Wednesday, August 26, 2020

The Great Depression in America :: essays research papers fc

Youngster Labor The 1990 World Summit for youngsters was a milestone, which was gone to by 71 heads of state. It was a snapshot of extraordinary fulfillment and consolation for all the worldwide bodies occupied with their quest for making â€Å"A world fit for children†, when 71 heads of state promised to destroy polio, decrease baby death rate, wipe out the most exceedingly awful types of youngster work and advance professional preparing for youths (Sandrasagara, 7). Complex Factors There is a mainstream popular supposition that the youngsters ought not be presented to work errands including work at an age, which requests their association in instructive and recreational exercises. The exercises embraced at youngster age add to their development and advancement and undertaking work task at this age is no not exactly a wrongdoing. Be that as it may, for the most part individuals express this assessment dependent on compelling feelings and the mind boggling factors adding to this predicament are not comprehended in their genuine foundation. These components territory from lawful, social, political and financial angles, which reach out a long ways past the forceful feelings. A definite, cautious and sympathetic investigation of these elements can lead us to comprehend the issues of youngster work on a universal skyline. Amazing enactment, its exacting requirement and the degree of its usage no matter how you look at it on a global scale can fill in as an establishm ent in tending to this revile. Universal investigations uncover the greatness of the grave issue of kid work. An orderly gauge, attempted in 1985 (Black 9), determined around 31 million road youngsters around the world, of whom 71 percent were kid laborers living at home, 23 percent kept intermittent family contact, and 8 percent were altogether isolated. The contributing variables to the kid work are boundless, be that as it may, the fundamental barely any elements are outer obligation, destitution, absence of fitting framework, financial emergency, and social and social condition. It is said that the data innovation has enormously contributed in globalization and changing the world into a worldwide town. The incongruity of the circumstance is that everything in this world is globalizing aside from riches and advancement. The Brettonwoods establishments for example IMF and the World Bank need to play a solid and fair job in guaranteeing that the seeds of development and improvement are infused into the creating scene. In spite of the fact that destitution is named to be the primary causal factor for kid work in the creating scene, in any case, a few examinations have indicated that some kid laborers â€Å"are moderately from well-off families, and take part in the business for fervor and pocket cash (Myers 9).

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Diary Of Anne Frank By Anne Frank :: essays research papers

In 1942, when the Nazi's started to attack their nation, the Frank family sought total isolation in a storage room of a distribution center. The Franks' little girl, Anne, kept a journal all through their shocking difficulty. Minutes before the Frank's were caught in their concealing spot following a two-year remain, Anne wrote in her journal the words, 'regardless of everything, I despite everything accept that individuals are great on the most fundamental level.'; Even however Anne endured so much her fearlessness and character just became more grounded. Â Â Â Â Â Before Anne Frank sought total isolation, she drove a delighted and blissful life. She was constantly encircled by companions and her family was wealthy. She was torn away from her bliss and set into the unforgiving and coldblooded truth of the Nazi plan at just thirteen years old. This simply because she was Jewish. She stayed secured up in the loft of the distribution center for right around twenty-five months, always being unable to step outside. Such restraint and life of dread would make practically any adolescent totally discouraged and progressively hopeless that words could communicate. In any case, Anne figured out how to save trust in a superior tomorrow and her regard for humankind. Â Â Â Â Â Anne offered an extremely ground-breaking expression in her final words. To really accept something like this subsequent to being manhandled by the Nazis is very amazing in reality. I am exceptionally certain that the vast majority, including myself, would have imagined that the world was a totally degenerate and people are normally remorseless in the event that they'd have experienced such occasions. I accept that Anne can say something like this as a result of her extraordinary unselfishness and love for all of G-d's animals. I likewise accept that if Anne could have written in her journal after she had gone to the inhumane imprisonment, she would have said precisely the same thing.

White and Indian Relations between 1865 to 1900 Essay Example for Free

White and Indian Relations between 1865 to 1900 Essay Encounters and clashes between White American and Native American during the late eighteen hundreds become progressively uneven. From ceremonial practices and convictions to land proprietorship and government approach; Native Americans and there white form parts varied significantly. Between 1865 to 1900 the White man and Native American connections in western United States could be portrayed as a loathsome and miss driving frenzy of white man pulverizing remote traditions and people groups. In 1862 Congress had allowed western pioneers their two biggest wishes, the Home Stead Act, promising responsibility for section of land tract of open land to a resident or leader of a family who had dwelled on/or developed the land for a long time after starting case and the cross-country railroad. Carrying the grew east coast to the Wild West, was the impetus to end of the Native American. Contributing variables for the end of the Native American connection between the White Man are appeared through carnage and tears. With new white pilgrims going toward the west, Native American grounds contracted fundamentally. In 1862 the grounds of the Santee Sioux, close to the Minnesota River had been trimmed down so definitely, the Sioux chose to fight back. The Sioux disappointments over grounds lead to the one of the first of numerous enormous Native American wars with the White man. The Sioux War finished in 1868 with the marking of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, Which built up two huge Native American reservations. The Reservations where situated in Oklahoma and Dakota Badlands. Just six years after the fact Colonel George Armstrong Custer drove an undertaking into the Scared Black Hills of the Sioux. In the same way as other U. S. government treaty’s to Native American, Custer abused of the settlement of 1868 and began the hullabaloo and killings for the following ten years. After the impacts of Custers Last Stand, the Native American protection from the White Man stopped. By 1886 reformers perceived that the arrangement of containing Indians on reservations was not in the wellbeing. With well meaning goals congress maintained the Dawes Severalty act in 1887. It finished the booking approach and urged Native Americans to intergrade into white society, as ranchers and land owners. One of the significant reasons why â€Å"The Dawes Act† didn't with stand was because of the Native American idea of property. In numerous manner the Native American and the White Man convey diverse good and social convictions. One of the additionally fascinating ideas that Native Americans with held during early American years was the possibility of landowner transport. Local American clans where dispersed up and down the, presently joined expressed and frequently coming to past present outskirts. Local American clans additionally made due on relocating creatures in the encompassing regions. Wild ox In the western United States was a food staple for some Native American clans. Wild ox being a moving creature, needed to have been followed to be pursued. Driving the greater part of Native Americans to be roaming clans following the bison group. At the point when the white settles came to Native Americans with land proprietorship a large number of the Native American clans didnt concur with this new remote idea. Local Americans believed that everybody should share land, and a solitary individual can't and ought not possess land. In 1879, the government endeavored to Americanize Native Americans by and by. This time through an increasingly sensational methodology. Evaluating around one thousand Native American youth where compelled to learn at one of the one hundred and fifty all inclusive schools around the United States. These schools showed Native American youth how to turn out to be socially acknowledged in white American. By changing society styles with white American, and thoroughly dismissing Native American way of life. As anyone might expect a large portion of the school didn't last, due to the severe, internment camp Like conditions. Another advocator for serene incorporation among Native Americans into white society was a man named Richard Pratt. Pratt was celebrated for his concept of considering Native To be as, what one would call a â€Å"blank record. † Meaning, similarly as every other person, human. His thoughts comprise of full absorption of white culture and dismissing long periods of Native American culture, for the advancement of the individuals. Murder the Indian, And Save the Man. This is one of his most well known piece on Native Americans osmosis. In 1890 the last extraordinary expectation, the rise of The Ghost Dance was a portrayal from a medication man, that all the dead Native American troopers will return to life and get revenge on the new settled Americans. This Ghost Dance is the image for the finish of the battle for the west. By the 1890 the Native American needed to adjust to life inside the limits set by white culture regardless of their valiant endeavors of opposition. List of sources Davidson, James West. Us: A Narrative History, Volume 2. sixth ed. Vol. 2. [S. l. ]: Mcgraw Hill Higher Educat, 2011. Print.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Feminist views in the Canterbury Tales Essay

The book The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer holds an assortment of stories situated in medieval occasions of a few people experiencing an excursion. En route each character stops to recount to a story that shows a good. These accounts all have their own heroes that share the storyteller’s convictions and every story is told with a remarkable perspective on the evolving scene. Toward the finish of every story, the primary character faces their judgment or figuring and an exercise gives itself upon them. The Wife of Bath’s story and the Nun’s Priest story both epitomize this thought unmistakably and share clashing perspectives on the job of ladies during the timeframe. In the star women's activist story of the Wife of Bath the youthful knight faces his judgment toward the end when he permits his better half to pick her appearance and, in the antifeminist Nun’s Priest story, the chicken, known as Chanticleer, faces his judgment when the fox grabs him. The principal character that faces his retribution is the youthful knight in the story told by the Wife of Bath. The Wife of Bath presents an expert women's activist view in when ladies were viewed as items and the problem the knight faces identifies with the topic of the tale of how confiding in ladies consistently brings about satisfaction. The knight assaults a lady and is rebuffed by the sovereign and compelled to discover what ladies need the most. Similarly as the knight is going to surrender his inquiry, he discovers a worn out elderly person that discloses to him that she has the appropriate response he looks for yet will possibly uncover it to him on the off chance that he vows to finish an errand for her later on. He says yes and she discloses to him that ladies need territory over their spouses. He faces his retribution toward the finish of the story, after he has hitched the elderly person, when his better half permits him to pick her appearance. He reacts, â€Å"My woman and my affection, and wif so dere, I putte me in youre insightful governaunce† (p234 lines 1236-1237). He is then compensated for offering matchless quality to his significant other and she decides to be delightful and dedicated. The knight arrives at this revelation through his excursion, as he needed to approach ladies with deference and give them territory over himself so as to spare his life. This retribution is suitable for the knight in light of the fact that, toward the start of the story, he didn't regard ladies in any case, all through his hunt, he discovers that treating ladies similarly and being accommodating to them prompts joy. The second character that faces his retribution is Chanticleer from the Nun Priest’s story. Chanticleer is the best chicken in all the land yet one day he has an awful dream. He tells his better half of his fantasy and she lashes out at him saying, â€Å"I can nat love a weakling, by my confidence. For certes, what so any womman saith, we alle desiren, on the off chance that it may be, to han a housbondes solid astute and free† (p252 lines 91-94). This thought stands out enormously from that of the Wife of Bath’s, which said that ladies just need territory over their spouses. Chanticleer decides to disregard his fantasy, against his own desires, so as to satisfy his significant other. Nonetheless, he comes to confront his judgment when a fox comes and takes him from the upset. Chanticleer is nearly murdered for tuning in to his better half however figures out how to escape the fox’s grasp and escape. This judgment is suitable for Chanticleer as he speaks to male incomparability in the public arena. At the point when he tunes in to his significant other over his own instinct he is almost executed. This stories shows a solid antifeminist perspective, conversely with that of the Wife of Bath, and depicts ladies as the ruin of man. The storyteller even says, â€Å"Wommenes conseils broughte us first to wo, and made Adam fro paradis to go, there as he was ful merye and wel at ese. Be that as it may, for I noot to whom it may displese in the event that I conseil of ladies wolde fault, pass over† (p259 lines 436-442). The Wife of Bath and the Nun’s Priest story both show how the characters confronted their retribution subsequent to tuning in to the ladies in their lives. In the Wife of Bath’s story the knight is compensated for approaching ladies with deference while, in the Nun’s Priest story, Chanticleer is rebuffed. Chaucer composed these two stories since they show the conflict of perspectives on women’s jobs in the public eye around then. While the Wife of Bath underpins women’s rights, the Nun’s minister story denounces them and says ladies are only unadulterated abhorrence. This conflict despite everything exists today and one may think about whether individuals today could take in an exercise from these two characters.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Crittercism

