American improvement in the conduct of military operations in Europe Essay

American improvement in the conduct of military operations in Europe - Essay Example After the Second World War, the United States emerged as a global superpower in terms of its military power and the Cold War era saw the development of the nation as a super power. Towards the end of the twentieth century, it is because of these improvements in the conduct of military operations in Europe that helped the nation to dictate terms over international relations and global terrorist upheavals. Murray & Millett (2001), in this respect, observe that the â€Å"American commanders had shown considerable improvement in the conduct of military operations in 1945† (Murray & Millett 483). The authors observe that the American drive to the Rhine and the encirclement of the Ruhr by First and Ninth U.S. Armies were the greatest American victory in the war. For them, the U.S. commanders in the campaign were successful as they had ‘a superior understanding of exploitation and maneuver warfare’. The U.S military also realized the significance of more robust radio communications that would assist infantry platoon. Similarly, the U.S military developed an innovative â€Å"ability of the artillery to adjust and mass fires on unseen targets, either by map analysis or, more importantly, by the use of ground or airborne observers† (Murray & Millett 30)

Drug and Alcohol Addiction Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug and Alcohol Addiction - Research Proposal Example This research will begin with the statement that drug and alcohol addiction has been one chief source of various ills in our society which deserves to be addressed seriously for an intensive permanent resolution. We can never deny the fact that somewhere in history, alcohol drinking and substance use have heretofore prevailed to be part of our culture and we have often found a great deal of change through them in terms of economy and socio-political affairs from societal to global scale. Like poverty and the cold war between nations, drug and alcohol addiction is an appalling crisis that would not cease to torment and misshape the moral sphere of living. On this ground, I have decided to conduct further research on drug and alcohol addiction, being a subject area of huge significance especially in determining certain causes or factors if issues that emerge out of trouble within the family, search for identity, the problem with career, and several other more personal conflicts.  To me, it is quite essential to examine individual concerns that are directly influenced by addiction to alcohol and drug since an addicted drug user or alcohol drinker eventually affects other people in his circle. As observed in reality, every person who has abused the use of drugs and alcohol bears a negative impact on the lives of others who may commit quality-of-life crimes themselves. Moreover, studies demonstrate that drug and alcohol addiction is widely associated to cases of human trafficking, murder, sexual assault, theft and robbery, juvenile delinquencies, different forms of violence, suicide, and other criminal or unlawful acts that run contrary to promoting ethics, health, and life of peace. The paper would aim as well to cover discussion of the existing measures implemented by the American government, how effective these measures are, and what else can be done to improve such measures on preventing and possibly finding solutions to eradicate drug and alcohol addiction co mpletely among the youth.

Smartphone Speech Essay Example for Free

Smartphone Speech Essay The first ever smartphone – IBM Simon smartphone? A high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone or camera phone. Todays models also serve to combine the functions of portable media players, low-end compact digital cameras, pocket video cameras, and GPS navigation units. Modern smartphones typically also include high-resolution touchscreens, web browsers that can access and properly display standard web pages rather than just mobile-optimized sites, and high-speed data access via Wi-Fi and mobile broadband. The most common mobile operating systems (OS) used by modern smartphones include Apples iOS, Googles Android, Microsofts Windows Phone, Nokias Symbian, RIMs BlackBerry OS, and embedded Linux distributions such as Maemo and MeeGo. Such operating systems can be installed on many different phone models, and typically each device can receive multiple OS software updates over its lifetime. The distinction between smartphones and feature phones can be vague and there is no official definition for what constitutes the difference between them. One of the most significant differences is that the advanced application programming interfaces (APIs) on smartphones for running third-party applications can allow those applications to have better integration with the phones OS and hardware than is typical with feature phones. In comparison, feature phones more commonly run on proprietary firmware, with third-party software support through platforms such as Java ME or BREW. An additional complication in distinguishing between smartphones and feature phones is that over time the capabilities of new models of feature phones can increase to exceed those of phones that had been promoted as smartphones in the past. History Early years It was designed in 1992 and shown as a concept product that year at COMDEX, the computer industry trade show held in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was released to the public in 1993 and sold by BellSouth. Besides being a mobile phone, it also contained a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail client, the ability to send and receive