Your boss read a recent magazine article about income statements, but he was unclear about the differences between a traditional income statement and a contribution margin income statement. Explain the difference by: a) presenting a sample format for each statement b) describing the focus of each statement c) discussing how and by whom each statement is used.

I've linked below to a great website explaining the difference between a traditional statement and a contribution margin statement.
Variable costing is also known as direct costing or marginal costing, and it excludes the fixed manufacturing overhead in its calculation of per unit product cost. Variable costing is the method that features a contribution margin on a revenue statement.
The equation for net operating income under variable costing is:
net sales revenue - variable costs - fixed costs = operating income.
The difference between the net sales revenue and the variable costs is often called the "contribution margin."
Its alternative, absorption costing (also known as full costing or traditional costing) is different specifically in how the per unit cost in calculated. The difference between variable costing and absorption costing is that the fixed manufacturing overhead is included as a product cost under absorption costing. So, in order to employ absorption costing, we have to compute a per unit production cost, including the fixed manufacturing cost.
The equation for net operating income under absorption costing is:
net sales revenue - costs of good sold - selling and administrative costs = operating income.
Because absorption (or traditional costing) considers only the goods sold, the net revenue yielded is often higher. The focus here is on the income generated, without specific consideration of the relative weight of the variable or fixed costs (which are, as the name suggests, "absorbed" into the unit price). This is the format used primarily by external parties, as it is the accounting standard practice.
Variable costing, on the other hand, is often used internally in order to showcase more precise comparisons in revenue. It is useful especially when comparing, for example, the profitability of two types of products.
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/traditional-income-statement-vs-contribution-margin-24898.html

What do the grasshoppers and cricket symbolize?

John Keats’ “On the Grasshopper and Cricket” is a poem that muses how the “Poetry of earth is never dead,” an observation the speaker makes in line 2.
The speaker uses the grasshopper and the cricket to illustrate ways in which this poetry is “ceasing never.” From his perspective, the world is beautiful and nourishing to the soul all of the time.
The grasshopper represents the energy of summer in the poem. Keats contrasts the “faint with the hot sun” birds with the grasshopper’s boundless energy when he says, “he has never done/ With his delights.” This line characterizes the grasshopper as a joyful creature who enjoys the “luxury” of summer. This shows that the grasshopper represents a lust for life.
The cricket is described within the context of winter time. “When the frost/ Has wrought a silence,” the cricket can be heard playing its song behind a warm stove. The speaker says the song has an ever-increasing warmth that echoes the warmth of the stove, which impacts its listener (“in drowsiness”) by giving him or her the impression of the summer. Therefore, the cricket is analogous to the grasshopper in its significance. The cricket allows people to be reminded of the beauty of the world, which one enjoys in the summer, that they might forget in the dark, cold days of winter. The cricket could be a reminder of beauty and happiness, just like the grasshopper.

What is the author's claim in Spare Parts?

As he follows four high school boys who made an award-winning robot, Justin Davis shows how a combination of personal, educational, and social factors combined to place the boys on a highly productive and cooperative team. One main point that Davis raises is that an elite education and vast resources are not necessary for people to produce innovative technology.
There are many cautionary elements in his narrative, however; these cautions also form a larger part of his central message. Davis clearly shows that there is no single right path or educational approach that could guarantee success: one size does not fit all. The boys themselves proved highly dedicated and disciplined to their robot project, but they also initially worked toward relatively modest goals. In addition to their own efforts, both individually and as a team, the boys benefited from being mentored by two exceptionally gifted teachers.
These and other factors combined into a “perfect storm” that supported the boys’ efforts and allowed them to succeed. Even if one piece of the puzzle had been missing, Davis suggests, the outcome could have been vastly different. Further, their success in high school would not guarantee sustained future success for all of them because of their varied family and social circumstances.

Which character fits the archetype of villain in Lord of the Flies?

An archetype is typically a character who seems to represent a universal pattern of human nature. In William Golding's classic novel Lord of the Flies, Jack is the archetype villain, while Ralph is the archetype hero of the story. Jack's character is depicted as savage, antagonistic, and hostile. As the archetype villain, Jack harms others, causes mischief, and displays a complete disregard for others. After Ralph is elected chief, Jack is overwhelmed with jealousy and quickly begins to undermine his authority. Jack contributes to the hysteria surrounding the beast, abuses and threatens Piggy, and develops into a bloodthirsty savage. Jack ends up establishing his own tribe of savages at the opposite end of the island and challenges Ralph towards the end of the novel. After Roger brutally murderers Piggy, Jack instructs his hunters to kill Ralph and pursues him onto the beach, where a Naval officer prevents the savages from killing him. Overall, Jack is inherently wicked and evil, and his antagonistic nature and hostile personality make him the archetype villain of the story.

Describe the structure of the Articles of Confederation and explain why they were adopted by the United States. Analyze the various provisions of the Northwest Ordinance and its immediate and long-term significance. Analyze the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the subsequent movement to create a national constitution. Describe the structure of the Constitution. Analyze the debate between federalists and anti-federalists over the ratification of the Constitution including the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.

