7 Advisories About Abbreviations

7 Advisories About Abbreviations 7 Advisories About Abbreviations 7 Advisories About Abbreviations By Mark Nichol Abbreviations are useful, but they can be wickedly tricky little widgets. Keep these points in mind when you truncate words and phrases: 1. a/an This entry refers not to a or an as abbreviations but to which of the two indefinite articles should precede a given abbreviation. The choice depends not on the first letter of the abbreviation itself but on the sound of the first letter. Therefore, for example, you’d write â€Å"an MD after her name,† rather than â€Å"a MD after her name,† because the first letter in that abbreviation is pronounced â€Å"em† and should therefore be preceded by an. 2. Initials as Adjectives â€Å"I went up to the ATM machine and put in my PIN number to check my IRA account.† And in relating this event, I made three errors. In each case, the last letter of the abbreviation stands for the noun following the abbreviation. This is a job for the Department of Redundancy Department! 3. Metric Abbreviations Abbreviations for metric measurements either immediately follow the associated numeral (100m for â€Å"100-meter dash†) or follow a letter space (â€Å"2.2 kg = 1 lb.†); the latter style prevails especially when, as in the example given here, references to both metric-system and English-system measurements occur. But note the absence of periods following the metric abbreviations. Metric abbreviations are always lowercase with one optional exception: Because of the resemblance of the letter l to the number 1, the abbreviation for liter is often uppercase or italicized, or, when handwritten, styled in cursive writing. 4. Periods In abbreviations, periods are passe. Period. (Except not: e.g., i.e., etc. But mostly, yes.) 5. Plurals Omit apostrophes with plural forms of abbreviations: â€Å"He has two PhDs,† â€Å"It lists various NGOs,† â€Å"They’re all NIMBYs.† Of course, if the style for the publication in question retains periods (but see the previous point), retain the apostrophe as well: â€Å"Several R.N.’s failed the test.† 6. Postal Symbols Postal symbols are a prescribed set of two-letter abbreviations for states that are sometimes used as shorthand in nonpostal applications. In 1963, to make room for an innovation known as the ZIP code (which phrase has its own entry below), the US Postal Service advocated a two-letter form (CA, for example), but many people persist in incorrectly styling such abbreviations uppercase/lowercase (e.g., Ca.) or appending an extraneous period (CA.). 7. ZIP Code Those clever folks at the USPS selected this name to imply that mail would arrive at its destination more speedily if the five-digit code was supplied, but ZIP actually stands for something Zone Improvement Plan so treat it with all caps. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartSelect vs. Selected50 Tips on How to Write Good

