The Advantages and Disadvantages of Case Study Research

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Case Study Research Introduction This work is to present the case study as a research approach, showing that its characterization is not an easy task, due mainly to its many different approaches and applications. It highlights its increasing importance as a research tool, exploring its origins, meanings and delineation as an investigation methodology. In order to demonstrate its application, it indicates its most common advantages and constraints, stressing the important role played by the researcher, who must be careful about generalizations, striving constantly for scientific rigor in the treatment of the subject. The case study method is considered a kind of qualitative analysis (GOODE, 1962) and has been considered, according to Yin (1994, p. 10): the weaker brother of the methods of Social Sciences. But despite the weaknesses and limitations, the case study has had widely use not only in social research, but also as a modality research, with applications in many other areas or in disciplines that has a strong orientation to legal practice and administration, besides being used for the preparation of theses and dissertations. The main objective of this work is to present the case study method as a research approach and to consider issues relevant for the conduct using this method, analyzing its advantages and disadvantages that should be considered in light of the kinds of problems and questions to be answered. Case study can accomplish many of the same goals as other methods. For example, the case study can be exploratory (create new knowledge), constructive (solve some problem), or confirmatory (test a hypothesis with empirical evidence). The case study can also use either a primary (the researcher collects the data) or secondary (the researcher uses someone elses data) approach. In the view of Yin, à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"the case study represents an empirical research that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, and includes a method comprehensive, with the logic of planning, gathering and data analysis.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  Can include both single case studies as multiple, as well as quantitative approaches and qualitative research. (Yin 1994 p.23), help us, he says, to understand and distinguish the case study method to other research strategies such as the historical method and in-depth interview, the experimental method and survey. The method often is presented as being more appropriate for exploratory research and particularly useful for hypothesis generation and this may have contributed to complicate the understanding of what the study method cases, how it is designed and conducted. (Yin, 1994) According to different authors, the case study has originated in medical research and psychological research, with analysis in detail of an individual case that explains the dynamics and pathology of a given disease. With this procedure it is assumed that one can acquire knowledge of the phenomenon studied from intense exploration of a single case. Besides the medical and psychological, it became a major methods of qualitative research in human and social sciences. Advantages and Disadvantages of Case Study Research Cast in a narrative format, descriptive case studies can make complex science and technology projects accessible and interesting to a non-scientist audience. The potential scope of the case study format is flexible and broad, ranging from brief descriptive summaries to long, detailed accounts. Using a storytelling approach, the evaluator may present the genesis of ideas, explore what happened and why, give an account of the human side of a project, explain goals, explore project dynamics, investigate particular phenomenon, and present outcomes in their complexity without being subject to the confines inherent in most other evaluation methods. The freedom to collect multiple kinds of information makes the case study method useful for exploring ideas and constructing theories about program or project dynamics. Despite its advantages, the case study method is traditionally considered to have several major limitations as an evaluation tool. Descriptive case studies are qualitative and unreliable. And, whether qualitative or quantitative, case studies typically relate to single projects, or, at best, small clusters of projects, such that their results usually cannot be generalized to the entire portfolio of projects. Noting that distinguished scholars frequently use case study as a method of analysis, Yin, in his landmark book on case studies, asks, If the case study method has serious weaknesses, why do investigators continue to use it? (Yin, 1994) Among the possible explanations Yin considers are that people are not trained in the use of other methods, or, for governmentally sponsored research, that the difficult permission procedures required for surveys and questionnaires have made their use a bureaucratically hazardous affair, leading researchers to the case study method, which is relatively unencumbered by restrictions and requirements. Identifying three types of case studies à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory, Yin argues that