Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Numbers' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Numbers'

Re: Please help me to check English grammar

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:27:18 GMT

Hello,

I updated my text. The new version of the text:

Thanks!

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Report Proposal

Topic D: Weather Forecasts

Step 1

Before we do data analysis in this report we have to be certain we understand the questions we need to answer. Two recommended questions are provided in the reportâs instructions.

There are several issues needed to be addressed first before answering the questions.

We need some data for this analysis. We need to know how we are going to collect the data, for which regions we are going to collect it and who the authority on providing accurate daily temperature forecasts is. Also we need to know what is the population on which we going to project our inferences, if we are going to collect the data ourselves or use the data collected by another source. Whether or not data samples can be selected randomly from the population, what samplesâ sizes we are going to use and if independent data samples can be obtained. So we need to design an experiment to collect the data making sure itâs accurate, relevant and does not violate any of the assumptions in our analysis.

The first question we are going to answer in the report states that we need to determine if forecast maximum daily temperatures significantly different from true maximum temperatures. How do we determine what difference between these temperatures is significant? Do we use a conservative approach or a larger difference in temperatures is acceptable for this analysis? Similarly, we need to decide on level of significance to use in our hypothesis tests.

Once accurate and relevant data samples are collected and the calculations are carried out we then need to interpret our findings and draw a conclusion. The following issues need to be considered: can we use our findings for the future temperature forecasts in the two regions? For immediate future only e.g. for the next 10 years? Can we assume our findings are applicable to the period when temperature forecasts were at an early stage in the two regions of interest?

Furthermore, if it is found that the proportions of correct forecast temperatures differ for the two regions significantly then what do we do next? We assume this fact or do we investigate further to determine the cause for this difference?

Step 2

In this hypothesis test I will use conservative measure with the average of differences of 2 degrees Celsius or more (â¥2) between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true maximum temperatures to be considered significantly different.

In hypothesis test I am going to use 5% significance level to determine wether the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region is significantly different.

Assume the average of differences between the temperatures is equal to or less than 2 degrees in Celsius.

H₀:Î¼â¤ 2

H₁:Î¼ > 2

Î¼ is the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region.

To determine if proportions of correct forecast temperatures (to within 1 degree Celsius) are the same for the two regions I will use the following hypothesis test:

H₀:Ï₁= Ï₂ => H₀: Ï₁- Ï₂ = 0

H₁: Ï₁â Ï₂ => H₁: Ï₁- Ï₂ â 0

Ï is proportion of the population of correct forecast temperatures to within 1 degree Celsius.

Also I will calculate 99% confidence intervals for the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region.

The assumptions for the hypothesis tests are:

Two data samples are randomly selected;

Two data samples are independent. Two sets of data were produced by two different meteorological stations for two different regions;

Two sampling distributions of the means for temperature differences are approximately normally distributed. By Central Limit Theorem this condition will be met if the samplesâ sizes are sufficiently large (n â¥ 30). Our samplesâ sizes will be at least 30.

Step 3

In this report I will use data I have obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau keeps archives of historical data on climate statistics for various locations around Australia and provides it to the public on request.

In Australia there are regional meteorological stations responsible for reporting weather forecasts for their respective regions. I obtained the data for Adelaide metropolitan area produced by Kent Town meteorological station (station number: 23090) and for Perth metropolitan area produced by Perth East meteorological station (station number: 9225) for the period of 01/01/2006 - 24/07/2008.

The two meteorological stations forecast highest and lowest temperatures for the next 3 days each day and update their weather forecast reports several times during 24 hours. The latest weather forecast update for the day is done in late afternoon or during evening. In this report I will use latest updates on weather forecasts released by the meteorological stations during the days for the following days. In doing so I will ensure that the latest, most accurate and consistent temperature forecast readings are used in our data analysis.

I have also obtained a file of historical records on the actual highest and lowest temperatures recorded in Adelaide metropolitan and Perth metropolitan areas for the period of 01/01/2006 - 25/07/2008. In total there are 937 temperature records for each region.

I used random generator to randomly select 30 dates from the period of 01/01/2006 - 24/07/2008 for each region separately. I then, for each region, selected a pair of temperature records from the two data sets for each randomly selected date: the maximum temperature recorded on a selected day and the maximum forecast temperature on the previous date during the evening of the selected date. Once random pairs of records for each region are determined then I calculated the differences between the temperaturesâ pairs taking absolute magnitude of each value to account for the negative differences e.g. when forecast temperature is underestimated. Finally, I assorted the list of differences in ascending order.