Crittercism INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco with Crittercism. Andrew, who are you and what do you do?Andrew: So I am the co-founder of the company. I lead strategy and basically handle all outward facing activities and I also work with the team on product strategy and roadmap.Martin: How did you come up with this business idea?Andrew: Basically, I have an engineering background. A Long time ago I was doing data warehousing at HP so big data type engineering work. I left there when I got into Y Combinator, a startup incubator based out here in the Valley for a different company. There we were working on a project, it’s a data pipeline that analyzes tweets to be able to target advertising. We are quite passionate about ad tech space so we ended up shutting down that company. It was my first start-up after college I was working on but I met up with a coworker at HP and we started building mobile apps together. Our apps, they had a bunch of performance problems, we had one st ar reviews, we had people complaining. We just found out it was very difficult to get a handle on what that end user experience was like. We ended up building some tools to help ourselves and we spoke at bunch of mobile meetups and realized that this was a widespread problem.The apps we have used ourselves were not that actionable. I am sure you’ve read that before, they say, “This app sucks. It’s not working.” Ok, it doesn’t help me recreate the problem and even if you could get in touch with the consumer, they just aren’t knowledgeable to help you understand and recreate exactly what happened and what happened under the hood. That’s what the company is for, we solve problems, scratch your own edge is the phrase. So we are building apps back in 2010 and we ended up incorporating this company in January of 2011 so actually comes up on our 5 anniversary now.Martin: Did you have some kind of initial customers before you incorporated the company and this made you see that there might be some business potential? Or did you first incorporate it and then went looking for customers?Andrew: It’s a great question because after Y Combinator we got a little bit of money from there but we were bootstrapping and my fiancée at that time was buying groceries which was great, she was being very supportive, but we wanted to make sure that the next company that I build, that there was something there, that there was a real problem, a ‘hair on fire’ problem that needed to be solved. After we’re building those mobile apps we almost didn’t start this company. But we felt like there was something there and so what we did was we set up a sign up list, like a beta list, put up a landing page and that was just a way for us to gauge demand . And in addition to that we did get software out in the hands of a few startups, a few other developers that we knew in the community. We just saw that there was enough demand and we actually took that and applied to a diffe rent incubator called Angel Pad which is founded by a bunch of ex-googlers who are now based in New York. We got into that program. So we had the social proof and social validation through that. Plus we had that sign up list of potential clients and so we said, “We have to do this. We are on to something.”BUSINESS MODEL OF CRITTERCISMMartin: Let’s talk about the business model of Crittercism. What is actually the value proposition that you are delivering to your customers?Andrew: It’s actually fairly straightforward which I think when you work on something, can you explain it to your grandma that’s kind of a test, right? Basically everyone has used a mobile app that hasn’t worked correctly, maybe it was slow or laggy, maybe tried to buy something and it didn’t work. So what Crittercism does is that it attract that user journey while they are using a mobile app. It sees where you struggle and we collect diagnostic data under the hood, to help companies find and fix tho se issues that customers are running into.I guess a bit of a deeper explanation of what we do is to really provide actual intelligence by taking operational and behavioral data. So behavioral data is what buttons the user is tapping on, what screens they are on. And then the operational data that we overlay on top of it is code defects â€" things like crashes and errors, networking issues, not only carrier performance but we track all the cloud services and APIs that a mobile app is interacting with. And we tie it back of course with code defects because they can be related. We look at important transactions or workflows in the app so if you are trying to log in or update your profile or check out, we take that and we track all these critical events and help you understand its taking too long to complete an action and if there is some failure that occurred along the way.Martin: When you are talking of user behavior tracking is it that the company or your customer is actually definin g the workflow or is It like generic like maybe Google Analytics maybe just add the Crittercism snippet and that’s it?Andrew: It’s similar to google analytics. We have an SDK piece of software that you embed into an app. We automate a lot of these events that we collect and a lot of the performance issues that a customer may run into. We do an optional logging so you can send us additional data and also we let you define what those important workflows are. Our clients know better than us where does logging start and end so they can define that and we will automatically track all these critical events, user behavior and operational data along the way.Martin: Are you having an API so your customer has access to all the people data as well?Andrew: Yes, we have an API for all virtual data and our best clients will hook us up into their operation centers. The product managers will have real time view especially around releases. The develper team will have a separate dashboard, seeing what the code defects are like and how well they are doing.Martin: Are there any specific customer segments that you are having or is it just everybody who has a mobile app?Andrew: So we operate across verticals, across industries. We operate at a tremendous scale. We process over a hundred billion application launches every month. This is a across three of the five top global media companies, two of the top three hotel chains in the world, two of the top three credit card processors and so it’s not every single vertical. We do have major presence in retail. I’d anyone that’s building a mission critical or revenue critical mobile application falls under our purview. And it’s in a variety of use cases, and it is not necessarily who thinks of the consumer apps when you download apps at the app store, that is the majority of our business but a lot of companies are also publishing internal mobile applications to their employeesto improve a business process.So an example would b eâ€" we have a very large retailer who has applied apps to the employees in the warehouses so they can track inventory.There is another one that we work with, and you have seen point of sale devices being done by smart phones or tablets, but they actually will even do something like take a smartphone and hook it up to a printer and reprint price tags when people return items to the store. So we are seeing more and more of that, all these business processes are being moved onto smartphones and tablets because of the efficiency gains that they get from it.Martin How is your revenue model working?Andrew: So we charge based on how many users an app has. Specifically, monthly active users. If you install and never use the app we won’t charge the company that’s supporting the app for that user. But it makes sense because we collect more data the more customers that client ends up having.Martin: And how did you define the price point or is it really like customer specific?Andrew: It to ok us a while to get to something that worked because there wasn’t a great analogy in the beginning. It wasn’t like we can look at what was happening on the web world, because mobile is just different beast. And so we just experimented and over time found a price point that worked.Martin: Ok, cool. Are there any options to extending this kind of model because if you are first on the mobile and you have all the behavioral data so to speak where can identify wether an app crashed or some system information and etc. what you are currently doing. Are there any other applications that can build on top of that or actually you are already doing?Andrew: Sure. You are right, we collect a lot of rich data. In fact, we started publishing some of this in the forms of reports in The Health of the Industry, as iOS and Android is doing. In fact, we’ve got data.crittercism.com, we have some live benchmarks there. So we will continue to invest in the data intelligence aspect of it.But we have our customers using us in a variety of ways, ways we couldn’t even imagine when we first built the company. At the end of the day it’s all about customer experience and companies want to make sure that no matter what channel their users are going through to access their service that they have that amazing experience. And of course there is revenue involved to make sure that everything goes smoothly.So an example that would be obviously around connected devices and IOT, we are in some major watch applications, as an example we have just seen Apple revamp its TV offering. So these are platforms that we’ve started to work on and we plan to support all of them because they actually look and feel and smell very similar to smartphone and tablets and there really you are dealing with embedded software. And the important thing to keep in mind is when working on embedded software is customer experience is very tightly coupled with performance because everything is combined into one. Yo u don’t have that client â€" server separation of the web. And companies just struggle to keep up because the ecosystem is moving so quickly, there is not enough engineering talent out there, they can’t even hire fast enough. They have caught up somewhere, on the traditional mobile side but now you have this explosion of brand new devices coming out and it’s another challenge. Our software helps them tackle those challenges so their customers are successful .Martin: You are covering one and one hundred billion app loads a month. Can you give us insights on the main reasons why an app is crashing?Andrew: Sure. And when you say crash, you know people use this term for variety of things. When you look at an app crashing, it could be just close but what happens if you try to buy something and it’s sitting there and spinning and you say screw that and hit the home button some people might call it a crash even though technically there is a word for it.When it comes down to it, itâ €™s actually related to why mobile is different. If you can answer that question, you can answer what causes apps to fail the most. When you look at it, you look at all the devices out there, you have heard a lot about device fragmentation, thousands and thousands Android devices. Even on iOS , you see they have a lot more devices than they used to. You see a lot of operating system pushes so we just had iOS9, Marshmallow is having a roll out right now. And each new iOS release can cause problems, each new device that comes out. You have carriers and a lot of people think carriers are dumb pipes but they can actually mess with the data, they can do package shaping we have seen one that have changed JPEGs to PNGs as an example. You have geopolitical issues like the firewall in China, you have major countries just shutting down internet access during conflicts. These are all things you just didn’t even have to imagine in the previous world. But of course the sensors available to the se devices are new. And so we added all up, it is impossible to test every possible use case and even if you could that new Samsung device comes out and suddenly things start breaking again. Having that visibility, it is a vague answer but that’s the number one reason why applications fail. It’s just that there are peculiarities; whether it’s the device, the OS, the location that cause some of them to occur or some code to be executed that you just didn’t test for. That’s what ends up causing a lot of headaches especially for companies that that are not using our software.Martin: Are you aware of the Safe Harbour Act? I think some weeks ago it was refusedâ€"Andrew: Last week. Yes, The European High Court nullified it.Martin: Your company is based in the US. Do you see any impact on the Safe Harbour on your business?Andrew: So Europe has been important for us from day one. In fact, our first paying customer was in Europe which a lot of people don’t know. Even though we ar e 60 person company we have a European data center. We leverage Amazon’s Frankfurt Instance and that has data isolation so the data does not leave the EU. In fact, it doesn’t leave Germany, it’s based there. We were Safe Harbour certified before the European Court did that annulment, by the way we are paying close attention because they are going to give new guidelines to US companies, kind of like a Safe Harbour 2.0.But data privacy and security has always been important to us, it’s always been a question that has been raised. Especially because we are embedded in people’s apps and so by default we don’t collect any personal identifiable information. In fact, we have turned a lot of capabilities off by default in our SDK and companies can chose to turn things on, depending on if they are comfortable with it or not. You have to deal with mobiles that can be used by children, especially children under 13 and there is a law against collecting data there.So we have made sur e to be compliant across the spectrum in the US and overseas as well. So I think other companies that maybe don’t have a European data center are probably pretty worried because when they sell to a company in Europe, that was one of the certification they would show to make them feel more trusted an feel better by using their product but for us, we have that capability available so there is less of an impact for us.Martin: Just checking if I got it right, in the US you are not allowed to track the behavior of people of 13 years and below?Andrew: There is a specific rule called Code of Compliance. There are specific rules around collecting anything that might be considered as person identifiable. We don’t collect that by default anyway but there is a gray area in terms of what you consider person identifiable and so we have made sure that we architected ourselves both in terms of our product but also in terms of the legal documents that we handle.