Friday, September 6, 2019
That Was Then, This is Now†and “The Chocolate War†Essay Example for Free
That Was Then, This is Now†and â€Å"The Chocolate War†Essay â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now†by S.E. Hinton (1971) and â€Å"The Chocolate War†(1974) by Robert Cormier are boundary-shattering young-adult novels, each of which penetrates to the heart of issues with which adolescent readers can readily identify. However, as groundbreaking as these novels were upon their initial publications, both of the novels conform to an established literary idiom, prevalent throughout young-adult literature for many centuries. Both â€Å"The Chocolate War†and â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now†present novels of initiation; more specifically, novels of male-initiation. Aspects of the male-initiation novel include specific conditional criteria that both define and structure the concept of manhood; among these criteria are issues of heterosexuality, embodiment, and collectivism. (Bereska, 2003)            The prominence of traditional male-initiation archetypes and notions of masculinity in the novels, together with the novels’ unconventional narrative styles, pace, and conventions helped generate two of the more popular, controversial, and memorable titles in the 1970s YA catalog. â€Å"Like classics or current adult fiction, some YAL includes a variety of situational archetypes such as the test/trial as a rite of passage, the journey or quest of the hero, birth/death/rebirth, and the search for self.†(Herz Gallo, 1996, p. 11)            In both novels, notions of manhood and sexual orientation play key roles in defining character and plot development, as well as thematic development. Bryon, the main character in ‘That Was Then, This is Now†prides himself as a ladies’ man and is compared to (or confused with) the Romantic Poet Lord Byron, who was an infamous womanizer, on different occasions during the story. â€Å"While not explicitly stated, it is an implicit assumption that the boys world is a heterosexual world; there are no logical alternatives to heterosexuality. In books from the 1940s to the late 1990s[] A normal male body is presumed to be both masculine in gender and heterosexual (Nelson (Bereska, 2003)            Along with heterosexuality as a harbinger of normalcy, the male world in YA initiation novels is â€Å"characterized by particular types and degrees of emotional expression, naturalized aggression, male hang-out groups, hierarchies within those groups [and] competition,†(Bereska, 2003). In both â€Å"The Chocolate War†and â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now†the world is portrayed as a male-dominated â€Å"war zone†where a survival of the fittest mentality reigns above issues of emotionality, sensitivity, or compassion.            While drugs, street-fights, and casual sex present controversial and very stark terrors in the world of â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now,†in Cormier’s male-dominated world, the male-hierarchy is not only prevalent, its strictures are living law: â€Å"football is easy compared to Jerrys other extracurricular activities at Trinity High: placating the Vigils, the schools secret society, and avoiding Brother Leon, the acting headmaster[] Archie Costello, de facto leader of the Vigils, orders Jerry to refuse to sell chocolate for ten days, as a way of exerting power†(Cheaney, 2001, p. 256).            The aspect of embodiment: that is, the physical manifestation of male characteristics (or defining manhood by male bodily capacities and functions) is a vital component of both novels, symbolized by, not only erotic scenes and passages, but by visceral acts of violence. Foremost among the explicit symbolism of male initiation as male-body-experience is the climactic brutality of â€Å"The Chocolate War†when raffle-tickets are drawn to direct blows against bodies. Raffle tickets are drawn to see when and where Jerry and Emile Janza (a thug) will strike one another with boxing blows. One of the members of the school gang The Vigils finally draws a raffle ticket that allows Janza to strike Jerry below the belt.             In â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now,†Mark and Bryon vital, viral male bodies are contrasted with Bryon’s ailing mother, a victim of the poverty and desperation that hangs over her household. While Bryon’s healthy erotic-physical response to Cathy brings about a sense of patriarchal responsibility for MM, Mark, whose sexuality had never been as pronounced as Bryon’s deviates from a â€Å"pure†state of male-embodiment, becoming a drug-user and drug-pusher, selling drugs to help support Bryon’s mother.            The corruption of the communal (but male dominated and protected space) in this case comes by way of drugs with threaten MM’s physical and mental maturity; during his LSD hallucinations, he seems to regress to a childlike, vulnerable state. It is at the point of Bryon’s decision to turn Mark in as a drug dealer despite their â€Å"brotherhood†that Bryon’s initiation is completed and the transformation of his masculinity from purely male-identified to communally-identified takes place.            Both â€Å"The Chocolate War†and â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now†end ambiguously if not tragically. Although Bryon makes a successful transition from self-motivated and socially alienated to selflessness and social responsibility, his initiation into manhood exacts a heavy toll and violates the previously established intimacy between the stories two main characters. Keeping in mind the aforementioned â€Å"classical†motifs of male-initiation, Bryon’s â€Å"sacrifice†of his male-to-male friendship with Mark in favor of his traditional familial relationships with Cathy and MM fulfill the classical notion of heterosexual manhood as established via physical embodiment, and collectivism.            â€Å"The Chocolate War†ends with pyrrhic victory, in that Jerry dares to â€Å"disturb the universe†by challenging the male-on-male hierarchy generated by The Vigils, but at the novel’s close Jerry is beaten and physically injured; with a broken jaw, he tells his friend, The Goober, not to disturb the universeâ€â€that it’s not worth it. The book ends as Archie displays no remorse for the past, and Jerry no hope for the future. Cormier’s themes for â€Å"The Chocolate War†were rooted in â€Å"the individuals response to evil, a concern deeply rooted in Cormiers Roman Catholic conscience[]I was made aware of evil, and Im aware of it now. I mean, we constantly try to be good, and most of us are because of the lack of opportunities to do evil. Opportunities for evil abound at Trinity High because most of the boys dont recognize it for what it is.†(Cheaney, 2001, p. 256) Though Hinton’s themes seem less explicitly grounded in traditional religious morality, her work, like Cormier’s, deals with issues of profound sociological consequence, along with themes of dynamic individuation and social integration. Perhaps â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now†can be rightfully regarded as offering a somewhat less tragic arc than â€Å"The Chocolate War,†the impact of both of the novels on the YA genre was (and remains) explosive.            