The archive of files of raw data I obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is located at

http://www.spunge.org/~alexg/008_markin.zip

Data of randomly selected dates and computed differences between the temperatures for the dates is located at

http://www.spunge.org/~alexg/data_forecast.xls

Step 4

I will use MS Excel 2003 to carry out necessary calculations once two data samples are randomly selected and presented in appropriate form for statistical analysis.

For hypothesis tests and for 99% confidence intervals I will use PHStat2 package (add-in for Excel) which comes with various statistical functions and procedures producing quality outputs. A free version of the package can be obtained from http://www.prenhall.com/phstat/

The assumptions for hypothesis tests I have described above which are:

Two data samples are randomly selected;

Two data samples are independent. Two sets of data were produced by two different meteorological stations for two different regions;

The two sampling distributions of the means for temperature differences are approximately normally distributed. By Central Limit Theorem this condition will be met if the samplesâ sizes are sufficiently large (n â¥ 30).

In this analysis the population is all available forecast temperatures ever produced by the two meteorological stations for the two regions. A large sample of 937 temperature records I obtained is not really entire population. However, knowledge and expertise as well technological advances in meteorology have changed significantly in the last 30-40 years. This factor has to be taken into account and probably only a subset of the entire population e.g. all forecast temperatures reports produced in the last 10 years for the two regions would be more appropriate for our analysis. As these forecasts are more accurate and consistent for the current period of time.

Please help me to check English grammar

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:20:00 GMT

Hello,

I have written a short draft which I am going to use in my report. I am not native English speaker and I make grammatical errors in my writing. Could someone help me to check grammar in this draft please? Thanks!

Report Proposal

Topic D: Weather Forecasts

Step 1

Before we do data analysis in this report we need to be certain we understand the questions we need to answer. Two recommended questions are provided in the reportâs instructions.

There are several issues needed to be addressed first before answering the questions.

We need some data for this analysis. We need to know how we are going to collect the data and for which regions we are going to collect the data. Also, we need to know who the authority on providing accurate daily temperature forecasts is. What is the population on which we going to project our inferences. How are we are going to produce samples of data for our analysis: ourselves or use the data from another source. Whether or not the data samples can be selected randomly. What sample size we are going to use. If two data samples can be obtained from two independent sources. So we need to design an experiment to collect the data making sure itâs accurate, relevant and does not violate any of the assumptions of our analysis.

The first question we are going to answer states that we need to determine if forecast maximum daily temperatures significantly different from true maximum temperatures. How do we determine what difference in these temperatures is significant? Do we use a conservative approach or a larger difference in temperatures is acceptable for this analysis? Similarly, we need to decide what of level of significance to use in our hypothesis tests.

Once accurate and relevant data samples are collected and the calculations are carried out we then need to interpret our findings and draw a conclusion. The following questions need to be considered: can we use our findings for the future temperature forecasts in the two regions? For immediate future only, for the next 10 years? Can we assume our findings are applicable to the period when temperature forecasts were at an early stage in the two regions of interest?
Furthermore, if it is found that the proportions of correct forecast temperatures differ for the two regions significantly then what do we do next? We assume this fact or do we investigate further to determine the cause for this difference?

Step 2

In this hypothesis test I will use a conservative measure with the average of differences of 2 degrees Celsius or more (â¥2) between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true maximum temperatures to be considered significantly different.

In hypothesis test I am going to use 5% significance level to determine wether the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region is significantly different.

Assume the average of differences between the temperatures is equal to or less than 2 degrees in Celsius.

H0: Î¼ â¤ 2
H1: Î¼ > 2

Î¼ is the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region.

To determine if proportions of correct forecast temperatures (to within 1 degree Celsius) are the same between the two regions I will use the following hypothesis test:

H0: Ï1 = Ï2 => H0: Ï1 - Ï2 = 0
H1: Ï1 â Ï2 => H1: Ï1 - Ï2 â 0

Ï is proportion of the population of correct forecast temperatures to within 1 degree Celsius.

Furthermore, I will calculate 99% confidence intervals for the average of differences between forecast maximum daily temperatures and true daily maximum temperatures recorded for each region.