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM ANDR EW LEVY In San Francisco (CA), we meet Co-Founder of Crittercism, Andrew Levy. Andrew talks about his story how he came up with the idea and founded Crittercism, how the current business model works, as well as he provides some advice for young entrepreneurs.INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco with Crittercism. Andrew, who are you and what do you do?Andrew: So I am the co-founder of the company. I lead strategy and basically handle all outward facing activities and I also work with the team on product strategy and roadmap.Martin: How did you come up with this business idea?Andrew: Basically, I have an engineering background. A Long time ago I was doing data warehousing at HP so big data type engineering work. I left there when I got into Y Combinator, a startup incubator based out here in the Valley for a different company. There we were working on a project, it’s a data pipeline that analyzes tweets to be able to target advertising. We are quite passionate about ad tech space so we ended up shutting down that company. It was my first start-up after college I was working on but I met up with a coworker at HP and we started building mobile apps together. Our apps, they had a bunch of performance problems, we had one star reviews, we had people complaining. We just found out it was very difficult to get a handle on what that end user experience was like. We ended up building some tools to help ourselves and we spoke at bunch of mobile meetups and realized that this was a widespread problem.The apps we have used ourselves were not that actionable. I am sure you’ve read that before, they say, “This app sucks. It’s not working.” Ok, it doesn’t help me recreate the problem and even if you could get in touch with the consumer, they just aren’t knowledgeable to help you understand and recreate exactly what happened and what happened under the hood. That’s what the company is for, we solve problems, scratch your own edge is the phrase. So we ar e building apps back in 2010 and we ended up incorporating this company in January of 2011 so actually comes up on our 5 anniversary now.Martin: Did you have some kind of initial customers before you incorporated the company and this made you see that there might be some business potential? Or did you first incorporate it and then went looking for customers?Andrew: It’s a great question because after Y Combinator we got a little bit of money from there but we were bootstrapping and my fiancée at that time was buying groceries which was great, she was being very supportive, but we wanted to make sure that the next company that I build, that there was something there, that there was a real problem, a ‘hair on fire’ problem that needed to be solved. After we’re building those mobile apps we almost didn’t start this company. But we felt like there was something there and so what we did was we set up a sign up list, like a beta list, put up a landing page and that was just a w ay for us to gauge demand . And in addition to that we did get software out in the hands of a few startups, a few other developers that we knew in the community. We just saw that there was enough demand and we actually took that and applied to a different incubator called Angel Pad which is founded by a bunch of ex-googlers who are now based in New York. We got into that program. So we had the social proof and social validation through that. Plus we had that sign up list of potential clients and so we said, “We have to do this. We are on to something.”BUSINESS MODEL OF CRITTERCISMMartin: Let’s talk about the business model of Crittercism. What is actually the value proposition that you are delivering to your customers?Andrew: It’s actually fairly straightforward which I think when you work on something, can you explain it to your grandma that’s kind of a test, right? Basically everyone has used a mobile app that hasn’t worked correctly, maybe it was slow or laggy, maybe tried to buy something and it didn’t work. So what Crittercism does is that it attract that user journey while they are using a mobile app. It sees where you struggle and we collect diagnostic data under the hood, to help companies find and fix those issues that customers are running into.I guess a bit of a deeper explanation of what we do is to really provide actual intelligence by taking operational and behavioral data. So behavioral data is what buttons the user is tapping on, what screens they are on. And then the operational data that we overlay on top of it is code defects â€" things like crashes and errors, networking issues, not only carrier performance but we track all the cloud services and APIs that a mobile app is interacting with. And we tie it back of course with code defects because they can be related. We look at important transactions or workflows in the app so if you are trying to log in or update your profile or check out, we take that and we track all these cr itical events and help you understand its taking too long to complete an action and if there is some failure that occurred along the way.Martin: When you are talking of user behavior tracking is it that the company or your customer is actually defining the workflow or is It like generic like maybe Google Analytics maybe just add the Crittercism snippet and that’s it?Andrew: It’s similar to google analytics. We have an SDK piece of software that you embed into an app. We automate a lot of these events that we collect and a lot of the performance issues that a customer may run into. We do an optional logging so you can send us additional data and also we let you define what those important workflows are. Our clients know better than us where does logging start and end so they can define that and we will automatically track all these critical events, user behavior and operational data along the way.Martin: Are you having an API so your customer has access to all the people data as well?Andrew: Yes, we have an API for all virtual data and our best clients will hook us up into their operation centers. The product managers will have real time view especially around releases. The develper team will have a separate dashboard, seeing what the code defects are like and how well they are doing.Martin: Are there any specific customer segments that you are having or is it just everybody who has a mobile app?Andrew: So we operate across verticals, across industries. We operate at a tremendous scale. We process over a hundred billion application launches every month. This is a across three of the five top global media companies, two of the top three hotel chains in the world, two of the top three credit card processors and so it’s not every single vertical. We do have major presence in retail. I’d anyone that’s building a mission critical or revenue critical mobile application falls under our purview. And it’s in a variety of use cases, and it is not necessarily who thinks of the consumer apps when you download apps at the app store, that is the majority of our business but a lot of companies are also publishing internal mobile applications to their employeesto improve a business process.So an example would beâ€" we have a very large retailer who has applied apps to the employees in the warehouses so they can track inventory.There is another one that we work with, and you have seen point of sale devices being done by smart phones or tablets, but they actually will even do something like take a smartphone and hook it up to a printer and reprint price tags when people return items to the store. So we are seeing more and more of that, all these business processes are being moved onto smartphones and tablets because of the efficiency gains that they get from it.Martin How is your revenue model working?Andrew: So we charge based on how many users an app has. Specifically, monthly active users. If you install and never use the app we won’t char ge the company that’s supporting the app for that user. But it makes sense because we collect more data the more customers that client ends up having.Martin: And how did you define the price point or is it really like customer specific?Andrew: It took us a while to get to something that worked because there wasn’t a great analogy in the beginning. It wasn’t like we can look at what was happening on the web world, because mobile is just different beast. And so we just experimented and over time found a price point that worked.Martin: Ok, cool. Are there any options to extending this kind of model because if you are first on the mobile and you have all the behavioral data so to speak where can identify wether an app crashed or some system information and etc. what you are currently doing. Are there any other applications that can build on top of that or actually you are already doing?Andrew: Sure. You are right, we collect a lot of rich data. In fact, we started publishing some of this in the forms of reports in The Health of the Industry, as iOS and Android is doing. In fact, we’ve got data.crittercism.com, we have some live benchmarks there. So we will continue to invest in the data intelligence aspect of it.But we have our customers using us in a variety of ways, ways we couldn’t even imagine when we first built the company. At the end of the day it’s all about customer experience and companies want to make sure that no matter what channel their users are going through to access their service that they have that amazing experience. And of course there is revenue involved to make sure that everything goes smoothly.So an example that would be obviously around connected devices and IOT, we are in some major watch applications, as an example we have just seen Apple revamp its TV offering. So these are platforms that we’ve started to work on and we plan to support all of them because they actually look and feel and smell very similar to smartphone an d tablets and there really you are dealing with embedded software. And the important thing to keep in mind is when working on embedded software is customer experience is very tightly coupled with performance because everything is combined into one. You don’t have that client â€" server separation of the web. And companies just struggle to keep up because the ecosystem is moving so quickly, there is not enough engineering talent out there, they can’t even hire fast enough. They have caught up somewhere, on the traditional mobile side but now you have this explosion of brand new devices coming out and it’s another challenge. Our software helps them tackle those challenges so their customers are successful .Martin: You are covering one and one hundred billion app loads a month. Can you give us insights on the main reasons why an app is crashing?Andrew: Sure. And when you say crash, you know people use this term for variety of things. When you look at an app crashing, it could be just close but what happens if you try to buy something and it’s sitting there and spinning and you say screw that and hit the home button some people might call it a crash even though technically there is a word for it.When it comes down to it, it’s actually related to why mobile is different. If you can answer that question, you can answer what causes apps to fail the most. When you look at it, you look at all the devices out there, you have heard a lot about device fragmentation, thousands and thousands Android devices. Even on iOS , you see they have a lot more devices than they used to. You see a lot of operating system pushes so we just had iOS9, Marshmallow is having a roll out right now. And each new iOS release can cause problems, each new device that comes out. You have carriers and a lot of people think carriers are dumb pipes but they can actually mess with the data, they can do package shaping we have seen one that have changed JPEGs to PNGs as an example. You have geopolitical issues like the firewall in China, you have major countries just shutting down internet access during conflicts. These are all things you just didn’t even have to imagine in the previous world. But of course the sensors available to these devices are new. And so we added all up, it is impossible to test every possible use case and even if you could that new Samsung device comes out and suddenly things start breaking again. Having that visibility, it is a vague answer but that’s the number one reason why applications fail. It’s just that there are peculiarities; whether it’s the device, the OS, the location that cause some of them to occur or some code to be executed that you just didn’t test for. That’s what ends up causing a lot of headaches especially for companies that that are not using our software.Martin: Are you aware of the Safe Harbour Act? I think some weeks ago it was refusedâ€"Andrew: Last week. Yes, The European High Court nullified it.Martin: Y our company is based in the US. Do you see any impact on the Safe Harbour on your business?Andrew: So Europe has been important for us from day one. In fact, our first paying customer was in Europe which a lot of people don’t know. Even though we are 60 person company we have a European data center. We leverage Amazon’s Frankfurt Instance and that has data isolation so the data does not leave the EU. In fact, it doesn’t leave Germany, it’s based there. We were Safe Harbour certified before the European Court did that annulment, by the way we are paying close attention because they are going to give new guidelines to US companies, kind of like a Safe Harbour 2.0.But data privacy and security has always been important to us, it’s always been a question that has been raised. Especially because we are embedded in people’s apps and so by default we don’t collect any personal identifiable information. In fact, we have turned a lot of capabilities off by default in our SDK an d companies can chose to turn things on, depending on if they are comfortable with it or not. You have to deal with mobiles that can be used by children, especially children under 13 and there is a law against collecting data there.So we have made sure to be compliant across the spectrum in the US and overseas as well. So I think other companies that maybe don’t have a European data center are probably pretty worried because when they sell to a company in Europe, that was one of the certification they would show to make them feel more trusted an feel better by using their product but for us, we have that capability available so there is less of an impact for us.Martin: Just checking if I got it right, in the US you are not allowed to track the behavior of people of 13 years and below?Andrew: There is a specific rule called Code of Compliance. There are specific rules around collecting anything that might be considered as person identifiable. We don’t collect that by default anyw ay but there is a gray area in terms of what you consider person identifiable and so we have made sure that we architected ourselves both in terms of our product but also in terms of the legal documents that we handle.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM ANDREW LEVYMartin: What type of advice could you give to first time entrepreneurs who would just come to you and say, “Andrew, I want to start a company but I am not sure what to do and how to do it correctly”?Andrew: There are many pieces of advice I could give. I would say for one thing when we were trying to start a company before I think we were going about it in the wrong way and kind of sitting in a room brainstorming about, “Hey, what should we work on”. But when it really came down to the most successful one we were leaning on our own experiences in what pains we did encounter, what inefficiencies that we did see. It is hard to start a company when you are not intimately familiar, you don’t have the main knowledge. If you are a software developer and you want to create software for medical profession but you don’t have any medical background it’s tough, you need to find a co-founder that could fill that slot for you.But beyond that, I think one thing that helped was as we started the company, one of the mantras that you hear quite frequently is fail fast. And even after we started this company we had what we thought was one product line but it was actually two and we begin quickly deprecating and getting rid of one of them because it wasn’t going as quickly. We wanted to really focus our time so I think it is important that we did that. Over time we have continued to make sure we stay focused and get rid of projects that are not on our core.Another piece of advice that I’d give is that you are very scrappy at the beginning and you don’t have a lot of money and it really forces you to make decisions in the right way and to move quickly. So another piece of advice I’d give is as you raise m oney from investors and you start to grow the company is you keep that mentality. If you do raise some money don’t overspend, make sure you validate your sales model. Don’t go out and hire a hundred sales people before you have done that. The analogy might be some people say, “If you build it, they will come”. But what you should do is to let some clients come and then build a little bit more. Don’t burry your head in the sand and build something for a year and hope that you will be successful. You need to quickly iterate and that’s not just in software development but that’s also on your business model and go to market plans.Martin: Andrew, thank you so much for your time. It was very nice and interesting.Andrew: Thanks. It was nice meeting you.Martin: And if you have an app and you want to really understand why it fails or where you can improve it on your workflow maybe you can just install and buy Crittercism.

