I happened to see a interview of Amy Chua about her book/memoir about raising her children. This interview made me see other documentaries about some parents relating to the topic of raising children to get a point of perfection, which meant getting admitted to colleges like Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and Yale. I wanted to understand more about how scientists understand this topic of child development and what is our current scientific frontier in this important area.
Here are some of my notes after reading a book titled "Brain Rules for Baby" by John Medina.
I am documenting some interesting facts that are observed during the growth of brain as human life starts out from the womb. I read that within a few weeks, inside a womb, the cells (fertilized egg) are dividing and pumping our nerve cells at a rate of 8000 nerve cells per second.
This book (mostly) contains facts that have been published in refereed journals and have been successfully reproduced.
Myth:
Playing Mozart to a baby inside a womb might improve baby's future math skills.
Truth:
Baby will/might remember Mozart along with many other things he/she heard,smelt, tasted in the womb and nothing in particular to her/his math skills are effected. If someone wants a child to do well in math at later years, teach that child about impulse control in the early years of growth.
Myth:
Exposing an infant or toddler to language DVDs might boost vocabulary
Truth:
It is true that the number and the variety of words a parent uses while talking to babies boos his/her vocabulary and IQ, but the words have to come from parents, real live human interactions.
Myth:
For boosting brain power of a child, they need to be exposed to French and provided a room full of brain-friendly toys and a library of educational DVDs.
Truth:
The best chance of training a child's brain power is to provide a plain cardboard box, new crayons and time. The worst being the huge flat screen TVS. I personally think Ipads and other touch screen electronic gadgets come in this category too.
Myth:
Continually telling children that they are smart will boost their confidence.
Truth:
This results in children becoming less willing to work on challenging problems and it is advisable to acknowledge a child's effort in doing an activity and the process used by the child in coming to a solution or in doing an activity.
Myth:
Children can find happiness by themselves.
Truth:
Interactions with peers and with parents is an important factor in predicting happiness. It is important for a child to be able to communicate with others. Learning a musical instrument boosts the ability by 50%. While, text messaging may destroy it.
Note: Science cannot give specific answers to everything and can at best provide overreaching rules.
Research tells us that parents might be better off if they have clear rules and swift consequences for rule violations. But it cannot tell what might be the specific consequence that befits a rule violation. Such is the limitation as:
Every child is different:
It is advised to know a child by spending time with them. Knowing that children's behavior and its evolution with time.
Every parent is different:
Both parents often have different parenting priorities and a combination of these two guides tha child. This lends itself to the need of 100% cooperation between both the parents about how their children shall be raised. Additionally, the feed back from child is another input that needs to be blend into the mix. No substantial help from research in this area is currently available.
Kids are influenced by others
Research by the author has shown that peers, especially of the same gender share a child's behavior much more than parents do. There are other opposing views by other researchers also.
Researchers can say "linked to" but not "causes"
What parents do in child's first five years of life (not just the first five) profoundly influence how the child will behave as an adult. This is known from a research done on 123 preschoolers for four decades, its called the HighScope Perry Preschool study.
If a baby's head were to be too shall, they might not survive after their arrival to the world. If the head were too big then the mother might not survive while getting the baby to the world. What is the solution? It is to give birth to babies before their skulls become too big and before their brains are fully developed inside the womb. The rest of the development occurs in the world (outside the womb) in a process called Parenthood. Parenthood is a developmental process of every child brought into this lovely world. As the lovely bun is brought out from the oven before its fully cooked, the child needs instructions from veteran brains for many years until adulthood. This book;s center point is to place importance on the need of human interactions that form an important basis for a child's development. Parents are encouraged to increase interactions of their child with others, peers, family members.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Notes on Lab A1280 move to H2 bldg
Physics lab move contact persons:
Below 'H' refers to the new H2 bldg.
- H1211: Sairam, Ken (PHYS 1111K/1112K)
- H1212: Ted (PHYS 2211K)
- For student helpers in sorting/cleaning, etc request made to: Judy
Stick color stickers on items:
- No boxes provided for putting equipment into them.
- Only stick labels on the items depending on if they are to be moved, discarded.
- In A-1280, identify things that need to be discarded.
- Color stickers will be given to stick on things that need to be discarded.
- Identify things that need to be moved to H 1211 (for PHYS 1111/1112) and H-1212 (PHYS 2211).
- Put a different color sticker on things that need to be moved. Hired movers will move the items that have the stickers labeled to be moved.
