A professor has two daughters that he hopes will one day go to college. Currently, in-state students at the local University pay about $22,478.00 per year (all expenses included). Tuition will increase by 3.00% per year going forward. The professor's oldest daughter, Sam, will start college in 16 years, while his youngest daughter, Ellie, will begin in 18 years. The professor is saving for their college by putting money in a mutual fund that pays about 7.00% per year. Tuition payments are at the beginning of the year and college will take 4 years for each girl. (Sam's first tuition payment will be in exactly 16 years)

The professor has no illusion that the state lottery funded scholarship will still be around for his girls, so how much does he need to deposit each year in this mutual fund to successfully put each daughter through college. (ASSUME that the money stays invested during college and the professor will make his last deposit in the account when Sam, the OLDEST daughter, starts college.)

86

High-end stores like Nordstrom’s and Dillard’s charge higher prices versus stores like J.C. Penny, Sears and Macy’s. The more expensive stores often try to offer better customer service and they encourage their sales people to start conversations with customers to find out what they would like.

What kind of microeconomic strategy is this?

Multiple Choice

• An elastic demand curve counter-strategy

• . None of the above

• A non-price strategy

• A cost reduction strategy

87

At the equilibrium point of the demand and supply curves, most buyers and sellers will be satisfied with the prices and quantities being offered.       

True or False

88

A monopoly creates a situation whereby society must suffer and pay higher prices for less output versus the lower prices and higher output we would have if we had a free market. This situation of loss is known as what?

Multiple Choice

• Inefficiency Loss

• All of the statements are false

• Welfare Loss to Society

• Total Product Loss

89

Net Profit means the exact same thing as Economic Profit.    

True or False

90

A negative externality is something outside the free market system. Which item or items below represent a negative externality?

Multiple Choice

• When the state government gives grant money to a city to build a new bridge

• A 9.8 earthquake that destroys a city

• The K-12 school system inside a city

• When the government opens up a new and beautiful city park

Predatory Lending Inc. sells financial services (high interest micro loans) through independent agents. Good agents generate $2,000 in net revenue in the first year, a figure that grows at 5% annually. Poor agents, on the other hand, produce $1,000 in year one and 20% less revenue each successive year. There is no way to tell in advance whether an agent will be good or bad. In the past, about 40% of new agents have turned out to be good and 60% poor. Of the good agents, 50% are loyal, they tend to like the work and remain with the company with a 90% probability year to year, and 50% are not loyal, they leave Predatory Lending and go to work for a competitor after the first year. Similarly, 80% of the poor agents are loyal (i.e., the competition wouldn’t hire them) and have a 90% probability of staying with the firm year to year and 20% drop out after the first year and go back to school. (For simplicity, assume that revenues from agents that drop out in year one are not discounted.)

Given that recruiting and training costs are $5,000 per new agent:

a) What is the CLV of each of the 4 possible types of agents (good loyal/ non-loyal and bad loyal / non-loyal? (Assume a 10% discount rate)

b) Can Predatory Lending Inc. remain in business given it current operating situation?

CLV formula: Gross margin * (Retention rate / [1+ Rate of discount – (Retention rate * (1 + Growth Rate))] – Costs

CLV= m{r/[1 + i-r(1+ g)]}-C

12.Which of the following statements holds true for the term, skill theft?

Select one:

a. It refers to taking specific, job-related abilities acquired at one organization to another, especially a competitor.

b. It refers to a situation where an employee moves to a new organization and helps it appropriate the former organization’s market segment.

c. It refers to the use of company working hours for activities unrelated to work, including looking for a job elsewhere.

d. It refers to a situation where an employee moves to a new organization and helps it appropriate the former organization’s client base.

e. It refers to the use of an organization’s equipment for activities unrelated to work, including looking for a job elsewhere.