Classical literature often fails to exert the kind of hypnotically personal impact on young-adult readers that commercially published YAL sometimes offers. â€Å"Literature can be a way for teens to release these tensions.†This point remains highly valid as the enduring appeal and success of â€Å"The Chocolate War†and â€Å"That Was Then, This is Now’ demonstrates. â€Å"Students can read a book, for example, about a teenager reaching puberty and can talk about what the character is feeling in the third person, not the first. They can say she felt instead of I felt.[]Why do they want to read it? Perhaps because it helps them feel as if they are not alone.†(Alsup, 2003) Each of these novels melded traditional elements of the male-initiation story while simultaneously breaking through previously held notions regarding the thematic scope and sociological relevance of YA novels. References Bereska, T. M. (2003). The Changing Boys World in the 20th Century: Reality and Fiction.  The Journal of Mens Studies, 11(2), 157+. Herz, S. K., Gallo, D. R. (1996). From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Alsup, J. (2003). Politicizing Young Adult Literature: Reading Andersons Speak as a Critical Text Critical Texts Confront Difficult Topics. Students Need to Read, Write, and Talk about These Relevant Issues. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy, 47(2), 158+. Cheaney, J. (2001, December). Teen Wars : The Young Adult Fiction of Robert Cormier. World and I, 16, 256.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Puc18 Plasmid Engineering
Puc18 Plasmid Engineering Abstract The objective of the experiment was to engineer a pUC18 plasmid so that it contained a kanomycin resistance gene in its multiple cloning site and to transform it into cells. The kanomycin resistance gene was obtained from a pKAN plasmid. The desired plasmid was constructed by digesting pUC18 and pKAN with the same restriction enzymes,(BamHI and HindIII) and religating the products to give the engineered pUC18. The created plasmid was then transformed into E.coli strains DH5ÃŽ ±. The strains that contained the engineered plasmid were selected using two methods of selection. According to the indirect method of selection the percentage of competent cells transformed with the plasmids was 0.063% which is a low number. According to the direct method of selection on the other hand no cells were transformed. In conclusion even though some colonies with the engineered plasmids were obtained the percentage of cells transformed was very low. Also, the indirect method of selection gives better results for selection of desired strains. Introduction Bacteria can carry antibiotic resistance genes either in their chromosomes or extrachromosomally in phage or a plasmid(Hausner and de Jong 2010). B-galactosidase is an enzyme involved into the cleavage of lactose into glucose and galactose and is encoded by the lac Z gene of the lac operon.(Glick et al 2010) The lac operon is prevented from being transcribed through repression of the lac promoter. Activation of this promoter can be done by the addition of lactose or isopropyl-ÃŽ ²-D-thiogalactopyranoside(IPTG) to the medium. Lactose and IPTG simply prevent binding of the lac repressor(the product of the Lac I gene) to the promoter. (Glick et al 2010) In the following experiment plasmids pUC18 and pKAN are used to provide the genes to be transformed into bacteria. pUC18 is 2686 base pairs(bp) long and contains a bacterial origin of replication, an ampicillin resistance gene, a lacI gene, a segment of the lac Z gene encoding part of B-galactosidase(which breaks down X-gal) and a multiple cloning sequence(MCS) that is within the lac Z gene.(Glick et al 2010) The lac Z gene encoded by the plasmid is part of the B-galactosidase protein which complements a gene carried by the Escheria. coli chromosomally thus forming a functional B-galactosidase.(Glick et al 2010) If a DNA segment is cloned in the MCS then the lacZ gene will be interrupted and will not give rise to a functional protein. If that occurs then the Bacteria transformed with the plasmid will not break down5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ÃŽ ²-D-ÃŽ ²-galactosidase( X-gal) present in the plates. When X-gal is broken down by ÃŽ ²-galactosidase it turns blue whereas when it is not bro ken down it stays white. This color differentiation is a way to tell if there has been any DNA incorporated in the MCS of pUC18. Finally in order for the ÃŽ ²-galactosidase in pUC18 to be transcribed, IPTG has to be present in the medium so that the lac operon can be induced.(Glick et al 2010) pKAN plasmids can serve as sources for the kanomycin resistance gene. In the following experiment the kanaomycin resistance gene will be inserted in the MCS of pUC18. pKAN contains an origin of replication, a kanomycin resistance gene and multiple restriction sites.(Hausner and de Jong 2010) More importantly it contains only one BamHI and HindIII recognition sites in the whole plasmid which flank the kanomycin resistance gene.(Hausner and de Jong) This allows researchers to cut out the antibiotic resistance gene by simply using BamHI and HindIII producing only two fragments of DNA: the gene and the rest of the plasmid. Once experimenters have inserted the pKAN gene into the MCS of pUC18 and transformed the E.coli strains they need a way to select for the desired plasmid. There are two methods to select for the desired those colonies: the direct method and the indirect method. The direct selection method involves spread plating transformed strains into plates containing both the antibiotic ampicillin and kanomycin. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Since the pUC18 plasmid confers amplicillin resistance(Glick et al 2010) and the kan gene confers kanomycin resistance (Hausner and de Jong 2010) then only the cells that contain Puc18 with the kanomycin resistance gene should be able to grow in these plates. The indirect method on the other hand is a two step selection process. In the first step the transformed strains are plated onto LB plates containing ampicillin and X-gal.(Hausner and de Jong 2010) Only the cells that have up-taken pUC18 will grow since they will be resistant to ampicillin. Furthermore cell s that contain pUC18 with inserted DNA in the MCS will produce white colonies since they cant produce a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase. Cells that give rise to blue colonies will have up-taken pUC18 without any DNA inserted in their MCS since they are able to break down X-Gal. (Glick et al 2010) To select the cells with pUC18 containing the kanomycin resistance gene the white colonies are plated in plates containing kanomycin. Only the cells that have the kanomycin resistance gene in their pUC18 will grow.