Corporate Risk Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate Risk Management - Assignment Example Derivatives Derivatives refer to a method where one party owning a risk transfers the risk to another individual (Malz 189). The party receiving the risk bears the risk but at the same time has the advantage of making a profit is the risk does not materialise. The original owner of the risk does not have to pay anything to the risk buyer but has to forego any benefits derived from the non-occurrence of the risk. The advantage of this method of risk management to the business over using insurance is that the business is not obliged to pay any insurance premiums and therefore the only cost is the opportunity cost which the business has to bear due to not being able to benefit when the risk does not occur (Deventer & Imai, 48). The market for derivatives has grown significantly for some time, perhaps because of the increasing risks in the global business environment. Globalisation and technology have brought numerous opportunities to the business environment but at the same time brought numerous risks to businesses around the worlds (Norman, 58). As several risks have increased and their intensity in terms of likelihood and impact has increased, the need to have better ways to manage the risks has also increased. In such an environment, derivatives made from financial risks have increased and there are firms which are dedicated to trading on derivatives. Derivatives come on all sorts of nature, depending on the nature of risk (Triantis, 563). Forwards Forwards are a very good tool for managing some types of financial risks. These are risks associated with unexpected unfavourable changes in the market environment in the future (Darrell, 78). For instance, a firm may be concerned that the rate of exchange will change unfavourably in the future and thus affect its revenues. This usually happens with regard to firms which operate across international borders. In this kind of scenario, the firm can choose to have a forward contract with its customers or suppliers (Verz uh, 59). Forward contracts help the business in guaranteeing that its revenues or its business will not be affected in the future by making sure that the natural laws of the market will not come into action. For instance, in the example given above, a firm may have a forward contract which binds its suppliers to deliver the goods at a predetermined dollar rate regardless of the currency exchange rates in the future. This means that such a firm will operate without worrying that unexpected foreign exchange rates will affect its revenues in a negative way. Decentralising the business functions As identified above, currency risk is one of biggest risk which international businesses have to face today. In a modern business environment, even a slight change in the currency exchange rates can lead to massive losses for firms which manufacture their products locally and sell them abroad (Gregory 57). In this regard, apart from forward contracts, there are other options which such firms can consider in order to eliminate currency risks. These include the decentralisation of business to other countries especially where the business has the biggest markets. This has been demonstrated by the recent trend of American manufacturers going to china to set their manufacturing firms there. One of the firms which have been known to have been the first one to use this strategy of

Wal-Mart Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example For small businesses operating locally the entrance of Wal-Mart would have a series of disadvantages: at a first level, Wal-Mart could provide to consumers products that would not be available through local stores (Hill & Jones 2007). In fact, in Wal-Mart consumers would have the chance to choose among a high range of products; as a result, consumers would prefer to visit Wal-Mart, instead of local stores, for their shopping. Moreover, Wal-Mart, as a megastore, is able to keep the price of its products low (Hill & Jones 2007). The owners of local stores are often unable to decrease the price of their products/ services due to the fact that their sales are at a relatively low level, at least compared to the sales of megastores (Hill & Jones 2007). Wal-Mart has been already accused as leading many owners of small businesses to stop business activities, a fact that is related to the non-potential of these individuals to lower the price of their products (Kotler & Armstrong 2009, p.410). In other words, local businesses would be forced to close in the case of the entrance of Wal-Mart in their market; such decision would be unavoidable mostly due to the following two reasons: local stores would not be able to provide to consumers the high range of products available at Wal-Mart. Also, local stores could not offer their products at the price that Wal-Mart does. The advanced technology available at Wal-Mart could also lead to customer service of high quality, at least compared to local stores (Armstrong et al. 2009, p.380). A problem of unfair competition would possible appear in the above case. At this point, reference should made to the study of Guy (2007) where the following issue is highlighted: before allowing the establishment of a megastore in their town, the authorities of a small town would primarily check whether the structure/ design of their town allows such plan

