Strategic Management and Lego

1st CASE STUDYWinter term 2012/2013Student: Aitor Martin SantanaProfessor: Ravinder Kaur-LahrmannSubject: Management Tools| THE LEGO GROUP 1. In this case I have identified some key characteristics that are in relation with the strategy that LEGO has been following. In the 1970-1980 decades, environment was hostile. There was a huge oil crisis, and there were too much difficulties. However, LEGO maintained its philosophy, and their image of unique and iconic brand. Competence was also hard, with Mattel and Hasbro in the market, but LEGO sustained its powerful position.If we focus, for example, in the strategy that they carried out between 1995 and 1998, an interesting fact is that their objectives (become the best known global brand, increase the sales, etc. ) are set in a long term direction. Another important point is that they wanted to expand the scope of their activities. They entered in new areas such as films, games†¦ and they also built new LEGOLAND parks. However, the t urnaround attempts that happened between 1999 and 2003 forced this company to check their strategy. Different factors such as the changing environment, lead times†¦ affected negatively LEGO`s strategy.This shows that the uncertainty of strategic decisions is also decisive. If we look at the exploring strategy model, we can see that the strategic decisions have affected the three main elements (position, choices and action). Regarding to the strategic choices for example, we can mention the corporate-level and the business level strategies. I think that LEGO took some correct decisions, such as changing their relationship with retailers, renewing their supply chain†¦ 2. There are many external features that have more or less influenced LEGO`s strategy development.One of this factors has been the competitor`s influence. Due to the high competitiveness in the toy market, LEGO has to make a big effort in strategy in order to be one of the leaders of this industry. Other import ant issue is the supply and the distribution. The main reason of changing their strategy is that sales were seasonal and they had to adapt their supply system to this. Concerning the distributors we can state that retailers were putting too much pressure on the company, so the solution consisted on bringing their positions in order to achieve better results.Maybe one of the reasons of starting a digital strategy was the obsolescence of their products. There are other influences worth mentioning, such as the economic (crisis and bad cost management) and social (criticism of the public). 3. Improvements of the capital structure were important resources that have enabled LEGO to achieve their successful results. If we focus on intangible resources, we can say that the reputation of this firm is key element, especially because they created an image of a family-run company, which give consumers, shareholders, suppliers†¦ a feeling of trust.Kjeld played an important role. On the othe r hand one of the most important competences of LEGO is their brand. This is one of the oldest and better known toy companies in the world, so we can say that their brand is iconic. In my opinion, this is the main core competence of LEGO. 4. I think that the various internal and external factors responsible for problems were the key element in the development of those alternative strategies. They forced Kejld to take those decisions.The previous years were adverse, and there were internal problems such as financial and logistic difficulties, longer lead times, etc. Also external factors such as competitor`s rising power and problems with suppliers were determinant in taking the strategic decisions. In my view, two were the most important strategies: focusing on cost and the supply chain and innovating. Managing the costs efficiently is very important, especially for companies that produce seasonal products. This gives security. Innovation provides a company an extra value.Inviting t he consumers to participate in product development was an excellent idea, because in the toy market is necessary to have lots of ideas. LEGO needed new, better and more ideas. 5. In order to approach future strategy development, they could focus on one of the four strategic lenses (strategy as a design, strategy as experience, strategy as ideas and strategy as discourse). If they chose the design lens, their managers would have to take rational decisions with a high grade of legitimacy such as those related to costs, their product`s marketing, etc.They also should take a look on economic performance, which is very important in LEGO Group. Also, they could focus in the experience lens. Focusing on this lens would be a possible decision, because LEGO has a lot of individual and collective experience. Although LEGO could focus on this lens, I personally think this would not be the best option because LEGO needs innovation and new ideas for the future, and this lens states that the futu re has to be made based in the past. The next would be the ideas lens. This would be, with the design, the ens which better would fit with LEGO Group`s strategy, and the one that they should develop most. I say this because in the market where this company competes new ideas are very important, in order to maintain competitiveness. Finally there would be the discourse lens, which I think could also be a good strategy for LEGO, but not the best, because we have to remember that LEGO doesn`t want its managers to have too much power and legitimacy. Their work should be more focused on teamwork and cooperation between higher and lower power levels in the company.

