Wednesday, July 31, 2019

”Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen Essay

Pride and Prejudice is a 19th century novel written by Jane Austen. As it is a popular novel it has been remade for television and film several times. In this essay two media adaptations are being analysed. The 1995 BBC classic drama of pride and Prejudice and a 2004 Bollywood version renamed Bride and Prejudice. The BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is a period drama and has been made using the books storyline and text very closely whereas the Bollywood adaptation has only faithfully adhered to the storyline and parts have been changed to attract a modern audience. In addition to storyline, and text not changed in the BBC adaptation, costume, props and language are all in keeping with the 19th century way of life. However the Bollywood adaptation uses costume, props and language from the Indian culture, this has up dated the film and also keeps with the storyline of the book. Both adaptations have very different audiences they are trying to attract. Pride and Prejudice aims for older and more mature people, an audience who are interested in period dramas and may have read the book. The Bollywood film, however is aimed at younger audiences who may have not heard of Pride and Prejudice nor read the book. It has been changed into a romantic comedy; â€Å"romcom† rather than a more serious look at the book. The use of the Indian culture and view on marriages is a contrast to the views in the 19th century. In both productions the main theme is marriage but they use different methods to represent it. The BBC version shows how relationships and marriage were in the 19th century, in contrast to this how many of the restrictions placed in the 19th century are still in practise in the Indian culture today, however, modernizes the story. In this essay the two media adaptations, (Pride and Prejudice and Bride and Prejudice), are going to be compared to show how they have been adapted for screen. Three key scenes from both productions are going to be discussed and a number of factors to show how they have changes. The three scenes are: * The Netherfield Ball * Mr Collins/Kholi Arrival * Lydia/Lucky and Wickham relationship The Netherfield ball is the place in both adaptations where Darcy and Elizabeth/Lalita meet for the first time the two settings however are very different. In the Bollywood version the setting very much reflects the Indian culture, it is colourful and brash. The atmosphere is hectic with lots of people talking, dancing, laughing and partying. On the other hand the BBC version is more formal with talking kept to minimum and the mood is soft, this is to show what an occasion in 19th century would have been like. The BBC also has kept to tradition and there are different rooms for occasions throughout, Bollywood have used an open plan room to show the change in time and fashion. The camera shots in the scene change a lot. The BBC adaptation uses a birdseye view of the dancing and uses long shot, medium shot, close ups and point of view shot. This is to give a wide variation of the view of the ballroom and closer shots to see the actors’ facial expressions. In the Bollywood adaptation however they use only a few birdseye views of the dancing and more medium shots and point of view shots especially with Darcy and Lalita’s conversation, this shows us what the other person is feeling as they talk to one another and identify with the character. When Darcy is looking up at Lalita on the balcony and Lalita to Darcy on the ground the camera angle is pointed up and down, this gives the film a more dramatic look. Lighting also varies considerably in the two adaptations. In the Bollywood adaptation top lighting is used to brighten the room and give a party atmosphere, this changes in the scene with Darcy and Lalita on the balcony however and backlighting is mainly used. As the BBC adaptation is a period drama lighting is not as bright as the Bollywood effect, there is more under lighting used from lamps and chandeliers. The sound in both adaptations is also clearly different, the BBC use classical sounds and people play instruments for music, and the music they dance to is soft and quite compared to the Bollywood sound. Instruments again produce the music but everyone sings which gives it more volume, they also use words to reflect their feelings. Both scenes have dancing involved but they are clearly different. The BBC has again stuck with traditional dance, which has very repetitive dance moves and is slow. Also shown is how social etiquette is set out with the men only allowed to ask women to dance and how it was very rude for them to refuse. Bollywood has changed this in its adaptation; the dancing is traditional for Bollywood style, fast and very enthusiastic. The men start the dance with the women following later, the women all walk down the balcony and tighten their saris before they dance to show they are ready. Another difference between dances in Bollywood is the man and women dance towards each other rather than with each other, both of these points show how women now have more power than in the 19th century. The songs in Bollywood films offer meaning and feelings of the characters which the film hasn’t got time to express, this is something used in Bollywood and has been included to reflect this. The conversations that take place between Darcy and Lalita and Darcy and Elizabeth are very different. In the BBC version Darcy and Elizabeth do not actually have a face-to-face conversation, he makes a very rude and cutting remark about her which she later makes light of with her friends. The conversation in the BBC adaptation is also very polite and minimal but important, the conversation has not been changed from the book. However, in the Bollywood version Darcy tells Lalita how he thinks it is simpler to have an arranged marriage, she takes this the wrong way and thinks he means Indian women are simple. Lalita is very defensive towards him and tells him otherwise. This change made in the film is to display thoughts on Indian marriage and show the similarities it has with the original 19th century tradition. There is also a conversation which is both in the BBC and Bollywood adaptations of the novel, that of Mrs Bennet/Bakshi. In the scenes she talks about marriage and wealth to f riends, this conversation gives an insight into the character already and has been included in the Bollywood adaptation because the characters are the same. The costumes in both productions are exactly the same for the time. The costumes also represent the characters. Darcy is uncomfortable but more so in the Bollywood version because he cannot speak the language, cannot join in with the dancing and is a different nationality. The Bingley sister wears modern and expansive clothes, in the BBC version she wears feathers and gold jewellery. This has been changed in the Bollywood adaptation to the sister wearing designer labels, this equally shows the wealth but also the change in time. The Bennet/Bakshi sisters in both productions are not as wealthy as the Bingley sisters and this is visible in their clothes. In the BBC adaptation they do not wear feathers and the accessories are very simple likewise in the Bollywood adaptation they do not wear designer labels. In the scene the personalities of the characters are seen and they are quite similar in both adaptations. In the Bollywood adaptation Darcy is uncomfortable, however he also very rude in the BBC version. Elizabeth is lively, strong and defensive in both scenes, she also shows in the BBC adaptation when she makes light of Darcy’s comment about her. Bingley in both versions is charming and in Bollywood takes part in the dance unlike Darcy. Mrs Bennet and Bakshi both talk about marriage and don’t differ at all in the adaptations, as do the younger Bennet sisters they are flirtatious and playful. The key personality of the characters has not been changed at all and this is one way in which the Bollywood adaptation has stuck to the novel. The scene of Mr Collins/Kholi’s arrival in both adoptions is changed in many ways. Transport that Mr Collins/Kholi arrives in is very different, in the Bollywood adaptation Mr Kholi arrives in a taxi whereas in the BBC adaptation Mr Collins arrives in a carriage. This change shows the change in times and the change of country. The setting is also different and reflects the change in times and country, Mr Collins arrives out side the Bennets house in the Bennets estate which has gardens and gravel walkways, Mr Kholi however, arrives on a dusty Indian street and the Bakshis do not own any estate around them. This to show how the Bakshis live compared to the Bennets. In terms of camera shots Mr Collins/Kholi’s arrival is quite the same, the camera use medium and long shots to show both characters arriving and point of view shots from the families and Mr Collins/Bakshi’s view. Both adaptations also use close up shots of the sisters smirking at Mr Collins/Kholi, this involves the audience in the amusement they find in Mr Collins/Kholi. Lighting is different in the scenes though, Mr Collins arrives in daylight at the Bennets and toplighting is used to give a pleasant atmosphere. In the Bollywood adaptation they are inside and the lighting is darker but again toplighting is used. There are no songs or music in the scenes of Mr Collins/Kholi arriving there is only he and the families talking, however in both films sound effects are used. In the BBC adaptation the carriage arriving and in the Bollywood adaptation the Indian street, these sound effects add to the atmosphere and setting of the arrival. Another adaptation that has been made is the costume. Mr Collins wears formal dress which is the clothes which would be worn in the 19th century. The style of his clothes are also a representation of him, he is a clergyman and a very plain man. Mr Kholi’s clothes are stylish, bold and very up to date, and this represents his character very well. Mr Kholi is self-confident, loud man and does not realise often what he is saying or how he offends people, the clothes also represent his break away from the Indian culture and living in America. As well as the costumes reflecting their characters the audience can also see what the characters are like. In the BBC adaptation Mr Collins is a religious and traditional man, Mr Kholi however has turned his back on his Indian culture and moved to America for a better life. There are some parts of the Mr Collins character that are the same in the Bollywood adaptation in the same way as the BBC adaptation. Both Mr Collins and Mr Kholi look do wn to the Bennets/Bakshis, they think they are better than them. In Mr Collins’ case this is because he will inherit the Bennets estate and Mr Kholi’s because he has more money and a better life than the Bakshi’s, they are both unpleasant characters. The Bollywood adaptation has also changed the conversation of Mr Kholi compared to Mr Collins. When Mr Collins arrives he uses his language to make himself look smart, he uses substantial and intelligent words, which are incorrect. Alternatively Mr Kholi brags about his wealth and lifestyle, he also has inappropriate conversations and is very out spoken. Greetings in the two adaptations are also different too, Mr Collins greets people formally and there is no touching or hugging, this reflects the social etiquette of the 19th century instead of the informal hugs Mr Kholi gives. In both adaptations there are similarities and differences in the mannerisms of Mr Collins and Mr Kholi. Mr Collins uses formal language and, as mentioned before, incorrect in the context intelligent words. This is unlike Mr Kholi who uses casual language and does not realise what he says sometimes offends people. In the same way Mr Collins eats using social etiquette and Mr Kholi eats with his hands and mouth open, Mr Kholi also uses his hands when he talks. These changes show equally how the character is offensive but in different ways and in different circumstances. A similarity however, is that Mr Collins/Kholi feel they are more important than certain people and this shows when they both sit at the head of the table at the meal with the Bennets/Bakshis. As well as the mannerisms of Mr Collins/Kholi presenting similarities and differences, people’s reactions to Mr Collins/Kholi do too. Both of the eldest sisters in the Bennets/Bakshis smirk at each other when he says things and tries to boast about his life, this shows they are sensitive and intelligent enough to realise how stupid Mr Collins/Kholi is. Mr Bennet/Bakshi realises this too but expresses his amusement in different ways. Mr Bennet makes sarcastic comments towards Mr Collins to show him up but Mr Collins does not understand, Mr Bakshi however uses facial expressions to make fun of him. This reflects the characters of Mr Bennet and Mr Bakshi, Mr Bennet takes a more serious approach where Mr Bakshi uses childish gestures. Furthermore Bollywood has also made a change with the reaction of Darcy when he meets Mr Kholi. In the BBC adaptation Mr Collins introduces himself to Darcy and talks about his self, Darcy walks away and ignores him in contrast, Darcy is introduced t o Mr Kholi and does not ignore him. As shown by Mr Bennet and Mr Bakshi this is a reflection of Darcy’s characters, Darcy in the BBC adaptation is confident enough to be able to walk away but Darcy in the Bollywood adaptation is not, as he is a country he does not know he is polite to everyone. The reaction of people towards Mr Collins/Kholi reveals a lot about his character; he is someone who tries to be popular by knowing everyone and likes to be well thought of. One relationship, which has been adapted and changed considerably, is the Lydia/Lucky relationship. Adapted for Bollywood are a number of scenes where the main action takes place. In the BBC adaptation the scenes take place after Wickham and Lydia have eloped and are living in a grotty bedsit, this has changed for Bollywood and is replaced by scenes in public places e.g. fairground, cinema and the main scene where Lucky and Wickham go out for the day in London. The scene has been changed for Bollywood because Lucky and Wickham are not actually together yet and it is the lead up for Lucky finding out eventually who Wickham really is after pursuit by Darcy and Lalita. This change has been made for the viewer to look at their relationship in two different ways, in the BBC adaptation Lydia and Wickham have to stay in bedsit which is far form luxury, this shows how their relationship is very shameful in the 19th century. In contrast to this Lucky and Wickham meet at very public places, th eir relationship seems very open and would not be seen wrong in the public nor the viewer’s eye, but the viewer understands Wickham is a bad man. The use of media effects in both adaptations is strong. The camera effects in both adaptations are similar, in the BBC adaptation medium shots and close ups are used to give the viewer a more intimate view of Lydia and Wickham. It shows shots of Lydia running around the bedsit and close ups of Wickham’s facial expressions to the viewer to tell them he is not happy about the situation. In the Bollywood adaptation the camera plays a very important part in the chase that occurs between Wickham, Lucky, Lalita and Darcy. The camera use close ups and medium shots of the couples, and glances between the two parties. It also uses close ups of Wickham glancing back to see if they are still being chased. The camera follows Lucky and Wickham but blurs out the background to give the viewer an impression of how easily it would be to lose them in a crowd. The lighting effect in the BBC adaptation gives the atmosphere of a dark room and uses underlighting, the only available light source the viewer can see is the daylight coming through the window. Two different types of lighting is used in the Bollywood adaptation however, the first toplighting used in the chase to create a bright, modern setting for the viewer. This contrast however when Lucky and Wickham go into the cinema, the lighting is backlighting from the cinema screen and also presents to the audience that Wickham is trying to hide. Costume has also been changed considerably, the BBC adaptation use typical dress for the 19th century but change it from formal wear to very inappropriate wear in the bedsit. Lydia wears a nightdress and Wickham stays in his uniform but un-tucked his shirt and his boots are undone, this is to represent the seediness of their relationship and how wrong it was in the 19th century. Lucky and Wickham are the same in that Lucky tries to rebel against her Indian culture, like the rules set out in the 19th century, in the scene where Lucky and Lydia meet in London she wears tight jeans and a cropped top and makes no effort to show her Indian roots. Wickham also wears clothes that are very casual and he looks like a traveller, this is in contrast to Darcy’s clothes which are smart, and reveals that Wickham may not be the good character as seen by Lalita and Lucky. The costumes in both adaptations have been translated to represent the character in the same way but to show the change in different cultures and times. Lydia and Lucky wear clothes seen as normal and traditional but try to show their flirty ways by tighter clothes but in other scenes they rebel completely. In Lydia’s case she wears a very inappropriate nightdress and Lucky wears modern, tight clothes. It is the same for Wickham too; Wickham is always put in as the opposite of Darcy who is very formal unlike Wickham who wears an officer uniform or traveller’s clothes, this is also to show Wickham is not like Darcy and a bad character. Bollywood have adapted Wickham to become a traveller to be a modern representation of the BBC Wickham who becomes an officer because he has no money. In the scenes of Lydia/Lucky and Wickham the audience can see a lot about their character. Lydia and Lucky both are flirtatious, young girls who are unaware of consequences of their actions; this is displayed through Lydia’s obsession of the officers and her elopement and Lydia through her constant attention seeking of Wickham. Wickham also plays the handsome man well in both adaptations, his rough look in contrast to Darcy should also tell the viewer he is not as he seems. There are many things left out of the Bollywood adaptation that are in the BBC one. In the Bollywood adaptation we see Lucky and Wickham develop a relationship and meet up on occasions, this does not happen with the BBC as Lydia and Wickham, by chance, meet in Brighton and make a quick decision. This is to show the change in times and controversy of what Lydia and Wickham did, also it is not believable that Lucky and Wickham would have gone to London on just one meeting. The chase of lucky and Wickham also adds to the tension and thrill for the audience, this makes the viewer think, will they be caught? There is also one major difference between the BBC and Bollywood adaptation, the ending. In the BBC adaptation Darcy pays Wickham to Marry Lydia and therefore not bringing shame on the Bennets, in the Bollywood adaptation Wickham and Lydia are caught by Darcy and Lalita and Wickham is seen for the real man he is. This has been changed for the Bollywood adaptation for the happy ending that happens in Bollywood films, it would not be entirely like a Bollywood film if Lucky ended up with the bad man and not be happy. In conclusion the BBC and Bollywood adaptations of Pride and Prejudice have been made very differently. The title of the Bollywood adaptation has been changed to Bride and Prejudice to reflect the difference in the Indian culture, the main personality of the characters have stayed the same in both adaptations, costumes have been changed to reflect the difference in cultures and times yet kept so the characters traits can be seen, the contrast in settings shows the different countries and a different way in life and the change in the storyline reflects the difference in times, countries and culture. The setting of the story has been changed as the film wants to show the restrictions on 19th century marriage still coincide with the Indian view on marriages today, the characters traits were kept the same to show how they could be brought into the present day but changed slightly in their costumes, mannerisms and they way people see them. As the characters are represented through their costumes, the wealth of the families is too, the costumes have been changed in the Bollywood adaptation to traditional Indian costumes but they show the contrast to the expensive clothes of the Balraj sister compared to the Bakshi sisters. This is also the same for the Bingley sister and Bennet sisters in the BBC adaptation. I preferred the Bollywood adaptation. This is because it is not as serious as the BBC adaptation; it is more vibrant, colourful and loud. The singing and dancing breaks up the film and the comedy also puts more life into the story. The BBC adaptation is too long and does not keep my attention as much as the other. Another reason why I preferred the Bollywood adaptation was the costumes and new surroundings, the Indian culture is very bold and this made it more enjoyable to watch.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Response Execution Essay