faxes, and games. It had no physical buttons, instead customers used a touchscreen to select telephone numbers with a finger or create faxes and memos with an optional stylus. Text was entered with a unique on-screen predictive keyboard. By todays standards, the Simon would be a fairly low-end product, lacking a camera and the ability to download third-party applications. However, its feature set at the time was highly advanced. The Nokia Communicator line was the first of Nokias smartphones starting with the Nokia 9000, released in 1996. This distinctive palmtop computer style smartphone was the result of a collaborative effort of an early successful and costly personal digital assistant (PDA) by Hewlett-Packard combined with Nokias best-selling phone around that time, and early prototype models had the two devices fixed via a hinge. The Communicators are characterized by a clamshell design, with a feature phone display, keyboard and user interface on top of the phone, and a physical QWERTY keyboard, high-resolution display of at least 640? 200 pixels and PDA user interface under the flip-top. The software was based on the GEOS V3. 0 operating system, featuring email communication and text-based web browsing. In 1998, it was followed by Nokia 9110, and in 2000 by Nokia 9110i, with improved web browsing capability. In 1997 the term smartphone was used for the first time when Ericsson unveiled the concept phone GS88 the first device labeled as smartphone. Symbian The Nokia 9210 Communicator (Symbian 2000 model smartphone)In 2000, the touchscreen Ericsson R380 Smartphone was released. It was the first device to use an open operating system, the Symbian OS. It was the first device marketed as a smartphone. It combined the functions of a mobile phone and a personal digital assistant (PDA). In December 1999 the magazine Popular Science appointed the Ericsson R380 Smartphone to one of the most important advances in science and technology. It was a groundbreaking device since it was as small and light as a normal mobile phone. In 2002 it was followed up by P800. Also in 2000, the Nokia 9210 communicator was introduced, which was the first color screen model from the Nokia Communicator line. It was a true smartphone with an open operating system, the Symbian OS. It was followed by the 9500 Communicator, which also was Nokias first cameraphone and first Wi-Fi phone. The 9300 Communicator was smaller, and the latest E90 Communicator includes GPS. The Nokia Communicator model is remarkable for also having been the most costly phone model sold by a major brand for almost the full life of the model series, costing easily 20% and sometimes 40% more than the next most expensive smartphone by any major producer. In 2007 Nokia launched the Nokia N95 which integrated a wide range of multimedia features into a consumer-oriented smartphone: GPS, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity and TV-out. In the next few years these features would become standard on high-end smartphones. The Nokia 6110 Navigator is a Symbian based dedicated GPS phone introduced in June 2007. In 2010 Nokia released the Nokia N8 smartphone with a stylus-free capacitive touchscreen, the first device to use the new Symbian^3 OS. [16] It featured a 12 megapixel camera with Xenon flash able to record HD video in 720p, escribed by Mobile Burn as the best camera in a phone,[17] and satellite navigation that Mobile Choice described as the best on any phone. [18] It also featured a front-facing VGA camera for videoconferencing. Symbian was the number one smartphone platform by market share from 1996 until 2011 when it dropped to second place behind Googles Android OS. In February 2011, Nokia announced that it would replace Symbian with Windows Phone as the operating system on all of its future smartphones. [19] This transition was completed in October 2011, when Nokia announced its first line of Windows Phone 7. 5 smartphones, Lumia 710 and 800. Smartphone market share For several years, demand for advanced mobile devices boasting powerful processors and graphics processing units, abundant storage (flash memory) for applications and media files, high-resolution screens with multi-touch capability, and open operating systems has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market. According to an early 2010 study by ComScore, over 45. 5 million people in the United States owned smartphones out of 234 million total subscribers. Despite the large increase in smartphone sales in the last few years, smartphone shipments only made up 20% of total handset shipments as of the first half of 2010. According to Gartner in their report dated November 2010, total smartphone sales doubled in one year and now smartphones represent 19. 3 percent of total mobile phone sales. Smartphone sales increased in 2010 by 72. 1 percent from the prior year, whereas sales for all mobile phones only increased by 32%. According to an Olswang report in early 2011, the rate of smartphone adoption is accelerating as of March 2011 22% of UK consumers had a smartphone, with this percentage rising to 31% amongst 24- to 35-year-olds. In March 2011, Berg Insight reported data that showed global smartphone shipments increased 74% from 2009 to 2010. A survey of mobile users in the United States by Nielsen in Q3, 2011 reports that smartphone ownership has reached 43% of all U. S. mobile subscribers, with the vast majority of users under the age of 44 owning one. In the 25-34 age range smartphone ownership is reported to be at 62%. NPD Group reports that the share of handset sales that were smartphones in Q3, 2011 reached 59% for consumers 18 and over in the U. S. In profit share worldwide smartphones now far exceed the share of non-smartphones. According to a November 2011 research note from Canaccord Genuity, Apple Inc. olds 52% of the total mobile industrys operating profits, while only holding 4. 