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Nine

â€Å"Well, at least I didn't get taken over,† Bonnie said. â€Å"But I'm sick of this psychic stuff anyway; I'm tired of the whole thing. That was the last time, absolutely the last.† â€Å"All right,† said Elena, turning away from the mirror, â€Å"let's talk about something else. Did you find anything out today?† â€Å"I talked with Alaric, and he's having another get-together next week,† Bonnie replied. â€Å"He asked Caroline and Vickie and me if we wanted to be hypnotized to help us deal with what's been happening. But I'm sure he isn't the Other Power, Elena. He's too nice.† Elena nodded. She'd had second thoughts about her suspicions of Alaric herself. Not because he was nice, but because she had spent four days in his attic asleep. Would the Other Power really have let her stay there unharmed? Of course, Damon had said he'd influenced Alaric to forget that she was up there, but would the Other Power have succumbed to Damon's influence? Shouldn't it be far too strong? Unless its Powers had temporarily burned out, she thought suddenly. The way Stefan's were burning out now. Or unless it had only been pretending to be influenced. â€Å"Well, we won't cross him off the list just yet,† she said. â€Å"We've got to be careful. What about Mrs. Flowers? Did you find out anything about her?† â€Å"No luck,† said Meredith. â€Å"We went to the boardinghouse this morning, but she didn't answer the door. Stefan said he'd try to track her down in the afternoon.† â€Å"If somebody would only invite me in there, I could watch her, too,† Elena said. â€Å"I feel like I'm the only one not doing anything. I think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She paused a moment, considering, and then said, â€Å"I think I'll go by home-by Aunt Judith's, I mean. Maybe I'll find Robert hanging around in the bushes or something.† â€Å"We'll go with you,† Meredith said. â€Å"No, it's better for me to do it alone. Really, it is. I can be very inconspicuous these days.† â€Å"Then take your own advice and be careful. It's still snowing hard.† Elena nodded and dropped over the windowsill. As she approached her house, she saw that a car was just pulling out of the driveway. She melted into the shadows and watched. The headlights illuminated an eerie winter sight: the neighbors' black locust tree, like a bare-branched silhouette, with a white owl sitting in it. As the car roared past, Elena recognized it. Robert's blue Oldsmobile. Now, that was interesting. She had an urge to follow him, but a stronger urge to check the house, make sure everything was all right. She circled it stealthily, examining windows. The yellow chintz curtains at the kitchen window were looped back, revealing a bright section of kitchen inside. Aunt Judith was closing the dishwasher. Had Robert come to dinner? Elena wondered. The yellow chintz curtains at the kitchen window were looped back, revealing a bright section of kitchen inside. Aunt Judith was closing the dishwasher. Had Robert come to dinner? Elena wondered. Elena wished she could see more than just her aunt's profile in the flickering light of the TV. It gave her a strange feeling to look at this room, knowing that she could only look and not go in. How long had it been since she realized what a nice room it was? The old mahogany whatnot, crowded with china and glassware, the Tiffany lamp on the table next to Aunt Judith, the needlepoint pillows on the couch, all seemed precious to her now. Standing outside, feeling the feathery caress of the snow on the back of her neck, she wished she could go in just for a moment, just for a little while. Aunt Judith's head was tilting back, her eyes shutting. Elena leaned her forehead against the window, then slowly turned away. She climbed the quince tree outside her own bedroom, but to her disappointment the curtains were shut tight. The maple tree outside Margaret's room was fragile and harder to climb, but once she got up she had a good view; these curtains were wide open. Margaret was asleep with the bedcovers drawn up to her chin, her mouth open, her pale hair spread out like a fan on the pillow. Hello, baby, Elena thought and swallowed back tears. It was such a sweetly innocent scene: the nightlight, the little girl in bed, the stuffed animals on the shelves keeping watch over her. And here came a little white kitten padding through the open door to complete the picture, Elena thought. Snowball jumped onto Margaret's bed. The kitten yawned, showing a tiny pink tongue, and stretched, displaying miniature claws. Then it walked daintily over to stand on Margaret's chest. Something tingled at the roots of Elena's hair. She didn't know if it was some new hunter's sense or sheer intuition, but suddenly she was afraid. There was danger in that room. Margaret was in danger. The kitten was still standing there, tail swishing back and forth. And all at once Elena realized what it looked like. The dogs. It looked the way Chelsea had looked at Doug Carson before she lunged at him. Oh, God, the town had quarantined the dogs, but nobody had thought about the cats. Elena's mind was working at top speed, but it wasn't helping her. It was only flashing pictures of what a cat could do with curved claws and needle-sharp teeth. And Margaret just lay there breathing softly, oblivious to any danger. The fur on Snowball's back was rising, her tail swelling like a bottle brush. Her ears flattened and she opened her mouth in a silent hiss. Her eyes were fixed on Margaret's face just the way Chelsea's had been on Doug Carson's. Margaret's face just the way Chelsea's had been on Doug Carson's. But the snow, settling like a blanket around her, seemed to deaden the words into nothingness. A low, discordant wail was started in Snowball's throat as it flicked its eyes toward the window and then back to Margaret's face. â€Å"Margaret, wake up!† Elena shouted. Then, just as the kitten pulled back a curved paw, she threw herself at the window. She never knew, later, how she managed to hang on. There was no room to kneel on the sill, but her fingernails sank into the soft old wood of the casing, and the toe of one boot jammed into a foothold below. She banged against the window with her body weight, shouting. â€Å"Get away from her! Wake up, Margaret!† Margaret's eyes flew open and she sat up, throwing Snowball backward. The kitten's claws caught in the eyelet bedspread as it scrambled to right itself. Elena shouted again. â€Å"Margaret, get off the bed! Open the window, quick!† Margaret's four-year-old face was full of sleepy surprise, but no fear. She got up and stumbled toward the window while Elena gritted her teeth. â€Å"That's it. Good girl†¦ now say, ‘Come in.' Quick, say it!† â€Å"Come in,† Margaret said obediently, blinking and stepping back. The kitten sprang out as Elena fell in. She made a grab for it, but it was too fast. Once outside it glided across the maple branches with taunting ease and leaped down into the snow, disappearing. A small hand was tugging at Elena's sweater. â€Å"You came back!† Margaret said, hugging Elena's hips. â€Å"I missed you.† â€Å"Oh, Margaret, I missed you-† Elena began, and then froze. Aunt Judith's voice sounded from the top of the stairs. â€Å"Margaret, are you awake? What's going on in there?† Elena had only an instant to make her decision. â€Å"Don't tell her I'm here,† she whispered, dropping to her knees. â€Å"It's a secret; do you understand? Say you let the kitty out, but don't tell her I'm here.† There wasn't time for any more; Elena dived under the bed and prayed. From under the dust ruffle, she watched Aunt Judith's stocking feet come into the room. She pressed her face into the floorboards, not breathing. â€Å"Margaret! What are you doing up? Come on, let's get you back in bed,† Aunt Judith's voice said, and then the bed creaked with Margaret's weight and Elena heard the noises of Aunt Judith's fussing with the covers. â€Å"Your hands are freezing. What on earth is the window doing open?† â€Å"And now there's snow all over the floor. I can't believe this†¦ Don't you open it up again, do you hear me?† A little more bustling and the stocking feet went out again. The door shut. Elena squirmed out. â€Å"Good girl,† she whispered as Margaret sat up. â€Å"I'm proud of you. Now tomorrow you tell Aunt Judith that you have to give your kitty away. Tell her it scared you. I know you don't want to†-she put up a hand to stop the wail that was gathering on Margaret's lips-â€Å"but you have to. Because I'm telling you that kitty will hurt you if you keep it. You don't want to get hurt, do you?† â€Å"No,† said Margaret, her blue eyes filling. â€Å"But-â€Å" â€Å"And you don't want the kitty to hurt Aunt Judith, either, do you? You tell Aunt Judith you can't have a kitten or a puppy or even a bird until-well, for a while. Don't tell her that I said so; that's still our secret. Tell her you're scared because of what happened with the dogs at church.† It was better, Elena reasoned grimly, to give the little girl nightmares than to have a nightmare play out in this bedroom. Margaret's mouth drooped sadly. â€Å"Okay.† â€Å"I'm sorry, sweetie.† Elena sat down and hugged her. â€Å"But that's the way it has to be.† â€Å"You're cold,† Margaret said. Then she looked up into Elena's face. â€Å"Are you an angel?† â€Å"Uh†¦ not exactly.† Just the opposite, Elena thought ironically. â€Å"Aunt Judith said you went to be with Mommy and Daddy. Did you see them yet?† â€Å"I-it's sort of hard to explain, Margaret. I haven't seen them yet, no. And I'm not an angel, but I'm going to be like your guardian angel anyway, all right? I'll watch over you, even when you can't see me. Okay?† â€Å"Okay.† Margaret played with her fingers. â€Å"Does that mean you can't live here anymore?† Elena looked around the pink-and-white bedroom, at the stuffed animals on the shelves and the little writing desk and the rocking horse that had once been hers in the corner. â€Å"That's what it means,† she said softly. â€Å"When they said you went to be with Mommy and Daddy, I said I wanted to go, too.† Elena blinked hard. â€Å"Oh, baby. It's not time for you to go, so you can't. And Aunt Judith loves you very much, and she'd be lonely without you.† Margaret nodded, her eyelids drooping. But as Elena eased her down and pulled the bedspread over her, Margaret asked one more question. â€Å"But don't you love me?† Oh, stupid, stupid, Elena thought, forging through the banked snow to the other side of Maple Street. She'd missed her chance to ask Margaret whether Robert had been at dinner. It was too late now. Robert. Her eyes narrowed suddenly. At the church, Robert had been outside and then the dogs had gone mad. And tonight Margaret's kitten had gone feral-just a little while after Robert's car had pulled out of the driveway. Robert has a lot to answer for, she thought. But melancholy was pulling at her, tugging her thoughts away. Her mind kept returning to the bright house she'd just left, going over the things she'd never see again. All her clothes and knickknacks and jewelry-what would Aunt Judith do with them? I don't own anything anymore, she thought. I'm a pauper. Elena? With relief, Elena recognized the mental voice and the distinctive shadow at the end of the street. She hurried toward Stefan, who took his hands out of his jacket pockets and held hers to warm them. â€Å"Meredith told me where you'd gone.† â€Å"I went home,† Elena said. That was all she could say, but as she leaned against him for comfort, she knew that he understood. â€Å"Let's find someplace we can sit down,† he said, and stopped in frustration. All the places they used to go were either too dangerous or closed to Elena. The police still had Stefan's car. Eventually they just went to the high school where they could sit under the overhang of a roof and watch the snow sift down. Elena told him what had happened in Margaret's room. â€Å"I'm going to have Meredith and Bonnie spread it around town that cats can attack, too. People should know that. And I think somebody ought to be watching Robert,† she concluded. â€Å"We'll tail him,† Stefan said, and she couldn't help smiling. â€Å"It's funny how much more American you've gotten,† she said. â€Å"I hadn't thought about it in a long time, but when you first came you were a lot more foreign. Now nobody would know you hadn't lived here all your life.† â€Å"We adapt quickly. We have to,† Stefan said. â€Å"There are always new countries, new decades, new situations. You'll adapt, too.† â€Å"You'll learn, in time. If there is anything†¦ good†¦ about what we are, it's time. We have plenty of it, as much as we want. Forever.† † ‘Joyous companions forever.' Isn't that what Katherine said to you and Damon?† Elena murmured. She could feel Stefan's stiffening, his withdrawal. â€Å"She was talking about all three of us,† he said. â€Å"I wasn't.† â€Å"Oh, Stefan, please don't, not now. I wasn't even thinking about Damon, only about forever. It scares me. Everything about this scares me, and sometimes I think I just want to go to sleep and never wake up again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the shelter of his arms she felt safer, and she found her new senses were just as amazing close up as they were at a distance. She could hear each separate pulse of Stefan's heart, and the rush of blood through his veins. And she could smell his own distinctive scent mingled with the scent of his jacket, and the snow, and the wool of his clothes. â€Å"Please trust me,† she whispered. â€Å"I know you're angry with Damon, but try to give him a chance. I think there's more to him than there seems to be. And I want his help in finding the Other Power, and that's all I want from him.† At that moment it was completely true. Elena wanted nothing to do with the hunter's life tonight; the darkness held no appeal for her. She wished she could be at home sitting in front of a fire. But it was sweet just to be held like this, even if she and Stefan had to sit in the snow to do it. Stefan's breath was warm as he kissed the back of her neck, and she sensed no further withdrawal in Stefan's body. No hunger, either, or at least not the kind she was used to sensing when they were close like this. Now that she was a hunter like he, the need was different, a need for togetherness rather than for sustenance. It didn't matter. They had lost something, but they had gained something, too. She understood Stefan in a way she never had before. And her understanding brought them closer, until their minds were touching, almost meshing with each other's. It wasn't the noisy chatter of mental voices; it was a deep and wordless communion. As if their spirits were united. â€Å"I love you,† Stefan said against her neck, and she held on tighter. She understood now why he'd been afraid to say it for so long. When the thought of tomorrow scared you sick, it was hard to make a commitment. Because you didn't want to drag someone else down with you. Particularly someone you loved. â€Å"I love you, too,† she made herself say and sat back, her peaceful mood broken. â€Å"And will you try to give Damon a chance, for my sake? Try to work with him?† â€Å"I'll work with him, but I won't trust him. I can't. I know him too well.† â€Å"I followed Mrs. Flowers today.† Stefan's lip quirked. â€Å"All afternoon and evening. And you know what she did?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Three loads of wash-in an ancient machine that looked like it was going to explode any minute. No clothes dryer, just a wringer. It's all down in the basement. Then she went outside and filled about two dozen bird feeders. Then back to the basement to wipe off jars of preserves. She spends most of her time down there. She talks to herself.† â€Å"Just like a dotty old lady,† said Elena. â€Å"All right; maybe Meredith's wrong and that's all she is.† She noticed his change of expression at Meredith's name and added, â€Å"What?† â€Å"Well, Meredith may have some explaining to do herself. I didn't ask her about it; I thought maybe it was better coming from you. But she went to talk to Alaric Saltzman after school today. And she didn't want anyone to know where she was going.† Disquiet uncoiled in Elena's middle. â€Å"So what?† â€Å"So she lied about it afterward-or at least she evaded the issue. I tried to probe her mind, but my Powers are just about burnt out. And she's strong-willed.† â€Å"And you had no right! Stefan, listen to me. Meredith would never do anything to hurt us or betray us. Whatever she's keeping from us-â€Å" â€Å"So you do admit that she's hiding something.† â€Å"Yes,† Elena said reluctantly. â€Å"But it's nothing that will hurt us, I'm sure. Meredith has been my friend since the first grade†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Without knowing it, Elena let the sentence slip away from her. She was thinking of another friend, one who'd been close to her since kindergarten. Caroline. Who last week had tried to destroy Stefan and humiliate Elena in front of the entire town. And what was it Caroline's diary had said about Meredith? Meredith doesn't do anything; she just watches. It's as if she can't act, she can only react to things. Besides, I've heard my parents talking about her family-no wonder she never mentions them. Elena's eyes left the snowy landscape to seek Stefan's waiting face. â€Å"It doesn't matter,† she said quietly. â€Å"I know Meredith, and I trust her. I'll trust her to the end.† â€Å"I hope she's worthy of it, Elena,† he said. â€Å"I really do.†

