page using APA guidelines

Need of Bilingual teachers in the School District I work for.

I need to write a paper that will become chapter one of my final capstone paper. I would like to do an experiential learning project. An experiential learning project is a process that allows individuals to closely analyze issues within an organization or group and develop a plan to address these.
I would like to address in this project the need of Bilingual teachers in the school district I work for.

Aritstotle and Plato

    What are the main ideas of Aristotle about politics and what are the forms of governments that he developed?
    How are Aristotle’s ideas about politics different from those of Plato? Be as specific as possible.

In order to receive credit, you are required to:

    Provide comprehensive answers/analysis by using the textbook or other course materials as primary sources of information.
        You are also encouraged to use external sources, but they must be peer-reviewed.
        Penalties for not following this requirement will range from 10% to 50%.
    Divide the essay into paragraphs, following each topic/sub-topic discussed.
    Submit your essay in at least 500 words.
        Penalties for not following the length requirement will range from 5% to 50%.
    Submit the essay within the due date.
        No late submission will be allowed or graded unless it involves a documented emergency or accommodation.
    Provide in-text citations and references in the APA writing format.
        Penalties for not providing in-text citations and/or references will range from 5% to 50%.
        MUST BE ORIGINAL WORK. GOES THROUGH A PLAGIARISM CHECKER!

Patterns of knowing

Patterns of Knowing Paper (20%): Maximum 3 pages excluding title page and references. Do not include an abstract with this paper. Upload the paper including the title page and reference page(s) into the Assignment Link located in Unit 4 in Course Materials. Review the directions regarding Safe Assign on Blackboard.
Reflect on your practice and select an experience that you had with a patient or family and explore the five fundamental patterns of knowing (ethical, personal, aesthetic, empirical, emancipatory) exemplified with the experience. Develop a paper that includes the following:
Introduction (15 points) Briefly introduce the paper ending the introduction with a purpose statement (The purpose of this paper is to…)
Description of the experience (20 points) In one paragraph, describe the experience including who was present, what was happening, who you were engaged with, and what you were thinking, doing, and saying. Include background information as appropriate.
Patterns of Knowing (50 points) – Briefly define each pattern of knowing (sentence or two). Examine which fundamental patterns of knowing were in evidence. Explain how each pattern was evident in the experience. If any of the patterns were not evident (for example, if the Emancipatory Pattern of Knowing was not evident) state that it was not evident and propose what could have happened in the experience for it to be evident.
Social Justice Problem (5 points) Identify a social justice problem that was evident in the experience or could have been part of the experience and propose a solution to it.
Conclusions (10 points) Completely summarize your thoughts without introducing new content.

NextEra Energy

Prior to completing this assignment, review your prior research and course submissions related to the company you selected for research in Week 2s Environmental Scanning interactive assignment. Ensure that you have incorporated the feedback you received from your previous submissions. In your Final Project this week, you will pull the various elements youve created together to aid your creation of a Strategic Plan. From the perspective of an executive with the firm, your supervisor has tasked you with creating a strategic plan to grow the business over the next three years using this Strategic Plan Template Preview the documentand here is an Example Strategic PlanPreview the document using the template. Continue to access the Mergent Ashford University Library online database which offers company financials, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries, officers, and directors and the Business  Insights database. (View the Getting Started With Mergent and Business Insights: Global documents for suggested methods of searching Ashford University Library databases generally as well as specific advice for searching these two databases).