2% of the global handset market. HTC and RIM similarly only make smartphones and their worldwide profit shares are at 9% and 7%, respectively. Samsung, in second place after Apple at 29%, makes both smartphones and feature phones and doesnt report a breakdown separating their profits between the two kinds of devices, but it can be intuited that a significant portion of that profit comes from their flagship smartphone devices. Up to the end of November 2011, camera-equipped smartphones took 27 percent of photos, a significant increase from 17 percent last year. Due to the fact that we carry smartphones with us all the time, smartphones have replaced some functions of Point-and-shoot cameras, except the cameras with big optical zoom such as 10x. In early July 2011 the Pew Research Center released the results of a new study. The findings show that 35% of adults own smartphones, and those phones are the main source of Internet access for 25% of their users. The trends and adoption rates continue to climb and mobile devices and connections become a bigger part of the lives of more and more people.

Example Answers to Questions on Culture in the Loreal Group

Example Answers to Questions on Culture in the Loreal Group The LOreal group has been the market leader of cosmetics and the beauty industry. The products it mainly sales are in the fields of cosmetics including, hair color, makeup products, skin care products, perfumes etc. Company has also launched its several products in the field of dermatology and pharmacy. The sales and profits are maintained through its wide range of professional consumer luxury and active products showing a strong through it. It was founded in 1909 by Eugene Schueller and soon it grown into worlds largest company in the industry. The turnover of the company has grown over 19 billions euros with over 11 percent of growth which considerably indicates the success of marketing strategies of LOreal group. The company market over 70 international brands along with a number of local brands made specifically for the country it is marketing with the same international standards and flexibility according to the local needs and requirements that are to be sold to both men and wo men over 150 countries. The company has shown enough growth in the continents of North America and Western Europe with its outstanding performance of twice the market trend growth of the markets of Asia pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Middle East. The global marketing efforts of the company with its smart selling efforts brought the tremendous amount of success for it. The differences between the different cultures and the needs of the native people of those different cultures have been quite successfully understood by the companys marketing personals. To understand and to answer the cosmetic requirement of the different types of people in the world the company has setup its five worldwide research and development centre which are established in the different continents like 2 in France, 1 in the US and 1 in Japan and 1 in China in order to make the products manufacturing managed according to the needs of different culture. LOreal group has successfully projected itself as a nice example of a good multi national corporation that manages its profit with considerable success through the competitions in the markets surrounded by the various geographical, social, economical and cultural risks. The company reached out to the variety of the customers with different economic status and cultural background in overall different perception through its fine global branding strategies. Through its selling of different products the company sold different genre of products like Italian elegance, New York street smarts, French beauty, etc through different global branding methods. In this report we are asked to discuss about different global marketing strategies adopted by LOreal group and how much the company is successful in understanding the different cultural distinction in the different international market. (LOreal Group) Part 1 COMPANYS GLOBAL MARKETTING STRATEGIES The famous LOreal group utilized its global marketing strategies to its extreme extent in order to show and generate the great growth opportunities in a very elegant way. The company is known for and has always been imposition of its customers as a supreme elegant French product with smart prices and superb packaging. The general belief of the management of the company is about the basic existence of two different dominative beauty cultures which are French and the American .This has been a major reason behind the company to setup two headquarters one in the Paris and one in New York. These two countries are culturally far different in terms of the background of the people, the mind set of the society and the creative background of their culture. The company even laid down the establishments of the different brands as the part of same organization in competition to each other in the field of marketing but takes the research and developmental part in the collaboration as suggested by marketing head of the LOreal, Owen Jones. He suggested and implemented various smart and innovative marketing strategies that stimulated the creativity in his department like moving around the streets of the local market to explore and analyze the needs and expectation of the product in the point of view of the native customers so that the product can be designed and marketed accordingly. The decisions over the marketing strategies in the headquarters of the