Creating an emergency response plan is very important in any business. There are different plans for medical, fire, police, and school. The following plans are imperative in any environment. There are many things that will happen and Incident Command System (ICS) will help to provide the responders with an effective system that works. But before we go into the structures, an understanding of an incident command system needs to be addressed. According to OSHA, n.d., â€Å"ICS is a standardized on-scene incident management concept designed specifically to allow responders to adopt an integrated organizational structure equal to the complexity and demands of any single incident or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries†. ICS is a sub-model of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), as released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2004.† An incident command system is referenced to an adaptable, scalable response association w hich provides a general agenda where people can work side by side efficiently. These people may come from many different agencies that do not normally work together, and an incident command system is intended to give regular response and operation procedures to decrease the troubles and possibility for miscommunication on such incidents. ICS has been summed up as a â€Å"first-on-scene† structure, where the first responder is in charge until the situation has been cleared up, a more experienced responder reaches your destination on scene and takes over, or the Incident Commander appoints someone else to take command of the situation. ICS includes measures to select and form provisional management chain of command to control funds, personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications. Personnel are allocated according to recognized standards and measures up to that time that were sanctioned by participating powers that be. Incident command system is designed for use or appropriate from the time an incident starts until it is finished or is not needed. The first thing that needs to be done is crate a standard operating procedure. These procedures are â€Å"essential to the effective application of the ICS† (FEMA). They also provide a standard and job descriptions to which everyone should follow. This way everyone will know what their job entails. Also, according to FEMA, 1999, the other first step is to decide who the incident commander is. In most cases of fire, mass casualties, hazardous materials, and other non law enforcement emergency, the fire department is in command. According to FEMA, 1999, if there are multiple jurisdictions that respond, the incident commander is usually the fire department whose jurisdiction the fire is in. Law enforcement is usually responsible for managing all operations related to criminal incidents. Included in this category would be terrorism, bombing, snipers, hostage situations, and other things of this nature. After that, a commander needs to be appointed. This person is usually the one with most experience. The IC’s responsibilities are to access the situati on and/or receive an update from the prior IC. Then the strategy needs to be put into place. This would mean establishing the immediate proprieties. Next a post needs to be formed. Then the IC needs to make sure the panned meetings are being kept to ensure the safety everyone and that everything is going according to plan. Then they approve the use of or elimination of resources. According to FEMA, 1999, the IC is also responsible for the planning for the functions throughout the entire process. The medical field is a very important tool to have at any incident. They are there to provide first aid and any other medical necessities. There are many levels, and levels under these, of resources that are used. According to FEMA, 1999, the first level is stabilization. In this level, the incident commander continues to manage the incident and gives progress reports from the scene. This allows hospitals to know how many beds they are going to need. Demobilization is the next level. In this level, the responders are either sent back to the area they came from, set back in service after they transport a victim, or they are cancelled all together. The last level is termination. In this level, the incident commander decides that no further action is required and everyone is sent back to their units. The next thing we need to look at are the responsibilities of the incident commander. The first one, according to FEMA, 1999, is to rescue all victims. The second is making sure the victims are taken out of the situation and moved to a medical facility. And the third is to make sure the personnel are safe. Next we will look at fire and rescue. The organization of the incident command is almost the same as the medical responders. According to Fire and Rescue, 2008, the following are the organizational areas for fire and rescue: â€Å"Organization on the incident ground, this gives the Incident Commander a recognized system from which to work when organizing and using resources at an Incident, Incident Risk Management, the principal consideration of Incident Commanders is safety of their personnel. Therefore, prior to deciding upon the tactics an assessment of risk must be performed. The Incident Commander must identify the hazards, assess the risks, and implement all reasonable control measures before committing crews into a risk area, and Command Competence, considers the skills knowledge and understanding required by an Incident Commander and the importance of maintaining such competencies.† â€Å"As the incident develops, changing circumstances may make the original course of action inappropriate, for example: fire fighting tactics may change from defensive to offensive or vice versa, new hazards and their associated risks may arise, existing hazards may present different risks, and personnel may become fatigued. Incident commanders, therefore, need to manage safety by constantly monitoring the situation and reviewing the effectiveness of the existing control measures† (Fire Service Operations p. 68). There are six steps in the initial assessment of risk: 1. evaluate the situation at the earliest opportunity, 2. Introduce and declare Tactical mode the simple expression of whether it is appropriate to proceed to work in a hazard area or not. This is a device to enable commanders of dynamic emergency incidents to demonstrate their compliance with the principles of risk assessment and be seen to have done so. 3. Select safe systems of work. The starting point for contemplation must be procedures that have been agreed in pre-planning and training and those personnel available at the incident have sufficient competence to carry out the tasks safely. 4. Assess the chosen system of work, 5. Introduce additional control measures, and 6. Re-assess systems of work and additional control measures. The police are no different. They have a system to follow just like everyone else. According to the free library.com, Incident Command System makes things easier for the administration of critical incidents by arranging the reaction into sections. Any person in the organization can put into operation the Incident Command System into its full arrangement. The person who makes the first move to coordinate the Incident Command System response more often than not takes control on the scene, at the emergency command center, or at the field command post and is converted into the incident commander. Unless officially relieved, the incident commander remains in charge is the single person who is in charge and makes the decisions. Everything goes through them. The incident commander watches over the complete operation through sectors, or branches, which provide a manageable span of control. Sectors can be deleted, added, made bigger or smaller, or anything else that is needed during an incide nt. There are some that might not be needed at all during a specific incident. For instance, sectors often are elected logistics, operations, personnel, and intelligence. Incident Command System deployment during a major vehicle crash would not have need of the services of the intelligence sector. The staff would organize the needs of the equipment. This would include the vehicles necessary to aid in the incident. Leaders of each individual sector would let the incident commander know of thing or services they might need, permitting the incident commander without difficulty to match resources to existing circumstances or predict future demands. Checklists make certain that sector leaders complete necessary tasks during the emergency. Given the demands placed on personnel at the scene, sector leaders easily could fail to notice a possible resource or legal or departmental obligation. While not crucial in all deployments, the emergency command center (ECC(1) (Error-Correcting Code) A type of memory that corrects errors on the fly. See ECC memory. (2) (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) A public key cryptography method that provides fast decryption and digital signature processing. †¦.. Click the link for more information.) generally works in conjunction with Incident Command System. It also may be a separate function under the ICS umbrella. Characteristically, the ECC is stationed in one department’s command center or another central location, but it can be located anywhere sensible. Commanding officers from every agency involved in the incident should staff the ECC. They also have different response levels. They are: â€Å"Level I incidents require that one or two officers resolve minor traffic accidents, make arrests, or conduct light crowd control, level II incidents require the assistance of three or more officers. They usually involve several agencies and may cross jurisdictional boundaries. Examples include collisions that results in road closures or evacuations, and level III incidents involve three or more officers from multiple shifts, require support from other bureaus, districts, or agencies, and demand a significant response to contain, control, and recover from the emergency. Bombings and riots represent two types of Level III incidents† (â€Å"Incident Command Systems for Law Enforcement,† 2013). The Incident Command System is a straightforward yet exceedingly efficient technique of getting ready for critical incidents. It endorses a synchronized reaction to emergencies. It is an suitable resource because it provides a middle point for communication, authority, and control. Training is important because it trains the responders on what to expect. Careful Thorough record keeping keeps investigations on the right path and makes available an easy way to assess agencies’ response. At any given time, police somewhere in the world are organizing the on-scene actions of an emergency. Labor, facilities, equipment, and communication are among the countless issues they must consider to alleviate and control such incidents. When seconds count, Incident Command Systems let agencies handle emergencies promptly and assertively. References FEMA, 1999, Incident Command System for Emergency Medical Services, Student Manual. United States Fire Administration National Fire Academy. Fire Service Operations. (2008). Fire and Rescue Manual, 2(), . https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7643/incidentcommand.pdf. Incident Command Systems for Law Enforcement. (2013). In Free dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Incident+Command+Systems+for+Law+Enforcement.-a054061498 OSHA. (n.d.). Incident Command System. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/ics/what_is_ics.html