Good and Bad Discrimination Essay

When the word discrimination is brought up there is an automatic negative response, due to the fact that most have this idea that there is only bad discrimination. This comes from people using stereotypes and being prejudice which creates detrimental situations. However, when a person discriminates it does not mean they are trying to be harmful. Discrimination is when one distinctively favors or is against certain groups, categories, people, and classes and or things that may come from them. Discrimination it’s self is not bad, but the things that can stem from it, are actually what makes people look at it negatively. People discriminate for many reasons such as religion, race, and even for business and employment. It is one thing to have a preference over something else but to actually deny a person over what race, or religion they are is perverse. Now there are some positives when decisions are made about things depending on an individual’s race or religion. There are people who only want to date or marry to the same race, religion, culture, category, class, and things like that. And that does not always mean that they are being racist, stereotypical, prejudice or anything of that nature but that they simple are particular. There are even laws that require for workplaces to accommodate for their employees religion just along their religious practices will not bring problems to the employer. However, in the eyes of the employer they may feel as though if they indeed hire someone with certain beliefs that conflict may arise even if they are unintentional, and a decision maybe made to avoid that. Which is a decent argument but it still is a form of discrimination. One of the biggest reasons people discriminate is that they are actually afraid of what they may or may not understand. â€Å"The fear of that which is different, that which we do not understand, could have been an adaptive strategy early on in our history† (Why Does Discrimination Occur?. Ehow. com ). Instead of learning how to live with something and become more educated about it they cast it out. Especially if it is something that it out of the norm, or different. Such as homosexuality, a lot of people are homophobic. They have an unreasonable fear of homosexuals and which they may have their reasons as to why. Some people take it past the limits to make people are attracted to the same sex feel different, unaccepted, or unwanted all because they are ignorant of that culture. They have no idea what it is like and instead of trying to comprehend, they use negativity. Now there is nothing wrong with not being gay, and disagreeing with it but an opinion does not have to be expressed in a way that may be harmful. Just because a person is not apart of a certain group does not excuse the act of disrespecting another group or category. A lot of individuals will argue that it is simply wrong, and that it should not be permitted due to religious reasoning. Yes, that does make a lot of since, but I am very sure that many people do things that go against their religion all the time, they just happen to be discrete. Some people are afraid or have been brought up to not over step the boundaries so when others do not abide by the same rules they are automatically looked down upon. Society assigns everyone a certain social identity. Which ever category a person is placed they tend to accept others who are from the same group as they are. Prejudice is derived from our tendency to divide world into ‘us’ and ‘them†( Musa, Prejudice Discrimination and Stereotype). This causes great division between people which is one of the reasons why a lot of people categorize other individuals. Being that prejudice, discrimination, and stereotype are in society there are social aspects and effects. â€Å"Exposure to derogatory ethnic labels can elicit conformity pressures with people wanting to fit-in† ( Musa, Prejudice Discrimination and Stereotype). Generally people fear to be outcast so they go with the crowd. Afraid that if they choose not to agree then they might become socially unexpected. â€Å"People can reduce their reliance on stereotypes by consciously saying ‘no’ to association between stereotypes and specific social groups† ( Musa, Prejudice Discrimination and Stereotype). It would make a lot of since for people to simply not discriminate sadly that simply will not happen. Either way it may go it is up to the person on what they will choose to do, but social impact has a lot to do with the decisions people make. â€Å"Social influence plays a role in both maintenance and reduction discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes. Evidence suggesting that members of their group hold less prejudiced views are out of line with most people of their group, they may change their views. † ( Musa, Prejudice Discrimination and Stereotype). â€Å"It may be conceived that because someone is guilty of discrimination that she is mean, angry and hateful, which very well may be the case. However, when we understand that within us all lies some form of discrimination, whether passive or aggressive, it should once again lead us to the conclusion that, of course, it is very easy to discriminate. (Why Is It So Easy To Discriminate? , eHow. com). Every person has their preferences, how they choose to go about them is completely their discretion. There are those who are prejudice, stereotypical, and who discriminate negatively acknowledge it and own up to it. â€Å"Each and every one of us stereotype and have a prejudice of something. Every single one of us. I stereotype fat people. I make fun of them, I call them lazy. Is it right? No. Should people suffering from obesity be kept from living their lives because of my prejudice and stereotypes of them? Absolutely not. † (Kriss 2010). Those who do discriminate have a point of view and some respectively explain them. Kriss discriminates against fat people, does she have that right? Yes, she knows that she should not do it, but she still stands by her opinion no matter what anyone else thinks. Everyone discriminates to a center extent because everyone has their own opinions, and make their own decision with different dependents. Yet and still there things that are wrong which happen to be connected to discriminating and even misconceptions. The way a person behaves is by far their own choice. People are raised differently, have different life experiences, and choose to surround themselves with certain crowds that may differ from others. There are exceptions and there are non exceptions, but being close minded will bring nothing but ignorance. There will always be discrimination because everyone will always have a preference. and there is really nothing that can be done about it. Also prejudice and stereotypes that comes with life. Everything has a positive and a negative.

United States Supreme Court and the Constitution Essay

United States Supreme Court and the Constitution - Essay Example McCloskeys’ thesis is that the decisions of the United States Supreme Court lean congruently with popular American opinion. Some historians have put forth the administrative argument that Chief Justice John Marshall was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, albeit belies the historical facts. (John Jay from New York was appointed by George Washingron as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of February 15, 1790. Chief Justice Jay was not pleased that he was required to ride circuit and subsequently resigned after a little more than one year (March 5, 1791). The second Chief Justice was also appointed by George Washington, was John Rutledge of South Carolina. Rutledge was tapped to fill the vacancy created by John Jay’s resignation and this appointment occurred during a Congressional recess. When the nomination of Rutledge was presented to the newly convened Congress, they rejected Rutledge’s nomination, primarily based on his pro- sla very positions taken during the Philadelphia Constitutional convention. The third Chief Justice of official record, also nominated by George Washington, was Elliott Ellsworth of Connecticut. Albeit Chief Justice Ellsworth was one of the delegates at the convention in Philadelphia, after he served for four years, he was concerned about the transient court which had no permanent address and the courts image.)... Chief Justice of official record, also nominated by George Washington, was Elliott Ellsworth of Connecticut. Albeit Chief Justice Ellsworth was one of the delegates at the convention in Philadelphia, after he served for four years, he was concerned about the transient court which had no permanent address and the courts image.) The United States Supreme Court did not attain permanence and prestige until the position was assumed by the fourth Chief Justice John Marshall, who truly personified the constitutional concept of permanence and stability, as he sat on the bench from 1801 -1835. During the Marshall era, the Supreme Court was declared the supreme arbiter of the constitution. The first case heard by the court was Marbury v. Madison. In this case Marbury was being denied his commission as the Secretary of the Treasure and he petitioned the Marshall court to grant a writ of mandamus. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Marshall said that while Marbury was entitled to the commission, the Supreme Court did not have the power to issue a writ of mandamus. This was because the Judiciary Act of 1789, the act written by Congress which authorized the Supreme Court to issue such writs, was unconstitutional. Thus, the court gave up the power to issue writs, but affirmed their power of judicial review, saying that, "if a law written by the legislature conflicts with the constitution, the law is "null and void". (Marbury v Madison) In this case the Marshall court consummated the system of checks and balances. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Marshall court reached a unanimous decision that upheld the authority of Congress to establish a national bank. Chief Justice Marshall

Innovation & Change Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Innovation & Change - Case Study Example s that bring about a positive change to various aspects of the company such as its production levels, economic stability as well as growth in the particular market it is situated in (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006). The activities that take place when trying to achieve these changes can be seen as the product of innovation by the company. It is especially essential for individuals dealing with innovation to realize the various methods and approaches that can be taken when dealing their implementation and management. The identification of these approaches allows a manger to select the most appropriate approach for their company and as a result enhance the chances of success a company has at attaining their objectives. The relationship between innovation and change comes into play as a result of the effects that a particular action may have on a company (Fichter, 2009). It also brings about the question of how important a role innovation plays in the growth of a company and whether this growth can be achieved minus the involvement of innovative approaches applied by the mangers. In order to fully answer these questions, one has to look at a particular company and the innovative implementations involved when looking to promote a positive impact on the organization (Heyne, Boettke & Prychitko, 2010). An industry that can be used to further expound on this concept is the vehicle industry with a leading company such as Toyota being the topic of the study to determine the role that innovation plays in the growth of a company. It should be noted that despite the fact that innovation is an important element in itself, the management of these innovations determines the success that an individual is able to enjoy in the resulting outcome. There are various ways that innovation can be considered important in regards to the development and growth of a company. The key aspect that plays a role in this essentialness is the point that an organization cannot remain stagnant in

Balance sheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Balance sheet - Essay Example However, the major underlying problem of Superior Foods is that total current liabilities figure has increased at a phenomenal rate of nearly 10% per annum during 2001 – 2003, whereas the growth rate of total current assets figure is well under 7% per annum. Therefore, it is justified to argue that Superior Food’s current ratio has been constantly declining in last 3 years. Indeed, current ration was between 2.1 – 2.3 in 2001 and 2002 but reduced to 2.0 in 2003. This is an alarming trend because it may deteriorate liquidity position in next 5 years. 1) Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities (in thousands of US $) = 83900 / 41950 = 2.00 2) Net Working Capital = Current Assets – Current Liabilities = 83900 - 41950 = 41950 As far the liquidity / solvency of Superior Living is concerned, it should be pointed out that the current ratio indicates that for every $1 that Superior Living owes imminently, it has $2.0 of available liquid resource in fis cal year 2003. The financial experts usually argue that an excellent current is in the range of 1.5 – 2.0 because it enables the firms to easily pay off their debts and future financial obligations to creditors / lenders.