LOreal group are made after consulting examining and having the proper insight of the local markets while delivering with the touch of international standards maintained giving the feel of the popular method of implementing the global along with the local satisfaction .The LOreal effectively focused on the international scale with its revolutionary which brought lot of success to the company across many countries and continents. The growth of the company in countries like India , Mexico , Malaysia , few African countries was alo ng with its immense success in its homeland of Europe and America also with its appreciative expansion in the tough markets of china and Japan which was quite significant and miles stones .The main problems faced by the marketing teams of the company in the countries in which LOreal has not been that successful as compared to other parts of the world like japan and china where there are strict health related rules and regulations and the complex distribution of markets is the considerable example may be that of Japan which is the second largest cosmetics market in the world .The company very well shouts its global presence with its subseries factories and manufacturing units and selling outlets all across the various continents of north America , Europe , Asia and Africa. To support this fact with the data and the statistical requirement the company has 18 subsidiaries and 8 factories in the continent of north America ,169 subsidiaries and 22 factories in the countries of Europe, 29 subsidiaries and 5 factories in Latin America ,23 subsidiaries and 4 factories in south Asia and with its extension in Australia, middle east and many other African countries as per the information available according to the data at the end of the 20th century. The global brands of lOreal includes the LOreal itself the Garnier ,Lancome ,Biotherm ,vichy, Maybelline ,Redken, Ralf Lauren , Goirgio and Helena which are being launched in different types of markets of the world for the different types of people in the world. The company also adopted famous marketing policy of acquiring the market through acquisition policies .This not only helped the company to settle in the overseas market but also to expand and become its leader. Some of the popular acquisitions of the LOreal group include the acquitted companies like body shop, soft sheen, matrix, etc. To summarize the overall marketing strategy the company has to maintain the standardization globally as well as to have the scope of local optimization as per the needs and requirements of the different cultures existing all round the globe. The company always had some standard product with incomparable core features and the most importantly its scope of being coupled up with the optimization required with the products in order to maximize its local response by the native customers by making adjustments in the features of products with its prices without compromising with its international brand value and quality. These were the major reasons behind the companys emergence as the global leader of the cosmetic market for different cultures and hopes of the beauty of the local men and women worldwide. BASIC CORPORATE CULTUER IN THE COMPANY The culture of any company described is in the basis of how it handles the individuals operating in the group and manages its diversity in its very own style , its own working conditions, hierarchy and the general involvement .The LOreal has been adopting nice effective policies to not only handle the personal but also the professional activities of the individual employees through different methods like motivational rewards, training and education , employees appraisal through different schemes etc. The company takes the talent development and understanding of the corporate culture by its employee as one of its responsibilities. Company allows the employees to be geographically mobile, provide high working cadencies and various other French benefits. The career development of the employee are maintained through the rewards like the rise and pain ,internal promotions, in transfers options it also conducts the activity like bi-development interview and even hence established several m anagement development centres as well. The annual expansion plan of the individual with the company is done through interviews , evaluation of the annual performance, taking into the consideration their need and professional aspiration, the coordination and communication between the employees and the employees with the top level management is effectively maintained inside the organization, the external communication with the customers with the market is done through effective brand managing with the help of press and media and having the well customer care management to resolve any issue that may arise. With the use hierarchal way of communication among the employees of the organization, the relations among them is maintained and also the internal conflicts is resolved through effective management. Emails are one of the most important ways of communication for day to day disposal of information and the general purpose to convey information with the employees of the company. The comp any promotes its brand through its effective way of external communication through press, electronic media, web promotion, etc it also maintains its brand image through promotional campaign done through sponsorships. There are various clubs and communities within the company that are established to maintain the better relationship between the employees .The company also very effectively follow the customer responsive culture .The proper internal and external functioning of the company is handled by the strong cultural backgrounds