Wall Mart's Strategic Planning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wall Mart's Strategic Planning - Case Study Example Simultaneously Walton set up two other enterprises called Ben Franklin franchises and Wall - Mart Discount City. The former expanded into 15 more stores by 1962. In 1969 the company became Walt Mart Stores inc. with 15 Ben Franklin stores, 18 Wall Mart spread through out Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. To-day with combined revenue reaching to 44 billions and spread through out the 42 central and southern states the company has 1720 Wall-Marts, 208 Sam's Whole sale club, and 6 Wall Mart Supercentres in addition to two stores in joint ventures in Mexico. The company has a strategy of identifying areas with under population of 50,000 to open a store and gradually expanded by setting up distribution centres at some place closer to the store with a view to facilitate supply to all the other stores also within a day. The excellent success of the company is considered to be the result of 19 such distribution centres today. The other factor of the success of the company is treating the employees as associate partners having access to complete information about the costs, freight charges, and profit margin. The associates play a major role in the overall and individual success of stores and achieving the company's goals. It will be worthwhile to note here that each of the stores operates independently of the other. This kind of relationship in the organization components known as "pooled interdependence". If there is poor customer service at one store and how the customers view it will have ripple effect on the Wall-Mart as a whole. Basis of establishment of the Strategy: The management of the company prominently relies on the goals achieved. It is treated as a part of the planning process. The top management provides guidelines about the profits and growth. These become the basis of setting of goals. The individual stores provide their own inputs as they have their own annual goals to achieve. However, specific tactical goals are evolved at the division and the stores level. These are then forwarded to the top corporate level for further dissemination, evaluation and measurement for formulating a strategic over all policy. It will be interesting to note a typical target set for an annual goal: Opening 160 new stores; 45 new Sam's Whole sale clubs; 12 - 15 new Wall Mart Super centre; Increasing sales to more than 54 billions; Pursuing a "Buy American" plan to give preference to stocking merchandise manufactured in the United States. The individual stores have a target to achieve a sales increase of 10% over the previous period. Once the goals are established the process of action planning is commenced to provide an outline as to how the goals are to be achieved. It is done at every level. The associates also get a share of the profit above the goals set for every stores. Monitoring: Throughout the year goals achieved are monitored as laid out. But if the Wall Mart has not been satisfied of the result those stores are sold out. The Ben Franklin stores were closed in 1976 and Wall Mart stores were replaced with it. A chain of Helen's Arts and Crafts, the DOT discount drug chain met the same fate. Despite all the evaluation, assessment, dissemination of the in formations and monitoring quite a few of the ventures have failed. Financial aspect: Of interest

Most Memiroble Holiday Essay Example for Free

Most Memiroble Holiday Essay Put muscle into your writing by using strong verbs. This is a good, rowdy starter in which students are encouraged to think about specific verb choices and act them out. Then it’s onto the nitty gritty of replacing the verbs with their own selections. Stretch this resource by getting students to take a ploddy passage from a text and jazz it up. (The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-time might provide you with some simple text to play around with. ) http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/curious/ For another ‘brass tacks’ starter, have a look at Varying your sentences. This resource capitalises on the old ‘cat sat on the mat’ sentence and takes students through various sentence types. The extension task gets students to create their own sentences and find and label some gruesome examples from Pat Barker’s Regeneration. Sentence lengths and interesting vocabulary is a versatile resource. Use it as a stand-alone homework task or cover lesson, or get students into groups/pairs and have them produce some shared writing. Extend by getting students to finish the story or challenge them to write a piece of flash fiction in which they must re-tell the story in no more than 50 words. (Refer to back editions of Mslexia magazine or http://www.fishpublishing.com/ for examples of good flash fiction.) For a good whizzy stand alone or speaking and listening starter, try Magnet activity – bag of tricks. Use the list of objects to inspire creative writing or original speaking and listening. Click the Information button on the resource for activity ideas. Exploring effects with sentences. This Syntex activity is a great way for students to experiment with making sentences more effective. Students need to sequence the words and add the correct punctuation. Detailed instructions are available in the accompanying PDF file. If you want a good way to introduce students to narrative structure, try the Narrative structure matching activity. Cut out the cards or go whizzy with the Flash matching activity. Adapt this for a library lesson by getting your students to categorise various texts according to structure, or find their own examples of books that are structured in an interesting or unusual way. Preparing for narrative writing comes complete with a Tweakit and contains some lovely ideas for screenplays and novelisations. Great as a Media/Drama tie in, you could focus on the pluses and minuses of each (‘What does the book have that the story doesn’t?’ and vice versa.) For a simple, useful, one page set of ‘reminders’ use Creating a setting for students to refer to during the writing process. In terms of ideas for the task in question, you could get students to bring in their own photographs, get out and about with a camera or download an atmospheric scene from www.flickr.com. Ideas / the planning stage: If you’ve got a