Monday, July 29, 2019

Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operation Management - Essay Example The performance of a company includes both operational and financial aspects of a company and the characteristics of the five objectives of performance management are concerned with both the aspects. The operations strategies of a company primarily focus on meeting the expectations of its customers but it can also be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of a company. The companies make strategies to improve their identified weaknesses to be competitive in the market (Al-Darrab, 2000). The five characteristics of performance objectives The five characteristics of performance objectives are: Speed: it is concerned with the delivery of product or service by the company. Quality: it is concerned with meeting the perceptions of the customers about the quality of the product or the service of the company. Cost: it is concerned with the price of the product or the service for the customers and the internal cost of production involved. Dependability: it is concerned with the stability o f the processes involved in delivering products and services on time. Flexibility: it is concerned with the ability of the company in reacting towards the changes in demand and requirement of both – the customers and the business. ... while external cost applies to price of the product to customers (Slack, 2010). McDonald’s operations strategy and five characteristics of performance objectives Since 2001, many significant changes have been introduced in operations strategy of McDonald’s and it evolved primarily around four characteristics of performance objectives - speed, dependability, cost and quality. Though it cannot be said that the flexibility was ignored by the company, it was only less preferred. Externally, McDonald’s ensured fast delivery of its quality products at affordable cost to its customers and internally it made strategies to ensure a dependable delivery system, reducing labor and operation costs to make the products cost effective without compromising with the quality. McDonald’s evaluates its performance in speed on the parameters such as the query time of customers, lead-time of orders, delivery- frequency and the time required for throughput. McDonald’s als o ensures the dependability by evaluating its performance on the parameters such as number of orders not delivered on time, average deviation time from the scheduled arrival time, the ratio of stock of products and average time of late delivery of orders. The cycle time operations strategy of the company depends on efficient HR resources and it has ensured it by adhering to the principle ‘The result is done by a man†. The company believes that strength of an organization depends on its human resources and the performance of the organization can only improve with the improved performance of its human resource (Bertrand and Fransoo, 2002). KFC’s operations strategy and five characteristics of performance objectives Being the largest chain of chicken

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The United States and the floundering war on terror Essay

The United States and the floundering war on terror - Essay Example The War on Terror which was initiated as a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States initially showed great promise in ridding the world and the United States of the risks associated with terrorism. As the war on terror wore on without any definite progress being gained in fighting terrorism and in bringing the terrorists to justice, it became more apparent that the war was becoming an ineffectual means to resolve the terrorist issue. The war against terror appeared to be floundering. This chapter shall discuss the US and the floundering war on terror. This chapter shall also discuss the challenges being confronted by the Obama Administration and the way forward which can be gained from the years of war. Discussion The September 11 attacks resulted in the launching of the War on Terror and a support for President George W. Bush’s war against terror. Prior to the attacks, Bush’s administration was criticized for its international military policies. In the wake of the attacks however, a worldwide condemnation for terrorism was seen. And the war on terror raged over Afghanistan and over Iraq for years. It claimed many lives and caused the destruction of many communities and structures in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the war went on for years without much progress being gained in managing the terrorist issue, debates and rumblings on the war were slowly being expressed from various interest groups, countries, and organizations. And like another Vietnam War, the war on terror started to flounder and lose popular support. The terrorist attack in 2005 in London which was reportedly initiated by the Al Qaeda group was just one of the indications which pointed to the glaring truth that the War on Terrorism was not working. In 2004, the Bush Administration cancelled its publication of the yearly â€Å"Patterns of Global Terrorism† report which would have manifested that the terrorist attacks increased significantly from 17 5 in 2003 to 625 in 2004 (Gregory, 2005). Throughout the years, the War Party has been claiming that the War on Terrorism has successfully minimized the number of terrorist attacks throughout the globe; however, all other data seem to oppose this claim (Gregory, 2005). Other groups supporting the war on terror were also firm in their support for the war, even when Rumsfeld’s leaked report indicated the limitations of the US in fighting the war on terror. Rumsfeld’s report indicated that â€Å"the US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists’ costs of millions† (Gregory, 2005). Analysts pounced on the implications of this leaked report and they effectively pointed out that the war on terror could only be a failure because even with the necessary precautions taken against the war on ter ror, these terrorist attacks cannot really be stopped altogether. These analysts also point out that only by evaluating the US and Western policies in the Middle East which triggered violence, could any progress in the fight against terrorism be gained (Gregory, 2005). Critics of the war on terror also condemned Bush’s policy of preeminent strike or â€Å"strike first before anyone strikes us.† This attitude has been criticized for giving rise to policies which have been wholly ineffectual. â€Å"Behind the hype, there’s a long list of failures to tackle key issues, and not much prospect of improvement† (Plesch, 2002). For one, the government of Saudi Arabia expressed that it did not support the war on terror. Some Saudi citizens are actually members of the Al-Qaeda group or are supporting their efforts financially; and yet Bush is not aggressively dealing with Saudi Arabia (Plesch, 2002). US Special