of its ethics and principal. The company has developed an embracing culture which has short procedures for doing the work which not only provide the purpose of less wastage of time and energy but also gives the feeling of independence and autonomy to each of its employees .The oral communication is considered better than the written procedure in order to have flexibility in work but it also provides a type of ease to solve any conflicts if they arise. The company very well handles its diversities in its team and the clients which is reflected through its successes at every level .The company serve his products to many cultures according to the requirement of any culture through its dedication and proper understanding. The management adopts such policies so as to utilize the working capabilities of its employees to its maximum extent. Sometime the pressure on the employees also builds up but overall they work their according to the individual perception. THE CORPORATE STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY The companies like any other multinational company with a high prestige consist of board of directors, management committees and the stockholders. The board of directors as the governing body including fifteen members. The present members belonging to core committee are : jean paul Agon, Francisco Basco, Werner Bauer, Liliane Bettencourt, Francoise Meyers, Peter Brabeck, Charles Fillipi, Xavier Fontanet, Bernard Kasriel, Marc Lacharrier, Jean Meyers, Lindsay Owen-Jones, Franck Riboud, Annete Roux and Louis Schweitzer. The management committees have different committees responsible for administrating the different departments. The committee includes Jean-Paul Agon as Chief Executive Officer, Beatrice Dautresme as EVP of corporate communications, Christian Mullieze as EVP of finances, Fredrick Roze as Chief Executive Officer of LOreal USA, Jean Grollier as EVP of RD, Jean Lebel as the president of consumer products, Nicolas Hieronimus as the president of professional products, Geoff Sk ingsely as EVP of Human Resources and Marc Menesguen as the president of Luxury Products. The major stockholders of the company are Bettencourt family, Nestle, treasury shares and the others holded by the general public for the trade. The distribution of the shares are the Bettencourt family acquiring the 31 per cent of the companys share, 29.8 percent of the shares are acquired by nestle , 2.4 percent shares reserved for the treasury for the future and the remaining 36 percents of the share available in the market for the general public trade. Part 2 DEALING WITH THE DIFFERENT CULTURES OF THE WORLD As described by the famous author Schein, the culture in reference to the corporate world is the different corporations learning that is developed by different discoveries, invention and the development for handling the internal and the external issue effectively .These learning and development should be successful enough to be passed and taught to the coming and joining employees for handling such affairs in the future .He also remarked the famous quote ,the culture has a same meaning to the group what personality has to with individual. Also it is well understood in the current era of global market that a successful multinational company has to have an in-depth knowledge of the environment and the different cultural background of the different countries and regions in which it is operating to have a considerable amount of success. As a world leader in the field of cosmetics and beauty industries, the LOreal group is always up with the blend of beauty with the design of products by intense research in science and technology with a tinge of innovations .The company has been selling its products to the men and women to more than 130 countries based on different cultures, different mindsets and with the different perceptions to evaluate its products. For surviving in these diversities, the company has to take innovation and quality management as one of its major requirement for its product manufactured. The company sells the most advanced product in each and every country it is serving independent of any culture it has to serve .Being present in any country the company always gives the credits to its employees to build the LOreal a leader in the beauty and cosmetic Industry of the country by their unequal and unparallel talent and ambition in doing so. As described above the company has opened its subsidiaries and research centers factories etc all around the globe with the vision of having some standardized ethics and principles along with scope of flexibility t o adopt the different cultures for its employees and customers to maintain its brand value at the international level. The four different cultures that can be taken under the consideration can be that of USA, India, Canada and China which can describe how well the company has been successful in dealing up with the cultures which were entirely different in many perspectives. The LOreal USA which is based in New York has worked successfully well to sell its products mainly related to hair color, hair care, skin care, skin care, fragrances and the color cosmetics in the consumer and the professional markets. The major causes of the success of the company had been its progressive research and development of the new and innovative products, high amount of the dedication shown by its employees and the well distributed marketing of its products. The company also did some success providing acquisitions for example that of the Maybelline, Soft Sheen, matrix, etc. (LOreal USA) The LOreal group in the country of India succeeded with its objective of focusing all its energy and know-how of the Indian requirement which it