class of ‘rush at it’ students and want to slow them down and draw attention to planning, then have a look at There’s more to original writing than just writing stories which lists a number of creative approaches to choose from and gives students ownership of their writing. The planning box means that students have to think before they leap. Creative writing task would be ideal for a higher set or gifted group of students as it leaves things nicely open. It’s a simple one page sheet in which students mix and match the various ‘elements’ and come up with some ideas for a poem, short story or piece of descriptive writing. There’s plenty of scope for you to amend/stamp your individual mark on things and this resource will ensure that you don’t straightjacket your students or get 30 identikit responses that will reduce you to tears. Original writing suggestions. This is a collection of ideas and teachers’ tips taken from several different staffroom threads on the topic. It’s a great place to start if you’re looking for GCSE coursework inspiration. The writing stage: Describing a beach or holiday memory. A lovely descriptive writing resource based around re-creating a holiday memory (ideal for Key Stage 3). It uses snippets from Dylan Thomas’ ‘Holiday Memory’ and incorporates some marvellous, moody, seaside photographs. This could be extended to form a piece of travel writing or adapted and tweaked for Key Stage 4. Writing a short story comes complete with a Tweakit and supplies students with a recipe for writing – page 1 in particular, is useful for helping students hone/focus on their planning. Wild week creative story writing – a booklet (ideal for KS3) presenting students with a series of strange and magical incidents guaranteed to inspire creative responses. Tips, tick lists and AFL strategies Writing checklists – a set of handy checklists for a range of writing approaches. Ideal for incorporating AFL into your lessons. Original writing – things to remember! A fantastically handy PowerPoint this (ideal for use before students begin writing or after the completion of a first draft). Walk your class through the down-to-earth advice on structuring sentences, putting paragraphs together and using vocabulary effectively. Still more†¦ English teaching online – the one with all the original writing. Some great advice from published writers including David Almond and Darren Shan: http://www.teachit.co.uk/custom_content/newsletters/newsletter_sep06.asp

Building A BJT Amplifier Engineering Essay

Building A BJT Amplifier Engineering Essay Students were required to research and design a BJT Amplifier. This amplifier was to be built in the laboratory and tested to verify specifications. Calculations for resistors and capacitors were done and theoretical values were obtained. The circuit was built using Multisim 7 and then simulated to obtain practical values for resistors and capacitors. This is called DC Analysis. When the circuit met the required specifications, building of the BJT Amplifier could begin. Testing of the BJT Amplifier was done using the Feedback FG601 Function Generator which provided an input and a Tektronix 2205 Oscilloscope which showed the output waveform. Also, the Fluke 177 Multi-meter was used when checking for quiescent voltages and currents. The voltage gain, maximum symmetrical swing and the lower cut-off frequency for the BJT Amplifier was tested. The results obtained during tested were compared with the simulated and theoretical results. Success of the BJT Amplifier can only be achieved when the tested values duplicate that of the given specifications. The report that follows records calculations performed, circuits designed and the results of the tests that was done on the BJT Amplifier. List of Abbreviations Voltage gain BJT Bipolar Junction Transistor Current gain Input Impedance Base current Collector current Current across resistor Current across resistor Current across the original emitter resistor Current across the new emitter resistor Current across the unbypassed resistor Resistor used in the potential divider Collector resistor Resistor used in the potential divider Original emitter resistor New emitter resistor (bypassed) Unbypassed resistor Load resistor Base emitter voltage Voltage across the collector and emitter Input voltage Output voltage Voltage across resistor Voltage across the collector resistor Voltage across resistor Voltage across the original emitter resistor Voltage across the new emitter resistor Voltage across the bypassed resistor Introduction It is known that transistors are widely used in electronic devices. This design project is ideal as it enables students to get practical experience in the designing of electrical devices. The practical and theoretical knowledge needed for this design project challenges students as they have to validate calculated values and explain why each process was done. Since the BJT Amplifier has to be designed theoretically, students will understand the limitations provided by the equipment. They will also grasp an appreciation of the simulated circuit model as it relates to the tests performed on the circuit. The theory from Electronics provided valuable knowledge in designing the BJT amplifier. Support was given from lectures based from Engineering Skills and Applications. The practical knowledge was covered in previous laboratory exercises which were designated to familiarizing students with the various equipments. Also, demonstrations were provided by the technicians on the use of the breadboard which is the core building block of the BJT amplifier. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Transistors are important components used in technological devices around the world. Computers, cell phones, and radios are some of the many devices that require transistors as part of their circuit. The transistor is a three terminal, solid state electronic device. In a three terminal device we can control electric current or voltage between two of the terminals by applying an electric current or voltage to the third terminal. This three terminal character of the transistor is what allows us to make an amplifier for electrical signals, like the one in our radio. (cited) The three terminals are the collector terminal, the base terminal and the emitter terminal. There are three possible configurations of a transistor; the common collector, common base and the common collector. In the common emitter amplifier configuration, the emitter terminal is common to both the input and output circuits. The current gain does not have any effect on the collector current , or the collector-emitter voltage . A quiescent point is the operating point of a device which when applied to a device, causes it to operate in a desired fashion. It also refers to the dc conditions of a circuit without an input signal. The Q-point is sometimes indicated on the output characteristics curves for a transistor amplifier. There are different biasing arrangements associated with transistor configurations. These include; simple bias, self stabilizing bias, and H-type bias. The simple bias circuit consists of a fixed bias resistor and a fixed load resistor. For this bias design, the transistor configuration being used is the common emitter. The dc current gain or beta, is the ratio of the dc collector current to the dc base current. This simple bias circuit is similar to the self bias circuit with one difference: the base resistor is returned to the transistor collector instead of the supply voltage. If the transistor used had a high current gain, then the collector voltage would fall. As is connected to the collector then the base current would be reduced to counter the effect. If the transistor had a low value of beta, then the collector voltage would rise. This in turn provides more base current for the transistor to conduct harder and stabilize the q-point. H-TYPE BIASING is the most widely used biasing scheme in general electronics. For a single stage amplifier this circuit offers the best resilience against changes in temperature and device characteristics. The disadvantage is that a couple of extra resistors are required, but this is outweighed by the advantage of excellent stability. The circuits below: The quiescent points are usually fixed for varying collector currents in H-type biasing. If increases, then this will result in an increase in . This increase in the emitter current will flow through the emitter resistor and from the equation V=IR, the voltage across the resistor will increase. This increase in voltage across the emitter resistor will reduce the effective base-emitter voltage resulting in an increase in the stability of the collector current. Also, this type of biasing introduces a potential divider situation, where resistors R1 and R2 fix the base potential of the transistor. With H-type bias, maximum symmetrical sw ing can be calculated. Design OBJECTIVES Various specifications for the design of the BJT Amplifier were given by the rubric. The specifications given are listed in the following; The Voltage Gain must be 50 The Lower Cut-off Frequency must be below 100Hz The BJT Amplifier must be capable of driving a 100KÃŽÂ © load A 15V supply voltage must be used as the source The output voltage must have maximum symmetrical swing A 2N3904 Transistor must be used CHOOSING CONFIGURATION The following transistor configuration comparison chart shows the different types of configurations; Common Emitter Common Base Common Collector (Sedra Smith, 2007) AMPLIFIER TYPE    COMMON BASE      COMMON EMITTER      COMMON EMITTER (Emitter Resistor)      COMMON COLLECTOR (Emitter Follower)   Ã‚  Ã‚   INPUT/OUTPUT PHASE RELATIONSHIP 0 ° 180 ° 180 ° 0 ° VOLTAGE GAIN HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW CURRENT GAIN LOW  Ã‚ ¡ MEDIUM MEDIUM  Ã‚ ¢ HIGH POWER GAIN LOW HIGH HIGH MEDIUM INPUT RESISTANCE LOW MEDIUM MEDIUM HIGH OUTPUT RESISTANCE HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW The common emitter transistor amplifier configuration was chosen and not the common base configuration as the common base configuration produces a voltage gain but generates no current gain between the input and the output signals. (Doug Gingrich, 1999) The following figure shows the general configuration of the common emitter transistor amplifier configuration; Figure 1: General configuration of the common emitter transistor amplifier configuration Methodology DC Analysis The function of the DC Analysis is to allow DC biasing of the design to be verified. The DC biasing does not involve capacitors as DC is not transmitted by capacitors. The DC design is mainly used to establish the Q-points in the circuit. Q-points are the operating points in the circuit for which the transistor will perform at optimum performance. The circuit used for the DC Analysis is shown in the following diagram; Figure 2: Circuit used for DC Analysis Choosing and Before DC Analysis could be done, the various components which will be used in the circuit need to be calculated. These components are; , , , . From the specifications given, the voltage supply has a value of 15V and this is used to power the circuit. Before the values of these components could be calculated, the quiescent currents must be known, as well as the current flowing through the potential divider resistor . The data sheet used is based on the 2N3904 transistor. A range for the collector current is given, within which the transistor will operate with optimum performance. Using the Base Emitter ON Voltage vs Collector Current graph found on the data sheet, a value of was read off. The graph used is shown in the following diagram; Figure 3: Graph used to find a collector current The transistor will be built in an environment where the temperature is approximately 25. Hence