Boxing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Boxing - Essay Example The traditional 'good old English method of deciding a quarrel' had always been to punch one another with bareknuckles, and the English despised the French method of using the feet for kicking, considering it to be unmanly, foreign and cowardly (Savate, 2005). This loathing for kickboxing, or savate, helped boxing to maintain its stronghold in Europe. The individual known as "the Father of Boxing" Jack Boughton, assisted in that growth by developing the first set of rules for the sport. He published those rules in 1743. His rules held sway until 1865 when the Queensbury Rules were written publicized. The Queensbury Rules were created by John Douglass who was the Eighth Marques of Queensbury. He was the person who introduced the three-minute round and the use of regulated boxing gloves. 4. If either participant falls, he must get up unassisted, and is given ten seconds to do so. The other participant must return to his corner while the fallen man attempts to rise. When the fallen man is on his legs, the round is to be resumed until the three minutes has lapsed. If the man does not rise in the ten seconds allowed, the referee awards the win to the other man. 7. 5. A man hanging on the ropes with his toes off the ground is considered down. 6. No seconds in the ring during the round. 7. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee names the time and place to finish as soon as possible, so that the match can be won or lost, unless the backers agree to a draw. 8. The gloves are to be fair-sized, new and of the best quality. 9. Should a glove burst or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction. 10. A man on one knee is considered down, and if struck is entitled to the stakes. 11. No shoes or boots with springs allowed. 12. The contest is to be governed in all other respects by the revised rules of the London Prize Ring. (Queensbury Rules, 2003)Most experts agree that these rules came into existence primarily due to the 'rough' nature of the sport and the 'fight to the death' mentality. Boxing/pg 3 Joyce Carol Oates, author of On Boxing says; "How can you enjoy so brutal a sport, people sometimes ask me" (Oates, 1987, pg 4). This question has been asked since the sport's beginning and is a question asked many times by those opponents of boxing who advocate a ban on the sport. Oates continues by answering the question in the following manner; "Life is like boxing in many unsettling respects. But boxing is only like boxing" (Oates, 1987, pg 4). Is that the answer to this sport's popularity or is it just part of the complexity of the sport, its participants and its fans There are just as many individuals who advocate continuing the sport as there are opponents to the sport. Each side of a boxing ban espouses good points and each side seems to be ardent in making those points known. This fervency makes for an interesting debate in the matter of a boxing ban.Two such prominent individuals are Dr Adrian Whiteson and Vivienne Nathanson. Dr Whiteson is the Chief Medical Officer for

The Ethics of Torture Essay Example for Free

The Ethics of Torture Essay Torture is causing pain and suffering to gain information and confessions. It’s a traditional, historical, well-understood term. Waterboarding is a form of torture in which a bound, gagged prisoner is forced to breathe in water. There are several techniques but all produce the same effects, a physical sensation of drowning and a psychological sensation of panic, fear and loss of control. Calling it anything other than torture is absurd. You wouldn’t call a bank robbery a â€Å"cash gathering technique,† even if the president said it was so. There are no such things as â€Å"enhanced interrogation methods. † That is the euphemism the Bush administration used in 2002 when they were redefining torture so the president could authorize it. There is never an excuse to torture a person, not even during war. It undermines our cause, endangers our soldiers on the battlefield by encouraging reciprocity, and it breeds more enemies of the United States than coercive interrogation methods will ever allow us to capture. As recently as November 12th of this year, Herman Cain and Rep. Michele Bachmann said during a Republican presidential debate in South Carolina that they would approve waterboarding of prisoners to extract information. They denied that waterboarding is torture, even though it’s been classified as such since the Spanish Inquisition. â€Å"Very disappointed by statements at S. C. GOP debate supporting waterboarding,† Senator John McCain wrote on Twitter two days later. â€Å"Waterboarding is torture. † This is a man who was a POW during the Vietnam War. Having been tortured at the hands of the North Vietnamese, he knows first-hand what that kind of treatment can do to a human being. If we truly believe ourselves to be a model for the world and an example for all of history, then why would we practice torture? When you pour water onto someone until he gasps for air and feels as if he’s drowning, you’re not enhancing your interrogation. You’re putting him through a hell as physical as it is psychological. You’re torturing him, by any sane definition of the term. When we deny any sort of justice or due process to individuals in the name of protecting America, we become the ultimate hypocrites. How can we as a nation, hold other nations to standards that we’re not meeting ourselves? In 2009, Dick Cheney told Fox News that, Those interrogations were involved in the arrest of nearly all the Al Qaeda members that we were able to bring to justice. Cheney’s statement begs the question, how many innocent people were imprisoned and tortured in our fanatical hunt for possible terrorists? Well, out of about 775 detainees held at GITMO, 420 were released without being charged. Less than 10 were ever convicted of terrorist activities. The abuse of prisoners can occasionally produce good intelligence but more often produces bad intelligence, Under torture a person will say anything he thinks his captors want to hear — true or false — if he believes it will relieve his suffering. Often, information provided to stop the torture is deliberately misleading. Senator McCain has said that while being tortured, he was asked for the names of all the men in his regiment. He gave his captors the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line instead. The most obvious thing we can do is stand as an example of a nation that holds an individual’s human rights as superior to the will of the majority. Write your congressmen and tell them that the sanctioned use of torture by the government is wrong. If we as a nation build a wall of fear with the rest of the world, it’s a decision with far-reaching negative consequences. Through the violence, chaos and heartache of war, through deprivation and cruelty and loss, we are always Americans, and different, stronger and better than those who would destroy us.

Grapes Of Wrath In Times Of De :: essays research papers

“The Grapes of Wrath: In Times of Despair';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If one was to examine the three characters, Tom, Ma, and Pa Joad from John Steinback’s The Grapes of Wrath. How would we figure out what astrological signs they were born under, as taken from their actions and attitudes in the novel? What certain qualities do they possess, that make them fit there Zodiac sign?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Joad, a hard stubborn man, who has served time in prison for murder. He has come back home to find his family falling apart. At the head there is Pa Joad, who has been trying to keep the family stable. He is failing fast. There seems to be no answer to the drought which has killed the land they farm. So they take to the road. Hoping there will be a new life and work in the west. The whole faimly packs their belongings, and leaves the place they have called home, behind them. Along the way to the west, they have many misfortunes. They still had more to come. Just one of the many families, caught in times of despair. They are held together by, Tom the Lion, Ma the bull, andPa who holds the scales of balance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I chose Leo, the lion for Tom. The lion is an icon of strength. I think his character represents the strength and knowledge. Shown through his psyichal fights and hard crop work in the novel. Also because he had the strength to push on for his family. To keep goin through the hardest times, and overcome his obstacles. He also represents knowledge from his experiences with fixing the truck, and keeping things under control at the government camps. Another example of personal and mental strength, as well as knowledge is the courage it took to leave his family behind at the boxcar farm. He knew he had to leave his family behind for the better of the whole group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ma Joad represents Taurus, the bull. The bull symbolizes stability. As shown through Ma’s actions and involvment in the novel. There comes a time when, Pa Joad falls into the hopelessness of the whole situtation. At that time Ma steps into the breach and takes over. She must assume the posistion of head, and keep her family going. Keep it together. She takes on the responsibility of running the family, feeding the family, working in the fields for money, and keeping it stable.

Abusive Relationship Essay

Physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse are some of the different types of abuse that can be found within a relationship. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of adolescent dating aggression, and to define, compare and contrast different points of view. The author of the novel Faultline, Janet Tashjian, describes a series of events in the life of Becky, the main character of the story, where she is getting involved into an abusive relationship with Kip, presenting all the warning signs that every adolescent should know. This story represents the millions of adolescents that are in this same situation. I will be presenting real cases from different sources to demonstrate that adolescent dating aggression is a serious problem for many teenagers. Yet like other forms of aggression, warning signs are often present that a young couple may be at risk. By understanding these precursors we can help adolescents avoid problematic situations and instead develop healthy dating relationships that will set in place a solid foundation for satisfying relationships throughout life. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four teenagers report being verbally, emotionally, physically or sexually abused in a dating relationship. The issue of dating violence is so critical that it was included in the 2005 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, along with the crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. Statistics indicate that males who are exposed to domestic violence as children are twice as likely to be abusive in their own relationships. Many teens use cell phones and computers as tools of control and abuse in dating relationships. There have been millions of reports of abuse in a relationship; one of these cases was reported by Nicky who was 12 when she fell in love with Richard who was 13. What Nicky has to show for their years together are a chipped tooth, a nose bent several degrees by his fist, three children â€Å"all of whom were born before their due dates because of beatings†, she says, a nd emotional scars that are hard to fathom in someone so young. She shares her story to Los Angeles Times: My earliest memory of abuse? I was 13. When he went into high school, I was still in junior high and he didn’t trust me. One time I was wearing this see-through blouse. I had a slip on underneath it, because my parents taught me how to dress. [But] he got mad, and he pushed me on the ground and started calling me a bitch and everything. I thought, `Well he’s just mad, I shouldn’t have worn that.’ I couldn’t go home. What was I gonna tell my mom? So I went to school and I put on my P.E. clothes and that is what I wore all day. In the last two decades, domestic violence has emerged from the black hole of taboo subjects to become highly visible. And what has long been happening between spouses or adult lovers is now recognized as a problem for teen-agers as well. Surveys show that about 28% of high school- and college-age students are in abusive relationships, roughly the same proportion as adults. But while adults have shelters and well-publicized hot lines, adolescents typically have only each other, if that. They often cannot or will not turn to adults for help and may not even talk to their peers. Young girls and women often do not know how to get out of abusive situations. More schools are providing programs to teach teens the warning signs of abusive relationships and provide them with the tools they need to leave violent and controlling partners. Some people think that dating violence is increasing because many girls are afraid to stand up to an aggressive and controlling boy. Others blame the violent and sexual content in the media as a contributing factor in dating violence. According to a New York Times article, â€Å"The high incidence of adolescent abuse distresses Barrie Levy, a Santa Monica therapist and a founder of the Southern California Coalition for Battered Women†. Levy, who edited the book Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger became aware of the problem in 1982 during a domestic violence education project in Los Angeles-area secondary schools. â€Å"Our focus was on the development of an education program that would target adolescents, thinking that the way to start dealing with domestic violence was presumably before it started,† Levy says. Violence in adolescent dating relationships is a large-scale problem, and may result in long-term trauma and psychological aftermath for victims. I provided some data, statistics, facts and opinion about this issue. An abusive relationship can be prevented if parents, teachers and counselors talk to the adolescents about the warning signs and how get away from that abusive relationship. The novel Faultline is a great example that can be used to teach teenagers about this serious topic.