PsyInfo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PsyInfo - Essay Example This entails applying social work ethical principles, applying critical thinking, accepting diversity and difference, advancing human rights and social and economic justice, and engaging in practice that is research-informed among other things. 3. The primary functions of the National Association of social Works include, advancing sound social policies, maintaining professional standards of practice and providing services that protect the members and their status as professional social workers. 4. Clinical social works have master's or doctorate degrees in social work with an emphasis on mental health services and clinical experiences. 5. The history of social work is intimately tied in with helping poor people. It is possible to say it some its formal origins as urban missions came together to help people during the early years of the Industrial Revolution and mass migration during the 19th century. Eventually professionals came together in New York City and in 1889 with Jane Addams and the Hull House in Chicago. Adams also created the settlement house movement that involved providing assistance to the poor. Ida M. Cannon developed and head a multi-disciplinary social work department at a Boston hospital that become influential.

Summary of the signs of shopping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary of the signs of shopping - Essay Example In addition, Morton expresses how shopping involves the procurement of stuff such as household equipments and apparels. Often, many people will bargain, convincing the mall owners that they are their daily customers. This opens up the ability of promotions and subversion to both the customer and the owner. If the customer does not like how he or she is being treated, they have a right to complain to the owner for change of behavior by, for example, workers. The owner therefore has to apologize to the customer and promise dual change of treatment and behavior because he or she does not want to lose customers thus going down of the business. Shopping is irresistible for a wide majority of the populace in the contemporary society. Some cannot live without shopping in their daily lives especially women and their daughters, that is like their daily routine but communication has made work easier now days. No walking long distances to the shopping malls, time is being saved too if one has a busy and tight schedule. Phone calls are made to the shopping stores to order for shopping or mails to be sent to websites and customers can shop

Why is implementation so difficult Discuss Essay

Why is implementation so difficult Discuss - Essay Example ills, there is need for cross-functional expertise and efforts, because the management team and strategic thinker may not have cross functional excellence. Instead, the changes should be implemented gradually, starting with the skills that can be learned and mastered easily. For instance a thinking and action system is whereby an organization is made up of interdependent elements, which must be considered. Changing one thing may not be enough and may have a ripple effect which affects other elements, including organizational arrangement, technology, individual behavior and social factors. Because a business needs to be seen as a ‘whole’, implementation should take care of connected elements as a whole (Lazin 86). Additionally, strategic motivation should be implemented to ensure that enthusiastic participation of inspired organization officials. In spite of the strategic motivation, the officials should adapt with times considering that the rapidly changing environment makes past strategic options obsolete. In turn the officials should revise strategy continuously, gain knowledge from feed back and reassess past decisions. However, failure to assess sources of internal resistance occurs because forces of inertia are underestimated. According to Knaap (269), decision makers should therefore conduct broad research to obtain as much knowledge as possible to be used in designing a policy, understanding and identifying best implementation approaches. The alternatives should be tested to identify the cost effective, review the impact of different approaches, learning from testing enabled implementers to launch policies with and time quick time table that will speed up implementation. Consequently, they should develop an implementation plan which will specify the roles, responsibilities and dead line for implementers. In order for the decision makers to manage barriers to change, there is need to identify potential resistance from people responsible for

International Trade and Finance Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Trade and Finance Law - Essay Example Not relying on the fact that crisis was caused by retarding market demand and financial mishap rather than ostensible anti-inflammatory guidelines, as has been the crisis case since 1945. Japan is the only nation among stable economies accustomed to this type of recession and this is as a result of the past-bubble downfall of the 1990s. For emerging economies, the case was quite different, as much it may have been associated with a rich economy: emerging economies had a deeper conventional trend that begun by a flow in inflation in 2008, which made many Asian countries to adopt tough anti-inflammatory regulations. Then the effects of such policies were witnessed at world trade level after Lehman and associates went bust in 2008; this saw poorer countries in Latin America and Africa feel the hitch of shortage of raw materials from China and India. Several players are behind the crisis that took the world by storm. One of the major bodies that are keenly looked at is the International Centre for Financial Regulation (ICFR). Based in London, ICFR was formed by U.K government in collaboration with international financial institutions with an aim of monitoring financial activities and coming up with international policies that would guide matters related to finance across the globe1. ICFR has been mandated to form laws that will enhance proper trade and should guide the global economy. Critics have been concerned about how such bodies carry out their activities; this is as a result of constant financial rescissions that have rocked the globe in the recent past. Some argue that such bodies should be abolished so that each country forms its own rules to govern trade. Other critics argue that the institution should consider reviewing its policies so as to avoid such crisis. ICFR members are claiming not to be blamed future expectations are unpredictable and cannot be fixed while coming up with such regulations. Even though the ICFR may defend its reputation, outcry has persisted and several fingers pointed towards the organization. Some of crisis effects such as guarantees and bail-outs have proved the organization to be unstable. Much of consequent regulatory agenda debatably reflects the need to tackle such weaknesses rather than implementing well investigated optimum governing solution. As a result, high leverage that was manageable only under circumstances of growing investor confidence and asset price is considered to be a weakness form the body. Weak governance, remuneration and accountability culture within financial bodies has been a factor as well behind downfall of the organization. Some analysts accuse the organization of hysterical and unorganized creation of liquidity to imbalance and motivate countries to invest in financial assets present in deficit countries. Other organizational weaknesses are pointed out they need attention to avoid plunging the world economy in such financial jeopardy; these include but not limited to: emergenc e of increased and uncontrolled ‘shadow banking’ segment and adoption of complicated financial tools and techniques that made risk disperse all over the global financial division and relevant interdependencies created, as well as missing public information on the extent and distribution of risk occurring in the financial system. Some commentators characterize the emergence of these, at least not wholly, to

