The Sixth Sense uses the information of the Internet along with a camera and portable display projector to truly put information at the user’s fingertips. Look-out iPhone!

The theory of production is usually divided into periods known as the short run and long run. In the short run, it is assumed that this period allows only the change in the variable known as labor, while the long run allows producers to change quantities of all of their resources (building new factories, producing new product lines, large-scale retraining, etc.).

When the quantity of inputs are varied, outputs should change. However, if a truly scientific analysis is to occur, there can be only one variable. The law of variable proportions addresses this. While the change in output must be measured from a singular variation of input, this provides an incomplete picture. In order to make the most accurate decisions, individual changes  must be analyzed and their results combined to provide a possible spectrum of possible consequences.

Using the data (change of inputs & resulting output) a production schedule can be created. This schedule clearly displays the three stages of production.

• Stage 1 - Increasing returns
• Stage 2 - Decreasing returns
• Stage 3 - Negative returns

The Theory of Production explained

Practice problem - Production Function

Objectives:

• Explain the theory of production
• Descrube the three stages of production

Homework: Read 5-3 and find an article/summary regarding supply (due Thursday the 19th).

The Law of Supply has a direct relationship between quantity and price, unlike the Law of Demand which has an inverse relationship. The Law of Supply states that the higher the price, the more supply will be offered and the lower the price, the less the amount of supply that will be offered. This should not be surprising, it is a simple matter of profit seeking.

When looking at supply, there are two tools we have to help describe supply. The first is the supply schedule. This is a T-chart that lists quantity supplied versus price. The second is the supply curve. This is a chart that plots the data from the supply chart with the price on the vertical axis and the quantity on the horizontal axis. All normal supply curves have an upward slope.

The Law of Supply explained

Case study illustrating supply

Objectives:

• Understand the difference between the supply schedule and the supply curve
• Explain how market supply curves are derived
• Specify the reasons for a change in supply

Homework: Read 5-2.

To begin a table, we use the <table> tag. This tells the browser that we are starting a table. When the table is finished, we close the tag like so, </table>. To insert rows, the <tr> tag is used and when the entire row is finished we close the row tag </tr>. To create individual cells in a table the <td> tag opens the cell and the </td> signifies the end of a cell’s content. In addition, there is a table header <th> tag that is used for column and row labels. This tag generally bolds and center aligns the text(center aligns if the content is not text) in a cell. Of course, to signify the end of a table header cell, the </th> tag is use

Let’s use the example of a two column, two row table. Here is the code:

<table>
<tr><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>4</td></tr>
</table>

Note: The numbers have been inserted to help identify the table cells.

Sometimes it is necessary to merge cells together to attain the proper layout. When this is done we use the rowspan and colspan attributes. If a column is being removed we use colspan and if a row is being removed, we use rowspan. These attributes are inserted into the opening <td> tag. When this occurs, the number of columns or rows being removed must be accounted for and the correct number of <td> tags must be omitted (either from the same row in a colspan or from different rows in the case of a rowspan). Below is an example of a table that is two columns by three rows, however, in the first column we will only have one row (notice the removal of two <td> tags. One from the second row and another from the third row):

<table>
<tr><td rowspan=”2″>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td></tr>
</table>

Image here…

The W3school’s table tutorial.

Today’s Objectives:

• Identify the different kinds of text boxes
• Explain the uses of radio buttons and checkboxes
• Place text boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes in a Web page.

Classwork: Assignment 9-1 & vocab.

Prep Questions:

With the debt at $10,772,378,548,982.35 (each person’s share is about $35,083.39) and several more trillions of dollars being added by the current financial crisis, when does it stop? How does it impact our standing in the world? Is the U.S. in danger of collapse? What might happen if the U.S. declares bankruptcy? Is China a threat?

These questions dominated class today and many of them did not come with ready made answers. It’s true that China is somewhat linked to the U.S. financial locomotive, however, because of their size and ability over time to create new partnerships with other countries, they are still going to be a growing, competitive and dominant world power.

Objectives:

• Analyze the elasticity of demand for a product
• Understand the factors that determine demand elasticity

Homework: Study for tomorrow’s chapter 4 quiz.

To illustrate demand we have two tools, the demand schedule and demand curve. The demand schedule is T-chart that shows quantity demanded at a given price. The demand curve uses the values provided by the the demand schedule to create a chart plotting the quantity demanded versus the price. While gathering precise data isn’t always easy, these tools provide a powerful method of analyzing the type of consumer demand for a product.

For practically every product or service, an increase in price reduces demand. Inversely, a reduction in price provides an increase in demand. This is known as the Law of Demand. Stated simply, there is an inverse relation between change in price and quantity demanded.

Despite a reduction in price’s power to increase demand. This increase in demand is not infinite. The term Marginal Utility addresses this issue. Marginal utility is the benefit or usefulness an individual receives from an additional unit of a product. A product or service is purchased because we feel it is useful and will provide satisfaction. However, as more of a product or service is used, we begin to encounter the principle of diminishing marginal utility. This principle states that the extra satisfaction we get from using additional quantities of the product begins to diminish. This means that we will be willing to pay less for each additional unit of a product.

Law of demand

Demand schedule and curve

Marginal utility and the law of diminishing returns

Objectives:

• Describe and illustrate the concept of demand
• Explain how demand and utility are related

Homework: None today.

