Sentinel City is a community mainly occupied by business units. The majority of houses in the city are two-storeyed and made of brick or concrete. Some of the old buildings appear to be in bad condition, while others are properly maintained. The city does not use sources of sustainable energy, such as solar panels and windmills. There are no obvious modern facilities, such as air conditioning, central heating, or plumbing. The landscape is not varied; it mainly includes trees and grass lawns with park benches. The names of the neighborhoods are not clearly present throughout the city.
Recreation areas include Nightingale Square, where citizens play sports or swim, and Industrial Hights with a playground for children. These areas seem to be popular among the community and especially crowded in the evening time. People in the city usually move on foot, by car, bicycle, or frequent public transport with bus stops available throughout the city. Other community services include healthcare institutions, such as doctor’s and dentist’s offices, an emergency department, social agencies, ABC Daycare Center, and green areas. All basic needs are available for the community in Joe’s Grocery, the bookstore, the pharmacy, and the Bodega store.
Sentinel City is mostly populated by Caucasian, and less frequently, Hispanic or African American people; other races are also present. Judging by the signs and billboards, the only language used in the city is English, which demonstrates that there are no ethnicities. The only church found was the Interfaith Church operating the soup kitchen. Excluding tax protests, the city cannot be characterized as politically active. The city’s media is limited to a bookstore and a radio station; cell phone towers were not found. According to billboards promoting electronic cigarettes and vaccination and social cause advertisements encouraging safe driving, the city may face typical problems such as car accidents, general diseases, and nicotine abuse. Other health issues include heart and lung conditions, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, and hypertension.
Data Analysis
The lack of physical activity is a major noticeable concern of Sentinel City. This problem may lead to certain health risks, for example, obesity in children. If not addressed timely, obesity can result in other co-existing diseases. The issue can be explained by the number of homeless people, crimes, and stray animals in the park. As a result, parents are worried about the possible dangers for their children and do not take them to the park. Together with unhealthy eating habits, it increases the risk of obesity.
Sentinel City Health Concerns
In Sentinel City, unfavorable social, economic, and environmental conditions result in major health concerns. The most widespread of them include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), substance abuse, and obesity.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
The reports demonstrate a high rate of STDs in Sentinel City, which requires urgent actions aimed at health promotion and elimination of risks. Therefore, the goal of the Healthy People 2020 program is to “promote healthy sexual behaviors, strengthen community capacity, and increase access to quality services to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their complications” (Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2020, para. 1).
Substance Abuse
The high rate of substance abuse in Sentinel City is mostly connected with drugs and alcohol abuse. Healthy People 2020 program encourages to “reduce substance abuse to protect the health, safety, and quality of life for all, especially children” (Substance Abuse, 2020, para. 1).
Obesity
The increase in obesity in Sentinel City is caused by unhealthy eating habits and the lack of physical activity due to the external reasons and insufficient awareness of the community. Healthy People 2020 aims at reducing possible risks connected with unhealthy eating. Its measures include promoting healthy diets and an active lifestyle to control body weight (Nutrition and Weight Status, 2020).
Discussion of Community Resources
Obesity prevention in Sentinel City is supported by the Department of Parks and Recreation. A wide variety of programs promoting a healthy diet and regular exercise is available for citizens. For example, gardening courses for children and adults are aimed at educating the community about the health benefit of fresh vegetables. There are also nutrition courses, where citizens can learn about a variety of healthy diets and meal planning. As for active lifestyle promotion, indoor and outdoor sports activities are available for the whole family. Adults can attend fitness courses, while children may participate in special educational programs after school, including a summer program. The goal of children’s training is to show the variety of exercises and educate them about the benefits of an active lifestyle and healthy eating.
Primary Prevention Topic
Obesity was chosen as a primary prevention topic since it has gradually become a large-scale disease. The solution to the problem is the combination of healthy eating habits and proper exercising that together allow reaching and controlling body weight. To promote a healthy lifestyle, the city administration shall offer a range of programs aimed at raising people’s awareness about possible risks of obesity and ways to maintain health. Since obesity in Sentinel City is partly connected to the unfavorable social situation, the park should be properly secured in order to make it a safer place for family recreation. Another proposal is to reconsider overall nutrition and assortment in local supermarkets, such as Joe’s Grocery, to enlarge the choice of healthy products. Moreover, menus of cafes and restaurants, for example, Lily’s Place, should offer more choices for healthy eating.
References
Nutrition and Weight Status. (2020). Web.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases. (2020). Web.
Substance Abuse. (2020). Web.