How to Study Better in High School 16 Expert Tips

How to Study Better in High School 16 Expert Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Studying is about finding a right balance between concentration, understanding, retention, and rest. And, just like any task that taxes your energy- be it physical or mental- it is often just as difficult to get started as it is to engage in the task itself. But don't despair! Whether you need to study for just one test, or want to learn how to study over the long haul and retain a whole term's worth of information, we've got you covered. We’ll explain exactly how to study better, helping you revamp both your daily and long-termstudy habits and giving you the best study tips for managing your timeand keeping your focus as you actually study. And, once you've mastered thesestudy techniques, we’ll also show you how to prepare yourself for test day so you can do your very best when the chips are down.So let’s get to it! Building Good StudyHabits Again, exerting both mental energy andphysical energy is difficult and many find it tough to keep upover the long term. But a proper approach will helpease the way and keep your studying strong for years to come. To laya healthy study foundation and avoid last minute cramming and undue stress, it's necessary to build (and maintain!) a proper study habit. Just like with exercise, the task will become easier and more manageable the more you are able to get into a routine. And you'll be far less likely to lapse back into bad study habits once you've made studying an intractable part of your daily life. #1: Stick to a Set Schedule Your brain builds pathways and habits over time, and studying is about building thosemental muscles and endurance. Getting into a fixed habit of studying will help you improve your concentration and mental stamina over time. And, just like any other training, your ability to study only improves with time and dedicated effort. There are many activities that are good for us, but that we often- for whatever reason- dread doing. Whether this is exercising, doing chores, or studying, it’s a good idea to set yourself a schedule and stick to it no matter how you’re feeling at the moment.It’s easy to put off these activities for a thousand reasons: you’re busy doing something else, you’re tired, you have a headache, you’re not in the mood.†¦But the more you hold yourself to a set schedule, the more likely you’ll do what you need to do without having to make an endless litany of excuses. Aside from doing homework,set aside a dedicated 50 to 75 minutesto study each day and then stick to your schedule. You'll find the studyrhythmthat works best for you, but do know that you don't necessarily have to sit down and eek out those minutes all at once. You can decide to split the time into smaller segments throughout the day, or, if you work betterat completing tasks and moving on, you can choose to get your studying done all at once. One way to divide your after school study time into segments could be: 4:30 - 5:00 - arrive home, eat a snack, relax 5:00 - 5:30 - first study chunk 5:30 - 6:30 - break/homework/other task 6:30 - 6:45 -second study chunk 6:45 - 7:30 -dinner/assignments/other task 7:30 - 8:00 - final study chunk Or, if you'd rather spend your 50-75 study minutes all at once, then your schedule may look more like: 4:30 - 5:00 - arrive home, eat a snack, relax 5:00 - 6:15-study time 6:15 - rest of evening - dinner, break, homework, other tasks How you create your study schedule is up to you, just so long as you stick to itonce you've made it and don'tdeviate. #2: Schedule Your Studying in SmallerIncrements Over a Long Period of Time By committing50 to 75minutes to studyevery day (and sticking to your schedule!), you'll avoid bothburning out your mental energy and being stuck crammingfor hours and hours at a time the night before a test. Not to say that cramming your material can't occasionally "work." Some people are absolutely able to cram for a test the night before and do well, but studying in this way will only store the information in your short-term memory, not your long-term.This means that, by cramming, you can struggle to stay apprised of the material as the semester progresses (especially in classes where previous information builds on later information, such as in science, math, or history classes). And the long term effect of forcing your brain to cramnecessary information at once will not only makestudying for finals particularly difficult- essentially forcing youto re-learn a semester’s worth of material, rather than being able to simply review it- but making a habit of cramming material at the last minute will only increase your stress and make you feel as though you have to constantly play â€Å"catch-up.† By sticking to a schedule of studying for a reasonable amount of timeover the entire semester or term, you'll be able to better store and recall the information you need, and thereby reduce some of the stress that comes from schoolwork, tests, and studying. Though it may seem rigidnow, a set study structure will make life easier in the long term. Setting the Right Study Environment A proper study schedule is essential, but so is creating the right study environment. Your environment can have a tremendous impact on your concentration and productivity, so figuring out aproper study space will ultimately benefit you and improve your study time. #3: Stick to the Same Study Spaces A stable environment for a particular activitycan help put you in the right mood and mind frameto complete the task at hand. The same applies for engaging in studying. It is helpful to have one or two dedicated locations for schoolwork- separate from any "free time" areas- that you use to study in each and every study session. Sometimes this may not be possible if you live in a small dwellingand don't have access to free public spaces like a library,but do the best you can to find a space you can use solelyfor studying and stick byit. Your studyspace will be individual to you, so don't worry about how other people work best. Some people concentrate their best when surrounded by others, like in a study group or a bustling coffee shop, while some people can only study if they're alone or in a completely silent location. Experiment with different environments and spaces until you find the one you seem to work in best and then stick to it as your dedicated "study zone." #4: Practice Good Study Hygiene Good study hygiene is about retaining a clear separation between work and rest.This allows you to focus on necessary tasks while minimizing stress and anxiety in the rest of your life. We've already talked about keeping a dedicated study space, but now we have tobe sure to keep those areas as "hygienic" as possible. How? By following a few key rules of setting up your study environment: Make Sure That You DON'T Study In or On Your Bed Studying in sleeping areas is the very definition of NOTmaintaininga clear separation between work and rest, and most often leads to increased levels of stress and insomnia. This, in turn, can decrease your concentration and ability to study in the long term. By blurring the lines between study-time and free-time, you'll only createspillover stress for yourself and be stuck in acyclical effect of non-productivity and anxiety. So keep your study location to a desk, a table, or even a couch, so long as you aren't anywhere on your bed. Keep Tantalizing Distractions Far Away It's easy to allow ourselvesto take "a quick break" tocheck our phones, get up and go hunting for a snack, or to let ourselves get caught up searching forirrelevant information on Wikipedia. There are untold distractions all around us that try to lure our concentration away from the task at hand, and giving into temptation can be an awful time suck.The best way to avoid distractionslike these is to remove temptation altogether. Make up a snack for yourself before you start studying so that you're not tempted to get up. Keep your phone far away, and turn off your wifi on your computer if you can. Tell yourself that you can't get up to check on whatever has you distracted until your allotted study time is up.Whatever has you distracted can wait until your study time is over. Keep Yourself Comfortable, Hydrated, and Fed Taking care of your body's basic needs will not onlyhelp toimprove your mood and concentration while you study, but it will also helpmake sure youavoid needing to get up (and therebylose your focus) during your study time. So make sure you takewater, a jacket, a snack, coffee, or whatever else you need to your study space so that you can be comfortable, focused, and ready to learn. VaryingYour Study Methods There are many different ways to study, and none is exclusively better than any other. In fact,diversifying your study techniques, andusing a mix of multiple different study methodswill help you learn and store your information better than simply sticking toone. Practicing different study methods and combining different techniques to prevent mental fatigue and keep your brain engaged. And we'll walk through some of the best study techniqueshere. #5: Rewrite or Rephrasethe Materialin Your Own Words It can be easy to get lost in a textbook and look back over a page, only to realize you don't remember what you just read. But luckily, that can be remedied. For classes that require you to read large bodies of text, such ashistory, English, or psychology, make sure tostop periodically as you read. Pause at the end of a paragraph or a section and- without looking!- think about what the text just stated. Re-summarize it in your own words. Now glance back over the material to make sure you summarized the information accurately and remembered the relevant details. Make a mental note of whatever you missed and then move on to the next section. You mayalso want to make a bulleted listof the pertinent information instead of just rephrasing it mentally or aloud. Without looking back down at the textbook, jot down the essentials of the material you just read. Then look over the book to make sure you haven't left out any necessary information. Whether you choose to simply summarizealoud or whether you write your information down, re-wording the text is an invaluable study tool. By rephrasing the text in your own words, you can be sure you're actuallyremembering the information and absorbing its meaning, rather than just rote copying theinfo without trulyunderstanding or retainingit. #6: Teach the Material to Someone Else Teaching someone else is a great way to distill your thoughts and summarize the information you've been studying. And,almost always, teaching someone elseshows you that you’ve learned more about the material than you think! Find a study-buddy, or a patient friend or relative, or even just a figurine or stuffed animal and explain the material to them as if they're hearing about it for the first time. Whether the person you're teaching is real or not, the act of teaching material aloud to another human being requires you to re-frame theinformation in new ways and think more carefully about how all the elements fit together. Andthe act of running through your material this way- especially if you do it aloud- helps you more easily lock it in your mind. #7: Quiz Yourself With Flashcards Making flashcards is an oft-usedstudy tooland for very good reason!Making your own flash cardscannot only help you retain information just through the sheer actof writing it down, but will also help you connect pertinent pieces of information together. So for any subjects in which you must remember theconnections between terms and information, such as formulas, vocabulary, equations, or historicaldates, flashcards are the way to go. To make the best use of your flashcards, use the Leitner Method, so that you don't waste your time studying what you already know. To employ this method, quiz yourself with your flashcards and separate the cards into two different piles. In Pile 1, place the cards you knew andanswered correctly, in Pile 2, place the cardsyou didn’t know the answers to. Now go back through the cards again, butonlystudying the cards from Pile 2 (the "didn't know" pile). Separate these again as you go through them into Pile 1 (know) and Pile 2 (don't know). Repeatthe process of only studying to "don't know" cardsuntil more and more cards can be added to the â€Å"know† pile. Once all the cards are in the â€Å"know† pile, go through the whole pile onceagain to make sure you’ve retained the information on all the cards. #8: Make Your Own Diagrams, Formula Sheets, and Charts Reconstituting information into pictures can help you see and understand the material in new and different ways.For math and science classes, you may want to make yourself a formula sheet in addition to making flashcards. Flashcards will help you to remember each formula in isolation, but making one catch-all formula sheet will give you a handy study reference tool. And making one will, again, help you to retain your information just through the process of writing it down. The bonus is thatif you're more of a visual/picture learner, a formula sheet canhelp you to remember your formulas by recallinghow they're situated with one another. To help you to remember your science processes, createyour own diagrams.For instance, for a biology class, draw your own cell and labelthe components or make your own Krebscycle diagram. These pictures willtypicallybein your textbooks, so examine the picture you're given andthen create your own diagram without looking at the textbook. See how much you've been able to accurately recreate and then do it again until it's perfect. Sometimes making your own charts and diagrams will mean recreating the ones in your textbookfrom memory, and sometimes it will mean putting different pieces of information together yourself. Whatever the diagram type and whatever the class, writing your information down and making pictures out of itwill help to lock the material in your mind. #9: Give Yourself Rewards To make studying a little more fun, give yourself a small reward whenever you hit a study milestone. For instance,let yourselfeat a piece of candy for every 25flash cards you test yourself on or for every three paragraphs you read (and re-word) in your textbook. Or perhapsgive yourself one extra minuteof video gameor television-watching time for every page you study from your book(to be redeemedonly after your study time is over, of course). Whatever your particular incentive is, letyourself havethatsmall reward-boost tohelp see you throughthe days whenstudying seems particularly taxing. You can even make yourself a Study Reward Diagram: studying input - candy reward - energy boost - more studying - more candy! Making the Most ofYour Study Time Whether you're studying for a particular test or studying to keep yourself apprised of the class material all throughout the term, you'll want to make the most of your allotted daily study time. After all, there's no use setting aside and committing to your 50-75 minutes a day to study if the time is ultimately unproductive. So make the best of each study session by following these study tipsfor concentration and memory retention. #10: Study New Material Within 24 Hours In order to maintain your knowledge of the class material throughout the term, make life easier on yourself by reviewing any new information you learn onthe same day you learned it. Reviewing new material within 24 hours will help you to retain much more of what you learned than if you were to review the same information at a later date. So make sure todedicate a portion of each study time to reviewing the information you learned thatsame day in your classes. School bombards you withnew material each and every day. And even if you’re interested in the new material as you’re learning it, it’s all too easy to let anything new slip away when you have so much else to think about. Butonce the information has been pushed to the back burnerof your mind, your brain will generally discard it rather than storing it into your long term memory. To combat this â€Å"curve of forgetting,† make a habit of taking notes in class and then reviewing the material that very same night.This will help lock the information into your long-term memory and serve you well in the future. Just a few minutes in the here and now will save you hours of having to relearn the material at a later date. #: Use the Pomodoro Technique to Retain Focus Everyone loses their concentration from time to time. But, luckily for us, there are time management techniques that can help keep up mentalenergy and productivity, such as the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method for increased focus and concentration, which makes it ideal for tackling studying and homework. The principle behind the technique is to divvy up your focus and break times into set regimes so that your mind remains sharp and attuned tothe task at hand, without giving into fatigue or distraction. The method is to divide your focus time (â€Å"pomodoros†) into 25 minute blocks dedicated to a task. And every time you feel your focus drifting, write down what had you distracted,put it aside, and don't give into the temptation to lose focus. (For instance, if you feel compelled to look at your email or look up what year your favorite movie came out, mark down â€Å"check email† or â€Å"look up favorite movie† and then return to your original task.) This will allow you to acknowledge the distraction and return to it later without having it derail your study time now. After every 25 minute block of time is complete, give yourself a check mark and allow yourself a 5 minute break. (A good time to check thatemail!)Onceyou’ve reachedthe fourth check mark (100 minutes of focus and 15 minutes of break), take a 20 minute break. Then begin the cycle again. By balancing up your time and energy between designated periods of focus and rest, you’ll be able to tackle studying your topic at hand without mental fatigue and burnout (which can easily occur if you try to marathon your way through a study session) and without losing focus (which can happen if you find yourself taking a break that lasts...indefinitely). To help visualize this technique in action, let's look at it setout in an example schedule: 5:00 - 5:25 - first pomodoro 5:25 - 5:30 - short break 5:30 - 5:55 - second pomodoro 5:55: - 6:00 - short break 6:00 - 6:25 - third pomodoro 6:25 - 6:30 - short break 6:30 - 6:55 - fourth pomodoro 6:55 - 7:15 - long break #12: Know When to Move On There will always come a point in your studies where you need to simply put down the bookand move on.As always, life is about balance, and eventually you’ll start to see diminishing returns on your study efforts if you try to spend too much time on one particular topic/class/chapter. At some point, your time will be better spent studying for other classes, or engaging inan alternatetype of study task. Don't stopyour studying earlier than your scheduledtime, but turn your focus to a different study topic or switch your attentionfrom quizzing yourself with flashcards to making a diagram instead. It’s not always easy to see, but you’ll get better and better at realizing when you’ve hit this stopping point (and not the point five minutes into studying when you’re bored) and are no longer retaining focus or information. It may take time, but you'll get there. Your brain is capable of great things, but even it has its limits. And learninghow to maximize your time and energy will keep you from pushing those limits. Preparing for Test Day When you're preparingfor a test, the actual studying part is only half the battle. The other half comes from being well prepared to actually take the test and giving it your best possible effort. And these techniques will help you get there. #13: Get Enough Sleep The absolute, number one, most important way you can prepare yourself for a test is to sleep the night before. Getting a good night’s sleep before a test (and preferably every night) is absolutely paramount. Sleep increases focus and concentration. The effects of not sleeping are much like being under the influence of alcohol. No matter how well you know the material, taking a test sleep deprived will do you no favors. A regular sleep schedule is preferable and will do wonders for your overall health, happiness, concentration, and memory. But even if you can't sleep, just closing your eyes and relaxingwill help. So if you find yourself grappling withinsomnia, let yourself relax in the dark and in your bed instead of whittling away the hours some other way. #14: Pack Your Gear the Night Before the Test Whatever it is you need to have, make sure to pack it up the night before. This will help you relax and sleep and will insure you don't leave anything crucial behind in your morning rush out the door. So pack your pencils, your calculator, and scratch paper. Even lay out your clothes for the next day. Prepare whatever you need to so that you can reduce your stress and help you rest the night before your exam. #15: Eat Something Just like with sleeping, making sure to eatsomething the morning of atest will help you concentrate and focus throughout the day. Anything is better than nothing, but try to eat something that will keep you full and provide you with some protein and carbohydrates. Whole grains, fruit, and eggs are generally a good bet, but pretty much anything will do in a pinch so long as you get some calories in you (and so long as it isn't pure sugar and caffeine!). #16: Take a Walk Exercising, even just a little bit, will help boost your mood, energy, and concentration.If possible, take a walk or do some quick cardio exercises (such as jumping jacks) for ten to twenty minutes before an exam. Now you're ready to rock that test- go get it! ...And then take a nap when you're done. The Take-Aways: How to Study Better Being able to study and study well is a skill and a habit that's built like any other. It takes preparation, time, and diligence to see it through, but once the habit is established, it will simply becomea part of yourdaily routine. To maintain the proper balance of leisure and work (and, most importantly, avoid burnout and excessive stress), it’s best to stick to schedules and divvy up your time and energy over long periods of time. And remember to use that allottedtime wisely once you're in the middle of it. Of course an ideal scheduleisn’t always realistic and there will still be those days you have to cram for whatever reason. But incorporating healthier time management and study methods will benefit you in the long-term and serve you well not only in high school, but in college, in the workplace, and for whatever other task you set your mind to in the future. Just take it one step at a time and you'll be amazed at the final results. What's Next? Now that you've tackled how to study better, make sure you actually get that studying done by learninghow to overcome procrastination. Unsure about how your GPA ranks with your top school choices? Learn what GPA you need to get into the school you want and how much your GPA matters for college applications. Studying for the SAT or ACT? Check outsome of our expert guides, starting with how to get a perfect score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Literature review (Analysis and design of Steel lattice