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Nursing and Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing and Leadership - Assignment Example Despite that, there are a few challenges which are faced in the department. The interviewed Director of Nursing (DON) stated that the lack of LTC taught courses/classes to new graduate students is one of the challenges that they do face and that has to be resolved with immediate effect. This is due to the fact that the ratio of individuals at the centre who need LTC is higher than the staffs that are available to offer it. As a result, some inconveniences and hitches do occur while propagating for effective LTC. In a bid to counter the LTC problem, the leadership that is prevalent in the nursing department matters a lot. If the leadership is based on morale and productivity, then that will yield success in offering LTC to patients else more challenges are prone to be faced on a daily basis. With that, there are a number of leadership styles that can be practiced in the nursing department. However, these depend entirely on variables such as people and the environment. Some of the lead ership styles include: Democratic: This is one of the best leadership styles that a nursing department can incorporate. It advocates for the inclusion of the nurses in the decision making process. This makes them feel motivated as well as part and parcel of the health care facility committee. However, the senior nurse makes the final decisions; Authoritative: This style of leadership is stricter as compared to the democratic leadership style. The senior nurse makes all the decisions without the inclusion of the other nurses. Additionally, the senior nurse gives orders to be done and there is very close supervision of the nurses in the department. This is not the best approach to implement in a nursing environment. The nurses may feel de-motivated, neglected and they may lack innovation in their line of work; Affiliative: This leadership style is focussed on people (nurses). It ensures that the nurses have a satisfactory working environment so that they can deliver superior care serv ices to patients. This style is best to boost morale in the nurses. However, the senior nurse may lack their authoritative figure. Based on the response of the DON, the most effective and efficient leadership styles that ought to be incorporated are the democratic and affiliative leadership styles. In a bid to support this, Goleman (2000) suggested that leaders should incorporate a variety of leadership styles and focus on those that are fruitful. Some of the leadership skills that go hand in hand with good leadership styles include: Interpersonal skills - Which incorporate the aspects of managing the different and unique cultural diversities in the department. It is important for a leader to have the right knowledge while dealing with different cultures since a health care centre is a home to all types of people regardless of their ethnicity background; Democratic skills; Listening skills, Problem solving skills – Which help to solve problems without encountering big risks, Time management skills and Motivational skills. If a leader has a number of the mentioned skills,

Friday, July 26, 2019

DB5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DB5 - Essay Example Each and every member gets to learn about everyone’s behavior in the organization. Every member tries to avoid conflicts and every member gets busy. In this stage, every member gets to learn about the organization routines and the challenges (Moger 2000). The second phase is the storming; where by each member’s ideas try to compete for consideration. Here, the team members discuss the issues in the organization and try to look for solutions. The third stage is the norming where the team members agree on one plan and on one goal. Some of the members are forced to give up on their ideas in order to agree with others in the team (Moger 1999). The last stage is the performing where the members are able to function like a team. They find their own ways as to how the jobs can be effectively and efficiently done. The members are able to perform their job with less supervision (White 2009). The manager is in the third stage, norming. This is, because the manager has to make the late worker to give up on her lateness so that the whole team can work as a whole. The late work has to agree with the other members of the team so that the team can function well and

An Effective Approach to Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

An Effective Approach to Management - Essay Example He should see that the tasks accomplished are according to customer satisfaction (Williams, 2010, pp.7-8) In essence, there are five specified tasks of a manager. Managers â€Å"set goals, organize activities, motivate and communicate, measure performance, and develop people.† (Daft, 2011, p.5) There are different approaches to management. Some of the most influential ones are classical approach, the human relations approach and contingency approach. Each approach offers valuable insights for practicing managers in their efforts to define management problems and opportunities, and to develop ways to deal with them. This paper focuses on human relations approach of management with Accenture as case study. The traditional classical theory of management was a drawback in many ways. It failed to comprehend the behavioral patterns of individual employees. This theory is a concept of rigid laws in management practice. This theory is based on the assumption that employees are motivated only by financial incentives, and ignored the human aspect of employees i.e. their social and psychological needs. This theory assumed that productivity is the only objective of an organizational body and ignored the multiple goals of the organization. Overall, the classical approach is more mechanical with no focus on motivation and inter-personal relationships between employees and management personnel (Agarwal, 1983, p.29) As a result a natural outgrowth of this management theory is the human relations theory also known as behavioral management theory. This theory came into practice in the 1930s (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009, p.85) and is based on the concept â€Å"satisfied workers will give more work.â₠¬  (Daft & Marcic, 2010, p.30) The initial focus of the theory was on worker cooperation and thoughtful management, but gradually the focus shifted to the daily performance of workers. The concept of this theory was to integrate skilled and quality performance with motivation aspects.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

The MacLeod Report (2009) claims that engagement strategies are Essay - 1

The MacLeod Report (2009) claims that engagement strategies are desirable for organisations and employees. With reference to aca - Essay Example 5). Engagement strategies aim at the establishment of mutual respect for what employees can be and what they can do in the organization given the right context that is beneficial for all stakeholders including the organizations, the consumers of services, and the employees themselves. Although engagement strategies are desirable for all organizations, yet they are not desirable for all employees, though for a considerable population of employees, engagement strategies are desirable. Although engagement strategies are generally desirable for the organizations, yet the same cannot be generalized for all employees. These days, many employees keep looking for employment opportunities elsewhere that would offer them better salary and job privileges rather than wanting to stay in the same organization for a very long time particularly when they are not content with their salary and/or job benefits. In the present age, there is scarcity of jobs in many industries in a vast majority of count ries around the world. In such circumstances, employees tend to avail any opportunity that they get irrespective of whether or not they are being offered sufficient salary and meanwhile, keep looking for better employment opportunities. Hence, to say that engagement strategies are desirable for all employees is not logical. According to mspb.gov (2012, p. 2), there are three components of employee engagement for the federal government, namely employees’ discretionary effort to give goal-directed performance, commitment to the organization, and employees’ satisfaction with the organization. The Corporate Leadership Council (2004) defines emotional engagement as â€Å"the extent to which employees derive pride, enjoyment, inspiration, or meaning from something or someone in the organisation. While rational commitment is defined as the extent to which employees feel that someone or something within their organizations provides financial, developmental, or professional re wards that are in their best interests† (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004). This can be stated without doubt that employees’ satisfaction has been and continues to be one of the biggest challenges in front of the management in any organization. Accordingly, the desirability of engagement strategies for the employees is limited. According to Macleod and Clarke (2009, p. 66), there are four main factors that serve as barriers to effective engagement in an organizational context; firstly, leaders either do not know what employee engagement is, what its usefulness for the organization is or they are not aware of its importance. Secondly, leaders may be interested in engagement strategies but may lack the knowledge required to address the issue. Thirdly, leaders and managers may not consent upon the idea of employee engagement. While the leaders might emphasize upon engagement strategies, managers might be ill-equipped to implement them. Consequently, the organizational cu lture cannot deliver effective engagement. Finally, leaders that do emphasize upon engagement strategies vary in their perception of and commitment to it. Many leaders tend to underestimate the potential of employee engag

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Simulation Technology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Simulation Technology - Article Example The simulations feign an activity, which is "tangible", therefore, it can be termed as "virtually real". The activity is simulated so fittingly that there is slight difference amid the real environment and the simulated one; in addition, the same form of learning involvement can happen. Simulations are "hands-on", encompassing learners so that they become partakers, not mere observers or listeners. Students absorb effectively from their individual experiences than partaking others' experiences associated to them (Banks, 2010). Simulations are encouragements for learning. Learner’s involvement into the simulation activity is very deep that it interests the student to learning more concerning the activity and its field matter. Simulations are custom-made to the learner. Once they are devised precisely for their audience, simulations can take progressive requests into consideration. Simulations are inspirational where student input is embraced and events are fabricated to encourage learners to improve the activity through contributing their individual ideas. Simulations are also developmentally valid; they can make allowance for the students' developing level. Simulations are empowering meaning students undertake responsible roles, look for ways to thrive, as well as devising problem-solving tools because of the simulation interaction (Sherman, 2008).