(Hausner and de Jong 2010) The objectives of the following experiment include the construction of a pUC18 plasmid containing the kanomycin resistance gene in the MCS, the transformation of that plasmid into the E.coli DH5ÃŽ ± cells and the selection of the cells containing the engineered plasmid. If both pUC18 and pKAN plasmids are digested with BamHI and HindIII and the digests are ligated then a plasmid which contains both kanomycin and ampicillin resistance genes should be produced; consequently cells transformed with the engineered plasmid should be resistant to both antibiotics. Materials and Methods Plasmid extraction and plasmid engineering pUC18 and pKAN plasmids were extracted from the DH5ÃŽ ± and MM294 E.coli strains respectively using a DNA isolation kit as described by (Hausner and de Jong 2010). Confirmation for proper extraction was done through agarose gel electrophoresis by running the extracted DNA in a 0.7% gel at 100V for 1 hour. The gene containing kanomycin resistance from pKAN was cloned into pUC18. The restriction digests to do the cloning were prepared as described in Table 2 in (Hausner and de Jong 2010). After plasmid digestion the kanomycin resistance gene was inserted into the multiple cloning sequence of pUC18 in a ligation reaction using the enzyme ligase and the reaction was allowed to go to completion for 24 hours at room temperature. The ligation reactions were set up according to table 3 in (Hausner and de Jong 2010) E.coli transformation and strain selection E.coli strain DH5ÃŽ ± was sub-cultured for 1 hour at 37Â °C. The cells were then made competent by washing them in 10mM CaCl. Next cells were transformed with three different combinations of plasmids. The set of cells in tube 1 was transformed with uncut pUC18 DNA. The set of cells in tube 2 was transformed with cut pUC18. Cells in tube 3 were transformed with pUC18 containing the cloned pKAN resistance and finally cells in tube 4 were transformed with just water as a negative control. The transformation procedure has been described in (Hausner and de Jong 2010). Transformed cells from all tubes were spread plated onto LB+carb+X-gal plates for indirect selection. Furthermore cells from tube 3 were plated onto LB+carb+ kan plates for direct selection of cells containing pUC18 with the insert from pKAN. To determine the density of competent cells cells dilutions of , and were prepared. The two highest dilutions were plated onto LB plates. All the plates were incubated at 37Â °C and they were allowed to grow for ~24 hours. After the colonies had grown on plates plate they were counted and their numbers were recorded. White and blue colonies from the LB+carb+X-gal plates were then streaked onto LB + kan plates to obtain the colonies that had the kanomycin resistance gene incorporated in the MCS. For more information on the procedure refer to Experiments in Biotechnology Laboratory Manual (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Results Extraction of plasmids from E.coli strains Figure 1 contains the image of the 0.7% agarose gel in which the isolated plasmids Puc18 and pKAN were run to check for product. As it can be seen in lane 1 a lot of Puc18 was extracted from the DH5ÃŽ ± strain. Less plasmid DNA was collected for pKAN from the MM294 strain since the band in lane 2 is of much weaker intensity. There is more than one band in lane two. The additional bands represent additional plasmids isolated from the bacteria. Calculation of Competent cell density Table 1 shows the dilutions performed on the competent cells in order to calculate their cell density. It also shows the number of colonies on the plates that were spread plated with dilution 2 and dilution 3. The results for the dilution were not used for cell density calculation since less than 30 colonies grew on the plate. Dilution was used to calculate the cell density because the number of colonies was between 30 and 300. Indirect method of selection Cells plated from tubes 2 and 3 were used to calculate the % of transformed cells. Every colony represents a single transformed cell since it can be assumed the every colony has arisen from a single cell. Furthermore for tube 3 since five plates were spread plated the percentage of the transformed cells was obtained by using the average amount of colonies for all five plates. Calculation the percentage of transformed cells in tube 2: %of transformed cells= x 100 =0.0045% of cells transformed Calculation of transformed cells in tube 3 Average for blue colonies: = 58.6 ≈ 59 blue colonies Average for white colonies = 11.4 ≈ 11colonies Total number of colonies = 59 blue colonies + 11 blue colonies = 70 colonies in total Both blue and white colonies from tube 3 represent transformed cells since they both up-took plasmid DNA whether it was just pUC18 or pUC18+kanomycin resistance gene. Therefore since every colony came from a single cell there were 70 cells in total that were transformed from 100Â µl of media spread plated in each plate. % of transformed cells in tube 3: %of transformed cells= x 100 =0.063% of cells transformed Direct selection of clones containing the kanomycin gene: No colonies grew on LB + carb + kan plates. That means that there were no cells that were transformed with the engineered plasmid. Furthermore an accurate number for % of transformed cell could not have been calculated even if cells had grown in these plates. That is because this selection method takes into account only the cells that were trasformend with pUC18 which contained the kanomycin resistance gene and not the cells that were transformed with only pUC18. Discussion Isolation of plasmids from cells The optimal results for the gel would have been to see one strong band at ~2.7 kb representing pUC18 and one strong band at 4.2 kb which represents pKAN. For the pKAN lane there is more than one band seen. Those bands represent different sized plasmids that were also isolated from the cell. Since there was no DNA ladder on the gel it cannot be concluded what plasmid the lanes represent but the only thing that can be concluded is that there was plasmid DNA isolated from both the DH5ÃŽ ± and the MM294 strains which most likely was pUC18 and pKAN. In order to conclude whether pUC18 and pKAN plasmids were isolated from the bacteria the students should be provided next time with a DNA ladder in order to determine the sizes of the lanes. Indirect selection method The cells from tube 1 were transformed with un-digested pUC18. The cells from this tube represented a positive control for transformation. The colonies in the plates were all blue and they were too many to count. The reason for the high number of colonies was that these cells were transformed with undigested plasmids which are all stable and all allow bacteria to carry information extrachromosomally, making the transformation percentage of competent cells very high. All the cells from tube 1 produce blue colonies. That is because they all had a functional B-galactisidase since no genes were cloned into the multiple cloning site located within the lacZ gene. The cells from tube 2 were transformed with digested pUC18 plasmid. The cells from this tube represented a negative control for kanomycin resistance gene cloning. Tube 2 gave rise to very few colonies in comparison to tube 1 because the cells in tube 2 were transformed with unstable DNA. pUC18 had been previously digested with HinDIII and BamHI and a lot of plasmid did not re-ligate and for that reason the DNA was unstable. Since the DNA was unstable it was not able to maintain the ampicillin resistance gene in bacteria and consequently the strains were not able to grow in carbonicillin plates. As a result the number