Allocation Of Fixed Costs For Commercial Organizations
Introduction
“Cost allocation” is the process of identifying and allocating the costs of a multi-purpose project among the various authorized project purposes” (US Department of the Interior). The costs are allocated every year based on the costs incurred for plant-in-service and the maintenance thereof. “The cost allocation phase updates (1) the respective repayment obligations of the reimbursable project functions (which include irrigation and M&I water supply and power) and (2) the costs allocated to non-reimbursable project functions including flood control, navigation, recreation, fish and wildlife and water quality improvement.” (US Department of the Interior). There are different factors, which can be arrived at by using the Separable Cost-Remaining Benefits (SCRB) cost allocation method. These factors form the basis for allocating plant-in-service costs.
Process of allocation of costs in Central Valley Project
The process of allocation of costs involves breaking down those costs, which can be identified and assigned them directly to the appropriate cost category. Secondly, out of those costs identified, the costs, which are to be allocated according to a congressional directive, are allocated according to the respective directives. Third, the capital investments, which are meant to meet a single purpose only, are allocated in full to the specific category. Next, costs to the multi-purpose projects follow a different scheme of cost allocation where separable and joint cost allocation factors form the basis for allocation. Initially, it becomes necessary to identify the total costs that need to be allocated among projects as separable costs. For arriving at these total costs, separable cost factors are used. Joint cost allocation factors determine the method by which the balance of the costs is allocated. Therefore, in order to arrive at the total costs, which need to be allocated to a project it is necessary to take into account both the separable costs and that part of the joint costs, which are assigned to that specific purpose. These two costs are to be totaled (ChapterIII).
I am not in favor of this approach to allocate the costs because there is fundamentally a difference between the cost allocation and the repayment schedule. For instance, in the case of water supply, the costs are distributed using factors on the type of facility used. However, this does not match with the repayment schedules as well as with the reimbursement functions of water supply, irrigation supply, and commercial power. Similarly, in the case of power costs, the costs are allocated between project use and commercial use. In case of project use, the costs are allocated in proportion to the costs incurred in the previous year among the three reimbursable functions.
Situations when common costs are allocated
The type of facility used forms the basis for cost allocation in the case of water supplies. This is because the factors used to determine water supply repayment obligations, do not fluctuate considerably over the period.
In the case of projects, which consume power, the costs, which are sub-allocated are further subjected to revised sub-allocation among other functions. These functions are M&I, irrigation and wildlife refuge.
In respect of Fish & Wildlife functions, irrigation, M&I water users and commercial power consumers get the reimbursable mitigation costs assigned to them.
The recreation payments are allocated to a different set of functions. These functions are recreation and cost-sharing with non-Federal entities.
Joint cost allocation factors form the basis for allocating costs in multi-purpose facilities.
Impact of allocating common costs for internal decision-making
There are two implications associated with the allocation of common costs for internal purposes. Mainly this type of cost allocation helps in identifying the costs, which are reimbursable costs, representing those costs that will be paid for by the customers. It also segregates the non-reimbursable costs, which cannot be recovered from the customers. This implies that these costs are met from the taxpayers’ money. The advantage of this type of cost allocation is that there is the possibility of making the decision-making efficient to predict future expenses with a great degree of accuracy. This facilitates the drafting of more accurate budgeting. In addition, there is an additional advantage with this type of allocation in that it enables the decision-makers to place their requirements before congress with ease and accuracy. Moreover, with this type of allocation of cost, the governmental regulations in the form of legislative measures can be fulfilled without ambiguity.
Impact of not allocating common costs for internal decision-making
There are certain costs, like the federal share of the safety of dam improvements, archeology, cultural and historical, highway improvement, and interest during construction. The impact of not allocating these common costs is that the costs can be identified as non-reimbursable costs. When these costs remain not allocated, it implies that they are not directly identifiable costs. They are not single-purpose costs either and therefore cannot be allocated by way of legislation. This puts a burden on the internal decision-making process to devise an acceptable method by which these costs can be allocated.
Impact of Cost Allocation on the Internal Decision Making
Unless a proper cost allocation method is not devised, it may not be possible for the decision-makers to decide on segregating the reimbursable and non-reimbursable costs. Without arriving at the proportion of the amount, which needs to be reimbursed by the users of the services, there will be an additional burden on the taxpayers to substitute the non-reimbursable costs. The following table illustrates this position.
CVP Cost Allocation Repayment Responsibilities
Table 1. Cost $ Million
| Repayment Entity | Sep 1999 | Sep 2000 |
| M&I Water users | 436.5 | 452.0 |
| Irrigation Water Users | 1,476.2 | 1,528.0 |
| Commercial Power Customers | 568.8 | 538.0 |
From the above table, it can be seen that in the case of commercial power consumers the repayment responsibility has gone down in the year 2000 and an improper allocation of costs to the commercial power consumers might be the reason for the reduction in the reimbursable amount.
