Unit 4

Practical Exercise

The following example illustrates how probability values using areas under the standard normal distribution can be used to help make business decisions.

Example:

Let’s suppose that the Goodyear Tire Company has just developed a tire to be sold. Since the tire is new and Goodyear wants to introduce it into the consumer market, company executives believe that a mileage guarantee offered with the tire will be an important factor in buying the product. Goodyear managers want probability information about the number of miles the tire will last.

From actual test data, Goodyear engineers estimate the mean () tire mileage to be:

                                                            μ = 36,500 miles

                                                            σ = 5,000 miles

A.  What is the probability that tire mileage will exceed 40,000 miles?

Step1.   At x = 40,000             .70

Step 2.  The area to the left of .70 (listed in Table V on page A-11 in the appendix in your text) is equal to .7580

Step 3. Subtract .7580 from 1.0 (the total area under the curve is equal to 1.0)

1.0 – .7580 = .2420

or

24.20% of the tires will exceed 40,000 in mileage

B.  Let’s now assume that Goodyear is considering a guarantee that will provide a discount on replacement tires if the original tires do not exceed the mileage in the guarantee.  What should the guaranteed mileage be if Goodyear wants no more than 10% of the tires to be eligible for a discount?

The information we have available right now to help in this decision is that we have a population mean of 36,500 with a standard deviation of 5,000. Goodyear management wants no more than 10% of the tires to be eligible for a discount guarantee. If we draw a normal distribution curve, 10% of the tires will fall in the lower left tail of the curve.  Thus, we are looking for the z-score value, such that the area to the left of this z-score under the standard normal distribution curve is 10%, or 0.1000.  Since the value 0.1000 does not appear exactly in Table V, we use the closest value that is in the table, which is 0.1003.  It appears at the intersection of row -1.2 and column .08, which corresponds to the z-score of -1.28. 

To find the mileage of an unknown value of x that corresponds to a z = -1.28 we solve algebraically:

Follow each step:      

Method 1                                                      or       Method 2

Either method to solve for x works. Use the method you’re most comfortable with.

A guarantee of 30,000 will meet the requirement that 10% of the tires will be eligible for the guarantee.

From this example, we can see how probability can help the decision maker in reaching a good decision.

Review the 2010 NAEYC Initial & Advanced Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs. Use your required web link for the current standards. The links are located in the “Required Resources” section of the Week 2 tab. Please review the current standards for professional preparation if you have not yet been working in care or education settings with young children:

• NAEYC. (2010). 2010 Standards for initial early childhood professional preparation. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/ncate/files/ncate/Initial_2pager.pdf

  Choose one of the individual standards that you would like to explore in order to boost your knowledge or skills in your current or future practice and would allow you to become a better advocate for young children and their families.

  THE STANDARD OF CHOSE     

STANDARD 4. USING DEVELOPMENTALLY EFFECTIVE APPROACHES

Candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs understand that teaching and learning with young children is a complex enterprise, and its details vary depending on children’s ages, characteristics, and the settings within which teaching and learning occur. They understand and use positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation for their work with young children and families. Candidates know, understand, and use a wide array of developmentally appropriate approaches, instructional strategies, and tools to connect with children and families and positively influence each child’s development and learning.  

Key elements of Standard 4

4a: Understanding positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation of their work with young children 

4b: Knowing and understanding effective strategies and tools for early education, including appropriate uses of technology  

4c: Using a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching /learning approaches

4d: Reflecting on own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child

Use the Initial Standards if you have less than 7 years of experience in an early childhood setting. Choose the Advanced Standards if you have more than 7 years of experience in an early childhood setting.

Create a two- to three-page paper (not including title and reference pages) that includes the following sections. Each section should be a separate paragraph.

• Section ONE: Provide A Summary of Your Chosen Standard and Justify Why You Chose It. Summarize the Standard in your own words, then justify why you think that knowing more about this standard will (a) help you in your professional or personal life in general and (b) help you to become a better advocate. Be sure to give at least three specific examples.