the 25 line on the graph was used a reference line. From the data sheet, the Base Emitter ON Voltage was given as 0.65V. Hence, using the 25 line and reading off a voltage of 0.65V, the collector current was found to be 1. The base voltage , of the transistor depends on the current flowing through the potential divider. i.e. the current sets the base of the transistor and hence the value of . Any change in the resistance or gain of the transistor would result in an unwanted change in the base current . Also, the potential divider resistors contribute to the input impedance of the amplifier. This input impedance needs to be much more than the output impedance of the function generator. Hence, this is another reason to keep small. was chosen as Calculating The emitter resistor voltage , must be chosen accordingly as this voltage will affect the stability, maximum symmetrical swing and the gain of the amplifier. This voltage should be chosen such that it is greater than the base emitter voltage of the transistor. As mentioned before, the base emitter voltage as taken from the data sheet is 0.65V. This is to ensure that the emitter resistor voltage will not be significantly affected by small changes in . This condition would increase the stability of the transistor. For maximum symmetrical voltage swing, the emitter resistor voltage should be as small as possible. The base current and the collector current will both flow out of the common emitter terminal. Hence, for to remain constant, the base current must be as small as possible to allow negligible current to flow through the base terminal. Assuming the variation possible across the emitter and collector resistors caused variations in is , is calculated using the following equation; (1) The emitter resistor was calculated using the following equation; (2) Calculating From previous statements, For maximum symmetrical swing, half of the remaining voltage should be dropped across the collector resistor . The maximum symmetrical output voltage is calculated using the following equation; (3) Therefore, the voltage across the collector emitter terminal and the collector resistor is 6.75V. From the data sheet, the maximum device dissipation for the NPN 2N3904 transistor is at 25. Since all the power dissipation occurs at the collector junction for the active region, the following equation must be satisfied; (4) This is the range for which the transistor will operate with optimum performance. The power dissipated in the transistor from equation (4) is; , which is well within the specified range. A value for the component was found using the following equation; (5) Calculating and The current flows through the resistor . The value of is calculated using the following equation; (6) Since the current approaches a junction, it splits into and . flows through the potential divider resistor and flows to the base terminal. As previously stated, the base current, must not affect the base voltage by much. Hence the base current is considered negligible and all the current from is assumed to flow through . Hence, is calculated using the following equation; (7) Since some of the component values calculated was not available in stores, the closest value had to be chosen. The standard value that was chosen for each component is shown in the following table; Resistor Calculated Value/ Standard Value/ 6.75 6.8 1.5 1.5 128.5 130 21.5 24 Table 1: Standard values chosen for resistors Calculation of Input Impedance of transistor From the design specifications listed above, the lower cut off frequency must be below 100Hz. Also, as a value for was found using a graph of Current Gain vs Collector Current from the data sheet, a value for was found. The graph used is shown in the following diagram; For a collector current of 1, a gain of 130 was read off from the graph. But since this gain is above the required voltage gain of 50, certain calculations had to be done to reduce this gain and these calculations will be shown in due course. The following equation is used to calculate the input impedance of the transistor; (8) Calculation of Voltage Gain in the Circuit The following equation was used to calculate the voltage gain of the circuit; (9) Calculation of The required voltage gain of the transistor is 50. Hence, in order to reduce this gain, resistors are usually bypassed with the aid of capacitors. In this particular case, the only resistor that needs to be bypassed is the emitter resistor. Using the AC equivalent circuit, the following equation will be used to calculate the value of the unbypassed resistor; (10) where is the unbypassed emitter resistor is From the specification sheet given, is Calculation of new emitter resistor But Hence, if is split into two resistors and , then is found from the following; (11) As there are no standard 1.4kà °Ã‚ Ã…“ ´ resistor is the stores, was used as 1.5kà °Ã‚ Ã…“ ´. The following table illustrates the standard emitter resistors; Resistor Calculated Value/ Standard Value/ 100 100 1400 1500 Table 2: Standard values chosen for emitter resistors CIRCUIT CALCULATIONS Figure 4: Diagram showing circuit analyzed The following circuit calculations involve the standard component values and is based on the circuit in the above diagram.. These circuit calculations show the theoretical value of the quiescent currents and voltages. Theoretical values occur due to the circuit being under ideal conditions. The voltage gain of this circuit will be calculated as well as the maximum symmetrical output voltage across the transistor. The calculations are as follows; which flows through the collector resistor Using the potential divider rule; The voltage drop across is the same as, as both resistors are in parallel. was found on the data sheet as specified previously as . Under ideal conditions, it is assumed that is negligible when compared with as stated previously. for small changes