The Esoc Board Essay Example for Free

The Esoc Board Essay As mentioned in Lecture 3 and the textbook, most logic circuits today are built using programmable logic devices (PLDs). These devices allow circuits to be built directly onto single chips, without the need for interconnection of separate, single purpose ICs. The eSOC II (electronic System-on-a-Chip) board is designed to allow a direct interface between the Quartus II software and the Altera Cyclone II EP2C8 FPGA. The board provides an interface to the chip, along with supporting interface hardware. Details about the construction and use of the eSOC II board are available in the eSOC II Users Guide supplied with the board. The following is a summary of data taken from that Guide. The eSOC II board is shown in Figure 1 (taken from the User Guide from Arches Computing Systems). The board contains the Altera FPGA (in the center), a 24 MHz clock source (U8 to the left of the FPGA), and numerous input switches and output displays. Figure 1 – eSOC II Board (from User Guide September 6, 2006) There are three types of input switches, single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) toggle switches (S1 and S2), debounced push-button (SPST) switches (DB0 and DB1), and non-debounced push-button switches (B0 – B3). Bouncing is a mechanical effect where a switch rapidly alternates between â€Å"on† and â€Å"off† when pressed as the metal contacts make and break connection as the parts â€Å"bounce† off each other. A debounced switch is designed so that any closure produces a single on to off or off to on indication. The output features include red LEDs (RED0 – RED7), green LEDs (GRN0 – GRN7) and two seven-segment displays (Digit0 and Digit1). The FPGA uses a random access memory (RAM) technology. This will be explained in a later course, for now the key concept is that a program is stored and maintained only as long as the power is applied (like a document you forget to save, the data disappears when the power is removed). This means that every time the eSOC II board is turned off, the program in the FPGA is lost. There is a method to save a program using a different type of memory that is on the board. This memory, U3, stores the program even after power is removed. This feature will be explored in a later course.

Life and works of John Steinnbeck Essay example -- biographies bio bio

John Steinbeck was probably the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and along with many other accomplishments, Steinbeck wrote twenty-five books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and several collections of short stories during his lifetime. Seventeen of his works, including The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, The Pearl, and East of Eden, went on to become Hollywood films, some appeared multiple times, as remakes. Steinbeck also had some success as a Hollywood writer, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Story in 1944 for Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat. Many of his life experiences are shown through his novels. Someone can tell, by reading one of Steinbeck’s novels that he had been through a lot, throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked hard to accomplish everything that he did, during his lifetime. Nothing came easy for him, and had to earn everything on his own, and this helped him in his works. He also had the ability to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from his life experiences such as people he knew, and places he had spent time at. Many of Steinbeck's views of the world are shown through his novels. Some of Steinbeck’s most influential works are included in this paper and are summarized, to show how many Americans living in poverty today can relate to some of Steinbeck’s works which are also set during a recession era. Growing up in Salinas Valley, Steinbeck had the chance to spend a lot of time outdoors. His uncle used to take him on fishing trips, and spent time visiting his mother’s grand-fathers' farm near King City, it gave him a large respect for nature. Later on he became a caretaker on a large piece of land at Lake Tahoe, ... ...life experiences, events, and people which makes it easier for the reader to connect if they too had the same experiences first-hand. Although John Steinbeck has been gone for awhile, his legacy continues to thrive on Americans today. Steinbeck’s influence not only flourishes across the United States but has also been all around the world. His influnces have also attracted the attention of film production studios in which the have created movies based upon stories from Steinbeck. His legacy is also continued through high school reading, a study by the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature in the United States found that Of Mice and Men was one of the ten most often read books in public high and independent schools. Steinbeck has been honored in many ways having, places dedicated to him and having his name inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