Volleyball vs Softball

Petter Tomas ENG 101 September 12th, 2011 Volleyball Vs. Softball Home run! Spike! These are some very different words that mean very different things between softball volleyball. Not only are they different but they can be alike in smaller ways also. They both deal with balls, there both sports, they are both played in the same season. Their different in sizes, both uses different equipment, and are both played very differently. When it comes to the equipment used there are no similarities. There are many differences in the equipment used in volleyball then there is in softball.You don’t use bats in volleyball, and you don’t use nets in softball. The balls used in volley ball are much larger compared to a softball. In softball you use a bat to hit the ball out into the field. In volleyball you use your hands to hit the ball over the net to the other side. The teams don’t compare in sizes. In volleyball there are six people on both sides of the net. As in softbal l there can be nine to ten players out on the field. If you play slow pitch there is usually ten, but if its fast pitch theirs usually nine.Of course since they are completely two different sports that would mean that they have completely different rules on how to play. Volleyball and softball are usually both played around the same time of year, spring time. They can both be played outdoors. Volleyball can be played out doors in the sand or inside a gym. It doesn’t really matter as long as you have a net. When it comes to softball you can only play that outside on a softball field. When it comes to both sports, they are both very different. I rather would prefer to play softball rather than volleyball.To me softball is more of a competitive sport, always moving around the field. There’s more areas to play. Such as pitcher, catcher, hitter. But don’t get me wrong I like to play volleyball for fun also. Softball and volleyball are very different in many ways. But similar in some ways also. They are both great sports to play. So if you like to spike it, or hit a home run, they are both fun sports to play. a-raes end end Hdad beging People are always trying to figure out what sport to play. Some of the most popular sports to participate in and to watch, just happen to be the two sports that I have the most expertise in.I played in both volleyball and softball thought out my young life. I have played in organized league's both in high school and for the YMCA as well. I am using these two examples to show you two differences and two similarities that both sports have in common. In providing you this information I hope it may become beneficial in helping a person that is having trouble deciding which sport is best for them. If their final two choices were volleyball and softball that is. First we will talk about the differences.The first difference that I will discuss will be about a piece of equipment that is used in both sports and has to be u sed to participate and play in both sports. The second difference that I want to convey is what effect fiscal contact has on your decision to picks the correct one. The two similarities that I am going to discuss are that they both can be played with little expense to a person or persons and that both of these sports you have flexibility in the times of the year that you can play and participate in both sports and is a factor in the popularity of both sports.The piece of equipment that may be used as a deciding factor in choosing the correct sport for a person and probably the most important piece is the ball. Its true they both are played with a ball. The differences that I want to bring up are the size of the balls and the way they are made. The softball is harder and made of a more durable core made of a solid polyurethane and. The outer leather is stitched and held together with a nylon thread. It has a circumference of ten inches. Where the volleyball is a lot softer leather an d has a circumference of twenty-five inches.The ball that is used in a volleyball game is hit with your fist and the ball used in a softball game is hit with a bat. The second difference that I think could be a factor in your decision is how much body contact that is involved in both sports. Yes, they both are considered a non contact sport with minimal contact, but in both sports you can experience an injury if you are not fit and in shape. and the many different environments that both can be played in. For example, football players often tackle the opposite players to stop them approaching forward. But it is rarely seen in a baseball game.Another major difference is the rule. For instance, it changes defense side and offense side when every three players are out in a baseball game. But it’s totally different from football. You are changed to offense side when you intercept the ball. The last difference is that football players have to carry the ball to touch down but baseba ll players don’t need to do that. In conclusion, though there are some similarities and differences This could be a deciding factor when choosing the correct sport. Some people may think softball as a more of a â€Å"tough man† sport.Or a person that plays volleyball,he/she is has more skills that someone that plays softball. Contrary to what spectators may think, these two sports take effort by all the players. This is one thing that football and basketball have in common. Both of these sports are team sports, because it takes every person on the team to achieve and succeed is either in school participating off scholarship or playing in a league out side school. start the understanding that it takes hard work, team work and working with others to and achieve personal goals later on in life. They are both great sports to. wo concepts that a person can needs to prosper and sussed. I have picked both are very popular from childhood threw adulthood. The concept of working together that working with people is needed in the grand schemes of things to, achieve goals, and to succeed in life. There are so many sports in the world. There are some similarities and differences between these two sports. I would like to discuss the similarities first. needed teamwork to win a game. Teammates should cooperate with each other and follow their strategy made by coaches to go through the game and win eventually.There are no two better sports than softball and volleyball to use as the seed to being teaching these idea. Both are a fun activity and both can be played with a minimal of funding. Volleyball and softball are usually both played around the same time of year, spring time. They can both be played outdoors. Volleyball can be played out doors in the sand or inside a gym. Softball is usually played outside on a softball field. I would prefer to play softball rather than volleyball. To me softball is more of a competitive sport.Your always moving around. Thereà ¢â‚¬â„¢s more areas to play. Such as pitcher, catcher, hitter. But don’t get me wrong I like to play volleyball for fun also. between these two sports, you can play what you want. In high school, the most enjoyable part of one’s Friday nights will somehow include football games and basketball games. Football and basketball are almost always recognized as the most important sports to a school. one was to compare and contrast football to basketball, he/she would find many similarities, as well as differences.

Self Reliance Essays

Self Reliance Essays Self Reliance Essay Self Reliance Essay The definition of self reliance is: reliance on ones own powers and resources rather than those of others. Self Reliance can mean a lot of different things to different people. Ralph Wald Emerson describes self reliance as being yourself, being unique, and having your own opinion. Being a self reliant is not something that is easy. It can be very challenging. Self reliance is an important skill to have. In Emerson Self Reliance we are taught to trust ourselves. Sometimes we let society tell us who we should be and we depend on what everyone else is doing round us. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world (Emerson). This quote meaner that if you free yourself from yourself than you will be able to enjoy the world. Sometimes we let ourselves bring us down instead of other people, Just because we are scared of being Judged. Another quote from Emerson that I find important is It is easy in the world to live after the worlds opinion (Emerson). This quote meane r that is easy to follow what others are doing. We live in a world where everyone finds the need to be anyone but homeless. Conformation cannot be justified because of the liberties and self- beliefs surrendered to fit in. Therefore the only justifiable means of reaching your true God-given potential in society is being self-reliant. Self-trust and self-consciousness in society are indirect variations to each other and in that the need to conform to society is no longer a problem, because the level of your self-reliance has increased, and self-consciousness decreased. Emerson defines genius. To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. † (539) Man is inclined to dismiss his own inner thoughts and ideas, and yet is enthralled by what he sees in others. The belief that one’s own true thoughts are worthy regardless of others’ genius is to trust oneself, and be self-reliant. : Emerson, Ralph Waldo. â€Å"Self-Reliance. † Harper American Literature Single Volume . 3rd Edition. 1999: 536-539

Elizabethan Era, the similarities and differences this era has to our present day.