(Analysis and design of Steel lattice telecommunication tower - Literature review Example â€Å"In the very beginning, more than 100 years ago, the first steel lattice towers for telecommunications were produced of flat-sided profiles like the angular profiles since it was easy to produce and... assemble† (Packer and Willibald, 2006, 45). Since the phone was invented in the 1870s, with the twang on June 2, 1875 and the famous â€Å"Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you† issued on March 10, 1876, this means that steel lattice towers have been used almost since the start of modern telecommunications, only thirty years or so after the invention of the phone (Bellis, 2011). The early steel lattice telecommunications towers were things of pure efficiency, designed purely for cost-saving and speed (Smith, 2007, 75). Transmission lines make any cost-saving useful because the line requires numerous standardized elements, so the steel lattice towers were often used as a line to run cable (Smith, 2007, 75). However, even in the earliest days of steel lattice constr uction, extensive testing was used, with testing stations pushing the towers to the point of destruction (Smith, 2007, 75). This helped lead to design curves on angle sections. Early towers were far from precarious, but were vulnerable to wind stress. Modern free-standing steel lattice towers have tended to adopt a tubular profile design because of wind stress and material costs, particularly in Northern Europe (Packer and Willibald, 2006, 45). They tend to â€Å"vary in face width from top to bottom† and use different bracing patterns (Smith, 2007, 75). Heights have varied from a mere 10 meters to 200 meters. Steel lattice towers are one of the more common low-lying telecommunication towers design, eclipsing guyed masts until around 150 meters (Smith, 2007, 75). This is because, below 150 meters, the cost â€Å"increases more rapidly with height† since there is a large ratio of height to base width which guyed towers do not need (Smith, 2007, 75). Modern steel free-st anding lattice towers have fallen out of favor in developed countries because of environmental impacts (Urbano, 2001). â€Å"Currently available design solutions with acceptable appearance are not employed in the developing countries, mainly for cost reasons. In the developing countries the use of the traditional lattice transmission towers will continue employing steel angles† (Urbano, 2001, 36). This is not to say they are not in use, but that other alternatives, particularly concrete, have pushed them out of the way. Currently, the tallest free-standing steel lattice construction in the world is the Kiev TV Tower, which was built in 1974 while the Iron Curtain was in full force (Construction Week, 2010). â€Å"The tower weighs 2,700 tons and is unique in the fact that no mechanical fasteners were used in its construction†; every single piece is welded together (Construction Week, 2010). The tower rests on a 100 meter four-legged base, after which is the microwave tr ansmission equipment; at 200 meters, TV and FM transmitting equipment begins. Ironically, the Kiev TV Tower could have been even larger, but it was decided not to be placed in Moscow, and the Moscow tower uses prestressed concrete, though it remains free-standing (Construction Week, 2010). The Kiev tower would have been 30% larger had it been built in Moscow. Another classic of steel lattice design is the

Domination of Anglo-Saxon Corporations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Domination of Anglo-Saxon Corporations - Essay Example The elections in Germany in 2005 focused greatly on the role of corporations in the modern economy, and the change of governments marked the start of the embedding of Anglo-Saxon brand of corporate responsibility (Davis 2005). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become the hotbed of debates over the passage of time not only in the US but in many countries of the world as the public has become more aware of the impacts of giant corporations and their dominance of the markets. CSR relates to the notion of the responsibility that the corporations owe to other than their shareholders. Anglo-Saxon corporations have acquired large shares of the market over the period of time, particularly in European nations and in Asia. In these regions, the debates are ensuing between Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism and stakeholder capitalism. Proponents of Anglo-Saxon shareholder capitalism are of the perspective that the companies should only pursue the interests of their shareholders. On the other hand, stakeholder capitalism argues that corporations should also take into account the interests of the local community and their employees (The Economist 2002). The debates have also come to include globalization. It is argued that Anglo-Saxon corporations have used globalization to dominate other social and political institutions to further their own interests. Dr. ...For the most part of the previous century, the Anglo-Saxons have been the major ethnic dominating group. In the modern era, they are the producers of more than one-third of the total economic output all over the world. The Anglo-Saxon countries include the five countries i.e. America, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The countries have gained dominance not only economically but also in the political arena and other aspects of governance such as the army, culture of the country and the moral values. Statistics report that the countries are the producers of US$20 trillion output of a total economic ou tput (GDP) of $58 trillion; the US alone makes an output worth $14 trillion (The Casual Truth 2010). This has contributed greatly in the countries gaining dominance in the financial market (such as through IMF and the World Bank), the oil industry, where six large corporations control a major proportion of the market. The Anglo-Saxons are not a major ethnic group in the world, yet these $14 trillion individuals remain as the some of the richest and powerful consumers of the world (The Casual Truth 2010). The great extent of the power of these corporations has enabled them to become a politically dominant force. The UK and the US are two of the five members of the UN Security Council. If countries want to pass a Bill on climate change, it is likely that there are little chances of the acceptance of the Bill if the US does not agree to it.

Change and the Management of Change Essay Example for Free

Change and the Management of Change Essay Change Management Planning, Implementing, controlling, and reviewing the movement of an organization from its current state to a new one Causes of Change External Incremental (Evolutionary) †¢Occurs slowly over time (fuel-efficient cars) Dramatic (Revolutionary) †¢Can cause many problems especially if unexpected †¢Might lead to total rethink of operation of organization oBusiness Process Re-Engineering Business Process Re-EngineeringFundamentally rethinking and redesigning the processes of a business to achieve a dramatic improvement in performance Globalization-Increasing interdependence for countries’ economies through free trade and multinational company investment †¢New opportunities to sell products in other countries †¢Increased competition from products made more cheaply in other countries-often by multinationals †¢Use either pan-global marketing for localization strategies †¢Achieve and try to maintain a competitive advantage Technological Advances-Leading to new products and new processes †¢Products: new computer games, iPods and iPhones, hybrid-powered cars. †¢Processes: robots in production; computer assisted design (CAD) in design offices and computer systems for stock control. †¢Staff retraining †¢Purchase of new equipment †¢Additions to product portfolio-Other products may be dropped †¢Need for quicker product development which may require new organizational structures and teams Macro-Economic Change- Fiscal Policy, Interest Rates, Business Cycle†¢Changes in consumers’ disposable incomes-and demand patterns that result from this †¢Boom or recession conditions-need for extra capacity or rationalism †¢Need for flexible production systems (staff flexibility) to cope with demand changes †¢Explain need for extra capacity or need to rationalize †¢Deal with staff cutbacks in way that encourages staff who remain to accept change Legal Changes †¢Changes to what can be sold †¢Working hours and conditions †¢Staff training on company policy †¢Flexible working hours and practices Competitors’ Actions †¢New products †¢Lower prices †¢Higher promotional budgets†¢Encourage new ideas from staff †¢Increase efficiency by staff accepting need to change production methods †¢Ensure resources available to meet challenge Environmental Factors †¢Increase green consumerism †¢Increasing concern about industry’s contribution to climate change †¢Social and environmental audits supported by strategic changes (recycle packaging) Internal Organizational Changes †¢Delayering* †¢Matrix structure** replaces hierarchical º †¢Retraining of less senior staff to accept more responsibility †¢Job security †¢Retraining staff in teamwork and project management Relocation †¢Moving operations to another region/country †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Grants for those willing to move Cutting Costs To Improve Competitiveness †¢Capital-intensive rather that labour-intensive methods †¢Rationalisation of operations †¢Retraining staff to operate advanced tech. †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Flexible employment contracts and working practices *DelayeringRemoval of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organizational structure **Matrix StructureAn organizational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional functional departments  ° Level of Hierarchy A stage of the organisational structure at  which the personnel on it have equal status and authority Factors Causing Resistance to Change †¢Fear of Unknown (Uncertainty) †¢Fear of Failure (Skills/Abilities beyond worker’s capabilities) †¢Losing Something of Value (Income, Status, Job Security) †¢False Beliefs (Some convince themselves current system will work to avoid risks) †¢Lack of Trust (Past experiences between workers and managers) †¢Inertia (Might have to work harder) Strategies to Reduce Impact of/Resistance to Change Change Management Force-Field AnalysisAn analytical process used to map the opposing forces within an environment (such as a business) where change is taking place 1.Outline proposal for change 2.List forces for and against change 3.Assign estimated score for each force †¢Weighs importance of forces †¢Helps identify who is most likely impacted by change †¢How to strengthen forces supporting decision and reduce forces against it †¢Can implement leadership style that reduces opposition and resistance to change Project ChampionA person assigned to support and drive a project forward. Their role is to explain the benefits of change and assist and support the team putting change into practice Project GroupsCreated by an organisation to address a problem that requires input from different specialists Promote Change 1.Establish a sense of urgency. 2.Create an effective project team to lead the change. 3.Develop a vision and a strategy for change. 4.Communicate this change vision. 5.Empower people to take action. 6.Generate short-term gains from change that benefit as many people as possible. 7.Consolidate these gains and produce even more change. 8.Build change into the culture of the organisation so that it becomes a natural process.