Conclusion
Handling fixed costs has been a complex problem for business organizations as well as multi-purpose government projects. There is the need for devising a proper method for allocating all common costs and with the enlargement of allocable costs, this process has become more complex. An improper or lack of proper allocation might result in shifting the burden on the taxpayer instead of the respective department or user paying for the common costs.
References
- Chapter III. (n.d.). Existing CVP Plant-in-Service Cost Allocation.
- US Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Rate Setting Process – Cost Allocation.
Literacy Practices In Different Contexts
Maintaining one’s language is an essential part of developing as a person. A child or an adult in a foreign country may acquire spoken language skills without much effort, but writing and reading are deliberate processes that require full attention and certain techniques. Literacy is honed depending on the setting and circumstances, with some being strict about language use and others allowing more flexibility. This paper will discuss literacy practices in different contexts and analyze their potential shifts.
A person is likely to start their language learning journey at home. While I do not remember all details of my parents teaching me to read or write, I recall that they used simplified language, which was simultaneously correct. They might have implemented simple activities that are easy to guide and predict but still follow set rules (Puranik et al. 230). As I matured, the need to constantly communicate with proper language gradually decreased, and various reminders, notes, and shopping lists became full of abbreviations and negligible punctuation. However, it seemed like a natural progression, and everything was still understandable. Overall, home literacy practices shift as a person grows, changing from more formal but simple forms to a plain language that is sensible within the family context.
School was the main setting where I felt that it was actively promoting literacy, and it happened in almost all activities. It was not only the English class that insisted on being literate; it is any subject that required me to read and write. The language of the assignments was rigid, as they had certain criteria that could punish me for grammar, punctuation, and other mistakes, in addition to not following the structure and content components. Thus, I always felt self-aware about my language use while at school and doing tasks for it. On the other hand, the setting presents an opportunity for students to communicate as well. I rarely engaged it in, but my classmates would write notes to each other, and the language they used was flexible. Some students used proper language while others preferred modern teenage slang and popular expressions from the Internet. Altogether, while the school setting is mostly rigid, literacy practices shift to more informal ones in the student-to-student context.
I imagine that as a person graduates and finds a job that requires the acquired skills and abilities, they may discover that not much changed compared to school. Reading and writing remain important, although the genres for those activities might expand (Moore et al. 33). The same formal qualifications still apply, although an employee might not have a rubric to help them (Moore et al. 33). I will not need a daunting teacher to use language properly, as there will be other important incentives. As it was in school, informal written communication with colleagues will probably also occur, allowing for less restricted language usage. It will probably remain mostly formal, blending with business reports and correspondence, as supervision is possible. Overall, workplace literacy practices might not be different from those at school, including informal instances, but they also require more self-control and awareness.
I cannot comment on literacy practices on the playing field, but I have some experience with video games that provide an opportunity for them. Most online ones have a chat function that allows communication with other players. Those can be private, general, reserved for a certain group, and so on. It is interesting to see how long formal announcements clash with short messages with emoticons, modern slang, and a game-specific vocabulary. Sometimes the chat shows proper language posts by users, and the replies can vary from equally structured to utterly simplified. It is the absence of any regulations, unless swearing and hate speech are concerned, that allows for such a mash-up to happen.
Communication with friends is, perhaps, the most favorable sphere for experimentation with language. Unless the situation dictates to be precise and formal, most of the interactions are lax. I feel free to use slang, abbreviations, and even invent new words, which amuses my friends and enriches conversations. I mostly do them through chats or messengers that enable instant and constant written exchanges. As my friends and I can speak several languages, we tend to add words from one language to a conversation that mostly happens in another. However, we do not necessarily perceive those as being out of literacy’s bounds, as we may use perfect grammar, punctuation, and spelling, or completely deconstruct them. Thus, literacy practices with friends involve flexibility and creativity partially seen in other contexts, which makes conversations more engaging.
In conclusion, literacy practices vary depending on the setting, but they are all prone to shift depending on the circumstances. The ones within a family change as the child grows; school and workplaces enable mashing various aspects of language in equal communication. Game chats present the whole spectrum of literacy practices, ranging from very formal to obscure ones, understandable only to the players. Communication with friends is not much different from informal interactions with other people, but knowing the other person enables boldness in language expressions. I believe that all settings are valid and teach something new about language, and seeing it transform based on the circumstances is fascinating.
Works Cited
Moore, Tim, et al. “Literacy Practices in the Professional Workplace: Implications for the IELTS Reading and Writing Tests.” IELTS Research Reports Online Series, vol. 1, 2015, pp. 1-46, Web.
Puranik, Cynthia S., et al. “Home Literacy Practices and Preschool Children’s Emergent Writing Skills: An Initial Investigation.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 42, 2018, pp. 228-238. ScienceDirect.