Elizabethan Era, the similarities and differences this era has to our present day. Free Online Research Papers Elizabethan Era, the similarities and differences this era has to our present day. Similarities: Elizabethan education was generally for boys of the upper and middle classes. However, upper class girls, often members of the Nobility were also given an education. To me this is a similarity because up until the civil rights movement it was the same here in the US. Another similarity was the basic principles of childhood. These basic elements included respecting their mother and father, asking their parents blessing, having table manners, and having education start in the home. Some inventions created during the Elizabethan era we still use today, we have just perfected them. Some of these inventions include the telescope, pocket watch, bottled beer, flush toilet, thermometer, and even the frozen chicken! New scientific methods arose during the Elizabethan era thanks to people like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Vesalius, Harvey, and their fellow workers. In the Middle Ages students had mostly been satisfied to accept what Aristotle and other philosophers had said, without trying to prove their statements. Kepler, for instance, was the first to disprove the Aristotle’s idea that, as all perfect motion is circular therefore the heavenly bodies must move in circular orbits. Similarly, the world had to wait many centuries before Harvey showed Aristotles error in supposing that the blood arose in the liver, went thence to the heart, and by the veins was conducted over the body. The new scientific method rested on observation and experiment. Students learned at length to take nothing for granted, to set aside all authority, and to go straight to nature for their facts. We are still using these scientific methods in the present day. Another similarity which I am sad to say it is a similarity is the serious lack of sanitation in Elizabethan days, especially in big cities. Streets were filled with rotting garbage, sewers were blocked and rivers were contaminated by domestic waste. Epidemic diseases became increasingly common due to the growth of rodents, fleas, and lice. This is still happening all over the world today! I have also noted a difference a couple of paragraphs ahead. This takes me to another similarity. People of different social status and financial ability consumed different food. The lower classes had a diet consisting largely of bread, cheese and vegetables. Vegetables were food for the poor as the rich considered food from the ground as lowly, while meat was a luxury for the rich. The upper classes had a variety of meat to choose such as venison, beef, pork, lamb and fowl. They could also choose from many different fish such as salmon, white fish and different shellfish. They occasionally took vegetables such as turnips, carrots, and radishes and fruits such as apples, plums, and strawberries. However, meat was still the main component of their diet. They were also fond of many desserts like pastries, tarts, and cakes. I feel this is the same today as well. You eat well if you have money. Differences: In the Elizabethan Era they studied ancient medicine, and the ideas of Hypocrites and Galen. The beliefs of the people were strange. They believed in humors and using herbs as the cure for any ailment. The filthy living conditions, crowded cities, and poverty also caused many of the feared diseases, such as the Black Plague and Smallpox, during the Elizabethan era. In today’s society medical treatments have improved tremendously with the use of new technology and especially with the development of various immunizations. People today don’t worry about being infected with the Black Plague or Smallpox because of the advancements in medicine. Many words used in the Elizabethan language are no longer in use. Other words have replaced them or the original meaning and use of the words are no longer required. A funny example of words not in use in the modern English language anymore is the Elizabethan word â€Å"gong†, which meant dung. The men whose job was to empty and dispose of the waste from the toilets were called â€Å"Gong Farmers†. The Elizabethan alphabet contained 24 letters, our present day alphabet consists of 26 letters. In the Elizabethan alphabet the letters â€Å"u† and â€Å"v† was the same letter, as were the letters â€Å"i† and â€Å"j†. The â€Å"j† was used only in the middle of a word, and the â€Å"v† was used only at the beginning. Another letter which resembled a â€Å"y† was used to represent the â€Å"th† sound. The word â€Å"the† was therefore written in a similar way as â€Å"ye† would in the modern day. There were differences in numbers in the Elizabethan days compared to present day as well. Numbers were frequently written in lower case Roman numerals, with the last â€Å"I† in a number written as a â€Å"j†. For example, â€Å"viij March†. During the Elizabethan times the number of words used in their language was constantly developing. The average number of words used in a â€Å"commoners† vocabulary during the Elizabethan times was less than 500, compared with at least 7500 words that are used in modern day English. Elizabethan language and vocabulary had not been formalized. Dictionaries were not available like they are in our present day therefore words were not used in structured formats. Another difference was a typical week at an Elizabethan grammar school compared to a typical week in present elementary schools. A typical school week at an Elizabethan grammar school looked like this: Monday – an examination based on the previous Sunday’s sermon, Tuesday to Thursday – the basic curriculum, Friday – examinations and punishments, and Saturday – study of the catechism and some arithmetic. Clothing was also different back in the Elizabethan days. It is believed that during that time clothes were such an important treasure that those belonging to the upper classes of nobility and aristocracy would spend all their earnings on what they wore. The women finely decorated their dresses. Today Elizabethan costumes are more about fun. While it is completely outdated, it forms a theme for costume parties and fancy dress balls. The rich wore fabrics such as velvet, satin and cotton, whereas the poor wore flannel and other cheaply available fabrics. It may be surprising how cotton was regarded as a rich person’s clothing because in those days, cotton was not as easily available as compared to today. It also would be inconvenient and an extremely expensive option to wear today. Another difference was that advanced medicine didn’t exist like it does today, therefore people sought for basic remedies to various illnesses usually by making their own medicine and potions using herbs and plants. This could be a similarity though as well, it depends on what part of the globe you’re living on. The accepted social mores of Elizabethan times are comparatively very different to those of the present day. Speaking generally, peoples attitudes, ways of thinking, and expectations have diversified immensely for the better. Males and females are viewed differently by each other and by society in general, and have reached a level of equality never before encountered in earlier times. In the 16th century, the life span was shorter than that of today. The average lifespan of an adult male was 47 years, while the life expectancy of people in London was 35 years for the richer ones, and only 25 years for the less affluent ones. Death in infancy or early childhood was common. Also, about 40% of the people died before their middle teenage years. Research Papers on Elizabethan Era, the similarities and differences this era has to our present day.Standardized TestingPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraWhere Wild and West MeetMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThree Concepts of PsychodynamicPETSTEL analysis of IndiaDefinition of Export Quotas

Do you have what it takes to be an online creative freelancer

Do you have what it takes to be an online creative freelancer Online creative freelancers can vary in the specifications that are  needed for their  client. Whether it is website development, content, or even design; being an online creative freelancer is customizable to the skills you have. Becoming an online freelancer is a great career choice if you are looking for either full-time or part-time  job opportunities. The work hours are very flexible and you are in charge  of how your day goes as well as the workload you can handle. Thinking about becoming an online creative freelancer? This quiz is perfect for helping you decide if it might be a smart career move.Source [ Playbuzz ]

Quality Function Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Quality Function Development - Essay Example two factors would lead to confusion and misinterpretation of data when a product moves from the market research stage to design stage and then to engineering stage and at last to manufacturing stage. One can quite often find that once the customer expectations are passing from the market research stage to manufacturing stage (Bunch, 2003, pp.31-36) a lot of their expectations would be lost in each stages and the voice of the organization enters into the product design stage. As a result the company goes in for incorporating in the product what the customers had not asked in for rather than incorporating in the product what the customers had asked in for (Cochran, 2003, pp.43-47). But if the company goes in for incorporating QFD system then the companies can always go in for incorporating the customer's expectations in the product. QFD helps in removing the design error so that company need not spend money and time in redesigning the product. QFD is a set of graphically oriented planning matrices that helps in identifying factors based on which decisions can be made during any phase of the product development cycle (Gordon, 2003, pp.37-40). QFD is nothing but a perfect blue print for quality by design. The results of incorporating QFD in an organization can be measured by looking into the number of designs and engineering changes brought in during the product development and manufacturing stage. It can also be evaluated based on the cost incurred quality of product and time taken to market the product after incorporating QFD (Franco, 2001, pp.28-32) and what had been the value of these factors before QFD was implemented. Once QFD is implemented then the amount of time and money spent by an organization on redesigning and modifications drastically comes down. Once... From this paper it is clear that  an organization that properly implements Quality Function Development can improve their engineering knowledge in producing a particular product; this can in turn improve productivity and quality of the product and can also cut down the production time and cost.As the report highlights  QFD is a set of graphically oriented planning matrices that helps in identifying factors based on which decisions can be made during any phase of the product development cycle. QFD is nothing but a perfect blue print for quality by design. The results of incorporating QFD in an organization can be measured by looking into the number of designs and engineering changes brought in during the product development and manufacturing stage. It can also be evaluated based on the cost incurred quality of product and time taken to market the product after incorporating QFD and what had been the value of these factors before QFD was implemented. Once QFD is implemented then th e amount of time and money spent by an organization on redesigning and modifications drastically comes down. Once this is achieved it means that the company can launch their product in the market much earlier than they could by following the traditional method.  QFD process starts with listing down the goals or objectives that the company has to achieve. This list is prepared by finding out what the customers expect from a product.

Distributed agile software development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Distributed agile software development - Essay Example Agile principles have been proposed as the best solution for the numerous communication challenges related to Distributed software development. Agile software development refers to a group of software development methodologies that aim to achieve a more nimble and lighter development processed which as a result make them increasingly responsive to change. We can alternatively term agile software development as a group of methods of software development based on both iterative and incremental developments. Additionally, their resolutions and requirements change through a partnership between cross-functional and self-organizing teams (Torgeir, Sridhar, Venu and Nils 2012, p. 1213-1221). Torgeir, Sridhar, Venu and Nils (2012, p. 1213-1221) states that the agile software methodologies are anchored on various principles. The first is to develop software that meet customer requirements. The other principles are accepting any changes that might arise in requirements at any development stage, ensuring there is maintenance of the existing cooperation between the developers and the customers on a daily basis during the project development cycle and lastly being to develop on a test-driven basis which implies writing a test prior to writing a code (Torgeir, Sridhar, Venu and Nils 2012, p. 1213-1221). We can term agility to refer to do away with most of the heaviness in a bid to promoting reception of quick response towards changing environments, the changes in the requirements of the users and accelerating the project deadlines. Distributed agile development processes have been applied with success to many projects. Agile distributed development process has been successfully applied on a project involving a developer’s team distributed in the academic workspace. We also have the DART project which was a research project on different web applications with one of the main goals being to analyze

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 20

Marketing - Essay Example You must take note of the industrial norms, i.e. the competitors which are already existent within the relevant market. This will make you realize the extent of scope that will be successful when you decide to open up London Pride. When you know about the competition right from the onset then you also discern that how they are playing upon their strengths and what weaknesses exist within their realms. Their weak points are significant since you could play with them and implement them in your own health and fitness club. Their strengths could be replicated and you could incorporate strategies which will make you successful as well. (Baker, 1970) In fact you can exceed the strengths by giving more value to the eventual customers or members of the health and fitness clubs than the competitors are providing at the present. If the marketing environment is dull and mundane, you would have to instill confidence within the customers to come and try for their own betterment the facilities ava ilable at your health and fitness club and thus become fitter and healthier in their respective lives. The marketing environment which exists for London Pride will dictate the way under which you will exploit the strengths that you bring to the table and close down the weaknesses that are already existent within the industry. Now it up to you as to how you balance the positive and the negative stance presented by the industry and how you will counter the very same in a head on manner. Your business is what you must concern yourself with and for that you need to devise a strategy which will not only be wholesome but also exclusive for your own business. The business will only gain from the marketing environment and you should make sure that the hurdles that come your way must not deter you in the wake of launching this health and fitness club. You must get your act together and do

Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Interview - Essay Example The organization is committed to promote and reward safe behavior. In addition, the management of the organizations tries to educate all the employees in healthy and safety procedures. How do you manage health and safety of the employees within the workplace? Accidents and workplace hazards are always preventable. The organization works hard to improve the workplace safety performance to provide hazard free workplace environment to all the employees. The organization continuously gives priority to the good health and safety of the employees. Coca Cola Enterprise constantly monitors health and safety performance in order to ensure effective improvement. In addition, effective risk and hazard management process helps the organization to eliminate the possibilities and impact of several calamities and hazards. What are the initiatives that have been taken by the organization? The manufacturing and distribution sites of Coca Cola Enterprise avail several efficient representatives regardi ng the health and safety aspect of the employees. They management representative used to discuss about several aspects of occupational health and safety aspect in a committee or a meeting. It helps the representatives to organize and monitor effective OSHA programs. Each and every employee of the organization is treated in similar way. The organization has reduced lost time injury frequency significantly through these processes. How do you monitor workplace health and safety performance? It is true that health and safety performance is one of the major business indicators of Coca Cola Enterprise. The management of the organization generally reviews the performance of both corporate and site level. The safety manager of the organization provides the results to the senior management team on half-yearly basis. All of the manufacturing and distribution sites of Coca Cola Enterprise try to meet the safety and health management standards of both Coca Cola System and Coca Cola Enterprise. Moreover, these sites avail inclusive emergency response procedures. The organization already avails written codes of procedures, review processes and practice in order to ensure the compliance with the policies and regulatory requirement of the organization. In addition, all of the manufacturing and distribution sites of Coca Cola Enterprise have been certificated to the OHSAS 18001. What is the vision of Coca Cola Great Britain about health and safety in workplace? Coca Cola is one of the leading organizations in Britain. The organization always provides high priority to good health and safety of the employees. It is decided by the management that the organization will provide a 90 days of induction plan about health and safety policy to the new employees. Reflection and Learning It is clear from the above interview process that Coca Cola Enterprise in Great Britain gives superior priority to the health and safety aspects of the employees. Several leading organizations around the globe are trying to implement unique strategies to achieve potential competitive advantages. It is true that employees are the strongest assets of an organization. Therefore, majority of the leading global organizations try to retain their effective and potential employees. Potential and skilled employees are considered as the major business growth driver. However, Coca Cola Enterprise always tries to retain their effective employees by ensuring safe and healthy workplace environment. The federal government of US developed occupational health and