Essay on Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homers Iliad

Hector as the Ideal Homeric Man of Homer's Iliad        Ã‚  Ã‚   Homer's Iliad enthralls readers with its’ valiant heroes who fight for the glory of Greece. The Iliad, however, is not just a story of war; it is also a story of individuals. Through the characters' words and actions, Homer paints portraits of petulant Achilles and vain Agamemnon, doomed Paris and Helen, loyal Patroclus, tragic Priam, versatile Odysseus, and the whole cast of Gods. Ironically, the most complete character in the epic is Hector, enemy hero, and Prince of Troy. Hector is in many ways the ideal Homeric man: he is a man of compassion and piety, a man of integrity and bravery, a man who loves his family, and above all, a man who understands and fulfills his social obligations under the stringent rules of the heroic code.    Hector, returning to the city from a series of ferocious setbacks at the hands of the Acheans, is introduced as a man of compassion and piety. His behavior as a hero and as a son is markedly different from the behavior exhibited by Agamemnon and Achilles. When he enters the Scaean Gates, he is immediately surrounded by "the wives and daughters of Troy...asking about their sons, brothers, friends and husbands" (VI, 150-151). The very fact that the women approach Hector, intimidating as he must be in his bloodstained armor, is revealing. Up to this point, the women in the story have been silent victims of the raging tempers of the men around them. In contrast, the women of Troy display confidence in Hector's character by approaching him without fear. Though he himself is exhausted and discouraged, Hector patiently responds to the anguished women, demonstrating the compassion he feels for his fighting men and their families. So many ... ...ties serve as a foil against the cruelty, arrogance, and self-indulgence that cripples some of the other heroes in the Iliad. To the Greeks of Homer's time, Hector stands out as a symbol of what might have been... and a model for what could be.    Works Cited and Consulted: Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1981. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York: Orion Press, 1962. Homer: Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Nagy, Gregory. Concepts of the Greek Hero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979. Richardson, Nicholas. The Iliad : A Commentary. Vol. VI: books 21-24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. Segal, Charles. Heroes and Gods in the Odyssey. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.   

Hills Like White Elephants

Everyday people make decisions that affect their future lives. Do people make the right decisions? What makes a decision a right one? What may be right to some, may be wrong to others. There are no right or wrong decisions but those that people choose and believe to be right varying from each individual. In Hemingway's realistic story, Hills Like White Elephants, Jig attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision, but is unable to because of her weak characteristic flaws. Hills Like White Elephants†, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story published in 1927, which is set at a train station in Spain. In this story the reader eavesdrops on a conversation held by â€Å"the American and the girl with him†. Most of the story is predominately dialogue between the two characters. During this conversation, the reader may determine that the couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must make a life-or-death decision on whether the woman should have an abortion. Jig is indecisive about her decision. Even though she realizes the possibilities, she has difficulties letting go of old habits, has a low self-esteem that leads to her being submissive, and puts up a frail fight by hiding her feelings behind her sarcastic comments. Jig faces an immense decision that will change her future. She must choose between the old and the new lifestyle. It is hard for her to let go of old habits that consists of taking no responsibility and the sole intention of seeking pleasure. She must go from a young worry free rebel to a stable adult taking responsibility. It's a hard process since there are three steps to changing: realization, doing the deed, and committing to the change. She definitely realizes she needs to change, but only goes that far. The climax of the story appears when Jig is agitated by their irritating conversation and their romantic relationship. She begins to question about their uncertain future and his true feelings for her. She seems persuaded by the American when she comments on her willingness to do the operation despite her wants and needs because â€Å"she doesn’t care† about herself. At the same time, Jig begins to realize that life may not turn out the way she had planned. She likes to try new things, like the drink, but is often disappointed in the end. She indicates that it is too late for him to make things better. The American believes that Jig is being reasonable for not wanting to having the â€Å"simple† operation done so they can â€Å"be all right and be happyâ€Å" again. He informs her that he has â€Å"known lots of people that have done it† in order to convince her to have the â€Å"awfully simple† operation. He says that the pregnancy is â€Å"the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy. † He sees the whole issue as â€Å"simple† because he does not understand the real problem that is causing the misery. When he finally leaves Jig to get their bags for the train, he observes that the other people are â€Å"waiting reasonably for their train† because in his mind, Jig is the one to blame their troubles because she is â€Å"unreasonably waiting† for a future that he cannot imagine having with her. Ironically, he is unreasonable one because he is the one causing the problems by wanting the abortion. Jig realizes that their withering relationship is not the result of her pregnancy but the result of their failure to understand each other. She realizes that they are incompatible as a couple to have a family together. Even if she does have the abortion, she can no longer stay with him because he can never give her what she longs for. Hemingway leaves the reader wondering about their final destination. He chooses the setting in the valley of the Ebro to symbolize the couple’s situation and options in life. They are on the sunless and barren side of the mountain where they can only see hills that looks like white elephants. At the end of the story, the American remarks â€Å"I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station,† the side where there is growth and life. The train is representative of two different directions if life, however is unclear whether this signifies that the man has changed his mind about the abortion, or that Jig has decided to go through with the operation and leave him so they have to live separate lives. Jig has desires to change and to live a different life because she is aware of it. She is ready and willing to experience a different life while her lover is not. If so many women were to take that to heart. You should not have to chose someone else’s happiness over your own. We set our paths and no one should think that they have te right to make your own life decisions. If we make a mistake it is our mistake. Life is to precious to waste. Hills Like White Elephants Everyday people make decisions that affect their future lives. Do people make the right decisions? What makes a decision a right one? What may be right to some, may be wrong to others. There are no right or wrong decisions but those that people choose and believe to be right varying from each individual. In Hemingway's realistic story, Hills Like White Elephants, Jig attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision, but is unable to because of her weak characteristic flaws. Hills Like White Elephants†, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story published in 1927, which is set at a train station in Spain. In this story the reader eavesdrops on a conversation held by â€Å"the American and the girl with him†. Most of the story is predominately dialogue between the two characters. During this conversation, the reader may determine that the couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must make a life-or-death decision on whether the woman should have an abortion. Jig is indecisive about her decision. Even though she realizes the possibilities, she has difficulties letting go of old habits, has a low self-esteem that leads to her being submissive, and puts up a frail fight by hiding her feelings behind her sarcastic comments. Jig faces an immense decision that will change her future. She must choose between the old and the new lifestyle. It is hard for her to let go of old habits that consists of taking no responsibility and the sole intention of seeking pleasure. She must go from a young worry free rebel to a stable adult taking responsibility. It's a hard process since there are three steps to changing: realization, doing the deed, and committing to the change. She definitely realizes she needs to change, but only goes that far. The climax of the story appears when Jig is agitated by their irritating conversation and their romantic relationship. She begins to question about their uncertain future and his true feelings for her. She seems persuaded by the American when she comments on her willingness to do the operation despite her wants and needs because â€Å"she doesn’t care† about herself. At the same time, Jig begins to realize that life may not turn out the way she had planned. She likes to try new things, like the drink, but is often disappointed in the end. She indicates that it is too late for him to make things better. The American believes that Jig is being reasonable for not wanting to having the â€Å"simple† operation done so they can â€Å"be all right and be happyâ€Å" again. He informs her that he has â€Å"known lots of people that have done it† in order to convince her to have the â€Å"awfully simple† operation. He says that the pregnancy is â€Å"the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy. † He sees the whole issue as â€Å"simple† because he does not understand the real problem that is causing the misery. When he finally leaves Jig to get their bags for the train, he observes that the other people are â€Å"waiting reasonably for their train† because in his mind, Jig is the one to blame their troubles because she is â€Å"unreasonably waiting† for a future that he cannot imagine having with her. Ironically, he is unreasonable one because he is the one causing the problems by wanting the abortion. Jig realizes that their withering relationship is not the result of her pregnancy but the result of their failure to understand each other. She realizes that they are incompatible as a couple to have a family together. Even if she does have the abortion, she can no longer stay with him because he can never give her what she longs for. Hemingway leaves the reader wondering about their final destination. He chooses the setting in the valley of the Ebro to symbolize the couple’s situation and options in life. They are on the sunless and barren side of the mountain where they can only see hills that looks like white elephants. At the end of the story, the American remarks â€Å"I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station,† the side where there is growth and life. The train is representative of two different directions if life, however is unclear whether this signifies that the man has changed his mind about the abortion, or that Jig has decided to go through with the operation and leave him so they have to live separate lives. Jig has desires to change and to live a different life because she is aware of it. She is ready and willing to experience a different life while her lover is not. If so many women were to take that to heart. You should not have to chose someone else’s happiness over your own. We set our paths and no one should think that they have te right to make your own life decisions. If we make a mistake it is our mistake. Life is to precious to waste.