Gender Bias in Education Essay Example for Free

ï » ¿Gender Bias in Education Essay Sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, listening to the same teacher, boys and girls receive very different educations. (Sadker, 1994) In fact, upon entering school, girls perform equal to or better than boys on nearly every measure of achievement, but by the time they graduate high school or college, they have fallen behind. (Sadker, 1994) However, discrepancies between the performance of girls and the performance of boys in elementary education leads some critics to argue that boys are being neglected within the education system: Across the country, boys have never been in more trouble: They earn 70 percent of the Ds and Fs that teachers dole out. They make up two thirds of students labeled learning disabled. They are the culprits in a whopping 9 of 10 alcohol and drug violations and the suspected perpetrators in 4 out of 5 crimes that end up in juvenile court. They account for 80 percent of high school dropouts and attention deficit disorder diagnoses. (Mulrine, 2001) This performance discrepancy is notable throughout Canada. In Ontario, Education Minister Janet Ecker said that the results of the standardized grade 3 and grade 6 testing in math and reading showed, persistent and glaring discrepancies in achievements and attitudes between boys and girls. (ONeill, 2000) In British Columbia, standardized testing indicates that girls outperform boys at all levels of reading and writing and in Alberta testing shows that girls, significantly outperform boys on reading and writing tests, while almost matching them in math and science. (ONeill, 2000) However, the American Association of University Women published a report in 1992 indicating that females receive less attention from teachers and the attention that female students do receive is often more negative than attention received by boys. (Bailey, 1992) In fact, examination of the socialization of gender within schools and evidence of a gender biased hidden curriculum demonstrates that girls are shortchanged in the classroom. Furthermore, there is significant research indicating steps that can be taken to minimize or eliminate the gender bias currently present in our education system. The socialization of gender within our schools assures that girls are made aware that they are unequal to boys. Every time students are seated or lined up by gender, teachers are affirming that girls and boys should be treated differently. When an administrator ignores an act of sexual harassment, he or she is allowing the degradation of girls. When different behaviors are tolerated for boys than for girls because boys will be boys, schools are perpetuating the oppression of females. There is some evidence that girls are becoming more academically successful than boys, however examination of the classroom shows that girls and boys continue to be socialized in ways that work against gender equity. Teachers socialize girls towards a feminine ideal. Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up. Girls are socialized in schools to recognize popularity as being important, and learn that educational performance and ability are not as important. Girls in grades six and seven rate being popular and well-liked as more important than being perceived as competent or independent. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to rank independence and competence as more important. (Bailey, 1992) This socialization of femininity begins much earlier than the middle grades. At very early ages, girls begin defining their femininities in relation to boys. One study of a third grade classroom examined four self-sorted groups of girls within the classroom: the nice girls, the girlies, the spice girls and the tomboys. Through interviews researcher Diane Reay found that nice girls was considered a derogatory term indicating, an absence of toughness and attitude. (Reay, 2001) Furthermore, the girlies were a group of girls who focused their time on flirting with and writing love letters to boys, the tomboys were girls who played sports with the boys, and the spice girls espoused girl-power and played rate-the-boy on the playground. Reays research shows that each of the groups of girls defined their own femininities in relation to boys. (2001) The Reay study further demonstrates how socialization of girls occurs at the school level by tolerating different behaviors from boys than from girls. Assertive behavior from girls is often seen as disruptive and may be viewed more negatively by adults. In Reays study, the fact that the spice girls asserted themselves in ways contrary to traditional femininity caused them to be labeled by teachers as real bitches. (2001) This reinforces the notion that girls misbehavior to be looked upon as a character defect, whilst boys misbehavior is viewed as a desire to assert themselves. (Reay, 2001) A permissive attitude towards sexual harassment is another way in  which schools reinforce the socialization of girls as inferior. When schools ignore sexist, racist, homophobic, and violent interactions between students, they are giving tacit approval to such behaviors. (Bailey, 1992) Yet boys are taunted for throwing like a girl, or crying like a girl, which implies that being a girl is worse than being a boy. According to the American Association of University Women Report, The clear message to both boys and girls is that girls are not worthy of respect and that appropriate behavior for boys includes exerting power over girls or over other, weaker boys. (Bailey, 1992) Clearly the socialization of gender is reinforced at school, Because classrooms are microcosms of society, mirroring its strengths and ills alike, it follows that the normal socialization patterns of young children that often lead to distorted perceptions of gender roles are reflected in the classrooms. (Marshall, 1997) Yet gender bias in education reaches beyond socialization patterns, bias is embedded in textbooks, lessons, and teacher interactions with students. This type of gender bias is part of the hidden curriculum of lessons taught implicitly to students through the every day functioning of their classroom. In Myra and David Sadkers research, they noted four types of teacher responses to students: teacher praises, providing positive feedback for a response; teacher remediates, encouraging a student to correct or expand their answer; teacher criticizes, explicitly stating that the answer is incorrect; teacher accepts, acknowledging that a student has responded. The Sadkers found that boys were far more likely to receive praise or remediation from a teacher than were girls. The girls were most likely to receive an acknowledgement response from their teacher. (Sadker, 1994) These findings are confirmed by a 1990 study by Good and Brophy that noted that teachers give boys greater opportunity to expand ideas and be animated than they do girls and that they reinforce boys more for general responses than they do for girls. (Marshall, 1997) Beyond teacher responses, special services in education appear to be applied more liberally to boys than to girls. Research shows that boys are referred for testing for gifted programs twice as often as girls, which may be because, giftedness is seen as aberrant, and girls strive to conform. (Orenstein, 1994) Boys represent more than two-thirds of all students in special education programs and there is a higher the proportion of male  students receiving diagnoses that are considered to be subjective. While medical reports indicate that learning disabilities occur in nearly equal numbers of in boys and girls, it may be the case that, Rather than identifying learning problems, school personnel may be mislabeling behavioral problems. Girls who sit quietly are ignored; boys who act out are placed in special programs that may not meet their needs. (Bailey, 1992) Gender bias is also taught implicitly through the resources chosen for classroom use. Using texts that omit contributions of women, that tokenize the experiences of women, or that stereotype gender roles, further compounds gender bias in schools curriculum. While research shows that the use of gender-equitable materials allows students to have more gender-balanced knowledge, to develop more flexible attitudes towards gender roles, and to imitate role behaviors contained in the materials (Klein, 1985) schools continue to use gender-biased texts: Researchers at a 1990 conference reported that even texts designed to fit within the current California guidelines on gender and race equity for textbook adoption showed subtle language bias, neglect of scholarship on women, omission of women as developers of history and initiators of events, and absence of women from accounts of technological developments. (Bailey, 1992) Clearly the socialization of gender roles and the use of a gender-biased hidden curriculum lead to an inequitable education for boys and girls. What changes can be made to create a more equitable learning environment for all children? First, teachers need to be made aware of their gender-biased tendencies. Next, they need to be provided with strategies for altering the behavior. Finally, efforts need to be made to combat gender bias in educational materials. A study by Kelly Jones, Cay Evans, Ronald Byrd, and Kathleen Campbell (2000) used analysis of videotaped lessons in order to introduce teachers to their own gender-biased behavior. Requiring in-service programs to address gender bias in the classroom will make teachers more aware of their own behaviors: As a teacher, I was struck by the Sadkers research on classroom exchanges and was forced to acknowledge the disproportionate amount of time and energy, as well as the different sorts of attention, I give to male students. (McCormick, 1995) Once teachers have recognized their gender-biased behaviors, they need to be provided with resources to help them change. In their study focusing on how the effects of  a gender resource model would affect gender-biased teaching behaviors, Jones, Evans, Burns, and Campbell (2000) provided teachers with a self-directed module aimed at reducing gender bias in the classroom. The module contained research on gender equity in the classroom, specific activities to reduce stereotypical thinking in students, and self-evaluation worksheets for teachers. The findings from this study support the hypothesis that female students would move from a position of relative deficiency toward more equity in total interactions. (Jones, 2000) This demonstrates that teachers who are made aware of their gender-biased teaching behaviors and then provided with strategies and resources to combat bias are better able to promote gender equity in their classrooms. However, beyond changing their own teaching behaviors, teachers need to be aware of the gender bias imbedded in many educational materials and texts and need to take steps to combat this bias. Curriculum researchers have established six attributes that need to be considered when trying to establish a gender-equitable curriculum. Gender-fair materials need to acknowledge and affirm variation. They need to be inclusive, accurate, affirmative, representative, and integrated, weaving together the experiences, needs, and interests of both males and females. (Bailey, 1992) We need to look at the stories we are telling our students and children. Far too many of our classroom examples, storybooks, and texts describe a world in which boys and men are bright, curious, brave, inventive, and powerful, but girls and women are silent, passive, and invisible. (McCormick, 1995) Furthermore, teachers can help students identify gender-bias in texts and facilitate critical discussions as to why that bias exists. Gender bias in education is an insidious problem that causes very few people to stand up and take notice. The victims of this bias have been trained through years of schooling to be silent and passive, and are therefore unwilling to stand up and make noise about the unfair treatment they are receiving. Over the course of years the uneven distribution of teacher time, energy, attention, and talent, with boys getting the lions share, takes its toll on girls. (Sadker, 1994) Teachers are generally unaware of their own biased teaching behaviors because they are simply teaching how they were taught and the subtle gender inequities found in teaching materials are often overlooked. Girls and boys today are receiving separate and unequal educations due to the gender  socialization that takes place in our schools and due to the sexist hidden curriculum students are faced with every day. Unless teachers are made aware of the gender-role socialization and the biased messages they are unintentionally imparting to students everyday, and until teachers are provided with the methods and resources necessary to eliminate gender-bias in their classrooms, girls will continue to receive an inequitable education. Departments of education should be providing mandatory gender-equity resource modules to in-service teachers, and gender bias needs to be addressed with all pre-service teachers. Educators need to be made aware of the bias they are reinforcing in their students through socialization messages, inequitable division of special education services, sexist texts and materials, and unbalanced time and types of attention spent on boys and girls in the classroom. Until educational sexism is eradicated, more than half our children will be shortchanged and their gifts lost to society. (Sadker, 1994) References  Bailey, S. (1992) How Schools Shortchange Girls: The AAUW Report. New York, NY: Marlowe Company. Jones, K., Evans, C., Byrd, R., Campbell, K. (2000) Gender equity training and teaching behavior. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (3), 173-178. Klein, S. (1985) Handbook for Achieving Sex Equity Through Education. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Marshall, C.S. Reihartz, J. (1997) Gender issues in the classroom. Clearinghouse, 70 (6), 333-338. McCormick, P. (1995) Are girls taught to fail? U.S. Catholic, 60, (2), 38-42. Mulrine, A. (2001) Are Boys the Weaker Sex? U.S. News World Report, 131 (4), 40-48. ONeill, T. (2000) Boys problems dont matter. Report/ Newsmagazine (National Edition), 27 (15), 54-56. Orenstein, P. (1994) Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap. New York, NY: Doubleday. Reay, D. (2001) Spice girls, Nice Girls, Girlies, and Tomboys; gender discourses. Girls cultures and femininities in the primary classroom. Gender and Education, 13 (2), 153-167. Sadker, D., Sadker, M. (1994) Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. Toronto, ON: Simon Schuster Inc.

Military Rules & Regulations Essay Example for Free

Military Rules Regulations Essay There are many types of leaders in the military. To be specific, there are five different people(s) that take part in leading the Army. They are as follows (from highest point of responsibility to lowest); the SA (Army Staff) and CSA (Chief of Staff), the Vice CSA, the DCS G-1 (Deputy Chief of Staff), the HQDA (Headquarters Department of the Army) Heads of other staffing support, and commissioned officers/NCOs. In completeness, the Army Staff all take care of how we as soldiers are supposed to behave to each other, as well as civilians, and the duties we are to uphold. LDRSHIP was put into place to give us a basic idea of these responsibilities. The CSA makes sure that the leadership is keeping soldiers ready to perform their jobs effectively and aptly. The Vice CSA advises the CSA of what needs to be done in improving the Army, through the recommendations from the Well-Being GOSC (General Officer[s] Steering Committee) and oversees the rest of the Army Staff. The DCS G-1 leads the Well-Being GOSC by; creating their agenda, bringing in staff and administrators, and guaranteeing these staff are well organized and disciplined in their decisions of the Army’s well-being. The HQDA staff does much of the same thing the Well-Being GOSC does, by supporting the policies, plans, and initiatives to improve the Army’s overall prosperity. The last of the leadership charged with improving our lives, as soldiers and moral, as well as maintaining an order of things, are the commissioned and non-commissioned officers. They help our mental, physical, and spiritual health’s are brought to their peak level. They also help our families to have as much of the same benefits and living circumstances as we soldiers have. As soldiers, we are to be disciplined and handle our duties with respect to the rules and regulations put into place by our above leaders. In the case of CQ, I am to always maintain the Army standard. I understand that one of the biggest of these responsibilities is to keep soldiers from roaming outside of their rooms after bed check. This is for safety purposes for those soldiers, as well as for our sake’s as CQ runners. If we cannot maintain proper order over the barracks, we are to immediately report to the duty NCO, letting him/her take over the situation. We are also required to report any happenings on the CQ log, including deliveries, maintenance calls (COX Communications, etc.), drunken personnel, and the duties we have performed (cleaning, hall inspections) throughout our shift. We are to be self-disciplined enough to know what we can and cannot handle and ensure that we have options to take if we can’t take care of an incident. Since being on CQ is a specific order, we are to make sure that all of those duties aforementioned are followed and fulfilled. We also need to be disciplined in the aspect of our attire, and our appearance. This means we are required to wear whatever the commander specifies we wear on CQ, in a clean and tidy fashion. AR 600-25 explains all of the dos and don’ts of saluting, and honoring and visiting personnel. CQ may not be the immediate first person to see entering/exiting commanders or NCOs (but should be), but the first person to do so should call the group to Attention/At-Ease depending on the enterer. This is where the CQ personnel should have the attention to their surroundings to know when a ranking official is already present or leaving, or a higher-ranking official is entering or exiting. Since we are supposed to be making rounds to check the integrity of our area of work, especially after bed check, if we see an official of officer status, we need to give the proper gesture and remark, depending on the official’s rank and the time of the incident. In situations where we know of events going on, such as reveille and retreat, but we are at our post, we do not have the right to salute, but if we are outside in any area, we need to immediately halt our actions and salute towards the playing. We, as soldiers are to keep well trimmed in our appearance at all times. This includes wearing the proper uniform when required. Mismatching uniforms is not allowed. If we do not, our commander and/or NCO can give us punishment for our actions in consistency with the Army regulations. If a soldier does something outside of military jurisdiction that is unacceptable to civilian rules, the punishment comes from the civilian law enforcement. On top of that, though, the military, depending on the situation, will determine the harshness of ITS punishment as well. This goes so far to say that happenings, such as drinking, may be legal at age 21, but if you drive and are caught by any law enforcement, military or civilian, it is grounds for at least an Article 15 and ASAP (Army Substance and Abuse Program) training, and possible chaptering if there are multiple offences. If there are no law enforcement present to oversee a situation, any senior ranking official can take information on the soldier and give it the that soldiers commander, and should without any hesitation. Last of all, if there are no senior officials to take care of the situation, the peers of the subject should have the responsiveness to stop the soldier from doing acts against Army regulations. In this, anyone can and is required to report anything military personnel do that could be chargeable under UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). On CQ, as a female, you are not allowed to go into any of the male barracks. As a male on CQ, we are to stop any female who attempts to go to a male part of the barracks. If we are not able to do so, we need, as stated above, to report it immediately to the official on duty at that moment. Then, that official will take action as to what will happen to the individual who was reported in the wrong. Military authority should be done with most of the acronym LDRSHIP in mind (Personal Courage shouldn’t be a factor). It should be fair and not over the top. I thank you for the opportunity to do extra duties and this essay, rather than going to an Article 15. Since I now know the rules I am to follow while in the military, and especially while on duty as a CQ runner.