Developing Creativity For Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Developing Creativity For Business - Essay Example An impressive example of a creative individual is Steve Wosnaik. Apple computer is the fruit of labor of this individual as the gadget is co-founded by him. Reaching this height is because of his qualities like – sticking to the idea even when they are challenged , maintaining individuality , courage to question the people in power etc. Considering a business as a jigsaw puzzle , creativity is one elusive piece that wins the game for the participant. Creativity has become important more than ever before. According to Stephen P. Robbins , following is the three-component model of creativity .Based on an extensive body of research , this model proposes that individual creativity essentially requires expertise , creative-thinking skills , and intrinsic task motivation. Expertise - the potential for creativity is enhanced , when individual have abilities , knowledge , proficiencies and similar expertise in their field of Endeavour. Creative thinking skills – this encompasse s personality characteristics associated with creativity , the ability to use analogies , as well as the talent to see the familiar in the different light. Intrinsic task motivation – this is the desire to work on something because its interesting , involving , exciting , satisfying or personally challenging. This motivational component is what turns creativity potential into actual creative ideas. Though these are the basic components of creativity , several others are discussed in the following pages. Thus to investigate the concept of creativity , I have taken the business of supermarket as the topic of my report. According to wordiq.com , a ‘supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol , medicine , clothes and other household products that are consumed regularly. It is often part of a chain that owns or controls ( sometimes big franchise ) other supermarkets located in the same or other towns , this increases the opportunities for economies of sale.’ According to dictionary.reference.com , ‘supermarket is a large retail market that sells food and other household goods and that is usually operated on a self-service basis.’ According to retailindustry.about.com, ‘Wal-Mart which has more than 8400 stores across the world , is by far the largest retailer in the world. France’s Carrefour is number 2.germany’s Metro AG overtook the United Kingdom’s Tesco chain and claimed third position.’ Due to the intrinsic growth and development of countries all across the globe , the local vendor scenario has been taken over by supermarkets. In recent times , supermarkets have shown a phenomenal growth. They now have in-house pharmacies , florists , catering services , prepared foods such as sandwiches , postal services , etc. Some supermarket chains even offer dry-cleaning services and few have started video-rental service. In a nutshell supermarkets are now providing a one-stop-shop experience. Most

Social Networking and Enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Networking and Enterprise - Essay Example According to the paper with the emergence of social network marketing, agents have been induced to embrace social media marketing to achieve a better understanding of customer needs and build a better relationship with customers. Social marketing pursues in an elaborate manner the online marketing strategy a business can adopt, the opportunities and challenges associated with social marketing. Review of Social Marketing Tools and Terms Two distinct terms emerge when discussing online marketing: interactive marketing and internet marketing. Interactive marketing is the adoption of conversational skills and settings in marketing where marketing is a transaction focused process. It involves addressing the customer in their own language or way of communication and promptly responding to their concerns. The Internet in this case acts as a tool for facilitating interactive marketing by recording customers or potential customers’ information and easing the communication process. Inte rnet marketing is basically marketing using the Internet. In this case, marketers exploit the fact that the Internet is inherently interactive in eliciting instant responses, and its omnipresence means that it attracts spontaneous responses. Internet marketing combines the innovative and technical sides of the Internet, which include design, development, advertisement and, eventually, making sales. According to the report affiliate marketing is where a website or online business is promoted through an affiliate or publisher who essentially through his/her site or other online service promotes the website or online business and is paid for every sale, visitor, subscriber, or customer provided via their system or effort. A web banner or a banner advert is a form of online advertising where an advert is embedded into a web page intended to attract traffic to a different website by linking them to the advertiser’s website. Banners are constructed from an image and are forms of gi f, jpeg, png, utilising the Java script program or derivatives of Java, Shockwave or Flash technologies. A banner can be made more conspicuous through animation or sound effects and a high aspect ratio. Blogs are websites where entries are written in chronological order, usually in reverse order. They provide commentary, debate or news on a particular subject and are interactive with a format that allows visitors to leave comments (Benni, 2001). They provide text, images or links to other blogs or websites. Contextual advertising is where adverts appear on websites or electronic devices like phones, which is served through an automated system and selects recipients through segmentation.

Developing Creativity For Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Developing Creativity For Business - Essay Example An impressive example of a creative individual is Steve Wosnaik. Apple computer is the fruit of labor of this individual as the gadget is co-founded by him. Reaching this height is because of his qualities like – sticking to the idea even when they are challenged , maintaining individuality , courage to question the people in power etc. Considering a business as a jigsaw puzzle , creativity is one elusive piece that wins the game for the participant. Creativity has become important more than ever before. According to Stephen P. Robbins , following is the three-component model of creativity .Based on an extensive body of research , this model proposes that individual creativity essentially requires expertise , creative-thinking skills , and intrinsic task motivation. Expertise - the potential for creativity is enhanced , when individual have abilities , knowledge , proficiencies and similar expertise in their field of Endeavour. Creative thinking skills – this encompasse s personality characteristics associated with creativity , the ability to use analogies , as well as the talent to see the familiar in the different light. Intrinsic task motivation – this is the desire to work on something because its interesting , involving , exciting , satisfying or personally challenging. This motivational component is what turns creativity potential into actual creative ideas. Though these are the basic components of creativity , several others are discussed in the following pages. Thus to investigate the concept of creativity , I have taken the business of supermarket as the topic of my report. According to wordiq.com , a ‘supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol , medicine , clothes and other household products that are consumed regularly. It is often part of a chain that owns or controls ( sometimes big franchise ) other supermarkets located in the same or other towns , this increases the opportunities for economies of sale.’ According to dictionary.reference.com , ‘supermarket is a large retail market that sells food and other household goods and that is usually operated on a self-service basis.’ According to retailindustry.about.com, ‘Wal-Mart which has more than 8400 stores across the world , is by far the largest retailer in the world. France’s Carrefour is number 2.germany’s Metro AG overtook the United Kingdom’s Tesco chain and claimed third position.’ Due to the intrinsic growth and development of countries all across the globe , the local vendor scenario has been taken over by supermarkets. In recent times , supermarkets have shown a phenomenal growth. They now have in-house pharmacies , florists , catering services , prepared foods such as sandwiches , postal services , etc. Some supermarket chains even offer dry-cleaning services and few have started video-rental service. In a nutshell supermarkets are now providing a one-stop-shop experience. Most

Business-to-Business Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business-to-Business Marketing - Case Study Example Advertising as a tool helps to get a company’s messages to large audiences well through avenues such as television, radio,  Newspapers, Magazines, Billboards, Internet etc.; other mobile technological communication devices may also be used. This method can successfully reach a large number of customers, although it may be somewhat expensive. This tool is usually used through contests, premiums, coupons, samples, demonstrations, incentives or displays. Though it attracts a large number of customers, it can only be used to accelerate short-term sales, by encouraging repeat buying and building brand awareness.  This tool of marketing communication is initiated through news/press releases, public appearances, or sometimes event sponsorships. It is a good way of building trust and goodwill by presenting the service or company in a positive light. Public Relation refers to how a company handles its relationships and the flow of information with the various publics which include the general public, shareholders, consumers, employees, partners, the government and competitors.  Sarah and Peter must look at legal, regulatory, social, competitive, technological, ethical and cultural considerations before opting for any of the above options as a communication tool. One thing that they must avoid is when choosing any of the tool s and activating it, they do not end up reaching an inappropriate audience or cause controversy. It could be damaging for the company when trying to build up brand awareness and encouraging customers to spend on a company’s products. Decisions that link the overall objectives and strategy during the marketing planning phase helps to evaluate and adjust the particular activities of integrated marketing communication.