Stanford Prison Experiment

The Standford Prison Experiment Introduction Professor Philip Zimbardo led a team of researchers in conducting an experiment on prison life at Standford University in 1971. Zimbardo wanted to test his hypothesis that it was the prisoners and guards inherent personality trait that leads to abusive and violent behavior in the prisons. Twenty-four predominately white male middle class men agreed to participate in a 7-14 day experiment in return for $15. 00 a day, the equivalent of approximately $90. 0 today. The men underwent a diagnostic interview and personality test to unsure that none of the participants suffered from any psychological or medical problems and that there was no history of crime or drug abuse. As simple as flipping a coin the men were divided into two groups, prisoners and guards. The guards were not given any special training or instructions other than they were free, within limits, to do whatever they liked to maintain law and order, while maintaining respect from t he prisoners.The prisoners on the other hand knew they were going to get some harassment, lose some privacy and civil rights and that the food was not going to be gourmet. What happened next, in that secluded basement could not have been for seen by researchers because the experiment was cancelled on day six of a fourteen day experiment. A mock prison was set–up in the basement of the Stanford’s Psychology Department building, where the prisoners were kept in small windowless cells, no clocks and just enough room for 3 prisoners.There was also a room called â€Å"The Hole† that was used for solitary confinement that measured about two feet by two feet and was very dark. Video cameras and intercoms were set up in order to monitor and listen to the discussions of the prisoners. Upon arrival the prisoners were humiliated with a strip search, deloused with a spray, dressed in a numbered uniform of a smock like dress with no under wear and their hair was netted to gi ve the appearance of being shaved.There right ankle was shackled with a heavy chain, that was intended to be a constant reminder that they were imprisoned and that life was oppressive in jail. A brief description of the experiment and its purpose. What was learned through this experiment? After reading this experiment, it may be safe to say, that we all have a dark side depending on the conditions we are exposed to. The experiment showed that the participants easily adapted to their roles that they were playing, beyond the expectations of the researchers.Just like in the movies, participants began to adapt similar attitudes to their characters, stereotypical of a prisoner or guard. It didn’t take longer than 24 hours for the prisoners to rebel and then the anger, abuse of power and domination set in with the guards. The guards began to treat the prisoners with force, stripped some of the prisoners naked, removing their beds from the cell and forcing them to sleep on the cold concrete floor. The ring leader was separated and put into solitary confinement.Day after day the violence and abuse escalated and began to include psychological tactics, like having a privileged cell, where three prisoners were given special treatment of sleeping on beds, eating special food, being allowed to wash and brush their teeth. It was easy to see that it didn’t take long for the participants to lose sight that this was an experiment and not reality. Prisoners had lost their identity, they believed and referred to themselves as their number, that was demonstrated by prisoner #819 who completely believed he was an inmate in a prison.The guards were enjoying the abuse of power, never being late for work and always willing to stay and work over time for no additional pay. The experiment demonstrated that our conditions start to define our identity. Our individuality and morals disappear fast depending on the social conditions. We must be very careful with the people we elect or give power to because we seem to be a Nation of followers and conforsists. What was learned about the disconnect between reality and role-playing?Based on the experiment one could concluded that within 48 hours, depending on the physical and social conditions it is possible for a person to start to lose a sense of reality, the disconnect between reality and role-playing becomes blurred. The experiment began as could be expected on the first day with each participant role-playing based on their beliefs of stereotypes of either a prisoner or guard. Within a very short period of time it quickly elevated to the participants internalizing their behavior and believing the situation to be real, that they were experiencing.What is most alarming is that the first day it was evident that everyone was uncomfortable, unsure of their roles, not taking it too seriously but generally getting a feeling for their role playing. The next morning, 24 hours later, a rebellion broke out with the prisoners. The events that followed next by the guards was extreme, harsh, forceful, degrading and generally not necessary, to control the situation. This could be seen as the turning point in the experiment where the participant’s sense of reality changed. This was no longer an experiment but a real life situation.Evidence of disconnect from reality by the prisoners: * Prisoners passively accepted the psychological torture and followed the instructions from the guards to harass other inmates * Prisoner #5401 fell so deeply into the role he believed and was proud of his elected leadership for Standford County Jail Grievance Committee * Prisoner #8612 suffered acute emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, continuous crying and out of control rage, with 36 hours of the experiment beginning * Prisoner #819 became sick, would not eat, cried uncontrollably and was convinced he was a prisoner and was not getting out * Prisoner #416 identified himself as #416 and not Clay, he believed he was in a real prison run by psychologists, not the state * During the simulated parole hearing, prisoners said they would forfeit their pay of $15/day in order to be paroled Evidence of disconnect from reality by the guards: Guards viewed the prisoners as troublemakers, even believing they would do them harm * Guards controlled when the prisoners were allowed to use the washroom, let sanitary conditions become unbearable by making prisoners urinate and defecate in a bucket that was left in the cell to rot and smell * Day after day the guards escalated there harassment, humiliation and violence to the prisoners, making them clean toilet bowls with their bare hands and making them do push-ups for hours at a time * Guards degraded the prisons by stripping them naked and demanded total obedience through physical and psychological manipulation One can only conclude that a total disconnect between reality and role-playing took place in this experiment. Why did no one ask to q uit the experiment? Simply put, it was no longer an experiment, this was very real, the prisoners were experiencing pathological disorders and the guards were growing more sadistic, with each passing day. What about peer pressure and its role in controlling behavior? All participants both prisoners and guards experienced peer pressure, that controlled their behavior and altered their moral beliefs.The experiment began by defining the two different groups with a uniform that eliminated or minimized each person’s individual identity and associated them with a group. Guards wore identical khaki uniforms with sunglasses and carried a billy club. Prisoners wore a smock, no under, # id, chains around their right ankle and a nylon net on their heads. When the first rebellion started, 24 hours into the experiment, the morning shift of guards blamed the night shift guards of being too lenient on the prisoners. The guards called in extra help, united they worked to control the situatio n with brutal force and the night time shift even volunteered to remain on duty, that day. The guards now had a common goal to control and intimidate the prisoners through psychological and physical punishment.Peer pressure to keep the prisoners in line was evident by the increasing daily assertive violence. The â€Å"privilege cell† was a way for the guards to control the behavior of the prisoners. The three best behaved prisoners would be separated and given special privileges to break the solidarity of the prisoners. If a prisoner agreed to be an informant they could also receive special treatment but they had to be careful that none of the other prisoners found out because they would not be trusted anymore. Together the prisoners worked to rebel and in turn this created greater solidarity between the guards. What was learned about prison culture? The experiment demonstrated how prison life can change an individual quiet quickly.Prisoners experience a great deal of emotion al pain and suffering that can produce physical illnesses like rashes and hives and also psychological effects like uncontrolled crying, rage and disorientation. Guards on the other hand enjoyed their authority and the power they had over another individual. The guards were identified into three different categories. * Tough but fair guard who followed the rules by the book * â€Å"Good guy† guard who made life a little easier, did special favors for the prisoners and never punished them * One third of the guards were evil, sadistic, hostile men who enjoyed humiliating the prisoners After six days the experiment was cancelled when researchers observed that the guards were thoroughly enjoying the power and humiliation they were enforcing on he prisoners and that the suffering inmates were individually and as a group, disintegrated. An example of the disintegration was when the prisoners elected not to give up their blankets to get prisoner #416 out of solitary confinement but chose to leave him their all night. In the end, humanity did not win over evil but evil triumph. What sort of conclusion might be drawn from the results of this study and what are the implications of these conclusions for our prison system and for society in general? Based on how the experiment was conducted, not as much information was gathered to test the original hypothesis as was gathered on how not to conduct an experiment.The experiment failed to be completed when 2 prisoners had to be released early and the entire experiment was cancelled prematurely after six days of the original fourteen day experiment. Within this short period of time enough information was gathered to show how quickly the participants adapted to their roles and how fast the disconnect between reality and role-playing took. The experiment was successful in demonstrating how the power of authority can easily be abused and taken too far. It was interesting to note that the prisoners thought that the subjects were divided up between prisoners and guards based on their size and that the guards were larger, when in fact there was no difference in the average height of the two groups.Another example that we assume people in powerful positions are smarter, larger, more worthy, more deserving of that role, than ourselves. The most alarming fact was the Zimbardo, the leading researcher took a role in the experiment as the superintendent of the prison. He allowed himself to role play, get emotionally involved and allowed abusive behavior to continue during the experiment. On the day he thought a mass escape plot was being planned, Zimbardo was so involved strategizing how to stop it, that no information was observed or gathered that day. The results from the study were mainly subjective. Little or no information was concluded from this study because still to this day, similar behaviors took place with prisoners from Iraqi who were being held at Abu Ghraib.US soldiers abused, stripped and sexua lly humiliated prisoners, took pictures and posted them on the internet. An analysis of the ethics of the experiment. Was this study ethical? The Standford prison experiment was not ethical. All of the participants had signed a consent form to take part in the study but the consent form was deceiving and did not include some of the details of the study and what was going to be expected of the participants. The experiment began with a huge invasion of privacy when the participants were surprised at their homes by local police, arrested, handcuffed and put in a police cruiser while neighbors looked on. Next the prisoner were strip searched without consent which is a hug violation of a man’s rights.All participants were put under a great deal of stress, exposed to psychological and physical harm and the prisoners were beaten and humiliated. Was it right to subject these subjects to this kind of suffering in exchange for the information that was gained? Christine Maslach, a Stanf ord Ph. D student that was brought in to interview the prisoners and guards should be credited for being the only person of more than fifty highly educated individuals that was taking part in the study, who had the strength to speak up and question the morality of this experiment. What was supposed to be a safe controlled environment to conduct the experiment became increasingly dangerous, when peer pressure from the researchers and observers made it difficult to stop the experiment.These participants endured unnecessary pain and suffering that lasted well after the experiment was over. The information that was gathered could easily have been complied through observations in real prisons. Conclusion In conclusion the Standford prison experiment demonstrated how prisons are set up to dehumanize the incoming prisoners, degrade them and instill in them a feeling of hopelessness. One can only question our human integrity when at the end of the experiment, the guards who were inflicting pain and suffering on their fellow participants who were prisoners, were upset that the experiment was cancelled prematurely. We must find a way to rehabilitate our prisoners and create positive human values in them rather than to destroy them. Stanford Prison Experiment The Standford Prison Experiment Introduction Professor Philip Zimbardo led a team of researchers in conducting an experiment on prison life at Standford University in 1971. Zimbardo wanted to test his hypothesis that it was the prisoners and guards inherent personality trait that leads to abusive and violent behavior in the prisons. Twenty-four predominately white male middle class men agreed to participate in a 7-14 day experiment in return for $15. 00 a day, the equivalent of approximately $90. 