of percent transformed cells was as low as 0.0045%. The cells from tube 4 were transformed with sterile water i.e no DNA. These cells represented the negative control for transformation. Because no DNA was inserted in them none of the cells contained the ampicillin resistance gene and as expected none grew in the plates containing carbomicillin. The cells from tube 3 were transformed using pUC18 that contained insertion on the MCS as well as pUC18 that didnt. All five plates that were spread plated with E.coli from tube 3 contained blue colonies as well as white ones. The reason for the color difference is that the blue colonies contained a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase whereas the white ones didnt. The functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase in the blue colonies was due to the fact that no DNA was inserted in the MCS to interrupt the lacZ gene. The white colonies on the other hand did not contain a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase since they had a DNA insertion in their multiple cloning site, which interrupted the lacZ gene. Consequently they could not break down X-gal. However just because they had a DNA insertion in their MCS it did not mean that they contained the kanomycin resistance gene. They might have contained the rest of the pKAN plasmid. As a result the white colonies needed to be streaked into plates that selected for kanomy cin resistance. If the cells then grew on LB + Kan plates and they also originated from white colonies on LB + Carb + X-gal plates then they contained a Puc19 plasmid with a kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the MCS. The percentage of transformed cells was also not very high: 0.063%. A way to improve this would be to maybe increase the molarity of the CaCl solution to make the cells more competent. Direct selection method According to the direct method of selection there were no cells that were transformed. This is contradictory to the results obtained from the indirect method of selection. This error could have been produced because of either improper spread plating of plates or because of improper transformation procedure. Also the conditions in the LB + carb + kan plates could have been too harsh(two antibiotics) for the bacteria to pick up growth even if they were resistant to both antibiotics. In following experiments it is better to use the indirect selection method since it seems more successful in selecting desired strains. Comparison of direct VS indirect selection methods The direct and indirect selection methods have both advantages as well as disadvantages. The main disadvantage of indirect selection is that it takes longer since it contains two steps and each step takes at least a day for completion. The main advantage is that if done correctly, the indirect selection methods gives very accurate selection for the desired cells. The reason for that is that first it selects for colonies that just have an insertion in the MCS and this tells the researcher that some type of cloning has occurred in plasmids. The second step then selects for the colonies that contain pUC18 with the kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the MCS. Thus the criterion of indirect selection is that cells have both pUC18 with an inserted DNA in MCS and also have kanomycin resistance. The colonies that grow in the second step fulfill both the criteria. The main advantage of the direct method is that it takes a shorter time to complete and it also uses up less equipment which can also save researchers some money. The main disadvantage with this selection is that it has a higher chance of giving false positives. Direct selection does not select for strains that have DNA inserted in the MCS of Puc18 but only selects for strains that have ampicillin and kanomycin resistance. Therefore the strains that grow in LB + carb + kan plates might have both pUC18 and pKAN plasmids but not the kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the pUC18 MCS. Those strains would still be able to grow since they still have both ampicillin and kanomycin resistance. However the genes would on different plasmids and not on the engineered one. Therefore even though the indirect selection method is longer it is more accurate in selecting the desired strains for this experiment. In conclusion, according to the indirect selection the desired plasmid was engineered by digesting both pUC18 and pKAN with HindIII and BamHI. Also when selecting for cells transformed with pUC18 it is better to employ the indirect method of selection because it gives more accurate results. Question 1: Although both lanes contain plasmid DNA, why doesnt the DNA appear to be in the same location in both lanes? The DNA does not appear in the same location in both lanes because pUC18 and pKAN are of different sizes. pUC18 is 2686 base pais long whereas pKAN is 4194 base pairs long.(Hausner and de Jong 2010) Because pUC18 is of smaller size it will travel farther from the wells than pKAN. Question 2: How would you verify that the transformed cells actually contain the carb/kan plasmid that was used for transformation? One accurate way would be to isolate the plasmid DNA from the transformad cells and run it on an agarose gel. If the kanomycin resistance gene was inserted into pUC18 then on the gel one will be able to see a band of the size 4548 base pairs which is different from both the pUC18 and the pKAN plasmids. The size of the created plasmid was calculated the following way by obtaining the information from (Hausner and de Jong 2010): To find the size of kanomycin resistance gene inserted in pUC18, the number of base pairs from the origin or replication of HindIII was subtracted to the number of base pairs from the origin of replication of BamHI. This was done because pKAN was digested with HindIII and BamHI to obtain the kanomycin resistance gene: 2095 233 = 1862 base pairs The size of the insert was then added to the size of Puc18: 2686 + 1862 = 4548 base pairs
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Management Essays Key Communication Skill
Management Essays Key Communication Skill Key Communication Skill The ability to negotiate is a key communication skill and frequently takes place in the context of meeting. How can meetings be managed to ensure useful outcomes are achieved, particularly when the participants may have very different objectives? Use examples from real meetings where possible. Abstract Business meetings frequently take place with the view to allow executives to explore and achieve desired organizational objectives. They are to communicate of plans, updates, progress and outcomes of business strategies. At times these meetings are also between parties outside the organization. Whichever the case, negotiation skills are critical in helping managers to persuade other participants to change their views and accept the ones that are presented at the meeting. The ability to negotiate therefore is key to communication at meetings and required by chairpersons/leaders/participants to conduct successful business meetings. IntroductionMeetings can be frustrating and at times not necessary if the objectives of the encounter are not clearly identified. Business