Pablo Picasso Biography Summary

Pablo Picasso Biography Summary Unlike in music, there are no child prodigies in painting. What people regard as premature genius is the genius of childhood. It gradually disappears as they get older. It is possible for such a child to become a real painter one day, perhaps even a great painter. But he would have to start right from the beginning. So far as I am concerned, I did not have that genius. My first drawings could never have been shown at an exhibition of childrens drawings. I lacked the clumsiness of a child, his naivety. I made academic drawings at the age of seven, the minute precision of which frightened me. (Matayev) Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881. His full name was Pablo Diego Josà © Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Marà ­a de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santà ­sima Trinidad Ruiz which according to Spanish tradition was the sequence of names of the honourable Saints and relatives of Picassos family. Picasso is the surname of his mother which he took as his fathers surname seemed to the painter too ordinary and primitive. From the age of seven, Picasso took lessons from his father Jose Ruiz, who was a painter himself specialized in naturalistic depictions of birds and sometimes even let his little son finish some of the paintings. But one day when Jose Ruiz was drawing a still life and charged his thirteen year old son to finish the picture he was fascinated by his sons technique that he gave up painting immediately. The same year Pablo entered the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. He easily passed the entrance examination preparation to which took him less than a week. There in Barcelona he made the first artistic friendships and allegiance, with Manuel Pallares, Carlos Casagemas and Jami Sabartes. Three years later Picassos father and uncle sent the young artist to Madrids Royal Academy of San Fernando. In Madrid Pablo first saw the paintings Diego Velà ¡zquez, El Greco, Francisco Goya, and Francisco Zurbarà ¡n. While he was studying in Madrid, Picasso made his first trip to Paris where he visited the Louvre in October 1900. The works of impressionists changed his vision of art completely and that was the beginning of the so called Blue Period of Picasso (1901-1904) when the blue and blue-green color prevailed in the paintings. The main themes of the paintings of this period were death, old age, poverty, melancholy and sadness. The main characters were old, blind people, beggars, prostitutes and alcoholics (The Frugal Repast, 1904, The Blindmans Meal, 1903, The Tragedy, 1903). The more optimistic and positive Rose Period came to take the place of the gloomy mood and feeling of despair. Pink and red became the dominant colors. The theme also changed. The funny harlequins, strolling musicians and actors and deft acrobats became the characters of the paintings of Rose Period (The Acrobat and the young Harlequin, Actors family, The jester, 1905). The real popularity came to the artist at the age of 25 and he even complained that the public believed blindly into his talent and could not evaluate his works properly. The next period (1909 -1912) is called Cubism Period. Pablo Picasso moved toward abstraction and played with dimensions (Still life with wicker chair, 1911, Violin and guitar, 1912), World War I changed everything: mood, vision of the world, style of the painting and the whole life of Picasso. Picassos pictures became somber and more realistic. In 1916, the young poet Jean Cocteau introduced the famous Russian ballet impresario Diaghilev to Picasso. He wanted Picasso to make decorations for his ballet Parade. Picasso gave his consent and in 1917 went to Rome where he worked on decorations for Parade. There, Picasso met the young Russian dancer Olga Khokhlova with whom he fell in love. He proposed to her and after the performance in Barcelona she agreed to marry him. After cubism, Picasso decided to change his style to the more traditional one and this period is known as his Classicist period (The Lovers, 1920, The Pipes of Pan, 1923). The Surrealism movement was growing in popularity at that time, and Picasso was also influenced by it. His Woman with Flower (1932) was a portrait of Marie-Thà ©rà ¨se in the manner of Surrealism with distortion of proportions and deformations of details. When the artist heard about the bombing of the undefended town Guernica in 1937 he decided to express his own thoughts about the tragedy. His big mural Guernica has remained a forceful reminder of the event. This large canvas embodies for many the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. In 1944, Picasso made a decision to join the Communist Party. Picasso repeated publicly that the aim of his art was to fight like a revolutionary and be a weapon in a political struggle. After the WWII in 1955, Picasso moved to the large villa La Californie that was situated near Cannes where he wanted to live till the end of his life. From the windows he had a view of the big beautiful garden, full of his sculptures. But soon La Californie had become a place of tourist attraction. A constantly increasing stream of admirers crowded around it and Picasso, who disliked public attention, had to move from the villa to Chateau Vauvenargues, near Aix-en-Provence. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973 when he was 92 years old. There is a tendency to estimate Picassos art by evaluating only his painting, giving to his work as a sculptor the minor value and considering it almost as a hobby of the artist. However only after looking at his sculptures it is possible to estimate the creative force of this hardworking and inspired master. Picasso has amazed the world with an abundance of the inventions though many of them are a little known as have been made of fragile, short-lived materials. The head of a bull marks the beginning of rather successful period in Picassos creative life. The general characteristic of the creativity of Pablo Picasso in the field of a sculpture leads to a conclusion that it was amazing as well as his painting. In his sculpture you can feel freedom from any norms and improvisation, it is far from the academic solemnity, so often inherent this to this kind of art. The paintings of Pablo Picasso which were first presented in Spain and then in Paris could be seen now in many museums of the world such as Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain, Musà ©e Picasso, Paris, France, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA, Galerie Rosengart, Lucerne, Switzerland, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, USA, Tate Gallery, London, UK, State Museum of New Western Art, Moscow, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, Germany, Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland, The State Hermitage Museum, St.Petersburg, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and some others. Many of his pictures are in private collections. During the last ten years of his life Picasso was extremely popular. Picasso became a celebrity, there were a lot of films, articles and television programs about him and the public wanted to know his every step. In his late works Picasso prefers the use of simplified imagery which turned the attention of the public away from him. Through all his life Picasso was often compared to the other famous artists. Some of the paintings of Blue Period the people on which had long bodies resemble the early works of another Spanish painter El Greco whom Picasso really admired. The technique of faceting which Picasso used during Cubism Period originated from Georges Braques with whom Picasso was also compared. Some painters find the similar features in the works of Picasso and Salvador Dali. Pablo Picasso was the only painter of his time who introduced history into his art. He is still very popular and his paintings are invaluable. But people are still trying to get them at any price by paying huge sums of money or just steeling the paintings from the museums. Nowadays 547 works of Pablo Picasso are in search.

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay -- FDR American President

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (1882-1945), 32nd of the United States. Roosevelt became president in March 1933 at the depth of the Great Depression, was reelected for an unprecedented three more terms, and died in office in April 1945, less than a month before the surrender of Germany in World War II. Despite an attack of poliomyelitis, which paralyzed his legs in 1921, he was a charismatic optimist whose confidence helped sustain the American people during the strains of economic crisis and world war. He was one of America's most controversial leaders. Conservatives claimed that he undermined states' rights and individual liberty. Though Roosevelt labored hard to end the Depression, he had limited success. It was not until 1939 and 1940, with the onset of heavy defense spending before World War II, that prosperity returned. Roosevelt also displayed limitations in his handling of foreign policy. In the 1930's he was slow to warn against the menace of fascism, and during the war he relied too heavily on his charm and personality in the conduct of diplomacy. Still, Roosevelt's historical reputation is deservedly high. In attacking the Great Depression he did much to develop a partial welfare state in the United States and to make the federal government an agent of social and economic reform. His administration indirectly encouraged the rise of organized labor and greatly invigorated the . His foreign policies, while occasionally devious, were shrewd enough to sustain domestic unity and the allied coalition in World War II. Roosevelt was a president of stature. The future president was born on Jan. 30, 1882, at the family estate in Hyde Park, N.Y. His father, James (1828-1900), was descended from Nicholas Roosevelt, whose father had emigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam in the 1640's. One of Nicholas' two sons, Johannes, fathered the line that ultimately produced President Theodore Roosevelt. The other son, Jacobus, was James' great-great-grandfather. James graduated from Union College (1847) and Harvard Law School, married, had a son, and took over his family's extensive holdings in coal and transportation. Despite substantial losses in speculative ventures, he remained wealthy enough to journey by private railroad car, to live graciously on his Hudson River estate at Hyde Park, and to travel extensively. Four yea... ...nd front greatly intensified Soviet suspicions of the West. But it is easy to second-guess and to exaggerate Roosevelt's failings as a military leader. The president neither invited nor welcomed the Pearl Harbor attack, which was a brilliantly planned maneuver by Japan. He worked with Darlan in the hope of preventing unnecessary loss of Allied lives. Unconditional surrender, given American anger at the enemy, was a politically logical policy. It also proved reassuring to the Soviet Union, which had feared a separate German-American peace. Establishing the second front required control of the air and large supplies of landing craft, and these were not assured until 1944. In many of these decisions Roosevelt acted in characteristically pragmatic fashion--to win the war as effectively as possible and to keep the wartime alliance together. In these aims he was successful. By 1945, Roosevelt was 63 years old. The events early in that year added to the strains on his heart, and on April 12, 1945, he died suddenly at Warm Springs, Ga. Three days later he was buried at Hyde Park. Despite his limitations, he had been a strong, decent, and highly popular president for more than 12 years.