Domestic Violence And Its Effects Essay Example for Free

Domestic Violence And Its Effects Essay Domestic Violence And Its Effects Introduction            This essay the main women characters in ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell and ‘Sweat’ by Zora Neale Thurston to explore domestic violence. The two plays form an ideal pair which explores domestic violence and its effects in the society. The essay considers how this issue is dramatized differently by Glaspell and Zora. By examining the two novels together, in the limelight of domestic violence and its impacts, the essayist will better discern, in relief, of the two plays achieve success and continues to fascinate the readers. Both novelists explore the relation between the legal narrative, official and illegitimate, suppressed stories, in which the females and the male’s version of conflict ascend over one another and the fate of women, determine their trials. In Trifles, the law is bent and the context of the women replaces the context of men in the court.            Domestic violence or emotional abuse is a behaviour used by one spouse to take control of the other. Forms of domestic abuse include sexual abuse, emotional, physical and economical, and can range from coercive, subtle forms of misuse to brutal physical abuse that may result to death or .disfigurement. Domestic violence affects those involved together with their substantial families, co-workers, friends and community at large. This crime affects children brought up in such families seriously. It subjects them to numerous physical and social problems. This creates a significant chance of increasing the risks of such children becoming the society’s next victims and abusers. The Trifle and the Sweat will give us a great opportunity of exploring some forms of domestic violence and their effects to the victims.            Susan Glaspell and Zora Neale Hurston lived during the early 1900s (Wagner-Martin, pp. 33). During this period, the role of the women in the society was being submissive to men as well as taking care of the domestic duties and responsibilities. This took place in all rural areas. Women hardly worked in order to support their families financially (Lupton, pp. 46). Their principal duties were to take care of children and attend other household duties. As a result, females were placed in the second class status where they were not considered as intelligent as men and were subjected to abuse. The two plays capture the struggles faced by women during this time. Males regard women in the plays with all the formulaic trappings in the setting of the rural American. Nevertheless, Glaspell and Hurston show women rarely fit the stereotype and should never be underestimated at all.            The society during this time had great influence on the way people lived, and could either liberate or oppress based on their standards of living. The society believed in the male superiority and women were oppressed and discontented with their lives. The women in the ‘Sweat’ and the ‘Trifles’ are alienated from their spouses as a result of traditional beliefs that dictate that women should be submissive, the males should dominate marriages, and the need of possessions to facilitate a happy marriage (Lupton, pp. 48).            The Sweat tells the story of a hero Delia Jones, who washes clothes for the whites in Florida town. She used to use the money she got to support her family (Hurston, pp.77). Nevertheless, Delia is married to an unkind man, Sykes. He is abusive to Delia, both physically and mentally. He has an affair with another lady and he uses the money earned by Delia to comfort his mistress. One day, he brings a rattle snake to his house in order to abuse Delia. Ironically, the snake kills him. As the play ends up the author makes the reader under that Delia does no effort to save the life of her abusive husband as he lay dying of bites inflicted by the snake.            Married women are unequally treated. They are required to do all domestic works and be submissive to their spouses. They are required to do things in order to please their husbands. Delia is abused by Sykes who physically beats her from time to time. As a result, domestic violence washes out the love between them. This is evident from the passive response of Delia when her husband suffers from the pains inflicted into his body by the rattle snake which he had brought into the house to abuse Delia. The narrator makes the theme clear by the reaction of Delia. Where there is abuse in marriage, suppressed parties will always want to revenge to the evil did by their husbands. Delia reacts with less concern about the pain her husband is going through as a way of revenging the abuse she has been going through the married life.            Domestic violence causes unfair treatment to the passive party. In the very beginning of the story, the writer makes the reader witness how women are used to attending all domestic chores. At this time, there were no employment opportunities for women more so the blacks. Nevertheless, Sykes is very unsympathetic to the needs of Delia who works for very little money in the laundry. He refuses to work and leaves his wife with all financial responsibilities. When Sykes tries to beat his wife, she says, Looka heah, Sykes, you done gone too far. Ah, been married to you fur fifteen years and Ah been takin in washing for fifteen years. Sweat sweat, sweat! Work and sweat, cry and sweat, pray and sweat! (Hurston, pp.89). This clearly shows that in families dominated by domestic families, the life is so unfulfilling to the spouse affected and there is no love for each other.            Marriages dominated by violence are subject to threats to each other. Sykes keeps on beating his wife and repeatedly uses threats such as â€Å"Don’t give me no lip neither, else Ah’ll throw em out and put ma fist upside yo head to boot. (Hurston, pp. 91). Ironically, the society knows what happening between the two spouses but they believe that what happens in marriages is too personal to question.            Domestic violence leads to unfaithfulness and hatred in marriages. The novel reveals that Sykes carries publicly affairs with another woman. To make the matters worse, he uses the hardly earned money by his wife to comfort the mistress. Sykes keeps on telling Delia that she is too thin and that his other partner is fatter, just to make Delia inferior to his mistress. One day as Delia comes from work she sees the two in a general store. Sykes publicly embarrasses her and says he has no problem with spending her wife’s hard earned money with his mistress. That very night she confronts her husband and the two confess hatred to one another. The author makes the reader understand that domestic violence is accompanied by hatred and misuse of one another. In the end, Delia revenges back in order to get the inner peace. When Delia is hiding in the hangar from the rattlesnake, Hurston writes, â€Å"A period of introspection, a space of retrospection, and then a mixt ure of both. Out of this an unpleasant calm. (Hurston, pp. 78) Possibly this is all Delia will ever find to pacify her soul.            Domestic violence is characterised by conflicts as seen in the case of Sykes and her wife. The conflict between the two starts when Delia brings her work in the house. Sykes is angered when he comes home and finds his wife sorting the cloths of her bosses. He verbally abuses her and tells her that he does not want the laundry in their home. He also attacks his wife on religious conviction. He wants her to respect the Sabbath day and keep it holy by not working. Delia tells him that her work caters for their home and wins them their daily bread. As a result, the author makes the reader understand that domestic violence makes parties not appreciate the roles of their spouses. They are always at the blame of each other and the marriage is dominated by criticism as evident in the marriage between Delia and Sykes.            Domestic violence leads to murderous deeds in marriages. As a result of the hatred, adulterous behaviours and abuse of one another the feeling of killing the abusive party enters into the other party. For instance, as Trifles opens, Henderson asks Mr. Hale to explain to him what happened. Mr. Hales responds by narrating a series of events which led to his discovery on murder, more so his conversation with Mrs. Wright, whom he found in the kitchenette with the body of his husband laying carelessly. He says, I was surprised; she did not ask me to come up to the stove, or to set down, but just sat there, not even looking at me, so I said, I want to see John. And then she-laughed (Glaspell, pp.37). The narrator makes it clear that Mrs. Wright never minds about the death of her husband as laughed at him when he demanded to see her husband. Glaspell presents Mrs. Wright as a woman who had no feminine hysteria behaviour.            Domestic violence leads to neglect of the spouses: Neglect can be said to be ignorance, or lack of giving proper attention to one another. Neglect is a major form of domestic abuse faced by many females today’s society. This form of abuse is rarely reported to the concerned authorities as women make mere excuses in regard to those behaviours. Mrs. Wright of Trifle though she is a fiction character suffers the neglect as many women of today. Before the marriage, she was known for her pretty dress which she used to attend to choir with. This personality depicted the confidence and respect she had for herself. After marriage, her life makes significant changes. She had no children and used to stay alone in the house that she occupied together with her husband. She used to stay at home alone for many hours attending family duties.            Domestic violence leads to suppression of the spouses: Where violence exists there is always suppression of another. This argument is supported by the two novels. In trifles, Mr. Wright suppresses and dominates his wife. The suppression makes her be unable to take part in society as she wished to. John Wring does not mind about how her wife thought or wished. The same suppression and the indifferences between the two can be seen as the possible drive for accusations made against Mrs. Wright for murdering her husband while in his sleep. References Ben-Zvi, Linda. ‘Murder, she wrote’: The genesis of Susan Glaspell’s Trifles. Theatre Journal 44.2 (1992): 141-162. Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Plays by Susan Glaspell. (1991). Hilton, Leon. Trifles, by Susan Glaspell. Women Performance: a journal of feminist theory 21.1 (2011): 147-149. Hurston, Zora Neale. Sweat. Rutgers University Press, 1997.Lupton, Mary Jane. Zora Neale Hurston and the Survival of the Female. The Southern Literary Journal (1982): 45-54. Wagner-Martin, Linda, and Cathy N. Davidson, Eds. The Oxford book of womens writing in the United States. Oxford University Press, 1999. Source document