the case study method qualifies as a serious research tool. He states, In general, case studies are the preferred strategy when how or why questions are being posed, when the investigator has little control over events, and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life context. (Yin 1994 p.1) One of the biggest disadvantages to using the case study method has to do with external vs. internal validity. Using the case study method, the researcher often does not have control over certain variables and events and, therefore, cannot control them as the researcher could in a lab experiment Consequently, the researcher using the case study method must be content that his/her findings may only be applicable to similar cases. What the case study gains in internal validity, it loses in external validity. Construct validity is especially problematic in case study research. It has been a source of criticism because of potential investigator subjectivity. Yin proposed three remedies to counteract this: using multiple sources of evidence, establishing a chain of evidence, and having a draft case study report reviewed by key informants. Internal validity is a concern only in causal (explanatory) cases. This is usually a problem of inferences in case studies, and can be dealt with using pattern-matching, which has been described above. (Yin 1994) External validity deals with knowing whether the results are generalizable beyond the immediate case. Some of the criticism against case studies in this area relate to single-case studies. However, that criticism is directed at the statistical and not the analytical generalization that is the basis of case studies. Reliability is achieved in many ways in a case study. One of the most important methods is the development of the case study protocol. The secondary data is data previously gathered and recorded by other researchers. There are many advantages and disadvantages to using secondary data for research purposes. One of the most important advantages is the fact that a research can be built on previous research using required experience and knowledge. Moreover, secondary data are usually much cheaper than primary data and very often is freely provided. In addition to this, the collection of secondary data can be extremely rapid due to high-tech information accessibility and other media. However, the disadvantages of secondary data are equally very important and it must be gathered and used carefully. In most cases such data have been taken during past research with a specific target and this may not link with other research. Therefore, the circumstances under which secondary data have been created should be examined in detail; otherwise it has no value at all for further research (Zikmund, 2003). When a researcher uses this kind of data he/she should be aware of the time period these data refer to. Another disadvantage of secondary data is that researchers sometimes give different definitions for the same problem making the estimation of the final research result confusing. In addition, there can be many other difficulties when using secondary data. The researcher has to know extensive details about the process which has produced the data, such as the samples that have been used and whether the process has taken all the necessary into account. In many cases, adequate information is very difficult to be found or even impossible (Zikmund, 2003). Quantitative data also has advantages and disadvantages. A major advantage is that it is numerous and it is easily understood. Furthermore, the results are subjective. This means that if it is a result of a large sample, this result can be generally applied and it is scientific. Another great advantage is that quantitative data is considered as reliable. This means that if a researcher repeats research following the same process, he will find the same results. A major disadvantage of this kind of data is that they are narrow. In other words, it represents a reality without providing any explanation for the result. In a way, it gives picture of the symptoms and not the real problem. Qualitative data also has advantages and disadvantages. A major advantage is that produces more in-depth, comprehensive information. It emphasizes the importance of looking at variables in the natural setting in which they are found. Use subjective information and participant observation to describe the context, of natural setting, of the variables under consideration, as well as the interaction of different variables in context. A major disadvantage of this type of data is that the very subjectivity of the inquiry leads to difficulties in establishing the reliability and validity of the approaches and information. It is very difficult to prevent or detect researcher induced bias. Its scope is limited due to the in-depth, comprehensive data gathering approaches required. In conclusion this work presents some discussion of case study in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. Case studies are considered valuable in research as they enable researchers to examine data at depth analysis. As an alternative to quantitative or qualitative research, case studies can be a practical solution when a large sample population is difficult to gain. Although case studies have various advantages, in