Homework #1

Please type your homework, using 12-point font and 1-inch margins. 

1.                  What’s in a Name?  (1 point)

Names of both groups of people and their language use evolve over time.  For example, America has seen the following (simplified) evolution of terms:

      Colored à  Negro à  Black (à) African American

I put the parentheses around the arrow between “Black” and “African American” because I do not believe that there is a completed transition here.  In fact, there is currently some controversy in the Black/African American community as to which term is superior! 

The following terms have seen use in an effort to name the language use of many Black Americans: 

∙Black English       ∙Black English Vernacular      ·Afro American English

·African American English           ·African American Vernacular English

Your job:

a)      State which terms you typically use to name the people and the language use.  Briefly explain your preference.

b)      Interview a young (under 30) African American.  Ask whether he or she prefers the term “Black” or “African American,” and find out why.  Then show your consultant the list of language names above, and learn which one he or she likes best (and why).  Write up your findings.

c)      Same as (b) above, but interview an African American age 50 or older.

2.                  African Origins of Black English (?)  (1½ points)

On pages 6-7 of Talkin and Testifyin, Smitherman points out nine similarities that Black English has with West African languages in general.  She does not, however, give specific examples from any West African languages here.

Your job: 

pick one of the 19 West African Languages from the map on page 42 of the McWhorter book.  Do a little research and find out whether your selected language actually shows any or all of the nine characteristics that Smitherman points out.  Wikipedia can be a good start, but also feel free to use descriptive grammars from libraries other internet sources, or personal interviews with native speakers.  Just make sure you tell me where your data come from.  You probably won’t be able to find data on all nine factors, but do your best and you will be okay.

3.                  Are these Generalizations of Black English Legitimate?  (1 point)

We have seen some generalizations of the sound system of Black English; see pages 17-18 of Smitherman for a list of some of them. 

Your job: 

Record a television show whose principal cast members are African American.  I recommend either a situation comedy or perhaps a stand-up comedy show.  Watch the videotape (at least 15 minutes’ worth) and see if you can find examples of any of these pronunciation generalizations that we’ve talked about in class and seen in the texts.  Example:

Richard (older brother, age 19) says “mo” Instead of “more,” dropping the final r sound.

You don’t get to use the same example more than once, so if Richard says “mo” ten times, that only counts as one piece of data.  If a different character says “mo,” though, you can use that.  Try to find at least 7 examples.

4.                  Syntactic Traits  (1½ points)

On page 130 of the McWhorter book, you see a narrative in Black English about a girl named Shirley.  Please read this very carefully (as well as McWhorter’s discussion of it).

Your job: 

Start from the third paragraph (beginning “When Shirley get home….”), and go through each sentence until the end.  For each sentence, please point out if there are any ways in which the storyteller’s syntax differs from Standard English.  Some sentences may have more than one difference; some sentences may not have any differences.  Be as thorough as you can.  Use technical terminology to the extent that you can, but don’t worry if you need to be a bit informal in some of your descriptions.

You are working as a key leader in a fairly new, small biotech company that has just landed a major government contract. The contract will necessitate significant growth in the number of employees. This contract requires that a broad range of services are provided to employees, many of which the organization currently lacks in its benefit package. Your task it to design an employee assistance program benefit that can address the emotional, relational, and mental health needs of a diverse employee population (from maintenance workers to PhD/MD-level scientists).

To begin to develop this program, you must first understand and define abnormal behavior versus normal behavior.

• How would you describe abnormal psychology?
• How would you define normal and abnormal?
• How do these terms relate to success in the workplace?
• Include a brief description of how the different psychological perspectives (i.e., psychoanalytical, medical/biological, behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, and humanistic perspectives) define normal and abnormal behavior.

Take one side of the debate (affirmative/yes it does or negative/no it does not) about whether normal is a word that applies to humans. You will need to supply both personal and research evidence to support your position.

Include in your paper the following:

• First, an introduction (1 paragraph) that will summarize what you will cover in the paper.
• Next, use the questions at the beginning of the assignment as headers for the next 3 sections (1–2 paragraphs each).
• Then, the following 2–3 paragraphs will include your thesis statement (affirmative or negative) and the evidence that supports your position.
• Finally, write a conclusion that summarizes what you have said (2–3 paragraphs).

Assignment 2: Market Forms

For this assignment you will do a significant portion of work in MS Excel and import it into an MS Word document for submission. You will use the data below to address Price and Output decisions faced by firms that are not in pure competition. Some numbers may be rounded.

Address the following:

1. Complete Table-1. Summarize your calculations.
2. Prepare a graph showing:
   • Average Fixed Costs
   • Average Variable Costs
   • Average Total Costs
   • Marginal Revenue
   • Marginal Costs 
3. Using the data in the table and on your graph, explain the profit maximizing, or loss minimizing level of output.
4. Define a normal profit and an economic profit. Are normal profits being earned in this example? Are economic profits present for this firm in this example?  Explain your answers.
5. Given the data in the table and the graph, what type of market structure could this be in the short run? Explain your answers.
6. If the data in Table-1 represents the long run, what type of firm must this data represent? Explain your answers.

Finance Homework