Nike Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nike Case Study - Research Paper Example Ballinger was passionate that a company should have a responsibility for its workers even if they are the lowest paid workforce of the company (Spar, 2002). Ballinger was assigned to monitor labor conditions in an Indonesian plant by overseas American companies because he considered that the reason for international companies to prepare a setup in poor countries is to exploit the low-wage labors. This has been true over years that big multinational companies have been shifting their operations to lower wage countries in order to reduce their production cost and collect more profits. The cost of production in America is double the cost of a product which is being manufactured in other countries (Locke, 2002). He claims that Nike has a policy that in order to produce cost effective products, they mistreat their workers and make them work longer hours than required. He believed that even though there were laws for protecting the labor rights, Nike continuously fed the Indonesian governm ent with bribe to overlook their part of misdeed. Ballinger accused Nike that they knew people were dependent on the company and would rarely leave the company, so they mistreated them to get more production with fewer necessities and food provided to the people. Ballinger had strength in his arguments because workers were in a bad situation and when they were interviewed by Ballinger, they agreed with the same (Connor, 2001). Nike’s Response to Ballinger’s Allegations The first response from Nike was clear that their manager said Nike’s not responsible for the actions of their independent contractors. Nike considered that they are not involved in any kind of activity in Indonesia and most likely they would not be responsible for their act. However, Nike asked its public relation officer to draft a code of conduct for its independent contractors (Stoner, 2006). This code of conduct would then be sent to their new contractors in which all aspects of working condi tions of labors, environment regulation and insurance of their workers were addressed. Nike wanted all of their suppliers and independent contractors to agree with all terms that were specified before making any further deal. It was made mandatory that these suppliers would have to give their written consent of their honesty and non-discrimination (Spar, 2002). Nike hired an accounting firm Ernst & Young to conduct an audit of its overseas factories. Auditing would inform Nike with activities of their overseas factories and would identify their problems. But the problem started to mount and criticism had started to rise again with a greater force. Nike denied any act of direct involvement in child labor activity and of worker exploitation. In Washington, Nike was the first company to join Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP) which was aimed to develop reformed labor standards in foreign factories. Nike also included a new department in its company which was known as Labor Practices De partment which role was to monitor labor practices in premises of the factory (Spar, 2002). Recommendations Firstly, Nike should focus on improving its processes in their overseas factories by making strict guidelines and norms for their factories to follow. The company shall motivate their independent

Unemployment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unemployment - Research Paper Example Extensive research over multiple aspects of unemployment has revealed that the past unemployment results in change of preferences such as prices and constraints, affecting the levels of future unemployment as well. Individuals differ in certain unmeasured variables that, if not properly controlled, have influential impact on levels of unemployment. There exists, however, no universally acceptable definition of unemployment so far because both employed and unemployed people worldwide are measured quite differently.Over the last few decades, the progressive world economies have, though slowly, recognized the complexity and seriousness of growing unemployment issues at last. However, various scholars and economic organizations have provided with more generalized definitions of unemployment. The most widely referred definition from the International Labor Organization states that unemployment â€Å"occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the pas t four weeks. The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labor force.† According to the Census Bureau, â€Å"unemployed persons include those who did not work at all during the survey week, and who were looking for work. Also included are persons who would have been looking for work except that (a) they were temporary ill, (b) they expected to return to a job from which they had been laid off for an indefinite period, or (c) they believed no work was available in their line of work or in the community.† Unemployment can also be defined as, â€Å"An economic condition marked by the fact that individuals actively seeking jobs remain un-hired. Unemployment is expressed as a percentage of the total available work force. The level of unemployment varies with economic conditions and other circumstances.