persons get frustrated at the frequency and quality of the meetings they attend (or conduct) declaring them a waste of time and resources. The value of such meetings is compromised when parties attending the meeting come out unsatisfied and frustrated by the decision reached. With the rate of meeting timings increasing everyday in organizations engaging executives 75 percent to 100 percent of their time, the success rate is diminishing day by day due to rapid decisions made and implemented (Timm 1997). Meetings participants are likely to feel disappointed and unsatisfied with the results of meetings especially when they spend less time in preparing and planning for meetings they attend. It is therefore not surprising to find that there are numerous documents and books published on meetings and how participants can engage in fruitful endeavours without compromising their own position. As a formal communication framework, meetings can make or break a business therefore consideration for its success is critical. Negotiation as a key to communication skills must be integrated along with other meetings strategies with the view to ensure outcomes are achieved to the desires of the participants without frustrating either party. Purpose Statement In the following report the researcher shall outline how negotiation as a key to meetings communication skill can be used to achieve business objectives despite participant differences in objectivity. The report shall first outline the purpose of meetings followed by how business meetings should be conducted and what elements are critical for its success. This is concluded with recommendations for successful business meetings. ReportPurpose of communication Building a corporate culture is pegged in the setting up of an effective communication system. Organizations shape and influence the behaviour of individuals through powerful communication strategies and culture so that they can help in achieving organizational objectives. When used appropriately, communication can offer insightful analysis of the organizations vision and mission, goals and objectives and more importantly how these may be implemented. To perpetuate conducive business environment, executives and management often engage in communication dialogues for numerous purposes and on a variety of occasions. According to Deborah J. Barrett (Oliver 2004) organizations engage in communication to mediate change management. Executives and top management uses its communication framework to communicate the need for change to cope up with the dynamic business environment. They engage in meetings with employees to communicate identification of roles in car rying out tasks required for the change management. Employees and employer meetings therefore is a top-down approach to communication with the purpose to form powerful coalition, creating vision, empowering workers to act on vision, carry out plans and consolidating efforts for change management (Barrett in Oliver 2004). However, often management in the flow of forming their objectives fail to recognize the objectives of individuals working within their organizations, resulting in ineffective and useless weekly meetings that achieve less and waste more time and resources. In another scenario communication through meetings among managers to discuss and generate ideas and feedback on work progress is also normal. Purely administrative communication of this nature is carried out with the purpose to analyze and update on organizational progress. Managers of various departments communicate their intent, delegate by expressing their proposals and establish chain of command of internalized processes for plan implementation purposes. They communicate with other managers and executives to update progress and express their desire for shared resources or to provide feedback to evaluate existing or forthcoming problems within and outside the organization. In such instances the climate of communication may not appeal to the participants as each attempt to put forth their ideas and expect acceptance from the others. For this reason resistance and barriers to communication are expected. The participants tend to bargain or negotiate their way with others with the hop e to elicit collaborative actions (Ramundo 1994). Another and perhaps the most important aspect of formal communication in meetings is the objective to elicit business outcomes from individuals outside the organizations like sellers, suppliers, unions, shareholders or directors where the basic premise of the meeting is to negotiate and come to certain winning outcomes. Meeting participants therefore come to the room geared to negotiate and to reject opponents proposals. The purpose of these corporate meetings therefore is to overcome the barriers to communication and come out as the wining party. Negotiations in business meetings Meetings in todays business world compromise of participants negotiating defensively (Foster 2004). Whether one is a buyer, a supplier, a union leader or a client successful meeting participants are those who negotiate before the contract is signed. Spending some time to communicate the details of the contract like clauses, agreed upon provisions, price or salary can help the negotiator in achieving the desired outcomes. Once a meeting is convened, the participants assume the roles of the negotiators engaging dialogues that elicit their objectives and purpose for participating. It is best that participants define the objectives and account for the desired outcomes. Successful negotiators usually plan their strategies before hand so that they can concentrate on non-aggressive yet succinct dialogues to persuade the opponent in accepting their terms. For instance a union leader and a company management will likely have their strategies written down before they enter the meeting room. They are likely to engage in dialogues that reflect clauses that they plan to negotiate upon. Such planning is critical as it helps the negotiators to direct the meeting and also to save time by concentrating on the objectives only rather than engage in meaningless communication. In such situations James Manktelow of Mind Tools (2005) is of the opinion that negotiation skills are essential in meetings and conflict situations where the participants need to appropriate their dialogues to seek wining negotiation. The participants who lose out tend to become confrontational or harbour a grudge against the wining party. Consequently the modern adage for negotiation is to create a win-win situation whereby both parties gain from the negotiation. this approach is not only critical for resolving disputes and have a lasting effect on the business relationship but it also open up channels of communication in the long term. Nevertheless, this is not to say that negotiation dialogues always result in win-win situations. In cases of policies making, or buying of a house or selling a product negotiation often result in one party losing and the other wining. For this purpose it is recommended that the situation is dealt with in an amicable manner through excessive planning for counter arguments without having to be aggressive to the other person. The key to such business meetings is