Your strategic plan must be future-oriented and must

Describe the company, the companys history and its 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion).
Examine the companys mission statement and assess its impact on the organizations activities.
Explain the current situation of the organization in the market (industry, market, and general environment analysis).
Add your SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of your chosen company here. Evaluate areas that offer opportunities for
Choose three or four areas from your SWOT analysis and assess why the areas you have chosen are essential to your strategic plan
Summarize the results of your Environmental Scan and Porters 5 Forces.
Evaluate the degree to which they aid in conceptualizing the companys competitive position in its marketplace.
Assess the companys international performance in light of Cultural Barriers, Monetary Exchange Rates, and Political Instability.
Assess the financial performance and condition of the
Operational budget: Research and assess the companys operational budget.
Assess the performance in terms of key performance indicators.
In your analysis, be sure to include profitability ratios relevant to your analysis.
Debt to Equity ratio
Debt to Assets ratio
Based on the data, evaluate the overall current financial condition of the company.
Support your analysis by referring to the company data
Create a three year end trend analysis
Assess how your Operational Budget analysis affects your three-year strategic plan.
Recommend an organizational structure in terms of the organizational design as defined in Abraham (2012) section 2.6.
Assess the impact of the strategic plan on the organizational culture.
Strategic Goals: Create measurable core strategic goals for each of the three to four areas addressed from the SWOT analysis, addressing any contingencies associated with the strategies you are recommending and prioritizing them according to ease of achievement and time to completion.
Recommend marketing positions and opportunities for growth in your strategic plan
Add specific language to the strategic plan that addresses the companys Corporate Social Responsibility
Explain your plan to measure the success of your strategic plan
Submit the Strategic Plan to the instructor.
The Final Paper

Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
Must include a title page with the following:
Title of paper
Students name
Course name and number
Instructors name
Date submitted
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
Must use at least five scholarly and/or credible resources (including a minimum of three from the Ashford University Library) other than the textbook.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.
(Links to an external site.)Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

Company research

Research on company Apple
1.No need for instruction and conclusion, but please include the references
2.Use the questions as topic headings and use the sub headings under each topic.
3.Layout and references are properly formatted using APA 7.
4.minimal grammar & sentence structure errors
More details are included in the file.

Financial Issues

however, the focus of this units discussion is not on the late payments from third party payers AND premature readmission of Medicare beneficiaries within 30 days of discharge. For this discussion assignment, the emphasis will be on the decreasing demand for obstetric services AND voluntary personnel turnover, both of which are believed to be adversely impacting the financial position of the Bright Road Health Care System. 

Below is a brief recap of the scenario:

Bright Road Health Care System is experiencing financial problems, for example insurers with late payments, Medicare patients with high readmission rates within 30 days (lost Medicare reimbursement), high staff turnover increasing costs, and low admissions to its obstetrics service. The Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Baxter, is very concerned as he knows this reflects poorly on him and may erode the Boards confidence in his judgment and competence.

This scenario provides a realistic illustration of the issues healthcare delivery systems face across the U.S. and globally. Its extremely important that operations professionals have an above average comfortable level when it comes to establishing grounded assumptions and conducting and interpreting financial and operational forecasts. In its simplest form, forecasting is a process that represents an educated guess. In business, we use time series methods, the indicator approach, or regression analyses to forecast the nature of a situation or future values. The data we observe when forecasting fall into one of four types: trended patterns, seasonal patterns, cyclical patterns, or irregular patterns (Kros & Brown, 2013). Forecasting models are used to predict consumer demand, which, in turn, aids management in forecasting staffing requirements. In addition, to demand forecasts, management routinely engages in financial forecasting, which includes, but is not limited to: sales growth, economic predictions, and forecast future cash flows. In order to perform forecasts, its important that the management team signoff on the underlying assumptions used to complete these analyses, such as population growth and technology development. The following represents the typical steps one undertakes when preparing for and conducting a forecast (Investopedia, n.d.):

A problem or data point is chosen. This can be something like “will people buy a high-end coffee maker?” or “what will our sales be in March next year?”
Theoretical variables and an ideal data set are chosen. This is where the forecaster identifies the relevant variables that need to be considered and decides how to collect the data.
Assumption time. To cut down the time and data needed to make a forecast, the forecaster makes some explicit assumptions to simplify the process.
A model is chosen. The forecaster picks the model that fits the data set, selected variables and assumptions.
Analysis. Using the model, the data is analyzed and a forecast made from the analysis.
Verification. The forecaster compares the forecast to what actually happens to tweak the process, identify problems or in the rare case of an absolutely accurate forecast, pat himself on the back.
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/11/basics-business-forcasting.asp