- The sticker may indicate the destination room number on it to specify where that item needs to move to.
- Newly ordered items that arrive after 06/02/2014 will be moved to new H2 rooms directly.
- Do not sticker items that faculty personally want to move to new bldg.
- Things that do not belong to lab, like notebooks, pens, etc can be discarded.
- New rooms will be available on 06/02/2014
- Keys to H-2 room keys are available in Bldg Residence life - 1000. (Tom was not sure of this ?)
Phase - 1: Pack and label items Deadline: 07/25/2014 (after Jul 19th summer term)
To complete packing and sticking labels on all boxes.
It is not known for now, where the "to-be discarded" items need to be put before 07/25/2014
Phase - 2: Movers move labeled boxes to a temporary location in H-2 after 07/25/2014
Phase-3: Move boxes from temporary location in H2 to respective lab rooms.
Below 'H' refers to the new H2 bldg.
- H1211: Sairam, Ken (PHYS 1111K/1112K)
- H1212: Ted (PHYS 2211K)
- For student helpers in sorting/cleaning, etc request made to: Judy
Stick color stickers on items:
- No boxes provided for putting equipment into them.
- Only stick labels on the items depending on if they are to be moved, discarded.
- In A-1280, identify things that need to be discarded.
- Color stickers will be given to stick on things that need to be discarded.
- Identify things that need to be moved to H 1211 (for PHYS 1111/1112) and H-1212 (PHYS 2211).
- Put a different color sticker on things that need to be moved. Hired movers will move the items that have the stickers labeled to be moved.
- The sticker may indicate the destination room number on it to specify where that item needs to move to.
- Newly ordered items that arrive after 06/02/2014 will be moved to new H2 rooms directly.
- Do not sticker items that faculty personally want to move to new bldg.
- Things that do not belong to lab, like notebooks, pens, etc can be discarded.
- New rooms will be available on 06/02/2014
- Keys to H-2 room keys are available in Bldg Residence life - 1000. (Tom was not sure of this ?)
Phase - 1: Pack and label items Deadline: 07/25/2014 (after Jul 19th summer term)
To complete packing and sticking labels on all boxes.
It is not known for now, where the "to-be discarded" items need to be put before 07/25/2014
Phase - 2: Movers move labeled boxes to a temporary location in H-2 after 07/25/2014
Phase-3: Move boxes from temporary location in H2 to respective lab rooms.
Monday, April 21, 2014
GGC President's Town Hall Meeting
Faculty Moves:
$29 Million new Allied Health Science bldg
23 new state of the art labs
Newly renovated one-stop-shop (disability and testing services)
167 new office spaces for faculty and staff
10 new classrooms
300 new parking places
27 classrooms upgraded with new technology
Bldg Schedules
June 2nd :H2 completed
Aug 1:
BoR 2015 Salary and Wage Administration policy
Total alottment:$321,000 including benefits
Merit based raise: $244,000.0
Benefits: $77,000.0
To be completed by July 1st 2014
Total full time faculty and staff :675
Merit increase for administrator whose salary is greater than 100K or greater will be limited to 4%
No one can get more than 10%
Non-merit pay increases authorized under the following
- comptetitive market salary
- special talent retention
Faculty promotions funded separately
President's Task Force for merit pay increases
- eligibility committee
- merit distribution committee
- market reference committee
Faculty chair: Barbara McKinney, SST rep: Judy
Change in GGC Misssion
GGC will start offering associate degrees in addition to bachelor's degrees. Currently, an associate degree in radiology is planned. These associate's programs will be planned in AY 14-15
$29 Million new Allied Health Science bldg
23 new state of the art labs
Newly renovated one-stop-shop (disability and testing services)
167 new office spaces for faculty and staff
10 new classrooms
300 new parking places
27 classrooms upgraded with new technology
Bldg Schedules
June 2nd :H2 completed
Aug 1:
BoR 2015 Salary and Wage Administration policy
Total alottment:$321,000 including benefits
Merit based raise: $244,000.0
Benefits: $77,000.0
To be completed by July 1st 2014
Total full time faculty and staff :675
Merit increase for administrator whose salary is greater than 100K or greater will be limited to 4%
No one can get more than 10%
Non-merit pay increases authorized under the following
- comptetitive market salary
- special talent retention
Faculty promotions funded separately
President's Task Force for merit pay increases
- eligibility committee
- merit distribution committee
- market reference committee
Faculty chair: Barbara McKinney, SST rep: Judy
Change in GGC Misssion
GGC will start offering associate degrees in addition to bachelor's degrees. Currently, an associate degree in radiology is planned. These associate's programs will be planned in AY 14-15
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Ch 8: Interest Rates and Bond Valuation
Face value/Par value of a bond: The amount repaid at the end of the loan.