to negotiate the terms of trade rather than focussing on defeating the opponent (Manktelow 2005). Consideration for trades terms, alternatives, expected outcomes, consequences, and possible resolutions are critical to the negotiation situation. Communication in meetings Meetings as discussed in the previous sections are formal communications in organizations and businesses carried out by participants with certain objectives expressed and negotiated in the course of the meeting. Successful meetings are those that engage negotiation strategies to focus and achieve desired objectives. These strategies need to be carried out in a very conducive manner so as not to offend opponent yet reach the end results amicably. For this purpose, Joan Mulholland (1991) recommends certain kind of speech acts chosen to represent a range of meanings and significance designed to represent and develop negotiation content. These acts should be considered often and may be integrated in negotiation dialogues to express certain context and performance of certain actions. Mulholland posit that communication during a negotiation meeting entail the use of body language as well as speech specification. Careful use of language notations and sentence structure can greatly influence the results of the encounter. For example one of the most important parts of meetings is the participants acceptance or rejection of proposed ideas. Depending on the individual perception offer or proposal can be accepted, rejected or reach a compromise. Depending on how the proposal is presented the response from the participants can damage cooperation behaviour and result in conflict situation if it is rejected. To mediate and elicit a positive response even if the participant is hesitant about accepting the proposed idea should demonstrate a cooperative attitude by acknowledging the ideas without acceptance by saying Thats an idea worth consideration; given general acceptance like we would be keen to do something along those lines on day. or set up a response from other participants or voice hesitation before acceptance (Mulholland 1991). On the other hand in cases of real acceptance of ideas participants should not hasten to communicate acceptance immediately but should ask for additional information and reports to reach to informed decisions. The important aspect of the meeting is to show to the participants that the outcome should be mutual. Furthermore, acceptance in situations of business meetings should be entirely separate from the person who has communicated and negotiated the deal. The communicator should communicate the fact that the organization or institutions with which he is associated and himself are two different entities and any personal remarks should not constitute as business dialogues. The content or objectives of the meeting should also be separated from participants who attend it. These considerations are important for participants to be objective in their decisions whether it is a rejection or acceptance or something in between (Mulholland 1991). Hence, a human resources manager conducting a performance appraisal (a type of meeting) should communicate its objectivity and his/her role as the mediator and the organizations requirement. He/she should also communicate the separation of the employees records and performance outcome from himself the evaluator. Any negative outcome from the performance appraisal meeting should not be associated with the ill-will of the appraiser. This can be expressed through verbal communication between the participant s. Effective meetings The above dynamics are critical for influencing the progress of meetings in the desired direction of organizational objectives. However, implementing these dynamics does not necessarily guarantee efficacy of meetings. Instead there are certain procedures that need to be followed and managed for meetings to achieve its objectivity. Adair and Thomas (2003) prescribe preparation and the following formality:  ¢ planning  ¢ Informality  ¢ Participation  ¢ Purpose  ¢ Leadership They also outline the importance of purpose in meetings:  ¢ To pool available information  ¢ To make decisions  ¢ To let off steam/tension  ¢ To change attitudes  ¢ To instruct/teach Gathering information, reports, agendas and laying out technical data or equipment in advance are helpful. Meetings should be purposeful so that the information relegated is meaningful for the participants to absorb, analyze and make decisions. Whether it is a meeting of signing contracts, an employee-employer appraisal meeting or a purchase of an asset, advance planning is critical in enabling the participants to focus on the objectives. Since meetings are of groups of people from different background, different meetings tend to develop personalities of its own. Leaders or the chair persons must make efforts to understand the personality of the participants conformity, values, attitudes, prejudice or power so that they can effectively communicate in a certain manner to influence participants thinking (Adair and Thomas 2003). Furthermore, Kellie Fowler (2005) is of the opinion that running effective meetings is inherent in the skills of the leader who is managing the meeting. The leader should: Generate an agenda to all involved in the meeting Start the discussion and encourage active participation Work to keep the meeting at a comfortable pace not moving too fast or too slow Summarize the discussion and the recommendations at the end of each logical section Circulate minutes to all participants (Fowler 2005) But perhaps the most important aspect is the fine tuning of negotiation skills so that outcomes can be achieved. The first step is to choose the right participants to contribute to the decision making and problem solving initiatives. The key is to try to keep the number of participants to 12 and ensure that they are knowledgeable in the issue under consideration. The leaders role in enumerating on the agenda, guiding the participants and direct them towards it, and summing up of the debate is critical as he/she is the one who rounds up the various views to resolve the issues discussed. Confusions, misunderstanding and mix-up of any sort should be clarified before decisions are made. The basic premise for such meetings often stem from the debates or negotiating points presented by the participants. The leader or the chairperson acting as the mediator must keep the above communication principles and dynamics in mind to guide the participants in taking part in the decision and not feel neglected or lose out in the negotiation. Conclusion The above report on meetings enumerate on the process and management of effective meetings. It also outlines the importance of negotiation skills in contributing to successful business meetings under certain circumstances. The purpose of meetings as discussed is to focus on planned agenda and achieve desired outcomes. Many business meetings deviate from this focus and tend to result in inefficacy and waste of time. For this reason it is recommended that meeting participants develop planned agendas, focus on objectives and agenda, and direct the flow of communication dialogues in the same direction. More importantly, for business meetings