0 today. The men underwent a diagnostic interview and personality test to unsure that none of the participants suffered from any psychological or medical problems and that there was no history of crime or drug abuse. As simple as flipping a coin the men were divided into two groups, prisoners and guards. The guards were not given any special training or instructions other than they were free, within limits, to do whatever they liked to maintain law and order, while maintaining respect from t he prisoners.The prisoners on the other hand knew they were going to get some harassment, lose some privacy and civil rights and that the food was not going to be gourmet. What happened next, in that secluded basement could not have been for seen by researchers because the experiment was cancelled on day six of a fourteen day experiment. A mock prison was set–up in the basement of the Stanford’s Psychology Department building, where the prisoners were kept in small windowless cells, no clocks and just enough room for 3 prisoners.There was also a room called â€Å"The Hole† that was used for solitary confinement that measured about two feet by two feet and was very dark. Video cameras and intercoms were set up in order to monitor and listen to the discussions of the prisoners. Upon arrival the prisoners were humiliated with a strip search, deloused with a spray, dressed in a numbered uniform of a smock like dress with no under wear and their hair was netted to gi ve the appearance of being shaved.There right ankle was shackled with a heavy chain, that was intended to be a constant reminder that they were imprisoned and that life was oppressive in jail. A brief description of the experiment and its purpose. What was learned through this experiment? After reading this experiment, it may be safe to say, that we all have a dark side depending on the conditions we are exposed to. The experiment showed that the participants easily adapted to their roles that they were playing, beyond the expectations of the researchers.Just like in the movies, participants began to adapt similar attitudes to their characters, stereotypical of a prisoner or guard. It didn’t take longer than 24 hours for the prisoners to rebel and then the anger, abuse of power and domination set in with the guards. The guards began to treat the prisoners with force, stripped some of the prisoners naked, removing their beds from the cell and forcing them to sleep on the cold concrete floor. The ring leader was separated and put into solitary confinement.Day after day the violence and abuse escalated and began to include psychological tactics, like having a privileged cell, where three prisoners were given special treatment of sleeping on beds, eating special food, being allowed to wash and brush their teeth. It was easy to see that it didn’t take long for the participants to lose sight that this was an experiment and not reality. Prisoners had lost their identity, they believed and referred to themselves as their number, that was demonstrated by prisoner #819 who completely believed he was an inmate in a prison.The guards were enjoying the abuse of power, never being late for work and always willing to stay and work over time for no additional pay. The experiment demonstrated that our conditions start to define our identity. Our individuality and morals disappear fast depending on the social conditions. We must be very careful with the people we elect or give power to because we seem to be a Nation of followers and conforsists. What was learned about the disconnect between reality and role-playing?Based on the experiment one could concluded that within 48 hours, depending on the physical and social conditions it is possible for a person to start to lose a sense of reality, the disconnect between reality and role-playing becomes blurred. The experiment began as could be expected on the first day with each participant role-playing based on their beliefs of stereotypes of either a prisoner or guard. Within a very short period of time it quickly elevated to the participants internalizing their behavior and believing the situation to be real, that they were experiencing.What is most alarming is that the first day it was evident that everyone was uncomfortable, unsure of their roles, not taking it too seriously but generally getting a feeling for their role playing. The next morning, 24 hours later, a rebellion broke out with the prisoners. The events that followed next by the guards was extreme, harsh, forceful, degrading and generally not necessary, to control the situation. This could be seen as the turning point in the experiment where the participant’s sense of reality changed. This was no longer an experiment but a real life situation.Evidence of disconnect from reality by the prisoners: * Prisoners passively accepted the psychological torture and followed the instructions from the guards to harass other inmates * Prisoner #5401 fell so deeply into the role he believed and was proud of his elected leadership for Standford County Jail Grievance Committee * Prisoner #8612 suffered acute emotional disturbance, disorganized thinking, continuous crying and out of control rage, with 36 hours of the experiment beginning * Prisoner #819 became sick, would not eat, cried uncontrollably and was convinced he was a prisoner and was not getting out * Prisoner #416 identified himself as #416 and not Clay, he believed he was in a real prison run by psychologists, not the state * During the simulated parole hearing, prisoners said they would forfeit their pay of $15/day in order to be paroled Evidence of disconnect from reality by the guards: Guards viewed the prisoners as troublemakers, even believing they would do them harm * Guards controlled when the prisoners were allowed to use the washroom, let sanitary conditions become unbearable by making prisoners urinate and defecate in a bucket that was left in the cell to rot and smell * Day after day the guards escalated there harassment, humiliation and violence to the prisoners, making them clean toilet bowls with their bare hands and making them do push-ups for hours at a time * Guards degraded the prisons by stripping them naked and demanded total obedience through physical and psychological manipulation One can only conclude that a total disconnect between reality and role-playing took place in this experiment. Why did no one ask to q uit the experiment? Simply put, it was no longer an experiment, this was very real, the prisoners were experiencing pathological disorders and the guards were growing more sadistic, with each passing day. What about peer pressure and its role in controlling behavior? All participants both prisoners and guards experienced peer pressure, that controlled their behavior and altered their moral beliefs.The experiment began by defining the two different groups with a uniform that eliminated or minimized each person’s individual identity and associated them with a group. Guards wore identical khaki uniforms with sunglasses and carried a billy club. Prisoners wore a smock, no under, # id, chains around their right ankle and a nylon net on their heads. When the first rebellion started, 24 hours into the experiment, the morning shift of guards blamed the night shift guards of being too lenient on the prisoners. The guards called in extra help, united they worked to control the situatio n with brutal force and the night time shift even volunteered to remain on duty, that day. The guards now had a common goal to control and intimidate the prisoners through psychological and physical punishment.Peer pressure to keep the prisoners in line was evident by the increasing daily assertive violence. The â€Å"privilege cell† was a way for the guards to control the behavior of the prisoners. The three best behaved prisoners would be separated and given special privileges to break the solidarity of the prisoners. If a prisoner agreed to be an informant they could also receive special treatment but they had to be careful that none of the other prisoners found out because they would not be trusted anymore. Together the prisoners worked to rebel and in turn this created greater solidarity between the guards. What was learned about prison culture? The experiment demonstrated how prison life can change an individual quiet quickly.Prisoners experience a great deal of emotion al pain and suffering that can produce physical illnesses like rashes and hives and also psychological effects like uncontrolled crying, rage and disorientation. Guards on the other hand enjoyed their authority and the power they had over another individual. The guards were identified into three different categories. * Tough but fair guard who followed the rules by the book * â€Å"Good guy† guard who made life a little easier, did special favors for the prisoners and never punished them * One third of the guards were evil, sadistic, hostile men who enjoyed humiliating the prisoners After six days the experiment was cancelled when researchers observed that the guards were thoroughly enjoying the power and humiliation they were enforcing on he prisoners and that the suffering inmates were individually and as a group, disintegrated. An example of the disintegration was when the prisoners elected not to give up their blankets to get prisoner #416 out of solitary confinement but chose to leave him their all night. In the end, humanity did not win over evil but evil triumph. What sort of conclusion might be drawn from the results of this study and what are the implications of these conclusions for our prison system and for society in general? Based on how the experiment was conducted, not as much information was gathered to test the original hypothesis as was gathered on how not to conduct an experiment.The experiment failed to be completed when 2 prisoners had to be released early and the entire experiment was cancelled prematurely after six days of the original fourteen day experiment. Within this short period of time enough information was gathered to show how quickly the participants adapted to their roles and how fast the disconnect between reality and role-playing took. The experiment was successful in demonstrating how the power of authority can easily be abused and taken too far. It was interesting to note that the prisoners thought that the subjects were divided up between prisoners and guards based on their size and that the guards were larger, when in fact there was no difference in the average height of the two groups.Another example that we assume people in powerful positions are smarter, larger, more worthy, more deserving of that role, than ourselves. The most alarming fact was the Zimbardo, the leading researcher took a role in the experiment as the superintendent of the prison. He allowed himself to role play, get emotionally involved and allowed abusive behavior to continue during the experiment. On the day he thought a mass escape plot was being planned, Zimbardo was so involved strategizing how to stop it, that no information was observed or gathered that day. The results from the study were mainly subjective. Little or no information was concluded from this study because still to this day, similar behaviors took place with prisoners from Iraqi who were being held at Abu Ghraib.US soldiers abused, stripped and sexua lly humiliated prisoners, took pictures and posted them on the internet. An analysis of the ethics of the experiment. Was this study ethical? The Standford prison experiment was not ethical. All of the participants had signed a consent form to take part in the study but the consent form was deceiving and did not include some of the details of the study and what was going to be expected of the participants. The experiment began with a huge invasion of privacy when the participants were surprised at their homes by local police, arrested, handcuffed and put in a police cruiser while neighbors looked on. Next the prisoner were strip searched without consent which is a hug violation of a man’s rights.All participants were put under a great deal of stress, exposed to psychological and physical harm and the prisoners were beaten and humiliated. Was it right to subject these subjects to this kind of suffering in exchange for the information that was gained? Christine Maslach, a Stanf ord Ph. D student that was brought in to interview the prisoners and guards should be credited for being the only person of more than fifty highly educated individuals that was taking part in the study, who had the strength to speak up and question the morality of this experiment. What was supposed to be a safe controlled environment to conduct the experiment became increasingly dangerous, when peer pressure from the researchers and observers made it difficult to stop the experiment.These participants endured unnecessary pain and suffering that lasted well after the experiment was over. The information that was gathered could easily have been complied through observations in real prisons. Conclusion In conclusion the Standford prison experiment demonstrated how prisons are set up to dehumanize the incoming prisoners, degrade them and instill in them a feeling of hopelessness. One can only question our human integrity when at the end of the experiment, the guards who were inflicting pain and suffering on their fellow participants who were prisoners, were upset that the experiment was cancelled prematurely. We must find a way to rehabilitate our prisoners and create positive human values in them rather than to destroy them. Stanford Prison Experiment Psychology 270 – 03 Homework Assignment 1 Prison Experiment (100 Pts) Go to the following site:http://www. prisonexp. org/. Click on Begin SlideShow at the bottom of the page. Read through the article and watch the video in entirety. Respond to all questions below. 1. If you were a guard in this scenario, what type of guard would you have become? Why? 2. What prevented â€Å"good guards† from objecting to or countermanding the orders from â€Å"tough† or â€Å"bad guards†? 3.If you were a prisoner, would you have been able to endure the experience? Why or why not? What would you have done differently fromwhat the subjects did in this experiment? If you were imprisoned for five or more years, how would you adapt to this environment? What would you do in order to survive? 4. How do the ethical dilemmas in this experiment compare with the ethical issues raised by Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments? How would it be beneficial if these experiments h ad never been conducted.Please elaborate. 5. Moving beyond physical prisons built of steel and concrete, what psychological prisons do we create for ourselves and others? If prisons are seen as forms of control which limit individual freedom, how do they differ from the prisons we create through racism, sexism, ageism, poverty, and other social institutions? 6. What is your personal opinion of the experiment? Deadline – Tuesday, March 19, 201311:15 a. m. A hardcopy of your assignment must be submitted to me by the deadline.No late assignments will be accepted. Guidelines These are essay questions. Your responses must be well developed and detailed. Length of assignment – Minimum 5 Pages (Five Full Pages) Double Spaced 12 point font – Ariel, Times New Roman, or Calibri Black ink only You must include a cover page. You will be penalized for spelling and grammatical errors. It is mandatory that assignments are proofread and edited prior to submission.