that they present data of real-life situations and they provide better understandings into the detailed behaviours of the topics of interest. The case study method, like all research methods, is more appropriate for some situations than others. When deciding to use this method of research, an investigator should keep in mind the dangers and criticisms that are usually made to the method in question and must take precautions and care necessary to avoid them or minimize their consequences. Nevertheless, the Case Study Method offers significant opportunities for the researcher; it may facilitate the study of many cases that wanted to be investigated. This method, as well as qualitative methods is useful when the phenomenon being studied is large and complex, where the body of knowledge is insufficient to support the proposition of causal questions, and where the phenomenon cannot be studied outside the context where it naturally occurs. The researcher must use the designated data gathering tools systematically and properly in collecting the evidence and need to define its object study, the type of research focus, control that the investigator has over actual issues, and the focus on contemporary phenomenon rather than historical and, from there, build a research process, limiting the universe to be studied. Throughout the design phase, researchers must ensure that the study is well constructed to ensure construct validity, internal validity, external validity, and reliability. A common point among several authors (GOODE, 1962 and Yin, 1994) is a recommendation for great care when the design phase, researchers must ensure that the study is well constructed to ensure construct validity, internal validity, external validity, and reliability. Like all research has advantages and limitations of its application, and deserves the care needed when the search for generalizations. Case study method has always been criticised for its lack of rigour and the tendency for a researcher to have a biased interpretation of the data. But despite the criticisms, weaknesses and limitations, the case study has had widely used in all areas. However, its importance is undeniable as an instrument research and the study should be located in academic discussion. External validity reflects whether or not findings are generalizable beyond the immediate case or cases; the more variations in places, people, and procedures a case study can withstand and still yield the same findings, the more external validity. Techniques such as cross-case examination and within-case examination along with literature review help ensure external validity. Reliability refers to the stability, accuracy, and precision of measurement. Exemplary case study design ensures that the procedures used are well documented and can be repeated with the same results over and over again.

Research paper on Mark Twain: Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn :: essays papers

Research paper on Mark Twain: Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boys coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800s. It is the story of Hucks struggle to win freedom for himself and Jim, a Negro slave. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was Mark Twains greatest book, and a delighted world named it his masterpiece. To nations knowing it well - Huck riding his raft in every language men could print - it was Americas masterpiece (Allen 259). It is considered one of the greatest novels because it conceals so well Twains opinions within what is seemingly a childs book. Though initially condemned as inappropriate material for young readers, it soon became prized for its recreation of the Antebellum South, its insights into slavery, and its depiction of adolescent life. The novel resumes Hucks tale from the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which ended with Hucks adoption by Widow Douglas. But it is so much more. Into this book the world called his masterpiece, Mark Twain put his prime purpose, one that branched in all his writing: a plea for humanity, for the end of caste, and of its cruelties (Allen 260). Twain, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835. During his childhood he lived in Hannibal, Missouri, a Mississippi river port that was to become a large influence on his future writing. It was Twains nature to write about where he lived, and his nature to criticize it if he felt it necessary. As far his structure, Kaplan said, In plotting a book his structural sense was weak; intoxicated by a hunch, he seldom saw far ahead, and too many of his stories peter out from the authors fatigue or surfeit. His wayward techniques came close to free association. This method served him best after he had conjured up characters from lon ago, who on coming to life wrote the narrative for him, passing from incident to incident with a grace their creator could never achieve in manipulating an artificial plot (Kaplan 16). His best friend of forty years William D. Howells, has this to say about Twains writing. So far as I know, Mr. Clemens is the first writer to use in extended writing the fashion we all use in thinking, and to set down the thing that comes into his mind without fear or favor of the thing that went before or the thing that may be about to follow (Howells 186).

