Abstract
The paper discusses how Dakota's current costing system is fairly basic and does not allow the company to identify individual cost drivers per unit or even per account. Additionally, the company has no costing method that can identify hidden costs within its transactions. The paper then explains that ABC can actually correct all of these short-comings within its operations by associating an actual dollar figure with each unique activity which can then be applied universally to all of DOP's accounts. Furthermore, the paper explains that ABC has the added benefit of providing the cost-justification to deploy a more integrated web-based customer interface and migrate all accounts over to this platform rather than making it an option because the cost savings associated with making this transition is substantial. Finally, the paper shows how ABC can actually return the company to profitability even without an increase in sales revenue or additional accounts by identifying inefficient cost-drivers within its operational processes.

From the Paper
"This paper discusses Dakota Office Supply and its current examination of the activity based costing system or ABC. Dakota's current costing system does not allow the company to identify individual cost drivers per unit. The company has no costing method that can identify hidden costs within its transactions. Dakota can actually correct these short-comings within its operations by associating an actual dollar figure with each unique activity. Dakota has the added benefit of providing the cost-justification to deploy a web-based customer interface rather than making it an option because the cost savings associated with making this transition is..."

Tags:dakota, office, products

Abstract
This paper discusses South Dakota and its elections of 2004. The paper analyzes the South Dakota Senate race of 2004 by discussing the voting history and important political demographics of the state. Candidate characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses for each of the major candidates are presented. The paper evaluates emerging issues in the state that will likely determine the outcome of the election. The paper proposes a winning scenario for each of the major candidates.

From the Paper
"South Dakota is mostly famous for the scenic wonders of the Badlands and important political demographic of the state identifies the fact that there are 17,23 people and 7210 households. The statistics regarding the population of South Dakota states that women members in the country as compared to the male members with in the country, the voting history regarding the elections of 2004 states that the voters are requested to give their opinions through their votes. There are several methodologies, which are followed by the administration that are responsible for collection and counting of votes. Paper ballot and punch card are the two main strategies through which votes are collected and recorded."

Tags:elections, politics, voting, ballots

Abstract
This six-page undergraduate-level paper is in the form of a memo to a civil rights organization director who is faced with the challenge of protecting the voting rights of the Native American community in South Dakota.

Abstract
The paper discusses, in a detailed description, the effectiveness of an activity-based costing system or ABC and the ineffectiveness of the current costing system in use at the Dakota Office Supply (DOS) company . The paper then relates the methodology of implementing ABC at DOS and the procedures involved in its application.

Outline:
Overview
Situational analysis
Activity based costing
ABC in practice at Dakota
Procedural steps of ABC

From the Paper
"Before performing ABC, a baseline or a starting point is needed for business process improvement and a baseline can be expressed in some form of model. This baseline is critical for DOP because in order to establish this baseline metric the analytics just performed must be done for each individual account. If DOP performs this activity on each customer the strategic management benefits would be substantial because all the excess cost-drivers could be eliminated resulting in much wider operating margins and thus profitability without increasing costs or committing resources to gain this efficiency. Therefore, a baseline is a documentation of the organization's policies, practices, methods, measures, costs and their interrelationships at a particular location at a particular point in time (Maiga & Jacobs, 2003). Through base-lining, activity inputs and outputs across functional lines of business can be identified. ABC is the only improvement methodology that provides output or unit costs. Value added activities are those for which the customers are usually willing to pay in some fashion for the product or service. Non-value added are activities that create waste, result in a delay of some sort, and potentially adds costs to the products or services. Resources are assigned to activities so that the activities can be performed in the first place. Some of Pilgrims' resources are measured in man-hours, machine hours as well as machine maintenance and operational overhead. It is through ABC that an organization can begin to see actual dollar costs against individual activities, and find opportunities to streamline or reduce those costs, or even eliminate the entire activity thus removing the cost altogether. This is the process inherent in ABC that reduces overall expenditures of the company. "

Tags:office, Dakota, activity, based, costing

Abstract
The paper describes how the Lakota Indians in South Dakota live simple lives and follow a religion that focuses on the connection to nature, while consumerism has evolved into a form of secular religion that equates personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. The paper explains that the difference between the religions of consumerism and the Lakotas is that consumerism exploits the natural environment of the world and creates greed, whereas the Lakotas consciously care for and about the world and consider all of it's inhabitants. The paper explains how the Lakotas maintain and restore harmony and highlights how consumerism creates a false reality with no lasting satisfaction.