The assumptions for the hypothesis tests are:

Two data samples are randomly selected;
Two data samples are independent. Two sets of data were produced by two different meteorological stations for two different regions;
Two sampling distributions of the means for temperature differences are approximately normally distributed. By Central Limit Theorem this condition will be met if the samplesâ sizes are sufficiently large (n â¥ 30). Our samplesâ size will be at least 30.

Step 3

In this report I will use data I have obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The Bureau keeps archives of historical data on climate statistics for various locations around Australia and provides it to the public on request.

In Australia there are regional meteorological stations responsible for reporting weather forecasts for their respective regions. I obtained the data for Adelaide metropolitan area produced by Kent Town meteorological station (station number: 23090) and for Perth metropolitan area produced by Perth East meteorological station (station number: 9225) for the period of 01/01/2006 - 24/07/2008.

The two meteorological stations forecast highest and lowest temperatures for the next 3 days each day and update their weather forecast reports several times during 24 hours. The latest weather forecast update for the day is done in late afternoon or during evening. In this report I will use latest updates on weather forecasts released by the meteorological stations during the days for the following days. In doing so I will ensure that the latest, most accurate and consistent temperature forecast readings are used in our data analysis.

I have also obtained a file of historical records on the actual highest and lowest temperatures recorded in Adelaide metropolitan and Perth metropolitan areas for the period of 01/01/2006 - 25/07/2008. In total there are 937 temperature records for each region.

I used random generator to randomly select 30 dates from the period of 01/01/2006 - 24/07/2008 for each region separately. I then, for each region, selected a pair of temperature records from the two data sets for each randomly selected date: the maximum temperature recorded on a selected day and the maximum forecast temperature on the previous date during the evening of the selected date. Once random pairs of records for each region are determined then I calculated the differences between the temperatures pairs taking absolute magnitude for each value to account for some negative results e.g. when forecast temperature is underestimated. I assorted the list of differences in ascending order.

The archive of files of raw data I obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is located at
http://www.spunge.org/~alexg/008_markin.zip

Data of randomly selected dates and computed differences between the temperatures for the dates is located at
http://www.spunge.org/~alexg/data_forecast.xls

Step 4

Once two data samples are randomly selected and presented in appropriate form for statistical analysis Excel 2003 will be used to carry out necessary calculations.

For hypothesis tests and for 99% confidence intervals I will use PHStat2 package (add-in for Excel) which comes with various statistical functions and procedures producing quality outputs. A free version of the package can be obtained from http://www.prenhall.com/phstat/

The assumptions for hypothesis tests I have described above which are:

Two data samples are randomly selected;
Two data samples are independent. Two sets of data were produced by two different meteorological stations for two different regions;
The two sampling distributions of the means for temperature differences are approximately normally distributed. By Central Limit Theorem this condition will be met if the samplesâ sizes are sufficiently large (n â¥ 30).

In this analysis the population is all available forecast temperatures ever produced by the two meteorological stations for the two regions. A large sample of 937 temperature records I obtained is not really entire population. However, knowledge and expertise as well technological advances in meteorology have changed significantly in the last 30-40 years. This factor has to be taken into account and probably a subset of the entire population, all forecast temperatures reports produced in the last 10 years for the two regions, for example, would be more appropriate for our analysis. As forecasts are more accurate and consistent for the current period of time.

Re: Can someone check the gammar, please?

Pjlusk83 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:57:43 GMT

Hello,
I am going to put my suggestions and corrections next to your words, but they will be in bold, in paraenthese, and on the right side of the word(s) so you know which word and what my suggestion is. Is that ok with you? Tell me what you think. Also, in case you did not notice, you seem to writing an article, so this needs to be kept in second or third person. I will not correct but a few tenses of first to second or third because I feel you would understand better if you studied that better yourself, and I am not an English major and am afraid of leading the wrong path, but I will do what I know without hesitation. I hope this helps you out with whatever you are doing.
Penny

sebayanpendam

Health is indisputably(eminently) important to all of us (most individual instead of "all of us" using "all of us" is considered wordy). Good health enables us(people) to carry out our(their) daily routine with a positive view of life. There are many ways we can do to keep good health(a number of ways to keep in good health).

First, we should practise(practice) good eating habits and do not overeat.(take out and do not over eat, instead write something like: First, we should practice good eating habits, such as eating in moderation/ or watching our food intake) We must drink lots of water so that we will not get exhaustion easily(here is an idea:Second, drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration and early exhaustion) Drinking water does not mean we need to drink eight glasses a day.(remove the period, add a semicolon ;) It depends on how much we need to spend our energy on things that we do. Besides, it is advisable to drink fruit and vegetable juices.(remove the period, add a semicolon ;) These juices provide essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. As a result, our immune systems will strengthen too(remove too) and our bodies can resist many diseases.