< select name=”cars” size=”4″>
<option value=”audi”>Audi</option>
<option value=”dodge”>Dodge</option>
<option value=”toyota” selected>Toyota</option>
<option value=”vw”>Volkswagen</option>
</select>

A menu or a drop-down menu, is a drop-down box from which a user can choose only one item. When an item from a drop-down box is selected, the box disappears while displaying your selection. Similar to a radio button, a drop-down menu only allow you to make a single selection. Because we want the choices to drop down, either omit the size attribute or provide a value of zero or one.

< select name=”color” size=”0″>
<option value=”red”>Red</option>
<option value=”black”>Black</option>
<option value=”white”>White</option>
<option value=”blue”>Blue</option>
</select>

The w3.org’s explanation of forms.

A quick, concise tutorial on forms.

Today’s Objectives:

• Identify the different kinds of text boxes
• Explain the uses of radio buttons and checkboxes
• Place text boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes in a Web page.

Classwork: Assignment 6-2.

Prep Questions:

• This input element allows:
  • Only one item to be selected
  • Multiple items to be selected
• If you want to have text pre-populate a textbox (because it is a common choice) how is this accomplished?

The text box form element is a box into which a user can key text. Text boxes are good for accepting data when a user must enter a value such as a name or address. To create a text box, as well as many of the other form elements, you will use the <input> tag. For a textbox, you will need to supply values for the type and name attributes. The type attribute should be set to text and the value supplied for the name attribute should be descriptive, without spaces.

<input type=”text” name=”lastName”>

Radio buttons are a form element that allows a user to choose an option from a series of choices. The user’s choice is mutually exclusive, meaning that only one item may be selected from the choices presented. As with text boxes, radio buttons are created with the <input> tag. The value of the type attribute is set to radio. The value of the value attribute, should match the option available to select (Nov, Dec, etc). Finally, the name attribute is EXTREMELY important. The value of the name attribute should be descriptive with no spaces. All selections that belong to the same group MUST have the same name.

<input type=”radio” name=”birthMonth” value=”dec”>

Check boxes are similar to radio buttons in that they provide a set of predefined choicesrom which the user may select. Unlike a radio button, with check boxes the user may select more than one option.  The type attribute is set to checkbox and the value attribute should match the option available to select. As with radio buttons, all check boxes that belong to the same group MUST have the same name attribute.

<input type=”checkbox” name=”musicGenre” value=”punk”>

The w3.org’s explanation of forms.

A quick, concise tutorial on forms.

Today’s Objectives:

• Identify the different kinds of text boxes
• Explain the uses of radio buttons and checkboxes
• Place text boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes in a Web page.

Classwork: Lesson 6-1 and vocabulary.

Prep Questions:

• The <form> tag has several attributes, among them the method attribute. Explain the options that the get and post values provide for the method attribute.
• Can more than one form be placed on a Web page? Can a <form> tag be nested inside another form tag?

Objectives:

• Demonstrate mastery of chapter three objectives
• Review Unit one objectives

Homework: Study for unit 1 exam, Monday the February 2.

In the following posts, we will look at the common form elements, their purpose, how to organize forms, and provide an opportunity to practice building simple, as well as more complex forms.

Let’s start with the first tag necessary to create a form, the form tag (<form></form>). All elements of a form must be placed in-between the opening and closing form tag. If a form element is not between these tags, it will not function as a part of the form.  Although a Web page may have more than one form tag on it, it is not recommended. Even though multiple forms may exist on a page, they must not be nested (one inside the other).

The form tag has three attributes that are important to understand. The first being the name or id, the second the  method attribute, and finally the action attribute.

The name or id attribute is used to identify one form from another. The value used should be descriptive of the forum and its purpose. It should NOT contain a space or reserved characters.

The second attribute that is rather important is the method attribute. The method attribute specifies the manner in which the form data is sent. There are two possible values the the method attribute can use: get and post. Get appends the form data to the URL of the page to which the data is sent. This is a severe privacy issue if telephone numbers, social security numbers, or other sensitive data is part of the form.

Post on the other hand, does not append the form information to the URL. Data is sent behind the scenes along with a request for the new Web page. Since the data is not visible in the URL, post is more secure than with the previously mentioned get method. In addition, post allow a larger amount of text to be sent to the corresponding action page than the get method.

The final attribute of significance, is the action attribute. This attribute specifies the action that will take place when the submit button is pressed. A form may accept user data, it cannot work alone. It needs a another file that will accept the data and process it in some way. The easiest way to process the data from a form is by giving an email address as the data’s destination (mailto:farmer@dairy.com). While this is easy, it is not practical for large amounts of data. Not to mention, their is no way to rapidly sort the data. This requires a database. The more practical solution is to select a Web page that is a .php or .asp script file.These programming languages can process the form data and properly insert it in a database.

The w3.org’s explanation of forms.

A quick, concise tutorial on forms.

Today’s Objectives:

• Understand what a form can be used for
• List and explain the purpose of the name, method, & action attributes (for the form tag)
• Place a form into a Web page

Classwork: Lesson 6-1 and vocabulary.

Prep Questions:

• A tool that accepts user data from a Web page.
• A text box designed to gather short bits of information.