† (Investor words, 20 09). Students, children, retired personnel or people not interested in a paid job are not inclusive, however. Categorized on basis of causes and consequences, there are four major types of unemployment in macroeconomics. Frictional unemployment - People who are re-entering (are between jobs) or entering for the first time or after absence from work usually experience short-term unemployment called frictional unemployment. This kind of unemployment is sometimes considered beneficial as it provides time to individuals, organizations and societies to find better jobs build suitable workforce and improve services respectively. Structural unemployment – Unemployment also occurs if there are both jobs and workers available but the skills required for a job are not matching workers’ experience. This situation often results due to changes in structural economies and lasts for several years (long-term). For example, jobs are available in oil and gas industry and workers have sk ills with textile industry, there is a mismatch of skills leading to Structural unemployment. Seasonal unemployment – Sometimes, changes in weather, tourist activities or other seasonal factors results in short-term unemployment of related people called Seasonal unemployment. For example, some people experience joblessness as the construction activity slows down during extreme winters. Cyclic unemployment – Due to prolonged periods of recession, production outputs are reduced causing joblessness. Previous employees lose jobs and entrants have fewer openings to search. As business cycle is actively involved, this type of unemployment is called Cyclic unemployment. This is long-term and considered as the most severe kind of unemployment. When joblessness due business cycle is minimized to zero, economists say that we have reached full employment. Rise in level of unemployment is considered among the most worrisome economic problems. Due to gradual adjustments according t o the market equilibrium price and quantity over time, there exists no

Health care workforce and health care delivery Essay Example for Free

Health care workforce and health care delivery Essay How are the health care workforce and health care delivery affected by generational differences? Millions of generations have worked so hard to contribute to some of the challenges within the workforce. Every generation has inner deep values formulated by the era in which they were born and some life experiences. The work ethics, perceptions of others and communication styles are the inner deep values that affect experiences at work. According to research, the workforce transitioned from a two generation workforce (Matures and Boomers) to three generations (Matures, Boomers and Generation X). The mature generation’s characteristics developed from experiences in the Great Depression. Responsibility and quality are key expectations of the Matures, as well as structure and respect. The Boomer generation, a larger part of the workforce who experienced an era of growth and prosperity requires praise and recognition, putting company needs before personal needs, while juggling multiple responsibilities with competence. Some nursing leaders have experienced some challenges in generational diversity as well as differences in perceptions, values, attitudes, work ethics and beliefs. It is important to develop the skills to look at generational differences through different perspective to allow the leaders to extend their leadership qualities and productivity, decrease conflicts and increase the contributions of every staff. It is important to resolve conflicts within the nursing team, otherwise if unresolved it can lead to a loss of productive time, errors, staff turnover, and decreased patient satisfaction. References Swenson.C.Human Resource Solutions. NURSING ECONOMIC$/January-February 2008/Vol. 26/No. 1.Retrieved on June 25, 2014 from https://www.nursingeconomics.net/necfiles/hrsolutions/hrs_JF08.pdfMorrison, J.L. (2007). Ideas to consider when Discuss the shortage of health care staff, aside from doctors and nurses. The health care system has been experiencing a shortage of health care workers for a number of years. This is difficult to understand because a number of people struggle to understand how the organization could suffer from worker shortages in the time of economic recession, when many Americans does not have a job and the unemployment rate is high. This is an explanation that points to the different employees that the healthcare organizations need, for the organization to work in an efficient manner. The health care workers at a professional level who provide direct health services such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians or those who offer support services such as financial officers, cooks, drivers and cleaners are integral to the organization. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, a shortage in just one part of that complex web of workers can stop other parts from functioning at their best. A perfect example is at the hospital where I work, there has been a few times when there has been no house keeper to cover the floor because they felt sick and had to leave. On few occasions it has created some problems whereby there was no one to do their work, because housekeeping supervisor could not find any one to cover that shift and it became a problem in a number of ways you could imagine. There was no house keeper to throw the trash that was filled up, no one to mop the dirty floors and clean the toilets. All the nurses and the doctors were busy with the patients and it was difficult to find time to start doing the house keeping work. I believe every job is very important whether professional of or unprofessional, we all do different tasks in the health care field to reach one common goal of impressing our consumers or patients. The World Health Organization (WHO) observed that developed countries, such as America are going through a shortage due to an increasing number of baby boomers in the population and increasingly high-tech healthcare. Research shows that the government and university leaders have underinvested in education for health care workers, with not many new health workers to replace their retiring colleagues. Reference: Internet Article-Why Healthcare is Experiencing Work Shortages. Miracle Workers Retrieved on June 25, 2014 from: http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1806-Healthcare-Why-Healthcare-is-Experiencing-Work-Shortages