in where is 130 since negligible current flows into the base terminal AC ANALYSIS The AC Analysis is used to calculate the components which would not have worked under DC biasing. These components are , and . If placed in the DC circuit, the capacitors would act as an open circuit, not allowing any current to flow. Also, the input and output impedance of the circuit was calculated. Circuits Used The following circuit was used in the AC Analysis; Figure 5: Circuit used for AC Analysis The following figure illustrates the AC equivalent of the above circuit; Zout Zin Figure 6: Ac equivalent of circuit shown in figure 5 Calculation of Capacitors The capacitor values can now be calculated using the following equation; (12) where is the reactance of the circuit f is the frequency C is the capacitance The capacitors behavior is defined in terms of reactance. The reactance of a capacitor is the ratio of the voltage to the current. The equation relating the reactance to the capacitance is given in equation (12). is the total input impedance of the capacitor (13) where is the input impedance , as the input is taken from the ground to the output terminals of the function generator. (14) Using equation 12; But from the specification sheet, f must be less than 100Hz. f 100 (15) Calculation of For the input coupling capacitor ; Calculation of For the output coupling capacitor ; Where is and Calculation of For the bypass capacitor ; where (16) But As stores does not have these calculated capacitor values, the following standard capacitors were used; Capacitor Calculated Value/ Standard Value/ 0.175 10 0.234 10 14.985 100 Table 3: Standard values chosen for capacitors CIRCUIT CALCULATIONS The following circuit calculations involve the standard component values and are based on the circuit shown in figure 3. These circuit calculations show the theoretical value of the quiescent currents and voltages. Theoretical values occur due to the circuit being under ideal conditions. The voltage gain of this circuit will be calculated as well as the maximum symmetrical output voltage across the transistor. The calculations are as follows; which flows through the collector resistor Using the potential divider rule; (17) The voltage drop across is the same as, as both resistors are in parallel. was found on the data sheet as specified previously as . (18) (19) Under ideal conditions, it is assumed that is negligible when compared with as stated previously. (20) for small changes in (21) where is 130 (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31) (32) since negligible current flows into the base terminal Figure 6 was used as a reference point to calculate the voltage gain and input impedance of the circuit. Equation (10) was used to calculate the voltage gain of the circuit; The maximum output voltage swing without clipping is calculated as using the following equation; (33) The following equation is used to calculate the input impedance of the circuit; (34) For simplification in calculation, (35) (36) COMPUTER SIMULATION DC Analysis This design was tested theoretically in the previous section and must now be tested on a computer simulation program. The simulation program used to simulate this circuit is Multisim 7. This software creates the circuit design and simulates the circuit practically and not theoretically. All quiescent voltages and currents were determined as well as the cut-off frequency, voltage gain and maximum symmetrical output voltage. The graph analyzer tool on the Multisim program was used to display these graphs. The following figure illustrates the simulation done for the DC Analysis; Voltage Gain The following circuit was used to observe the voltage gain of the BJT Amplifier; Figure 7: Showing circuit used for DC AnalysisThe voltage gain of the simulated circuit is the ratio of the maximum output voltage to the maximum input voltage. The voltage gain of the circuit is given by the equation; The following figure shows the settings used on the oscilloscope to obtain an input and output waveform; The maximum output and input signals was read off from the graph above using the Interpolator Line. Using the above equation, the voltage gain of the circuit was determined as follows; The following figure illustrates the bode plot obtained from the simulation; This graph was used to find the gain of the circuit using the following equation; From the above equation, the gain, in decibels is related to the above equation. Using the Interpolator Line, the gain, was determined to be 34.34. Hence the voltage gain was calculated as follows; The above calculation indicates that the design circuit would produce a satisfactory gain of approximately 50. Therefore the graph in figure 10 confirms that the design would produce a voltage gain of approximately 50. Cut-off Frequency The following bode plot was used to determine the lower cut-off frequency; The figure above was used to determine the lower-cut off frequency of the circuit. The lower-cut off frequency is the frequency at which the gain of the circuit decreases by 3 decibels. The Interpolator Line was placed at a gain of 30.861decibels, as this is the gain which corresponds to the lower-cut off frequency. The lower-cut off frequency was determined to be approximately . This lower cut-off frequency is much less than 100Hz and thus it meets the required specification. The following bode plot was used to determine the upper cut-off frequency; The figure above was used to determine the upper -cut off frequency of the circuit. The Interpolator Line was placed at a gain of 30.816 decibels, as this is the gain which corresponds to the upper-cut off frequency. The upper-cut off frequency was determined to be approximately . Lab Results The final test done on the designed circuit was done in the year 1 laboratory. The actual resistances and capacitances of the standard components used were measured