Friday, June 26, 2020

College Admissions Expertise

College Admissions Expertise December 21, 2012 We offer tons of our college admissions expertise on our daily blogs. But theres a whole lot we dont share, too. As a regular reader of our college admissions blog, you know that we share tons of advice on the highly selective college admissions process with our readers. Thats part of our goal to share our college admissions expertise  with the world. But do know that were very careful about what we blog about. Many points of admissions expertise we choose not to post on our blog because theyre part of our college counseling services. Do you really think well post all of the secrets of Ivy League admissions on our blog? No. At the end of the day, were a business. But were a business that does like to offer advice to everyone client or not. We hope if youre one of those folks who read through every blog (and we do know youre out there) that we entertain you at times and we do hope that our tips are helpful to you (or your child) as they apply to highly selective colleges. Follow our tips and it will indeed help your (or your childs) candidacy. But know that there are a lot more tips that were not sharing with you because these tips were not willing to give away for free. We are not a non-profit. We are an American business. So keep on reading our blogs (and if you really do read every one, we apologize for sometimes being repetitive). We do write a blog every day. Every single day. Including weekends and holidays. In fact, if you go through our old blogs, you wont find a day this past year that a new blog wasnt posted on our site. Weve got over 800 blog entries. So read away. Youll learn lots. But know that its far from all and that is intentional.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Pennsylvania Colony A Quaker Experiment in America

The Pennsylvania colony was one of the 13 original British colonies that became the United States of America. It was founded in 1682 by the English Quaker William Penn. Escape From European Persecution In 1681, William Penn, a Quaker, was given a land grant from King Charles II, who owed money to Penns deceased father. Immediately, Penn sent his cousin William Markham to the territory to take control of it and be its governor. Penns goal with Pennsylvania was to create a colony that allowed for freedom of religion. The Quakers were among the most radical of the English Protestant sects that had sprung up in the 17th century. Penn sought a colony in America—what he called a holy experiment—to protect himself and fellow Quakers from persecution. When Markham arrived on the western shore of the Delaware River, however, he found that the region was already inhabited by Europeans. Part of present-day Pennsylvania was actually included in the territory named New Sweden that had been founded by Swedish settlers in 1638. This territory was then surrendered to the Dutch in 1655 when Peter Stuyvesant sent a large force to invade. Swedes and Finns continued to arrive and settle in what would become Pennsylvania. Arrival of William Penn In 1682, William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania on a ship called the Welcome. He quickly instituted the First Frame of Government and created three counties: Philadelphia, Chester, and Bucks. When he called a General Assembly to meet in Chester, the assembled body decided that the Delaware counties should be joined with those of Pennsylvania and that the governor would preside over both areas. It would not be until 1703 that Delaware would separate itself from Pennsylvania. In addition, the General Assembly adopted the Great Law, which provided for the liberty of conscience in terms of religious affiliations. By 1683, the Second General Assembly created the Second Frame of Government. Any Swedish settlers were to become English subjects, seeing that the English were now in a majority in the colony. Pennsylvania During the American Revolution Pennsylvania played an extremely important role in the American Revolution. The First and Second Continental Congresses were convened in Philadelphia. This is where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed. Numerous key battles and events of the war occurred in the colony, including the crossing of the Delaware River, the Battle of Brandywine, the Battle of Germantown, and the winter encampment at Valley Forge. The Articles of Confederation were also drafted in Pennsylvania, the document that formed the basis of the new Confederation that was created at the end of the Revolutionary War. Significant Events In 1688, the first written protest against slavery in North America was created and signed by the Quakers in Germantown. In 1712, the slave trade was outlawed in Pennsylvania.  The colony was well-advertised, and by 1700 it was the third-biggest and the richest colony in the New World.Penn allowed for a representative assembly elected by landowners.Freedom of worship and religion was granted to all citizens.In 1737, Benjamin Franklin was named the postmaster of Philadelphia. Before this, he had set up his own printing shop and started publishing Poor Richards Almanack. In the following years, he was named the first president of the Academy, performed his famous electricity experiments, and was an important figure in the fight for American independence. Sources Frost, J.W. William Penns Experiment in the Wilderness: Promise and Legend. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 107, no. 4, October 1983, pp. 577-605.Schwartz, Sally. William Penn and Toleration: Foundations of Colonial Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 50, no. 4, October 1983, pp. 284-312.