Stability and Control of Nonlinear Systems

Stability and Control of Nonlinear Systems The following system was provided to study about passivity, asymptotic stability, and input to state stability properties at conditions. The given system of differential equation for analysis is given below Also, The state space representation of the system is as follows. Let, Similarly Hence Based on the system equation is given by Similarly, based on the state space representation The state of system , where n=4, where m=2 and where p=2. Hence p=m.   A dissipative system with respect to supply rate is said to be passive, if The Lyapunov function for the system is given as Hence with respect to definition of state variables, it can be rewritten as Hence, Also, based on the definition of S, For the given system , hence the lossless system, is passive from u to y. The PD feedback controller of the system with and is represented as Hence the state space representation of the system, is given by The modified Lyapunov function with potential energy is given by It can be observed that V(x) is differentiable (V: R4 → R and a C1 function). Based on the equation of V(x) it can be observed that, The term and all other terms are quadratic in nature.   Hence where Hence V(x) is positive definite. Let V(x) is bounded by V(x)≠¤M, where M à Ã‚ µ R, then it implies that ⇒ ⇒ and ⇒ ⇒ and ⇒ ⇒ and ⇒ ⇒ and ⇒ ⇒ Hence V(x) is radially unbounded. The derivative of V(x) can be obtained as follows Upon substitution and solving the equations, At It can be observed that Based on the above equation, it can be observed that It can be observed that , has only quadratic terms with a negative sign prefixed hence where Hence is negative definite. The equilibrium point of the system at is given by Hence origin is the only equilibrium point of the system. Based on the above observations, it can be concluded that the system is globally asymptotically stable at the origin. The given systems were simulated for different values of   and , modified one at a time with other disturbance set to zero and the initial condition set at origin. The following observations can be found from subplots of and Hence the disturbance in both the coordinates of the system are additive in nature. It can be observed that, whenever initial state of the system set to origin and disturbance is induced in one of the coordinate ( or ), the other coordinate of the system is not disturbed. Figure 1 State of System with disturbance at origin with rd=0 Figure 2 State of System with disturbance at origin with thd=0 The Figure 3 indicates the state of the system, when is modified from -5 to 5 with , with the initial condition as x = {7,3,5,1}.   The settling time of the system varies with the magnitude of disturbance and the initial condition.   Also, it can be observed from the plot of that the system settles to a point which is offset from the origin (equilibrium) by the value of disturbance.   Also, the settling time of the system is more for d=-c, when compared to d=c. Also, disturbance in one of the coordinate (), has its effect in another coordinate. Figure 3 State of System with rd=0 at x = [7,3,5,1] The observations of disturbance induced in when , is applicable for the disturbance induced in with    Also, it can be observed from Figure 4 that the settling time of the system is higher when a disturbance is induced in r-coordinate, when compared to -coordinate. Figure 4 State of System with thd = 0 at x = [7,3,5,1] The effect of having both and was observed by simulating the system response for and . Also, it can be observed that settling time of the system is similar to disturbance induced only in the r-coordinate. Figure 5 State of System with thd = -5, rd=5 at x = [7,3,5,1] In all the above plots, it can be observed from the subplot of that the settling point of state as t→, and , indicating that the state of the system tracks the input in the respective coordinate. It can also be observed from the previous plots for d=0, system exhibits the property of global asymptotic stability to the origin (equilibrium point).   Also, , the state implies the Bounded Input Bounded State property of the system. The input to state stability of the closed loop system with respect to and for the system was validated by adding a destabilizing feedback with and . The function k(x) of the disturbance is selected, such that the power transferred to the system is maximized, which can be performed when   . From the above equation, it can be observed that the power transferred to the system can be maximized by choosing same sign of with c≠¥0.   The nature of system response for different range of c is listed in the Table 1 below. Table 1 System Response for Variation in c at initial condition of [7,3,5,1]] Value of c Observation c ≠¤ 1.99 The energy of the system decreases initially, indicated by the plot of Lyapunov function shown in Figure 6 and the same result can be observed on the plot of r and ÃŽ ¸, where the magnitude decreases initially and oscillates with the bounded magnitude, for the bounded input indicated in plot of theta-d. c>1.99 For c=5, the energy of the system increases, indicated by the plot of Lyapunov function shown in Figure 7 and the plot of r and ÃŽ ¸ indicates that the magnitude continues to increases resulting in unbounded state for the bounded input indicated in plot of theta-d.   Also, it can be observed that the rate of increase in energy of the system, decreases with time. Figure 6 State of System at c=1.75 The system is not Input to state stable (ISS) for c>1.99 and Figure 7 indicates a system which is not ISS for c=5.   The value of transition from bounded state to unbounded state was observed at c=1.93 for an initial point of [1,2,1,2].   