When customers interact with technology and machines, the variability of the service encounter is reduced by

Consider the following scenarios. use what you have learned to decide if the goods and services being provided are individual, public, or merit goods. for each case, state what kind of good has been described and explain your answer using the definitions of individual, public, and merit goods. (6 points each) 1. from your window, you can see a city block that's on fire. you watch city firefighters rescue people and battle the flames to save the buildings. 2. while visiting relatives, you learn that your cousins attend a nearby elementary school that is supported financially by local property tax revenue. 3. you see a squadron of military jets flying overhead. 4. you find out that your aunt works for a defense manufacturing company that has several defense contracts with the government. she tells you that she works for a team that is producing a communications satellite. 5. your class visits a local jail run by a private, profit-making company that detains county criminals and is paid with tax revenue.

In the fall, jay thompson decided to live in a university dormitory. he signed a dorm contract under which he was obligated to pay the room rent for the full college year. one clause stated that if he moved out during the year, he could sell his dorm contract to another student who would move into the dormitory as his replacement. the dorm cost was $5000 for the two semesters, which jay had already paid a month after he moved into the dorm, he decided he would prefer to live in an apartment. that week, after some searching for a replacement to fulfill his dorm contract, jay had two offers. one student offered to move in immediately and to pay jay $300 per month for the eight remaining months of the school year. a second student offered to move in the second semester and pay $2500 to jay. jay estimates his food cost per month is $500 if he lives in the dorm and $450 if he lives in an apartment with three other students. his share of the apartment rent and utilities will be $404 per month. assume each semester is 4.5 months long. disregard the small differences in the timing of the disbursements or receipts. what is the cost of the cheapest alternative?

Suppose that jim plans to borrow money for an education at texas a& m university. jim will need to borrow $25,000 at the end of each year for the next five years (total=$125,000). jim wishes his parents could pay for his education but they can’t. at least, he qualifies for government loans with a reduced interest rate while he is in school. he has a special arrangement with aggiebank to lend him the money at a subsidized rate of 1% over five years without having to make a payment until the end of the fifth year. however, at the end of the fifth year, jim agrees to pay off the loan by borrowing from longhorn bank. longhorn bank will lend him the money he needs at an annual interest rate of 6%. jim agrees to pay back the longhorn bank with 20 annual payments and the payments will be uniform (equal annual payments including principal and interest). (i) calculate how much money jim has to borrow at the end of 5 years to pay off the loan with aggiebank. a. $121,336 b. $127,525 c. $125,000 d. $102,020 e. none of the above