Monday, May 18, 2020

How Atticus Finch and Elie Wiesel Demonstrate Heoric...

According to Umberto Eco, â€Å"The real hero is always a hero by mistake†¦.† In other words, one doesn’t act heroic as a lifestyle, but by surprise when the time comes to do so. To be heroic means to put others before you in a desperate time of someone else’s despair. Two works of literature that agree with the critical lens are the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee and the memoir, Night, by Elie Wiesel. Atticus Finch and Elie Wiesel both demonstrate heroic actions unintentionally. Atticus Finch from, To Kill a Mockingbird, is characterized as a wise man that is an exceptional father to his children and always teaches them the right perspective about life and the people around them. He was appointed to the lawyer for a†¦show more content†¦Atticus was like a wise owl, he continuously strived to teach his children the way he taught himself how to deal with daily conflicts in life. When the father of the girl who was raped spit i n Atticus’ face, he said that he would take getting spit in the face as many times as it saves the girl from getting beaten by her father. Another scenario, is that when men rioted at the jail the night before they moved Tom, he said although they were mad they were still good people. Atticus symbolized a hero; he always wanted to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt. He always looked for the good in everything. Elie Wiesel was the protagonist of the memoir Night who overcomes many obstacles while in the Holocaust. Elie was fifteen when he was put in concentration camps. He was separated from his mother and sisters forever; they were immediately sent to the crematoriums. All Elie had was his father who never showed much emotion or affection. Elie lied about his age and said he was older so he could stay with his father as he was advised to by a stranger who was also in the Holocaust. Elie was worked, almost to death, for one year. He also maintained to keep with his father and keep him motivated and hopeful till the very end. Throughout the year he watched his father be beaten, stripped down, and nearly dead. Elie had also been beaten; he had been especially victimized by a â€Å"Kapo† named

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Death in Literature - 803 Words

Death In Literature Death is a natural part of life, its the saddest part of life; no doubt about it. In literature, death is often the theme expressed in tragedies, this theme may not necessarily be a lesson, but may appear to be more of a story being told. With death the theme the tone can still vary. This is because the tone is just an expression given by the writer, when the expression changes the tone changes as well. There are three ways to view death, the death of a friend, the death of ourselves, and the afterlife. There are many poems that have to do with death, however it doesnt have to a poem, songs are great uses of literature as well. The poem Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone by W.H. Auden, Im afraid of death by Kathleen Ossip, and the song â€Å"Were in Heaven† by Bryan Adams are all great examples of death in literature. Each shows a different view of death. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone is a poem written by W.H. Auden in a theme about death, expressed in a tragical way. The poem takes place after someone the poet knows has died. The tone of the poem is sad as it conveys a mournful message towards the person who died. The tone however expresses to be calm but not relaxed at all, but its attitude is confident and solid. Its tittle â€Å"stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone† is meant to mean we must take time to mourn those who had died in a moment of silence. As the clocks may make noise with the ringing but they also are a symbolShow MoreRelatedDeath in American Literature2425 Words   |  10 Pagesthat doubts and questions its own reflections. They employ death as the focal point of self-consciousness, the unknowable center around which our thoughts inevitably swirl (whether we are aware of it or not).   Compare Dickinson’s poem #315 and Poe’s â€Å"Ligeia† on the topic. Philosophy of the death The theme of death has always been a presence in American writings – from early colonial diaries and through the nineteen century – because death was perceived to be ever present in people’s lives. DescendedRead MoreLiterature Review on Death Penalty1028 Words   |  5 PagesDo You Agree With The Death Penalty? Abstract The main focus on this literature review paper is going to be over â€Å"Do you agree with the death penalty?†. I gathered information by asking a series of questions of other individuals. Some of the questions I asked was, â€Å"Do you think the death penalty is a deterrent from a crime?†, and â€Å"How should the death penalty be administered?† My goal is to find out how many people agree or disagree with the death penalty, and why. This will be a goodRead MoreThe Theme of Death is Crucial in Literature733 Words   |  3 PagesThe theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, youll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief toRead MoreEssay on Life and Death in Literature868 Words   |  4 PagesDeath is part of life, it is only natural that authors, and poetics writes about death. The word death brings different feelings to minds. Most are scare of the thought. Some embraces death, the thought of meeting our maker. The feeling to not exists, while the rest of the world goes on with their lives is overwhelming. To write about death, they have to write about life. Life and death is usually the plot in short stories, plays, and poems. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner; â€Å"The Story ofRead MoreDeath Of Children s Literature2075 Words   |  9 Pages Death in Children’s Literature Intro Children’s Literature (30822) IIP Project Jaime Ramsey The Ohio State University Sarah Bradford Fletcher Today, we live in a society that sometimes pushes the envelope, in regards to topics that may seem controversial, and evoke uncomfortable emotions in our school classrooms, and also the parents of the children reading these books. It is important to establish the profound impact children’s literature has not only children, but alsoRead More Death and the African American Literature2497 Words   |  10 Pagesforms of literature that we encountered in this course, it is unmistakable that the African American literary tradition demonstrates that the past (the unbelievable sufferings of African Americans) can never be arrested and forgotten. The many that have perished at the feet of racism are the history of African Americans themselves, and the African American literary tradition makes it a priority to be true to that history. So why is death a theme in the African American literary tradition? Death, inRead MoreLife And Death That Polish Literature1986 Words   |  8 Pages a period of change. Poland was expanding as a country and many political events were occurring. During this span of time, Polish literature signifies various changes in its themes, beliefs and language all constituted with a purpose. The theme of life and death overpowers Polish literature written during these two eras. Two pieces that demonstrate an experience of death and how the author’s worldview comes through the text are Jan Kochanowski’s Laments and an unknown author’s Lament of Our Lady atRead MoreSudden Cardiac Death Information Literature1471 Words   |  6 PagesGhanshyam Patel, EMPL ID: 23591518 CHSS Research Paper Instructor: Dr. Christian Grov SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH Author: Ghanshyam Patel MBBS, MPH EMPL Id: 23591518, Ghanshyam.patel18@sphmail.cuny.edu FROM, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, 55 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA Abstract: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is major public health problem. SCD continues to be one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, with an annual incidence estimated at 250000 toRead MoreEssay about Life and Death in Literature1516 Words   |  7 PagesThe word death brings different feelings to minds. Most are scared of the thought. Some embrace death, the thought of meeting our maker. The feeling to not exist, while the rest of the world goes on with their lives is overwhelming. To write about death, they have to write about life. Life and death is reality. There are various short stories, poems, and plays that attribute life and death. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, and â€Å"Hamlet, Prince of Denmark†Read MoreHumanity, Monstrosity, Gothic Literature Death Essay1807 Words   |  8 PagesHumanity, Monstrosity, Gothic Literature Death by J. Williams The Gothic genre delves into the depths of humanity,  where the presence of the horrible and the macabre represent ‘the dark side’ of human nature.  Ã‚  Indeed, according to M. H. Abrams, Gothic novelists invited â€Å"fiction to the realm of the irrational and of the perverse impulses and nightmarish terrors that lie beneath the orderly surface of the civilized mind† (111).   In such works, unnatural desires and forbidden excesses that are

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Iphone The New Way American Culture - 1446 Words

Twenty five percent of all American cell phone users currently own an iPhone as of September 2013 (Bosic). IPhones have become a sense of status to the American people. By owning an iPhone it makes a statement of class, a statement the iPhone has been making since its unveiling. When the iPhone first debuted in 2007 it was priced at $599 and considered a piece of luxury (Kelly). While iPhones can now be subsidized with a two-year contract, the iPhone is still considered to be luxurious (Kelly). Apple’s iPhone has transformed the way American culture communicates, how productive they can be and even their mental capacity, simply by changing the way American view cell phones. The very first iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. Although†¦show more content†¦Ryan Block of Engadget said of the first iPhone, â€Å"To date no one’s made a phone that does so much with so little, and despite the numerous foible of the iPhones gesture-based touchscreen interface, the learning curve is surprisingly low. It’s totally clear that with the iPhone, Apple raised the bar not only for the cellphone but for the portable media players and multifunction convergence devices in general (Ritchie).† Block had a very valid point when speaking about the learning curve of the iPhone’s, which allowed the iPhone to be used by nearly everyone. Apple also raised the bar by creating tougher competition for the smartphone market. Before the iPhone, only Blackberry, Palm and Nokia were in the smartphone market. When the iPhone came into the market, though they had a few bumps and software mishaps, the device was unlike anything before it. Since iPhone has come out, Palm no longer exists as a smartphone company, and Nokia and Blackberry are almost no more. As Apple advanced its iPhone hardware, they also updated its software and features (Sarwar and Tariq). As of recent, Apple’s iPhones advanced communication features include Face Time, Picture Message, iMessage, and social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Apple’s iPhone has made it almost impossible for someone not to be able to contact others. Before the iPhone there were limited ways to contact someone; now there are