Based on the above observation, the transition value of c is dependent of initial condition (energy) of the system. Figure 7 State of System at c=5 The PD control used in the r-coordinate is modified as The simulations were carried out, to identify the properties of ISS satisfied by the system, with respect to and as inputs.   All the simulations were carried out with respect to the initial condition x0 = (7,3,5,1) Condition 1: The system is evaluated with zero disturbance and , the result is indicated in Figure 8. Figure 8 System with Zero Disturbance For the no disturbance conditions, it can be observed that the system is asymptotically stable about the origin (equilibrium), indicating the Global asymptotic stability of the system about the origin.   Also from the plot of Lyapunov function, it can be observed that the energy of the system settles down to zero. Condition 2: The destabilizing feedback input used in question 5 for the system was fed to the system and it its response is indicated in figure Figure 9 State of System at c=5 with modified PD Control The following observations can be made with respect to figure For an input , the state , indicating bounded input bounded state property of the system. It can be observed that, though the energy of the system increases initially, but upper bounded over a period.   The energy and the state of the system gets bounded over period of simulation.   Hence for the bounded input, state of the system is bounded. Also, the system exhibits property of asymptotic gain, since the state of the system is upper bounded by disturbance with gain of the system. Also, it was observed that though the system is ISS for the c=5, as the value of c increases energy of the system increases (example for c=10, v(x) is upper bounded to 10,000).   Hence modifying the PD control, makes the system ISS for a larger range of disturbances, when compared to earlier control. Condition 3: The system was fed with the input Figure 10 State of system rd=0 and theta d=5*exp(t) It can be observed from the plot that d(t)→ 0 as , also aysmptotically.   Hence the system indicates the property of converging input, converging state. The response of the system was evaluated with different possible inputs for , such as , the state of the system x1, x3 was chosen based on observations made in earlier simulations (q5) where predominantly these states grew out of bound Similarly, the above input conditions were simulated with =0 and defined as one of the input, few combinations of the above input disturbances and few possible system interconnections such as positive feedback interconnection, negative feedback interconnection, series interconnection. System response for various types of disturbance Constant Disturbance The disturbance of the system is set to constant values, as indicated in Figure 5 Figure 11 State of system at theta d=-5 rd=5 It can be observed from the plot of Figure 11 and Figure 5 that the settling time of system in r-coordinate has reduced almost by half, when compared to previous control. Positive Feedback Interconnection The disturbance input condition is mentioned below and the system response is shown in Figure 12 Figure 12 System Response for Positive Feedback Interconnection The state of the system indicates the converging nature, also it can be observed that after the transient period system follows the input. Series Interconnection The system is connected in series, with the following disturbance input configuration for each of the subsystem and the plot for the same is shown in Figure 13. Figure 13 System Response for Series Interconnection It can be observed that the behavior of the system is similar with respect to condition 2, but the energy of the system settles down at a higher level when compared to the similar condition with System with different disturbances acting simultaneously The type of disturbance added to the system is given below and the response of the system is shown in figure Figure 14 System response of simultaneous time varying disturbance It can be observed that the system exhibit the property of bounded input bounded state, even if the disturbance is of time varying. In all the above simulation conditions, it was observed that the system exhibits bounded state nature for a wider range of inputs with higher magnitude, when compared to the PD control implemented earlier.   This phenomenon can be attributed to the cubic terms with the negative sign, as it can reduce the rate at which energy of the system increases, before it goes out of bound. APPENDIX Code Used for Generation of Plots Contents Q4 Constant Value of Theta-d and r-d Q5 for ISS Q6 for ISS with new u2 Q4 Constant Value of Theta-d and r-d clc clear all close all global x1d; global x3d; ts=500;   %Duration for solving ip=[7,3,5,1]; options=odeset(AbsTol,1e-7,RelTol,1e-5); thd=[-5]; rd=[5]; for i=1:size(thd,2)   Ã‚  Ã‚   for j=1:size(rd,2)%-29:30:31   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x1d=thd(i);  Ã‚   %x1d is Theta-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x3d=rd(j);  Ã‚   %x3d is r-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   [t,x]=ode23(@deeqn,[0 ts],ip,options);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   figure(1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,2,1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,1))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,2,2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,2))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,2,3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,3))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of r)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(r)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,2,4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,4))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of