Questões Militares Para cadete do exército

                                   Military operations in megacities

                                         A linguistic perspective

      The challenge of conducting future military operations within megacities (cities with populations over ten million) lies in understanding the dynamic and multidimensional complexities of these urban areas. Military operations in megacities, whether combat-oriented or otherwise, will be similar to those in other urban environments, but will be complicated by factors unique to the megacity environment.

      First and foremost, megacities are largely multilingual. While this can be said of large cities in general, the scale of multilingualism in megacities magnifies its effects. For instance, in New York City (NYC) - a metropolitan megacity of over eighteen million people - nine foreign languages are spoken by communities of one hundred thousand or larger. Language also plays a role in determining one's identity and the language community in which one decides to live. For example, the majority of Russian speakers in NYC tend to live in south Brooklyn and Staten Island, while Chinese speakers tend to cluster in Manhattan and Sunset Park. In megacities, language, culture, and regional context go hand in hand and often reach beyond ethnic identities.

      In order to fully understand the context of a megacity, we must understand the role of the languages used in its communities. How _____(1) language communities interact in megacities? What tensions _____ (2) caused by multiple language communities in urban space? What role______ (3) language play in the power structures (government or otherwise) of megacities?

                                                                              Adapted from Military Review - Jan/Feb 2016

                          A handwritten note from September 11

      In moments of crisis, our first thoughts are usually to get in contact with the people we love. September 11, 2001, was a day when many people wanted to know that their loved ones were safe. At 9:37 a.m., the Pentagon was attacked by terrorists who crashed an airplane into the western side of the building.

      Many people tried using the mobile phones that existed then, but few were successful. Franklin and Daria Gaillard (Frank and Chip) were both members of the Air Force and worked at the Pentagon. They worked in different parts of the building and had a previous agreement that they would meet at their car in the parking lot if there were any emergency.

      Daria was the first to arrive at the car and wrote a note to Franklin saying "Frank - Sweetie I am okay. I'm w/ my office over by the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Sign. I'll stay there till you come. Love lots & lots, Chip." Frank found the note and was able to locate his wife in the aftermath of the attack.

      What makes this story so interesting is the handwritten note. Today, in our digital culture, we have a variety of ways to let people know that we are safe. Text messages, voicemail, and different forms of social media can be used to get the information out to loved ones. In 2001, when these attacks__________(1), the cellular network was still growing and was not as robust as it is today.

      This letter is just one of the many objects that The National Museum of American History_________ (2) since 2001. To learn more, visit our online exhibition September 11th: Bearing Witness to History.

              Adapted from http://americanhistory.si.edu/biog/handwritten-note-september-11-2001

                                How diversity makes us smarter

      Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that socially diverse groups (that is, those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups. It means being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and more hardworking.

      It seems obvious that a group of people with diverse individual expertise would be better than a homogeneous group at solving complex, non-routine problems. It is less obvious that social diversity should work in the same way - yet the science shows that it does. This is not only because people with different backgrounds bring new information. Simply interacting with individuals who are different forces group members to prepare better, to anticipate alternative viewpoints and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort.

      Diversity of expertise confers benefits that are obvious - you would not think of building a new car without engineers, designers and quality-control experts - but what about social diversity? The same logic applies to social diversity. People who are different from one another in race, gender and other dimensions bring unique information and experiences to bear on the task at hand. A male and a female engineer might have perspectives as different from one another as an engineer and a physicist - and that is a good thing.

      The fact is that if you want to build teams or organizations capable of innovating, you need diversity. Diversity enhances creativity. It encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision making and problem solving. Diversity can improve the bottom line of companies and lead to discoveries and breakthrough innovations. Even simply being exposed to diversity can change the way you think.

        Adapted from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-diversity-makes-us-smarter/