used during the manufacturing of the products and then its selling through effective Indian style marketing strategies. The company provided the Indian men and the women with its all new and innovative products with latest advancements developed in its research and the development centers. The company gives the credit to its more than 600 employees who worked with all the devotions to build the LOreal India with all success in beauty and the cosmetic market in India. (LOreal India) The LOreal China had entered into the Chinese market in 1996 with all efforts to provide the customers in China their desired cosmetic requirements but providing its key products of international quality and some especially made products suiting the Chinese skin, hair, etc. The company did very well in adopting the local marketing strategies by coming up with the products like that of whitening and the anti-aging creams, etc. The LOreal group performed extremely well in the country of Canada with same commitment of innovations, best quality products and its effective marketing and distribution. The company launched its 25 prestigious brands to overcome the high amount of beauty and cosmetic needs of the people of this country. There are 1200 employ ees working in LOreal Canada with the same dedication and devotion for the profits of the company. THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL DISTINCTIONS For any of the successful MNC, it is very essential to understand the different cultural distinctions between the different cultures. The selling of same kinds of products in the markets that are entirely different in terms of their cultural backgrounds has always proven to be quite a tough task. Also, the product or services should not violate any rule or regulation based on the culture of the country it is operating. The promotional campaigns and the mode of the advertisements also should be designed according to the cultural background of the region it is going to be launched or shown. If these things is not taken into the marketing strategy, the product which had been very much successful in one country, may even fail in the other. The local branding strategies, management of the human resources, etc all should be decided and implemented while taking into account the cultural distinctions on whose basis its applicability and the feasibility has to be decided. The same reward sche mes, motivational methods, desired working environments, etc also cannot be the same for different employees working for the company in the different nations and thus it also needs the understanding of different aspects of the impacts of the cultural differences. For good relationship of foreign supervisor with its subordinate local employees, the cultural understanding of both becomes an essential object. When it comes to the market, the customers with entirely different cultures have a different perspective of looking the product and deciding its feasibility for them which depends upon their general mindset, price tags, quality and features required as per the natural climate, and its importance for them as an individual.

Nigerias Rigid Expectations of Men :: essays research papers fc

In September 1997, in Oslo, Norway, a meeting was organized in co-operation with the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO where international observer B. Mustakim said, â€Å"Highlighting masculinity may be seen as a way of excusing violent men, since their behavior is attributed to a masculinity which many believe to be "natural" and unchangeable.† Georg Tillner, author of Men and Masculinities, responded, â€Å"Power is the one aspect all variants of masculinity have in common, not necessarily as the real possession of power, but rather as a "demand for dominance" or an "entitlement to power". Masculinity is an identity† (Mustakim). Throughout Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, masculinity takes an impressive role in molding the clan’s male-dominated society, and plays a vital part in influencing characters’ decisions. In the novel, Achebe reveals the definition of what it means to be a man in Nigerian society ; he should be masculine and protect his family and friends in that he is willing to fight, earn his good reputation, and preserve and expand the honor of his family. In Nigerian society, a man was responsible for the protection of his family and friends in that he was willing to fight. No character in Things Fall Apart demonstrated this ideal better than that of Okonkwo. This was apparent in the very beginning of the novel when it is brought to the reader’s attention that Okonkwo had, at such a young age, already taken two titles and demonstrated undivided skill in two inter-tribal wars. At the closing stages of the novel, Okonkwo yet again attempted to protect his clansmen when five court messengers arrive at one of the clan’s meetings. Without any hesitation, Okonkwo pulled out his machete and killed the head messenger. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, however, did not fit the same mold of masculinity as that of his high-achieved son. While Unoka and his neighbor, Okoye, were sharing a kola nut (a symbol of life and vitality) one day, they talked about several things including that of the impending war with the village of Mbaino. U noka did not condone war, but not because he believed that it was barbaric. He was simply a coward and could not stand the sight of blood. Thomas Alva Edison, a great inventor, businessman, and true Renaissance man, once said, â€Å"The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do† (Woopidoo!). Okonkwo became an important and successful asset to his clan by achieving things in which his father refused to partake.