r-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(r-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚   end end Q5 for ISS clc close all global x1d; global x3d; ts=10000;   %Duration for solving ip=[7,3,5,1]; options=odeset(AbsTol,1e-7,RelTol,1e-5); x1=ip;    global c;    cval=[1.92]   %1.993 is transition point    for i=1:size(cval,2)    c=cval(i);   %4.0125   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x1d=0;  Ã‚   %x1d is Theta-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x3d=0;  Ã‚   %x3d is r-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   [t,x]=ode23(@deeqnvx,[0 ts],ip,options);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   figure(2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,1))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,2))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,3))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of r)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(r)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,5)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,4))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of r-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(r-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   thdin=c.*sign(x(:,2));   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,thdin)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of theta-d)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,6)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   vxfn=(1/2).*(((x(:,3).^2)+1).*(x(:,2).^2)+(x(:,4).^2)+(x(:,1).^2)+(x(:,3).^2));   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,vxfn)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot Lyapunov Function)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(v(x))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor    end Q6 for ISS with new u2 clc close all global x1d; global x3d; ts=100;   %Duration for solving ip=[7,3,5,1]; options=odeset(AbsTol,1e-7,RelTol,1e-5); x1=ip;    global c;    cval=[5]   %1.993 is transition point    for i=1:size(cval,2)    c=cval(i);   %4.0125   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x1d=0;  Ã‚   %x1d is Theta-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   x3d=0;  Ã‚   %x3d is r-d   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   [t,x]=ode23(@deeqnr,[0 ts],ip,options);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   figure(3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,1))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,2)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,2))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   xlabel(Time)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ylabel(Theta-dot)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   grid minor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   subplot(2,3,4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   hold on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plot(t,x(:,3))   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   title(Plot of r) Function for constant disturbance function dx = deeqn(t,x) % Function for system model %  Ã‚   Argument function for ODE Solver global x1d; global x3d; dx=[x(2); (-2*x(3)*x(4)*x(2)-x(2)-x(1)+x1d)/((x(3).^2)+1);x(4);x(3)*(x(2).^2)-x(4)-x(3)+x3d]; end System with Destabilizing Feedback function dx = deeqnvx(t,x) % Function for system model %  Ã‚   Argument function for ODE Solver global x1d; global x3d; global c; x1d=c.*sign((+1).*x(2));; dx=[x(2); (-2*x(3)*x(4)*x(2)-x(2)-x(1)+x1d)/((x(3).^2)+1); x(4); x(3)*(x(2).^2)-x(4)-x(3)+x3d]; end Function with new u2 and old u1 function dx = deeqnr(t,x) % Function for system model %  Ã‚   Argument function for ODE Solver global x1d; global x3d; global c; x1d=x(4);%c.*sign((+1).*x(2));; x3d=x(2); dx=[x(2); (-2*x(3)*x(4)*x(2)-x(2)-x(1)+x1d)/((x(3).^2)+1);x(4);x(3)*(x(2).^2)-x(4)-x(3)+x3d-(x(3).^3)+(x3d.^3)]; end Published with MATLAB ® R2016b

Jealousy in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Jealousy in Othello Shakespeare is well for his ability to compose plays full of deceit, revenge, and jealousy. Othello, one of Shakespeare’s most recognized tragedies, was consistently evolving around the central theme of jealousy. As these lies are unraveled the central theme of his play became distinct, and clearly visible. Furthermore the theme of jealousy goes hand in hand with love, as often is the case in real life. Love consumes all those who take part in it, and in Othello's case his flaws lie in his loving Desdemona so blindly. It is for that single reason that Iago knows that such a naà ¯ve man as Othello, who loves his wife so blindly and unrealistically, can be corrupted. Just as Othello's flaws lie within his inability to see past his jealous feelings, so does many of the other characters, no matter what social ranking they are classified in. Even from the well-developed characters, such as Othello, to the lesser figures, such as Roderigo, envy and lust are feelings all of Shakespeare's characters are accountable for holding at one time or other in the play. Within each of the characters in Othello is a level of jealousy, which Iago creates by testing their pressure points for his benefit. In Act 1 scene 1, Shakespeare opens up to his audience a level of jealousy that goes hand in hand with feelings of greed. This is the moment in which Iago expresses his animosity for Othello. Iago is sub... ... Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991. Di Yanni, Robert. â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare. Othello. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Rossi. New York: Longman, 1999. 312-379. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.