Free Essays on Cathedral

The narrator in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† has two fully functional eyes, in which he chooses never to use to their full potential. They eyes of the narrator are insecure, jealous, lonely, and prejudiced. They are limited in what they choose to see. The tone of the narrator conveys his inability to see throughout the entire story. The narrator’s tone also reveals his character and personality. The first few pages of the story reveal the narrator’s blurred view of his own life, his wife’s life, and the entire world around him. The reader is quick to discover that the narrator seems to have an unhappy and insecure outlook on life. The narrator’s blurred view of everything that happened in his wife’s life reveals the insecurity that plagues him. When referring to his wife’s ex-husband he says, â€Å"Her officer- why should he have a name? He was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want?†(pg225). BY treating everyone the same and denying them importance, the narrator is trying to make himself seem more important in the lives of others. He simply calls his wife’s first husband â€Å"the officer† or â€Å"the man†(pg224). His refusal to even use his wife’s name while narrating as well as constantly referring to Robert as â€Å"the blind man†(pg224). Shows he blocks the importance of p eople around him. The narrator chooses not to be like Robert at first because of his disability. The narrator is aggravated and insecure about the fact that his wife talks and writes that she allowed Robert to touch her face. â€Å"She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose- even her neck†(pg224)! Because of the fact that his wife is so close to Robert, and is so happy in the event of his arrival, â€Å"I saw my wife laughing†(pg227), â€Å"She was still wearing a smile†(pg227P, is makes it easier for him to judge Robert according to his disability. The reader first learns of the narrato... Free Essays on Cathedral Free Essays on Cathedral In the short story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver. I relate with the husband since personally I have never spend any time with a blind person. I would feel the same way as he did, since I wouldn’t know how to start. I used to have the same idea of a blind man as the narrator of the story. The narrator was expecting someone who never laughed and moved slowly. I relate to this character in every sense, it is hard to start a conversation with a blind person, you might feel intimidated. The ending is where I relate more to the character than any other place. At the ending the narrator closes his eyes and just imagines himself to be blind and he finally connects with the blind man. I have closed my eyes a few times and I have imagined how it will be to not be able to see my love ones appearance. In the second short story â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place†, by Ernest Hemingway. I can’t relate to the young waiter he is just self-absorbed. The young waiter is an excellent example of the type of human beings that only think about themselves. Throughout his conversation with the older waiter, the young waiter insults the old deaf man, calling him â€Å"a nasty thing.† The older waiter defends the senior, however, saying that he is clean and dignified in his drunkenness. The younger waiter forces the man to pay the bill, and soon the man leaves. The young waiter is impatient with the old man, hoping to return home to his wife by a decent hour. He doesn’t understand the old deaf man circumstances as the older waiter does. He doesn’t understand how important it is to offer such a clean, well-lighted place to his customers. In â€Å"Cathedral† I would change the negative response that the narrator has about spending time with a blind person. I do relate with his feelings and thoughts about blind people but not his first reaction. He tells us immediately that his visitor's blindness molests him and that he is not looking forward ... Free Essays on Cathedral The narrator in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† has two fully functional eyes, in which he chooses never to use to their full potential. They eyes of the narrator are insecure, jealous, lonely, and prejudiced. They are limited in what they choose to see. The tone of the narrator conveys his inability to see throughout the entire story. The narrator’s tone also reveals his character and personality. The first few pages of the story reveal the narrator’s blurred view of his own life, his wife’s life, and the entire world around him. The reader is quick to discover that the narrator seems to have an unhappy and insecure outlook on life. The narrator’s blurred view of everything that happened in his wife’s life reveals the insecurity that plagues him. When referring to his wife’s ex-husband he says, â€Å"Her officer- why should he have a name? He was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want?†(pg225). BY treating everyone the same and denying them importance, the narrator is trying to make himself seem more important in the lives of others. He simply calls his wife’s first husband â€Å"the officer† or â€Å"the man†(pg224). His refusal to even use his wife’s name while narrating as well as constantly referring to Robert as â€Å"the blind man†(pg224). Shows he blocks the importance of p eople around him. The narrator chooses not to be like Robert at first because of his disability. The narrator is aggravated and insecure about the fact that his wife talks and writes that she allowed Robert to touch her face. â€Å"She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose- even her neck†(pg224)! Because of the fact that his wife is so close to Robert, and is so happy in the event of his arrival, â€Å"I saw my wife laughing†(pg227), â€Å"She was still wearing a smile†(pg227P, is makes it easier for him to judge Robert according to his disability. The reader first learns of the narrato... Free Essays on Cathedral The protagonist in â€Å"Cathedral,† Bub, is a man who has several defining characteristics. Bub is insecure, insensitive, and ignorant. This is clearly shown in Bub’s relationships with his wife and Robert. Bub’s insecurities are blatantly shown when he comments on his wife’s ex-husband: Her officer-why should be have a name? He was her childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want? Bub resents the ex-husband for being his wife’s first love. He would have liked to have had that role so he negatively addresses his wife’s past relationships. Bub’s unconfident mannerisms further transpire when he comments on his wife’s relationship with Robert. He states: In time she put it all on tape and sent the tape to the blind man. Over the years she put all kinds of stuff on tapes and sent the tapes off lickety-split. Next to writing a poem every year, I think it was her chief recreation. On the tape, she told the blind man she’d decided to live away from her officer for a time. On another tape she told him about her divorce. She and I began going out, and of course she told her blind man about it. She told him everything, or so it seemed to me. This intense friendship between his wife and Robert further exacerbated his insecurities. Robert and his wife have an intimate relationship that Bub has never, and probably will never, have with his wife. He goes on to say: My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feelings she didn’t like what she saw. I shrugged. This relationship offers Bub only one consolation, he believes that because he can see that has an advantage. He constantly refers to Robert as â€Å"the blind man.† He never uses Robert’s name or assigns any human attributes to him. This insecurity is partially responsible for his wife’s continued involvement with Robert. Also responsible for his wife’s close relationship with Robert is Bub’... Free Essays on Cathedral Cathedral by Raymond Carter is a story about a man (the narrator of the story), his wife, and her longtime friend Robert, who is blind. Robert is coming to visit the man’s wife. Robert’s wife, Beulah, had just recently died and he is visiting his dead wife’s relatives in Connecticut. The narrator is not enthusiastic about this visit from his wife’s friend. At the beginning of this short story, the tone of the narrator is bitterness and ignorance. His tone moves to enlightenment by the conclusion. This dinner party will break down the barriers between the blind and those who have full use of his or her eyes. Within the first two paragraphs of the story, the narrator describes how Robert and his wife met and continued their relationship over several years within the first two paragraphs of this short story. The narrator is bitter about the relationship between Robert and his wife. He is especially disturbed or bothered by the level of intimacy between the two. The narrator’s wife and Robert communicated with each other via taped letters. His wife shared every detail of her life with Robert including moving from base to base, divorce from her childhood sweetheart, and an attempted suicide. On her last day at work with the blind man, she allowed him to â€Å"see† her by permitting him to touch her face and neck. At this point in the short story more bitterness is displayed by the narrator. This bitterness seems to be about a poem written about the experience! The narrator displays his ignorance regarding the blind and his or her limitations in several instances throughout the story. He first admits that his knowledge of the blind is limited to images that he had seen in the movies. He described the blind as people who move slow and never smile or laugh. The man’s wife gives him more information about Robert after he suggests they go bowling together. His wife mentions that Robert was married to a woman named Beulah, who th... Free Essays on Cathedral Question: Compare the two couples evolving in Raymond Carver's Cathedral. Overcoming Differences Human being in nature is an integrated system that is influenced by his complex environment. As a matter of fact, we interact with our surrounding; human being is always seeking for a mate. In the following essay, I will discuss the differences between the two couples who evolve in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†; such as religious beliefs, physical appearance and relationship. Firstly, physical appearance plays a major role in today’s society. In our time, most people judge their equals based on their look, not their core. In â€Å"Cathedral†, Robert, a blind man, and his wife give no importance to perception. Their love is true and it is not based on the exterior. In contrast, the narrator overplays the importance of vision and physical appearance: â€Å"All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding† (11). It is obvious that his love isn’t based on fundamental values. Had his wife been different looking, it is very likely that they wouldn’t be together. Secondly, religious beliefs of the two couples are an issue that seems to divide whole populations and often it is used as a pretext to initiate conflicts. The author makes it clear that the two couples do not share the same spiritual values. In the story, Robert and his wife appear to be religious persons; they both agree to marry in a church: â€Å"Pretty soon Beulah and the blind man had themselves a church wedding† (11). On the other hand, the narrator openly states, while talking to Robert, that he does not believe in God: â€Å"I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything† (14). On a different occasion, he also makes fun of the prayer and says: â€Å"Pray the phone won’t ring and the food doesn’t get cold† (12). His couple does not share the same divine beliefs. Thirdly, relationship in a couple has good ...