Another way to (suggestion: remove "Another way to" and replace with: Third,)maintain our healthy bodies is exercise regularly. Exercise is very important to keep us fit. Aside from burning off fat, exercise helps make(remove make) our blood circulation (circulate)better. (This small paragraph is completely out of place, you are jumping from eating and drinking, to exercise then back to eating and drinking. Move this paragraph under your paragraph about smoking because it fits nicely with your last sentences.)

There are things that we must avoid when it comes to food. Do not take food that have(suggestion: ...when it comes to food. Try not to ingest a lot of food that is high in...) high fat, sugar and salt content such as fried chicken, junk food, carbonated (adding the word beverages will make more sense here). Taking too (Ingesting too)much of unhealthy food can lead to diseases like(such as) heart disease and diabetes. (add this paragraph just after the final sentence of your second paragraph: As a result, our immune systems will become stronger and our bodies can resist many diseases)

(suggestion: Finally, avoid...)Avoid smoking because it contains nothing but harmful nicotine.(remove nothing but harmul nicotine, in this place put something like: because it contains over a hundred harmful chemicals) This property(habit) can destroy our lungs and even worse causes(remove the 's') cancer. Not only, smoking produces bad effects to smokers, but also harms non-smokers who are near them. (suggestion: ...cancer; smoking is also nearly as harmful to non-smokers through second hand smoke because the non-smokers catch half of the chemicals and also produce negative results to the non-smoker's body)

Healthy people can have longer lives and are more energetic (suggestion: Healthy people can live longer, more energetic lives). If we(you) really love ourselves(yourself), we should start change our eating habits and take exercise right now before it is too late. (then watch your habits for any need of change and begin living health today!) (suggestion, a quote about living healthy by anyone famous, try this google search http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS288&q=famous+health+quotes

Thanks

Re: Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Clive — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:30:53 GMT

Hi again,
The matter seems to revolve around the meaninig to be understood from the word 'criticism'. Let me quote from my dictionary.
criticism 1a finding fault; censure. 1b a statement expressing this
2a the work of a critic 2b an article, essay, etc. expressing or containing an analytical evaluation of something

A number of writers who once greatly lauded the literary critic have recently recanted, substituting censure for their former criticism.

If "their former criticism" refers to "laud", "substituting censure for their former criticism" equals " substituting censure for their former laud", then the two terms are direct opposites of each other. If you look at it this way, with this meaning of criticism, the sentence is not incorrect. It's just that, as noted in my earlier comments, that's not the most common meaning of the word. If Tom says his boss criticized his work yesterday, my first reaction is not to say 'That's great', but to think 'Oh dear, poor Tom'.

For the same reason, you can recant from "criticism", because "laud" is a kind of "criticism".

This sentence is from a real GRE question, and it is NOT logically sound according to ETS, though they did not give any further explanations. They just say this is the right sentence.

"A number of writers who once greatly disparaged the literary critic have recently recanted, substituting approbation for their former criticism." Here, they are using the negative meaning of criticism. That's the meaning that is most common, and that comes first, as I suggested above, to most people's minds.

My version of a better sentence is
A number of writers who once greatly lauded the literary critic have recently recanted, substituting censure for their former praise."

You see, I have a part time job as a GRE tutor. While I know the sentence above is right, I just can't give clear logical evidence on how the incorrect one is incorrect.

Clive

Re: Is this sentence grammatically correct?

Clive — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:29:40 GMT

For the same reason, you can recant from "criticism", because "laud" is a kind of "criticism".

This sentence is from a real GRE question, and it is NOT logically sound according to ETS, though they did not give any further explanations. They just say this is the right sentence.

You see, I have a part time job as a GRE tutor. While I know the sentence above is right, I just can't give clear logical evidence on how the incorrect one is incorrect.

Clive

Re: so that and such that?

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:22:58 GMT

so that

From dictionary.com

In order that, as in I stopped so that you could catch up.
With the result or consequence that, as in Mail the package now so that it will arrive on time.
so ... that. In such a way or to such an extent that, as in The line was so long that I could scarcely find the end of it.

