PetMeds Transformation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PetMeds Transformation - Case Study Example The set of variables are grouped into transformational and transactional factors (Falletta, 2005). This paper focuses on the seven transactional variables, such as structure, tasks and skills, management practices, systems and policies, work unit climate, motivation and individual needs and goals. Burke-Litwin Model defines the organizational structure as an arrangement of functions and people into specific areas and levels of responsibility, decision-making authority, communication and relationships (Falletta, 2005). Such structure shall support the organization's mission, goals and strategy in order to achieve competitive advantage for the firm (Porter, 1985). PetMed Express can be considered as a mechanistic organization that follows the functional departmentalization structure. The company has highly specialized departments with high formalization and a clear chain of command. The company's structure supports its cost leadership strategy by increasing consistency and reducing cost through centralization and management control (McShane, 2001). The company currently has 248 full time employees distributed into four departments of customer care, warehouse, pharmacy and corporate departments. The customer care department consists of customer care representatives in a call center environment while the warehouse department consists of supervisors and associates. The pharmacy department employs pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and support. The corporate department is composed of accounting, legal, marketing, information technology, purchasing and human resources. Below is the organizational diagram of PetMed. (PetMed Express, 2009) Figure . PetMeds Organizational Chart In order to be effective in serving the customers demand, PetMeds employed 143 people in customer care and marketing, 58 people in pharmacy, and 34 people in warehouse and purchasing. Therefore, the structure of human resources in the company is aligned with its mission of delivering exceptional service, savings and convenience to its customers while maintaining a corporate strategy of cost advantage. Tasks and Skills and Motivation The business success of PetMed Express is attributed to the core competencies of their customer care, warehouse and pharmacy department. According to Prahalad and Hamel (1990), the core competencies of a company are the collective learning in the organization that involves communication, involvement and deep commitment to working across organizational boundaries. Therefore, the core competencies provide potential access to a wide variety of markets and make a significant contribution to the customer benefits of its products. The Burke-Litwin Model describes tasks and skills as the behavior required for task effectiveness which includes specific skills and knowledge required to accomplish work (Falletta, 2005). The tasks and skills of an individual coupled with its motivation, or heightened behavior to achieve goals, have a significant impact on organizational performance and productivity. In other words, an empowered and motivated employee will perform its duties and responsibilities when his tasks and skills are matched with the job requirements. The human resource management has an extensive recruitment and selection strategy that identifies the needs of the job as well as the competency of the employee. The bulk of the

Moliere’s Portrayal of Religion and Religiosity Essay Example for Free

Moliere’s Portrayal of Religion and Religiosity Essay Moliere’s Tartuffe is about a man named Tartuffe who is a beggar and holy man that was recently taken in by a Christian man named, Orgon. Tartuffe has Orgon fooled, but the entire rest of Orgon’s family sees Tartuffe as a hypocritical, self-righteous con artist. Orgon becomes obsessed with Tartuffe and would rather talk and hear about him than his own sick wife. Even though Moliere rewrote this play twice, there are many reasons that the church might still be concerned about the hypocrisy that he used toward Christianity in this play. In 1666 Tartuffe was banned, a play many found offensive because of its assault on church hypocrisy. Many people of the church could still be concerned, due to Moliere’s portrayal of Christianity and how it is almost mocked in this play. Allot of the comedy Moliere portrays is intense focus on Orgon as example of a certain kind of traditional Christian. He isn’t the ‘only’ type of Christian in this play, but the way he is portrayed is almost in a hypocritical manner. Orgon is so eager to believe Tartuffe, mainly due to the fact that Tartuffe is professing to be another type of Christian. Moliere regards the type of Christian that Tartuffe is as insane. The way mankind is portrayed on behalf of Orgon is almost as depraved as a result of Original Sin, so therefore Orgon has to be subjected, for his own good, to somewhat of a dictatorial control by divinely appointed authorities, or the King. Moliere portrays Orgon as a good Christian man, who is taken advantage of and ultimately almost loses everything because he is willing to take Tartuffe in and treat him as if he were family. The reason the church should be concerned here is the fact that Moliere portrays the way Tartuffe is insane and manipulates the good Christian man. He shows Orgon, the good Christian man as blind to all the wrong, and coming out as essentially the â€Å"loser† and the insane Christian and manipulator, Tartuffe, comes out with all of Orgon’s belongings. After reading Moliere’s Tartuffe I now can see how the church would be heavily concerned with how Moliere portrays Christianity as ‘the nice guy finishes last’ with relation to Orgon and Christianity. The church could also see the hypocrisy by the portrayal of Tartuffe as a â€Å"religious con man† or â€Å"religious fraud. †

Case Study of Dell Computer Corporation :: Business Marketing, Case Study, solution

Case Study of Dell Computer Corporation Introduction Michael Dell founded Dell Computer Corporation in 1984 with a simple vision and business concept – that personal computers can be built to order and sold directly to consumers. Michael believed his approach had two advantages: (i) by passing distributors and retail dealers eliminated the markups of resellers, and (ii) building to order greatly reduced the costs and risks associated with carrying large stocks of parts, components and finished goods. Its build-to-order and sell-direct approach proved appealing to growing numbers of customers in the mid 1990s as global PC sales rose to record level. In 1998, it was already the 3rd manufacturer in the United States with a 12% share of PC market and a nearly 6% share worldwide. The company’s fastest growing market for the past several quarters was Europe. Even during the Asia economic woes in the early 1998, Dell’s sales in Asia rose 35%. Its sales at the Internet Web site were about $5 million a day and expected to r each $1.5 billion annually by the year-end 1998. Since 1990, Dell’s stock price had exploded from 23 cents per share to $83 per share in May1998 with a 36,000% increase and was the top performing big company then. Dell’s principal products included desktop PCs, notebook computers, workstations, and servers. Its products and services were sold in more than 140 countries. The sales of desktop PCs alone accounted for about 65% of Dell’s total revenues while the rest accounted for about 33%. In early 1988, the company has 16,000 employees. Dell’s Background and Vision Dell Computer was first known as PCs Limited in 1984, selling PC components and PCs under the brand name PCs Limited. Dell’s strategy was to sell directly to end users; by eliminating the retail markup, Dell was able to sell IBM clones at about 40% below an IBM PC price. By 1985, the company was assembling its own PC designs and had about 40 employees. Sales had reached $33 million by the year ending 1986. Michael Dell sought to refine the company’s business model, add needed production capacity, and build a bigger, deeper management staff and corporate infrastructure while at same time keeping costs low. It first international offices were opened in 1987 and was renamed Dell Computer. In 1998, Dell became a public company, raised $34.2 million in its first offering of common stock. Michael Dell’s vision was for Dell Computer to become one of the top three PC companies.

Engineer in Society

Engineers work to develop economic and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics, scientific knowledge and ingenuity while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root â€Å"ingenium,† meaning â€Å"cleverness†. The industrial revolution and continuing technological developments of the last few centuries have changed the connotation of the term slightly, resulting in the perception of engineers as applied scientists. The work of engineers is the link between perceived needs of society and commercial applications. As for engineering definition it is a discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific, and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or invention. The broad discipline of engineering encompasses a range of more specialized sub disciplines, each with a more specific emphasis on certain fields of application and particular areas of technology. The concept of engineering has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental inventions such as the pulley, lever, and wheel. Each of these inventions is consistent with the modern definition of engineering, exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop useful tools and objects. The term engineering itself has a much more recent etymology, deriving from the word engineer, which itself dates back to 1325, when an engine’er (literally, one who operates an engine) originally referred to â€Å"a constructor of military engines. † In this context, now obsolete, an â€Å"engine† referred to a military machine, i. e. , a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult). The word â€Å"engine† itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the Latin ingenium (c. 250), and meaning â€Å"innate quality, especially mental power, hence a clever invention. † Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings matured as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering entered the lexicon as a way to distinguish between those specializin g in the construction of such non-military projects and those involved in the older discipline of military engineering (the original meaning of the word â€Å"engineering,† now largely obsolete, with notable exceptions that have survived to the present day such as military engineering corps, e. g. the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Engineering, much like other science, is a broad discipline which is often broken down into several sub-disciplines. With the rapid advancement of technology many new fields are gaining prominence and new branches are developing such as materials engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, nanotechnology, tribology, molecular engineering, mechatronics, etc. These new specialties sometimes combine with the traditional fields and form new branches such as mechanical engineering and mechatronics and electrical and computer engineering. A new or emerging area of application will commonly be defined temporarily as a permutation or subset of existing disciplines; there is often gray area as to when a given sub-field becomes large and/or prominent enough to warrant classification as a new â€Å"branch. † One key indicator of such emergence is when major universities start establishing departments and programs in the new field. For each of these fields there exists considerable overlap, especially in the areas of the application of sciences to their disciplines such as physics, chemistry and mathematics. Engineering is a subject that ranges from large collaborations to small individual projects. Almost all engineering projects are beholden to some sort of financing agency: a company, a set of investors, or a government. The few types of engineering that are minimally constrained by such issues are pro bono engineering and open design engineering. By its very nature engineering is bound up with society and human behaviour. Every product or construction used by modern society will have been influenced by engineering design. Engineering design is a very powerful tool to make changes to environment, society and economies, and its application brings with it a great responsibility. Many lists of engineering societies have established codes of practice and codes of ethics to guide members and inform the public at large. Engineering projects can be subject to controversy. Examples from different engineering disciplines include the development of nuclear weapons, the Three Gorges Dam, the design and use of Sport utility vehicles and the extraction of oil. In response, some western engineering companies have enacted serious corporate and social responsibility policies. Engineering is a key driver of human development. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has a very small engineering capacity which results in many African nations being unable to develop crucial infrastructure without outside aid. The attainment of many of the Millennium Development Goals requires the achievement of sufficient engineering capacity to develop infrastructure and sustainable technological development. Safety is the state of being â€Å"safe† (from French sauf), the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. This can take the form of being protected from the event or from exposure to something that causes health or economical losses. It can include protection of people or of possessions. Safety engineering is an applied science strongly related to systems engineering and the subset System Safety Engineering. Safety engineering assures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when pieces fail. Continuous changes in technology, environmental regulation and public safety concerns make the analysis of complex safety-critical systems more and more demanding. Safety is often seen as one of a group of related disciplines: quality, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety. These issues tend to determine the value of any work, and deficits in any of these areas are considered to result in a cost, beyond the cost of addressing the area in the first place; good management is then expected to minimize total cost. Theoretically, safety-engineers take an early design of a system, analyze it to find what faults can occur, and then propose safety requirements in design specifications up front and changes to existing systems to make the system safer. But actually, safety engineers are assigned to prove that an existing, completed design is safe. If a safety engineer then discovers significant safety problems late in the design process, correcting them can be very expensive. This type of error has the potential to waste large sums of money. The exception to this conventional approach is the way some large government agencies approach safety engineering from a more proactive and proven process perspective, known as â€Å"system safety†. The system safety philosophy is to be applied to complex and critical systems, such as commercial airliners, complex weapon systems, spacecraft, rail and transportation systems, air traffic control system and other complex and safety-critical industrial systems. The proven system safety methods and techniques are to prevent, eliminate and control hazards and risks through designed influences by a collaboration of key engineering disciplines and product teams. Software safety is a fast growing ield since modern systems functionality are increasingly being put under control of software. The whole concept of system safety and software safety, as a subset of systems engineering, is to influence safety-critical systems designs by conducting several types of hazard analyses to identify risks and to specify design safety features and procedures to strategically mitigate risk to acceptable levels before the system is certified. Additionally, failure mitigation can go beyond design recommenda tions, particularly in the area of maintenance. There is an entire realm of safety and reliability engineering known as Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), which is a discipline that is a direct result of analyzing potential failures within a system and determining maintenance actions that can mitigate the risk of failure. This methodology is used extensively on aircraft and involves understanding the failure modes of the serviceable replaceable assemblies in addition to the means to detect or predict an impending failure. Every automobile owner is familiar with this concept when they take in their car to have the oil changed or brakes checked. Even filling up one's car with fuel is a simple example of a failure mode (failure due to fuel exhaustion), a means of detection (fuel gauge), and a maintenance action (filling the car's fuel tank). For large scale complex systems, hundreds if not thousands of maintenance actions can result from the failure analysis. These maintenance actions are based on conditions (e. g. , gauge reading or leaky valve), hard conditions (e. . , a component is known to fail after 100 hrs of operation with 95% certainty), or require inspection to determine the maintenance action (e. g. , metal fatigue). The RCM concept then analyzes each individual maintenance item for its risk contribution to safety, mission, operational readiness, or cost to repair if a failure does occur. Then the sum total of all the maintenance actions are bundled into maintenance intervals so that maintenan ce is not occurring around the clock, but rather, at regular intervals. This bundling process introduces further complexity, as it might stretch some maintenance cycles, thereby increasing risk, but reduce others, thereby potentially reducing risk, with the end result being a comprehensive maintenance schedule, purpose built to reduce operational risk and ensure acceptable levels of operational readiness and availability. The two most common fault modelling techniques are called failure mode and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. These techniques are just ways of inding problems and of making plans to cope with failures, as in probabilistic risk assessment. One of the earliest complete studies using this technique on a commercial nuclear plant was the WASH-1400 study, also known as the Reactor Safety Study or the Rasmussen Report. Once a failure mode is identified, it can usually be prevented entirely by adding extra equipment to the system. For example, nuclear reactors contain dangerous radiation, and nuclear reactions can cause so much heat tha t no substance might contain them. Therefore reactors have emergency core cooling systems to keep the temperature down, shielding to contain the radiation, and engineered barriers (usually several, nested, surmounted by a containment building) to prevent accidental leakage. Most biological organisms have a certain amount of redundancy: multiple organs, multiple limbs, etc. For any given failure, a fail-over or redundancy can almost always be designed and incorporated into a system. Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as being â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity†. Only a handful of publications have focused specifically on the definition of health and its evolution in the first 6 decades. Some of them highlight its lack of operational value and the problem created by use of the word â€Å"complete. Others declare the definition, which has not been modified since 1948, â€Å"simply a bad one. † In 1986, the WHO, in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, said that health is â€Å"a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. † Classification systems such as the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC), which is composed of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) also define health. Overall health is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle. Health and working together safety engineers plan, implement, and coordinate safety programs to prevent or correct unsafe environmental working conditions. They promote workplace and product safety by identifying and monitoring potential hazards to people or property. They then apply an advanced knowledge of industrial processes and human performance principles to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury or damage. To create a safe and environmentally sound workplace, engineers coordinate with outside organizations, such as fire departments or the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA); design and install safety devices on machinery or clothing; and investigate causes of industrial accidents to prevent further incidents. They also conduct tests to ascertain air quality, noise level, temperature, or radiation. Once the analysis is complete, they then consult with governmental organizations on how to handle such problems in compliance with safety regulations. Health and safety engineers then coordinate the training of workers on safety procedures using safety equipment, devices, and clothing. Working under the Health Department and the work involves is the planning, administration and performance of public health engineering duties concerned with the execution of one or more phases of the environmental health program. The work entails advising public officials or individuals on problems requiring professional public health engineering expertise, including measures for improvement and compliance with legal requirements, assisting in the promotion of public health through application of environmental health practices, assisting in the enforcement of the provisions of local and State health matters and investigations of related conditions and problems. The work is performed under general supervision of a Senior Public Health Engineer with leeway allowed for exercise of independent judgment in carrying out details of the work. Engineers also played a relatively indirect role in medicine until the last 40 to 50 years. They produced instruments and articles specified by doctors and medical practitioners. There was however an interesting contribution made by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1855. He responded to the scandal of the appalling conditions of the Crimean War military hospital, publicised by Florence Nightingale, by designing the first portable hospital of one thousand beds within six days of receiving a request for help from the War Office. The project was completed in five months from design to admission of the first wounded soldier. The introduction of anaesthetics in 1846 fundamentally changed surgery by suppressing pain. This gave surgeons more time and allowed for the developments of new techniques which made surgery more constructive. However modern medical developments really began in 1876 when Robert Koch, a German doctor, proved for the first time that microorganisms could cause disease. The first chemical agent to attack infection, salvarsan or ‘606’ (arsenobenzene) was developed by Paul Ehrlich in 1910 and although it had many side effects, remained the only means of curing acute infection until the second world war when penicillin was introduced. Although penicillin was originally discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928, it was the innovation and ingenuity of chemists and engineers such as Ernst Chain, who built for Beechams the fermenter which enabled bulk semi-synthetic penicillins to be produced. Whilst chemists and engineers were involved in delivering the benefits of microorganisms such as antibiotics and vaccines, electrical engineers were advancing and applying technology to the benefit of healthcare. Of special merit was Godfrey Hounsfield’s singular contribution in the 1960s of the development of three dimensional reconstructions from two dimensional (2D) X-rays, namely the brain scanner, later to be developed into the body scanner. Engineering in medicine has been an important and it’s believed that the role of the engineer in many areas of healthcare will grow. Constant innovation and development is needed to avoid the generations of the 21st century looking back at our surgical and medical techniques with the same appalled fascination in the 19th century. The ever-expanding array of medical technologies includes artificial hips and organs, endoscopy (enabling minimally invasive surgery), intelligent prosthetic devices (artificial limbs, hearing aids) and implantable devices (pacemaker, defibrillator), novel technologies used in cardiac catheterization, patient monitoring, and medical imaging. These developments have had a tremendous impact on the medical industry and have led to numerous technologies and medical devices without which modern medicine would be unthinkable. Today’s activities range from nano- to information technology and involve such diverse applications as microsensors, artificial organs, physiological modelling, genomics, molecular imaging, home care monitoring, ergonomics, information processing, data management, and patient safety. Environment in this case is natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by two components. Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation, animals, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries. Others is universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity. The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment (with an indefinite article), if the human impact on it is kept under a certain limited level. In engineering, is more related with environmental engineering whereas define as the application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites. Environmental engineering involves water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues as well as knowledge of environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects. Environmental engineers conduct hazardous-waste management studies to evaluate the significance of such hazards, advice on treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps. Environmental engineers also design municipal water supply and industrial wastewater treatment systems as well as address local and worldwide environmental issues such as the effects of acid rain, ozone depletion, water pollution and air pollution from automobile exhausts and industrial sources. At many universities, Environmental Engineering programs follow either the Department of Civil Engineering or The Department of Chemical Engineering at engineering faculties. Environmental â€Å"civil† engineers focus on hydrology, water resources management, bioremediation, and water treatment plant design. Environmental â€Å"chemical† engineers, on the other hand, focus on environmental chemistry, advanced air and water treatment technologies and separation processes. Additionally, engineers are more frequently obtaining specialized training in law (J. D. ) and are utilizing their technical expertise in the practices of Environmental engineering law. Most jurisdictions also impose licensing and registration requirements. Modern environmental engineering began in London in the mid-19th century when Joseph Bazalgette designed the first major sewerage system that reduced the incidence of waterborne diseases such as cholera. The introduction of drinking water treatment and sewage treatment in industrialized countries reduced waterborne diseases from leading causes of death to rarities. In many cases, as societies grew, actions that were intended to achieve benefits for those societies had longer-term impacts which reduced other environmental qualities. One example is the widespread application of DDT to control agricultural pests in the years following World War II. While the agricultural benefits were outstanding and crop yields increased dramatically, thus reducing world hunger substantially, and malaria was controlled better than it ever had been, numerous species were brought to the verge of extinction due to the impact of the DDT on their reproductive cycles. The story of DDT as vividly told in Rachel Carson's â€Å"Silent Spring† is considered to be the birth of the modern environmental movement and the development of the modern field of â€Å"environmental engineering. † Conservation movements and laws restricting public actions that would harm the environment have been developed by various societies for millennia. Notable examples are the laws decreeing the construction of sewers in London and Paris in the 19th century and the creation of the U. S. national park system in the early 20th century. Briefly speaking, the main task of environmental engineering is to protect public health by protecting (from further degradation), preserving (the present condition of), and enhancing the environment. Pollutants may be chemical, biological, thermal, radioactive, or even mechanical. Environmental engineering emphasizes several areas: process engineering, environmental chemistry, water and sewage treatment (sanitary engineering), waste reduction/management, and pollution prevention/cleanup. Contribution to society is engineers and scientists assess the impacts of a proposed project on environmental conditions. They apply scientific and engineering principles to evaluate if there are likely to be any adverse impacts to water quality, air quality, habitat quality, flora and fauna, agricultural capacity, traffic impacts, social impacts, ecological impacts, noise impacts, visual (landscape) impacts, etc. If impacts are expected, they then develop mitigation measures to limit or prevent such impacts. An example of a mitigation measure would be the creation of wetlands in a nearby location to mitigate the filling in of wetlands necessary for a road development if it is not possible to reroute the road. Engineers and scientists also work to secure water supplies for potable and agricultural use. They evaluate the water balance within a watershed and determine the available water supply, the water needed for various needs in that watershed, the seasonal cycles of water movement through the watershed and they develop systems to store, treat, and convey water for various uses. Water is treated to achieve water quality objectives for the end uses. In the case of potable water supply, water is treated to minimize risk of infectious disease transmittal, risk of non-infectious illness, and create a palatable water flavour. Water distribution systems are designed and built to provide adequate water pressure and flow rates to meet various end-user needs such as domestic use, fire suppression, and irrigation. Most urban and many rural areas no longer discharge human waste directly to the land through outhouse, septic, and/or honey bucket systems, but rather deposit such waste into water and convey it from households via sewer systems. Engineers and scientists develop collection and treatment systems to carry this waste material away from where people live and produce the waste and discharge it into the environment. In developed countries, substantial resources are applied to the treatment and detoxification of this waste before it is discharged into a river, lake, or ocean system. Developing nations are striving to obtain the resources to develop such systems so that they can improve water quality in their surface waters and reduce the risk of water-borne infectious disease. There are numerous wastewater treatment technologies. A wastewater treatment train can consist of a primary clarifier system to remove solid and floating materials, a secondary treatment system consisting of an aeration basin followed by flocculation and sedimentation or an activated sludge system and a secondary clarifier, a tertiary biological nitrogen removal system, and a final disinfection process. The aeration basin/activated sludge system removes organic material by growing bacteria (activated sludge). The secondary clarifier removes the activated sludge from the water. The tertiary system, although not always included due to costs, is becoming more prevalent to remove nitrogen and phosphorus and to disinfect the water before discharge to a surface water stream or ocean outfall. Engineers apply scientific and engineering principles to the design of manufacturing and combustion processes to reduce air pollutant emissions to acceptable levels. Scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, catalytic converters, and various other processes are utilized to remove particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC), reactive organic gases (ROG) and other air pollutants from flue gases and other sources prior to allowing their emission to the atmosphere. Scientists also have developed air pollution dispersion models to evaluate the concentration of a pollutant at a receptor or the impact on overall air quality from vehicle exhausts and industrial flue gas stack emissions. To some extent, this field overlaps the desire to decrease carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from combustion processes. Technology is an application of knowledge to the practical aims of human life or to changing and manipulating the human environment. Technology includes the use of materials, tools, techniques, and sources of power to make life easier or more pleasant and work more productive. Whereas science is concerned with how and why things happen, technology focuses on making things happen. Technology began to influence human endeavour as soon as people began using tools. It accelerated with the Industrial Revolution and the substitution of machines for animal and human labour. Accelerated technological development has also had costs, in terms of air and water pollution and other undesirable environmental effects. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result. Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although technology as a human activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference. As for conclusion, engineer and engineering plays vital role in our life. Engineer has contribute a lot with the careful research and development using all the mathematical and science related in creating, solving and also improve our daily life. In existent of engineer also we are aware in the safety, health and environment. In ways, engineers identify what is safe and what not. Engineer create something in aided the medical profession thus improving the quality of life. Engineer also contributes in preventing pollution to occur and also find alternative for not destroying the environment. With more technological advancement, engineer have unlimited to what they can do in contribution to the society. Engineer must bear in mind, that everything must have it weakness and consequences. As such, engineer with obligation to serve the society must have good research and have think all the effect that could have happen before doing anything.

Employment Law and HRM Strategy Essay

Employment laws play a critical role in human resources management strategies and in an organization operation. Employee laws are design to protect the employees by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) â€Å" federal enforcement agency enacted to ensure that employers follow and abide by rules set forth in the Civil Rights Acts of 1964†(Web Finance, 2012). However, the act insisted of â€Å"people should be given the same opportunities and equal changes to obtain employment regardless of their color, race, gender, national origin, or religion† (Stewart & Brown, 2012, pg. 0). After researching the employment laws of Georgia by visiting ga. gov and after inserting â€Å"employment laws,† the research will give a descriptively analysis of a description of a scenario that will correspond with the employment law provide. Next the analysis will describes a recommended plan to manage the HRM situation within the confines of the law. Third, the approach will be justified by the scenario to HR management. Fourth, the analysis will describe a competitive advantage may be gain by ensuring HRM practices meet the necessary employment laws. Final, a speculation will be made with an assumption of the situation was not handled in accordance with the appropriate employment laws. ? Description of the scenario that corresponds with employment law: The scenario that was beneficial compliance with the Georgia Employment Law is â€Å"disciplinary action training for supervisors of diverse employers. † The current state that analysis was research of the state of Georgia and the informative information that was providing from www. ga. gov.  Georgia’s employment laws and the HRM strategies are in compliance with the state’s regulations. However, Georgia is considering as an at-will provision. Meaning which the employers have the right to â€Å"freely discipline or discharge employees provided that the adverse employment action is not motivated by any discriminatory intent or administered in a discriminatory manner†(Morris & Manning & Martin, 2012). When an employer is actively training for supervisors of diverse employers the same Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) guidelines are applied throughout the training. Employers have to determine when terminating or have to discipline an employee to comply within the state’s laws by not violating the federally protection classes that is consist of age, race, national origin, religion, sex, or other status. If these actions are violating the individual(s) have the right to suit the organization. However, just last month the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) requested that all employers review their anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. Reason being, the† Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued some serious concerns to the employers in an afforded to reiterate its commitment to justice from vulnerable individuals† (Flahardy, 2012). The reason for the request for the Title VI and the ADA applicants was concerns from a previous case that was review in the courts. The 6th Circuit rules that counseling recommendation violated the ADA† (Byrne, 2012). The action suit was proceed after an employee by the named of Emily Kroll’s suited White Lake Ambulance, for counseling constitutes a â€Å"medical examination,† under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Emily Kroll was employed with the emergency medical technician at the White Lake Ambulance Authority (WLAA), in which Whitehall, Mich. , in 2003 (Byrne, 2012). However, her supervisors initially considered her to be good employee until, a personal affair occurred when her marriage with a coworker failed. Krolly’s supervisor concerns grown after; Krolly and a colleague proceed into an argument and Krolly fail to administer oxygen to a patient. Krolly’s supervisors asked her would she attended counseling sessions whereas, Krolly’s supervisors claimed that they did not specific an exact theory. Emily Krolly refused the counseling and proceeds to resign from her position. Thereafter, Krolly proceeded to file suite with White Lake Ambulance (WLAA), claiming that â€Å"her supervisors† request that she obtained counseling violated under the act â€Å"Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Byrne, 2012). Description of a recommendation plan that concerns HRM situation: Human Resources Management (HRM) is a critical part of an operational organization. Human Resources Management (HRM) is an organizational fundamental that deals with issues related to people such as: hiring, termination, performance organization development, training, benefits, and ompensations. However, when proceeding to make recommendations; although process has to be plan out that will incorporate certain situations and thoughts for future objectives and goals that need to be obtained within the confining of the law. However, in the case analysis, the first recommendation should have been Krolly’s supervisor should have directed her to the Human Resource Division when Krolly’s supervisor became aware of Krolly’s workplace behavior begin be problematic following an affair of a coworker. After this incident, another recommendation would be extra training courses such as: extra training courses related to the current incident, employers, and employees relationship, patients awareness. Included within the extra training courses, the Human Resources Division have to comply with the State or Federal laws and compliance with Title VII, of 1964 civil right Act. Also included in the training, the Human Resources Division should review employee’s handbook with the entire staff. Justification of the HR management’s scenario: The approach of justifying the Human Resource Division’s scenario, request for the entire staff to proceed to an important meeting. Within the meeting, the Human Resource Manager will take the approach of outlining the key elements of the importance for the meeting. The HR manager will review the current laws of Title VII, of 1964 and how it coheres with the organization’s policies and procedures. The HR manager will address to the managers and employees that the organizations have to stay within comply of the rules and regulations of the organization. The HR manager will have to address related important information that would pertain from the previous incident. The HR manager also has to address to each individual, if questions or concerns developed throughout the training; the manager will suggest to the employees, to address any concerns or questions that may develop throughout the training. Final, the HR manager will be addressed to the staff, at the end of the training session; an agreement document will have to be sign, stated that all individual understood the reason for the extra training course. Description of a competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices: A competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices that meet the necessary employment laws would depend on how efficiently the HRM division within the organization? The competitive advantage of ensuring HRM practices is whoever, is in charge of the HRM division is well train in order; for the right qualified person(s) to relate accurate information to the employees. An experience HRM manager(s) will have an inspiring attitude to encourage other people. Speculation will be made with the assumption of the situation according to the law: The speculation according to the scenario and complying with the law; if the writer were Emily Krolly’s supervisor or manager whereas, she would have made the decision to have a sit down with Emily and discussion the reasons she did not attended to the patients care? In comply with the law; the writer would acknowledge the guidelines of the laws and the expectations of the organization in taking care of patient’s well-being. The other incident that occur, the writer would direct Emily to the HR managers and let he or she handle the situation. In conclusion, the analysis address the scenario of Emily Kroll’s suite was complying with the Georgia’s law and with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requirements. The analysis describes recommendations that manage the HRM situation. Final, the analysis identifies a competitive advantage aspect of ensuring HRM practices meet the necessary employment laws.

Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Essays

Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Essays Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Essay Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Essay A compensation system has an of import function in a company. An ideal compensation system can actuate employees to heighten their occupation public presentation. An organisation can utilize equal compensation to retain gifted employees. Retaining gifted employees is of import because they help organisations turn and gain high net incomes. A well-constructed compensation system is the key to an organisation being successful and comfortable ( Importance of Compensation. 2007 ) . To farther elaborate on the importance of compensation. the differences amongst occupation analysis and occupation rating and how these patterns assistance in making internally consistent occupation constructions will be described. and inside informations will be given on the challenges that occur when making compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitory. Besides. the equity of virtue additions based upon quartiles will be discussed. the cardinal construct of insurance and how this construct applies to wellness attention will be discussed. and the alterations in the concern environment and society that may impact the importance of lawfully required benefits will be described. Describe the Differences Between Job Analysis and Job Evaluation and How These Practices Help Establish Internally Consistent Job Structures Job analysis and occupation rating are the cardinal to making internally consistent occupation constructions. An internally consistent compensation system will specify the comparative worth of each occupation amongst all occupations in a company. Companies use a basic rule when making internally consistent compensation systems. which is occupations that require higher abilities. more duties. and more intricate occupation undertakings should be compensated more than occupations that require lower abilities. lesser duties. and fewer intricate occupation undertakings. Internally consistent occupation constructions recognize differentiations in occupation traits that allow compensation directors to put wage based upon the differentiations. Furthermore. compensation professionals create internally consistent occupation constructions by utilizing occupation analysis and occupation rating. A occupation analysis will uncover the responsibilities every bit good as compensation factors such as accomplishment and attempt that are required to sufficiently execute the occupation. The consequences of the occupation analysis will be used to carry on the occupation rating. Job rating will make wage derived functions for occupations within a company. The consequences of the occupation analysis aid compensation professionals set wage rates by quantifying the chief similarities and differences between occupations ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . In the terminal. the occupation rating will categorise occupations harmonizing to their comparative worth in the company. The comparative worth of a occupation will be determined based upon compensation factors such as accomplishment. occupation responsibilities. and working conditions. Finally. occupation rating will vouch internal equity because the value of occupations will be determined based upon compensation factors ( Williams. 2012 ) . Describe the Challenges in Developing Compensations That are Both Internally Consistent and Market Competitive One challenge in making compensation systems that are internally consistent and market competitory trades with flexibleness. Internally consistent wage systems have the possible to diminish a company’s flexibleness to respond to alterations in the wage patterns of rivals because occupation analysis creates structured occupation descriptions and occupation constructions. Besides. occupation rating creates the comparative value of occupations within an organisation. Reacting to rivals may necessitate employees to execute undertakings that are non included in their occupation descriptions whenever competitory force per unit areas arise. This procedure makes equity assessments more hard because the definitions of occupations become more mutable ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Furthermore. some employees may resent being required to execute undertakings that are non in their occupation descriptions. These employees may believe that the employers are taking advantage of them because they are non being compensated for executing the excess occupation responsibilities. As a consequence. employees could go unmotivated to assist their employers compete against rivals. Another challenge in developing compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitory is the bureaucratism that consequences from the internally consistent compensation constructions. Organizations that develop occupation hierarchies have a inclination to make narrowly defined occupations. which consequences in larger figure of occupations and staffing degrees. This type of construction can put heavy compensation loads on companies. Heavy compensation loads can cut down net incomes for companies. which can impact whether companies use a market lead. market lucifer. or market slowdown policy for counterbalancing employees. Organizations that use the market lead policy counterbalance its employees more extremely than most of its rivals. Employees receive wage that is above the market wage line. Organizations that use the market lucifer policy compensate employees based upon the market wage rates. Employees will have wage on the market wage line. The market lead and market lucifer policies can assist companies pull and retain gifted employees ; therefore. the companies utilizing these policies can obtain competitory advantage in a extremely competitory concern environment by utilizing its gifted employees. Furthermore. organisations utilizing the market slowdown policy counterbalance its employees less than the bulk of its rivals. Employees receive wage below the market wage line ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Furthermore. a company should non be forced to take the market slowdown policy because of heavy compensation loads that could ensue from bureaucratism. Some companies may utilize the market slowdown policy as a cost nest eggs method to countervail heavy compensation loads. A market slowdown policy could forestall a company from pulling and retaining gifted employees. which could impact the fight of a company. Furthermore. a company could lose clients and net incomes if it does non hold the talented employees in topographic point to bring forth goods and services than can vie with the goods and services of rivals. Two Employees Perform the Same Job and Each Received Exemplary Performance Ratings. Discuss Whether it is Fair to Give One Employee a Smaller Percentage Merit Increase Because His Pay Falls Within the 3rd Quartile But Give a Larger Percentage Merit Increase to the Other Because His Pay Falls Within the 1st Quartile and Explain Why Supervisors use the virtue wage grid to denominate virtue additions to employees. A merit wage grid contains a wage scope for a wage class. The wage scope is divided into four quartiles. Employees with the lowest wages fall into quartile 1. The wages addition as the quartiles addition. Employees with the highest wages fall into quartile 4. Furthermore. the lower an employee’s wage falls within its designated wage grade the larger the per centum wage rise. For illustration. if two employees perform the same occupation and both employees receive first-class public presentation evaluations. the employee whose wage falls in quartile 3 will have a smaller per centum virtue addition than the employee whose wage falls in quartile 1. The employee whose wage is in quartile 3 may have a 7 % virtue addition for first-class occupation public presentation ; whereas. the employee whose wage is in quartile 1 may have a 12 % virtue addition for first-class occupation public presentation. Furthermore. utilizing the virtue wage grid may be logical but non just. It is logical because compensation professionals decrease merit wage addition percentages as quartile ranks increase to command employees’ promotion through their wage ranges. If employees in quartile 1 and quartile 3 were to have the same virtue wage addition per centum. the wage for the employee in quartile 3 more than probably would transcend the maximal wage rate for the scope quicker than would the wage for the employee in quartile 1 ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Furthermore. the virtue wage grid may be viewed as unjust because employees executing the same occupation and exposing the same sum of attempt and occupation public presentation are non having an equal per centum virtue addition. Employees may see this process as an unjust work pattern. Furthermore. the employees may believe that the company places more value on some employees’ occupation public presentation more so than on other employees’ occupation public presentation. Discuss the Basic Concept of Insurance and How This Concept Applies to Health Care The basic construct of insurance is to distribute hazards. Hazard does non intend that an unfavourable incident will happen but that there is a possibility of an unfavourable incident happening. All individuals have the hazard of enduring a major unwellness. Therefore. the whole construct of insurance when associating to wellness attention is that an person will be able to distribute his or her hazard among other people so that if an unfavourable incident occurs. he or she will non be overwhelmed because of high wellness attention costs ( Understand the Concept. 2012 ) . In the United States. wellness attention is classified as a multiple remunerator system. which means that multiple parties are held accountable for paying the costs of wellness attention. The multiple parties can include the authorities. employers. labour brotherhoods. employees. and unemployed persons ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Furthermore. insurance allows an single to pay a few hundred dollars a month in degree premium instead than holding to pay a $ 50. 000 surgery measure one time ( Understand the Concept. 2012 ) . Finally. health-related disbursals can go dearly-won ; therefore. it would be wise for persons to hold some signifier of insurance for wellness attention. Health insurance covers the costs of assorted services that promote sound mental and physical wellness such as physical test. surgical processs. and psychotherapeutics. Normally employers enter into contractual relationships with insurance companies to supply employees and perchance their dependants with wellness attention. Furthermore. the insurance policy or contractual relationship will stipulate the sum of money insurance companies will pay for health-related services such as physical test. Furthermore. employers pay insurance companies a negotiated sum or premium to make and prolong insurance policies ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Health insurance premiums are dearly-won. The mean monthly wellness insurance premium for an employee is $ 309. 03. The mean monthly wellness insurance premium for an employee and his or her household members is $ 708. 83. Numerous private sector companies make it compulsory that employees pay a part of wellness insurance premiums because of the high costs. Employees merely contributed a little per centum toward wellness insurance premiums in 2008. Furthermore. employees with individual coverage contributed about 19 % and employees with household coverage contributed about 29 % ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Except For the Family and Medical Leave Act. the Staying Legally Required Benefits Were Conceived Decades Ago. Describe the Changes in the Business Environment and Society That Might Affect the Relevance or Possibly the Viability of Any of These Benefits There are several lawfully required benefits in the United States. Legally required benefits are the benefits provided by the Social Security Act. which are retirement ; unemployment insurance ; old-age. subsister. and disablement insurance ; and Medicare. Other lawfully required benefits are workers’ compensation insurance and household medical leave. The United States authorities created lawfully required benefits to protect persons from black incidents such as unemployment and disablement. Legally needed benefits try to keep the flow of household income. advance worker safety and wellness. and assist households in critical state of affairss. Furthermore. supplying employees with lawfully required benefits can be dearly-won to companies. Present twenty-four hours. companies in the United States spend an mean $ 4. 400 for each employee annually to supply lawfully required benefits ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Finally. the consequence that lawfully required benefits have on costs and the fight of concerns could impact the sustainability of lawfully required benefits For legion old ages. there have been echt concerns that there will be deficiency of support to supply the lawfully needed benefits. particularly the societal security benefits. There are uninterrupted political arguments about how to safeguard the viability of societal security plans. President George W. Bush signed an executive order that established the new Presidential Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Politicians have debated the advantages and disadvantages of differing solutions to beef up the Social Security system. The disposal of George W. Bush focused on promoting revenue enhancement credits for individuals who save for retirement and advancing extra nest eggs through employer-sponsored retirement programs. Furthermore. the Democratic Party suggested heightening the revenue enhancement under the Federal Income Contributions Act to beef up the trust fund. However. concern leaders have opposed the suggestion of the Democratic Party. Business leaders. particularly little concern leaders are concerned that the addition in revenue enhancement will take down company net incomes ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . Legally needed benefits may impede concerns in the short term because these benefits require ample employer outgos. Employers are required to do parts that are mandated by the Social Security Act and several province workers’ compensation Torahs. These mandated disbursals prevent concerns from puting these financess in direct compensation plans designed to increase productiveness and merchandise or service quality ( Martocchio. 2011 ) . If the money for mandated disbursals could be used for compensation plans so the company could increase its fight. Furthermore. heightening productiveness. merchandises. and services can assist concerns go strong rivals against its rivals. Decision In decision. a occupation analysis will uncover compensation factors that will be used in the occupation rating to find the worth of occupations. Compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitory can impact a company’s flexibleness to react to alterations in the wage patterns of rivals. and companies have to cover with the heavy compensation burdens as a consequence of bureaucratism. Use of the virtue wage grid is logical but unjust. Insurance allows employees to portion the costs of wellness attention with multiple parties. The consequence that lawfully required benefits have on costs and the fight of companies could do companies to see the mandated benefits as burdensome. Finally. compensation will ever hold a critical function in the schemes of companies.

Overcoming My Language Barrier essays

Overcoming My Language Barrier essays Zdrasti! Did you catch that? It means "hello" in Bulgarian. Here is something else: "potuni ili pluvai." This is what my mom said to me when she announced that we would be moving to Los Angeles. It means "We will sink or swim." I was fourteen years old. On my first day at middle school, I understood exactly what she meant. With no English and no friends, I felt as if I had jumped into a river without arms or legs. I will never forget the look one girl gave me as she left me alone at my corner lunch table. It made me feel alienated, almost invisible. That was when I realized how tough fitting in was going to be. Most of the time, I felt as if I was in some stupid teenage movie in which people would ask me to repeat meaningless phrases because they thought I sounded funny. I was so alone. There was even a rumor going around that, because I was European, I was hairy all over. How I missed my friends! And my grandma! I wanted to sit with her and listen to her stories. She had been my pri mary caregiver. I needed our neighbors back in Sofia, who were an extended family, just like the one in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - big, loud, warm, and always around. Here it was simply my parents and me. We were on our own. Adaptation was not a choice; it was a matter of survival. Dog paddling, swallowing gallons of water along the way, I learned to stay afloat, gradually gaining skill. I watched television with subtitles to improve my vocabulary and spelling. Long hours were spent reading "Teen People" and "Cosmo Girl". I absorbed the American culture, picked up on the language, and a new door opened to me. I could relate to my classmates, and soon we became close friends. Many times I would stay after class, telling my peers about Bulgaria and the life I had had there. I now consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to live in a different place. I embrace this new life and because of it, I have developed independence, a strong moral character...

Colloquialism - Definition and Examples in English

Colloquialism s in English An informal expression that is more often used in casual conversation than in formal speech or writing. Colloquialisms are not  substandard or illiterate speech, says  Maity Schrecengost. Rather, they are idioms, conversational phrases, and informal speech patterns often common to a particular region or nationality. Not found everywhere,  colloquialisms are  words and phrases that we learn at home rather than at school (Writing Whizardry, 2010). Etymology:From the Latin, conversation Examples and Observations: Friends of the chancellor revealed that he had described Labour MPs as disappointing numpties, a colloquialism meaning idiots.(Neil Rafferty, Queen Opens a Pricey Piece of Scots History. The Sunday Times, Oct. 10, 2004)Latinas are in oppressive structures. We can fool ourselves, but wed still be getting dumped on.(Felix M. Padilla, The Struggle of Latino/Latina University Students. Psychology Press, 1997)Over and over, I would read her account of the turning point in her careerthe night she got her first standing ovation, hours after being dumped by her fiance because she wouldnt quit acting.(K.D. Miller, Standing Up Naked and Turning Around Very Slowly. Writers Talking, ed. by John Metcalf and Claire Wilkshire. Porcupines Quill, 2003)Anyway, the baby calf was standing right underneath its mother, just kind of walking around, and the mother cow took a dump on the baby calfs head.(Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pocket Books, 1999)Informal Writing and Speech[O]ver th e last generation or so writing has become more informal than it ever was before. The area of highly formal writing has shrunk considerably; it is now confined to state papers, articles in learned publications, commencement addresses (and by no means all of those), legal documents, court decisions, and prefaces to dictionaries. Other writing has become quite hospitable to so-called colloquialisms; it has become more informal, more relaxed, more familiar, more casual.(Theodore Bernstein, The Careful Writer. Simon Schuster, 1995)Three types of commonly used casual language include slang, colloquialisms, and euphemisms. Slang is an informal nonstandard vocabulary, usually made up of arbitrarily changed words. A colloquialism is a local or regional informal dialect or expression. A euphemism substitutes an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. When our language is too casual, audiences might not be able to follow the main ideas of the speech, or they become confused or uncomfortable.(Cindy L. Griffin, Invitation to Public Speaking, 3rd ed. Wadsworth, Cengage, 2009) Advice on Using Colloquialisms in WritingIf you use a colloquialism or a slang word or phrase, simply use it; do not draw attention to it by enclosing it in quotation marks. To do so is to put on airs, as though you were inviting the reader to join you in a select society of those who know better.(William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. Longman, 1999)The Force of ColloquialismsSlang or colloquialismsas the boundaries are blurred these days it is hard to tell which is whichhas particularly potent force in describing mental or physical characteristics of our fellow man. Think of somebody who has got the bump, or is potty, or even randy, or saucy, or fly, or bent, or tasty (an adjective susceptible of more than one slang usage), or has become poleaxed, or flattened, or shafted, and one begins to realise how widespread such usages are.(Simon Heffer, Strictly English: The Correct Way to Write . . . and Why It Matters. Random House, 2011)Dated Colloquialisms (19 50s)U.S. colloquialisms evolve slowly. Jag, tops, dude stayed around for decades before they began to lose their freshness. But jazz lingo becomes obsolescent almost as fast as it reaches the public ear. A term of high approbation in the swing era was out of this world, in the bop era it was gone, and today it is the greatest or the end. Similarly, a daring performance was hot, then cool, and now is far out.(Far-Out Words for Cats. Time magazine, Nov. 8, 1954) The Lighter Side of ColloquialismsHoward Wolowitz  [on the phone]: Sweetie, uh, listen, I need to go, but Ill see you tonight? Bye-bye. Bye-bye. No, you hang up first. Hello?Raj Koothrappali: Dude, Im glad you finally got a girlfriend, but do you have to do that lovey-dovey stuff in front of those of us who dont?Sheldon Cooper: Actually, he might have to. Theres an economic concept known as a positional good, in which an object is only valued by the possessor because its not possessed by others. The term was coined in 1976 by economist Fred Hirsch to replace the more colloquial but less precise neener-neener.(Simon Helberg,  Kunal Nayyar, and Jim Parsons in The Large Hadron Collision. The Big Bang Theory, 2010)

Supports or argues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Supports or argues - Essay Example Therefore, Wade Allison’s contributions in the support of the massive use of nuclear power should be disregarded since no one knows when the use of such nuclear power may be uncontrolled. Allison clearly states notes the health concerns of nuclear radiation; however, he diminishes this fact and narrows it down to small quantity of admission like in the case of X-ray examinations. It is true that small amounts of absorption of radiation into the body are less harmful to the body. Nonetheless, he must have considered that erection of the nuclear power plants may emit such small radiation, but constantly. In other words, medically administered radiations are usually monitored and controlled and are never continuous; thus, they have minimal effect to the human health (Jha and Boseley 02). For instance, examining internal tumors in the body or cracked bones among other internal organs may only subject a person to the radiation once after sometimes. On the other hand, nuclear power plants will subject the environment and the humanity to a constant dose of radiation thereby increasing health risks related to the radiation. Additionally, imagining of a situation where such nuclear power plants are erected about ten to twenty in every nation. What is the amount of the nuclear related radiation will be submitted into the atmosphere? Nonetheless, it is worth noting that small amount of radiation is never highly dangerous to humanity and the environment, but cumulative small amounts per power plant will lead to enormous amounts of nuclear particles into the environment that cannot be tolerated by the human body thereby leading to devastating global health problems (Jha and Boseley 02). Reading from the Allison’s understanding of the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he should have noted that massive emission of nuclear related particles or radiation into the environment usually have long and dangerous effects to the present and generation

Interest Rate Changes in Construction Activity Essay

Interest Rate Changes in Construction Activity - Essay Example Generally the construction activity is sensitive to changes in the interest rates and business cycles in the short term and to population growth and economic advancement in the long-term. This paper intends to present a short report on the short term effects interest rate changes on the construction industry. The behaviour of any economy can be greatly influenced by the monetary policy. It is observed that decisions about official interest rates by the central banks affect economic activity and inflation through several channels which are collectively known as the Transmission Mechanism of the Monetary Policy. According to the Bank of England Paper on the Transmission mechanisms of monetary policy; Changes in exchange rates have a direct impact on the prices of imported goods and services and an indirect impact on the prices and the competitive ability of the products which compete with the imported products/services. The change in exchange rate is likely to affect the prices of those products in the domestic market which uses imported inputs. Thus through the transmission mechanism of the monetary policy, any changes in the official interest rates affect the savings and investment behaviour of the individuals and firms and also thereby affect domestic demand and supply of production and other manufacturing sectors of the economy. Normally following a monetary contraction in the economy, as a result of the changes in the interest rates, the construction sector reaches the trough of the cycle first, while the manufacturing sector reacts little slowly. However the manufacturing sector reacts very strongly than the construction sector. 3.0 Money Supply and Construction Activity: In general construction activity is very sensitive to credit conditions. According to Goh (1998) the amount of mortgage loans has an influence on the demand for residential construction, since house purchases are financed mainly by mortgage loans from banks. The monetary theorists are of the view that changes in money supply cause fluctuations in national outputs and because of the interdependency the disturbances in one sector will be transmitted to other sectors and markets. A review of the different channels of mechanisms reveals that credit is the primary source of money supply to the construction activity. "A restrictive credit supply leads to decreases in demand for real estate, bonds, stocks, and other assets. Since real-estate prices are sticky, ultimately the supply of credit will affect the construction industry." (Raymond Y.C. TSE and John Rafetry 1999) Similarly a contraction in money supply reduces bank lending to all sectors in the economy including property developers and thereby causes a decline in the industry. Any change in money supply will have its impact on the demand for

The American Economic System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The American Economic System - Assignment Example In communism, the government owns almost all economic resources and the people work to contribute to the benefit of the society. Since the for governments in the command economies decide the products that will be produced, usually considering the need of the government only, the consumer has the greatest influence in the capitalist economy. The four economic questions are: what goods and services, and how much of each, will be produced; how will these goods and services be produced; for whom will these goods and services be produced; and who owns and who controls the major factors of production. In a free enterprise economy, the individuals or businesses are free to answer each question within the limit of the laws of the government. The consumer has a voice in answering these questions by demanding that specific products are offered. Without a demand, there is no production in a capitalist economy. The government simply looks out for the best interests of the consumer and ensures that competition can exist within each industry for businesses to grow and prosper. There are four types of competition that include perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly competition, and a monopoly. Perfect competition exists where there are many buyers and sellers of a product and no single buyer or seller is powerful enough to impact the price of the product. Monopolistic competition exists where there are many buyers and sellers, but the sellers all provide a similar product and using product differentiation to compete.   An oligopoly is a situation where there are few, very large sellers.   Although the number of competitors is low, it takes high investments to compete in this market.   Lastly, a monopoly is where there is only one seller and the seller is likely able to control the price of the product.  

Staphylococcus and Streptococcus Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Staphylococcus and Streptococcus - Lab Report Example A petri dish containing 1 TSA 5% sheep blood agar was divided in half. A sterile swab was used to swab the throat and skin. A streak inoculation was performed for each sample on each section of the plate, which was incubated for 24 hours at 37 oC.   The resultant colonies were then tested for Gram staining and the presence of alpha, beta, and gamma hemolytic bacteria. This test was performed by observing the presence or absence of red blood cell hemolysis on sheep blood agar. The next test that was performed was the catalase test to determine the production of enzyme catalase. A small amount of the colony was placed on a glass slide after which a few drops of catalase reagent was dropped on the bacteria. The production of bubble indicated a positive test for catalase. The catalase-positive samples were then tested for bacitracin sensitivity by incubating the colonies in four sections of a blood agar plate containing bacitracin discs for 24 hours at 37 oC. A coagulase test was then performed following the observation of bacitracin resistance in the bacteria. This test was performed to detect the production of enzyme coagulase by adding a loop full of the bacteria to tubes containing rabbit plasma and incubating for 24 hours at 37 oC. The coagulase negative samples were further tested for novobiocin susceptibility by incubating the bacteria in plates containing novobiocin antibiotic disks at 37 oC for 24 hours. Novobiocin test is usually used to distinguish between S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus.

Toxic sugar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Toxic sugar - Essay Example Maturation effect, changes in research participants’ responses following numerous exposure to the study’s instrument is another major confound to the study (Goodwin, 2009). The study could be improved through implementing an experimental design over a short period. the design would randomly select research paericipants and organize them into strata with standard conditions. One group, a control group, would refrain from fruit consumption while each of the remaining groups would be subjected to single types of fruits and data collected, and tests performed, to determine incidence rates of type 2 diabetes among the participants (Muraki et. al., 2013). The researchers conducted the research themselves. Even though participant administered questionnaires were used, significant involvement in determination of participants’ consumption levels justifies the researchers’ role. Researchers’ participation in a research matter because it establishes grounds for evaluating reliability threats due to researchers’ bias. Not involvement communicates higher level reliability of a study. The researchers studies human subjects, people identified as women and men. The large number of participants used in the study, 66105 women, 36173 men and 85104 other women, was sufficient though there was no treatment. This means absence of placebo and treatment groups. Researchers in the study considered a 25 year period in which data was collected for different research participants. The period began in the year 1984 and ended in the year 2009 and was long enough for a longitudinal study (Muraki et. al., 2013).). The study was not a controlled experiment because its feature does not meen definition of a controlled experiments. Controlled experiments involved randomization of a study’s participants into groups that receive different treatments, characteristics that did not exist in

Police Response to Domestic Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police Response to Domestic Violence - Essay Example By using discretion to avoid making arrests in some cases, the police are perceived to be declining to offer â€Å"necessary assistance to the victims of the violence† (Hendricks and Byers, 37). The police policy geared at delaying response with intention that the â€Å"domestic violence would resolve itself† has in some cases been worsening the situation instead of helping it (Hendricks and Byers, 39). Hendricks and Byers assert that the police are normally trained to rely more on crisis intervention, mediations and separations of parties involved in the violence, counseling for substance abuse cases, and let the victims carry the burden of arrest. Practically, this kind of training has made it very difficult for these victims especially the poor ones to seek justice against the sufferings they undergo during the violence (102). Police officers prefer not to respond to domestic violence calls following the organizational disincentives. For instance, the officers perceive the violence to be dangerous. â€Å"Statutory restrictions on misdemeanor† have prevented the police from doing anything worthwhile (Hendricks and Byers, 112). The cases in which the victims fail to follow through with prosecution have also demoralized the officers from responding to the violence as required of them. There also have been cases in which the police are accused of being biased while making arrests on the â€Å"offenders of the domestic violence† (Hendricks and Byers, 113). There have been several reforms that have been enacted to improve the â€Å"police response to domestic violence† (Hendricks and Byers, 115). The reforms were pushed through due to mounting pressure from the women’s rights groups and battered women’s advocates. Implementation of pro-arrest policies such as Domestic Violence Act has been instrumental in ensuring â€Å"warrantless arrest† in cases perceived to have probable cause of violation of a protection order (Hendricks and Byers, 118). According to

Toxic sugar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Toxic sugar - Essay Example Maturation effect, changes in research participants’ responses following numerous exposure to the study’s instrument is another major confound to the study (Goodwin, 2009). The study could be improved through implementing an experimental design over a short period. the design would randomly select research paericipants and organize them into strata with standard conditions. One group, a control group, would refrain from fruit consumption while each of the remaining groups would be subjected to single types of fruits and data collected, and tests performed, to determine incidence rates of type 2 diabetes among the participants (Muraki et. al., 2013). The researchers conducted the research themselves. Even though participant administered questionnaires were used, significant involvement in determination of participants’ consumption levels justifies the researchers’ role. Researchers’ participation in a research matter because it establishes grounds for evaluating reliability threats due to researchers’ bias. Not involvement communicates higher level reliability of a study. The researchers studies human subjects, people identified as women and men. The large number of participants used in the study, 66105 women, 36173 men and 85104 other women, was sufficient though there was no treatment. This means absence of placebo and treatment groups. Researchers in the study considered a 25 year period in which data was collected for different research participants. The period began in the year 1984 and ended in the year 2009 and was long enough for a longitudinal study (Muraki et. al., 2013).). The study was not a controlled experiment because its feature does not meen definition of a controlled experiments. Controlled experiments involved randomization of a study’s participants into groups that receive different treatments, characteristics that did not exist in

OD Skills Simulation 12.1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

OD Skills Simulation 12.1 - Coursework Example ter weighing all the leasing options available at our disposal, I thought it wise that the regional office building would be the ideal locality for our offices, as its total cost stands at approximately $53,000 which fits well within the budget of Vernal Corporation. Apart from the moderate room that would serve as the main office of the organization, we would occupy one conference room and use it to habitually host our clientele and at the same time conduct a few company operations. I similarly settled on the regional office building due to its high prestige, which would supplement our corporation as most of our customers and organizational partners would find it appealing (McCarthy, 2008). The locality within which the regional office building is situated has a variety of houses, a factor that would come a long way in making sure that my colleagues do not have a difficult time in settling. In addition, the half hour duration to be spent to and from the offices would make us slightly efficient. The regional office building similarly stood out because it had a coffee shop and restaurants within the office block, as well as a kitchen and a coffee area for those who would be interested in preparing their own meals. In conclusion, I held the opinion that the presence of miscellaneous services such as a gym and hair parlor, would make our stay within the region much comfortable, hence ensuring that we channel most of our energy into discharging our

Theme of Revenge in William Shakespeares Play Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Theme of Revenge in William Shakespeares Play Hamlet Essay Shakespeares Hamlet is a complex play where many themes are intertwined themes that are essential to the development of the play. The issue of death and disease, both physical and emotional is very prevalent throughout the duration of the play, as well as fate and divine intervention. The play also questions madness and whether it can be feigned, as well as corruption and its moral implications. Also the To be or not to be soliloquy, where Hamlet not only questions life and death, but many of lifes other uncertainties as well. see more:hamlet thesis statements However, the most important theme in the development of Hamlet is revenge and question Does revenge pay? Revenge is a frighteningly bloodthirsty emotion, which causes people to act blindly and without reason. Revenge is a theme that is cleverly built upon throughout the extent of the play; with it being the driving force behind two of the main characters in the play. The play is introduced by the appearance of the ghost of Hamlets father in the first scene, which automatically gives the impression that something is amiss. This is later clarified by the statement; Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I.iv). The ghost materialises before Hamlet suggesting that his death was not as natural as it may first have seemed. The ghost requests Hamlet to Revenge [my] foul and most unnatural murder (I.v) and points him towards the murderer with The serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown (I.v). This indicates that King Hamlet murder was committed by his brother, Claudius, who had now taken over as King of Denmark. The Ghost taunts Hamlet, telling him that it is part of every mans honour to avenge his death. Hamlet agrees to revenge his death, but his mind is still full of many doubts, and he just thinks about what he will do, rather than actually do it. However, when the time for action comes, it is the beginning of a ferocious cycle of hatred, death and revenge, which ultimately consumes all those who use it. Hamlets doubts cause him to forget about his promise to the ghost, and finally to determine if the ghost was true, he attempts to prove Claudius guilt. He creates a play, The Mousetrap and it is performed in court. The Mousetrap recreates a similar scenario as the one that had occurred when  Hamlets father was murdered. Hamlet was watching for a reaction from Claudius to see if he really was the vile murderer. Subsequent to the Kings outburst after watching the performance, Hamlet confronts his mother and began to insult her betrayal of her first husband. Meanwhile the meddling fool, Polonius, was hiding behind a decorate rug that was adorning the wall in Gertrudes room. Hamlet sensed his presence and thinking that it was Claudius, plunged his dagger through the rug. This rash action causes much grief and sadness for many people. Hamlet, after Ophelias betrayal of him, acts rudely to her, lying about his love for her and suggesting some inappropriate comments to her, mocking her for a whore. This, joined with her fathers death causes her to go mad and eventually drown herself. This was a particularly tragic death because the virginal Ophelia was just an innocent bystander in a cruel plot for revenge. Also hurt was Polonius son, Laertes. Laertes believes that it was Claudius that killed his father, but the king quickly puts Laertes on Hamlets trail and pushes him to avenge his fathers murder. From this point on, Hamlet and Laertes become the main characters in the play two characters driven by a blind revenge. Despite this, Hamlet continues only to speak about his plans for revenge, and never acts until the last scene. At one stage Hamlet had a perfect chance to kill Claudius whilst he was praying but chose not to because doing so would have meant that Claudius would be sent to heaven, rather than hell. Hamlet wonders about that idea, saying that Now he is prayinga villain kills my father and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. (III.iii) Hamlet thinks that patience will pay off for him in the long run, but unfortunately for him this is not so, and it causes an even greater tragedy. It is not until Act V that revenge brings the play together. In Scene ii, Hamlet explains to Horatio how he had been sent to his death in England. In a moment of brilliance, Hamlet substitutes the letter from one demanding his death, to one demanding the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstem. Hamlet sees no immorality in this action; he simply sees it as part of his  revenge on Claudius, and he does not feel for them as they sided with the enemy, other than himself. They were just sponges. Upon arriving back in Denmark, Hamlet is challenged to a duel with Laertes, who is still powered by the need to avenge his fathers death. Hamlet accepts this as he knows he is better than Laertes. Prior to the duel, Hamlet attempts to apologise to Laertes, blaming the murder on his madness. Laertes, who is still blinded by his quest for revenge, accepts Hamlets apology, but says he must retain his honour. He tells Hamlet that I am satisfied in nature, whose motives in this case should stir me most to my revenge; but in terms of honour I stand aloof I do receive your offered love like love and will not wrong it. (V.ii) The pair prepare for their duel, and Laertes selected an unbaited sword with a poisoned tip. This shows that Laertes was still not thinking straight because he would have realised that choosing such a sword could proved dangerous for him as well. During the fight Laertes struck a blow against Hamlet with the tip of his poisoned sword, but the duel continues and the swords get swapped. The next hit was made by Hamlet, who had the poisoned sword at that point in time. Just then the Queen collapses and the King attempts to cover it up by announcing that she doesnt like the sight of blood. The Queen denies this and tells the court that it was the drink! O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink. I am poisoned.(V.ii). At that point Laertes realises that he has been used by the King and tells Hamlet that he will soon die, because his sword was poisoned too, and that the King was to blame. Finally, Hamlet has set the scene for the revenge that he has been craving. He attacks the King, pushing him over, and picks up the poisoned wine. He forces it down the Kings throat, yelling Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Follow my mother. Laertes dies, content that justice has been served. Hamlet himself dies soon after; his revenge plot is finally complete, and so is Laertes. However, the price that was paid was large, the death of; Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes and Hamlet himself. The obsession and need for revenge displayed by the two main revenge characters eventually led them both to their downfall. Not only did they hurt themselves, but many others close to them. Ophelias death, for example could be blamed on Hamlets desire for revenge, whilst Hamlets death occurred as a result of Laertes quest to avenge his fathers death. Revenge shapes the entire plot of Hamlet and could be blamed for corrupting Hamlet and Laertes, making them almost as evil as the person who started all the problems. Shakespeare highlights the moral implications of revenge, and how a person can be corrupted by their need for revenge. The somewhat clichà ©d saying An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is outlined perfectly in Hamlet. You cannot receive a punch, return a punch and then all be friends. The second that revenge is planned, a horrible chain that is almost impossible to break forms. The revenge, while completed, also caused many other problems in Denmark. The royal advisors family; dead, the entire royal family; dead, and the Norwegian foe, Fortinbras now takes over as King. Revenge does not pay, the price to achieve it is just way too high.

Images and Imagery in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Imagery consists of the use of symbols to convey an idea or to create a specific atmosphere. Shakespeare uses imagery in Macbeth often; pathetic fallacy, blood, tailoring and sleep are examples of this. His use of these tools in the play is to demonstrate the sadness of Scotland at what has been done, the guilt of the characters and to symbolises premonition of events. Pathetic fallacy is a tool of imagery that is used in Macbeth to convey nature's response to the unnatural events that occur. Most of the scenes in which some kind of ill-doing is taking place is set at night or in darkness of some kind. Macbeth's murder of Duncan happens at night, and it triggers a response of outrage and grief in the land. Nature's troubled actions show us this; as Lennox tells Macbeth just before Duncan is found dead, "The night has been unruly; where we lay, or chimneys were blown down ... lamentings head i' the air ... some say the ear was feverous and did shake." (II (iii) L59) Another good example of imagery used is blood. It is used to convey guilt, murder, betrayal, treachery and evil. Macbeth, directly after his murder of Duncan, is concerned about the blood on his hands , and states that no amount of water will wash the blood away, signifying the guilt in his heart. Lady Macbeth, however, states "A little water cleans us of this deed" (II (ii) L97). It is ironic that later on in the play Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and dry-washes her hands, ands says "What! Will these hands ne'er be clean?" (V (i) L38) -- guilt at what she has done surfaces in her sleep where none was felt before, and the reverse is true for Macbeth. The use of tailoring to convey the idea that something is not suited or not belonging to someone that has been acquired by them is used often in Macbeth. Macbeth himself uses the tailoring image in saying "The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?" (I (ii) L109) when told by Ross that Duncan has given him the title Thane of Cawdor. This gives the impression that his newly acquired title does not fit him -- much like a garment belonging to another person. Angus states, "Now does he feel his title Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe

Catcher in the Rye :: essays research papers

The Struggling Boy The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl. In the novel one distinctive type is the loner; the character type which Holden Caufield portrayed. Holden's loneliness and confusion puts him in a depression that he can't escape. Holden thinks to himself "It made you depressed, and every once in a while you got goose flesh. It didn't seem at all like Christmas was coming soon. It didn't seem like anything was coming."(pg.118) Another trait that was portrayed throughout the novel was peculiarity. The teenage boy Ackley who lives across the hall from Holden is very strange and has few friends. Ackley was very dirty, never brushed his teeth, and almost always stayed alone in his room. Holden says " His teeth were always mossy- looking, and he was dirty as hell, but he always had clean fingernails."(pg.22) Innocence and kindheartedness is displayed in the novel through Holden's young sister, Phoebe. Whenever Holden is depressed about being alone he thinks of memories with his younger sister Phoebe and feels completely better. Phoebe is always there for her brother to listen to his stories and complaints.

Albert Camus The Stranger: Existentialism and Absurdism Essay

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger and not only serves as one of the themes but probably the main reason Albert Camus wrote the book altogether. Presented in first person narration through the eyes of Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, the novel serves to evoke the creed of existentialism through the embodiment of the philosophy in a person. Meursault’s speech, thought, and actions are what Camus believed a person who innately possessed the tenets of existentialism would have. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by A lbert Camus. â€Å"Maman died today or yesterday maybe, I don’t know†. These opening lines of the novel serve not only to introduce the novel but to summarize it as well. Rather than focusing on what is important-his mother’s death-Meursault is focused on when exactly she died; whether it was yesterday or today, since the telegraph only stated the funeral would be tomorrow. Right away, within the very first sentence, the reader is introduced to existentialism incarnate. Meursault exhibits a complete and utter indifference to life manifested by a profound lack of emotion. He doesn’t care when his mother died, in fact the fact that he has to attend the funeral altogether is the most troubling part of this whole ordeal to him. When he finally gets to the funeral, he couldn’t care less about his mother-as he rejects the offer to open the casket-but is utterly consumed by the days heat. Camus does a great job in the first part of the novel of demonstrating to the rea der not only the philosophy of existentialism, but a corporal representation of it as well. This corporal representation of existentialism is what makes The Stranger the unique book it is. As opposed to the multitude of books and manifestos approaching existentialism from an academic perspective, The Stranger approaches the philosophy by detailing a character with the belief innately  in him and showing how someone like this might behave. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal world of his thoughts and attitudes possesses any rational order. Meursault has no discernable reason for his actions, such as his decision to marry Marie and his decision to kill the Arab. The book, narrated by Meursault, is basically life detailed superficially by him. He talks about the weather, the food he’s eating, about the things he did that day rather than how he feels or thinks of other people, places and things. This is how a person consumed with existentialism would behave and think-indifferently and apathetically. Meursault passes no judgment on people and is ultimate executed for killing an Arab for no apparent reason. The philosophy or theory of Existentialism is somewhat controversial, but nonetheless in many respects it has some notable and legitimate points. If one were to truly take a look at the universe, it would seem purposeless. And humans do in fact possess the innate desire, or rather compulsion, to explain things and have things figured out-thus explaining their need to associate a purpose with the universe, even when it doesn’t necessarily exist. But what made this theory come about in the 19th century when it could have been realized centuries before? The reason is the tragedy and devastation the world saw at this time-several world wars in specific. If we take a look at the life of Albert Camus himself, it’s hard to deny the fact that there is a connection between the existentialism’s inception and personal tragedy. In 1914, Camus’ Father was drafted into WWI and killed in France. In 1934 he Married Simone Hià ©, but divorced her two years later. In 1939 he volunteered for service in WWII, but was rejected due to illness. In 1940 he wrote an essay on the state of Muslims in Algeria causing him to lose his job and move to Paris. In 1941 he joined the French resistance against the Nazis and became an editor of Combat, an underground newspaper. These, as well as many other incidents and events in Camus’ life influenced him in the sense that they formed in him a bleak, pessimistic view of life. This perspective undoubtedly set the foundation for his adoption of the theory of existentialism. â€Å"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in  despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life.† The point illuminated in this quote by Camus is that although some consider viewing life with despair to be wrong, or sinful, in reality hoping for an after life, â€Å"another life†, or living a life of implacable grandeur is the real sin. Camus held strong to the belief of Absurdism, or the belief that humanity’s effort to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail-thus it is absurd to try to find meaning or to live as though there is a meaning because no such meaning exists. While Absurdism might seem like a synonym for Existentialism, the two are slightly different. Existentialism makes the point that there is no purpose or meaning in the universe. Absurdism goes a step further to say that not only is life purposeless, but any attempt at finding meaning is utterly absurd. Albe rt Camus, being the polarized man that he was, held more firmly to the belief of Absurdism than existentialism. In writing The Stranger, Albert Camus championed the idea of existentialism, a philosophy he truly believed in it. But the philosophy of existentialism is not free of criticism. Herbert Marcuse criticized existentialism, especially in Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, for projecting certain features of living in a modern, oppressive society, such as anxiety and meaninglessness, onto the nature of existence itself: â€Å"In so far as Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine, it remains an idealistic doctrine: it hypothesizes specific historical conditions of human existence into ontological and metaphysical characteristics. Existentialism thus becomes part of the very ideology which it attacks, and its radicalism is illusory† What Marcuse is saying here is that existentialism makes the mistake of thinking that just because human conditions are tragic and seem to lack a purpose, that they in fact do. Whether or not there is purpose to the universe is an ontological and me taphysical subject, not one that can be realized through historical events. Existentialism and its brother philosophy Absurdism are philosophies that emphasize the uniqueness and isolation of the individual in a hostile and indifferent world, and stress the fact the universe has no discernable purpose. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger  as Meursault, the indifferent and apathetic main character, embodies the tenets of existentialism intrinsically. Existentialism, what it represents, the results of its embodiment in a person, and the validity of the doctrine altogether are all important aspects explored in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Bibliography 1.†Existentialism.† The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 28 Mar. 2007. http://www.answers.com/topic/existentialism2.Marcuse, Herbert. â€Å"Sartre’s Existentialism†. Printed in Studies in Critical Philosophy. Translated by Joris De Bres. London: NLB, 1972. p. 1613.Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Middlesex: UK Penguin Classics, 1943. 4.Sartre, Jean P. Existentialism is a Humanism. World Company, 1956. 5.†Albert Camus.† 28 Mar. 2007 . 6.White, Ray. â€Å"The Meaning of Life.† 2004. 29 Mar. 2007 .