Coupon Rate: The annual coupon value divided by its face value
Maturity: The number of years until the face value is paid
Yield to Maturity (YTM): The interest rate required in the market on a bond.
Bond present value = Present value of the coupons + Present value of the face value
= C [1 - 1/(1+r)^T ] / R + F/(1+r)^T
C = coupon payment each period, calculated using the coupon rate
r = Discount rate per period (market rate:own), yield to maturity
T = Number of periods
F = Bonds face value
Current yield = coupon payment value/present bond value
Interest Rate Risk for Bonds:
1) All other things being equal, the longer the time to maturity, the greater the interest risk. The present value of the face value will be much more volatile with a long term bond.
2) All other things being equal, the lower the coupon rate, the greater the interest rate risk. The bond with the higher coupon has a larger flow early in its life, so its value is less sensitive to changes in the discount rate
Zero Coupon Bond: A bond that pays no coupons at all and is offered at a price much lower than its face value.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Copporate Finance: Chapter - 2, Financial Statements and Cash Flows
Balance sheet: An accountant's snapshot of a firm's accounting value on a particular date, as though the firm stood momentarily still.
Liquidity: The ease and quickness with which assets can be converted to cash (without significant loss in value).
Current Assets: most liquid and include cash and assets that will be turned into cash within a year from the sate of the balance sheet.
Accounts receivable: amounts not yet collected from customers for goods or services sold to them.
Inventory: composed of raw materials to be used in production, work in progress, and finished goods.
Fixed assets: the least liquid kind of assets.
Liabilities: obligations of a firm that require a payout of cash within a stipulated period.
Stockholders equity: is a claim against the firm's assets that is residual and not fixed.
Market value: is the price at which willing buyers and sellers would trade the assets.
Book value/ carrying value: Accounting value of a firm's assets.
book/Accounting value and market value need not be same.
Management's job is to create a market value for the firm that exceeds its book vakue.
Average tax rate: is your tax amount divided by your taxable income. Its the percentage of your income that goes to pay taxes.
Marginal tax rate: is the tax you would pay (in %) if you earned one more dollar.
Short-term liquidity measures:
- Current ratio = current assets/current liabilities
- Quick Ratio = (current assets - Inventory) / Current liabilities
- Cash Ratio = Cash/ Current liabilities
Long-term liquidity measure:
- Total debt ratio = (total assets - total equity)/Total assets
- Times interest earned (TIE) = EBIT (Eearnings before interest expense and taxes)/Interest
- Cash coverage ratio =
EBITDA ( Earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization) / Interest
cash coverage ratio measures a firm's ability to generate cash from operations and it is frequently used as a measure of cash flow available to meet financial obligations.
Turnover Measures:
Inventory turnover = cost of goods sold/inventory
Days sales in inventory = 365 days / Inventory turnover
Receivables turnover = Sales/accounts receivable
Days sales in receivables = 365 days / receivables turnover
Profitability measures:
Profit margin = net income/sales
EBITDA margin = EBITDA/Sales
Return on Assets = Net income / total assets
Return of Equity = Net income/Total equity
Market Value Measures:
Earnings per share (EPS) = Net income / shares outstanding
Price-Earnings ratio = price per share / earnings per share
Market-to-Book ratio = Marvet value per share / Book value per share
Market Capitalization = firm's stock price per share X number of outstanding shares
Enterprise Value = market capitalization = market value of interest bearing debt - cash
Du-Pont Identity:
ROE = Net income / Total equity
= (Net income / assets) X (Assets / Total equity)
=ROA X Equity multiplier
= (Net income / Sales) X (Sales/Assets) X (Assets / Total equity)
ROE =Profit margin X Total Asset turnover X Equity multiplier
Liquidity: The ease and quickness with which assets can be converted to cash (without significant loss in value).
Current Assets: most liquid and include cash and assets that will be turned into cash within a year from the sate of the balance sheet.
Accounts receivable: amounts not yet collected from customers for goods or services sold to them.
Inventory: composed of raw materials to be used in production, work in progress, and finished goods.