All three usages date from a.d. 1000 or earlier, and the first two are sometimes put simply as so, as in I stopped so you could catch up, or Mail it now so it will arrive on time.
Source: The American Heritageï½® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright ï½© 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company

such that

From mathworld.wolfram.comA condition used in the definition of a mathematical object. For example, the rationals can be defined as "the set of all m/n such that n is nonzero and m and n are integers ." From dictionary.com

adj : of a degree or quality specified (by the `that' clause); their anxiety was such that they could not sleep

Examples

Take x to be a real number so that x² is non-negative. [Correct]
Take x to be a real number so that x²+1 is greater than 4. [Incorrect]
Take x to be a real number such that x²+1 is greater than 4. [Correct]
The subset H of the Lie group G is a discrete subgroup so that G/H is compact. [Incorrect --- not all discrete subgroups of Lie groups have compact quotient; this is from the Annals of Math., 107, p313.]

Briefly, if omitting the "that" from "so that" renders the sentence nonsense, then you should probably have used "such that".
You won't find "so that" among lists of commonly misused phrases because only mathematicians commonly misuse it. Probably the error arose from the influence of German, where the two are not distinguished.

Re: a few and few

CalifJim — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:22:19 GMT

1,After a few exhausting days of workouts, I took a long rest at home.
2.Few (IMO, A few is good if you want to create that polarity effect) excruciating workouts can do a work on your body. Incomprehensible. I can't help you here.
3. He should drink a few cups of water (every two hours) when he works out strenuously.

There's no such thing as "creating a polarity effect". "a few" has positive polarity; "few" has negative polarity; end of story.

a few = a small number of

few = not many

Please see Re: a few more

Re: or /nor

Tanit — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:58:19 GMT

Hi

May I quote an excerpt from M. Swan, 2005, Practical English Usage, 3rd edition. OUP. (para. 370.5 "Two negative ideas: not ... or / not ... nor") I posted some months ago in another thread?

Swan

When not refers to two or more verbs, nouns, adjectives etc, we usually join them with or.
...
However, we can use not after a pause, to separate and emphasise a second verb, adjective etc.
Our main need is not food, nor money. It is education. (More emphatic than ... food or money.)
She didn't phone that day, nor the next day. (More emphatic than ... or the next day.)
Note that neither cannot be used in this way.

In the other thread, I think I learnt that:
1. neither ... nor ... / not ... or ... are more common in everyday speech -- more "natural"
2. not ... nor ... (possibly with a comma before "nor") emphasises the second part, so it can be used as a stylistic (formal? rhetoric?) device.
I assume this could explain the number of hits returned by G.Books. Would you agree?

Re: famine

RayH — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:15:40 GMT

Here's my take on your paragraph.

Famine is not uncommon in Africa. In fact, every year we hear the cries of the African people either on TV, in the newspaper or through charitable organizations. The word Africa conjures up an ~~the~~ image of poverty, starvation, disease s, malnutrition, and lack of education ~~and other negative thoughts~~. According to the latest statistics, African countries have been receiving 1 billion dollars of food and financial assistance annually from the UN and the number is expected to rise over time. I urge everyone to stop turning a blind eye ~~deaf ear~~ and start taking action. Some areas in Africa are fertile for agriculture but the land can't be put to use for ~~because of~~ political reasons, as well as lack of farming skills and equipment. If we can eliminate these barriers, the food crises in Africa will be reduced in the coming years and perhaps the people of Africa ~~they~~ will become a food exporters and contribute to the global economy.

~~and other negative thoughts~~ Deleted because it just kind of trails off weakly.
blind eye to match the earlier evocation of "an image" of...
"the people of Africa" to match the earlier mention of "the African people"

Re: famine

optilang — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:35:13 GMT

Famine is not uncommon in Africa. In fact, every year we hear the cries of African people ~~either~~ on TV, in the newspaper or through charitable organizations. The word Africa conjures up the image of poverty, starvation, diseases, malnutrition, lack of education and other negative thoughts. According to the latest statistics, African countries have been receiving 1 billion (dollars/pounds worth?) of food and financial assistance annually from the UN and ~~the number~~ this amount is expected to rise over time. I urge everyone to stop turning a deaf ear and start taking action. Some areas in Africa are fertile for agriculture but the land can't be put to use because of political reasons, lack of farming skills and equipment. If we can eliminate these barriers, food crises in Africa will reduce in the coming years and perhaps it ~~they~~ will become a food exporter and contribute to the global economy.