Free Essay on Nathaniel Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Pearl as The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Pearl as The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that shows the Puritanical way of life. Society does not accept the fact that Hester has committed the sin of adultery so they cast her out by making her wear a scarlet letter 'A' across her chest. Pearl is the product of Hester's sin, the scarlet letter is the product of society. This idea shows that Pearl is the scarlet letter and the scarlet letter is Pearl. There are many ways in which Pearl is shown to be as the scarlet letter because she is considered to be a part of nature, she is the physical connection between Dimmesdale and Hester, and Pearl is the reason that makes Dimmesdale and Hester to finally accept their sin and make their confession in front of society and the people within society. The reasons are listed in this manner because in the first one nature is a stronger force that human force, then comes her connection between Dimmesdale and Hester because she is the natural connection which is a link from the first on e to the second and also her being the reason Dimmesdale and Hester accepting the sin is last because there is a stronger connection between the child and the parents here which is linked from the previous reason. Pearl is a product of a natural act done by two human beings. This is the act of sex. But society considers it to be bad because there was no social contract between the parents to have that baby. But still its natural so it makes Pearl natural and cast out by society. Even her mother notices that it is society that seems to make Pearl the "evil" girl she is, "She knew that her deed had been evil; she could have no faith, therefore, that its result would be for good. Day after day she looked fearfully into the child's expanding nature; ever dreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity, that could restore to the guiltiness to which she owed her being."( The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. 86) Here what is depicted is that Pearl's evil is from her mother's "guiltiness". So if Hester has none of that guilt that came from society then she would naturally be a good girl. Also, Pearl seems to be connected to nature because there is some contact where Pearl has some kind of commun ication with Pearl.

History of Ergonomics Essay

Ergonomics refers to the study of the interaction between humans and the environment. This study is aimed at understanding mechanisms that are necessary in order to improve the working conditions of humans. Such working conditions include health, performance and comfort. The study is intended at enhancing strategies that optimize the performance of humans at work. This implies that it focuses on techniques that are required to restructure office etiquette and procedures in order to improve the overall productivity. However, ergonomics is not necessarily limited to office environment as it also encompasses other fields of human life. In a practical perspective, ergonomics is a science concerned with the design of office equipments and artifacts in order to improve the comfort of workers and improve the overall productivity and effectiveness (Gilmore et al. , 1998). An ergonomicist is interested in the study of the interaction between humans and the tools they use in their working environments. The study of ergonomic includes the design of office equipments and space, and the positioning of switches in control rooms. It additionally includes the study of the interaction of the human behavior and their surrounding. This study originated form Greece where the term ergonomics was derived from ergon meaning work and nomos meaning natural law in Greek. Later on a 19th century sociologist Fredrik Taylor invented the term ‘Scientific management’ to gain maximum results in the factory work. Since then, the practice of ergonomics has tremendously developed over time. As the age of space approaches, new factors continue to emerge such as weightlessness and gravitational force. As the modern world progresses into the future, the field of ergonomics continues to become more sophisticated. In the United States, an army personnel known as Alphonse Chapanis in 1943 explained that plane accidents caused by pilot errors could be significantly be reduced by using a more simple and rational cockpit instead of the common control layout (Jubel, 2007). Institutional ergonomics is concerned with the socio-technical aspects of the work environment which refers to the amalgamation of structure, process and organizational strategies. Cognitive ergonomics deals with the psychological perspectives of the workplace which involves the study of ideas, opinion and memory. In academic viewpoint, the study of ergonomics would comprise the knowledge of psychology, engineering and health science. It is therefore necessary for an ergonomicist to possess a bachelors or masters degree in these disciplines. The practice of ergonomics can find use in several aspects of human life such as workplace, home setting, education and sports. The practical study of ergonomics involves the design of working equipments such as computer chairs or keyboards. Other ergonomic discipline involves the study of the environment of the world as is referred to as quantum ergonomics (Gilmore et al. 1998). History of ergonomics In the United States, the field of ergonomic is believed to have originated during the period of the Second World War (Wickens & Hollands, 2000), even though developments that led to its inception can be traced back to the 20th century. Before the Second World War, the main focus of the work place was designing humans to adapt to the machines used at work basically referred to trial and error method as opposed to designing the machines used at work to match the requirements of humans. This can be observed form the