13.In the morning rush hour, John, a bicycle courier boy, skids off his cycle and is unable to get up. A number of people pass him, but do not stop to help him because if they did so, they would get late for school or work. Martha, who is also getting late for an appointment, sees John in pain and stops her car, helps him get up and drives him to a nearby clinic. Martha’s act of helping John is an example of:

Select one:

a. product sincerity.

b. cultural imperialism.

c. laissez faire.

d. objectification.

e. Samaritanism.

14._____ refers to a situation in business in which decisions are made on the basis of personal relationships and loyalties more than unbiased judgments and purely professional considerations.

Select one:

a. Regulatory capture

b. Kleptocracy

c. Patrimonialism

d. Crony capitalism

e. Supercapitalism

For each of the following, explain the possible effects on demand and/or supply and equilibrium price and quantity of spiral bound notebooks using a correctly labeled supply and demand graph.

Assume the market for spiral bound notebooks is in equilibrium. All students in public schools need notebooks of some type when they attend classes. For each of the following, explain the possible effects on demand and/or supply and equilibrium price and quantity of spiral bound notebooks using a correctly labeled supply and demand graph with equilibrium price and quantity labeled. Under your hand-drawn graph, list the determinant of supply and/or demand that causes each shift as well as the change in price and quantity. You should have 8 graphs. The written answer should be set up under the graph as follows:

Price: Increase/Decrease (select one)
Quantity: Increase/Decrease (select one)
Determinant: One of the determinants for demand (TRIBE) or supply (ROTTEN) that causes the shift.

a) The price of natural gas, a resource used by manufacturers throughout the United States, doubles.
b) The government provides a subsidy for notebook manufacturers.
c) Your income increases and spiral bound notebooks are an inferior good.
d) The price of binders and paper, a substitute for spiral bound notebooks, decreases.
e) A new binding machine is invented that binds in half the time.
f) The price of all goods using paper is expected to double next month.
g) The government raises taxes on businesses at the same time that students receive their supply list for the new school year.
h) The price of pens and pencils falls dramatically.

A number of factors can affect productivity and economic development. Assign the following items to the appropriate factor category and state whether the effect would increase or decrease economic development.

a. A hurricane destroys several oil refineries on the Gulf Coast.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Physical capital  Natural resources  Human capital  Technology                 Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase  Decrease

b. A computer software glitch causes a factory's production line to shut down for 5 hours.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Natural resources  Technology  Physical capital  Human capital                 Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase  Decrease

c. A new oil field is discovered in western North Dakota.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Technology  Human capital  Natural resources  Physical capital                Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase  Decrease

d. A new drilling rig can extract oil more quickly from wells.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Natural resources  Physical capital  Technology  Human capital                 Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase  Decrease

e. Children in a high-crime area miss school due to safety concerns.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Technology  Natural resources  Physical capital  Human capital                 Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase   Decrease

f. A neuroscientist publishes a journal article on a process for improving students’ retention.

        Category:  (Click to select)  Natural resources  Technology  Physical capital  Human capital                 Effect on economic development:   (Click to select)  Increase  Decrease

On August 1, 20Y7, Dr. Ruth Turner established SickCo, a medical practice organized as a professional corporation. The following conversation occurred the following February between Dr. Turner and a former medical school classmate, Dr. Shonna Rees, at an American Medical Association convention in New York City.

Dr. Rees: Ruth, good to see you again. Why didn't you call when you were in Denver? We could have had dinner together.

Dr. Turner: Actually, I never made it to Denver this year. My husband and kids went up to our Vail condo twice, but I got stuck in Fort Lauderdale. I opened a new consulting practice this August and haven't had any time for myself since.

Dr. Rees: I heard about it ... sick ... something ... right?

Dr. Turner: Yes, SickCo. My husband chose the name.

Dr. Rees: I thought about doing somethinglike that. Are you making any money? I mean, is it worth your time?

Dr. Turner: You wouldn't believe it. I started by opening a bank account with $45,000, and my January bank stateemnt shows a balance of $100,000. Not bad for six months--all pure profit.