Relationship between SMC1A and Chromosome Related Disease

Relationship between SMC1A and Chromosome Related Disease 1. Introduction[A1] The Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes 1 alpha (SMC1A) gene is located in Xp11.22-p11.21, consisting of 25 exons and 24 intron. SMC1A gene encoding a core subunit of the cohesin complex, which is essential to sister chromatid cohesion. SMC1, SMC3, SCC1 (also known as MDC1 and RAD21) and SCC3 (also known as SA2 and STAG2) subunits could interact with each other and form a ring-shaped cohesin complex [1-3]. As is known, central component of the cohesin and condensin complexes are required for conversion of interphase chromatin into mitotic-like condense chromosomes[4]. Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) proteins are core component of the cohesin and condensin complex and essential for chromosome condensation during DNA replication and chromatid segregation of the genome in all organisms. They are also involved in checkpoint responses and epigenetic silencing of gene expression[5]. Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a dominantly developmental disorder with multisystem abnormalities including slow growth before and after birth, characteristic facial features, upper extremity defects, hirsutism, gastroesophageal dysfunction and cognitive retardaion. The incidence is as high as one in 10,000 to 30,000 newborns. Both sexes have the same phenotypic variability. To date, the three genes, NIPBL, SMC1A, and SMC3 involving in chromosome function, gene regulation and double-stranded DNA repair, could cause CdLS when mutated[6, 7]. Six in ten of the probands with CdLS have heterozygous mutations in NIPBL gene, whereas 5% have mutations in SMC1A and SMC3 genes [6, 8]. Eleven different SMC1A mutations in 14 unrelated patients have been reported. All patients had a mild to moderate CdLS phenotype [8-10]. In several decades, we focus on the relationship between SMC1A and chromosome related genetic disease. In recent years, we found that SMC1A may play a key role in tumorigenesis. Sun. M et al. determined that the effects of SMC1A knockdown on the cell cycle and apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells. The results indicated that SMC1A is a novel oncogene, which modulates lung cancer cells in their proliferation and migration capabilities through arresting cell cycle at G0/G1 phase and promoting apoptosis [11]. The similar conclusion also was found in glioblastoma cells [12, 13]. However, SMC1A functions as a novel oncogene in human prostate cancer metastasis and progression has still not been reported. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Patient Samples All of the patient samples were obtained from the Urinary Surgery Department of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai, China. This study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, and the informed consents were acquired from all of the subjects. 2.2. Reagents and antibodies DMEM (cat no.12430-054), F12 (cat no. 21127022) and RPMI-1640(cat no. 11875-093) medium and fetal bovine serum (cat no. 10099-141) were purchased from GIO (Grand Island, NY). TRIzol Reagent was from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA, USA). Giemsa was from Chemicon International (Temecula, CA). M-MLV Reverse (cat no. M5301)Transcription was purchased from Promega (Madison, WI, USA). Oligo-dT(18) was synthesized by Sangon Biotech (Shanghai, China). Terraâ„ ¢ qPCR Direct SYBR ® Premix (cat no. 638318) was from Takara (Otsu, Japan). Anti-SMC1A antibody (cat no. SAB4300451) was from Sigma-Aldrich (Munich, Germany). Mouse anti-GAPDH (cat no. sc-32233), Goat anti-Mouse IgG (cat no. sc-32233) and goat anti-rabbit IgG (cat no. sc-2030) were from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Texas, USA). All the other chemicals were of analytical grade. 2.3. Cell culture Human embryonic kidney cells 293T, Human prostate cancer cell lines PC-3, DU145, LNCap, and 22RV1 were purchased from the Cell Bank of Type Culture Collection of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China). 293T were cultrued in DMEM containing 10%FBS. PC-3 and DU145 cells were maintained in F-12 medium supplemented with 10% FBS, 100U/ml penicillin and 100ÃŽ ¼g/ml streptomycin. 22RV1 and LNCap cells were incubated with RPMI-1640 supplemented with 10% FBS, 100U/ml penicillin and 100ÃŽ ¼g/ml streptomycin. LNCap cells were maintained in Corning Corning ® CellBIND ® Surface cell culture flasks (Corning, cat no. #3289) for a better attachment efficiency. All cells were cultured in a humidified incubator at 37oC under 5% CO2 atmosphere and used for analysis during exponential phase of growth. 2.4. RNA interference The synthesized 21-bp oligonucleotides encoding SMC1A-specific shRNA held the sequence 5’-TAGGAGGTTCTTCTGAGTACA-3’. The sequence of the negative control shRNA oligonucleotides was 5’-TTCTCCGAACGTGTCACGT-3’. The oligos were annealed and ligated into pH-L vector (Hollylab, Shanghai, China) through NheI/PacI to generate pH-Lv-shSMC1A and pH-Lv-shCon. The resulting constructs were confirmed by sequencing. 2.5. Recombinant lentivirus Transduction PC-3 or DU145 cells were plated at 5Ãâ€"104 cell/well in 6-well plates. After 24 h of culture, lentivirus recombinant encoding shRNA against SMC1A was added at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 50 into F-12 basic medium. After 6h incubation, the cells were added with complete growth medium replacing the basic medium containing the lentivirus. Then, 5 days post-transfection, gene reporter (EGFP) expression was examined using fluorescent microscopy (Olympus, cat no. CKX41). 2.6. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis of SMC1A mRNA expression Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol reagent according to the manufacturer’s instruction. 2ÃŽ ¼g total RNA was used to synthesize the first strand of cDNA using M-MLV Reverse Transcriptase. Real-time PCR reactions using Terraâ„ ¢ qPCR Direct SYBR ® Premix were run on Takara TP800-Thermal Cycler DiceTM Real-Time System. The following primers were used: SMC1A: 5’- AGCGAAAGGCAGAGATAATGG-3’ and 5’-GGTAGTCAAGAGGCAAGAAGG-3’; ÃŽ ²-actin: 5’- GTGGACATCCGCAAAGAC-3’ and 5’-AAAGGGTGTAACGCAACTA-3’. Thermal cycling condition were 1 min at 95 °C followed by 45 cycles of 95  °C for 5 s, 60 °C for 20 s, read absorbance value at the extension stage. The data was analyzed with Takara Thermal Dice Real Time System software Ver3.0. SMC1A relative mRNA levels was calculated using the 2-ΔΔCt method with normalization to ÃŽ ²-actin. And the conditions 2.7. Western blot analysis of SMC1A protein expression Cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS and suspended in cell lysis buffer (2% Mercaptoethanol, 20% Glycerol, 4% SDS in 100mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 6.8), and incubated for 15 min on ice. After centrifugation at 12,000 g for 15 min at 4oC, the supernatants were collected, and the protein content were measured using BCA protein assay kit. Equal amounts of protein were subjected to SDS-PAGE. After electrophoresis, blots were transferred onto PVDF membrane using an electro-blotting apparatus (Tanon, Shanghai, China). The membrane was blocked with TBST buffer containing 5% nonfat milk at room temperature for 1 h, and incubated with the primary antibodies in the blocking solution at 4oC overnight. After 3 washes with TBST buffer, the membrane was incubated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) -conjugated secondary antibody (1:5000) at room temperature for 1 h. The signals of detected proteins were visualized by Pierce ECL western blotting detection kit (thermo scientific, USA). GAPDH protein level was used as an internal control to verify equal protein loading. 2.8. MTT assay Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. Exponential growth phase cells were plated at a final concentration of 2000 cells/well in 96-well plates and cultured for five consecutive days. MTT (10 µl, 10mg/ml) was then added, followed by incubation for another 4 hr at 37oC under humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere. The MTT was removed and addition of 150ÃŽ ¼l DMSO. Optical density (OD) of each well was measured at 490 nm using an ELx808 Absorbance Reader (Bio-Tek Instruments, USA). 2.9. Colony formation assay Cell growth and survival ability was also determined by the plate-colony-formation assay. In brief, 200 transfected cells were plated in 6-well plates. Cells were cultured for 14 days at 37oC under humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere. Culture medium was changed at 3-day intervals. Afterward, cells were incubate in 4% paraformaldehyde for 30 min at room temperature. The colonies were stained with Giemsa for 15 min, then washed with ddH2O and air-dried. The number of colonies (>50 cells/colony) was counted. 2.10. Flowcytometry Analysis Cell cycle distribution was assessed by propidium iodide (PI) staining. Briefly, the transfectedcells were harvested by trypsinization, centrifuged at 250 g for 5 min, washed twice with ice-cold PBS, and fixed in 70% ethanol at 4oC or -20oC for at least 1 h. Cells were collected and resuspended in PBS containing 100ÃŽ ¼g/ml RNase A and 40ÃŽ ¼g/ml PI, and then incubated at 4oC for 30 min, in dark. Cells were analyzed by flow cytometry using a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton-Dickinson, San Jose, CA). The percentage of the cells in sub-G1, G0/G1, S, and G2/M phases were analyzed using ModFit (Verity Software House, Maine, USA) software. 2.11. Migration assay To explore the effect of SMC1A in the migration of prostate cancer cells, 24-well transwell chamber with 8.0ÃŽ ¼m pore polycarbonate filter inserts (Corning, cat no. #3422) was performed. In the upper chamber of each transwell, cells were suspended in serum-free F-12 containing 0.2% BSA. And F-12 supplemented with 10% FBS was added in each lower chamber. Then, the inserts were incubated at a 37 °C, 5% CO2/95% air incubator for overnight and the cells that had not penetrated the filters were removed. The migrated cells attached to the bottom side were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 10 min and stained in0.1% crystal violet for 30 min, rinsed in PBS and examined under a bright-field microscope. 2.12. Tumorigenesis assay The influence of SMC1A silence on the tumor development of prostate tumor in vivo was examined. DU145, DU145-Lv-shCon or DU145 Lv-shSMC1A at 5 Ãâ€" 106 per mouse were injected subcutaneously into 4 weeks old Balb/c nude mice (n = 10 per group, Shanghai Laboratory Animal Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China). The development and growth of solid tumors were monitored by measuring tumor size using a vernier caliper in a blinded fashion every five days for a 27-days period. The tumor volume was calculated using a standard formula: tumor volume (mm3) = width (mm)2Ãâ€"length (mm)Ãâ€"0.5. At the end of the experiment, all mice were sacrificed and individual tumor weights were measured using a electronic balance. All the animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care Committee of the Second Military Medical University. 2.13. Statistical analysis The statistical analyses were performed with Graphpad Prism 5.0 software. The values are expressed as the mean of at least three different experiments  ± S.D. The results were analyzed by Student’s t-test, and P 3. Results 3.1. Expression of SMC1A in prostate cancer tissue and prostate cancer cells. To study the function of SMC1A in prostate cancer, we first analyzed its expression pattern in prostate cancer tissues. As shown in Fig 1A, SMC1A was strongly stained in prostate cancer tissue with a clear subcellular localization in the cytoplasm and nucleus of abnormal prostate epithelial cells. Then, the expression level of SMC1A was further analyzed by western blot, which showed that SMC1A was upregulated in prostate cancer tissues (Ca) compared to the adjacent normal tissues (N) (Fig 1B), implying a possible correlation between SMC1A and prostate cancer. To find a cell model for further investigation of SMC1A’s function in prostate cancer, we first analyzed the expression of SMC1A in four commonly used prostate cancer cell lines. Both WB and qPCR indicated that SMC1A expressions were elevated in PC-3, DU145 and 22RV1 cells in comparison to the androgen-sensitive LNCap cells (Fig 1C and D), which had less aggressiveness than the other three cell lines. We also found that S MC1A expression level was negatively correlated to AR expression level (Fig 1C and E), suggesting that SMC1A might be correlated with the malignancy of prostate cancer and involved in AR signaling. 3.2. Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of SMC1A in prostate cancer cells. As PC-3 and DU145 cells expressed much higher levels of SMC1A, they were used for further investigation. Both PC-3 and DU145 cells were untreated or transducated with Lv-shCon or Lv-shSMC1A. The transduction efficiencies were above 90% in both cells confirmed by fluorescent microscope (Fig 2A). WB analysis demonstrated that Lv-shSMC1A efficiently knocked down SMC1A expressions in PC-3 and Du145 cells (Fig B and C). Q-PCR results indicated that SMC1A was down-regulated more than 80% and 90% in PC-3 and DU145cells respectively. 3.3 Down-regulation of SMC1A inhibited cell proliferation in prostate cancer cells. After confirming the knocked down efficiency of SMC1A, PC-3 and DU145 cells were analyzed for cell growth rate with MTT assay. As shown in Fig 3A and E, cells transducted with Lv-shSMC1A displayed suppressed growth rate in comparison to the control or Lv-shCon transducted cells. The cells were then seeded onto 6-well plates for the analysis of colony formation ability. PC-3 and DU145 cells transducted with Lv-shSMC1A formed colonies with much smaller sizes compared to the control and Lv-shCon transducted cells (Fig 3B and F).The colonies formed in 6-well plates were photographed (Fig 3C and G), and counted (Fig 3D and H). The results suggested that both PC-3 and Du145 cells showed impaired colony formation abilities after SMC1A knockdown,indicating a pivotal role of SMC1A in regulation of prostate cancer cells proliferation.