The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the new country. The central government consisted only of a Congress. It had the power to conduct diplomacy, wage war, and deliver the mail. However, the states were very powerful, and the central government could not collect taxes or regulate commerce between the states.
One event that convinced many to scrap the Articles was Shay's Rebellion (1786–1787). Daniel Shays led a revolt because of severe economic problems. The event helped stir a fear of anarchy.
The Confederation government was not a complete failure, however. Its greatest accomplishment was the Ordinance of 1787. This measure organized the West and prepared the area for eventual admission as states: five states were eventually created out of the area. Also, the Articles of Confederation government was a learning experience for the new nation.
The Founding Fathers drew upon the experience of the Confederation to help them craft the US Constitution in 1787. The new government had executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Only the House of Representatives was to be chosen by the people. Senators were appointed by state legislatures; presidents were chosen by electors, who were appointed by state legislatures. It was a concise document, so much of it has been open to various interpretations throughout the years.
Many Americans opposed the new Constitution because they thought the new central government was too powerful. They feared that the states and individuals would be at the mercy of a mighty national government. Opponents wanted a more decentralized system. There were debates and arguments. Finally, ratification of the Constitution occurred only because of the Bill of Rights (otherwise known as the first ten Amendments to the Constitution).

Explain how Anne's character undergoes a wonderful and significant transformation in the Annex.

Anne's development in her diary is extraordinary. She becomes more of a young adult through her trials in the Annex, growing both as a writer and a human being.
Anne begins her diary talking about the mundane things in her life—friends, boys, school, people she dislikes, her birthday party—with only a few mentions of Jewish persecution (having to wear the yellow star, curfews, not being allowed to have bikes). Once the family moves into the Annex, Anne becomes more thoughtful, even philosophical, worrying about more than just her own physical comforts.
Anne writes about the events outside more frequently, wondering about the outcome of the war and the presence of anti-semitism in Europe. She thinks about religion and love. She even thinks about women's place in the world due to sexist attitudes of the period, and how she wants to have both a family and a career. Most teenagers begin to become more independent in their mid-teens, thinking about topics and forming their own views on them, which Anne does a great deal in her diary.
Of course, she is still a teenager. She retains an uncharitable, even petty, view of her mother. She gets sullen when the adults treat her unfairly. But her growth is nevertheless impressive in such a short span of time.
In the end, Anne goes from being a perky child to a thoughtful, optimistic young woman who certainly had potential to become an engaging, humane writer had she only gotten to see the end of the war.

Anne experiences substantial personal growth throughout the Diary, developing considerable maturity during her claustrophobic existence in the Secret Annex. As well as having to deal with the normal problems of adolescence, she somehow has to stay strong in the face of imminent danger. As a Jew in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Anne knows that she and her family can be arrested and sent to a concentration camp at any moment. This would be a terrifying experience for anyone, especially a young adult with limited experience of the world. Yet as well as displaying considerable maturity for someone of her age, Anne also seems to dig deep and find the necessary strength to help her get through such a dangerous, life-threatening situation. And toward the end of her diary, Anne attains a broad perspective on world events that is not just hopeful and optimistic, but also incredibly humane.

What happened to Alonso's ship and the other ships that were there?

Although the ship is fixed by the end of the play, the reader knows from Miranda's opening monologue that it is initially destroyed in the tempest her father has called. In act 1, scene 2, she cries, "Oh, I have suffered / with those that I saw suffer. A brave vessel / who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her / Dash'd all to pieces." Here, Miranda claims to have seen the ship torn apart, perhaps by waves or rocks or some combination of the two. The phrase "all to pieces" implies it did not sink in a salvageable manner.
However, the reader has gathered by the end of the play that Prospero and Ariel have been up to tricks the entire time. In act 5, scene 1, Prospero finds his own personal dramatics coming to an end and sends Ariel "to the King's ship, invisible as thou art / there shalt thou find the mariners asleep / Under the hatches." Without any talk of the ship since it had been sunk, now it is whole enough for Ariel to find sailors asleep under the decks. The Boatswain wonders that their ship, which they'd all assumed doomed only hours before, "is tight and are and bravely rigged as when / [they] first put out to sea." This only seems to add to the confusion, that without explanation the ship is put back to sorts after not only Miranda but all those aboard assumed it to be a wreck. But Ariel says, where only Prospero can hear, "Sir, all this service / Have I done since I went." Ariel is informing Prospero of the work done by the spirit since he left Prospero's side last. So, the reader can infer that it was Ariel who reformed the ship, perhaps despite the first conversation between Prospero and Ariel during act 5.
In reading plays, sometimes questions have no clear answer. The reader simply isn't given all the knowledge and circumstances that would be available in a novel with room for backstory and filler details. That confusion is multiplied when one considers the layered storylines that Prospero weaves in his clever deceptions, aided by Ariel. At the end of the play, as Alonso expresses confusion and doubt, Prospero explains it by telling him, "You do yet taste / Some subtleties o' th' isle, that will not let you / Believe things certain." As Prospero sees it, there are just some subtle magics that make the truth hard to see.

Alonso and the others who shipwreck on the island believe that their boat has been destroyed in the tempest that brought them there. To their surprise, at the end of the play the ship shows up intact and ready to set sail. As the Boatswain says:


our ship—
Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split—
Is tight and yare and bravely rigged as when
We first put out to sea.


Ariel explains to Prospero in an aside that he has done this, earning Prospero's praise. Alonso, however, has questions, thinking the boat emerging unscathed from the tempest is odd or, as he puts it, "not natural." He presses the boatswain for more information. The boatswain states that the men were fast asleep under the boat's hatches when they were awakening by loud shrieks, howling, and jinglings. When they got up and went up to the deck, they found the ship "all in her trim" or back in good shape. Prospero later promises the travelers safe sailing home.