Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	34,016			$	39,762		$	42,272
Accounts receivable, net			89,200				63,000			50,600
Merchandise inventory			113,000				83,500			58,000
Prepaid expenses			10,954				10,437			4,697
Plant assets, net			347,206				315,694			284,631
Total assets		$	594,376			$	512,393		$	440,200
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	143,560			$	83,997		$	56,363
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			108,390				114,315			94,366
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			179,926				151,581			126,971
Total liabilities and equity		$	594,376			$	512,393		$	440,200

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	772,689					$	609,748
Cost of goods sold	$	471,340					$	396,336
Other operating expenses		239,534						154,266
Interest expense		13,136						14,024
Income tax expense		10,045						9,146
Total costs and expenses					734,055						573,772
Net income				$	38,634					$	35,976
Earnings per share				$	2.38					$	2.21

(3-a) Compute inventory turnover. (3-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.