The Relationship of Drug-Trafficking and Terrorism in the United States Of America :: Essays Papers

The Relationship of Drug-Trafficking and Terrorism in the United States Of America It’s so Important for Americans to know that the traffic of drugs finances the work of terror, sustaining terrorists, that terrorists use drug profits to fund their cells to commit acts of murder. If you quit drugs you join the fight against terror in America. - President George W. Bush Upon recently watching a movie titled â€Å"Blow,† I found myself asking how something like such could be related to the embassy bombing events and others, like the bombing of the World Trade Centers, and I quickly discovered that there are thousands of ways in which this is possible. In fact it is relevant enough that the past two Presidents (Clinton/Bush Jr.) have drawn up plans to stop it and it appears that America has an opportunity to tackle two rather large problems in one fight, killing two birds with one stone per say. The only question left too answer would be what sacrifices will the citizens of America be forced to make? Where will the line be drawn in the security and privacy of citizens. How much are you willing to give up to lower your chances of being the recipient of a terrorist attack? (Drug Enforcement Agency hosts symposium on topic) â€Å"The links between terrorism and narcotrafficking are real and growing, according to current and former U.S. officials who participated in a special symposium December 4 at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Hosted by the DEA Museum & Visitors Center, ‘Target America: Traffickers, Terrorists and Your Kids’ brought together government officials with the private-sector experts in an effort to educate the American public about what DEA Administrator Asa Hutchingson called the ‘extraordinary link between drugs and terrorism.’ The symposium was part of an effort by the Association of Former federal Narcotics Agents (AFFNA) to develop a museum exhibit and educational program that will explore this theme. In remarks opening the symposium, Hutchinson said there is ‘a strong case to be made that drug trafficking proceeds are being funneled to terrorists organizations,’ such as the Taliban, the FARC group in Colombia and Islamic Jihad. ‘It is clear the bin Laden’s terrorism has been protected by a regime funded by opium trafficking,’ he added. U.S. Representative Mark Souder (Republican, Indiana) told symposium participants that the interrelationship between drugs and terrorism is not new.

Domestic and Global Business Environment

BA 7000 Domestic and Global Business Conditions Bradley T. Ewing, Ph. D. Jerry S. Rawls Professor in Operations Management Area of ISQS Office: BA 164A Phone: 742-3939 Email: bradley. [email  protected] edu MBA Summer 2009 COURSE DESCRIPTION BA 7000 – Domestic and Global Business Conditions – This course is intended to help students develop a better understanding of the domestic and global environments in which US businesses compete. Specifically, this course takes a satellite-view of markets in which firms compete, including markets for goods and services; money, bonds and stocks; foreign exchange; and labor.These markets are examined individually and as a system. Particular emphasis is placed on studying the interactions among all markets in order to gain a better understanding of how domestic and global business conditions affect the formulation and implementation of business strategies. COURSE OVERVIEW This course examines the fundamentals of business conditions a nalysis with an emphasis on how domestic and global business conditions affect the formulation and implementation of business strategies. Specifically the primary goals of this course are to enable you to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢Recognize the relevance of domestic and global business conditions to managerial decision-making and firm performance, and to apply business principles to relate to business issues and the marketplace. Understand the mechanisms of the domestic and global business environment within the broad social, political, industrial and economic contexts. Explore the nature of business conditions and the implications for decision-making, research, business and policy. Analyze the firm, organization, or practices and its operations from a domestic and global systems perspective.Acquire a skill set of analytic tools that will increase your human capital. BOOKS & MATERIALS These books are fairly quick and easy to read: The Undercover Economist by Tim Harfor d The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explains the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli Articles: â€Å"Who Supplied My Cheese? † Business Economics, October 2005. (will be posted on my web site www3. tltc. ttu. du/ewing) â€Å"Strengthening Globalization’s Invisible Hand,† Business Economics, October 2006. (will be posted on my web site www3. tltc. ttu. edu/ewing) Other: Economics for Dummies (contains background, reference material) Online Lecture Notes – a set of PowerPoint slides (in pdf) available on my web site (http://courses. ttu. edu/bewing). You should use these to supplement the e-delivery lectures You should read â€Å"Economics for Dummies† in its entirety before reading any of the other books or doing the assignments. Additionally, you should view the lectures on DVD concur rently with your reading of â€Å"Economics for Dummies†.Reading â€Å"Economics for Dummies† and viewing the lectures prior to doing the assignments will help you understand the material and it should help you get the best grade possible. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Develop students’ ability to think in business terms and about the conditions surrounding their operating environment. 2. Develop students’ ability to view organizations from a domestic and global business systems perspective. 