using the LCR meter. The following table illustrates the measured resistances; Resistor Standard Resistance/ Measured Resistance/ Tolerance/% Lower Tolerance/ Upper Tolerance/ 6.8 6.7638 5 6.46 7.14 1.5 1.503 5 1.425 1.575 100 99.81 5 95 105 130 129.95 5 123.5 136.5 24 23.529 5 22.8 25.2 100 kÃŽÂ © 99.233 5 95 105 TABLE 6: Measured resistances AND THEIR TOLERANCE RANGE The following table illustrates the measured capacitances; Capacitor Standard Value/ Measured Value/ TABLE 8: Showing Measured capacitances used in the laboratory The BJT Amplifier was then built on the solder less breadboard. The DC LQD-421 dual power supply and the function generator were used to supply the input voltages. The following diagram shows the circuit built; As seen above, the capacitors were connected across their respective resistors and the Feedback FG 601 function generator was connected to the input capacitor. Before measuring the quiescent points of the circuit, tests had to be done to ensure that the required gain of 50 was achieved. This was done by connecting a Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope to the AC bias circuit. The channel 1 lead was connected to the input signal via the input capacitor and the channel 2 lead was connected across the output signal via the load. The settings on the Feedback FG 601 function generator were set to produce a 1kHz sine wave with an amplitude of . The channels on the Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope were grounded and the signals centered. The DC LQD-421 dual power supply was turned on and set to 15V and the Feedback FG 601 function generator and the Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope also turned on. The channels were switched to AC and the input and output sine waves appeared on the screen. To obtain a clear waveform on the screen, the following settings were used on the Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope; The Volts/Div setting was set at The channel 1 setting was set at The channel 2 setting was set at The two waveforms were then used to determine the voltage gain of the BJT Amplifier. Using the following equation; The upper and lower cut-off frequencies were found for the BJT Amplifier. This was done by varying the frequency on the Feedback FG 601 function generator and plotting a graph of Gain vs Frequency. The range used for the Feedback FG 601 function generator was; 10Hz 100Hz for lower cut-off frequency The following table illustrates the frequency and gain for lower cut-off frequency; Frequency/Hz Input/mV Output/V Gain 10 0.01 5 50 20 0.01 5 50 30 0.01 5 50 40 0.01 5 50 50 0.01 5 50 60 0.01 5 50 70 0.01 4.8 48 80 0.01 4.6 46 90 0.01 4.2 42 100 0.01 2.6 26 Table4: showing frequencies used to get varying gain The lower cut-off gain was calculated from the equation; The original setting on the Feedback FG 601 function generator was set so that the maximum symmetrical swing of the BJT Amplifier could be determined using the Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope. This was done by increasing the frequency of the Feedback FG 601 function generator until clipping of the output waveform was seen. It was noted that the BJT Amplifier did not have maximum symmetrical swing as the negative peak of the waveform started clipping after the positive peak waveform. Hence, the positive swing and negative swing was calculated as shown in the following; Positive swing; Negative swing; The maximum voltage swing was found to be; The original setting on the Feedback FG 601 function generator was set as the effect of removing the bypass capacitor was explored. The equipment was first turned off for safety purposes and the bypass capacitor removed. The equipments was then turned on and the settings on the Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope configured to obtain a measurable waveform. The gain was then calculated using equation (>>>>). Hence, it can be stated that the gain of the BJT Amplifier decreased considerably when the bypass capacitor was removed. The maximum symmetrical swing for the amplifier was then tested. This was done as follows; The frequency of the Feedback FG 601 function generator was increased until clipping occurred. It was seen that maximum symmetrical swing was not observed as the negative peak of the waveform started clipping before the positive waveform. Hence the swing was calculated for both the positive waveform and the negative waveform. The calculations are as follows; Positive swing; Negative swing; The maximum voltage swing was found to be; The Tektronix 2205 dual trace oscilloscope was disconnected from the circuit and the Fluke 177 Multi-meter was used to measure the quiescent points of the circuit. The probes were placed across the different points and their readings were recorded. The Fluke 177 Multi-meter was set at when measuring currents and at DC voltage when measuring voltages. The DC voltage setting was used as the AC would not yield measurable readings. To measure the quiescent currents, wires were stripped and attached to the leads of the probes. The circuit had to be broken at the quiescent current point being measured. Then the wire attached to the probe was inserted into the solder less breadboard so that the wire was in series with the component removed. The removed component was placed where it was originally to ensure continuity in the circuit. This was repeated at all quiescent points. The following table illustrates the measured currents; The following table illustrates the measured currents; Current Value/ TABLE 5: AC ANALYSIS OF CIRCUIT The following table illustrates the measured voltages; Voltage Value/ 0.676 TABLE 4: AC ANALYSIS Quiescent Values Currents I / mA Voltages V / V Calculated Simulated Measured Current I / mA Voltage V/V Current I / mA Voltage V/V Current I / mA Voltage V/V 0.65 0.663 0.676 DISCUSSION The BJT Amplifier was built using the common emitter configuration. It was H-type biased to increase the stability in the transistor. Also, as is affected with temperature a change, the H-type biasing configuration ensures that changes in is minimal. Also, the resistors used were made from carbon. This means that the resistors are not required to have high temperature stability. Without a biasing arrangement, the BJT amplifier will not turn on because it will not be in the operating region according to the specifications (Boylestad, Nashelsky, 1987). The differences in values for quiescent points obtained can be explained because the calculated and simulated values were found under ideal conditions. The component values used varied from the standard values