History of Shakespeare :: Essays Papers

History of Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, England. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glover. He was very successful and well respected in society, as a mayor, town council man, and justice of peace. Mary Arden, Shakespeare's mother, was from a wealthy family and with John Shakespeare, they had eight children. Shakespeare went to Stratford Grammar School where he studied the Greek and Latin, and grew to love to read. It is said that his formal education ended here. On November 27, 1582, Shakespeare married Ann Hathaway who was twenty-eight years old. They had their first daughter, Susanna, on May 26, 1583 and after two years they had a twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet died at the age of eleven in 1596. There are no written documents or evidence of Shakespeare between the years 1585-1592. In 1593, after establishing himself as an actor and play writer, Shakespeare with the help of his friend, Henry Wriothsley who sponsored him, wrote two long poems. His first poem, "Venus and Adonius", was written in 1593 . Then in 1594, he wrote his second long poem, "Rape of Lucrece". During that year the theatres in London opened up again after the plague. Shakespeare began to work for the "Lord Chamberlain's Men" company who later became known as "The King's Men" in 1603 after King James took over. This company became the largest and most famous acting company in London, due to Shakespeare's plays and works. In 1599, "The Globe" theatre was built, a many of Shakespeare's plays were performed there, and soon other theatres followed such as "The Curtain" and "The Rose" theatres. As an actor, director, writer, and stockholder in his acting company, Shakespeare soon became a very wealthy man. In 1597, Shakespeare brought "New Place", which was a very large house for his family to live in. In 1611, Shakespeare left London and retired. On March 25, 1616, Shakespeare made a will and he died on April 23, 1616 at the age of fifty-two.

The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant Essay -- Kant Philosophical E

The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant Criticism is Kant's original achievement; it identifies him as one of the greatest thinkers of mankind and as one of the most influential authors in contemporary philosophy. But it is important to understand what Kant means by'criticism', or 'critique'. In a general sense the term refers to a general cultivation of reason 'by way of the secure path of science' (Bxxx). More particularly, its use is not negative, but positive, a fact that finds expression in the famous expression, 'I have therefore found it necessary to deny knowledge to make room for faith' (Bxxx). Correspondingly, its negative use consists in not allowing one's self to 'venture with speculative reason beyond the limits of experience' (Bxxiv). Thus, criticism removes the decisive hindrance that threatens to supplant or even destroy the 'absolutely necessary practical employment of pure reason..in which it {pure reason} inevitably goes beyond the limits of sensibility' (Bxxv). Accordingly, the critique guarantees a sec ure path for science by confining speculative reason and by giving practical reason the complete use of its rights: rights that thus far had not been recognised. Place in the History of Ideas Kant, being confronted with the two extremes of rationalism and empiricism, set for himself the task of creating a synthesis of the two. As he saw it, rationalism operates in the sphere of innate ideas, with their analytical and therefore aprioristic ideas; this necessity, however, is not based on experience and consequently does not apply to reality itself. On the other hand empiricism starts completely from experience and thus (it seems) from reality, but it arrives only at a posteriori and therefore synthetic... ... conceal, as it must do for Kant. Again the formal objects of the soul's faculties in Aquinas corresponds to Kant's forms; thus knowledge through categories is not restricted to that which is 'for Man' but opens up to that which is 'in itself'. Finally, the absoluteness of Kant's moral imperative also receives its foundation in being, and thus theory and practice are brought into harmony. Bibliography: Balterson, D. The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant Toronto, 1984 Jewson, M. Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason Rome, 1986 Kant, I. Critique of Pure Reason N.K. Smith tr London, 1929 McConnor, T. The Philosophy of the Enlightenment London, 1989 Tonderson, P. Immanuel Kant: The Critique of Of Pure Reason New York, 1987 Wallis, H. The Thought of Immanuel Kant New York, 1955 O Neill, P., SJ, Kant and Aquinas: A Comparative Study, Rome, 1967

Case Study James Dyson

JAMES DYSON CASE Introduction You know the feeling when some everyday product lets you down. You wish someone could solve the problem. James Dyson does that. He is a man who likes to make things work better. With his research team he has developed products that have achieved sales of over $10 billion worldwide. In 1978, while vacuuming his home, James Dyson realized his bag vacuum cleaner was constantly losing suction power. He noticed how dust quickly clogged the pores of the bag and blocked the airflow, so that suction dropped rapidly. He set to work to solve this problem. Five years and 5,127 prototypes later, the world's first cyclonic bagless vacuum cleaner arrived. James Dyson offered his invention to major manufacturers. One by one they turned him down, apparently not interested in new technology. They seemed determined to continue selling bags, worth $500 million every year. Later, Hoover's vice president for Europe, Mike Rutter, said on U. K. national TV, â€Å"I do regret that Hoover as a company did not take the product technology off Dyson; it would have lain on the shelf and not been used. â€Å" Thinking about the issue of core competency and strategic capability, what is the secret of James Dyson’s competitive advantages? Early inventions The Sea Truck, Dyson's first product, was launched in 1970 whilst he was at the Royal College of Art. Sales of the Sea Truck amount to $500 million. His next product, the Ballbarrow, was a modified version of a wheelbarrow using a ball to replace the wheel. Dyson remained with the idea of a ball, inventing the Trolleyball, a trolley that launched boats. He then designed the Wheelboat which could travel at speeds of 64 km/h on both land and water. Vacuum cleaners In the late 1970s Dyson had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that wouldn't lose suction as it picked up dirt. He became frustrated with his Hoover Junior’s diminishing performance: dust kept clogging the bag and so it lost suction. The idea of the cyclones came from the spray-finishing room's air filter in his Ballbarrow factory. While partly supported by his art teacher wife's salary, and after five years and 5,127 prototypes, Dyson launched the ‘G-Force' cleaner in 1983, the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, no manufacturer or related distributor would launch his product in the UK as it would disturb the valuable cleaner-bag market, so Dyson launched it in Japan through catalogue sales Strong brand A key task for an entrepreneur like James Dyson is to give innovation the right look, literally and metaphorically. Brand image comprises the product, its attributes and its brand personality. Customer perception of a product and its attributes are inextricable from its perceived superiority that derives from a range of factors including technical excellence and value for money. Has he been able to appropriate the rewards of the value he has added? In an attempt to maintain their competitive advantage, Dyson and his colleagues at Malmesbury have continued to develop new innovations. Determined to create vacuum cleaners with even higher suction, they have developed an entirely new cyclone system. Dyson has developed the robot cleaner that not only makes cleaning easier but guides itself even more logically than a human being would. Then, in November 2000, he launched the world's first two-drummed washing machine, the Contrarotator. Dyson's engineers constantly re-examine products of all types, including the washing machine. They found that in the traditional automatic washing machine the fabric is not flexed all that much and that washing by hand gave better results than the single drum machine. So, Dyson developed a machine that would ‘even improve on hand washing'. Reputedly, it took four years, a million man hours and ? 25 million to develop the machine, which comes with a built-in jack and trolley and a coin trap to capture buttons and loose change.