Marlow in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Free Essays

In Heart of Darkness Conrad tries to deal with issues which are almost inexpressible.   The mysterious effect of the jungle wilderness on Kurtz, and on Marlow himself, puzzles the imagination and bewilders the understanding.   We might ask why Conrad chooses to tell the story through the character of Marlow, rather than simply to set it as a first person narrative. We will write a custom essay sample on Marlow in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness or any similar topic only for you Order Now    The story is, in fact, about Kurtz, and about the way that contact with the primitive touches on the reality beneath human civilization, but it is also part of Marlow’s autobiography. Marlow is a character, not just a narrative voice, and his characterization enables us to judge and understand what he tells us.   He stands for certain impressive values – the practicality of the seaman’s life, the belief in the value of work, the refusal to judge too quickly, and the calmness of mind which allows him to consider and respond to the ambiguities in Kurtz’s experience. With his detached and skeptical manner, the fruit of a life among practical things, he makes the extraordinary story as believable as is possible.   We do not identify with him exactly, and he is not simply the voice of Conrad, but he is a convincing and unpretentious narrator who offers us glimpses into the ineffable. Much of the earlier part of the novel is concerned with establishing Marlow’s character and credentials as a narrator.   The actual narrator who speaks on the first page tells us that Marlow is the sort of seaman who is â€Å"trustworthiness personified† (5).   But he is â€Å"not typical† (8) in that â€Å"to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale† (8), which perhaps prepares us for Marlow’s attempt to convey to us the scale of his experience and its importance.   The maritime traditions and habits of mind are central to Marlow.   He values work over fantasy.   At the jungle station â€Å"I went to work†¦ In that way only it seemed to me I could keep my hold on the redeeming facts of life† (33), which is a vital and mature desire in him.   His instincts are to reject nonsense and absurdity and stick to the real. Talking to the ridiculous agent at the station, â€Å"this papier-mà ¢chà © Mephistopheles† (37), he tells us of his horror of lies, not because he is particularly virtuous, but because â€Å"there is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies – which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world† (38-9).   The agent’s insinuating invitation to Marlow to accept his petty corruptions meets with an instinctive shudder that speaks for his integrity.   Every man wants to get on, says the agent. â€Å"What more did I want? What I really wanted was rivets, by heaven!   Rivets.   To get on with the work† (40).   There is something wonderfully refreshing about such healthy disgust, and this contributes largely to our readiness to listen to Marlow as the tale reaches its most critical stages. It was a relief, he says to get back to the work of repairing the steamboat, not because he actually likes labor, â€Å"but I like what is in the work, – the chance to find yourself.   Your own reality†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (41). A powerful moment for him is the discovery in the riverside hut of Towson’s manual on seamanship, which, in the middle of the chaotic world of the jungle, gives him â€Å"a delicious sensation of having come upon something unmistakably real† (54), for the real is what he longs for, as the guarantee of sanity and purpose.   It reassures him that the book has been studied and cared for, the spine â€Å"lovingly stitched afresh with white cotton thread† (54) and the margin annotated with what he thinks is cipher but later discovers to be Russian. If Marlow’s integrity and devotion to the real is created thoroughly, so are his attitudes to what he experiences before he meets Kurtz.   Conrad gives him a style that is consistent.   He is skeptical, a little sardonic, and down-to earth.   He tells how he worked on his relations to try to ensure that he could go to Africa: The men said â€Å"My dear Fellow,† and did nothing.   Then – would you believe it? – I tried the women.   I, Charlie Marlow, set the women to work – to get a job.   Heavens!   Well, you see, the notion drove me.   I had an aunt, a dear enthusiastic soul.   She wrote: â€Å"It will be delightful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (12) The voice is familiar, humorous and unaffected, and we feel every reason to trust what he says.   His devotion to the real makes him immediately sensitive to dishonesty and cant.   His view of â€Å"progress† is justifiably jaundiced.   The captain whom he replaces has been killed; â€Å"I heard the original quarrel arose from a misunderstanding about some hens† (13), and he is sure that afterwards â€Å"the cause of progress got them, anyhow† (14).   His charge is â€Å"a two-penny-half-penny river steamboat with a penny whistle attached† (18) and he feels that his aunt talks â€Å"rot† when she describes him as â€Å"an emissary of light† (18).   He records the bizarre sight of a French warship lobbing shells into the jungle to destroy â€Å"enemies† (20). He is bewildered by the sight of the accountant at the station in his â€Å"high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (25) working alongside the black workmen who are dying in the grass.   He encounters a white man who has the job of maintaining the road.   He is drunk, and â€Å"Can’t say I saw any road or any upkeep, unless the body of a middle-aged negro, with a bullet-hole in the forehead, upon which I absolutely stumbled three miles further on, may be considered a permanent improvement† (29).   The man who tries to put out the fire in the store shed carries a bucket and declares â€Å"that everybody was ‘behaving splendidly, splendidly,’ dipped about a quart of water and tore back again.   I noticed there was a hole in the bottom of his pail† (33). Everywhere Marlow’s shrewd and ironical intelligence spots the signs of decay, corruption and self-deception.   The whole establishment at the jungle trading station is â€Å"unreal† (35), and when the manager starts canting about Marlow being â€Å"of the new gang – the gang of virtue† (36) â€Å"I nearly burst into a laugh† (36).   The whole experience has for him the insane logic of dream, â€Å"that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is the very essence of dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (39). Such judgments and descriptions strike the reader as immensely observant and yet modestly expressed.   Marlow feels fundamental decencies being abused by the colonial trading world, and it is hardly surprising that he becomes increasingly interested in Kurtz, who is clearly feared as well as despised by the other agents, largely because he has some sort of vision, a commodity seriously lacking in the ivory trading world.   Marlow’s convincing honesty and down-to-earth qualities even make Conrad’s symbolism easy to approach. The Fate-like knitting women in the Brussels office are entirely real as well as allusive.   One wears a dress â€Å"as plain as an umbrella cover† (14).   Marlow notes how the two women introduce many â€Å"to the unknown†¦ these two, guarding the door of Darkness, knitting black wool as for a warm pall† (16).   It is a rare and powerful effect, not clumsy, as it might have been, because we are so convinced by Marlow’s practical and realistic attitude. When it comes to the encounter with Kurtz we are therefore ready to give Marlow the benefit of the doubt as he reveals his own complex attitude to the man, and tries to explain what it is that Kurtz has seen and felt.   It is Kurtz’s idealism that first interests him, here in this nightmare place of unreason.   The other agents laugh at his hope that â€Å"Each station should be like a beacon on the road towards better things, a centre for trade of course, but also for humanising† (47).   At the same time Marlow cannot escape the thought that the savage figures seen on the bank are not inhuman, â€Å"the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar† (51) and we can see how he might understand how Kurtz’s own soul has been captured by the darkness. He finds that he wants to talk to Kurtz, even though he realizes as soon as he gets to Kurtz’s station that â€Å"He had taken a high seat among the devils of the land† (70), something Marlow knows will be almost impossible for his audience to understand; â€Å"How could you? – with solid pavement under your feet, surrounded by kind neighbours†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (70).   This is where Marlow’s story moves into the area of the incredible and the only partly expressible   Kurtz’s high-minded writings end suddenly with the savage cry â€Å"Exterminate all the brutes† (72).   The â€Å"brother seaman† talks of how Kurtz has inspired him – â€Å"I tell you†¦this man has enlarged my mind† (78).   But Marlow can only conclude â€Å"Why! He’s mad† (81) despite the Russian’s protests. The skulls are the evidence of his total breakdown, that the darkness â€Å"had whispered to him things about himself that he did no know† (83). The spell of the wilderness had awakened â€Å"forgotten and brutal instincts† (94) in him and dragged his soul â€Å"beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations† (95).   Marlow is able to see Kurtz’s story as a tragedy.   His aim had been to â€Å"Live rightly, die, die† (99) but he had not known what was in himself, and Marlow’s readiness to stand by him at the end, even to rescue him in a way, rests on an awareness that Kurtz was not despicable, and that he himself might well respond in the same way. â€Å"He had made that last stride, he had stepped over the edge, while I had been permitted to draw back my hesitating foot† (101).   Back in Europe, like Gulliver, he is disgusted by his fellow man, â€Å"like the outrageous flauntings of folly in the face of a danger† (102), and he lies to Kurtz’s â€Å"intended† because neither she nor anyone else would be able to comprehend the truth. Marlow does not claim to know or understand everything.   It is the unassuming nature of his narrative stance that convinces us.   The â€Å"real† narrator calls the whole thing â€Å"one of Marlow’s inconclusive experiences† (10). But no one could be omniscient with such a subject; Marlow only glimpses one of the great mysteries, and none of us is ever granted more than that.   What Conrad has done is to choose a narrative method and a type of narrator which conveys as well as possible immensely difficult things. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph.   Heart of Darkness.   Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973. How to cite Marlow in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Essay examples