Free sample - Technical report on the Trolley Jack. translation missing

Technical report on the Trolley Jack. Technical report on the Trolley Jack1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction In this report, several aspects of trolley jack shall be discussed. These include a description the product or what it is, how it works, health and safety issues surrounding the machine and its components. The report shall also include the design criteria, methods of manufacture and product comparison. In this comparison, the product shall be considered with reference to other similar products and also its cost against the quality and functionality of the product. Towards the end of the report, a review of the whole report shall be done and general observations made. At the end, references from which information was researched shall be outlined. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Product Description According to Corneilse, Marr, Mogotsi and van der Hee (2007), a trolley jack is a portable piece of equipment that can be used to raise one side of a vehicle for instance when one wishes to change a vehicle tyre. It has been found out that an average trolley jack can lift a mass of up to slightly more than 2 tons. A single stroke of a trolley jack raises a load to for about 4 inches which is sufficient for trolleying. This trolley type can lift up a load for a maximum of 15.5 inches. It is thus appropriate for robust jobs yet it is relatively affordable. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Trolley Jack design and manufacture As the name suggests, the jack has properties of a trolley in that it can be pushed along courtesy of its wheel and two castors. The body of this device is made of steel (heavy-duty). The reason for the use of this metal is because of its tensile strength: It does not twist or bend easily. So as to calculate the cost of manufacture of trolley jacks, quantity is a key consideration. This is because the larger the quantity is produced, the lower the average cost of manufacture (Tooley, Tooley Dingle, 2004, p. 34). Therefore the average cost of manufacture is the total cost divided by quantity manufactured. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Components of the Product As earlier stated, some of the parts of the device are the saddle and the release pedal. Other parts include a wheel, two castors, the lifting arm, control handle and the main body. The wheel and two castors are essential for its movement while the lifting arm is useful for making strokes. The main body covers the mechanical system that raises loads. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   How it works The Automotive repair and maintenance: Level 2 stipulated that a trolley jack uses a hydraulic system to raise a vehicle. To do so, a saddle is placed under the vehicle in the correct position. According to Keeting, Sutton and Abrahams (2008), the next step should be to block the wheel so that it does not roll. The vehicle should be on the handbrake. Thereafter, a control handle is used for raising the vehicle after which it is worked on. However, after lifting for some height, the user should check whether the jack is still in its position. Safety stands or axle stands should then be fixed for safety purposes. Later, a release pedal is used to lower the vehicle. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Comparison with other products’ quality, cost and functionality In view of most technical experts, all what is considered in jacks is how high or low the device can lift for example a car. Therefore, a good jack should provide a maximum lift for to a vehicle so as to have maximum space for work. Another aspect on the functionality of the product is how fact it can work that is the number of pumps needed to reach the highest level. Additionally, functionality is based on the maximum weight the device can lift. Bearing in mind that there are many aspects which could be considered in rating jacks in general, when the above were considered in one of the investigations, the following types were rated to be the best in this order: Clarke CTJ3000QL, JCB70003 and Kamasa GE4841. An average Trolley Jack produced by KarKare costs about 45 Sterling Pounds. According to Tooley, Tooley and Dingle (2004), the company produces about 12,000 units of trolley jack. Another type of Jack called Ellis Jack or Cam-type jack at most 6*6-inch timbers placed side by side and joined by steel champs. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Health and Safety Issues when Using the Trolley Jack In their Fundamentals of technical rescue, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and National Fire Protection Association (2009) cautioned that when a technician is carrying loads on a jack, they should ensure that the load does not shift. This is because uneven distribution of weight can make the device to tip over and fall thus endangering the health safety of the user. In addition, whenever one is using a trolley jack, they should ensure that it is placed on a flat surface. The surface must also be hard so that it does not give way when a heavy load is being lifted. Therefore if the surface is soft, it is important that the user places a hard board or a steel plate under the jack for an even distribution of weight. It is also important to note that with regard to vehicles, a trolley jack should only be used to lift the vehicle but not to hold it place. One must use jack stands whenever working beneath the vehicle to avoid being crushed incase the device loses grip. When jac king a vehicle, one should block its wheels so that it does not roll. A tire should never be changed on a highway. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion and general observations This technical report was meant to describe some aspects of the trolley jack. This was successfully done through an initial outline of the way themes were to be tackled. Thereafter, the description of the device was done followed by its design and manufacture, its parts, how it works and some of the safety and health issues associated with its use. Later, the device was compared with other similar devices in terms of its cost, quality and functionality. It was clear that the product is relatively affordable and can do heavy jobs. Although the trolley jack is generally efficient, it was observed that the hydraulic models are usually slower particularly when being lowered. It is thus satisfactory that heavy jacks should be used with heavy vehicles such as Lorries and buses in which speed is not of great importance. References Corneilse, M., Marr, S., Mogotsi, S. Van der Heever, A. S. J. (2007). Automotive repair and maintenance: Level 2. Pearson South Africa. International Association of Fire Chiefs   National Fire Protection Association (2009). Fundamentals of technical rescue. Jones Bartlett Learning. Keeting, L. Sutton, P. Abrahams, A. (2008). Automotive repair and maintenance. Pearson South Africa. Tooley, M. H., Tooley, M. Dingle, L. (2004). Higher national engineering. 2nd ed. Burlington, MA: Elsevier.