Based on the information provided in the scenario and on an outside review of the relevant literature, the students will assume the role of a member of a two person financial consultant team hired by Bright Road Health Care System to objectively investigate four areas that the Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Baxter, believes are adversely impacting the financial performance of the company: a) late payments from third party payers; b) readmissions within 30 days of discharge (impacts Medicare reimbursement), c) decreased admissions to the obstetrics department, and d) voluntary employee turnover. While your partner is conducting interviews with key stakeholders, you are expected to focus your efforts on the latter two issues: decreasing demand for obstetrical services AND the voluntary turnover of personnel. These issues can have a detrimental effect on the revenue generating capabilities of the system and definitely warrants investigation.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to the decrease in client volumes, (demand) in obstetrics, and the voluntary turnover of personnel, your team will require more than a week to complete the project. Since this will be the case, you have requested a meeting with Mr. Baxter to not only plea your case for more time, but also to lay out a data collection and analysis plan. He has scheduled the meeting, so in preparation, you will prepare, on behalf of the team, an action plan that will specify data requirements and describe the forecasting models and corresponding assumptions that will be used to analyze the data. In addition, you will share how the information obtained from the forecasts can be effectively used to guide managements operational and financial decision-making as it pertains to lowering personnel turnover and potentially increasing demand for obstetric services.  Keep in mind that Mr. Baxter may have limited technical understanding of forecasting methodologies, so include in your plan a clear explanation for why certain data will be required and why the forecasting methods and their corresponding assumptions were chosen to analyze the data given the nature of the issues being examined. The action plan should be logically presented, well-supported, and thoroughly vetted.

NextEra Energy

Prior to completing this assignment, review your prior research on the company you selected for research in this Weeks Environmental Scanning interactive assignment. Also watch the video How to Perform a SWOT Analysis (Links to an external site.) (2016). In approximately 250 words,

Describe the companys history, products, and major competitors by accessing the Mergent Ashford University Library online database which offers company financials, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors and by accessing the Business  Insights database. (View the Getting Started With Mergent and Business Insights: Global documents for suggested methods of searching Ashford University Library databases generally as well as specific advice for searching these two databases).
Assess the financial performance and condition of the organization.
Next, conduct a SWOT analysis using the SWOT Analysis TemplatePreview the document. Detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may affect the organization. Copy and paste the completed table from the template into your SWOT analysis paper.

In the evaluation portion of your paper of your SWOT analysis:

Describe the specific areas that indicate a need for change.
Determine what changed objectives, or newly implemented interventions, are required to improve the companys position within its market.
Assess the trending performance of the company and provide recommendations for improvement.
(NOTE: Incorporate the feedback you receive from your instructor and save your work. It will be part of your Strategic Plan Final Project for this course).

The SWOT Analysis paper

Must be from five to six double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers APA Style (Links to an external site.) resource.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of SWOT Analysis
Students name
Course name and number
Instructors name
Date submitted
Must use at least two scholarly and/or credible sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Centers Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Part 4: Research Analysis

Assignment: Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Part 4: Research Analysis
Architect Daniel Libeskind is credited with saying To provide meaningful architecture is not to parody history, but to articulate it. The suggestion is that his work does not copy the efforts of others but relies on it.
Understanding the work of others is critically important to new work. Contributions to the nursing body of knowledge can happen when you are able to analyze and articulate the efforts of previous research. Research analysis skills are therefore critical tools for your toolbox.
In this Assignment, you will locate relevant existing research. You also will analyze this research using a tool helpful for analysis.
To Prepare:
        Reflect on the strategies presented in the Resources this Module’s Learning Resources in support of locating and analyzing research.
        Use the Walden Library to identify and read one peer-reviewed research article focused on a topic in your specialty field that interests you.
        Review the article you selected and reflect on the professional practice use of theories/concepts described by the article.
The Assignment:
Using the Module 4 | Part 4 section of your Academic Success and Professional Development Plan Template presented in the Resources, conduct an analysis of the elements of the research article you identified. Be sure to include the following:
        Your topic of interest.
        A correctly formatted APA citation of the article you selected, along with link or search details.
        Identify a professional practice use of the theories/concepts presented in the article.
        Analysis of the article using the Research Analysis Matrix section of the template
        Write a 1-paragraph justification stating whether you would recommend this article to inform professional practice.
        Write a 2- to 3-paragraph summary that you will add to your Academic Success and Professional Development Plan that includes the following:
o    Describe your approach to identifying and analyzing peer-reviewed research.
o    Identify at least two strategies that you would use that you found to be effective in finding peer-reviewed research.
o    Identify at least one resource you intend to use in the future to find peer-reviewed research.
Note: Add your work for this Assignment to the original document you began in the Module 1 Assignment, which was built from the Academic Success and Professional Development Plan
4+ references