Sustainability Approach of Wal-Mart

Questions: 1) Impact of sustainability approach by Wal-Mart.2) Reason behind improving performance when retail outlets have been suffering financially.3) Identification of Wal-Marts key stakeholders and recent approaches to improve social responsibility.4) The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits for the statement.5) Explanation of two other companies that have reputation of socially responsible to their stakeholders and being profitable. Answers: 1) Impact of sustainability approach by Wal-Mart Wal-Mart has made considerable approaches towards making it a greener company and to improve its image by making a sustainable approach towards the society. Some of the sustainable approaches made by the company include attempt to make sustainability 360 by reducing the use of greenhouse gases. Designing of new prototypes for developing and implementing innovative energy-efficient technology in the existing stores of Wal-Mart was an approach made towards sustainability (Berman Evans, 2013). In 2005, the company was opened to violation of safe environmental practices by the US Attorneys office in California due to the concerns related to recycling of their product. Approach made by the company to recycle the products and create sustainability has created positive impact in the society. Selling of products at a much lower rate leading to annual savings of at least $950 per person had increased the sale of the products of the company (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2013). Although the co mpany faced a number of ethical issues regarding the misconduct of the illegal immigration and exploiting the labor force, the sustainability approach has helped to improve the image of the company. 2) Reason behind improving performance when retail outlets have been suffering financially It has been recognized that Wal-Mart was a growing company and remained the largest and the most dominating retail organization. The company was the largest nongovernment employer in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company has been rewarded as the most admired company by Fortune. The company has been utilizing the labor force unethically. Wal-Mart had appointed 250 illegal immigrants as cleaning crews in 61 stores in 21 states (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2013). These employees were employed at a much lower wage and work as seven days a week. These approaches have reduced the logistic and supply chain management costs. This has helped the company to offer products at a lower rate to the customers that was not possible for other local retail shops. It was due to the low price of the product that attracted more customers and helped them to improve their performance (Ferrell Fraedrich, 2015). The pricing policy was the major factor that was responsible for the mixed success of the company. There has been low-cost production that reduced the packaging cost by at least 5% that has also reduced the manufacturing cost for the retail company and therefore, they could supply the products at a lower cost (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2013). These were the basic reasons behind the continuous success of the retail company in spite being at a financial stake. 3) Identification of Wal-Marts key stakeholders and recent approaches to improve social responsibility Wal-Mart has majority of its business in China. It is the largest employer in USA. The major stakeholders of the company that are depended on Wal-Mart for their business are Clorox (23%), Revlon (22%) and Kelloggs (12%) (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2013). Certain approaches made by the company to improve their relationship with the stakeholders include encouraging of part-time jobs that have benefitted the company in a way that encouraged the performance of the employees. With this approach, Susan Chamber, the vice-president of the company has been able to encourage the employees of the company. Sam Walton supported the open-door policy that encouraged the employees to come up with their problems without resorting to any third party. In order to improve the condition of the employees regarding meal breaks the managers of the retail company altered the time card to prevent any kind of overtime. In fact, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $640 million to settle the lawsuits regarding the employee disputes. These approaches helped the retail company to create a positive image among the employees as well as the other stakeholders of the company. 4) The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits for the statement Social responsibility helps to create a positive image of the company among the society. Social responsibility creates a respect among the people for the company. It enhances employee loyalty and that in turn improves the efficiency of business operation. Social responsibilities create a positive image among the stakeholders that in turn makes them happier and helps to enhance companys stock price. In the view point of Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, (2013), producing high quality products or treating the employees correctly and not focusing primarily into profit will avoid any kind of law suits or employee turnover that will ultimately results in profitability of the business. Employee satisfaction is one of the key components for the sustainability of a business. Therefore, by involving certain approaches to measure the satisfactory level of the employees, balancing the profitability of the business can be done easily. 5) Explanation of two other companies that have reputation of socially responsible to their stakeholders and being profitable McDonald, the fast food giant and Volkswagen, the car manufacturer are the two companies that have showed their implication towards a social responsibility. Major approaches made by McDonald are using of eco friendly packaging with 100% fiber packaging. The company has joined hands with White House of USA to maintain the global climatic condition. In terms of beef burger, the company has ensured that beef sustainability shall be the priority for the company (Oates, Alevizou McDonald, 2016). These approaches have created positive implication among the customers as well as in the society. Following a common set of guidelines has helped to develop best practices for the sustainability approach. In case of Volkswagen, the car manufacturer focuses greatly on environmental impact of the burning of fuels. The car manufacturer has proposed to equip their cars with sustainable engines that emit less carbon particles (Ihlen Roper, 2014). Although several questions have been raised regarding the sustainable approach made by the company, it has been a profitable business for the company for a time being (Whiteman Hoster, 2015). It can be said that sustainability approaches shall be undertaken by the companies to improve their business image in the society. References: Berman, B. R., Evans, J. R. (2013).Retail management: a strategic approach. Pearson Higher Ed. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J. (2015).Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Nelson Education. Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. (2013).Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases(9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western. Ihlen, ., Roper, J. (2014). Corporate reports on sustainability and sustainable development:We have arrived.Sustainable development,22(1), 42-51. Oates, C., Alevizou, P., McDonald, S. (2016). Challenges for Marketers in Sustainable Production and Consumption.Sustainability,8(1), 75. Whiteman, G., Hoster, H. (2015). Vehicle emissions: Volkswagen and the road to Paris.Nature,527(7576), 38.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Department of Administrative Services and Cloud Privacy - Samples

Question: Discuss about the Department of Administrative Services and Cloud Privacy. Answer: Introduction: The scenario considered for this report involves the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and its cloud first approach alongside prominent references to its data migration policy. The other elements observed in the scenario include references to the process of implementing the shared services such as SaaS HR and Personnel management suite, PaaS SharePoint platform which can be accounted as the basis for the proposed WofG Intranet platform and the SaaS performance management suite. The following report presents a comprehensive analysis of the threats and risks associated with this project since it involves the physical location of data centres at different geographical locations (Abbas Khan, 2015). The necessity of privacy and personal information management is perceived explicitly in the case of Department of Administrative Services (DAS) decision to centralize its functions and services for different government based entities through a US based cloud service provider. The particular references to the recent emergence of profound threats due to expansion of the internet and cloud based practices in the professional domain have to be considered as significant determinants for introduction of policy guidelines. As per Gholami Laurem, the policy guidelines are indicated towards addressing the data breaches that have been reported in context of sensitive areas such as governmental and financial domains (Gholami Laure, 2016). The objective of the cloud security framework should be aligned with the personal information management of associated with particular references to security and privacy of employee data that would be recorded in the HR and performance management framework a nd the payroll information. These aspects would be provided through the single link sign in portals available for employees on the intranet. Security of Employee data: Threats in the cloud migration infrastructure could be identified in the form of Malware and Hacking, unintended disclosure, phishing emails, insider threat and employees bringing their own devices to the workplace. As per Henze, et al, the threats from the implications of employees bringing their own devices to the workplace could lead to profound security threats. The threats arise from storage of sensitive company information in the personal devices of employees could lead to data leakage since the devices could not have appropriate security software (Henze, et al., 2016). The protection of personal information could also be subject to the threat of phishing emails which could be targeted at the personal emails of employees in order to access the details of the employees individual Single Link Sign-in passwords. As per Kamarinou, Millard Hon, employees could also be subject to security risks through unintended disclosure according to which arise from human errors on behalf of the service users, contractor and data processing centre (Kamarinou, Millard Hon, 2016). Such examples could be identified in the physical loss of devices by employees that can be addressed by considering the education of employees regarding the common threat vectors that would not involve references to education and training of employees regarding the risks leading to intended disclosure such as downloading unknown software, malicious links and checking the authenticity of the web addresses. Privacy of employee data: According to Merani, Barcellona Tinnirello, the particular areas which affect the privacy of employee data could be identified in the lack of monitoring the continuous updates regarding applicable legal precedents. Furthermore, it is also essential to notice the pitfalls in collection and processing of personal data related to employees and the lack of awareness of the global process facilities regarding important changes (Merani, Barcellona Tinnirello, 2015). The privacy concerns could be addressed effectively through implementing a comprehensive framework which supports authentication. The privacy of employees personal data can be ensured through inducing a systemic approach that facilitates distinct insights into the responsibilities and authorities of supervisory personnel. These precedents would be considered in context of collection of personal information, processing, utilization and transfer of personal data and the authentication of responsibility of the individuals to undertake these processes. Digital Identity Issues: Digital identity concerns that could be observed in the case of the cloud migration initiative of DAS to introduce HR and performance management suite, the payroll management framework and management of data integration from different data processing centres include identity theft, personal data theft, and misuse of identity, privilege escalation and identity tampering. Identity theft is profoundly observed in the form of using the digital identity of other individuals to access information or impersonating the person on the digital platform. Since the web platform would be implicative of the requirements for management of personal information on the basis of integrity of the data, it is essential to implement suitable approaches such as encryption of digital identity based platforms that are used within the organization (Reichel, et al., 2016). Employees should be equally aware of personal data theft as a detrimental consequence in digital identity issues. Therefore individual employees would be held accountable for resolving issues in the digital identity pertaining to the cloud framework of the organization. As per Soghoian, the creation of a legal environment, addressing privacy concerns in the initial stages which is considered responsible for addressing the digital identity concerns in an organization. Another prominent measure that could be observed in the form of demarcating the digital identification approach from the authorisation and authentication approaches (Soghoian, 2017). Provider Solution Issues: The provider solutions provided by the service provider are also accompanied with prominent references to the multiple data centres of the organization. The particular references to the processing centre at a single location would also be complicated for the service provider to collect data from distinct sources, process the information regarding the different departments of the Government (Xiao Xiao, 2013). It is imperative for the providers to align with the policy and legal requirements pertaining to the cloud services. However, the limitations could arise profoundly in the form of conflicts between policy precedents of the service provider and individual government agencies. Data Sensitivity: The concerns for data sensitivity could be identified in this case profoundly in the form of lack of minimal control of physical security of data centres, employees financial data and performance management data (Merani, Barcellona Tinnirello, 2015). These elements have to be associated with measures such as encryption in order to ensure security of sensitive data. The notable classifications of the data into three categories on the basis of sensitivity would enable employees to perceive the appropriate levels of encryption and security precedents for each form of data. The three categories include profound references to confidential data, regulated data and public data. References Abbas, A., Khan, S. U. (2015). e-Health Cloud: Privacy Concerns and Mitigation Strategies. InMedical Data Privacy Handbook(pp. 389-421). Springer International Publishing. Gholami, A., Laure, E. (2016). Advanced cloud privacy threat modeling.arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.01500. Henze, M., Hermerschmidt, L., Kerpen, D., Huling, R., Rumpe, B., Wehrle, K. (2016). A comprehensive approach to privacy in the cloud-based Internet of Things.Future Generation Computer Systems,56, 701-718. Kamarinou, D., Millard, C., Hon, W. K. (2016). Cloud privacy: an empirical study of 20 cloud providers' terms and privacy policiesPart I.International Data Privacy Law,6(2), 79-101. Merani, M. L., Barcellona, C., Tinnirello, I. (2015, June). Multi-cloud privacy preserving schemes for linear data mining. InCommunications (ICC), 2015 IEEE International Conference on(pp. 7095-7101). IEEE. Reichel, J., Lind, A. S., Gholami, A., Litton, E., Laure, E. (2016). Design and implementation of the advanced cloud privacy threat modeling.International Journal of Network Security Its Applications. Soghoian, C. (2017). Caught in the Cloud: Privacy, Encryption, and Government Back Doors in the Web 2.0 Era. Xiao, Z., Xiao, Y. (2013). Security and privacy in cloud computing.IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials,15(2), 843-859.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Sample Essay on Education - Simple Tips For Finding a Topic