Haefren-Baum Case

Name of the business: Haefren Baum GmgH Nature of the business: Haefren Baum is a retailer of high quality home furniture located in Cologne, Germany. They have also added three outlet stores in Rhineland, a nearby suburban area. Marketing Analysis: Haefren retails high quality furniture manufactured by Wiegandt has advertised aggressively in order to build and maintain a strong brand image. Haefren benefited tremendously from the successful marketing provided by Wiegandt. Wiegandt has However, because the nature of the product is high-end and durable, sales are subject to fluctuations of the business cycle.During the economic boom leading up to 1993 Haefren, as well as the industry in general, enjoyed strong sales. However, the economic bust in 1993 has slowed sales growth. Decreased consumer confidence caused industry sales growth to decrease from 42. 9% in 1992 to 9% in 1993. Haefren experienced negative sales growth during this period. Haefren has a strong competitive position; h owever, it is quickly deteriorating. The addition of 3 outlets give Haefren an opportunity to capture a wider market than it currently has. However, new competitors entering the market are all competing for stagnant demand.European retailers are also entering the German furniture market which makes it even harder for Haefren to maintain its competitive advantage. Operations Analysis: Haefren obtains its merchandise directly from the manufacturer, Weigandt. Weigandt has provided â€Å"fairly liberal† credit terms which include a discount for early payment (2% 10, net 30). However, they have jeopardized their lose credit terms because of inefficiencies with their receivables, inventories, and fixed assets. A major issue that Haefren needs to address is the delinquency of their customers accounts.From 1993 to 1995, days sales outstanding have increased to 77 days, which is dramatically higher than the 30-day monthly installment terms. This delay in collection is creating cash fl ow problems for Haefren. It is causing them to fall behind on their payments to Weigandt and miss out on significant savings from the early payment discount. The increase in its collection period was expected in 1993 due to the worsening economy. However, the economy is now improving and Haefren’s collection period is still increasing. This signals to inefficiencies within the company’s collection department.Perhaps, they should even consider increasing the down payment required to establish credit. The sluggish sales in the furniture industry can account for the increase in inventory days. Haefren inventory in 1994-1995 stayed on the floor for around 129 days before it was sold. The longer period that they are holding inventory is increasing their cost of goods sold. Not only are they holding inventory for a longer period of time, but they are also underutilizing their fixed assets. Fixed asset turnover decreased for Haefren from 1993-1994. They constructed three new outlet stores which should have helped them with sales.However, due to the sluggish demand, these new fixed assets are not returning the sales they were supposed to. Haefren needs to consider whether these outlets are worth the investments. They could potentially benefit from sending inventory from their retail store to the outlet sooner. Even if they have to sell it at a discount, if they do not lose money on it, the lower revenue would be more beneficial. It appears that Haefren might be experiencing problems with human resources as well. They carry a debt account for notes payables for employees.This account reflects loans that have been made from the employees, or their relatives, to the company. Why are they borrowing from employees? This could potentially come from accrued wages, which would be an even greater issue. Financial Analysis: Haefren’s funding has come from bank loans and utilizing credit from its vendors. Funding needs increased due to the addition of 3 new outlet stores. These outlet stores have increased Haefren’s debt over the three years in questions. Along with this new debt, two of the original partners sold their shares to the other two partners.It seems like there are too many changes going on at Haefren all at once. In regards to cash flows, Haefren is performing poorly. Cash flows from operations are unhealthy and the total cash on hand has declined over the three years in question. Total cash flow from operations is positive, however, they appear to be driven by depreciation. Their negative net income (net loss), is not driving operations cash flow in a positive direction. They are also carrying a great deal of inventory which is consuming their cash. In order for them to drive up net income they need to find a way to decrease their inventories.Accounts receivables are also impacting cash flows in a negative way. A/R have increased each year, which can be attributed to the weak economy. This drag in A/R is causing the m to receive cash-in after cash goes out. Their cash flow problems are evident when analyzing their account payable days. Wiegdant has given them competitive terms (2% 10, net 30), however, Haefren cannot meet those terms. Their account payable days have increased to 66 days. It is taking them twice as long to repay their current liabilities. All of these cash flow problems are having a negative impact on their liquidity.Their quick ratio is increasing from year to year, but it is being driven by inventories. Their Current ratio also appears to be ok; however, it is being driven by accounts receivables. Although they appear to going in the right direction, it is not a good sign for Haefren. Inventories and receivables are also driving down operating margin. The positive cash flow from investments reflects the addition of the three new outlets. Investing in long term assets is a good thing. Ideally, the addition of these assets (outlets) should have led to higher revenues for Haefren . However, they invested in those assets at the wrong time.Their sales growth (revenues) cannot support the addition of the outlets. Weak sales led to a negative return on equity and the addition of the three outlets led to a negative net profit margin. The interest being paid on the current debt in 1995 was 3. 08% of their net sales. Haefren cannot handle any more debt without first making significant changes to their operations. Summary: A weak economy has led to Haefren poor financial conditions. They expanded at the wrong time, right when the economy went sour. They also need to handle their inventories and accounts receivable in order to avoid further cash flow problems.

Mexican History Significant Dates Timeline