Babe Ruth Essay -- Biography Biographies

Babe Ruth Baseball player. Born George Herman Ruth, Jr., on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the first of eight children born to Kate and George Herman Ruth, Sr. Most of the Ruth children died in infancy and only George Jr. and his sister Mamie survived to maturity. Little George, as he was called, grew up in a poor waterfront neighborhood in Baltimore, where he lived above the family saloon. In 1902, the Ruth’s sent their son away to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, which was both a reformatory and an orphanage. Ruth developed a love for sports, particularly baseball, which served as his escape from the strict environment at St Mary’s. From an early age he showed potential as an athlete, and in his late teens he had developed into a professional candidate. His tough southpaw pitching attracted Jack Dunn, manager of the minor league Baltimore Orioles. In 1914, the Orioles signed Ruth to his first professional baseball contract. He became the team’s youngest member, and was befittingly nicknamed â€Å"Babe.† Within five months, 19-year-old Ruth graduated to the major leagues, and signed with the Boston Red Sox. He remained with the team for six seasons, alternating positions as pitcher and outfielder. With his great pitching, powerful bat, and winning personality, he was quickly on his way to greatness, overshadowing players like Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. After a controversy revealed that the Chicago White Sox conspired to throw the 1919 World Series, the sport of baseball was in need of a hero. The scandal had shaken the public’s faith in the game. However, in 1919, while still a part-time pitcher for the Red Sox, Ruth made his home-run assault on the record books. His 25th home run that year shattered the modern major league record held by the now forgotten Gabby Kraveth. By the end of the year, Ruth’s record was an unprecedented 29 home runs, and he was credited with reviving faith in the game. In December of 1919, the Boston Red Sox sold the invaluable player to New York Yankee owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert. Ruppert bought Ruth’s contract for over $100,000, which was a staggering price at the time. In 1920, Ruth joined the Yankees, who as yet had never won a pennant. For years they played in the shadow of the New York Giants. Without a baseball park to call their own, the Yankees were forced to hold their games at the G... ...ue team. Ruth was diagnosed with cancer in 1946. Although the extent of his illness was kept from him, he knew that his time was limited. He spent the remainder of his life making countless visits to children’s hospitals and orphanages. In 1948, Ruth made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium, celebrating the 25th anniversary of â€Å"The House that Ruth Built.† His number was retired, and April 27th was declared â€Å"Babe Ruth Day.† On August 16, 1948, Ruth died at the age of 53. At the time of his death, he held 54 major league records, including most years leading a league in home runs (12), most total bases in a season (457), and highest slugging percentage for a season (.847). While with the Red Sox, Ruth married 18-year-old waitress Helen Woodford, whom he had known less than three months. In 1929, Ruth’s wife died in a fire. At the time, they had been separated for three years. Her tragic death allowed him to marry Claire Hodgson, a former model and actress. With Claire’s daughter from a previous marriage and Ruth’s adopted daughter (with Woodford), they became an immediate family. Ruth and Hodgson remained together until Ruth’s death. Bibliography: biography.com

Analysis of Endgame

Modernism is not mere representation to a period of time but it also represents a life style, way of thinking, different perspective to things, and rebel creation of art against previous schools. Therefore we will try to define this movement and present its characteristics especially in literature. Through wandering at Modernism we will take Endgame as an example of the absurd theater that written by Samuel Beckett and we will explain how it embodies the characteristics of Modernism, language, style, and so forth. Modernism is cultural movement that reflects certain changes not only in the arts (literature, drama, painting, music, sculpture, dance, architecture) but in sciences such as physics, chemistry, and so forth. Modernist production rose after World War to break tradition, beliefs, principles, and rules, â€Å"this break includes a strong reaction against established religious, political, and social views†. Therefore Modernism refuses a single way of looking at world and obvious separation between â€Å"right and wrong, good and bad, and hero and villain†. Modernists rebelled against Victorian ideals†. They emphasized humanism over nationalism and how humans were part and responsible to nature, plus â€Å"they challenged the idea that God played an active role in the world†. So this leads them to the concept or notion that â€Å"no person or thing born to specific use† thus they challenged any assumption that point to presence meaning and purpose behind world events. The term â€Å"modernism† includes significantly â€Å"experimental arts† in addition to its rejection for any â€Å"traditional style and conventions†. Its technique is characterized by â€Å"the disruption of chronological linear plot in fiction , the use of fragmentary images and dense allusions in poetry, and the abandonment of realist or naturalist