to reach its desired conclusions, participants should engage in amicable negotiation strategies in which both parties attain a win-win situation. This adage has proven beneficial and fruitful for meetings participants as it relegated non-aggressive business conduct and communication yet at the same time achieves the desired corporate objectives. Successful meetings therefore are those that engage in extensive preparation, allow time for participants to understand agendas and purpose of the meeting and equip themselves with information for debates and discussion. Meetings that elicit positive response engage participants in positive and non-aggressive dialogues by allowing them to communicate their ideas and reservations. The leader or the participant has the choice to reject or accept or compromise but these should be communicated in an amiable manner without offending the opposing parties and at the same time do not compromise ones own position. Overall successful meetings are those that influence the objectives which the participants had before they entered the meeting room and persuade them to see ones own point of view and adopt it. References Barrett, D. J. 2004, A best-practice approach to designing a change communication programme from Sandra Oliver, A Handbook of Corporate Communication and Strategic Public Relations: Pure and Applied. Routledge: New York. p20. Foster, J. Jul 2004, Negotiate Defensively, Successful Meetings. Vol.53, Iss. 8; pg. 24 Manktelow, J. 2005, Win-Win Negotiation: Finding a fair compromise. Mind Tools, Accessed on 26-11-2005 from: http://www.mindtools.com/stress/cwt/TeamNegotiationSkills.htm Mulholland, J. 1991, The Language of Negotiation: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Improving Communication. Routledge: New York p137. Ramundo, B. A. 1994, The Bargaining Manager: Enhancing Organizational Results through Effective Negotiation. Quorum Books: Westport, CT. p85. Timm, P. R. 1997, How to Hold Successful Meetings: 30 Action Tips for Managing Effective Meetings (30-Minute Solutions Series), Career Press.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Go Ask Alice :: essays research papers
The 1970s was a time of change. A time of revolution. War was the topic of nearly all conversations and sex and drugs were on everyone’s minds. While boogie fever swept dance floors, young men were sent off to die in a war that they could never win. Richard Nixon was in office and his scandal was to influence politics for years to come. The bright blue bell-bottom pants with the pink and orange flowers sewed on were the coolest thing†¦oh excuse me, I mean the â€Å"grooviest†thing to have. Big cars were the big thing and inflation was as â€Å"high†as the teenagers smoking pot and shooting heroin.      This was the 1970s. Alice of â€Å"Go Ask Alice†would have been greatly influenced by this era of time. Although she had cleaned up her act, Alice most likely would have had trouble resisting the temptation provided by her peers to smoke, make love, and have the time of her life. Although one cannot say that for sure. Counseling also became much more readily available to people afflicted with addictions. So, maybe Alice would have been okay. There’s no way to really tell. One can be certain though that with her steadfast and determined way of thinking, she probably would have been protesting the Vietnam War from the very start and the right of nuclear power plants to be in operative mode. She probably would have thought President Nixon to be one of the biggest moron ever to live, and she most likely would have been out on the streets. Not living the life of an addicted druggie though, but rather counseling others on how to clean up their acts and ge t on with their lives. I think Alice would have made a really good life for herself.           Of course, these weren’t the only things going on during the seventies. Everyone always thinks of the above mentioned obvious events. I mean, the 70s were the Sex Revolution, and the Drug Revolution, and the Protest Revolution era of time. Everyone knows that. But other things occurred during this troublesome decade that would have affected and even re-molded many lives, including Alice. For example, many other wars were breaking out and many others were beginning to cool off. The Yom Kippur War began in 1973 while the Cold War was ceasing between the US, the Soviet Union and China. The terrorist act at the 1972 Munich Olympics shocked many people and the OPEC oil embargo in 1973 had a great impact on society.
Monday, September 2, 2019
The Physics of a Diesel Engine Essay -- Energy Automobiles Essays
The Physics of a Diesel Engine The world we live in is surrounded by diesel engines. They are on the freeways, railways, airways, and are one of the leading electricity producers in the world. They are also becoming more popular in automobiles. These engines are efficient and reliable and they are getting very sophisticated. However, the physics behind these engines has not changed. By way of definition, courtesy of Diesel Engine Engineering: [a] diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which the chemical energy of fuel is transformed into thermal energy of the cylinder charge, in consequence of the self-ignition and combustion of fuel in the engine cylinder after compression of the air charge in the cylinder (p1 Makartchouk). There are basically two types of diesel engines, two-stroke and four-stroke. In a two-stroke engine the piston is forced from the top of the cylinder by the expanding air fuel mixture. Before the piston reaches the bottom of the cylinder the used mixture, (called exhaust), is forced out of the cylinder by the incoming fresh air. The fresh air relies upon a blower, air induction system, to propel it into the combustion chamber. During this time period the piston begins to travel to the top of the cylinder and compress the fresh air sufficient to raise the temperature in the combustion chamber, (area between the top of the cylinder and the cylinder head at top dead center), to 1000-1200 degrees Fahrenheit (p12 Dagel). The fuel is then injected under pressure into the combustion chamber, the air ignites the fuel and the gases begin to expand finishing one cycle. A four-stroke engine begins the same way as the two-stroke with the expanding gases pushing the piston downward, called the ... ...n chamber rises dramatically. The combined fuel and air molecules bounce off one another and since the path of least resistance is the piston, the piston moves downward creating mechanical work. Applying physics to something in everyday use creates a new appreciation for what actually happens when you step on the accelerator pedal or see a truck pulling 40,000 plus pounds up a steep incline. With even a basic study of physics my worldview has changed. I now look at that cold piece of cast iron sitting in an engine compartment on a molecular level. Works Cited Dagel, John F., and Robert N. Brady. Diesel Engine and Fuel System Repair. Ohio: Prentice Hall, 2002. Kirkpatrick, Larry D., and Gerald F. Wheeler. Physics A World View. Florida: Harcourt College Publishers, 2001. Makartchouk, Andrei. Diesel Engine Engineering. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 2002.