study conducted by Taylor in which the selection criteria, time and motion studies, training and work rest programs were examined (Taylor, 1911). This study of time and motions was expounded by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (Gilbreth & Gilbreth, 1917). Majority of the ergonomic developments were necessitated by military requirements. With the commencement of the First World War, which was the first conflict where airplane was used in combat, there emerged the need to adequately train pilots new mechanisms of war. This necessitated the development of new aviation technologies based on psychology. In addition these trends prompted the emergence of aeromedical research studies. Even though progress was made during this period, the momentum for developing and exploring the discipline further was no achieved since there was lack of vital technological advancements and personnel due to the ongoing Second World War (Meister, 1999). The period between the First World War and the Second World War recorded a significant decline in research, however, some success were realized during this period. Aeromedical research work did not stop during this time which realized advances in several laboratories built across the United States such as the Brooks Air Force Base located in the city of Texas and the Wright Field situated in Ohio. These laboratories were significant in the development of ergonomics. Their study was focused on identification of attributes of successful pilots and establishing the impacts of environment stressors on the performance and productivity of flights. Furthermore, the study of anthropometry which is a field concerned with the measurement of the human body was considerably employed in designing airplanes during this period. Other researches were also being done in the private sector such as the automobile behavioral studies (Forbes, 1939). The emergence of the Second World War, and its accompanied needs, formed the driving force behind the development of the field of ergonomics. First, the demand of mobilizing and recruiting substantial numbers of people both men and women made it very difficult for individuals to specialize in a particular job. Therefore, there was a shift in focus where individual’s capability was designed in order to reduce the negative impacts of their shortcomings. Secondly, the period of the Second World War witnessed the turning point in terms of technological advances. The rapid development of technology outpaced the capability of human to adapt and offset poor designs. This was particularly observed in airplane accidents experienced by vastly trained pilots as a result of problems witnessed with the configuration of the control systems and the instrument displays (Fitts & Jones, 1947). In addition, enemy targets were unfortunately missed by machine controlled radars (Wickens & Hollands, 2000). Psychologists were employed to experiment and study these emerging issues by employing laboratory mechanisms in order to solve these problems. As a result, the discipline was ergonomics emerged despite the fact that the people involved in its development failed to realize it during this period (Meister, 1999). The two subsequent decades immediate after the Second World War witnessed a growing military research catalyzed largely by the emergence of the cold war. Military research institutions developed during this war were enlarged and new ones created. The private sectors also continued to develop ergonomic groups mainly in aviation and communication, and digital Industry. The Human Factors Society, a professional body mandated to study ergonomics in the United States was established in 1957 and had an approximate of 90 members then who attended the first inaugural meeting. This name was later abolished in 1992 and replaced with the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Currently, this society boasts of over 4500 people, majority of who are participants in the technical groups established under this society, student bodies and attend the yearly meetings. Beginning in the 1960s, the field of ergonomics continued to expand especially in the previously identified areas. This development expanded into new fields such as computer architecture and software, nuclear weaponry, internet technology among others. In the recent past, new areas of study have emerged which includes neuroergonomics and nanoergonomics (Jubel, 2007). Conclusion A persistent premise that has been developed over several decades is the ever increasing center of influence that ergonomics has attempted to encompass, as technological advances continue to emerge. What simply began as a mere detachment of experimental psychology focusing on the interaction and relationship of people with machines in the work place has tremendously expanded to cover almost all aspects of interaction of individuals and their environment. Several researchers have hypothesized about the future of human factors and ergonomics. With the speedy technological advances in such areas as biotechnology and nanotechnology, it would be very exciting to speculate the emerging problems that ergonomics would be called upon to solve in the future (Vicente, 2008). In the today’s modern world, as it was the case during its inception, human factors and ergonomics has still remained a multi disciplinary field of study. In the United States for instance, this discipline has expanded from behavioral sciences including empirical psychology, and some engineering fields of study. Among the countries in the European block, the discipline of human factors and ergonomics has found its stronghold in physical science disciplines such as human physiology. Currently, people from diverse educational backgrounds and disciplines varying from physiology, engineering and psychology have focused their exclusive skills and knowledge in the study of the interaction and relationship of people with systems.