characterization and dialogue in drama†. All these features will be useful in analysis Endgame as an absurdist theater. Endgame â€Å"tends to support the superficial view that people and things are meaningless, without significance†. In comparison between Modernism and conventional drama such as Realism and Naturalism we will find extreme differences between them. Realism in literature was part of a wider movement in the arts to focus on ordinary people and events. Realists tries to portray real life at the period of time (French revolution). It uses technique that represents real speech, action, events and clear emotions. Realist works are characterized by traditional narrative and real story that has real characters, events and conflict. Naturalism is a literary movement which â€Å"characterized by the application of scientific determinism to literature†. It depends on assumption that is real exists in nature. â€Å"Realism and Naturalism are often linked due to its emphasis on realistic people in realistic settings, featuring ordinary people struggling against unseen forces over which they have no control. Realism and Naturalism differs insomuch that Realism focuses on literary technique whereas Naturalism focuses on a specific philosophy†. Through our presentation for the characteristics of Modernism, we will give an example from Endgame that is written by Samuel Beckett. This play belongs to the absurdist theater â€Å"Absurd is that which is devoid of purpose †¦ Cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless. † Eugene Ionesco. Modernism as style of writing refers to new techniques to communicate the ideas or notions that are presented. One of its features is static, stripped action and dialogue and periods of silence. So it rejects any traditional styles and convention by â€Å"its adoption of radically innovative and often complex, difficult forms†. This is embodied through Endgame. Endgame as the title describes an ending already known in the last part of a chess game, when there are very few pieces left and its masters always study how they guaranty themselves victory through maneuver their enemy into certain position. The play begins with ambiguous Clov's words that stresses on ending â€Å"Finished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished†. The traditional development of events that involve a beginning and end of a story rejected through absurd theater. Therefore â€Å"The play is not divided into acts or scenes, there is no interval†, thus there is a sense of repetition, some words and phrases return but they are never the same, e. g. â€Å"pain killer†, â€Å"there's no more pain killer†. The repetition of words, the static movement and the general atmosphere point to that nothing will be changed, â€Å"the implication is that the characters live in an unchanging, static state. Each day contains the actions and reactions of the day before, until each event takes on an almost itualistic quality†. Endgame is one-act ply with four characters that divided into two pairs, Hamm and Clov who placed the major roles, Nagg and Nell who not appear at first but throughout the play we will discover that they are Hamm's parents. The sitting for End game is a bare room with two small windows situated high up on the back wall. Hamm seated in wheelchair and he is covered with a sheet. There are two dustbins that Nagg and Nell's lodging. There is along ladder which Clov needs it to look at through windows that high and narrow, the right one looks out over the earth and the left one looks out over the sea. HAMM (wearily): Quiet, quiet, you're keeping me awake. (Pause. ) Talk softer. (Pause. ) If I could sleep I might make love. I'd go into the woods. My eyes would see†¦ the sky, the earth. I'd run, run, they wouldn't catch me. (Pause. ) Nature! (Pause. ) There's something dripping in my head. (Pause. ) A heart, a heart in my head. (Pause. NAGG: Do you hear him? A heart in his head! (He chuckles cautiously. ) NELL: One mustn't laugh at those things, Nagg. Why must you always laugh at them? NAGG: Not so loud! NELL (without lowering her voice): Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that. But— This part of the dialogue presents some features of Modernism. Nagg and Nell live in static place (two dustbins) from the beginning to end. They make superficial dialogue between each other that represents unconventional situation and action. As for Hamm, cannot leave his wheelchair nevertheless he is the master and Clove with his mechanical movement is the servant, P. S Clove is the only character who moves on his legs. It also presents the relationships between Hamm and Clov, Nagg and Nell, and the four among each other. The first relationship that embodied by Hamm and Clov represents master/slave and father/son needs, Hamm cannot live without Clov's help because of his inability (blind and disabled), in other hand, Clov needs survival that Hamm provides him. Nagg and Nell's presence in two separated dustbins make them unable to contact with each other but comfort each other, they ‘popping up their heads to call for food† that become ‘a dog biscuit'. The absurd theater also characterized by use of gestures and mime that mixed with quite silence â€Å"pregnant pauses†. Beckett focuses on using mime and gesture to portray the unspoken desires of his characters, and the ways of death dominates our thoughts. Hamm's disability to move from his chair and see by his blind eyes point to that he already died because he cannot do anything to himself only through Clove.