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Business ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business ethics - Research Paper Example Marketing mixes have several areas and are critical in setting up the strategies that are ideal to manage the dynamic environmental effects of the target market. In almost all circumstances, market mixes are inter-connected, interdependent, and they also bring together numerous factors. Marketing mix is often explained under the 4ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) which put together, the 4ps produce a set of manageable strategic marketing gears that an organization puts together to attain the desired response in the objective market (Kotler, 2003). Product; a product is anything that can be presented to a market to meet the needs and wants of a certain market. Products generally refer to physical goods, services, persons, places, firms or even ideas. In a deeper sense, a product is not a necessarily a physical item but an awareness of the buyer or the person who uses it. Product therefore denotes the contentment of the client rather than a physical good. Goods are elements of consumer satisfaction; marketing mix is the method or tool that constitutes this customer satisfaction (Doyle, 2000). Place; place denotes the circulation avenues that an organization uses to communicate its own physical products or services to the final user of that product. The distribution of an organization products refers to the ‘When’ ‘Where’ and ‘How’ a service or availed to the user. For organizations that provide services, the ‘When’ denotes the time frame in which the service is offered. ‘Where’ denotes the location of the particular services while ‘How’ depicts the nature of supply (Doyle, 2000). Price; price is a flexible and principal element, which establishes the returns/profitability/market share for the company. From the perspective of a client, price is a determinant factor since most consumers’ first look at the price

Monday, July 22, 2019

Venus (Research Paper) Essay Example for Free

Venus (Research Paper) Essay Venus is one of the most beautiful and tantalizing heavenly body. It is much closer to Earth than any other planets. Venus is a brilliant object in the night sky and sometimes brighter than any other stars in the heavens. Only the Sun and the Moon outshines her. Like the remaining planets, Venus revolves around the Sun inside the solar orbit of the Earth. Thus, Venus can either be a morning or evening star.1 Her name, Venus, comes from the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Venus, as a planet, is rather frustrating. She hides herself in a thick white veil of clouds and no one clearly seen her surface.2 The astronomers are force to engage in an extensive effort to uncover secrets of her for they know a little about it. The main purpose of my paper is to show some facts about Venus and also deepen the knowledge of the readers. Venus possesses some features that are nearly the same as Earth’s. One of this is that Venus is closely the same size and weight as Earth. Just a little smaller in diameter and lighter in weight. Its gravity also holds captive an atmosphere about the size of our own.3 Venus internal structure is similar to Earth’s as it is composed of crust, mantle and core. That’s why Venus is often thought of as Earth’s twin. ______________ 1Robert Leo I. Heller, â€Å"Planets Inside the Orbit of Earth,† Challenges to Science (Montreal: McGraw-Hill Book Inc., 1979), p. 402. 2Gerald S. Hawkins, â€Å"Venus and Mars,† Splendor in the Sky (London: Harper and Row Publishing House, 1961), p. 122. 3Mark O. Palin, â€Å"Venus,† The Physical World (Miami: Hunter-Dee Book Inc., 1999), p. 99 But in other ways, Venus appears to be quite different from Earth. First, Venus rotates in a very strange manner. Most of the planets rotate counterclockwise while Venus rotates clockwise or backward. Then, Venus may have atmosphere but it wouldn’t be able to support life as you know like Earth. Its atmosphere is made up of more than 90% of Carbon Dioxide and almost no Oxygen. Her temperature too is high which is 100 times greater than Earth’s and enough to melt Lead.4 Unlike other planets, Venus surface is never seen though many scientists claimed to have a glimpse of it through cloud openings which seems very unlikely because her dense clouds are hundreds of miles deep. 5 Venus, though rotating around the Sun, never experiences day and night because of the thick, ash-like clouds covering it. It is dark for sunlight does not penetrate the clouds. What is the surface of the Venus like? Some astronomers said that Venus’ surface is covered by large mountain ranges and deep swamps. People who don’t know much about Science think that Venus is covered with glowing waters. But, according to Galileo’s old journal, Venus is impossibly covered by water because of its high temperature. The best guess today is that Venus is chiefly a vast and sandy desert. The desert is flat, for wind-driven sand has long ago worn down the hills and filled in the hollows. It is dry, for rain cannot fall on it and it is surely unable to support life.6 ______________ 4Heller, p. 403. 5Roy A. Gallant, â€Å"Exploring Venus,† Man’s Reach for the Stars (New York: Doubleday and Company Inc., 1959), p. 146. 6Patricia C. Lauber, â€Å"Mercury and Venus,† All about Planets (New York: Random House Inc., 1960), p. 56. Venus is mostly covered by volcanic plates because of her high temperature. The surface has been severely fractured and folded by stresses caused by convection of the Venusian mantle because of frequent volcanic eruptions. Radar images indicate that the highlands on Venus have rougher surfaces than Earth’s land forms because its images shows mini magma explosions inside.7 The light emitted by Venus which makes her shine in the dawn or evening possibly comes from the great bolts of lightning or from volcanic eruptions.8 Explorations on Venus cost many attempts in gathering data to prove some existing parts of her. Soviet Union and USSR probes are one of the most eager astronomers in studying the mysterious planet, Venus. Venera 1 or also called Venus 1 is the first probe sent by USSR in 1961. The Venera 1 is said to be a failed mission because the probe only flew past on Venus. This event is said to be a dà ©jà   vu for the second probe, Venera 2, sent by the Soviet Union in 1965, experienced the same miscalculated direction as it flew past on Venus too. The third probe, Venera 3, still sent by Soviet Union in 1965, is also a failed one but it touches the Venus surface because the probe crashes on it. Scientists reported that they had maintained regular radio communication with the 3 failed probes but the signals were lost before it reaches Venus outermost atmosphere.9 ______________ 7â€Å"Venus,† Compton’s Encyclopedia (U.S.A.: Compton’s Learning Company, 1996), 19:408. 8Lauber, p. 54. 9Robert W. Peterson, â€Å"USSR and U.S. Send Probes to Venus,† Space: From Gemini to the Moon and Beyond (New York: Facts on File Inc., 1972), p. 102. Venera 4, a probe sent by USSR in 1967, is the heaviest Venus probe known to have been launched by USSR. As the probe reaches Venus’ atmosphere, it was burned into ashes but luckily a parachute system operated by the USSR’s satellite smoothly descended into Venus’ surface. This probe successfully sent information about Venus to the NASA regarding its atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet might be as high as 22 times the Earth’s and later proved that its atmosphere was mostly composed of Carbon Dioxide. But, Venera 4 stopped sending unexpectedly; it seems that fierce winds and intense heat destroyed the probe. Venera 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all unmanned probes. Alongside of launching the Veneras, Mariner 1, a 3D Venus probe launched by USSR in 1962, veered off-course and was destroyed after launching but Mariner 2, launched in the same year, flew successfully and provided a large amount of data to NASA. Mariner 5 of USSR, launched on 1967, flew within 2,480 miles of the surface of the Venus and collected some information about Venus’ environment and thus, contradicted Venera 4’s collected information.11 Soviet unmanned probes, Venera 5 and Venera 6, reached the planet Venus. Though Venera 5 just stopped in the midst of Venus’ atmosphere, Venera 6 is there to pursue on entering the planet’s atmosphere and it successfully did. Venera 6 sent data about Venus having land forms such as mountain ranges and volcanoes.12 ______________ 10Peterson, p. 103. 11Peterson, p. 104. 12Peterson, p. 211. The USSR’s unmanned spacecraft Venera 7, launched in 1971, was the last probe sent to Venus. Venera 7 is the most successful probe because it sent countless of information about the planet. These are: Venus’ temperature was above normal, Venus’ don’t experience night and day, Venus rotate backward and many information that are helpful in learning the planet Venus.13 Today, NASA is trying to reach Venus again by sending 2 manned probe flyby by using the Apollo program. Meaning, a man will be riding the probe but he is prohibited ongoing outside the probe if he is in the vicinity of Venus’ atmosphere as said in Apollo Program. 14 In these given data, we can say that Venus is not just a mere planet revolving around the Sun, but a planet full of mysteries. It may not awaken our senses but it can poke our curiousity by asking question of what’s and how’s about her. In the science advancement today, more facts will be known about Venus. Powerful radar and other instruments will probe its thick clouds, mapping the surface and timing the rotation. Satellites and rockets will relay back information on what the clouds are made of. Someday, valiant explorers may descend through clouds and start discovering. The more bits and pieces of data we can collect from the planets, the better chances for us of reading our own history. ______________ 13Peterson, p. 258. 14Jeffrey K. Wagner, â€Å"Venus,† Introduction to Solar System (U.S.A.: Saunders College Publishing, 1991), p. 185. BIBILIOGRAPHY Gallant, Roy A. â€Å"Exploring Venus.† Man’s Reach for the Stars. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1959. Hawkins, Gerald S. â€Å"Venus and Mars.† Splendor in the Sky. London: Harper and Row Publishing House, 1961. Heller, Robert Leo I. â€Å"Planets Inside the Orbit of Earth.† Challenges to Science. Montreal: McGraw-Hill Book Inc., 1979. Lauber, Patricia C. â€Å"Mercury and Venus.† All about Planets. New York: Random House Inc., 1960. Palin, Mark O. â€Å"Venus.† The Physical World. Miami: Hunter-Dee Book Inc., 1999. Peterson, Robert W. â€Å"USSR and U.S. Send Probes to Venus.† Space: From Gemini to the Moon and Beyond. New York: Facts on File Inc., 1972. Wagner, Jeffrey K. â€Å"Venus.† Introduction to Solar System. U.S.A.: Saunders College Publishing House, 1991. â€Å"Venus.† Compton’s Encyclopedia. U.S.A.: Compton’s Learning Company, 1996.

The Relationship Between Grammar And Language English Language Essay

The Relationship Between Grammar And Language English Language Essay The relationship between grammar and language helps in understanding the Chomskian principle of transformational grammar. David W. Carroll views grammar as a description of a persons linguistic knowledge. Language is considered to be an infinite set of well formulated sentences and it can be deduced by grammar, like that of mathematics or logic. Hence grammars are the theories of language composed of hypotheses of the structure of some part of the language. Chomsky suggests three criteria about the theory of language. First criterion is known as observational adequacy. It is applied in several levels of language in which grammar defines, what is and what is not an acceptable sequence in the language. At the other level grammar should have rules that generate grammatical sentence. The second criterion is the descriptive adequacy which indicates that grammar specifies the sequence in a language. Grammar should also explain how it relates with sentences which have the same or opposite meaning .The third criterion is the explanatory adequacy. Chomsky views that it is theoretically possible for a number of grammars, all based on different principles to attain the other two forms of adequacy and determines that the best descriptively adequate grammar pertains to the language acquisition in children. He suggests that the child learning a language is presented with samples of the language and must determine the grammar from the samples. Chomsky notes that children choose one particular grammar from the incoming data consistent with a number of grammars. Hence this implies that there are certain innate language constraints enable the child to deduce the correct grammar. The final level of adequacy goes beyond the ability to explain to describe patterns in a particular language; instead, it involves the ability to explain the role of linguistic universals in language acquisition. These theories played a significant role in the development of linguistic theories. Chomsky initially developed transformational grammar because of the descriptive inadequacy of grammar based on phrase structure rules. In transformational grammar, the insight that sentences have more than one level of structure is captured in the distinction between deep structure and surface structure. These are both tree structures, which differ in emphasis. Deep structure is considered as the underlying structure of the sentence that conveys the meaning of a sentence. Deep structures are the output of the phrase structure rules and lexical rules; transformations operate on these and gave rise to the surface structure. Surface structure refers to the superficial arrangement of the constituents and reflects the order in which the words are pronounced. David Carrol refers to three arguments regarding the usefulness of the distinction by considering the following sentence as an example. Ex: Flying planes can be dangerous. The ambiguity in this sentence is called deep-structure as it may be paraphrased as, The act of flying planes can be dangerous or Planes that are flying can be dangerous. This type of ambiguity comes from a single surface structure that is derived from two distinct deep structures. The second reason for the distinction is that some pairs of sentences are similar in their phrase structure but not in their underlying structure. Ex: John is easy to please. (2) John is eager to please. (3) The above sentences, when paraphrased reveal their dissimilarity even though they are apparently similar. John is the object of the deep structure in (2) and the deep structure subject (3). The next set of sentences in active and passive voice is distinct in their surface arrangement but similar in their deep structure. Ex: Arlene played the tuba. (active) The tuba was played by Arlene. (passive) So the active and the passive sentences are considered as two manifestation of the same deep structure. These grammatical relationships posit a second level of structure with a new set of rules called transformational rules. The entire deviation of a sentence is known to be a two part process in transformational grammar. In phrase structure the assumed largest syntactic unit, the sentence is progressively expanded by the application of rules into strings of smaller units, terminating with a combination of lexical items and grammatical elements. The phrase structure is explained with labeled tree diagrams and they are said to be inadequate for a full structural exposition. Therefore phrase structure is incapable of explaining the open ended creativity of a natural language. Upon the output of the phrase structure rules transformation rules are applied. These transformational rules involve not the division of the sentences or its parts into smaller parts, but, the alteration or rearrangement of a structure in various ways. Transformation also reflects parts of the speakers intuitive awareness of relations between sentences of different basic types. The associations of active and passive sentences , positive and negative sentences and statements, commands, and questions rests on native speakers recognition of their semantic relatedness, which is expressed by the relatedness of grammatical structure. The phrase structure rules are said to be useful in generating the underlying tree structure which is referred to as deep structures and secondly a sequence of transformational rules is applied to deep structure and the intermediate structures, ultimately generating the surface structure of the sentence. The transformations apply to the entire strings of constituents where as phrase structure rules apply to only one constituent at a time. These transformations are done by adding, deleting or moving the constituents. David Carroll gives a few transformations and explains how they work. One such transformation is called the particle -movement transformation. From the following two sentences know that they mean the same thing: EX: John phoned up the woman. (4) John phoned the woman up. (5) Here the concern is with the placement of the particle up; in these sentences, the particle may occur either just before or just after the noun phrase. Accordingly, we might write two different phrase structure rules for the two instances, the first might write two different phrase structure rules for the two instances, the first conforming to (PS) VP Æ’Â   V + (part) +NP And the second to (PS) VP Æ’Â   V + NP + (part) The problem with this approach is that it lacks descriptive adequacyit does not reveal the similarity of the two sentences. In this approach, the two sentences are derived from two different phase-structure rules. An alternative approach is to assume that the two sentences have the same deep structure and to apply the particle- movement transformation to (4). The transformational rule looks like this: (T1) V + part + NP Æ’Â   V + NP + part It can be noticed that the transformational rule simply moves the last two constituents of the verb phrase. Phrase -structure rules rewrite one constituent into a series of constituents but transformational rules begin with a series of the constituents and transform them. Then he goes on to explain it considering the following sentences: John phoned up the interesting woman. (6) John phoned the interesting woman up. (7) John phoned up the woman with the curly hair. (8) John phoned the woman with the curly hair up. (9) In each case the particle is shifted around the entire NPtwo words in (5), three in (7), and six in (9). The particle movement is defined in terms of constituents, not words. This condition gives transformational grammar tremendous power to apply to an infinite no of NPs. Instead of stating the number of words which varies from sentence to sentence, it is stated that in terms of grammatical structure it is known as structure dependent. One final property of transformational rules is that it may be blocked under certain circumstances. For example, the particle movement transformation does not work with pronouns: (35) John called them up. (36) *John called up them. These restrictions and transformations would be specified in the description of the rule. The rule would operate under specified conditions but would be blocked when these conditions did not apply. The earliest work shows the inadequacy of context free grammar for the analysis of natural languages. In the 1960s, transformational grammarians concentrated on the relationship between syntax and semantics. Transformational grammar explains certain aspects of language such as deep-structure ambiguity and the limitations of the phrase-structure rules. Transformational grammar has evolved over the decades and there were many changes and alternative approaches that gave rise to other new theories on transformation. The influence of Chomskys revolutionary theories on linguistics and his contributions like Syntactic Structures, Aspects of the theory of syntax, stands out as the most significant development which led to the beginning of various other transformations in grammar and linguistics.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Link Between Obesity and Lack of Sleep

