Quantitative Reasoning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Quantitative Reasoning - Essay Example The following paragraphs will separate the results obtained after employing descriptive statistic tools to the pair of observations. These tools figure out the mean and the median percentage of smokers in the population, distinguished on the basis of gender. Mode has been ignored in this respect since it is irrelevant to figure out the maximum percentage to assess the average characteristics. The mean as well as the median percentage of smokers is lower for females than for males. An obvious implication from the same is that males are more inclined towards smoking than their female counterparts. Here mean is the weighted average implying approximately 19% and 27% of the female and male populations in any nation to be regular smokers, respectively. On the other hand, the median value indicates that among all nations taken collectively, in half of the cases, more than 18.9% of the females are found to smoke, in contrast to 24% among the males (Gravetter & Wallnau, 2008). Measures of dispersion indicate the degree to which the observations are scattered around the mean value. The higher the value of the measure, greater will be the dispersion about the mean and thus, the applicability of the mean value as a core feature of the population will be disturbed. Significance of standard deviation is almost equivalent to that of variance given that the former is the positive square root of the latter. The percentage of female smokers distributed among various groups in the entire population differs from the mean value so calculated, though it is lower than the degree of dispersion of the male smokers. The variance and standard deviation statistics yield that percentage of male smokers in some nations is much higher as well as lower than the mean percentage of male smokers so calculated. However, similar statistics for females rule out such extremeness. The adjoining diagram compares the percentage of male and female smokers in the entire

The Iliad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Iliad - Essay Example In a reflective exploration of Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles, it becomes palpable that the crucial decisions in the Iliad are not made by the heroes to a great extent. Rather, these decisions are influenced by external factors including power struggles, political issues, war threat, involvement of gods etc. Therefore, it is essential to establish that the heroes in the work by Homer play an insignificant role in the making of vital decisions in the course of the plot and a precise set of principles, known as the â€Å"heroic code†, influence their decisions. Significantly, Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseis from Achilles illustrates the fact that the important decisions by heroes in the epic are influenced by external factors and the â€Å"heroic code†. A profound analysis of the characters and actions in the epic the Iliad confirms that, to a great extent, the decisions made by the heroes are influenced by external factors and conditions, although there is difference of opinion on the matter. Thus, the various heroes of the epic, including Agamemnon and Achilles, are influenced by the power struggles, political pressures, the role of the gods etc in their decisions at the different stages of the story. For example, a careful reader of the epic realizes that there exists significant power struggle between the two heroes of the work, Agamemnon and Achilles, which has a pertinent impact on the decisions they take. In the epic, King Agamemnon represents fixed system of monarchy while Achilles represents the honor based system as he is the best warrior of his time. Decisions made by both these heroes are influenced by the complex relationship between them based on the power struggles in the epic. In a careful exploration of the decisions made by the heroes in the Iliad, it becomes lucid that a precise set of principles known as the â€Å"heroic code† lie beneath the decisions and actions by the heroic characters. A