Hitchcock Film Comparison

Although they all are their own independent films, there are undoubtedly several similarities between many of Alfred Hitchcock’s workings. Despite that they all may have different plot, the differences between the films are not very significant. There are three different types of Hitchcockian films that were watched in class; a psychological thriller (i. e. : Rope, Rear Window), the unexpected action filled plot (i. e. North By Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much), and the mix of the two (i. e. : Thirty Nine Steps, Family Plot). The majority of Hitchcock’s action films consist of an unexpecting citizen who ends up on the run for his life and meets an attractive blonde along the way that he becomes romantically involved in. The other type of plot is a more slow paced psychological thriller that takes place in a very confined area. Of course there are chases, illegal activities done by the â€Å"bad guys†, and complications with the romantic pair that keep the first type of film moving at a quick pace, and in the psychological thrillers there is generally a simplistic background given towards the beginning of the film while there is a monumental action that takes place that is followed by a slow but steady plot that builds up to it’s climax at the end of the film. From Rope to Family Plot the Hitchcockian directory style persists throughout the duration of the film grasping the attention ever so tightly of the audience and keeping them uncertain of what is to come until it actually arrives. After becoming a well renown director in the United Kingdom starting in 1921 with silent films and later moving up to â€Å"early talkies†, Alfred Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became a United States citizen in 1956 in order to further his career. Even after becoming an American citizen, Hitchcock kept a â€Å"British subject† in his work whether or not it was intentional. With an active career that lasted over half of a century, Hitchcock wrote twenty-two titles, stared in thirty-six films, and directed sixty-six films. Because of all of his unique techniques and styles that allowed him to manipulate his audiences into feeling anything from anxiety, fear, empathy, and so on, Hitchcock made quite the name for himself and thus gained the nickname â€Å"The Master of Suspense† while his unique directorial style became known as â€Å"Hitchcockian†. Hitchcock is now considered one of Britain’s greatest directors of all time and came in first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain’s Daily Telegraph which referred to him as â€Å"Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these island, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else. † Despite how well his work is thought of and remembered, Hitchcock’s career actually came to a painstakingly slow halt after the release of Family Plot. After over six decades of directing Hitchcock became unmotivated to direct due to how poorly people received his film Family Plot. Despite his despair, towards the end of his life, Hitchcock had been working on a script for another movie, The Short Night, a projected spy thriller, however it was never filmed due to his lack of motivation, his failing health, and his concern involving his wife’s health. Much after his death, the script was published in a book concerning the final years of Alfred Hitchcock. When thinking back to any one of Hitchcock’s films, many seem to light up and immediately begin discussing which one of them was their favorites, why, and once they find out that someone that they’re talking to hasn’t seen it, they begin to ever so anxiously describe it’s plot and just what makes it as good as it is. Whether or not Hitchcock’s films were as amazing as many consider them, there are undoubtedly many similarities between all of them. However, just because there may be some similarities, this doesn’t make any one of the films bad, it simply makes them similar. Many viewers seemed to like the consistency of being able to go out to the movie theater and watch whatever Hitchcock’s new film may have been without any concern of it being bad; without even being told about the plot, and simply knowing that it will be a quality film undoubtedly worked in Hitch’s favor. Going out and seeing any one of Hitchcock’s movies became like a game in a sense; everyone went in with certain expectations and things that they were both looking for and hoping for. Many found joy in trying to spot Alfred himself somewhere in the film towards the beginning of it whether it be amongst a crowd, walking away from the camera, or whatever it may be. In many ways being a fan of Alfred Hitchcock and seeing his films became more so of a social thing than anything; it gave people something to do and then later talk about with their friends and family. Whether or not this was Hitchcock’s intention, it worked and earned him the respect that he has to this day. As previously stated, one of the reasons that many liked the Hitchcockian films was because of their consistency, however from a critic’s standpoint decades after the hype of Hitchcock, this gives some room for negative assessments of his career and films as a whole. Just because some may have liked the consistency from film to film, certainly doesn’t mean that everyone does, others may consider it repetitive or even predictable if they’ve seen some of his other work. For example, although many of Hitchcock’s films are considered to be quality films, when compared to his others, those same films may be less appreciated because their uniqueness is taken away due to their numerous similarities. North By Northwest is undoubtedly an amazing film that is filled with suspense, love, action, and hope for our hero, many would consider The Man Who Knew Too Much to be predictably similar. In both cases an innocent middle aged white U. S. itizen finds himself in the middle of a dangerous, complex, and legally taboo situation through no fault of his own. Both films are very similar in the roller-coaster of emotions that they put the audience through and leave them with the same feelings and emotions by the end of the film. The same is true for Rope and Rear Window however instead of an action packed romantic feature film, the audience is brought through the more dark and scary course of events that follow one or two main characters. With the psychological thrillers there is much more of a realistic and closer to home feeling rather than with the action films. The same is true for Psycho, so much so that most of those who watched it were left terrified, disturbed, and with an erie feeling about hotels for some time after. Just like Rope and Rear Window, Psycho takes place primarily in one location and is paced slowly but with a deep and dark plot that strikes fear and concern into the hearts of most who watch it. Despite the fact that most of his films fall into one of the two previously mentioned categories, there is of course the shade of grey in Hitchcock’s other films; they are the ones that have more of a mix of action and romance but also consist of psychological torment and suspense. There will always be comparisons between certain things, especially so if there is something as similar as the same director to begin with, however there are always exceptions and middle grounds that end up surprising those who think that they know exactly what to expect.

The History of the Singer Sewing Machine

The Singer Sewing Machine| Historical Project Research| | Sarah Clark| 9/12/2010| Engineering 1000 Instructor: Dr. Tzu-Yu Wang | The sewing machine is basically a textile machine. It is used for stitching together things such as fabric, paper, card, or other material with some type of thread. The sewing machine needed to be something that was functional and compact. It would need to be something that was simple to use and be able to sew faster and more efficiently then hand sewing was. Up until the time that the sewing machine was invented, women would spend great amounts of time sewing.Women would have to hand sew everything, clothing for themselves and their families as well as household items. Women also formed the majority of the labor force that sewed clothes in factories and wove fabrics in mils. The invention of the sewing machine essentially liberated these women from spending many hours a day sewing. The first patent related to the sewing machine was for the double pointed n eedle. In 1775 Charles F. Weisenthal, a German mechanic, was granted the patent for this needle.The patent itself described a needed for use in a machine, but did not elaborate on what the machine looked like or if one even existed. The patent itself was never put to use during Weisenthal’s lifetime. There were several attempts at creating a sewing machine. In 1790, the first workable sewing machine was invented and patented by a British inventor named Thomas Saint. This machine never made it past the patent model stage. In 1830, Barthelemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, got a patent for the first practical, sewing machine.By 1841, almost 100 of his machines were being used, in a factory, to sew uniforms for the French army. Walter Hunt, the inventor of the safety pin, had an idea for a double-thread sewing machine. Sometime in 1834, he devised a machine that used an eye-pointed needle in conjunction with a shuttle carrying a second needle. He gave up on the project thinking th at it would put poor seamstresses out of much needed work. He never bothered to get a patent. In 1846, Elias Howe, from Massachusetts, patented a sewing machine that had a grooved, eye-pointed needle and shuttle.When he was unsuccessful selling this machine in the America he went to England and adapted it to work for a corset maker. When he finally returned to America, he found that other manufacturers were selling several sewing machines, and that they were infringing on some part of his patent. Isaac Singer never claimed to have invented the sewing machine. Instead he improved on what was already out there. It took him 11 days and forty dollars to create the improved sewing machine. He made many changes, part of which was based on Howe’s work.He created the first machine where the needle went up and down, instead of side-to-side like the previous versions. He also changed the hand crank that was used to a foot treadle. Like Howe’s work, the Singer machine used the sa me lockstitch. That stitch was part of Howe’s patent. As a result, Howe sued Singer for patent infringement. During the suit, the I. M. Singer Corporation researched the Hunt machine and had an inventor rebuild one. They attempted to use this rebuilt machine to break the Howe patent. The plan did not work. Howe ended up winning the lawsuit and received royalties on his patent.Singer and other companies ended up paying Howe. By the time Howe died in 1867, he was collecting more than four thousand dollars a week and had already procured about two million in royalties. According to the official Singer Sewing machine website, within two years of Isaac Singer forming the I. M. Singer Corporation, they became the leading manufacturer and marketer of sewing machines in America. By 1855, Singer became the world’s first international company. They had offices and manufacturing plants in New York and Paris. They also originated the idea behind installment payments.In 1863, they held 22 patents and had assets of $550,000. They were selling roughly 20,000 sewing machines a year. Needless to say Singer Manufacturing Company, which it was now known, continued to grow; opening offices and factories in numerous places around the world including Germany, Brazil, Scotland, Indiana, New Jersey, England and Britain. The sewing machine was never a government or major company project. It was all done by individuals. Therefore, the funding for the sewing machine came from the people who were trying to create a working one or an improved model.It was up to the individual to market and sell his or her own product. In the latter half of the 19th century there were well over 200 sewing machine companies, each with several models of sewing machines. Most of these companies made sewing machines for the home, but a few made machines specifically for commercial use. There were also companies that made both. There were many considerations when designing the sewing machine. The sewing machines designed for commercial use had to be designed to be rugged, mostly made from things like cast iron.They were designed to be used constantly. The machines designed for home use were lighter, but still as capable as the more rugged machines. There was a large market for these lighter machines. The different machines usually were accompanied by tabletops, made from solid wood. They also had decorative cast iron legs. Depending on if the sewing machine was going to be used for commercial or home use determined how the sewing machine was going to look and whether it was designed to be in constant use or not.Aside from determining if the sewing machine would be used for commercial or home use, the sewing machine engineer had to consider many factors. Some of those factors include needle type, thread type, what type of stitch it produces, some sort of device to form the specific stitch, and it had to have some type of support for the cloth. There also had to be a mechanism to allow one stitch to follow the previous one, a tension control and something to make sure the sewing machine did what it needed to in the correct sequence without error.Although engineering disciplines were not as defined as they are today. Several disciplines were involved in the creation of the sewing machine. Mechanical engineering was involved in the creation of the mechanical parts used to make the sewing machine do its job. Some sewing machines used a type of pulley system to function; textile engineers designed the rope used in this pulley system. Metallurgical engineers were involved in the process of developing the cast iron used for the sewing machine itself as well as the decorative legs on home sewing machines.In addition, once electricity was introduced, electrical engineers were used to create the wiring system. The sewing machine greatly changed the way our society functions. Without the sewing machine, the world would be a very different place. Like the car, the cotton gin and countless other innovations from the past 300 years, the sewing machine takes something time-consuming and laborious and makes it fast and easy. With the invention of the mechanized sewing machine, manufacturers could suddenly produce piles of high-quality clothing at minimal expense.Because of this, the vast majority of people in the world can now afford the sort of sturdy, finely stitched clothes that were a luxury only 200 years ago. Industrial sewing machines have made many products affordable and readily available. Home sewing machines have introduced the joys of sewing and embroidery as a craft. With the advance of the way sewing machines interact with technology, there is no telling where the future of the sewing machine will lead us.Works CitedAlef, Daniel. Isaac Merritt Singer: Sewing Machines and Sewing Seeds. Santa Barbara: Meta4, 2007. E-Book. Cooper, Grace Rogers.The Invention of the Sewing Machine. Washington, D. C. : Smithsonian Institution, 1968. E-Boo k. Cooper, Grace Rogers. The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Early Development. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1976. Print.†SINGER ® SEWING CO. | Company Information. † SINGER ® SEWING CO. | Home. Web. 14 Sept. 2010. http://www. singerco. com/company/.†Sewing Machines. † Machine-History. Com. Web. 14 Sept. 2010.http://www. machine-history. com/THE SEWING MACHINE>.