Link Between Obesity and Lack of Sleep Zara J. Damania Abstract This study aims to investigate whether there is a bidirectional relationship between poor sleep quality, high body mass index (BMI) and disordered eating (binge-eating and night-time eating). Participants were a community-derived sample (N= 330) of people recruited through advertisements placed at the Australian National University (ANU) campus and a number of online platforms. An online questionnaire asked participants for their height, weight and recent experiences of sleep and eating. Multiple regression analyses found that: (a) worse overall sleep quality and binge-eating (but not night-time eating) were positively associated with high BMI accounting for a significant 8% of the variability in BMI; and (b) high BMI and night-time eating (but not binge-eating) were positively associated with worse overall sleep quality accounting for 35.6% of the variability in worse overall sleep quality. These results indicate that disordered eating (binge- and/or night-time eating) partially des cribe the association between poor sleep quality and high BMI. Future research could be conducted using objective- rather than self-reported- measures of sleep quality, BMI and eating behaviour to control for inaccuracies that self-reported measures might pose. The Bidirectional Association between High Body Mass Index, Poor Sleep Quality and Disordered Eating This paper investigates whether there is a bidirectional relationship between poor sleep quality, high body mass index and disordered eating. Current research corroborates the association between poor sleep quality and being overweight or obese. Sleep quality is a broad concept that includes: sleep duration, difficulty falling and/or staying asleep and the use of sleep medications (Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman Kupfer, 1989; Krystal Edinger, 2008). This study makes use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to measure sleep quality. PSQI is an effective and widely used self-reported instrument that is high in reliability and validity, consisting of questions that are easy to understand and answer (Buysse et al., 1989; Smyth, 1999). PSQI measures subjective sleep quality in seven distinct areas, including: sleep latency and sleep duration (Krystal Edinger, 2008; Smyth, 1999). One of the key interests in this study is the association between PSQ and having a high body mass index (BMI); i.e., being overweight or obese. According to the World Health Organisation’s classification, a BMI of ≠¥25 indicates that a person is overweight and ≠¥30 indicates that a person is obese (World Health Organization, 2000). Empirical evidence corroborates an association between PSQ and having a high BMI (hBMI). For instance, longitudinal studies and studies on large mixed-race and socioeconomically diverse samples found that sleeping less than seven hours and having trouble falling and/or staying asleep was positively associated with hBMI (Gangwisch, Malaspina, Boden-Albala Heymsfield, 2005; Meyer, Wall, Larson, Laska Neumark-sztainer, 2012). Furthermore, empirical findings from cross-sectional studies with mixed-race samples indicate that: obese individuals experience shorter sleep durations compared to non-obese individuals; for every hour of sleep lost th e risk of obesity increased by 80%; and PSQ leads to decreases in physical activity which is consequently associated with hBMI (Cappuccio, et al., 2008; Gupta, Mueller, Chan Meininger, 2002) Very few studies that attempted to explain how PSQ is associated with hBMI found that sleep apnea might mediate this relationship (Yeh Brown, 2014). Sleep apnea refers to sleep disturbance due to continual interruptions to airflow through the nose and mouth on at least 30 occasions during a seven-hour sleep period (Guilleminault, Tilkian Dement, 1976). However, sleep apnea is relatively uncommon in the population (Tishler, Larkin, Schulchter Redline, 2003) while PSQ is more common (Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman Kupfer, 1989). Therefore, it can be inferred that only a small proportion of hBMI individuals with PSQ suffer from sleep apnea and there might be other potential explanations for the association between PSQ and hBMI (Yeh Brown, 2014). Given that no other studies have attempted to further investigate factors that mediate the relationship between PSQ and hBMI, this study attempts to do so by investigating whether disordered eating mediates this relationship. Disordered eating includes both: binge eating and night-time eating. Binge eating (BE) refers to consuming unusually large amounts of food in a relatively short time-span and perceived lack of control over one’s eating behaviour (American Psychiatric Association, as cited in Johnson, Carr-Nangle, Nangle, Antony Zayfert, 1997). This study uses the Binge Eating Scale (BES) a questionnaire that measures whether and to what extent individuals binge eat by inquiring about their eating behaviours and tendencies (Gormally, Black, Daston Rardin, 1982). Whereas, night-time eating (NTE) refers to consuming >25% of one’s caloric intake after dinner and/or after waking up at night, at least twice a week (Allison et al., 2010; Stunkard, GraceWolff). This stud y uses the Night-time Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) to identify whether and the frequency of which participants engage in NTE behaviour (Striegel-Moore, Franko Garcia, 2009). Yeh and Brown (2014) suggest that difficulty falling asleep and shorter sleep durations provide hBMI individuals with more time to eat, consequently leading to weight gain over time. This is in accordance with Andersen, Stunkard, Sorenson, Peterson and Heitmann (2004) and Crispim, Zimberg, dos Reis, Tufik and de Mello (2011) who respectively found that NTE was associated with both PSQ and weight gain in hBMI individuals. Similarly, empirical research has indicated that BE is associated with PSQ and hBMI in obese individuals (Yeh Brown, 2014). In light of both: the lack of research investigating potential mediators of the association between PSQ and hBMI and research indicating that disordered eating is associated with PSQ and hBMI, the present study aimed to determine whether disordered eating (NTE and BE) mediates the relationship between PSQ and hBMI. The hypotheses of this study were: (1) Poor sleep quality and disordered eating will be associated with high BMI; and, (2) High BMI and disordered eating will be associated with higher scores of poor sleep quality. Method Participants Participants were recruited through advertisements placed at the Australian National University (ANU) campus and a number of online platforms. Study inclusion criteria were: being ≠¥ 18 years old and a BMI of 18.5 (normal weight) or more. 678 participants opted to participate in this study; however data from only 330 participants were used because the remaining 348 did not meet the study inclusion criteria or did not complete the study. Of the 330 participants, 107 (32.4%) were males, 223 (67.6%) were females, the ages ranged from 18-87 years and the mean age was 27.42 years (SD=10.36). Procedure Participants accessed the study by clicking on an embedded URL in the advertisement. If they met the study criteria and consented to participate, they responded to an online questionnaire inquiring about: their recent experiences of sleep and eating and height and weight, to calculate their BMI. SPSS statistical software (version 22) was used to perform all statistical analyses. Two standard multiple regression analyses were performed to test the two hypotheses. Materials Demographics including education level were collected. BMI was calculated by computing participants’ weight (in kilograms) over their height (in meters); with a BMI of ≠¥25 indicating overweightness and ≠¥30 indicating obesity. Next, the PSQI assessed seven subjective domains of sleep. An overall PSQI score (ranging from 0 to 21) of >5 indicated moderate to severe sleep difficulties. Overall sleep score has high internal consistency reliability with a Cronbachs ÃŽ ± of .83 (Smith Wegener, 2003). Thirdly, BE was measured using the BES; which consists of 16-items reflecting behaviours and feelings related to eating. An overall BES score (ranging from 0 to 46) of >27 indicated binge-eating and a higher overall score indicated worse binge eating. In this study, BES had high internal consistency with a Cronbachs ÃŽ ± of .92. Finally, NTE was measured using NEQ which consists of 15 questions. An overall NEQ score (ranging from 0 to 52) of >25 indicated NTE behaviour. In t his study, the NEQ showed sufficient internal consistency with a Cronbachs alpha of .73. Results A number of outliers were detected for each of the variables; however, none of these were excluded because they represented clinically relevant cases. Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics of overall sleep quality, BMI, BE and NTE were found to be non-significant (i.e., p); which means that these key variables were normally distributed. Two multiple regression analyses (MRA) were conducted to investigate whether: (a) PSQ and disordered eating (BE and NTE) were associated with high BMI; and (b) whether high BMI and disordered eating (BE and NTE) were associated with higher scores of PSQ. Means and standard deviations of the key variables are shown in Table 1. Table 1 Means and Standard Deviations of Key Study Variables The first MRA found that overall PSQ and BE (but not NTE) were positively associated with high BMI (the dependent variable) accounting for a significant 8% of the variability in BMI, R2 =.080, adjusted R2=.071, F (3,326) = 9.40, p=.000. Examination of the beta weights suggested that BE was the strongest unique contributor to high BMI (see Table 2).Unstandardized (B) and standardized (ÃŽ ²) regression coefficients for each predictor in the regression model are provided in Table 2. Table 2 Unstandardized (B) and Standardized (ÃŽ ²) Regression Coefficients for each Predictor in a Regression Model Predicting high BMI *p The second MRA found that high BMI and NTE (but not BE) were positively associated with overall PSQ (the dependent variable) accounting for 35.6% of the variability in overall PSQ, R2 =.356, adjusted R2=.350, F (3,326) = 59.99, p=.000. Unstandardized (B) and standardized (ÃŽ ²) regression coefficients for each predictor in the regression model are provided (see Table 3). Table 3 Unstandardized (B) and Standardized (ÃŽ ²) Regression Coefficients for each Predictor in a Regression Model Predicting Worse Overall Sleep Quality Night-eating .032 .090* *p Discussion This study aimed to determine whether disordered eating (NTE and BE) explains the relationship between PSQ and hBMI. The first hypothesis was mostly supported by the results which indicated that PSQ and BE (but not NTE) were positively associated with hBMI. The second hypothesis was also mostly supported by the results which indicated that hBMI and NTE (but not BE) were positively associated with PSQ. First, the finding that: there is a bidirectional relationship between hBMI and PSQ is in accordance with empirical research findings and meta-analyses which found that: (a) sleeping less than seven hours, having trouble falling and/or staying asleep was positively associated with hBMI; (b) obese individuals experience shorter sleep durations compared to non-obese individuals; and (c) for every hour of sleep lost the risk of obesity increased by 80%; (Cappuccio, et al., 2008; Gangwisch, Malaspina, Boden-Albala Heymsfield, 2005; Gupta, Mueller, Chan Meininger, 2002). Second, the finding that: BE was associated with hBMI was in accordance with Yeh and Brown (2014) whose meta-analyses also found that BE was positively associated with hBMI. Third, the finding that NTE was associated with PSQ is consistent with those of Crispim, Zimberg, dos Reis, Tufik and de Mello (2011) who found that NTE was associated with PSQ. The findings that did not support the hypotheses of the study included: NTE is associated with high BMI and BE is associated with PSQ. These findings are inconsistent with those of Andersen, Stunkard, Sorenson, Peterson and Heitmann (2004) who found that NTE was associated with weight gain in individuals with hBMI and Yeh and Brown (2014) whose meta-analyses found that BE is associated with PSQ. Overall, these findings mostly corroborate empirical findings and theories which claim that: there is a bidirectional positive association between hBMI and PSQ, BE is positively associated with hBMI and NTE is positively associated with PSQ. However, it is possible that there are alternative explanations for the results of this study and /or potential confounds that might have influenced the results. The first limitation of the study is that the majority of the participants were females, well-educated and of a normal weight. Therefore, it is potentially difficult to generalize these findings to the mixed gendered populations, individuals with and less well-educated populations. Second, these findings are based on subjective self-reported measures of sleep quality, eating behaviour and BMI. This is potentially problematic because individuals might be inaccurate- due to not knowing the responses to particular questions or deliberately lying- in providing response. Lastly, internet acce ss was required to participate in this study; this is a limitation because it excludes individuals who cannot gain internet access easily and/or individuals who are not technologically knowledgeable. Overall, the results of this study implicate that individuals should strive to improve their eating and sleeping habits since they seem to affect each other and that NTE should be controlled because it is associated with PSQ. In light of the limitations of this study, future research could include: mixed-gender samples (with equal amounts of male and female patticipants), using paper-based questionnaires and using objective measures of BMI, sleep quality and eating behaviour rather than subjective/self-report methods. Incorporating these suggestions could provide findings that are: more easily generalizable to the general population and more accurate measures of the key variables in the study. In conclusion, this report investigated whether poor sleep quality and disordered eating (binge-eating and night-time eating) were associated with high BMI and whether high BMI and disordered eating were associated with higher scores of poor sleep quality. The findings indicate that poor sleep quality and binge-eating (but not night-time eating) were positively associated with high BMI and high BMI and night-time eating (but not binge-eating) were positively associated with overall poor sleep quality. These findings provide useful implications for future research and for individuals’ health behaviours.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Detective Story Genre: Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes Storie

The Detective Story Genre: Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Stories One of the most popular literary forms is the detective genre. The most remarkable detective author of all time is the late nineteenth century writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His most prominent works are the famous Sherlock Holmes stories. These novels and short stories set the standard for the genre. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories can be considered a model for detective fiction because each is centered on a mystery, Sherlock is a brilliant detective, and clues are a prerequisite for success. The very essence of any detective story is the mystery. Unlike murder mysteries, which have a lot in common with detective stories, Holmes's problems are not invariably as severe as homicide. These mysteries are not usually insignificant though, and "Often they have to do with theft or murder" (Adventures). The first mystery may be an important and confusing conundrum, but there is often a more worthy case that presents itself after the first has commenced. This adds a level of intrigue to the tale because "The first story leads towards dissolution, the second towards restoring order" (Horsley). In each adventure, someone has been or is in danger of being wronged by another person, and comes to Sherlock for help. This creates "A clear and unambiguous triangle of characters - the investigator, the victim, and the transgressor" (Horsley). All of this is incorporated into the author's puzzle. Something important and immoral is done in every detective story. Whether the detective is clearing a client of blame or prosecuting someone, he is always on the right side, and working against the wrong. The detective may not always complete his j... ...1 Feb. 2003. http://web12.epnet.com/ Horsley, Lee "Sherlock Holmes - Modernist Thought, Modernist _____Cities, and the Solving Intellect." 31 Mar. 03 _____http://www.crimeculture.com/359/Holmes.htm "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." Magill on Literature. EBSCO _____Publishing. 21 Feb. 2003. http://web12.epnet.com/ "Arthur Conan Doyle." Magill on Literature. EBSCO Publishing. 21 _____Feb. 2003. http://web12.epnet.com/ Jenson, Jens Byskov "The Man Sherlock Holmes." 23 Feb. 2003. _____http://sherlock-holmes.hypermart.net/sherlock.html Leadbetter, Claire "Why Were Sherlock Holmes Stories So Popular?" 31 _____Mar. 03 _____http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/8950/holmes/shpaper.htm "The Greek Interpreter." Magill on Literature. EBSCO Publishing. 21 _____Feb. 2003. http://web12.epnet.com/