Technical Project Paper: Information Systems Security

You are the Information Security Officer for a small pharmacy that has recently been opened in the local shopping mall. The daily operation of a pharmacy is a unique business that requires a combination of both physical and logical access controls to protect medication and funds maintained located on the premises and personally identifiable information and protected health information of your customers. Your supervisor has tasked you with identifying inherent risks associated with this pharmacy and establishing physical and logical access control methods that will mitigate the risks identified.Firewall (1) Windows 2008 Active Directory Domain Controllers (DC) (1) File Server (1) Desktop computers (4) Dedicated T1 Connection (1) Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you: Identify and analyze any potential physical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Identify and analyze any potential logical vulnerabilities and threats that require consideration. Illus trate in writing the potential impact of all identified physical vulnerabilities and threats to the network and the pharmacy. Identify all potential vulnerabilities that may exist in the documented network.Illustrate in writing the potential impact of all identified logical vulnerabilities to the network and the pharmacy. For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance). For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, choose a strategy for dealing with the risk (i. e. , risk mitigation, risk assignment, risk acceptance, or risk avoidance).For each physical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. administrative, preventative, detective, and corrective) that will be used to mitigate each risk. For each logical vulnerability and threat identified, develop controls (i. e. , administrative, preventative, detective, and corrective) tha t will be used to mitigate each risk. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Explain the concepts of information systems security as applied to an IT infrastructure. Describe how malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities impact an IT infrastructure. Explain the means attackers use to compromise systems and networks, and defenses used by organizations.Explain the role of access controls in implementing a security policy. Exp lain how businesses apply cryptography in maintaining information security. Analyze the importance of network principles and architecture to security operations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in information systems security. Write clearly and concisely about network security topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions. Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Estimate a Population Parameter

Estimation is a procedure by which a numerical value or values are assigned to a population parameter based on the information collected from a sample. The assignment of value(s) to a population parameter based on a value of the corresponding sample statistic is called estimation. In inferential statistics, _ is called the true population mean and p is called the true population proportion. There are many other population parameters, such as the median, mode, variance, and standard deviation.The following are a few examples of estimation: an auto company may want to estimate the mean fuel consumption for a particular model of a car; a manager may want to estimate the average time taken by new employees to learn a job; the U. S. Census Bureau may want to find the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by households; and the AWAH (Association of Wives of Alcoholic Husbands) may want to find the proportion (or percentage) of all husbands who are alcoholic.The examples about estimat ing the mean fuel consumption, estimating the average time taken to learn a job by new employees, and estimating the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by households are illustrations of estimating the true population mean. The example about estimating the proportion (or percentage) of all husbands who are alcoholic is an illustration of estimating the true population proportion, p.This article explains how to assign values to population parameters based on the values of sample statistics. For example, to estimate the mean time taken to learn a certain job by new employees, the manager will take a sample of new employees and record the time taken by each of these employees to learn the job. Using this information, he or she will calculate the sample mean, then, based on the value of he or she will assign certain values to _.As another example, to estimate the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by all households in the United States, the Census Bureau will take a sa mple of certain households, collect the information on the housing expenditure that each of these households incurs per month, and compute the value of the sample mean, Based on this value of the bureau will then assign values to the population mean, _. The sample statistic used to estimate a population parameter is called an estimator.The estimation procedure involves the following steps. 1. Select a sample. 2. Collect the required information from the members of the sample. 