Effects of the Media on the California Recall Election :: Essays Papers

Effects of the Media on the California Recall Election What the Recall Election Means for the Presidential Election From rags to riches, Conan to the Terminator, actor to governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has lived a very adventurous life recently turning into the political realm. Now, as the governor of California, Schwarzenegger has a tremendous task on his hands. California is currently experiencing a crisis in its budget and economy as well as an energy problem. These issues and others were the reason Republicans pushed for a vote to have an election to possibly recall the former governor Gray Davis. Many factors contributed to the way Californians voted. Some of these factors were the media, name recognition, the other candidates, the local situation, the national situation, and much more. In this paper I will attempt to answer why and how some of these factors had such a huge effect on the recall election. I will especially look into the mechanics of the media the way this influenced the election. I will then use this examination of the California recall election to try to come to some conclusions and offer further speculation about how Americans will vote in the 2004 presidential election. Reasons For Recall Some people will say that the special recall election was a populist uprising against a leader who was ineffective. They say that the recall is an example of democracy at its best, proof that government works for the people and that the ultimate power rests in the hands of the citizens. Other people do not believe the recall was anything so noble. They see it as a dirty tactic waged by a few political extremists, and that it actually dealt a blow to democracy in California. The true reason for the recall was in fact probably somewhere in between. The recall was pioneered by a handful of conservatives that decided to take a chance and try to use the large power given to the California electorate to their advantage. They believed that even though Gray Davis had been re-elected just a few months before, there was enough dissatisfaction with his job performance to potentially remove him from office. They started collecting signatures. By the early summer of 2003, it became clear that they were going to succeed in getting the necessary signatures to mandate a special election and give voters the opportunity to recall the sitting governor.

Prescription Medical Marijuana

Many different people have different views on the prescription of medical marijuana. Marijuana is a good form of medicine for those who really need it. People think that marijuana should be illegal in their state. Physician recommend this substance to patients with illnesses. In the 1970’s a synthetic version of THC in marijuana. In order to get prescribed marijuana you have to have an illness such as anorexia, anxiety, cancer and many more Some people thought that marijuana should be illegal in there country. Mitt Romney felt that marijuana should be illegal because kids can get hooked on drugs by trying marijuana. He thought it is the pathway to drug usage by our society. He also says that theirs a synthetic version of marijuana for those who really need it. I think that this is a dumb statement because kids can do the things they want and if they choose to do drugs that’s their chose. Mitt Romney gave a speech at a town hall meeting in Bedford, New Hampshire. Mitt Romney said â€Å"Don’t open the doorway to medicinal marijuana†. Some people felt that the dispensaries should be shut down. Los Angeles city council felt that they should shut down all dispensaries. Thy said that its okay for people that really need marijuana as their medicine but now people that don’t really need it are getting it just to smoke marijuana. The city council are saying that anybody is getting their prescription marijuana card even if they don’t really need it. That is true that they wrong people are getting their prescription for the wrong reason but they shouldn’t close down all dispensaries because all those people who really do need it are going to have trouble getting their medicine. Mitchell Englander said â€Å"Los Angeles have experimented with marijuana and has failed†. My perspective on prescription medical marijuana is that people should be allowed to get their medical card because they need the medicine to help them. It is wrong that people get the card for the wrong reason but there are many people that have the card for the right reason and they just want marijuana so they can survive and help them. Marijuana should be legalized because the government would be able to make a lot of money by taxing it because a lot of people are going to buy this crop. In conclusion, marijuana should be legalized for the government to be able to tax and make a very good profit off of it. Their are people that think that it should be illegal and shutdown. Theirs also people that are like me and think that marijuana should be legalized. Everybody has their own reason on why they think marijuana should be illegal or legalized. Marijuana is a good form of medicine for those who need it.