Whole Food
Industry Analysis Dominant Industry Characteristics Since going public in 1991, Whole Foods has focused on acquiring other small owner-managed natural and organic food stores as well as opening new stores of their own. However in 2002-2006, they decided that instead of making acquisitions, Whole Foods growth strategy would be based on opening new stores. Whole Foods chooses upscale, urban metropolitan areas to place their stores. These locations are high traffic shopping locations, some are freestanding, some are in strip centers, and some are in high-density mixed-use projects.By the end of 1991 fiscal year Whole Foods had 10 stores and by the end of 2007 they had 276 stores. By 2008, Whole Foods had stores in 36 states. The most important industry characteristic would be the market size and growth rate. â€Å"The combined sales of foods and beverages labeled as ‘natural' or organic – about 62 billion in 2007 – represented about 7. 3 percent of the roughly 850 b illion in total U. S. grocery store sales. †7. 3 percent of 850 billion total grocery store sales seem like a small number for a large market but the market is still growing. According to the Organic Consumers Association, sales of organic foods in the United States hit 17 billion in 2006, up 22 percent from 13. 8 billion in 2005. When natural foods and beverages (defined narrowly as those with no artificial ingredients) were lumped in with organic foods and beverages, the U. S. retail sales total came to 28. 2 billion in 2006, up from 23 billion in 2005. †All this information is a brief explanation on the industry's position and the product life cycle.By 2008 organic foods and beverages were available in nearly every food category and were available in over 75 percent of U. S. grocery stores. These numbers show that industry is most certainly in rapid growth concerning sales. Offering organic and natural food at most grocery stores other than specialty stores also sho ws growth. â€Å"While only about 1 percent of U. S. farmland was certified organic in 2005, farmers were becoming increasingly interested in and attracted to organic farming, chiefly because of the substantially higher prices they ould get for organically grown fruits, vegetables, and meat†. This shows that the industry is still in early development because farmers that are not growing organic crops are becoming interested and attracted to organic farming. Being able to charge a higher price and bring in more profit is an eye opener and it encourages farmers to start organic farming. Another industry characteristic in the organic and natural food industry is number of rivals.An important industry driving force is marketing innovations. â€Å"In October 2002 the U. S. Department Agriculture (USDA) officially established labeling standards for organic products, overriding both the patchwork of inconsistent state regulations for what could be labeled as organic and the differe nt rules of some 43 agencies for certifying organic products. †By establishing labeling standards for organic products concerning what could be called organic insures that people are receiving pure organic products. The new labeling program was not intended as a healthy or safety program (organic products have not been shown to be more nutritious than conventionally grown products, according to the American Dietetic Association), but rather as marketing solution. †By creating stricter standards it made it harder for growers, processors, exporters, importers, shippers and merchants to prove that their product were truly organic because they are required to provide a documentation verifying that they are certify to grow, process and handle organic products.With the issue of obesity becoming a bigger and bigger issue in our country, people are taking more interest of their personal health. Many companies are trying to appeal to that population by making health changes to their products such as eliminating the use of MSG. To reduce the risk of obesity in children many schools are also making changes to their daily lunch menus such as cutting out carbonated beverages and providing the students with healthier menu choices. Food Network stars such as Rachael Ray are also aware societies growing desire to eat healthier food so they trying to express this to their viewers.All of these examples reflect changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles. The new labeling system was not intended as a health or safety program but that is exactly what it is becoming. The association between natural and organic meant that it is safe to eat since these products are being held at a higher standard. Because of societal concerns there is a change in who buys the product and how they use it. For example more people are trying organic or natural food as a substitution to products that could be considered unhealthy. Instead of purchasing carbonated beverages consum ers are trying different type of flavored water and teasIndustry Key Success FacDue to the growth of natural and organic food industry, the products are becoming more easily accessible. By making the products more easily accessible the industry is finding that consumers want more knowledge on the product features and benefits. One marketing key success factor would be courteous, personalized customer service. â€Å"Whole Food spent about 0. 5 percent of its revenues on advertising, a much smaller percentage than conventional supermarkets, preferring instead to rely primarily on word-of-mouth recommendations and testimonials from customers. Employees at Whole Foods stores take pride in being knowledgeable of their product and are eager to provide excellence customer care. Having good customer relations helps them build clientele. Whole Foods also ensures that each department is staffed with an employee that is knowledgeable about their products and always ready to answer customer co ncerns and give feedback on the products. To provide excellence customer care they offer personal attention in every department in the store and when customers asked where an item was located, team members would often take them to the spot.The team members are quite knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their products and they take advantage of opportunities to inform and educate customers about natural and organic foods. Another success factor would be a talented workforce. Having team members that are skilled and capable of providing information about their product to consumers is very important. There are a couple sources consumers can gain knowledge on natural and organic foods and they are; the store, the internet and their peers.Information found on the internet is usually not reliable because anyone can post anything on there. Even though a blog or website might be dedicated to the industry it is still not reliable because the information on there can be written by anyone. Inf ormation from your friends and family may or may not be reliable. Since the industry is still growing it might be a challenge for new customers to find someone to give them information and feedback on a particular product. This leaves consumers relying on the stores to give reliable knowledge on a product.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Exceptionally Able/Gifted Children Essay
Definition: a child who shows exceptional ability in one or more areas mathematical, verbal, spatial awareness, musical or artistic ability. These children have an IQ of 130 or above. This is the top 2% of the population in Ireland. Characteristics of Gifted Learners: * Keen powers of observation – noticing details other children of the same age would miss, including non-verbal cues. * Develop skills quicker – gifted children learn to read, walk and talk quicker than other children. * Intellectual curiosity – wanting to know everything about everything – objects, ideas, situations, or events. Gifted children are always asking the ‘bigger’ questions, especially about the world and God. * Good memory – often have a large storehouse of information about a variety of topics, which they can recall quickly. Causes of Gifted Learners: * This is a cause of great debate between psychologists. * Some people believe that gifted learning is inborn, where the child was born with high ability in one area. * Others believe that gifted learning is a by-product of deliberate practice. For example, if a child is surrounded by music and plays an instrument from a young age, then this child is more likely to be gifted in this area than others. Consequences of Gifted Learners: * Boredom – teachers often forget about gifted children. The children get distracted easily or get bored as the work is too low of standard. * Perfectionism – gifted children want to strive for perfection but often fail to attain their own high standards. * Sensitivity – a gifted 7 year old may have the intellectual ability of a 17 year old but the emotional ability of a 4 year old. * Alienation – a gifted learner’s outlook in life is very different to their peers. Because of this they may struggle to gain and maintain friendship with peers. Tips for teaching * Gifted children have special educational needs. Regular school work may not provide sufficient challenge for them. There are several approaches that can be of help, and sometimes a combination of them all is needed. * Do your job to the best of your ability. * Child centred planning – plan for the need of each child in the class, not for the class as a whole. * Acceleration – possibly moving the gifted child into an older class for some/all subjects. The child will be doing the work of an older class and it will be more challenging. * Differentiation – keep the gifted child with their age group but provide different material for the gifted learner to do.
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