3. Build students' analytical skills for conducting business analysis. 4. Provide students with the opportunity to develop strategies for real world problems, and to develop decision making skills. . Integrate knowledge gained in other business experiences. Course Topic Guide Material to be covered: Business Conditions Concepts and Analysis Introduction to business conditions, concepts and analysis Operating a firm within the domestic and global environment Global economy an d the Federal Reserve Economics of Risk – risk analysis (perception & communication), risk management & decision making Value Creation, Supply Chain Economics Business model – integrating economics, operations & strategy Note: You may download a set of PowerPoint slides to accompany the lectures.COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING All assignments need to be emailed to me with the course title and semester (i. e. , â€Å"MBA – BA 7000 Summer 2009†) clearly written in the subject line. I will acknowledge receipt of your assignments – usually within 24 hours. Due to the amount of spam and the use of a junk mail filter, do no assume that I have received your assignment until you have received an acknowledgement from me (Note: please use your official Texas Tech email account so that way your email has a better chance of getting through).General Guidelines for Written Work All written work prepared outside of class should be typewritten and contain a cover page with your name, course number, date, and title. Where page lengths are noted for particular assignments, the page lengths assume 12 point font, 8 1/2 by 11 paper, double spaced type, and one inch margins on all sides. In cases where 12 pitch type is not available, page lengths should be adjusted proportionately. Please include a cover sheet for all work which includes your name along with the date and subject of the project. Written work will be graded for both content and quality.That is, grammar, punctuation, spelling, coherence, style, and organization will be considered. A concise style is essential. Corporate executives repeatedly emphasize the need for business schools to do a better job of preparing MBAs to write in an organizational context. The standards applied to writing quality will approximate those applied to major corporate documents that have been prepared for broad distribution among senior executives. In order to receive a grade of â€Å"B† in the cours e the student will need to do â€Å"B† quality work on each of the above assignments.In addition to the above assignments, students will need to do â€Å"B† quality work on the following assignments (#1-4): Assignment #1 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of The Undercover Economist. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures.Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully ap plied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future.Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #2 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of The Tipping Point. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures.Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and th us provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future.Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #3 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of Freakonomics. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could uccessfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future.Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book. Assignment #4 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. In your critique of the book identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come. Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the book were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the book relate to the lectures.Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the book in an organization (of your cho osing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. , if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessment of the book.In order to receive a grade of â€Å"A† in the course the student will need to do â€Å"A† quality work on each of the above assignments. In addition to the above assignments, students will need to do â€Å"A† quality work on the following two assignments (#5-6): Assignment #5 Turn in a 2-3 page critique of the articles â€Å"Who Supplied My Cheese? † and â€Å"Strengthening Globalization’s Invisible Hand,†. In your critique of the article identify key points that you think will be valuable to you (or, in some cases, for a particular industry, the domestic or global economy) in the years to come.Additionally, identify what parts, if any, of the article were a waste of your time to read. I also want you to identify what parts of the article relate to the lectures. Next, discuss how you would/could successfully apply the major points of the article in an organization (of your choosing but presumably in the field of your chosen profession). Discuss potential pitfalls (i. e. , areas that are especially vulnerable to â€Å"success† and thus provide examples of how these major points have been unsuccessfully applied in the organization of your choosing). Discuss how you would (e. g. if you were to be consulted or had been consulted) apply some of these tools and knowledge differently to the organization in the future. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being the best) give an overall assessm ent of the article. Assignment #6 – Value Creation Project The Value Creation project consists of a written report. VALUE CREATION DISTANCE LEARNING PROJECT OUTLINE: In this assignment I want you to select an existing company and then select a country (or, if doing a project related to Wind Energy, you may choose a region of the US or the offshore) to which you want the chosen company to expand.Next, I want you to investigate the external environment of the country to which the firm plans to expand and compare it to the domestic environment in the firm’s home country. I then want you to discuss how good of a fit the new country’s environment is for your chosen firm. Specifically discuss: What macro-environmental trends are relevant? What are the contending forces in the industry? What forces are changing the industry over time? Are there key competitors that present opportunities or challenges to the firm?Define opportunities as favorable conditions in the exter nal environment, define threats as unfavorable conditions in the external environment, and conduct an environmental scan. Additional factors about the chosen country that you may want to consider when doing the environmental and competitive analyses. Each sub-section (i. e. , A, B, C, D, E, F) should be about 2-3 pages. Thus, since there are two major parts (i. e. , I and II), the overall length should be around 24-36 pages. Additionally, a cover page and a references section are required (but do NOT count in the page length suggestions).The absolute page limit (not including the cover sheet and references) is 40 pages. A full letter grade will be deducted on any project longer than 40 pages. No exceptions. Please follow this outline carefully. I. General Environmental Analysis A. Economic 1. Overall level of development 2. Economic growth: GDP and industry 3. Role of foreign trade in the economy 4. Currency: inflation rate, currency controls, stability of exchange rate 5. Balance o f payments 6. Per capita income and distribution 7. Disposable income and spending patterns B. Social/Cultural 1.Population size, growth, density, distribution (urban/rural) 2. Literacy rates, education levels 3. Existence of middle class 4. Similarities and differences in relation to company's home market 5. Language and other cultural considerations C. Political 1. System of government 2. Political stability and continuity 3. Ideological orientation 4. Government involvement in business 5. Attitudes toward foreign business 6. National economic and development priorities 7. Membership in regional trade organizations D. Technological E. Physical 1. Physical distribution and communications network (e. . , supply chain) 2. Climate variations 3. Shipping distance F. Major Threats and Opportunities II. Industry/Competitive Environment A. Threat of New Entrants/Barriers to Entry 1. Limitations on trade (e. g. , high tariff levels, quotas) 2. Documentation and import regulations 3. Local standards, practices, and potential non-tariff barriers 4. Patent/trademark availability 5. Preferential treaties with a company's home country 6. Legal considerations for investment, taxation, profit repatriation, employment 7. Availability of intermediaries B. Threat from Competitors 1.Number of international competitors and their market shares 2. Number of local competitors and their market shares 3. Advantages needed to compete effectively relative to competitors C. Threat from Substitutes D. Power of Buyers 1. Customer needs and desires (e. g. , demand behavior and estimation, price elasticity of demand, etc. ) 2. Local production, imports, consumption 3. Exposure to and acceptance of product/service 4. Availability of complementary products/services 5. Industry-specific key indicators of demand 6. Attitudes towards products of foreign originE. Power of Suppliers 1. Number and location of suppliers 2. Market structure (e. g. , competitive, monopoly, or in-between, etc. ) F. Maj or Threats and Opportunities ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES (Recommended) Assignments #1 & #2 are due June 22, 2009 Assignments #3 & #4 are due July 13, 2009 Assignments #5 & #6 (Value Creation Project) are due August 3, 2009 Note: The absolute Final Date to turn in all assignments is Monday, August 3rd at 5:00 PM CLASSROOM POLICY ISSUES WITHDRAWAL POLICY The requirements set by the university for withdrawal will be strictly followed.You should retain all documentation of courses you have dropped. STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS The university is committed to the principle that in no aspect of its programs shall there be differences in the treatment of persons because of race, creed, national origin, age, sex, or disability, and that equal opportunity and access to facilities shall be available to all. Any student who because of a disability may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirement should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary accommodations.S tudents should present appropriate verification from AccessTECH in the Student Counseling Center in West Hall. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY The university catalog states the following: â€Å"It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity. The attempt of students to present as their own any work that they have not honestly performed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension. The catalog defines cheating as â€Å"Dishonesty on examinations and quizzes or on written assignments, illegal possession of examinations, the use of unauthorized notes during an examination or quiz, obtaining information during an examination from the examination paper or otherwise from another student, assisting others to cheat, alteration of grade records, illegal entry to or unauthorized presence in an office are instances of cheating. I n this class, collaboration with others on in class examinations and cases is considered within the definition of cheating. RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS A student who intends to observe a religious holy day should make that intention known to the instructor prior to the absence. A student who is absent from classes for the observance of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence.