Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Nortel Networks Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nortel Networks - Article Example In 1994, two Nortel executives, anxious over the possibility of the company’s having an empty â€Å"war chest† of novel and innovative product ideas, instigated a restructuring of the company’s business processes. The aim of the stated was the facilitation of the process by which internally generated new product ideas could be evaluated and implemented. Within a span of just over 5 years, Nortel had successfully designed a process-oriented knowledge management strategic paradigm (KM) for its New Product Development (NPD) process.The above-mentioned restructuring was a complex process, involving a umber of clearly defined steps. The first of these steps was aimed towards the testing of the empty war-chest hypothesis through an in-house survey targeting all of Sales and Support, Global Service Planning, and Marketing and Development. An excess of 100 new product ideas were submitted within three weeks. The results, thus, proved that Nortel had the potential for a v ery rich war chest but, the absence of a process for the capitalization upon internally-generated ideas, constrained this potential. It was imperative, therefore, that the company design and develop a paradigm for the exploitation of its internal innovative capabilities.To leverage its knowledge base, Nortel formed a cross-departmental task force, Project Galileo, whose primary objective was the design of system for the facilitation of the new idea submission, evaluation and product development processes.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Mr Clean “You gotta love a man who clean” Essay Example for Free

Mr Clean â€Å"You gotta love a man who clean† Essay Companies have many objectives when advertising their products and services. These objectives vary according to their industries, available distribution channels, and overall marketing strategies. The key to all advertising is attracting the right buyers. These are people who are more apt to buy a companys wares based on demographics like age and income, for example. Advertising should also repeat their messages often enough to familiarize consumers with their offerings. One of the major objectives of advertising is to increase sales and profits. Advertising is generally intended to motivate potential or current customers to behave in the way you desire. The specific messages, and the ways you want them to act vary based on your current position in the market and the money you have to invest in promotion. Normally, though, and objectives change over time as your company grows. For super bowl 2017, dozens of companies are rushing to generate buzz for themselves by releasing advertisements that are funny, emotional or edgy. While the big game was a week away, cleaning brand Mr. Clean clearly had the early edge in that regard. Mr. Clean has gotten buff and sexy for his Super Bowl ad debut. Procter Gamble has released its first-ever Super Bowl ad for Mr. Clean.  The 30-second spot features the iconic but refreshed character whos still bald and muscular but seems a little younger and sexier than his old self. Entitled Cleaner of Your Dreams, the mostly wordless and portray Mr. Clean showing up at a suburban red-haired house. The woman appears to be frustrated by a stain on her stove, before Mr. Clean, the iconic mascot of the brand, shows up in all his erotic glory. As the sensual music plays, the two characters clean the house, culminating in Mr. Clean mopping the floor in a muscle white shirt and extremely tight white pants that show off his assets. Mr. Clean sashays and dances as he moves and cleans from kitchen to  bathroom, to  the living  room as music pulses. The blissed-out homemaker also begins to sway to the musics vibe before a voice calls out her name.Sarah? Sarah? as the fantasy concludes. She opens her eyes and its her  tubby, lazy mate  standi ng before her. Clean enough? he asks. She crashes into his arms as they both collapse on the  couch. Then You gotta love a man who cleans pops across the screen. The idea behind the whole ad is to make cleaning attractive to men and challenge the idea that women are the only ones who would be interested in a cleaning product. According to HYPERLINK http://ibtimes.com, ibtimes.com 172 million views tune in to the super bowl and 59% were men. â€Å"Theres no better way to reach a co-ed audience than the Super Bowl, Procter Gamble vice president Martin Hettich told the website. And the subject were broaching with Mr. Clean really is for a co-ed audience, because its talking about cleaning and how men and women divide up the chores. And theres still a way to go. According to data gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014, 83 percent of women reported doing household work, while just 65 percent of men said the same. Online, however, the ad was met with a broad range of reactions. Some liked the cheeky rebranding of the character, while others described themselves as uncomfortable with the idea of a sexualized Mr. Clean. Either way, the video has been a success in driving conversation about the brand, as it racked up nearly 450,000 views in a day on YouTube. (Per time magazine) This ad is different from the other Mr. Clean ads from way back when. It doesn’t create the issue of branding a female as a â€Å"housewife†. The other Mr. Clean advertisement considered females to be domestic wives who depend on their husbands for money and a house to clean. Manipulation is one of many worries that continue to be an issue with advertisements because many people find it unfair. Gender  roles persuade  people by establishing a minor feeling of a female and a wondrous feeling of a male. Note that advertisements glorify stereotypes of the female as a housewife with zero education and a great sense of style. On the other hand, male advertisements showcase males to be the provider of the household who is dependent on his wife or mother for food, clean clothes, and a bed to sleep on. According to Luuk Lagerwerf, Charlotte M.J. van Hooijdonk, and Ayalies Korenberg, â€Å"Advertisements containing connection are better comprehended than are advertisements containing similarity† (1840). If there is a relation between an advertisement and a person, the person will feel the need of buying that particular product.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Beowulf Attacks Grendels Mother Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf Attacks Grendel's Mother (A Short Description of the Passage) Beowulf sees Grendel's mother in a cave. He tries to hit her with his sword, Unferth's Hrunting, but it fails to pierce her skin. So he throws the sword away and attacks the mother with his bare hands. He trusts "in his strength, his mighty hand-grip." Beowulf manages to throw Grendel's mother down; however, she quickly retaliates and is soon sitting on top of him. She tries to kill him with a dagger, but Beowulf's armor protects him this time. Beowulf managed to throw her off of himself and sees a sword of enormous size, which he immediately grabs. This sword has a beautiful ornamented handle and a blade that is hinting that this is not an average sword. It is "an old sword made by giants, string of its edges, glory of warriors." Beowulf uses this sword to kill Grendel's mother by hitting her from above, thus breaking her collar-bones and slicing her into two halves. At this moment, the fire brightens and lits the cave from inside, "just as from the sky heaven's candle shines clear." Beowulf looks around and sees dead Grendel, so he immediately cuts monster's head off to present it to Hrothgar. As soon as he does that, the lake becomes stained with blood. The watchers ashore interprets this as a sign of Beowulf's death of the hands of Grendel's mother. GRAPH Meanwhile, the blade of Beowulf's new sword melts because the blood is too hot and poisonous for it. Beowulf does not take anything from the cave besides Grendel's head and the handle of the miraculous sword even though there are many great treasures around. He swims back to the shore and is heartily greeted by his fellow warriors. Grendel's head is car... ...81. Movie. Don, Joe. Joe Don's Baby Cha Page. Online. Internet. October 11, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Grid/1308/ Francis, Erik Max. Beowulf. From The Harvard Classics. Volume 49. P.F. Collier & Son, 1910. Etext version by Robin Katsuya-Corbet. Online. Internet. November 26, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/beowulf/ Groceske, Randy. A Classic Adventure: The Adventures of Beowulf. Online. Internet. October 15, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Cabana/2388/beowulf.html MCA Universal. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. 1995-1998. TV Show. Online. Internet. Available HTTP: http://www.mca.com/tv/hercules/siteindex.html Sony Playstation. Spyro the Dragon. Online. Internet. October 11, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.playstation.com/games/categories/actionadvent/spyro/main.html

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Chris Matthews

In the book Hardball, Chris Matthews supports his observations and conclusions with quotes from a variety of sources. For eight (8) of the following quotes: – Identify the speaker – Explain its meaning – Explain the relevance for particular political issues today – This should be a paragraph for each of the 8. This is to be turned in the first day of class. 1 . This Senator rejected the well-tailored dark blue suit so fashionable in DC â€Å"When I dress like that, no one comes up to me at the airport to say hello. † 2.Vive lived across the street from you for 18 years I shoveled your walk in winter. I cut your grass in summer†¦ I didn't think I had to ask you for your vote. † He never forgot her response. â€Å"Tom, I want you to know something: people like to be asked. † 3. â€Å"L will not make my age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience. † 4. à ¢â‚¬Å"We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we posses, but we excel at those which also make use of our defects. † 5. He too ran against â€Å"Washington†.More than that, he said that â€Å"government is not the solution to our problems, it is the problem†. 6. â€Å"Believe me,† my friend Nick implored, â€Å"there's no such thing as off the record. Don't trust anyone. † 7. â€Å"Better to have them inside the tent pissing' out than outside pissing' in. † 8. â€Å"In continuing to call himself an amateur or ‘citizen' politician, Reagan applies the same logic the Soviets do when they declare their Olympic athletes to be amateurs despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. † 9. The waiter said, â€Å"Well, maybe you don't know who I am.Well, as a matter of fact I onto Who are you? † â€Å"I'm the guy who's in charge of the butter. † 10. â€Å"If you want to make a friend, let someone do you a favor. † 1 1 . â€Å"L have reached the conclusion that it would be inadvisable for me to recommend to the convention any member of my Cabinet or any of those who meet regularly with the Cabinet. † 12. â€Å"JEFF would call 5 or 6 LB] would take 19 names and call them all. † 13. â€Å"L simply made a deal with Roosevelt. We agreed that if I endorsed him for President in 1940, then he would support my son Joe for governor of Massachusetts 1942. † 14.I have Just thought of something that is not part of my speech, and I am worried whether I should do it†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ He paused and then followed through with a beautifully composed tribute to America as the refuge of those Who yearn to breathe freely. ‘ Then the clincher: â€Å"I'll confess that I'm a little afraid to suggest what I am going to suggest. I'm more afraid not to. † 15. â€Å"People don't do their best work while they are being passed on. † 16. â€Å"He's not going to win. I t's a Republican district. He'll be better for us if he loses. He'll work for me. He'll bring his organization with him. 17. Off should try some of the Northeastern, big-city offices. I'll bet there are a good number of congressmen who would like to have someone with your background working for them. † 18. â€Å"Members are going to come in to see you with some matter that you will think is the craziest thing you ever heard. Just remember, it is very important to that member. Otherwise he would never have come in with it. † 19. â€Å"They never take the time to think about what really goes on in those one-to-one sessions. They see it as a rape instead of seduction: they miss the elaborate reparation that goes on before the act is finally done. 20. â€Å"There is no Republican way to collect the garbage. † 21 . â€Å"It's been said that I'm not the most compelling speaker, and there are actually those who claim that I don't always communicate in the clearest, mo st concise way. Well, I may not be the most eloquent†¦ And I may sometimes be a little awkward†¦ But there is nothing self-conscious in my love of country. I am a quiet man, but I hear the quiet people others don't. The ones who raise a family, pay the taxes, meet the mortgages. † 22. Don't give it all at once. Give five thousand at the start and indicate they can come back for more if they need it.Halfway through the campaign, they'll be back. This time give them another five thousand and indicate that that is all you intend to contribute. About a week before the election, they'll be so desperate for money that someone will suggest that maybe you can be induced to come to the rescue. † 23. â€Å"†¦ His message came across clear and appealing†¦ He described America as a country Where no Catholic prelate would tell the President – should he be a Catholic – owe to act and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote . This is a country where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all. † 24. â€Å"All the people in this room have one thing in common†¦ We are all dissatisfied. † 25. â€Å"Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons†¦ No, not content with that, they now included by little dog, Fall†¦ Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but Fall does resent them†¦You know, Fall is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers had concocted a story that I had left him behind on the Aleutian Islands and had sent a destroyer back to find him – at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three or eight or twenty million dollars – his Scotch soul was furious He has not been the same dog since.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Best Practice Companies: Training in the Airline Industry

After September 11th, there was a great deal of turmoil in the airline industry as a tremendous amount of money was needed to be allocated toward other things such as security enhancements. As a result, most airlines cut back costs in other departments, especially in the department of training. However, some airlines deemed training their employees effectively to be pertinent to their development, and thus decided to enhance their training programs to provide a more long term benefit. This is part of what contributed to the title of a â€Å"best practice company† for many of these airlines. They recognized training as not only a fundamental part of human resource management but also for their growth and reputation. Training offers a way of developing skills, enhancing productivity and quality of work, and building worker loyalty to the firm, and most importantly, increasing individual and organizational performance to achieve business results. Training is widely accepted as an employee benefit and a method of improving employee morale, and enhancing employee skills has become a business imperative. Increasingly, managers and leaders realize that the key to business growth and success is through developing the skills and knowledge of its workforce. The best practice companies we observed included Southwest Airlines, Jetblue, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic Airways; all of which have made it on the Fortune 500 list of â€Å"Most admired Companies†. We came to the conclusion that these five airlines can be seen as best practice companies in the field of training, due to their dedication in providing high quality training, their innovative training tactics, and their emphasis on training in customer service. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company: The superior quality of training is something in which these airlines take a great deal of pride in, and has been achieved through employee motivation and an intensive amount of learning. Three of the airlines including Southwest, Jetblue, and British Airways actually have â€Å"training universities† in which every employee is expected to attend. Some classes are standard for everyone in the workforce, while others cater to specific jobs, such as pilots, stewards, ground workers, etc. Employee's are paid for the time they spend in class at these designated schools and will typically work forty hour weeks doing so. All five of these airlines cater to the learning development of their employee's, to ensure complete knowledge of the company and their specific job. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Southwest Airlines The key to success in any organization is motivation, the ability to rally a group of people behind a specific goal. When motivation is in place employee’s engage in low absenteeism and job satisfaction, to name a few. Herb Kelleher, the founder and creator of Southwest Airlines has been able to do just this through many ways such as implementing training and career development programs. As many people have heard Southwest does not hire for skills but rather attitude and personality. Before considering if you would like to be employed you must first ask yourself, â€Å"Am I motivated? † if not there is a great chance you will not be hired. Not having all of the correct skills on the other hand is not something to worry about seeing how Southwest will train you for the skills needed. ‘It is the people; it has always had to do with their selection,† Heskett says. †They are selected primarily for attitude, and most people primarily select for skills. They have a particular view for people who will fit into a team-oriented organization and the airline industry is team-oriented. If you have people pointing fingers, you have problems† (people. bu. edu). Southwest has develo ped their own training program which they have named the â€Å"University for People. † This school is based in Dallas out of the Love Field Airport. , more specifically within an old airplane hanger. Within this hanger employee’s engage in a significant amount of role-play. For example someone might get to play the pissed off customer whose flight just got cancelled or the mother traveling with her children. The whole center has been designed to facilitate learning in real life situations. â€Å"The University for People is where new recruits are sent for orientation and indoctrination into Southwest's culture. They get to see video footage of Herb Kelleher, Southwest's legendary founder, dressed as Elvis at a company party and otherwise carrying on. † (key. om) Southwest is an organization that believes in continuous learning therefore Southwest’s â€Å"individual employees become ‘international learns’ who look to learn in everyday experiences rather than occasional classes† (ccp. com). The main purpose of the University for People is to introduce and enforce hard work, high-energy, fun, local autonomy, and creativity. Dedication To Prov iding High Quality Training: JetBlue Airlines JetBlue, which has only been in existence since 1999, has learned the training practices of many other airline companies to formulate its very own unique program, and has since been extremely effective. JetBlue established its own universities to ensure that people were properly trained; they have the College of Flight, the College of In-flight, and the College of Customer Service (Wynbrandt134). Third, the company consciously evaluates employees, including management and gives them feedback. Once hired, pilots and flight attendants are sent to Florida for three weeks for their training. JetBlue’s philosophy on training is creating the best working environment so the crew is motivated to work for the company. The Chief Learning Officer at JetBlue University shares the training viewpoint behind the company. At JetBlue U, our goal is to provide our crew members the tools they need to succeed. These tools include the technical aspects of each crew member’s responsibilities†¦ and inculcation of our crew members in our unique corporate culture† (Sosbe). Many airline companies have separate training sessions for pilots and flight attendants, because the nature of their training material is very different. However, JetBlue tired something different, â€Å"Flight attendants and pilots are together for much of the first two weeks, and while a lot of the training is in separate classes, there is still a lot of overlap. Most airlines keep the two employee groups strictly apart. † This process of putting the two groups together is a strategic method of JetBlue who believes that â€Å"analysis of accidents have revealed that lives have been saved when the crews were comfortable with one another† (Peterson 184). The first week of JetBlue U is about crew culture. They use icebreakers and activities to bond the flight attendants and pilots. They then go over Federal Aviation Administration or FAA regulations. They have a lifestyle lecture, â€Å"the vagaries of drugs and booze awareness, and even hair and makeup pointers† (Peterson190). Each crew member must follow the appearance standards. From the second week on, the flight attendants and pilots divide into their different areas of focus. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: British Airways British Airways, which is the largest airline in the United Kingdom, and considered one of the largest in Europe, is a best practice company because of the in depth way they train their employees. They put time and effort into educating their pilots, flight attendants, and other company personnel. They go above and beyond the required amount of training. They have even created their own university, and incorporate real life simulators as a training component. According to 2006 Fortune 500 Magazine British Airways ranked seventh under the airline industry category, British Airways is, â€Å"catching the competition wide awake. † British Airways is always finding ways to make their company more profitable. According to Oracle press, â€Å"British Airways is using a new, comprehensive learning offering from Oracle to create a global learning programs for its 48,000 employees. † This company has taken pride in making the best company it can be. Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines is one of the most renowned companies in the world and is ranked in Fortune as number seventeen in the year 2007 list of â€Å"World’s Most Admired companies. Singapore Airlines’ CEO, Chew Choon Seng, attributes his company’s success to their extensive training programs. â€Å"Training is a necessity, not an option. It is not to be dispensed with when times are bad†¦ Training is forever. No-one is too young to be trained. † As you can see, there is no one in the company that is not trained extensively. This keeps everyone in the business on their toes and ready to handle any situation. Mrs Lam Seet Mui, Singapore Airlines’ Senior Manager for Human Resource development, talks about two types of training that Singapore Airlines does. Essentially we do two types of training, functional training and general management type training. Functional training is about equipping people with the skills to do their job, to make them technically competent and confident as possible†¦ The general management training has to do with the softer skills. † Within these two groups, Singapore Airlines trains about 9,000 annually, the same amount as the National University in Singapore. Their courses are usually short and concise, and they feel that this allows them to be efficient and stay committed. (www2. arwick. ac. uk) To share the latest ideas and newest training techniques, Singapore Airlines brings together 50 executives from different departments all over the world. When the executives return they have all been exposed to the latest ideas and should be prepared to be a role model for the changes being made to better the company. (Fung) Dedication To Providing High Quality Training: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic Airlines has only been around since 1984 and has managed to become the second largest airline in the United Kingdom. (Branson 185) Virgin Atlantic has been formerly recognized on many occasions for its excellence in training. In 2005 they won the regional final of the National Training Awards. The awards acknowledge outstanding and lasting excellence and success through training. Dr Graeme Hall, Chief Executive of UK Skills, who runs the National Training Awards on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, says, â€Å"Effective training will help create a more effective, productive and flexible workforce. The message to UK Plc is simple: invest in training to gain a true competitive advantage. Meanwhile, Virgin staff are happier and more motivated, and attrition is down. (Jackson 25) Like the other airlines, Virgin is committed to instilling a great deal of learning into the minds of their employees. This is accomplished by outlining the company framework, and using a variety of techniques to teach, with an emphasis on e-learning. Although Virgin Atlantic Airlines does not have a so called â€Å"unive rsity† to train its employee's, it does have a general training facility used to employ all of its staff and specializes in individual e-learning. One of the groups Virgin is most noteable for training is their management team. After the major descent in air travel following the attacks of 9/11, Virgin Atlantic went through a period of intense growth. The management team however, was not quite ready to take on such a period of rapid growth or to respond to new opportunities which may unwillingly present themselves. Branson also found it keen to increase the amount of management vacancies that were filled internally, to safeguard Virgin's work culture. In order to provide a resolution to this shortcoming, â€Å"Virgin decided to send all of its 120 managers on personal development workshops at Roffey Park, at a cost of ?2,000 to ?3,000 per head†. (Bringing out the Branson) The workshops began with individual coaching sessions that set personal development objectives for the managers, based on feedback from the 360-degree appraisal and personality tests. These were followed by a series of activities that aimed to instil Virgin's leadership principles into management behavior. The program finished by producing individual personal development plans and split each group into two sets of six managers, who met up six times over the next nine months to monitor their own progress and bounce ideas off each other. (â€Å"Bringing out the Branson†) Innovative Training Tactics as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company: Another distinguishing feature of these airlines is the innovative practices used to train their employees. A typical day of training will use an extremely wide variety of ways to enforce and encourage productive learning. These techniques include: on-the-job training; apprenticeship training; role playing, scenario building, classroom training; and electronic learning, which may involve interactive Internet-based training, multimedia programs, distance learning, satellite training, other computer-aided instructional technologies, videos, simulators, conferences, and workshops. We noticed that the majority of the innovative training has been used for the pilots as many airlines have taken advantage of today's great technology to provide an excellent source of simulated training. Also, with the release of the new aircrafts, such as the airbus, there has been an increase in providing new training tactics to meet the quality of the new aircrafts. Innovative Training Tactics: JetBlue JetBlue has been all over the media for its developments in pilot training. Special training for pilots is given to ensure they know the newest technology and procedures. In 2005, JetBlue signed a contract to send their pilots to College of Flight were they are trained by experienced professionals at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. â€Å"The agreement calls for Embry-Riddle to deliver the ‘Initial Training Course’ (TS1) and the ‘Recurrent Training Course’ (TS2) to JetBlue’s ‘College of Flight’ instructors beginning in early 2006. The instruction is designed to enrich the pilot training programs for JetBlue’s fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft† (Embry-Riddle). JetBlue wants to equip its pilots with the most current information. As part of the plan, all current and new JetBlue flight instructors will be taking introductory and advanced courses designed to boost teaching effectiveness for instructors who provide academic and simulator training to front-line pilots† (Embry-Riddle). A major difference between JetBlue’s training programs compared to other airlines is JetBlue pays its employees for their time during trainings. â€Å"Certain other big airlines, when they hire pilots, they say ‘you’re privileged to work for us, so we’re not going to pay you while you’re in training. Moreover] we’re going to make your pay for your own hotel [during your training]. ’ And then little wonder people come out of the class mad because they had to borrow money or they had to sacrifice, and they didn’t really respect the company because they took advantage of them† (Wynbrandt135). JetBlue not only pays their pilots, but pays for all of their accommodations while training. JetBlue makes their employees feel like they are cared about. An important role in their training is feeling like they are wanted. Pilots sign a five year contract guaranteeing them employment, which doesn’t allow the company to lay them off. According to Neeleman, the net result is â€Å"employees are convinced the airline cares about them† (Wynbrandt135). Upon graduation from the University there is a final exam to test each crew member on the knowledge they have acquired. There is a graduation ceremony and many crew members have flights that depart the next morning. â€Å"They’ll be training two groups a month, cranking out the crew members at the rate of nearly one hundred a month† (Peterson 199). Innovative Training Tactics: British Airways British Airways has developed an extensive training program for both their fight attendants, and pilots. They have developed flight simulators to make their training program tangible. The flight simulators offer joint aviation instruction. Their flight simulators make up the biggest Boeing training center outside of the United States. They are using the most worlds most advanced technology to make the simulators create real world situations. The simulation training includes use with Boeing and Airbus Airplanes. They include work with Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 767, Boeing 757, Boeing 737, and Airbus A320. British Airways has also included pilot, ground school, and cabin safety to their training programs. Their ground school teaches JAR approval aircraft type-technical courses. They are computer based training and used in every day work. Each class that they offer is two hours long. The classes incorporate scans, procedures, and relevant aspects of the company. The pilots that take the class are tested every three days to make sure they are on task, and have understanding of the course material. The course generally last ten to twelve days, and in order to enroll in the course they are asked to take a pre-course for two to three days on flight management computers. British Airways also uses a number of approaches to prepare their cabin crew for emergency situations. They are trained in cabin safety in areas that include: fire and smoke, wet drills, slide descents, and door operation. They are trained on any and all of the different planes that they fly, so that they are familiar with all of British Airways fleet. Each area of training for safety focuses on different situations. For cabin simulators they teach the crew about skills and how to deal with any emergency situation. They start with the fire and smoke training. The crew is training how to deal with a plane fire emergency. They are given realistic simulation on first and they are taught how to with them in a orderly fashion. They then move on to the wet drills. For this drill the crew is taught how to operate a life jacket, and they are taught how to help the passengers in a water landing. The last set of training workshops that the crew goes through is door operations. In this class they are taught how to use the exist doors and cabin doors. Innovative Training Tactics: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Atlantic Airways utilizes the company Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE), which is a worldly renown company that provides â€Å"customized training services for pilots and maintenance technicians ranging from integrated programs to deployable ground school capabilities and e-learning solutions. Their philosophy is to â€Å"enhance clients' safety and efficiency and provide clients a training environment where they can continuously pursue a practical and operational learning experience through new and innovative technology. † (â€Å"Simulation Products†) There are five different simulator programs in which CAE uses to train pilots, one of which is a simple piece of CD-Rom software which can used at any computer. The other four programs involves the use of a large piece of machinery which utilize programs and are operated by controls that are similar if not identical to what pilots would typically be exposed to when operating an aircraft. The great thing about this new wave of training is that it is extremely hands on and interactive, and it caters to individual learning and progress. Whether the pilot in training is at home or at the training facility using the flight simulators, they can progress at their own pace, which ultimately maximizes learning. Each program is divided into a number of sections or chapters which contains an exam at the end to make sure that the information has been retained. Another great feature about CAE's flight simulators is they even use satellite technology to display current weather conditions across the world, so that the pilot will be prepared to fly in any type of climate. In addition to using actual weather conditions, there are 3D synthetic environments used in every visual system. CAE has been able to make quite the name for itself over the past few years, as it has become a standard training program for the military, has been adopted by a number of other airlines, and has revolutionized human resource management in the field of training and development. â€Å"Simulation Products†) Virgin Atlantic Airways has been recently been labeled as one of the most innovative airlines in the world for their plan to send a select few of their best pilots to have the opportunity to go through astronaut pilot training. In the article titled â€Å"Virgin Atlantic Pilots Are Out of This World,† it was quoted that all 700 of Virgin Atlanic's pi lots are welcomed to apply and those who are chosen â€Å"will receive nine months of aerobatic, fast jet and executive aircraft for zero gravity flights training. They will then spend the next nine months flying the mothership and participating in Mission Control work – the last nine months will be spent flying Virgin Galactic Spaceships into space. Once they have completed their 27 month secondment they will return to Virgin Atlantic as qualified pilot astronauts. â€Å" (Virgin Pilots Are Out of This World With Virgin Galactic) Emphasis on Training in Customer Service as a Means to Being a Best Practice Company Perhaps one of the most significant contributing factors of these companies success is their emphasis on customer service. All of these airlines recognize the importance in training their employees in providing excellent customer service in order to achieve customer satisfaction and retention. Although spending excess time training in this field is expensive, the long term benefits are substantial as they build a clientel more willing to invest their time and money with the airline which pleases them the most. Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Southwest Airlines â€Å"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit† (southwest. om). By following their mission created by founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher, Southwest literally has taken off and become a model for a best practices industry. This dedication has led Southwest to develop 10 organizational practices that facilitate the coordination among 12 distinct functions: pilots, flights attendants, gate agents, ticketing agents, operations agents, ramp agents, baggage transfer agents, cargo agents, mechanics, uelers, aircraft cleaners, and caters by building relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect (coachingandmentoring. com). Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: British Airways British Airways serves as an example for other companies because they have a good grasp on what to do to make their customers and employees happy. According to EMCOR, British Airways focuses on, â€Å"serving its customers by getting people where they need to go. † If every airline took pride in their customers like British Airways, the airline industry would run smoother. British Airways customer relations department talked about how they take pride in their customer service, â€Å"we try to ensure you have a good experience when you travel with British Airways†¦ we do our best to respond to you quickly and appropriately. † Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines also places a strong emphasis on customer service training, especially for the stewards and stewardess's, then they must go through two interviews and a written test to even get an offer. After the offer each person must go through four months of training to be prepared to handle the toughest of situations. Some sections of this training includes Food and beverage knowledge, passenger handling, language and communication skills, and safety equipment procedures. Knowing the food and beverage is important because it is important to be able to tell each customer what they are eating on the flight. Passenger handling deals with how to respond to different customers. This includes making sure that each customer is happy and knowing how to satisfy them if they look upset. This also has to do with communication skills. The easiest way to find out how a passenger’s flight is going is to ask them. Since there are many passengers this must be done in a timely and orderly fashion. (www. worksingapore. com) Emphasis on Training in Customer Service: Virgin Atlantic Airways Virgin Airways uses a great deal of scenario building to help their employee’s achieve the highest customer satisfaction. When in training, they will divide the room into groups, each of which includes a current employee who has experienced a situation where a customer was upset with them. The current employee acts as the enraged or frustrated customer, and the other trainees are evaluated based on the way they handle the distressful situation. Afterwards they are given constructive criticism on how they can improve. (Jackson 220). Virgin Airways pays a lot of attention to their customers and emphasizes on providing an excellent customer experience. â€Å"Superior customer service and stress-free travel are two things that our travelers have come to expect from Virgin Atlantic,† said Chris Rossi, Vice President Sales and Marketing, North America. (Branson 78) Interview with Mark Swigonski: After bringing all of our research together, we decided that Southwest would be the best airline to conduct an interview with, since they seem to have the strongest emphasis on both employee and customer satisfaction. We managed to find a Southwest pilot by the name of Mark Swigonski who has been an active pilot for well over ten years now. We asked Mark via email â€Å"What do you think about airlines trying to model Southwest and their best practices within the same industry or different industries? † He replied †The economic plan is a model for any industry. Stimulate sales by making your product more affordable for more people. Instead of making a large profit on a few sales, make a small profit on lots of sales, thereby stimulating the business. Southwest airlines has made air travel affordable for the average American. People who would never dream of flying before can now afford to. Herb says we do not compete with other airlines, we compete with the automobile. One more story. When Southwest first started, the price of a ticket on Continental from Dallas Love to Houston Hobby was $220. Southwest charged $19. People came to Herb and said why don't you just charge $50, you're still a quarter of the price. Herb answered, we will never do that. We will charge what we need to, to make a profit and never a cent more. We are going to stimulate traffic. Southwest still works that way. We also asked â€Å"What would be an anticipated obstacle if companies model this, and are there any financial costs and/or benefits? † He replied, â€Å"It's embarrassing. When you start up an airline and have no first class, no assigned seating, and say you can't afford to buy something, it is embarrassing. If you can't afford it, you can't buy it. You just have to have the self discipline to abide by that rule. You also need patience to wait for the correct market opportunities. Southwest currently has a couple of billion in the bank, waiting for an opportunity. They are in no hurry and will buy airplanes when the price is right, but not before. Three airlines have gone out of business in the last week. The opportunity will be there soon and Southwest will capitalize when the time is right. That takes a great deal of fiscal discipline. Conclusion: Implications and How Other Companies Can Benefit From These Training Tactics Based on the evaluation of our five airline companies, we analyzed how other companies both within and outside of the industries could provide a benefit, and what costs may be associated. We realized that some of the short term implications are the high costs associated with providing such a dedicated training program. These extra costs include what is necessary to run the outside training universities as seen with Southwest, JetBlue, and British Airways. Within the training universities are all of the expenses necessary to use all of the innovative techniques such as the expensive simulative training and all of the software needed for that, as well as the online training programs used both inside and outside of the classroom. These airlines are also responsible for paying all of the highly qualified people who instruct these training courses. The extra time spent in training is also very costly, especially since many of these airlines make some of the training practicum standard for everyone, regardless of their future occupation with the company. Clearly, there are a great deal of costs incurred when running such an extensive training program that is so heavily focused on the employees. However, we concluded that the long term benefits actually outweigh any of these initial costs, because not only will the turn over rate decrease, but business will grow as there will be a more dedicated workforce. More training will prepare all employees for different situations and make them more competent workers. It will also weed out people who do not want to dedicate themselves to the job, making it easier to identify people that actually want to be there. With better workers the company should notice a more efficient use of its resources and it will eventually make up what it lost on the cost of training through more profit in the long run. Maybe a person will be able to help four more customers a day after being trained longer. Four more customers a day adds up over the years to unbelievable amounts of profit. Or perhaps a person gains a better understanding of how to make a machine work more efficiently and can make more products quicker than before. A dedication to training goes hand in hand with a company that succeeds over its competitors. If other companies wish to adopt a training model as extensive as these five airlines, then they must be prepared to take the risk in engulfing an extensive amount of costs, but be aware of all the positive outcomes and benefits which will result. After analyzing the qualities that make these five airlines best practice companies we determined that there are several similarities, however, each airline had a distinguishing trait that gave their company an identity. Southwest is most distinguished for its belief in the idea that if employees are happy, then customers are happy. They focus nearly all of their time and energy in creating a motivational environment to encourage employee satisfaction which eventually transcends to customer satisfaction. British Airways is most notable for their incredibly high standards in training practicum. They call for a rigorous training program so as to achieve only the most qualified employee's. Singapore Airlines strives to be the best in every aspect, whether it be in providing the best customer service, best food, most comfortable seating, or best employee motivation tactics. Singapore believes strongly in the idea that there is always room for improvement. JetBlue is successful in their attempts to standardize education and encourage a solid learning environment in their training practices. They incorporate five core values—safety, caring, integrity, fun and passion—into every aspect of education. They also provide centralized crew-member education in common topics with common courses, creating a strong team orientation and commitment to a greater corporate good. (Sosbe). Virgin Atlantic Airways is most well known constant strive to be innovative in all aspects of the company, whether it be using the most technologically advanced tools for training, or being the first airline to train pilots for space travel. From these five remarkable characteristics, we formulated three main points which were used throughout the paper to draw in the primary defining similarities of these best practice companies. These main points included a dedication in providing high quality training, innovative training tactics, and an emphasis on training in customer service.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Charles Lawrence on Racist Speech essays

Charles Lawrence on Racist Speech essays The voice of writers and authors are the key components to their inner thoughts. It is a way of actually portraying what a person is trying to say. However the case is that their words silenced and put in period of exile away from the eyes of the public. Author Charles Lawrence goes on to state that racist speech is wrong simply because of the drastic agony it puts on a victims perspective. In the article On Racist Speech, the author, Charles R Lawrence III, effectively establishes credibility, logic and emotional themes to supports his argument which infers that the use of harmful language should not be protected by the First Amendment Law in order to stop racism. Lawrence sheds light upon the very turbulent issue of the First Amendment right to the Freedom of speech in contrast to the inequality caused by its misuse through racially bias speech. The author states that the University officials should endorse some sort policy that will protect the rights of those who are victimized by this racial nuisance, while at the same time not censoring our constitutional right of free speech, I am troubled by the way the debates has been framed in response to the recent surge of racist incidents on college and university campuses and in response universities attempts to regulate harassing speech (51). Continually, Lawrence defines the set of ideals that the First Amendment was based on, particularly; equality. He goes on to show the audience that this very balance is in danger if the speech in question is stated in a deliberately hurtful manner. Lawrence brings up factual evidence from the Brown vs. Board of education that supports his claim that prejudice can also be viewed as a form of racist speech. Lawrence argues just as Brown did, that segregation in schools causes disparity and unfair conditions to the victims of racist speech. Brown deemed the idea of segregation as a symbo ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Many Uses of Plastics

The Many Uses of Plastics Most modern plastics are based on organic chemicals that offer manufacturers a huge range of physical properties that is still growing. There was a time when anything made of plastic was considered to be of inferior quality, but those days are past. You are probably wearing plastic right now, maybe a polyester/cotton mix garment or even glasses or a watch with plastic components. The versatility of plastic materials comes from the ability to mold, laminate or shape them and to tailor them physically and chemically. There is a plastic suitable for almost any application. Plastics dont corrode, though they can degrade in UV, a component of sunlight, and can be affected by solvents. PVC plastic, for example, is soluble in acetone. Plastics in the Home There is a huge percentage of plastic in your television, your sound system, your cell phone, and your vacuum cleaner and probably plastic foam in your furniture. What are you walking on? Unless your floor covering is real wood, it probably has a synthetic/natural fiber blend like some of the clothes you wear. Take a look in the kitchen and you might see a plastic chair or bar stool seats, plastic countertops (acrylic composites), plastic linings (PTFE) in your nonstick cooking pans, and plastic plumbing in your water system. Now open your refrigerator. The food might be wrapped in PVC cling film, your yogurt is probably in plastic tubs, cheese in plastic wrap, and water and milk in blow-molded plastic containers. There are plastics now that prevent gas from escaping pressurized soda bottles, but cans and glass are still No. 1 for beer. (For some reason, guys dont like to drink beer from plastic.) When it comes to canned beer, though, you will find that the inside of the can is often lined with a plastic polymer. Plastics in Transport Trains, planes, and automobiles, even ships, satellites, and space stations, use plastics extensively. We used to build ships from wood and planes from string (hemp) and canvas (cotton/flax). We had to work with the materials that nature provided, but no more- we now design our own materials. Whatever mode of transport you pick, youll find plastic used extensively in: SeatingPanelingInstrument enclosuresSurface coverings Plastics are even combined with other materials as structural elements in all kinds of transport, even skateboards, rollerblades, and bicycles. Challenges for the Plastics Industry Its clear that modern life would be very different without plastics. However, challenges lie ahead. Because many plastics are so durable and dont corrode, they create considerable disposal problems. They arent good for the landfill, as many will persist for hundreds of years; when theyre incinerated, dangerous gases can be produced. Many supermarkets now give us one-use grocery bags; leave them in a cupboard long enough and all you will have left is dust because they are engineered to degrade. Perversely, some plastics can be cured (hardened) by UV, which shows how varied their formulas are. Additionally, because many plastics are based ultimately on crude oil, there is a continuous rise in the cost of raw materials that chemical engineers are trying to workaround. We now have biofuel for automobiles, and the feedstock for that fuel grows on the land. As this production increases, sustainable feedstock for the plastic industry will become more widely available. We are getting wiser, and now many plastics can be chemically, mechanically, or thermally recycled. We still must solve the disposal issue, which is being actively addressed through materials research, recycling policies, and enhanced public awareness.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Chris Paul From CoSchedule

Customer Experience Is The New Brand W/ Chris Paul From How often do you think about customer experience? Marketers put tons of time and energy into creating a brand to communicate a value proposition that makes people feel a certain way about their company. But good marketers know that it’s not about brand, but brand perception developed through conversations and interactions with customers. Today, we’re talking to Chris Paul, head of customer experience at . He describes how different departments and employees at a company can work together to make sure they are on the same page when it comes to the company’s brand and adding value to customer experience. Learn about your brand from both customers and co-workers All products, services, and solutions evolve over time; so do customers’ needs and demands Consider product market fit and then pivot and make changes when necessary Dawn of a new era where customers are not afraid to tell you what they think Know customers’ experiences and expectations to create a  positive experience Help customers grow and be successful by orchestrating value and addressing their pain points/problems How to identify existing and future stakeholders Offer customers on-demand support via various channels, including social media Delegate and streamline support requests to effectively respond to customers Improve customer experience by aligning and collaborating with departments and teams, don’t silo them Links: Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive a cool swag bag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes: â€Å"Product market fit will always, always change.† Chris Paul â€Å"People don’t trust brands anymore. They trust their peers or customers or reviews.† Eric Piela â€Å"What’s the experience the customer is expecting?† Chris Paul The customer is dictating the channel theyd like to communicate with and so were absolutely fine by that. Chris Paul

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Should online degrees be considered to be equal to college or Essay

Should online degrees be considered to be equal to college or university campus degrees - Essay Example line communication or teaching takes place only in the verbal form whereas in classroom teaching communication is taking place both in verbal and nonverbal form. It is often said that the amount of information communicated though nonverbal channels is more than that communicated through verbal channels. In short, online courses cannot offer effective communication between the teacher and the student. Online courses can offer only theoretical knowledge whereas college courses can offer both theoretical and practical knowledge. In order to learn a topic properly, both theoretical and practical knowledge are essential. In other words, online degree holders may not have proper practical knowledge compared to the regular college degree holders. The credibility of online degree cannot be equated against that of a university degree. Online degrees are provided by legitimate and illegitimate institutions whereas university degree is provided only by the legitimate sources. Proponents of online degree are of the view that online degrees and university degrees have not many differences. In the case of online degrees in art subjects, the above argument seems to be valid up to certain extent. However, it should be noted that science degrees earned through online courses may not have the backing of practical knowledge and therefore it cannot be equated against the science degrees from regular colleges or

Friday, October 18, 2019

I has a dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

I has a dream - Essay Example The â€Å"I has a dream† ad was a picture of a man with his back turned facing the opposite direction and the words â€Å"I has a dream† written in bold letters below the picture. To the bottom on one side was a small extract added to the picture that spoke out against Ebonics. The use of this historical appeal made famous by Martin Luther King was meant to gain the attention of those who saw the ad and needless to say, it did just that (Rickford 82). The argument behind the as was that the African American race had fought so hard to get where it was, and the use of Ebonics by the children would only serve to undermine this achievement. The ad meant to theorize the question â€Å"What if Dr. King had not been as articulate as he was? Would his message still have the same impact that it did?† This was shown by the screwed up version â€Å"I has a dream†. The man in the picture was also dressed in regalia that looked similar to Dr. King so as to bring this point across. The ad was meant to illustrate the immense impact that type of language used could have on an audience and convince them to encourage their children to speak proper English and reject Ebonics (Rickford 82). The phrase â€Å"I have a dream.† Can be considered to one of the most popular catch terms in the world and Martin Luther King is a man who generated a lot of respect especially from the black community and thus the use of his message was meant to bring the point across about the need for proper speech. There are other parts of the ad apart from the phrase and the depiction of a man similar looking to Martin Luther King that was used to bring the message across as well. One of these is the fact that the man in the ad has his back facing the audience (Rickford 89). This can be seen as a symbol of progression (or lack of it) as it brings out the message that Ebonics was a

Report Project On Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Report Project On Obesity - Essay Example for differences in height and weight, it does not distinguish between mass due to say accumulated body fat and mass due to having more muscles, neither does it account for the distribution of body fat in any way. These aspects play a critical role in determining the health risk an individual faces. For children, BMI needs to be adjusted for age and gender since there is a different growth pattern amongst boys and girls of different age. This therefore implies that it wouldn’t be possible to have a single universal classification of obesity in children (The NHS Information Centre, Lifestyles Statistics., 2012). Morbidly obese: 40 and over: Morbidly obese adults have a very high health risk. Additionally, they have lots of health complications such as hypertension and diabetes that can be directly attributed to the increased weight. Due to the excess weight, the patients also find it mobility a more difficult task. Using the Finished Admission Episode (FAE), which is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, a graph of obesity against time between the year 2000 and 2011 grouped by gender is shown in figure 1 below. One of the potential causes of obesity is lack of physical activity. As such, the level of physical activity of a respondent may influence their potential for becoming obese. Data on levels of physical activities of adults is available for the years 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008 from the HSE 2010 trends table. An attempt at establishing whether there is a connection between obesity and physical activity is achieved through literature review. In particular, a check at the sections on obesity and physical activity in adults (page 18) and similarly for children (page 24) in the report â€Å"Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet: England 2012† (2012) reveals that there is an apparent connection between obesity and physical activity. There is potential for obesity to have long run harmful

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Philosophy Cultural Relativism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy Cultural Relativism - Essay Example The technological boom, having emerged to satisfy the society's thirst for innovativeness and easier life, deprived the society of its basic functions - live communication, connection with the reality, building relationships; product variety deprived the planet of huge amount of its resources, destroyed natural habitats and left the poor countries unable to meet their basic needs; the U.S. economy actually lost from the consumerism behavior, because as people were becoming "shopaholics" they started to take more and more bank credits as they could not satisfy their previous loans, thus living a life "on credit"; personal happiness became a transitory state of mind. The creation of cell phones, computers, mp3-players, I-pods, the Internet, TV - all of those items changed the lives of our predecessors so much that they lost their sense of reality. The human himself lost his ability to communicate freely and build real social relationships. One started to prefer cell phone calls, virtual chats, I-net calls as they were more convenient. He did not need to travel to meet the person he wanted to talk with. He did not need to sacrifice the cosiness of his own home or office.

Tort and Regulatory Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tort and Regulatory Risk - Essay Example That is, regardless of whether or not they are actually culpable of the violation in question, and regardless in this case whether the plaintiff even has a case. No organization wants to fight to maintain a reputation in the public arena, and as is commonly understood, the resolution of a lawsuit such as the one leveled by Kelly Bates can often take at least a decade to resolve. Torts and Risks are primarily associated with the non-compliance with the 'Clean Water Act' (1972). In Alumina's case, they have had a pretty solid practice of compliance following a problem in the past that they both corrected, and implemented policies and procedures to prevent such an incident re-occurring. Complying with the Clean Water Act can most adequately be understood in a basic legal positivistic framework, that is, one is either complying with the standards established by the Act or they are not. Prevention, Detection & Correction: A preventative approach is one that implements a Quality Assurance procedure of testing with a regularity that can anticipate any corrective measures that need to take place. One of the core strategies that the company in question can take, is to establish a new department that focus' primarily on environmental compliance. A quality assurance team can establish a set of protocols for testing and addressing any problems before they go so far as to negatively impact either the environment or the health of the community. Likewise, prevention is a matter of establishing a set of procedures representing the 'best practices' for that particular emission – are there technologies that can minimize or mitigate the emissions that are at levels that are either harmful or beyond the allowed limit. EPA: The EPA was established by Richard Nixon in 1970 [McMahon, 19] . Currently, it has an operating budget of over $ 10.4 Billion and the current director is Lisa Jackson [http://www.epa.gov ] . This agency of the government is the main or central overseeing body of all environmental regulations in the US.. The division within the agency that is particularly focused on compliance of environmental law and pollution standards is the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. It both establishes the regulations and in turn, enforces the compliance along with establishing the protocols and procedures for both – that is both the regulation and enforcement. It is also an agency which provides a significant body of research both on the environment, but also on the legal regulations and public policy pertaining to the environment. Torts & Risks: The main issue regarding tort and risk, is basic non-compliance. Any non-compliance opens up the corporation to litigation or lawsuits because of the basic problem of knowing endangerment. This is a legal issue that falls within the purview of conspiracy charges. Thus, any problems connecting the non-compliance with the regulations overseen and regulated by the EPA are facts that can be used against the organization. In turn, the problems with negligence in legal terms can be quite wide in scope, and of course, any situation of non-compliance lends itself to a lawsuit based on negligence and recklessness in regard to public safety. Prevention, Detection & Correction: As was noted above in relation to the Clean Water Act (1972), an environmental quality assurance

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Philosophy Cultural Relativism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy Cultural Relativism - Essay Example The technological boom, having emerged to satisfy the society's thirst for innovativeness and easier life, deprived the society of its basic functions - live communication, connection with the reality, building relationships; product variety deprived the planet of huge amount of its resources, destroyed natural habitats and left the poor countries unable to meet their basic needs; the U.S. economy actually lost from the consumerism behavior, because as people were becoming "shopaholics" they started to take more and more bank credits as they could not satisfy their previous loans, thus living a life "on credit"; personal happiness became a transitory state of mind. The creation of cell phones, computers, mp3-players, I-pods, the Internet, TV - all of those items changed the lives of our predecessors so much that they lost their sense of reality. The human himself lost his ability to communicate freely and build real social relationships. One started to prefer cell phone calls, virtual chats, I-net calls as they were more convenient. He did not need to travel to meet the person he wanted to talk with. He did not need to sacrifice the cosiness of his own home or office.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Law Suit Recommendation Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law Suit Recommendation Paper - Assignment Example In fact, this organization will easily argue that it steered clear of wrongful dismissal by providing the physician with the 4-month notice. Likewise, termination without cause allows the employer to terminate employment contracts when the organization has ascertained that employee’s services have become redundant. This provision clearly acknowledges the applicability of economic re-organization; and it is indeed true that the concerned department is undergoing some restructuring. The problem with this court approach is that up to now, there are no deliberations on the remittances that are to be made as the physician’s emoluments. So far this termination may be rightly defended as a constructive dismissal, but this failure to pay the physician in advance amounts to wrongful dismissal. This organization may wrongly surmise that it is legally in charge; only to be undercut by the state-specific at-will employment laws. It is therefore expedient for the organization to determine whether or not it is in a state where at-will employment laws are in force, before agreeing for a court settlement. Conversely, this organization can consider arbitration. The pros that come with using arbitration are extraneous to the details of this case. For instance, by settling for arbitration, this organization will have relegated the rigors of arbitration to its arbiter, and thereby warding off distraction (Macklin, 2005). As is always the case, when suing for wrongful termination or discharge, the physician will not be in contact with the institution. Although this makes the case very unpredictable for the healthcare institution, yet arbitration wards off this danger. This is because arbiters (the company’s and the plaintiff’s lawyers) will have to work together to reach a solution. This is especially the case when evidence will be being adduced. Nevertheless, this organization must prepare itself for the pitfalls of

Monday, October 14, 2019

Lord of the Flies Homework Essay Example for Free

Lord of the Flies Homework Essay Piggy is clearly a clever boy, but he is a victim too? How does the writer use him in the novel? Lord of the Flies is about a group of schoolboys stranded on an island. The boys have to fend for themselves and try to get rescued. One of the main characters in the book is Piggy. The second person we find out about on the island is Piggy. We never find out his real name because he was always called Piggy and at the beginning Piggy also says They used to call me Piggy. He said this to Ralph because he trusted him and wanted to build friendship with him. Ralph makes fun of him, which shows the first sign that he is a victim. When Golding first introduces Piggy, he is described as the fat boy, whereas Ralph is described as the fair boy and as an athletic person. This contrast between the two characters makes Piggy seem inadequate in comparison to Ralph. This consequently makes him a likely victim too. It also makes Piggy the most physically vulnerable character because he is overweight and has asthma. Golding uses Piggy as a representative of an adult on the island. Even though at the start he repeatedly talks about his aunt, My auntie told me not to run, which sounds very childish, but as the rules of civilisation fall away from the island, he does not mention his auntie any more. On several places throughout the novel Piggy wonders about what grownups would say. He longs for the order and structure that adults impose. On times when Ralph thinks about what will happen next Piggy says they just have to carry on because that is what grownups would do. When the boys go rushing off to light the fire on the mountain, Piggy describes them as crowd of kids and follows them with the martyred expression of a parent. These examples clearly show that Golding uses Piggy to replace the grownup world. Another example of his maturity is when he wants the shelters to be built, The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach Then when you get here you build a bonfire that isnt no use. Now you been and set the whole island on fire. This shows also that Piggy had common sense by wanting to build the shelters on the beach first, which might be boring, but better than the doing exciting things first like the other boys think. The writer also uses Piggy as a symbol of intelligence and civilisation. This however did not benefit the rest of the boys directly. If this was the case, he probably would not have been victimised at the end. The main reason for this might be that he did not have any leadership qualities, as an obese person, having asthma and wearing glasses would not be able to do certain things. His look did not fit into the profile of a powerful leader and he did not have the charisma a leader needs. Instead of this Piggys intelligence was used and published by Ralph, which left him with nothing to tell the group that they would recognise. This made Piggy even more of a victim because nobody apart from Ralph really noticed Piggys intelligence. Ralph needed Piggy and that is why he was able to notice his intelligence. Piggy was someone who reminded Ralph back to civilisation when his thoughts began to drift away. Piggy knows all sorts of things like at the beginning he finds and also tells Ralph how to use the conch and that it would make a noise, which would then call all the boys together. This also shows his intelligence. The physical appearance of Piggy is his biggest fallback of his ideas he puts into the assemblies. Often his ideas are completely ignored, because nobody recognises how important they might be. Because Piggy is very sensitive too and Jack continuously bullies him, he does not get any respect from the other boys. The fact that Jack is successful in doing this to Piggy, other boys get frustrated and choose to ignore him and follow Jacks influence. Once rules are established, in Piggys eyes, breaking them is unthinkable because he stays civilised throughout the whole novel. On several places in the book he says Ive got the Conch. Let me speak and a lot of referring to the conch because he sees the conch as an important symbol unlike the other boys. Whereas the other boys on the island do not care about rules at all Piggy cares a lot about them. He is unable to adapt the living without law and order and does not comprehend why the other boys can. Piggy gets killed in the end because Jacks tribe gets fed up with Piggy and his importance of the conch and rules. By the treatment of Jacks tribe towards Piggy Golding wants to show that a society also needs a scapegoat. The boys choose Piggy because of his physical appearance and because they do not understand his intelligence and the need of it. By picking Piggy as the scapegoat they make themselves feel better. Jack, who bullies him most, also slaps him on the mountain because he knows that Piggy will not be able to take revenge on him as Piggy is a fat boy having asthma. This makes Piggy a victim too, because it shows that everyone on the island could do anything to Piggy without worrying that he might not revenge. Even the name Piggy makes him a victim. I think Golding called him so because he is the victim of the island. His name is used as he is the prey of the island just like the pigs that are killed for food. This is done to show how society victimises people. In conclusion Piggys character is the symbol of civilisation and intelligence. He mainly becomes a victim because of his physical appearance and his inability to do certain things because of his asthma. I think Golding chose to victimise Piggy because he wanted to make the reader feel sympathy towards a civilised, kind and intelligent character, no matter how his physical appearance is.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Biomechanical Differences: Male and Female Marathon Runner

Biomechanical Differences: Male and Female Marathon Runner More than by brain size or tool-making ability, the human species was set apart from its ancestors by the ability to jog mile after lung-stabbing mile with greater endurance than any other primate. The introductory quotation (Hotz, 2004) simply, yet vividly, expresses the results of a recent study completed by two American scientists, Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman, and released in the journal Nature(2004). Bramble and Lieberman contend that the ability to run long distances was the driving force shaping the modern human anatomy.Hotz’s characterization of early humans as marathon men and women from the tips of their distinctively short toes and long Achilles tendons to the tops of their biomechanically balanced heads (emphasis added) sets the backdrop for this essay—an exploration of the biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners. After a few additional historical comments, this essay opens with a presentation of anatomical differences between men and women with specific reference to running then continues with definitions and descriptions of the term marathon, as a form of organized running sport, and definitions for the term biomechanics in preparation for a discussion of how the field of biomechanics is applied to running. With this information as a foundation, the objective and scope will be articulated followed by presentation of previous methods and findings revealed from a search of the literature on the topic of biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners and closely-related topics. These findings will be discussed and conclusions drawn. Finally, recommendations for further research will be presented. To return briefly to the research findings of Bramble, a paleontologist and biomechanics expert, and Lieberman, a physical anthropologist, to continue setting the backdrop for the essay, Bramble states: Running made us human, at least in an anatomical sense. We think running is one of the most transforming events in human history (Chui, 2004). Endurance running is an activity that is reserved for humans in the primate world and not common in other mammals with the exception of dogs, horses and a few others. Bramble and Lieberman contend that running permitted humans to scavenge and hunt for food over significant distances and that the high protein food they secured was instrumental in developing larger brains (Wilford, 2004). To facilitate running, humans developed several traits including large buttocks with strong muscles which connect the femur to the trunk of the body preventing the body from over-balancing with each step. In addition, humans have a lengthy arm-swinging stride and [l]ong ligaments and tendons—including the Achilles tendon—[which] serve as springs that store and release mechanical energy during running.(Hotz, 2004). Bramble’s reference to today’s running in the evolutionary context he and Lieberman established provides an appropriate introduction to the exploration of the biomechanical differences between male and female marathon runners (Wilford, 2004): Today, endurance running is primarily a form of exercise and recreation, but its roots may be as ancient as the origin of the human genus. The description of anatomical differences between men and women,which is focused on anatomical features that are involved in running,begins with a gender-neutral discussion to establish a foundation for the more gender-specific information. Rossi (2003) emphasizes the complexity of walking, a precursor torunning. He writes that half of the 650 muscles and tendons in thehuman body are involved in what most people consider to be the simpleact of walking. He suggests that, in the evolution of the human body,there were hundreds of adaptations that had to take place,adaptations that required repositioning of everything in the bodyover several million years. Rossi writes: The arms, no longer needed for branch swinging, became shorter, thelegs longer, the pelvis wider, the shoulders narrower, the neck longerand more slender, the spine changed from C-shape to S-shape. Majorchanges were required in the hip, knee and ankle joints. Hundreds ofmuscles, tendons, ligaments and joints gradually shifted in position,size and function. And of course, the new posture and gait requiredimportant changes in the size and position of all the organs of thechest and abdomen. Rossi suggests that some of these changes were extremely significantfrom a biomechanical perspective. For instance, he calls attention tothe blood pumping requirement of the upright human form: Daily in eachindividual, approximately 74,000 quarts of blood must travel through100,000 miles of blood vessels from the brain to the feet and legs in acircular pattern. Rossi emphasizes the human engineering challengethat was required to design a system that would counteract the effectsof gravity in moving blood vertically in this manner. Rossi’s commentsare particularly important in the context of the current discoursebecause they provide some insight into the current state of relevantanatomical features of today’s runners and how those features werederived. The anatomy of humans, unlike that of other living creatures,provides for speed and endurance. The unique characteristics related torunning include (Science in Africa, 2005, citing University of Utah Public Relations, 2004): †¢ Skull features. These features, which include sweating from the scalp and face, cool the blood. †¢ A balanced head. This shape of head with a relatively flat face,small teeth, and short snout moves the center of the mass backwardwhich helps to counter the effects of moving upward and downward duringrunning. †¢ A ligament running from the rear of the skill and neck downward tothe thoracic vertebrae. This feature serves as a shock absorber thataids the arms and shoulders in counterbalancing the head during runningactivity. †¢ Shoulders decoupled from the head and neck. This feature allowsrotation of the body while the head faces forward during running. †¢ A tall body. This feature, which includes a narrow trunk, waistand pelvis, provides for increased skin surface allowing for enhancedbody cooling and permits the upper and lower body segments to moveindependently. †¢ Short forearms. This feature permits the upper body to act as acounterbalance to the lower body during running activity while reducingthe muscle power required for maintaining flexed arms. †¢ Large vertebrae and disks. This feature permits the human back to accepted heavier loads when runners impact the ground. †¢ Large, strong connection between the pelvis and the spine. Thisfeature supports more stability and shock absorbing capacity duringrunning activity. †¢ Large buttocks. This feature, and the muscles that form it,stabilize the body during running activity. The connection of thesemuscles to the femur prevents the body from pitching forward. †¢ Long legs. This feature allows humans to take large strides duringrunning activity. The tendons and ligaments permit the legs to belighter and less muscular thereby requiring a smaller amount of energyto propel them while running. †¢ Large hip, knee, and ankle joint surface areas. These featuresprovide enhanced shock absorption by reducing the impact in any onespecific area. †¢ Arrangement of bones in the foot. This feature provides for a morerigid foot by creating a stable arch, allowing runners to push off in amore efficient manner and to use ligaments located on the bottom of thefeet as springs. †¢ Large heel bone, short toes, and a big toe. These features providefor enhanced shock absorption and increased capacity to push off duringrunning activity. With the running-related anatomical features applicable to allhumans as a foundation, the focus now turns to the differences inanatomical features between men and women, specifically those featuresthat are involved in running activity. Holschen (2004) writes that,until puberty, males and females are equal in terms of strength,aerobic power, heart size, and weight; they also have similar amountsof body fat. Starting at puberty, according to Holschen (2004), male and female sexhormones begin affecting bone and lean body mass, circulation, andmetabolism in different ways. A female typically has a wider pelvis,femoral anteversion (inward twisting of the femur), genu valgum (kneestouch but ankles are separated), and external tibial torsion (feet donot line up in a straight manner because of out-toeing from outwardrotation of the large calf bone). Center of gravity differences betweenmen and women are minimal, correlating more by body type and heightthan with gender. (Atwater, 1985, cited in Holschen, 2004). Whencompared with males, females typically have smaller bones accompaniedby smaller articular surfaces. They also have proportionately shorterlegs with resulting decreased potential force in certain maneuvers.(Holschen, 2004). At puberty, girls gain both fat and lean muscle mass due to theinfluence of female hormones; boys lose body fat and add muscle massdue to the influence of male hormones (Holschen, 2004). Women inadulthood have about ten percent more body fat than do their malecounterparts (Greydanus, D. and Patel, D., 2002, cited in Holschen,2004). The basal metabolic rate is approximately ten percent lower inwomen than in men. The presence of female hormones mandates that womenrely more on fat metabolism at any given exercise level when comparedto men. In addition, glycogen uptake, storage, and use are increased.(Holschen, 2004, citing Bonekat, H. W. et al., 1987; Dombovy, M. L. etal., 1987; Frankovich, R. J. and Lebrun, C. M., 2000; Nicklas, B. J. etal., 1989; Tarnopolsky, L. J., 1990) Cureton and associates (1988,cited in Holschen, 2004) attribute the differences in muscle strengthbetween men and woman to skeletal and cardiac muscular hypertrophy andmuscle mass percentage; they contend that muscle mass in men is fortypercent compared to twenty-three percent in women. Changes in body composition and circulatory capacity beginning atpuberty result in approximately twenty percent highercardio-respiratory capacity in men. Men also have comparatively higheroxygen-carrying capacity, larger heart and lung mass, a higher strokevolume, and higher maximal cardiac output which result in greatereffectiveness in aerobic and anaerobic activities, although trainingcan overcome the inherent differences (Williford, H. N. et al., 1993,cited in Holschen, 2004). The results of the current research point to fundamental anatomicaldifferences between men and woman, differences that largely begin toappear during puberty and which have some bearing on runningcapability. The term running can be defined as [moving] swiftly on foot sothat both feet leave the ground during each stride (American HeritageDictionary of the English Language, 2000). The research by Bramble andLieberman (2004, cited in Nature, 2004), which was presented earlier,seems to indicate that running has been part of human existence sinceits beginnings and, in fact, contributed significantly to developmentof human life today. Humans no longer require running for survival, atleast in their normal affairs; that is, typically, humans do not haveto run from danger or run in pursuit of animals to kill for food. Inmodern times, running has taken on a new form—competition foot racing.This competition racing can be against oneself to achieve one’s ownpersonal best or with others. Racing against others can take manyforms ranging from informal competitions between two young friendsracing against one another on a playground to very formal competitionssuch as those in the quadrennia l Olympics. The more formal runningcompetitions are typically classified by the length of the run: 100,200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, and 10000 meters as well as marathons(Dollman, 2003). There are many terms that refer to specific forms of foot racing: run,dash, sprint, relay, meet, competitive trial of speed, footrace, andmarathon (Webster’s New World Thesaurus, 1997). Of these, the termsdash and sprint are typically used interchangeably to describe ashort, fast run or race (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1988) or ashort, swift movement (Webster’s New World Thesaurus, 1997). Organizeddashes and sprints are commonly of 50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters,50 yards, 100 yards, and 200 yards in length (Webster’s New WorldThesaurus, 1997). Marathons are a form of long-distance running, whichare on- and off-the-track competitions of more than 3000 meters (Hlus,1997). Specifically, a marathon is a footrace of 42 kilometers, 195meters (26 miles, 385 yards) run over an open course, or anylong-distance or endurance contest People who compete in marathons arecalled marathoners (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1998).Physiologically, there is a fundamental difference between a sprint ordash and a marathon. According to Pritchard (1994), A sprinter canexert maximum force throughout the run, but this is not possible forlonger runs, where propulsive force must be reduced to match energyavailability. Historically, marathons are not new events. According to legend, thename marathon is derived from the Greek city, Marathon, to commemoratePheidippides’s run from that city to Athens to announce Greek victoryover the Persians. The marathon was introduced to the Olympics in 1896and today’s official distance was established in 1908. (Hlus, 1997; TheColumbia Encyclopedia, 2005) Today, in addition to marathon races inthe Olympics, many cities throughout the world serve as sites forannual or other periodic marathons (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2005). A new form of marathon race has recently taken form—the ultramarathon,which is any organized footrace extending beyond the standard marathonrunning distance of 42 kilometers, 195 meters†¦[they] typically begin at 50 kilometers and extend to enormous distances (Blaikie, n. d.).Standard distances for ultramarathons are 50 and 100 kilometers and 50and 100 miles (Meyers, 2002) with the longest certified race being theSri Chinmoy, a 2092 kilometer race held annually in New York (Blaikie,n. d.). The research produced numerous and varied definitions for the termbiomechanics. The following are representative of the findings: †¢ The study of the mechanics of a living body, especially of theforces exerted by muscles and gravity on the skeletal structure. (TheAmerican Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000). †¢ [The] application of mechanical engineering principles andtechniques in the field of medicine and surgery, studying naturalstructures to improve those produced by humans (The HutchinsonEncyclopedia, 2003). †¢ [A] science examining the forces acting upon and within a biologicalstructure, and the effects produced by those forces (The University ofCalgary, n. d.). †¢ [T]he science that deals with forces and their effects, applied to biological systems (Freivalds, 2004). †¢ [T]he application of the principles and techniques of mechanics to the human body in motion (Snowden, 2001). †¢ Biomechanics is a specific field which evaluates the motion of aliving organism†¦and the actions of forces on that organism†¦acombination of several different areas of study [including] anatomy andphysiology, kinematics (the study of motion without regard to itscauses), kinesiology (the study of human movement) and kinetics (thestudy of forces acting on a system) (National Endurance SportsTrainers Association, 2005). In furnishing a definition for biomechanics, the Quintic ConsultancyLtd. (2005) provides some additional insight into the origin anddetails of the term, stating that the name is derived from the Greekbios meaning life and mekhaniki meaning mechanics, adding that theseindividual terms are combined to mean the mechanics of life forms.The biomechanics discipline includes research into various life formsincluding plants, insects, reptiles, birds, fish, humans, and others.Within the human specialty, topics include mechanics of bone, tooth,muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage, skin, prostheses, blood flow, airflow, eye movement, joint movement [and] whole body movement (TheQuintic Consultancy Ltd., 2005). Historically, according to Knudson (2003), the study of humanbiomechanics has alternated between emphasizing each of its twocomponents—the biological and the mechanical. Atwater (1980, cited inKnudson, 2003) claims that, during the first half of the twentiethcentury, scholars emphasized medicine and anatomy under the termkinesiology. The distinct field of biomechanics was born from the workof biomechanists in the 1960s and 1970s. From that point the fieldbegan to emphasize mechanics over biology. Today, the competing forcesto move the discipline either toward a biological emphasis or toward amechanical emphasis continue (Knudson, 2003). The field of biomechanics, already narrowed in a previous sectionfrom consideration of all life forms to only humans for the purpose ofthis essay, can be focused even further to a sub-field called sportsbiomechanics (The Quintic Consultancy Ltd., 2005): Sports biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics tostudy the effects of various forces on the sports performer. It isconcerned, in particular, with the forces that act on the humanneuromusculoskeletal system, velocities, accelerations, torque,momentum, and inertia. It also considers aspects of the behavior ofsports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athleticperformance or injury prevention. Sports biomechanics can be divided upinto two sections: performance improvement [and] injury prevention. The Australian Sports Commission (n. d.) furnishes additionaldescriptive information on the application of biomechanics to sports,using a term the Commission calls applied sports biomechanics whichincorporates techniques from physics, human anatomy, mathematics,computing and engineering to analyse technique to prevent injury andimprove performance. The Commission’s division of sports biomechanicsinto two categories—performance improvement and injuryprevention—echoes the classifications offered by The QuinticConsultancy Ltd. Williams (2003) describes how biomechanics can help runnerperformance, specifically that of the marathoner. Leading into hisrecommendations, he describes how marathon runners use a simplebiomechanical strategy known as drafting off another runner whenrunning into the wind to reduce the adverse effects of air resistanceand reduce oxygen consumption for the latter part of the race. Hewrites: The goal of the sport biomechanist is to improve movement efficiency,mainly by maximizing propulsive forces and minimizing resistive forces,and thus provide the athlete with a mechanical edge. Using high-speedcinematography, the biomechanist can analyze a runner’s form and detectproblems in running form that may be inefficient, such as overstriding,and that may waste energy. Although most elite and experiencedmarathoners have developed efficient running styles, even a smallimprovement in running efficiency may make a significant differenceover the duration of a marathon. In addition to the strategy of drafting off another runner,Williams offers several other biomechanical strategies includingselecting the proper sportswear (i.e. uniform and shoes) and optimizingbody weight and composition. Thus far the topics of anatomical differences between men and womenwith specific reference to running; definitions and descriptions of theterms marathon (as an organized, competitive form of running) andbiomechanics; and the application of biomechanics to running have beenpresented and discussed. With this as a foundation, the focus of thediscourse now turns to the topic of biomechanical differences betweenmale and female marathon runners and closely-related topics. The objective of this portion of the essay will be to explore thebiomechanical differences between male and female marathon runnersthrough a review and analysis of selected literature on the topic andrelated issues. The scope of the literature review will include marathon running withspecific reference to available information on the differences betweenmales and females. Although running of shorter distances (e.g. sprintsand dashes) and longer distances (e.g. ultramarathons) as well as othersports activities are excluded from the specific scope of this essay,references will be made to these activities when they related tomarathon running. Performance improvement and injury prevention werementioned as the two primary areas addressed by applied sportsbiomechanics. Gender-specific issues in each of these areas will beexplored briefly as well. REVIEW OF EXISTING RESEARCH ON METHODS AND FINDINGS One researcher who has studied gender differences in enduranceperformance, including marathon running, is Stephen Seiler (1996) ofThe Institute for Sport, Agder College in Kristianstad, Norway. Hewrites: Some years ago it was proposed by some that women wouldactually perform better [than men] at ultra-endurance type activities.This theory has been disproved in the laboratory and in practice. Aslong as women are women, I don’t think they will surpass men, statesNorways perennial marathon winner Grete Waitz (quoted in Holden,2004). The anatomical differences between females and their malecounterparts, specifically those that affect running, were presented inthe introduction. Now an attempt will be made to show that the generalanatomical differences between men and women extend to biomechanicaldifferences that affect marathon running performance and injury. Holschen (2004) writes that [T]he female athlete remains less wellunderstood and less well studied compared with male athletes,especially in the areas of performance factors, repetitive stress, andacute injuries. She continues: Logical reasons for this include: (a)a limited two-generation span of the high-profile elite female; (b)fewer females involved in coaching, research, and sports medicine; and(c) limited areas of female youth sports historically (gymnastics,swimming, dance). The reality of Holschen’s findings proved to be truein the current research activity. There were remarkably few availablesources on the biomechanics involved in women’s marathon running. Mostof the research either applied to males or did not identify the gender.Results from a review of selected research literature will be presentedin this section beginning with gender-differentiated research resultson running performance. Following this, results of research into thetwo applied sports biomechan ics specialties will be presented with afocus on studies concerning footwear and injuries. Holden (2004) writes about performance in running with specialattention to female runners. She quotes physiologist Henrik Larsen ofthe Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre in explaining women’s marathonperformance vis-à  -vis men: Women had not developed long distance;that’s why the improvement is much greater on the marathon. Larsen,who seems to attribute the performance improvements of femalemarathoners to focused training instead of anatomic factors, claimsthat [w]e don’t see any higher oxidative capacity in women. Holdenalso offers comments by exercise physiologist Timothy Noakes of theUniversity of Cape Town, South Africa who agrees with Larsen’sassessment: A smaller body frame gives women an edge on endurance†¦butmen can run 10% faster even when the difference in body size iscontrolled for. Stephen Seiler (1996), who was quoted at the start of this sectionstating that the proposal that women could perform better inultra-endurance activities has been disproved, confirms that there aresome physiological differences between the sexes that impactperformance in females independent of age. He notes that there is aten percent difference in marathon times between men and women, addingthat this difference is the same across the distance runningperformance spectrum. He attributes this difference, not to adifference in training, but to physiological differences. He studiedmaximal oxygen consumption, the lactate threshold, and efficiency toanalyze the differences between men and women as these factors mightaffect long-distance running performance: †¢ Maximal Oxygen Consumption. There is a 43 percent differencebetween men and women with men possessing a VO2 max (oxygen-deliveringcapacity measure) of 3.5 liters per minute and women with a capacity of2.0 liters per minute. Seiler attributes this in part to male size; menare larger. But, even when size is factored in, male oxygen consumptioncapacity is still fifteen to twenty percent higher. Males have agreater capacity to deliver oxygen to their muscles and organs. †¢ The Lactate Threshold. This is the point at which lactic acidbegins to accumulate at higher than normal levels in the blood streamindicating an exercise intensity boundary at which the level ofintensity can be maintained over a long period and that which willresult in quick fatigue. Seiler does not believe that lactatethresholds are different for men and women as a percentage of their VO2max. †¢ Efficiency. After finding conflicting information comparing theefficiency of males and females—revealing that females are lessefficient, more efficient, or the same as males in terms ofefficiency—Seiler believes that differences in efficiency do notaccount for the differences in endurance performance. Seiler concludes with his determination that the ten percentperformance difference between men and women in endurance running canbe attributed to the first of the three physiological factors hestudied—maximal oxygen consumption. Another researcher who explored gender differences in athletics,and especially in endurance events, is Dollman (2003). Citing Shepard(2000), Dollman writes that there is consistent evidence, based onobservations, that males possess larger measures of the following(quoted): †¢ Heart volume, even when corrected for stature. †¢ Haematocrit, which gives males a 13 percent greater oxygen-carrying capacity than females. †¢ Plasma volume. †¢ Total muscle mass, which means that females perform the sameabsolute task at a higher percentage of maximum voluntary contraction,with concomitant vascular impedance limiting cardiac ejection and peakcardiac output. In addition, male skeletal muscles may have a higher succinatedehydrogenase (an integral membrane protein) concentration (Dollman,2003, citing Costill, et al., 1987). Males may produce bettermechanical efficiency during running (Dollman, 2003, citing Miura,1997) although this is arguable as it may be rooted in cultural origins(Dollman, 2003, citing Shepard, 2000). Now attention will turn briefly to a review of selected researchinto the two primary application areas addressed by applied sportsbiomechanics: running performance and injuries. Regarding performance,footwear will be discussed followed by a presentation of selectedfindings on research into injuries. Gender issues will be introduced. Lipsky (2001, citing Hennig, 2001) presented research findings ongender-specific requirements for athletic footwear designed forrunning. The research experiment involved fifteen women and seventeenmen of the same body weights, heights, and ages. Each subject wore thesame shoe size and each tested five types of shoes which included threestyles of men’s shoes and two styles for women. Using Kistler forceplatforms at a set velocity, ground force reactions, tibialacceleration, angular foot motion, and plantar pressures at eightstrategic locations on the foot were measured. According to Lipsky, theexperiment revealed that none of the variables demonstrated asignificant interaction among gender and footwear type meaning, Lipskycontends, that women had the same biomechanical dilemmas in men’sshoes as they did in their own footwear. Despite similarity in thetest subjects’ weight and other factors, men exhibited higher pressurerates in all regions of the foot. Men had sig nificantly higher heelloads, but less midfoot loads, indicating that the arches of women donot support the middle of their feet. According to Lipsky, theseresults support the conclusions that women have a stronger collapse ofthe longitudinal arch†¦during weight bearing and have an increasedtendency of pronation and the smaller amount of pressure to theground. The recommendation from this study is that women should selectrunning shoes that protect against overpronation. This, according toLipsky, will help prevent knee injuries. Bartold (2004) adds to the literature on the differences inrequirements for athletic shoes for men and women. He claims thatrunning footwear is largely designed and manufactured for malerunners, making little recognition that women have significant injuryissues compared to men. Although Bartold acknowledges that reasons forinjuries are not scientifically established, he indicates thatproposals have been made that known differences in structure maypredispose female athletes to differences in running mechanics, andthese differences may lead to specific injuries, continuing by statingthat [a]necdotally, we have excellent evidence [that] the particularbiomechanics of female athletes and the way they run predisposes themto specific injury patterns. With regard to injuries, Parfit (1994) compared running injuries ofmiddle distance runners and marathon runners, concluding that thelatter incur more injuries when compared to the former (approximatelyeighty-two percent for middle distance runners compared to ninety-sevenpercent for marathoners). Acknowledging validity questions due to smallrunner populations studied and lack of injury definitions, Parfit foundthat whilst marathon runners suffered from back problems and hipailments, middle distance runners were more susceptible to kneeproblems, stress fractures, and shin splints. Certain types of knee, shoulder and back injuries are more commonin females and can in part be attributed to differences in body shapeand biomechanics, reports Glasgow, Scotland’s Daily Record (2004).Taunton et al. (2002) found that there were significant differencesbetween running injuries incurred by men and women. According to thisstudy, knee injuries seemed to be the most common injury in both sexeswith men experiencing higher incidences of the following injuries (thefirst percentage shown in parenthesis is for men; the second forwomen): †¢ plantar fasciitis, an injury to the fascia connective tissue on the bottom of the foot (54%/46%); †¢ meniscal injury, a condition in the knee cartilage that acts ascushion between the thigh bone (femur) and shin bone (tibia) (69%/31%); †¢ patellar tendinopathy, a rupture in the tendon that connects the kneecap to the tibia (57%/43%); †¢ Achilles tendinopathy, tendon pain or dysfunction in the muscle that connects the calf to the heel of the foot (58%/42%); †¢ gastrocnemius injury, a condition in the largest, most prominentmuscle in the calf which allows for extending the foot and bending theknee (70%/30%); †¢ adductor injury, a condition, such as a tear, in the muscle in the inner thigh (68%/32%); and †¢ osteoarthritis of the knee, a degenerative joint diseasecharacterized by breakdown of the articular cartilage in the joint(71%/29%). The study by Taunton et al. (2002) revealed that women experiencedhigher incidences of the following running injuries (the firstpercentage shown in parenthesis is for women; the second for men): †¢ PFPS, or patellofemoral pain syndrome, a pain behind the kneesometimes known as runner’s knee (62%/32%, does not add to 100%); †¢ ITBFS, or iliotibial band friction syndrome, a conditioncharacterized by injury to the thick band of fibrous tissue that runsdown the outside of the leg beginning at the hip and extending to theouter side of the shin bone just below the knee joint (62%/32%, doesnot ad