From the Paper
"The Oglala Lakota is a federally recognized Native American tribe from the Great Plains area of the U.S. (Christafferson, 2001). The Lakota Indians live simple lives whose religion focuses on the connection to nature. Consumerism has evolved into a form of secular religion. Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. (Wikipedia) And, as defined by Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: Consumerism is the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods. Essentially consumerism is the consumption and accumulation of what we need (and much of what we don't) based on a system which exploits both the human laborer and the natural order. By its very nature consumerism appears to be a socio-economic structure reliant on greed for its growth and very survival."

Tags:capitalism, materialism, possessions, nature, rituals

Abstract
This paper looks at the small town community of Jud, North Dakota, and discusses the ways in which Christian ministry plays a central role in the community by offering special services to those in need as well as being a social center. The writer describes the town, providing some statistics and demographics, and looks at some of the challenges facing the ministry there, such as the aging of the population and the migration of the youth to more populated areas. Several factors that make Jud an ideal place for a church are also discussed, as well as ways in which the ministry operates. The paper concludes that as the community continues to change, becoming older and perhaps smaller, the church will continue to play a central role in the life of its residents.

From the Paper
"Many people would consider the town of Jud, North Dakota to be located in the middle of nowhere. The nearest large city is Minneapolis, Minnesota at around four hundred miles away. However, the medium sized city of Bismarck, North Dakota is only 130 miles away. That said, people come to a place like Jud because they want to have a traditional small town lifestyle. In this way, Jud's isolation is considered a positive by most of its residents. According to the 2000 census, the town of Jud was populated by 76 people living in 43 households, with a population density of just over 313 people per square mile inside the town limits. Of the 43 households, 14% had children under the age of eighteen living at home while almost 40% were married couples."

Tags:congregation, family, evangelical, socialize, trend, elderly, atmosphere, member

Abstract
This paper examines the arguments surrounding abortion. It describes the division based upon social, religious and cultural worldviews and how this same division can be seen across the globe. The paper then examines the passing of recent legislation in South Dakota regarding the right to terminate a pregnancy and the implications of the new laws. The paper argues in favor of the right to abortion.

Tableof Contents:
Introduction
Tough Decisions in Desperate Situations
Conclusion

From the Paper
"South Dakota, like several other states, is recognized for its historical stance against abortion and, yet, as reflective of other states, its stance has significantly shifted. This is because the majority of people believe that abortion should be legal because it serves the community of women who need to have a pregnancy terminated for a whole variety of different reasons. It should, therefore, be there as a means of helping those who have fallen pregnant due to violence, to those who are simply too young to responsibly raise a child, for mothers who face raising a deformed child, and for those who may suffer serious health problems if allowing the pregnancy to continue."

Tags:pregnant, fetus, morality

Abstract
This paper will discuss the book "Waterlily" by Ella Deloria and compare and contrast the lives of the men and women of South Dakota in the tale. By analyzing the differing gender roles that arise in the story, we can see a clear view of how people lived in this state of the United States. By analyzing the ways that Deloria worked to make a clear representation of the Indian way of life for her native Lakotas, we can see how her acute observation made a solid study.

Abstract
This paper examines how the main argument of Igoe's "Conservation and Globalization A Study of National Parks and Indigenous Communities from East Africa to South Dakota" has, as its title suggests, two main parts. It looks at how on the one hand the author examines the conservation movement and its impact upon indigenous peoples. However, the author is also interested in the processes by which conservation is spread through globalization and through colonialism in earlier years by the shaping of our perspectives on the world in which we live.

Tags:anthropology, conservation, discourse

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the crime indices of burglary in the Bismarck North Dakota Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) to that of the Macon Georgia MSA as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its annual "Crime in the United States" publication. It then discusses some of the factors that may contribute to the disparity between the two MSA.

From the Paper
"The rate of burglary was highest in Macon in this comparison. The rate for 2005 was 1,383.2 per 100,000. The rates for 2000 and 1995 were 1,235.4 and 1,104.0 respectively. There was one statistical change made in the sampling from 2000 to 2005. The metropolitan statistic area was revised. For the 1995 and 2000 reports Macon included Bibb, Houston, Jones, Peach and Twiggs counties. For the 2005 report, Houston and Peach were replaced with Crawford and Monroe counties. This had an effect on the overall population reported for the MSA. The 1995 population was 313,771, 2000 was 338,029 but 2005 the population was reported as 234,455. The later number must be disregarded when assuming a slowly increasing population trend. The trends are contrasted to the Bismarck data."

Tags:theft, population, UCR, law, enforcement