Friday, July 19, 2019

Androgynous Characters in Thomas Hardys Novels Essay -- Biography Bio

Androgynous Characters in Thomas Hardy's Novels Androgyny may be defined as "a condition under which the characteristics of the sexes, and the human impulses expressed by men and women, are not rigidly assigned" (Heilbrun 10). In the midst of the Victorian Era, Thomas Hardy opposed conventional norms by creating androgynous characters such as Eustacia Vye, in The Return of the Native ; the title character in Tess of the d Urbervilles ; Sue Bridehead in Jude the Obscure ; and Marty South in The Woodlande rs. Hardy's women, possessing "prodigious energy, stunted opportunity, and a passion which challenges the entire, limiting world" (Heilbrun 70), often resemble men in actions and behavior. Eustacia Vye may be considered androgynous for her passion, rebelliousness, and refusal to accept the confines of Egdon. She exists in a state of untamed romantic emotion and fantasy, and has little concern for the effects of her actions. These characteristics of Eustacia make her less typical of women during the Victorian Era, but the scene in which her androgynous behavior is most evident...

Science and Religion Essay -- History, Witchcraft, Magic

Humans do not engage the world in a neutral way. Instead, we see world through the reality that our culture creates. Without culture, humanity would have to continuously reinvent the wheel, perhaps even literally. It casts a web of reality over us that is inescapable. We are constantly in the grip of our culture. Therefore, it isn’t surprising to find societies with cultures which differ greatly from ours who come to very different conclusions about what reality is. When we are confronted with these differences in world views, we are often quick and confident to assert that our way of life is superior to others. This is behavior isn’t unique to tribes indigenous to foreign lands who believe in so-called â€Å"primitive† religions. It is even true of the Western world’s modern science. Science is another example of the cultural frameworks we use to understand the world around us. If this is the case, then science too must be part of a web of reality created by our culture, and is therefore not superior (nor inferior) to religion, but rather runs parallel to it. However, the Western mind generally recoils from the idea that science does anything but describe reality in hard, empirical detail. As mentioned, since these cultural frameworks envelope us, we often to not regard them as socially negotiated ways of engaging the world, but rather as absolute and unquestioned reality. The same is true of both religion and science. The unquestioned nature of this cultural framework was described by anthropologist Evans-Pritchard in his seminal work, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. In this ethnography, Evans-Pritchard examines how completely encompassing the Azande tradition of magic and witchcraft is to the people.... ...thin the same process. In this way, science seems superior to other methods of engaging the world. However, as we have seen, science has its limitations in describing certain categories of knowledge. It cannot be used to make ethical judgements or learn an ultimate truth. Such areas are outside its scope. In this way, magic and religion provide answers which science cannot. So science is not necessarily superior to religion and magic, neither is it inferior to it. It is another way of engaging the world, one which answers a different set of questions and solves a different set of problems from magic and religion. So long as a cultural framework benefits the society which implements it, it is useful. Furthermore, when these cultural frameworks are as deeply intertwined with everyday reality as is the case with the Azande’s witchcraft, they become necessary.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Craft Era

The first major era is now referred to as ‘craft’ manufacturing and service ‘shop’ delivery. This system was European in origin and linked to the way in which skills were developed: the apprentice–journeyman– master progression, which led to the creation of guilds of skilled people who sought to control the supply of their speciality, and the consolidation of skill within a subsector of society (as, for example, skills were passed on from father to son). This was noted for low-volume, high-variety products, where workers tended to be highly skilled and quality was built into the very process of operations. It was also appropriate for largely national markets, supplied internally with minimal imports and exports. Some craft manufacturing still remains today, in markets where exotic products and services can control demands through some unique feature or high level of desirability. For instance, some house building, furniture making, clock and watch making are still carried out by skilled craftsmen/women working on a single or few items of output at a time. While the processes and techniques used by these craftsmen/women are highly inefficient, the unique quality of their products commands a premium price, as illustrated by the secondhand value of products such as a Daniels pocket watch or a Morgan car. In the case of Morgan, however, it is a mistake to conclude that the passenger car industry might still be able to employ craft production. Morgan is unashamedly part of a sector that is closer to specialist toys than that concerned with personal transportation. It is also the end of a very thin tail, other parts of which (AC, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, etc. have already been absorbed by volume producers, keen to operate in exotic niches for purposes that are closer to corporate advertising than to income generation. In the clothing industry, one significant sector of the industry – haute couture – is based on the craft production approach. In services, the craft era has also continued – perhaps even more so than in manufacturing. The slower pace of change within services derives from the extent to which customer processing operations can adopt new technologies and new systems. Only services that require little skill at the operating level (such as FMCG or petrol retailing) or processing large amounts of information (such as financial services) are significantly different now from what they were like even 30 years ago. Many services such as hotels, schools, hospitals, hairdressers, vehicle repair and transportation have changed very little, despite new technologies. The mass production era The second major era is known as mass production, although once again its principles were by no means restricted to manufacturing. This system grew in North America to accommodate three principal requirements of the developing giant: the need to export, the need to provide employment for a massive, largely unskilled workforce, and the need to establish itself as a world player, which meant infiltrating other regions with ideas clearly associated with the USA. In short, the Americans could not play by the European rules, so they reinvented the game: innovating by destroying the competitive position of craft production. The system was massively successful and changed the working and buying practices of the world in the first three decades of the twentieth century. In order to sell the standardized products made by standardized operations practices, mass production had to standardize the market requirements too. Fortunately, the market was immature and would do what it was told to do. Thus, mass production reversed the paradigm of craft production: volume was high with little variety. The marketing ploy (and the resultant manufacturing strategy) was exemplified by Henry Ford’s famous declaration, from now on, ‘a customer can have a car painted any colour he likes, as long as it is black! ’ In mass production, workers were typically unskilled. This was the era owing much to the contribution of F. W. Taylor’s Scientific Management, whereby workers had very narrowly defined jobs, involving repetitive tasks, and quality was left to ‘quality experts’ at the final stage of the overall process rather than being an integral part of operations at each step (Taylor, 1912). Taylor enabled firms, for the first time, to control costs, times and resources, rather than rely on skilled craftsmen and women to decide what was appropriate. Coupled with the developments made in mechanization and employee co-ordination during the European industrial revolutions, Taylor’s ideas provided an entirely different way of operating. In 1926, Encyclopaedia Britannica asked Henry Ford to christen his system and he called it mass production. He meant ‘mass’ in the sense of large volume production. Perhaps he did not see the other meaning of mass as ‘heavy and cumbersome’, which is what the system turned out to be (in terms of management systems and superstructure), once the market no longer bought what it was told. These principles originating in the 1920s were slow to be adopted in services, but by the 1970s, Ted Levitt, from Harvard Business School, was able to identify the ‘production-lining’ (Levitt, 1972) of service and the ‘industrialization’ (Levitt, 1976) of service. He cited fast food, the automatic teller machine (ATM) outside banks and supermarket retailing as examples of this. Schmenner (1986) coined the phrase ‘mass service’ to exemplify this type of service operation. More recently, the aspects of working life that are typical in this mass production context have been extended to life in general by Ritzer (1993), who refers to it as the McDonaldization of society. The shift from ‘craft’ marketing to marketing in the mass production age is clearly demarcated by the publication of Levitt’s (1960) article in the Harvard Business Review entitled ‘Marketing myopia’. In mass production, customers bought what was supplied; producers concentrated on keeping costs, and hence prices, down, and focused on selling to customers through aggressive advertising and sales forces. As organizations were product-led, operations management was relatively straightforward. Mass producing goods at the lowest cost meant minimizing component and product variety, large production runs and scientific management. The success of Ford made this view highly persuasive. In 1909, the Model T automobiles were sold for $950, but by 1916, following the introduction of the assembly line, it had fallen to $345, and three-quarters of the cars on American roads were built by Ford (Bryson, 1994). However, as Levitt (1960) pointed out, Ford was eventually outstripped by General Motors, who were not product-led but market-led. They gave customers what they wanted – choice, model updates, a range of colours (not just black! ). The symbol of this age is the brand. Originally (in the craft era) the brand was a mark on the product, often a signature – for example, on a painting – or symbol, signifying its ownership or origin. But in mass production the brand took on far more significance. It became the means by which one product (or service) could differentiate itself from a competitor’s product (or service). Procter & Gamble set up brand managers in 1931 to sell their different soap products. Later the brand also became a guarantee of product/service quality. Kemmons Wilson’s motivation in 1952 to open the first Holiday Inn hotel was his own disappointment with the ariable standards and sleaziness of the motels he stayed in whilst on a family holiday. The success of delivering a consistently standard level of service resulted in Wilson opening one hotel every two and half days in the mid-1950s. But by the 1990s, brands had come under threat. Markets are highly fragmented, the proliferation of niches makes target marketing more difficult, product and service life cycles are shortening, and product/service innovation is quicker than ever before; increasing customer sophistication has reduced the power of advertising. As a result, a more holistic view of operations management is required, as Crainer (1998) suggests: Companies must add value throughout every single process they are involved in and then translate this into better value for customers. This is because the modern era has brought profound changes in operations management and operations has to be at the heart of successful strategic thinking.