Christianity and The Promotion of Slavery Essay examples -- Social Stu

One of the strongest roots of slavery and racism in the United States came from the Christian belief that blackness was linked with evil. This notion was used as moral justification to capture, enslave, punish, mutilate, and otherwise just inhumanely treat darker-skinned African people. Even before the colonies had been well established, It was widely accepted in Christianity that blackness and black skin were evil. One root cause behind the mating of blackness with evil was the bubonic plague in Europe in the 14th century. The bubonic plague was a deadly epidemic which killed between thirty and fifty percent of Europe's population (close to seventy-five million people). The bubonic plague, because it wiped out at least a third of Europe's population, had very deep and lasting impacts on the course of history. When infected victims were very close to death, their skin would blacken as a result of hemorrhages, or blood clots. At this point, there was no hope for the victim . Hence the bubonic plague came to be known as the black death. It is also important to note that these were the middle ages, and people in this period suffered through frequent outbreaks of famine, disease, war, and generally economic hard times. Society was also not very progressive, and people lived in constant fear of God. The churches played a very large role in that 'dark' society and in time, the bubonic plague left an i ndelible mark on Christianity: black was evil and signified hunger, suffering, disease, hard times, and death. The second major contributor to the notion that blackness was evil had to do with the constant strife between western European Christian nations and the people of the middle east, typically Muslim in faith: "One of the defini... ... free...and baptism doth not bestow freedom on him, nor make any alteration in his temporal condition...we are also of the opinion, the master may legally compel him to return to the plantation ". Later revised versions of this philosophy which led to the fugitive slave clause in the constitution of the United States left out part about baptism, but it is important to note that their origins mentioned baptism. This is a prime instance of religious beliefs working their way into the law books regarding slavery. Works Cited "Black Death." Middle-ages.org.uk. Web. 18 May 2012. . Hood, Robert E. Begrimed and Black:Christian Traditions on Blacks and Blackness. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994. Print. Tise, Larry E. Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in America. Athens: Univ. of Georgia, 1987. Print.

Intertestament Period

Exploring the Bible 3 October, 2011 Inter-Biblical Period: 400 Years The Old Testament focuses on God’s covenant with his people and the stories of men of great faith and also men of prophecy, foretelling Christ coming. The New Testament, however, focuses on the redemption side. The Redemption side is Christ’s story here on Earth and his ministry to other people. Malachi, the last book written in the Old Testament, was written around 424 B. C. Then 418 years after, the book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, was written.The Intertestamental Period is the period of history between the two testaments. Since God did not speak to his people directly through prophets, this period is also known as the 400 years of silence. Now, what happened in those four hundred years? The Intertestamental Period was a time where many empires came along, new religious groups formed, and where theological and literature pieces were developed that molded Israel going into the tim e of Christ. Politics in a nation help dictate and run the people, in Israel’s case, they had to deal with many empires coming in.During the Intertestamental Period, they had five key periods of leaders and kingdoms. The Persian Empire arrived around 430 B. C. and they ruled until 332 B. C. The Persian rule was recorded as being mild and tolerant. (Scott, 1783) The Persians were taken over by the Greeks. The Greek period went from 331 B. C. to 167 B. C. (Scott, 1783) Alexander the Great, son of King Philip of Macedonia, was given the control of the Greek army around the age of 20. (Halley, 402) With the control of the army, he was able to sweep over and take over Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia.Alexander the Great was very compassionate towards the Jews and he spared the city of Jerusalem. He established Greek cities in his conquered places and he did it with the plan to spread Greek culture and language throughout the world including Israel. After Alexander’s deat h, his empire was separated to his four generals. (Halley, 402) Egypt and Palestine was given to Ptolemy and under him the conditions of the Jews were at a peaceful state. In Egypt, Alexandria was the influential center of Judaism. In 167 B. C. was the beginning of the Period of Independence also known as the Maccabean period.Mattathias was a priest and he was upset at Antiochus motivation to destroy the Jews, so he gathered Jews and raised a revolt. Mattathias had five sons, Judas, Jonathan, Simon, John, and Elezar. (Halley, 404) The Maccabean period lasted until 63 B. C. and the Romans followed after. Palestine was conquered by the Romans under Pompey. Idumean was the first to be appointed ruler of Judea. His son, Herod the Great, succeeded him. (Halley, 404) Herod was a shrewd politician who wanted to get good with the Jews. He was very cruel and brutal towards his people.Politics and leaders are key roles in establishing a nation. In this case, these five empires helped develop rules and guidelines that led the people and that eventually grew and prepared Israel for the coming of Christ. During the 400 years of silence, religion was another area that grew in Israel. During this time, the religion was not set up was polytheistic or monotheistic but instead it was groups of people. For example the four main groups of the religions groups or parties are Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Herodians.These four groups followed what they believed and chose to do whatever they wanted to do. The Pharisees is the group most people probably know because of their role in the Gospels and the fact Paul was one. They took the Law and believed it was their job to take it and to put into new conditions. (Hester, 325-326) The accepted both the Torah and tradition. The Pharisees rejected anyone who didn’t live by the standards they did. On the opposite side were the Sadducees. They were the second main group and they had more power than the Pharisees until 70 A.D. whe n their temple was destroyed. (Hester, 325-326) The Sadducees consisted of the wealthy priests. They were a conservative group and they didn’t try to take the Law and put into a new situation but they instead took and limited themselves to the five books of Moses. After 70 A. D, the Pharisees were the leaders of the Jewish people by giving them a religious life aside from the temple. The other two parties were more political than religious groups. The Zealots were a nationalist group that opposed the Romans.Simon, one of Jesus’ disciples, was a Zealot. The other group, the Herodians, basically supported Herod and his dynasty and supported what he did for the nation. These four groups are the religious groups that developed the main teachings and guidelines people believe until Christ’s ministry began. Even though religion and politics are a big part of a civilization, another key role is the literature and writing of a nation. Literature and writing in Israel or any nation is an influential part because it is what the people follow and speak.In Israel, Hebrew was the language of the Old Testament. This was the main language of religion. Latin was the language of Roman and it was commonly spoken among the people. Greek was another language and it was the language that tied the Roman Empire together. The most common language of Palestine in Jesus’ day was Aramaic. (Halley, 410) Most writings are believed to have been written in Aramaic and translated into Greek. (Halley, 410) The Old Testament was written in Hebrew but was spoken in Greek. Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament into Greek.The Torah was translated first. It was called the Septuagint because of the 70 translators and Septuagint means 70 in Greek. (Halley, 409) Another type of translation was Targums and they are translations of the Old Testament into Aramaic. They were first oral translations, paraphrases, and interpretations these types of languages and writi ng were influential in the development of the social status during the Intertestamental Period. Even though writing is important the question is what was the theology being taught during this period?Theology is important because it is what the people studied and how they viewed God. The Apocrypha, is writings which the writer assumed the name of a hero long since dead, and rewrote history in terms of prophecy. (Halley, 406) Some of this included, Books of Enoch, Assumption of Moses, Ascension of Isaiah, Book of Jubilees, Psalms of Solomon, and more. These books are the books that were written by people in the period of the 400 years of silence, and they preached about the prophecies that the prophets spoke and also the birth of Christ and the end times.This theology is the closest literature that the people had to connect to God and the prophecies that was spoken. All of these books spoke of Christ coming and his ministry that he will live for and preach. The Intertestamental Period consisted of political powers overtaking each other, religious groups, and theological books and literature that preached Christ coming and that developed the nation of Israel. The political side consisted of Persian, Greek, Egyptian, the Maccabees, and the Romans. The eligious side had the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Herodians and they all had different views and theories. And the language part consisted of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The theology piece was the Apocrypha, which re-emphasized the prophets foretelling. All these pieces and parts put together made up the Intertestamental Period and it formed Israel and it carried over into the ministry of Jesus. The 400 years of silence at last was broken, and God sent his son Jesus Christ to testify the truth and overcome the world.Work Cited Scott, J. Julius Jr. â€Å"Time Between the Testaments. † ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 2008. 1783-1789. Print. Halley, Dr. Henry H. Halley’s Bible Handbook: with New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan Publishing House. 2000. 402-412. Print. Hester, H. I. The Heart of Hebrew History: A Study of the Old Testestament. Liberty, Missouri, The Quality Press, Inc. 1962. 313-330. Print.