3. Calculate the value of the sample statistic. 4. Assign value(s) to the corresponding population parameter. Remember, the procedures to be mentioned above assume that the sample taken is a simple random sample. If the sample is not a simple random sample, then the procedures to be used to estimate a population mean or proportion become more complex. Estimate a Population Parameter Estimation is a procedure by which a numerical value or values are assigned to a population parameter based on the information collected from a sample. The assignment of value(s) to a population parameter based on a value of the corresponding sample statistic is called estimation. In inferential statistics, _ is called the true population mean and p is called the true population proportion. There are many other population parameters, such as the median, mode, variance, and standard deviation.The following are a few examples of estimation: an auto company may want to estimate the mean fuel consumption for a particular model of a car; a manager may want to estimate the average time taken by new employees to learn a job; the U. S. Census Bureau may want to find the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by households; and the AWAH (Association of Wives of Alcoholic Husbands) may want to find the proportion (or percentage) of all husbands who are alcoholic.The examples about estimat ing the mean fuel consumption, estimating the average time taken to learn a job by new employees, and estimating the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by households are illustrations of estimating the true population mean. The example about estimating the proportion (or percentage) of all husbands who are alcoholic is an illustration of estimating the true population proportion, p.This article explains how to assign values to population parameters based on the values of sample statistics. For example, to estimate the mean time taken to learn a certain job by new employees, the manager will take a sample of new employees and record the time taken by each of these employees to learn the job. Using this information, he or she will calculate the sample mean, then, based on the value of he or she will assign certain values to _.As another example, to estimate the mean housing expenditure per month incurred by all households in the United States, the Census Bureau will take a sa mple of certain households, collect the information on the housing expenditure that each of these households incurs per month, and compute the value of the sample mean, Based on this value of the bureau will then assign values to the population mean, _. The sample statistic used to estimate a population parameter is called an estimator.The estimation procedure involves the following steps. 1. Select a sample. 2. Collect the required information from the members of the sample. 3. Calculate the value of the sample statistic. 4. Assign value(s) to the corresponding population parameter. Remember, the procedures to be mentioned above assume that the sample taken is a simple random sample. If the sample is not a simple random sample, then the procedures to be used to estimate a population mean or proportion become more complex.

Do you consider Venezuela under Hugo Chavez (1998-2012) a democratic Essay

Do you consider Venezuela under Hugo Chavez (1998-2012) a democratic country - Essay Example He directed the movement in an unproductive coup overthrow against the Democratic Action government of Carlos Andrà ©s Pà ©rez, who was the president in 1992. This led to the imprisonment of Hugo Rafael Chà ¡vez Frà ­as (Feinberg, 1). Later on, after he was released, he formed a socialist political party two years later, it was called the Fifth Republic Movement, and he was voted president of Venezuela in 1998. In 2000, he was re-elected and during this second term, he presented the system of communal groups, Bolivarian Missions, and employee-managed companies, along with a land reform program, which was municipalizing main industries. In 2006, he was re-elected again with more than 60% of the votes. After emerging victorious in his fourth tenure as president in October 2012, defeating Henrique Capriles, Hugo Rafael Chà ¡vez Frà ­as was sworn on 10 January 2013. However, the Venezuela National Assembly decided to postpone the inaugural ceremony to give him time to enable him recuperate from medical treatment in Cuba, which resulted from a cancer return that was initially identified in June 2011. On 5 March 2013, Hugo Rafael Chà ¡vez Frà ­as passed away in Caracas at 58 years. During the duration Venezuela was under Hugo Chà ¡vez, it was not a democratic country, though Chà ¡vez was not a dictator, he crushed the democracy of the Venezuelan nation. In a period when South America was swiftly moving towards the far-left demagoguery from its ancient binaries of far right, Chà ¡vez was still holding Venezuela back in the past, both politically and economically. Under the decade of Chà ¡vez, while other nations like Peru and Brazil became representations of equality and success, Venezuela appeared to go back to the bad ancient days. It is true that the polls were usually well conducted and fair under his regime. He even freely accepted defeat in one