• Section TWO: Create A List of Five Questions With Corresponding Rationales. Create a list of five questions to ask an early childhood professional about aspects of the standard. For each question, describe your rationale for asking it. Create one question designed to enhance your ability to advocate on behalf of children and their families in this particular area. Create the other four questions to enhance your knowledge of both the standard AND your personal and/or professional goals.

• Section THREE: Provide Contact Information with an Explanation for the Request. First, provide the contact information for an early childhood professional in your own community who is willing to provide email responses to your questions. Then, provide the “blurb” or explanation describing the purpose of the assignment that you will use when you ask him/her if he/she would be willing to answer your questions.

  If you do not have access to an early childhood professional, please contact me right away. I will do what I can to help you. 
  
  Be sure to include an introductory paragraph describing the purpose of the paper AND a conclusion summarizing the paper and your next steps. This means your paper will be at least five paragraphs.

  Your paper must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. In addition to the course text, utilize at least one scholarly source to support your points.

   

Research Portfolio Paper Assignment

Introduction

Your first assignment for the research portfolio is to write a paper. The topic has been assigned to you: Cell phone texting technology.

You will need to research the origins of cell phone texting, trace its development, and highlight the social and ethical impact and implications the introduction of this technology has had on the world.

Before you do this, I’ve given you two assignments which will get you acquainted with the Library catalog/databases and evaluating the sources you find in your research. These are designed to help you improve your search and evaluation skills.

You will also have the opportunity to submit an assignment that requires you to “check in” with me about what you’ve done so far in order to get feedback on your work so far.

Before you submit your paper you need to upload it to the SafeAssign tool. This tool is designed to prevent plagiairism. So take care to use reputable sources and to clearly cite your work.

This will not be graded but if you do not first submit a copy of your paper to SafeAssign your final draft will not be accepted.

If your SafeAssign report indicates plagiarism or improper citation, make those changes before you submit the final draft.

Origins

Every technology starts somewhere. Where did texting as a discrete technology “start”? Don’t go too far back. Yes, communication over long distances can be traced to the use of smoke signals and mirrors. And, yes, the telegraph and the phone were giant leaps forward in that regard. But that’s too far back.

For the purposes of this assignment, assume that the cell phone exists and try to identify the point at which texting was introduced to that technology. You do NOT need to discuss the origins of the cell phone itself, though you are free to mention them briefly.

This is the hardest part of the assignment. So hard, in fact, that I’m actually helping out a bit by pointing you to some resources that will help with this section of the assignment. DONOT select “Add to my bookshelf” or “download” on any of these resources! That will eliminate access to them for others. If you do this, you will tracked and will receive a “0” on the assignment. Simply view them in the browser. As soon as you’re done viewing the resource, exit the browser, and it will be available to someone else.

Resources for cell phone “origins” 

 

1- 

Short message service (SMS) [electronic resource] : the creation of personal global text messaging

2- 
Txtng [electronic resource] : the Gr8 Db8

3- 
Mobile world [electronic resource] : past, present, and future

4- 
 [electronic resource] : a global history of the mobile phone

Development

Did the texting change over time? Did it’s capabilities change? Was there any innovation that allowed people to do new things with the technology? These are the kinds of questions you should address in the “development” section.

Social Impact and Ethical Implications

Has the introduction of this technology changed the social and moral landscape of our society? It is changing the way we have to legislate behavior? What are some implications of the new technology of us as a local community? As a nation? As a globalized world?

If you think about it, there are probably a lot of impacts and ethical implications. Give us a brief overview of the ones you think are the most significant. Then zero in and go into a bit more detail about one that interests you more.

Conclusion

This assignment is designed to get you thinking about where a technology “comes from” how it develops and ultimately has impacted our world.

As you write you may find it helpful to think of the paper as an informative encyclopedia article entitled “Cell Phone Texting.” Conduct the research about each element and summarize it for your reader, drawing conclusions from the information you find.

Please read the assignment instructions for the specific requirements.

 

7-8 pages