Sample Essay on Education - Simple Tips For Finding a TopicNow that you have your text, it's time to compile a sample essay on education. Its not the simplest of assignments as there are many nuances of your topic. There are a number of ways to choose the right essay topic. The following are some of the techniques you can use to put together a sample essay on education.Always make sure that your topic is aimed at the target audience. You do not want to write about subjects that are not relevant. The target audience will be the people that are going to read and consider your essay. Make sure that they are interested in what you have to say. This is important because they will be checking your sample essays and passing on the assignments that you submit.Keep in mind that when choosing a topic there are several things that you need to keep in mind. First and foremost, do not focus too much on one topic. There should be more than one topic to choose from. It is a good idea to make a list of your possible topics so that you have a better chance of getting one that appeals to you.Having an outline for your essay is also essential. In addition to creating a list of topics, it is very important to first decide what style you would like to use in your essay. Do you prefer a straightforward, straight forward style? A more narrative style? or perhaps you would like a story to be told?Once you have your list of topics, decide what style you want to use in your essay. There are a few different types of essays that you can use in your piece. One of the most popular is the testimonial or introduction style essay, where you give a brief statement about yourself and then go into your background and the story behind your essay.Another popular choice is to use questions to ask others. You can use questions from past readers and see if they have anything to add to the discussion. This type of essay is perfect for those who have written multiple essays in the past. You can use thes e questions to introduce a new chapter in your piece.Writing a sample essay on education does not have to be hard. You can use these tips to get your text ready. You will be glad that you took the time to find the right essay for your needs.

Monday, March 30, 2020

What Leads to Intervention A Case Study of Inter Essay Example For Students

What Leads to Intervention?: A Case Study of Inter Essay vention During the BushAdministrationAs Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful armed force in a worldplagued by small military crises, the question ultimately becomes: when does acrisis call for intervention? From 1988 to 1992, this was President GeorgeBushs dilemma. The days of the United States fearing embroilment ininternational affairs due to the towering menace of the USSR and globaldestruction ended at about the same time as Bush ascended the Presidency. However, with the threat of the USSR gone, the importance of small scaleconflicts had taken priority in maintaining world peace. Further, the fall ofcommunism had left the United States with a leading role in world politics. Inthat position, with a powerful armed force behind it, the United States carriedthe heavy responsibility of how and why to use its new found eminence. Thatresponsibility fell onto the shoulders of Mr. George Bush as the first AmericanPresident to sit in that exalted position. His actions would determine theUnited States place in the new world order and set the path that futurePresidents would have to carefully tread. We will write a custom essay on What Leads to Intervention?: A Case Study of Inter specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The world order that President Bush inherited was of a vastly differentcharacter then that of all his predecessors. The Cold War environment that theworld had just left behind had provided a clear framework for national securitypolicy and the use of the US military. The environment that Bush walked into wasan environment filled with disagreement and confusion over the new frameworkwith which the US should operate. It was also an environment with which therole of Congress was almost eliminated as President Bush continually authorizedmilitary operations without the full consent of Congress. It was an environmentwhere the executive held the power to use the military based on his own intent. During his term in the Presidency, George Bush was confronted with manyopportunities to demonstrate his intent for the US military. The four yearswhile Bush was President saw crisis situations occur with alarming frequency. Ineach of these crisis areas, gross human rights violations were committed. Insome cases he reacted with swift military action, in the name of humanitarianism,while in other cases he allowed sanctions to do the job. The crisis situationswhere he advocated a military intervention and the situations where he did notboth tell the whole story. In analyzing these actions, it can be ascertainedwhich variables promoted a military intervention and which did not. The VariablesThere are many variables that could influence the United Statesdecision to send a military intervention, however very few are relevant,quantifiable or could possibly have a strong influence over such an importantdecision. Therefore, based on published literature and observation there appearto be five compelling variables which would have Category: History

Saturday, March 7, 2020

A22 Churchill Tank in World War II

A22 Churchill Tank in World War II Dimensions: Length: 24 ft. 5 in.Width: 10 ft. 8 in.Height: 8 ft. 2 in.Weight: 42 tons Armor Armament (A22F Churchill Mk. VII): Primary Gun: 75 mm gunSecondary Armament: 2 x Besa Machine GunsArmor: .63 in. to 5.98 in. Engine: Engine: 350 hp Bedford twin-six gasolineSpeed: 15 mphRange: 56 milesSuspension: Coiled SpringCrew: 5 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver/hull gunner) A22 Churchill - Design Development The origins of the A22 Churchill can be traced back to the days prior to World War II. In the late 1930s, the British Army began seeking a new infantry tank to replace the Matilda II and Valentine. Following the standard doctrine of the time, the army specified that the new tank be capable of traversing enemy obstacles, attacking fortifications, and navigating the shell-cratered battlefields that were typical of World War I. Initially designated the A20, the task of creating the vehicle was given to Harland Wolff. Sacrificing speed and armament to meet the armys requirements, Harland Wolffs early drawings saw the new tank armed with two QF 2-pounder guns mounted in side sponsons.  This design was altered several times, including fitting either a QF 6pounder or a French 75 mm gun in the forward hull, before four prototypes were produced in June 1940.   These efforts were halted following the British evacuation from Dunkirk in May 1940. No longer needing a tank capable of maneuvering through World War I-style battlefields and after assessing Allied experiences in Poland and France, the army retracted the A20 specifications. With Germany threatening to invade Britain, Dr. Henry E. Merritt, director of Tank Design, issued a call for a new, more mobile infantry tank. Designated the A22, the contract was given to Vauxhall with orders that the new design be in production by the end of the year. Frantically working to produce the A22, Vauxhall designed a tank that sacrificed appearance for practicality. Powered by Bedford twin-six gasoline engines, the A22 Churchill was the first tank to utilize the Merritt-Brown gearbox. This allowed the tank to be steered by changing the relative speeds of its tracks. The initial Mk. I Churchill was armed with a 2-pdr gun in the turret and 3-inch howitzer in the hull. For protection, it was given armor ranging in thickness from .63 inches to 4 inches. Entering production in June 1941, Vauxhall was concerned about the tanks lack of testing and included a leaflet in the user manual outlining existing problems and detailing practical repairs to mitigate the issues. A22 Churchill - Early Operational History The companys concerns were well founded as the A22 was soon beset with numerous problems and mechanical difficulties. Most critical of these was the reliability of the tanks engine, which was made worse due to its inaccessible location. Another issue was its weak armament. These factors combined to give the A22 a poor showing at its combat debut during the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid. Assigned to the 14th Canadian Tank Regiment (Calgary Regiment), 58 Churchills were tasked with supporting the mission.  While several were lost before reaching the beach, only fourteen of those that made it ashore was able to penetrate into the town where they were quickly stopped by a variety of obstacles. Nearly canceled as a result, the Churchill was rescued with the introduction of the Mk. III in March 1942. The A22s weapons were removed and replaced with a 6-pdr gun in a new welded turret. A Besa machine gun took the place of the 3-inch howitzer. A22 Churchill - Needed Improvements Possessing a significant upgrade in its anti-tank capabilities, a small unit of Mk. IIIs performed well during the Second Battle of El Alamein.  Supporting the attack of the 7th Motor Brigade, the improved Churchills proved extremely durable in the face of enemy anti-tank fire. This success led to the A22-equipped 25th Army Tank Brigade being dispatched to North Africa for General Sir Bernard Montgomerys campaign in Tunisia. Increasingly becoming the primary tank of British armored units, the Churchill saw service in Sicily and Italy. During these operations, many Mk. IIIs underwent field conversions to carry the 75 mm gun used on the American M4 Sherman. This alteration was formalized in the Mk. IV. While the tank was updated and modified several times, its next major overhaul came with the creation of the A22F Mk. VII in 1944. First seeing service during the invasion of Normandy, the Mk. VII incorporated the more versatile 75mm gun as well as possessed a wider chassis and thicker armor (1 in. to 6 in.). The new variant employed welded construction rather than riveted to reduce weight and shorten production time. Additionally, the A22F could be converted into a flamethrower Churchill Crocodile tank with relative ease. One issue that did arise with the Mk. VII was that it was underpowered. Though the tank had been built larger and heavier, its engines were not updated which further reduced Churchills already slow speed from 16 mph to 12.7 mph. Serving with British forces during the campaign in northern Europe, the A22F, with its thick armor, was one of the few Allied tanks that could stand up to German Panther and Tiger tanks, though its weaker armament meant that it had difficulty defeating them. The A22F and its predecessors were also renowned for their ability to cross rough terrain and obstacles that would have stopped other Allied tanks. Despite its early defects, the Churchill evolved into one of the key British tanks of the war. In addition to serving in its traditional role, Churchill was frequently adapted into specialist vehicles such as flame tanks, mobile bridges, armored personnel carriers, and armored engineer tanks. Retained after the war, the Churchill remained in British service until 1952.