Dr. Rees: Maybe I'll try it in Denver! Let's have breakfast together tomorrow and you can fill me in on the details.

Comment on Dr. Turner's statement that the dinfference between the opening bank balance ($45,000) and the January statement balance ($100,000) is pure profit.

1. You are excited because your new card game has arrived. This game consists of 40 unique cards. What is the number of ordered samples of 4 cards that can be drawn without replacement from the new deck of cards?

2. You are arranging flowers for a party. You have four white flowers, three yellow flowers, and two lavender flowers. How many different ways can these different colors be arranged?

3. You have a brown paper bag that contains two black balls and two red balls. Two balls are selected at random without replacement. You are told that at least one of the balls is red. What is the probability that the other ball you selected is also red? Give your answer to four decimal places.

4. You have a brown paper bag that contains 10 burnt orange balls and 10 navy blue balls (these are UVA’s colors where I went to graduate school, undergraduate was at UGA, thus I am a dawg). The balls are drawn at random, one at a time without replacement. Find the probability that the fourth burnt orange ball is the seventh ball drawn. Give your answer to four decimal places.

5 In a meadow there are 50 butterflies of which 10 have been tagged. An entomologist random catches 7 butterflies one at a time without replacement. What is the probability that exactly 2 tagged butterflies will be caught? Give your answer to four decimal places.

Each statement represents a scenario in which a linear transformation has occurred. Select the correct statements regarding the standard deviation of the variables after the linear transformation.

-A malfunctioning machine produces a particular part with a mean length of 30 in and a standard deviation of 1 in. If a second part with a consistent length of 2 in is added to the end of the first part, then the standard deviation of the total part lengths will be equal to 3 in.

-The distribution of heights of adult males in the United States has a standard deviation of 4 in. If these heights in inches are converted to feet, then the standard deviation of heights will be 13 ft.

-Prices on a menu at a particular restaurant have a mean cost of $10 and a standard deviation of $4. If the restaurant decides to raise its prices by 50%, then the standard deviation of the new prices will be $6.

-For a particular set of daily TV-watching data, the average number of hours of TV watched per day is 3 hrs, and the standard deviation is 2 hrs. If these daily results are translated to weekly TV-watching results, the standard deviation for the total number of hours of TV watched per week remains unchanged from the standard deviation of 2 hrs.

-The final times (in minutes) for a high school foot race are distributed with a mean of 20 min and a standard deviation of 4 min. The person charged with keeping track of time realized that he started the stopwatch 1 minlate for all runners. Thus, he decides to add 1 min to everyone's time. The standard deviation of the new final times will remain unchanged at 4 min.

Length: 1300 words

Task

Answer the following essay question:

"All technological change is a Faustian bargain. For every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage"

Is this statement valid? Discuss Postman's observation in the context of educational technology in contemporary Australian higher education.

Postman, N. (1995). The end of education: Redefining the value of school. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Overview and Advice

'Higher education' in this question refers to post-compulsory education. While some research may be relevant to K-12, the focus of your discussion should be further education including University, TAFE and trade training, as this raises different issues around motivation, goals and outcomes. Remember that we are interested in evidence-based practice, so statements about participation, attitudes, behaviour and outcomes should be supported with peer-reviewed research and demographic data.

Careful question analysis is important when approaching this essay. What does discuss mean? This topic is potentially broad, so you will need to plan carefully to ensure that your argument is clearly defined and follows a logical progression. Question your own assumptions, and those of the authors you are reading; look for opportunities to demonstrate critical thinking. Use good essay and paragraph structure, and demonstrate your understanding of referencing by supporting your argument with a wide selection of carefully chosen sources.

Important: We are interested in investigating the pros and cons of technology in education; this essay is not about Postman’s broader views, or his work; only the statement presented in the question (which should be mentioned in your introduction).