Fixed assets: the least liquid kind of assets.
Liabilities: obligations of a firm that require a payout of cash within a stipulated period.
Stockholders equity: is a claim against the firm's assets that is residual and not fixed.
Market value: is the price at which willing buyers and sellers would trade the assets.
Book value/ carrying value: Accounting value of a firm's assets.
book/Accounting value and market value need not be same.
Management's job is to create a market value for the firm that exceeds its book vakue.
Average tax rate: is your tax amount divided by your taxable income. Its the percentage of your income that goes to pay taxes.
Marginal tax rate: is the tax you would pay (in %) if you earned one more dollar.
Short-term liquidity measures:
- Current ratio = current assets/current liabilities
- Quick Ratio = (current assets - Inventory) / Current liabilities
- Cash Ratio = Cash/ Current liabilities
Long-term liquidity measure:
- Total debt ratio = (total assets - total equity)/Total assets
- Times interest earned (TIE) = EBIT (Eearnings before interest expense and taxes)/Interest
- Cash coverage ratio =
EBITDA ( Earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization) / Interest
cash coverage ratio measures a firm's ability to generate cash from operations and it is frequently used as a measure of cash flow available to meet financial obligations.
Turnover Measures:
Inventory turnover = cost of goods sold/inventory
Days sales in inventory = 365 days / Inventory turnover
Receivables turnover = Sales/accounts receivable
Days sales in receivables = 365 days / receivables turnover
Profitability measures:
Profit margin = net income/sales
EBITDA margin = EBITDA/Sales
Return on Assets = Net income / total assets
Return of Equity = Net income/Total equity
Market Value Measures:
Earnings per share (EPS) = Net income / shares outstanding
Price-Earnings ratio = price per share / earnings per share
Market-to-Book ratio = Marvet value per share / Book value per share
Market Capitalization = firm's stock price per share X number of outstanding shares
Enterprise Value = market capitalization = market value of interest bearing debt - cash
Du-Pont Identity:
ROE = Net income / Total equity
= (Net income / assets) X (Assets / Total equity)
=ROA X Equity multiplier
= (Net income / Sales) X (Sales/Assets) X (Assets / Total equity)
ROE =Profit margin X Total Asset turnover X Equity multiplier
Copporate Finance: Chapter - 1
Capital budgeting: the process of making and managing expenditures on long lived assets. What long-term investments should the firm take.
Capital Structure: represents the proportions of the firm's financing from current and long term debt and equity. It answers: where will the firm get the long term financing to pay for its investments. What mixture of debt and equity should it use to fund operations.
Working capital management: How should the firm manage its everyday financial activities?
Net working capital: current assets - current liabilities
Goals of Financial Management:
- survive
- beat the competition
-avoid financial distress and bankrupcy
- maximize sales and market share
- minimize cost
- maximize profits
- maintain steady earnings growth.
Role of a Financial Manager: Financial manager acts on behalf of shareholders and makes best decisions that increase the value of the stock. His/her goal is to maximize the current value per share of the existing stock.
Corporate Finance: the study of the relationship between business decisions, cash flows, and the value of the stock in the business.
Agency Relationship: Relationship between stockholders and management.
Agency Problem: In all agency relationships there is a possibility of a conflict of interest between the principle stockholders and the agent (management).
Agency Cost: The costs that are incurrent by a business due to a conflict of interest between stockhelders and management.
Capital Structure: represents the proportions of the firm's financing from current and long term debt and equity. It answers: where will the firm get the long term financing to pay for its investments. What mixture of debt and equity should it use to fund operations.
Working capital management: How should the firm manage its everyday financial activities?
Net working capital: current assets - current liabilities
Goals of Financial Management:
- survive
- beat the competition
-avoid financial distress and bankrupcy
- maximize sales and market share
- minimize cost
- maximize profits
- maintain steady earnings growth.
Role of a Financial Manager: Financial manager acts on behalf of shareholders and makes best decisions that increase the value of the stock. His/her goal is to maximize the current value per share of the existing stock.
Corporate Finance: the study of the relationship between business decisions, cash flows, and the value of the stock in the business.
Agency Relationship: Relationship between stockholders and management.
Agency Problem: In all agency relationships there is a possibility of a conflict of interest between the principle stockholders and the agent (management).
Agency Cost: The costs that are incurrent by a business due to a conflict of interest between stockhelders and management.
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