Prison Management Styles Essay

Organizations and businesses alike all have managers and management styles that they abide by. Some may be company policy; while others seem to be implemented by the manager’s themselves. In this paper, three different management styles are explained; Scientific, human relations, and systems management styles. All have been used in different organizations, and some are still used today. In order for a business to effectively succeed in their goals, a certain management style needs to be used. Management Styles The key to making any kind of business work depends on management and how management or managers manage the companies they work for. There are several different management styles that people have, however, this paper will focus mostly on three different styles; Scientific, human relations, and systems management. Scientific Management Scientific management, which is said to of been made by Frederick Taylor who first did time and motion studies, is the first management style out of the three and was mostly used in the early 1900s. (Peak, 2012). The focus of scientific management laid down the fundamental principles of large-scale manufacturing through assembly-line factories. It emphasized standardization and rationalization of work through division of labor, time and motion studies, and measurement. This was also known as â€Å"Taylorism. † (Backer, 1998). In Frederick’s early days, he worked in the steel mills and was eventually hired as chief engineer. After years of working he became interested in coming up with different methods for greater productivity in workers, so he recommended giving hourly breaks among other methods. Taylor’s way soon proved to be a drastic change to the work force with the cut in manufactured goods, and wages getting increased. (Backer, 2012). Scientific management became more widely known after World War I when managers moved into more high managed position. By the 1920s, the new management system started being promoted by some of the biggest companies and industrial engineering grew into a popular career field, and is still popular today. Industrial engineers today are still taught the scientific management way through time and motion studies, wage determination, and production planning. (Backer, 2012). Human Relations Management Beginning in the 1930s, human relations management arose to help impose a sense of dignity and pride into employee’s work ethics. In the 1930s police departments were known to use this management theory most. The human relations theory is often referred to as the â€Å"motivational† theory and assumes that people want to work and that they are self-motivated. (Peak, 2012). This theory was based a lot from the X Y theories, the motivational part coming from the Y. X on the other hand presumed that employees are unmotivated and lazy, and are only in to reap the benefits and rewards of getting paid. The main focus for implementing the human relations management style was because it was assumed that the organization would prosper as long as it helped the employees prosper. However, soon police departments decided that this wasn’t the right route for their organization to go because employees began to give less but expect more. (Peak, 2012). Systems Management Lastly, there is the systems management, a combination of both human relations management and scientific management. It was implemented to focus both on business productivity as well as the needs of the employees. In order to understand the systems management style, there needs to be a comprehension of a system. What is a system? A system is made of a variety of parts that work together to achieve a mutual goal. (Peak, 2012). Managers that go by the systems management way examine the patterns and events in the workplace in order to coordinate different programs to work together as a whole for the overall goal of the organization rather than just targeting different departments. (Peak, 2012). It used to be that managers would focus all their attention to one department, and when done, would focus all their attention to a different department. In the end, one department would be great, while all the others were different and didn’t sync well with the others. Most Effective and Disadvantages In order for today’s criminal justice system to work correctly, the best management theory would be the systems theory. The criminal justice system needs to have a structured and organized system in order to make things work, the systems management theory focuses on the overall goals of the departments as a whole, rather than focusing just on one goal for each department. Criminal justice is a system; there are several different parts that need to work together in order for it to work. This would include all components, such as the courts, police, and corrections. They all need to be on the same page in order to keep the balance between the three and avoid chaos. A disadvantage of scientific management in criminal justice was that the style focused more on the production and the needs of the organizations over caring for the needs and wants of the employees. The disadvantages of the human relations theory, was that is focused too much on the employees. With too much focus on the employees, the goals of the organization became secondary. Employees were being rewarded, and soon, employees expected more for less work. (Peak, 2012). Conclusion All three different management styles explained above have all been implemented and used in past and present organizations and seemed to work for some, while it didn’t work for others. Today, the systems management is the most popular however; the scientific management style is still used in the engineering field. Overall, the systems management style seems to be the best fit for companies of all sorts because this way of management seems to focus on all aspects of a business rather than just one here and one there. A business is a system; there are several components that work together in order to make the business a success, and the systems management theory is the best fit.

Madeleine Leininger: Bridging the Cultural Divide Essay

Abstract This paper will outline Madeleine Leininger’s prominent theory, its origins, and its purpose. The discipline of transcultural nursing, its distinctive language, ethnonursing research method, and Sunrise Enabler tool will also be explored. These components equipped nurses to provide patients with individualized, appropriate care; this led to improved health outcomes. Finally, the effect of Madeleine Leininger’s contributions to nursing will be examined. Her idea of congruent care was the catalyst for a multitude of federal legislation making culture a requisite, legal consideration and convinced society of the benefits of cultural diversity. Madeleine Leininger: Bridging the Cultural Divide through Care The hallmark of a true profession is the ability to demonstrate its unique body of knowledge (Mensik, Martin, Scott, & Horton, 2011). Madeleine Leininger’s transcultural nursing discipline and its revolutionary companion theory meets this threshold. Counted as â€Å"the most significant breakthrough in nursing†¦in the 20th century,† she forever changed how nurses thought and spoke about healthcare (Leininger, 2002, p. 190). This paper will present a high-level overview of Madeleine Leininger’s contributions to nursing and their influence, as well as reveal the author’s connection to the theorist. Cultural Care Diversity and Universality: The Theory The Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (hereinafter â€Å"Culture Care Theory†), Madeleine Leininger’s seminal work, was conceptualized in the mid-1950s and sought to describe, explain, and predict nursing similarities and differences in relation to care and its role in human culture (Leininger, 2001). To provide significant and effective care, the theorist reasonsed, a nurse had to know what various cultures valued about wellness, health, illness, etc. and use this understanding to guide their nursing tasks (Clarke, McFarland, Andrews & Leininger, 2009). Inspiration for the Theory The theory grew out of the theorist’s observations during her tenure as a staff nurse in the mid-1940s (Leininger, 2001). Numerous patients  emphasized the â€Å"nursing care† given and remarked how instrumental it was to their recovery from illness (Leininger, 2001, pp. 8, 13). This struck Leininger as curious, since the activities traditionally associated with providing care were just expected at this point in the development of nursing (Leininger, 2001). The concept of care was certainly never taught, critically explored, or given much credence (Leininger, 2001). Based on the encouraging patient feedback received, care became an integral component of the theorist’s nursing practice (Leininger, 2001). Her patients’ health flourished (Leininger, 2001). Leininger deduced that outstanding caregiving alone was not enough to facilitate positive health outcomes while working on an adolescent psychiatric ward in the mid-1950s (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Her clinical floor was a mini-United Nations, with patients from a variety of cultural backgrounds (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). The children responded differently to her care efforts and, after a period of time, she realized their behavior followed distinct cultural patterns (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). For example, the Russian, Lithuanian, German, and Slovenian children would never admit to being in pain, though they had very obvious injuries or signs of discomfort (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). The Jewish and Italian children, in contrast, always cried fervently, at even the slightest needle prick, without solace (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Her customary pain interventions were useless and obviously needed to be changed, but she was not sure how (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Conceptualizing the Theory. The theorist experienced â€Å"culture shock† (a concept she introduced into common vernacular) and was concerned at being ill-equipped to respond to her patients’ specific needs even though she had obtained her master’s in nursing (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). There was no research literature available to help make sense of the incidents witnessed, and her colleagues were of limited help (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). After discussing her concerns with the renowned cultural anthropologist and provocateur Margaret Mead, Leininger obtained a Ph.D. in anthropology (Clarke, et al., 2009); she was the first nurse to do so (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). The theorist performed field studies in non-Western cultures for several years afterwards to hone her new skill-set (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Having remedied her  cultural ignorance, Leininger formalized the Culture Care Theory, establishing the new discipline of transcultural nursing (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Her goal was to provide knowledgeable care in an increasingly multicultural world (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Purpose of the Theory The theory’s main purpose was to â€Å"discover and explain diverse and universal culturally based care factors influencing the health, well-being, illness, or death of individuals or groups† (Leininger, 2002, p. 190). It stressed the use of â€Å"research findings to provide culturally congruent, safe, and meaningful care to those of diverse or similar backgrounds† (Leininger, 2002, p. 190). Theory Application Tools. The theorist did not want to espouse platitudes; she wanted her discipline to empower nurses and promote their autonomy (Leininger, 2002). To this end, she outlined thirteen assumptive beliefs to explain the focus of the theory and guide nurses in their practice (Leininger, 2001). Several key beliefs are outlined below: 1. Care is the essence of nursing and a†¦ unifying focus 2. Care (caring) is essential for well being, health, healing, growth†¦or death 3. Culture care is the broadest holistic means to know, explain, interpret, and predict nursing care†¦ to guide nursing care practices 4. Nursing is a transcultural†¦care discipline and profession with the central purpose to serve human beings worldwide 5. Care (caring) is essential †¦ for there can be no curing without caring (Leininger, 2001, pp. 44-45). These assumptions formed the crux of transcultural nursing and what it was intended to do. Leininger also designed three theoretical modalities to guide culturally-based nursing decisions and actions (Leininger, 2001). The first modality, â€Å"cultural care preservation and/or maintenance,† referred to generic/folk behaviors and practices that encouraged wellness and did not need to be changed when planning nursing care (Leininger, 2001, p. 41; Literature review, n.d.). The next modality, â€Å"cultural care accomodation and/or negotiation,† involved nursing care activities which help patients of diverse cultures adapt or negotiate professional care activities (Leininger, 2001, p. 41). It encouraged the nurse to integrate generic/folk behaviors and practices when planning care to encourage healthy outcomes (Leininger,  2001). Under this modality, for example, a nurse would allow a patient to hang a healing amulet above their bed in the hospital because they believed in it and it calmed them (Literature review, n.d.). The final modality that nurses could utlize was â€Å"culture care repatterning and restructuring† (Leininger, 2001, pp. 41-42). This modality involved activities which assist with the extensive modification, change, or repattering of a patient’s unhealthy behavior while remaining aligned with their cultural values and beliefs (Literature review, n.d.). This was the most difficult of all the modalities to employ because the nurse must know a great deal about the patient’s culture to have an optimal outcome (Leininger, 2001). As with any plan of care, the nurse had to discuss their choices with the patient and obtain their agreement (Leininger, 2001). Metaparadigms of the Theory Since the introduction of Florence Nightengale’s Environmental Theory, nursing frameworks had traditionally focused on four metaparadigms: person, environment, health, and nursing (Dayer-Berenson, 2011). However, the Culture Care Theory broke with convention and selected care and culture as its foundational concepts (Leininger, 2001). Leininger found the standard four metaparadigms limited in scope and unsuitable for use in new discipline (Leininger, 2001). For instance, the theorist could not believe nursing’s pundits still refused to acknowledge the indispensible role of care, though they had obviously witnessed its successful impact on health (Leininger, 2001). She also considered the current trend of trying to explain nursing phenomenon with more nursing phenomenon a logical fallacy akin to answering a question with another question (Leininger, 2001). Further, Leininger pointed out that the Western concept of person would be problematic in transcultural nursing because many cultures focused on the family or an institution, rather than the individual (Leininger, 2001). While Leininger thought environment was important, she opted not to use it as a pillar of her theory because it was not unique to nursing or provocative enough to garner scarce research funding (Leininger, 2001). She discounted the use of health for a similar rationale, citing its commonness and the plethora of existing research (Leininger, 2001). Leininger apsired to enlighten, not emulate (Leininger, 2001). Key definitions Other nursing theorists and researchers tried to shoe horn themselves into existing medical models as a means of gaining legitimacy, prestige, and funding (Fawcett, 2002). Leininger, conversely, sought to distinguish her theory from the disease-focused philosophies of the period by not seeking input from other disciplines; it functioned independently (Leininger, 2001). Always seeking to demonstrate the skill and intellect of nurses, Leininger authored a series of definitions to provide clinicians with their own distinct language and, thus, avoid the incongruous use of medical terminology when practicing transcultural nursing (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Several of the theory’s key explanations are highlighted below: 1. Culture Care refers to†¦culturally†¦assistive, supportive, and facilitative caring acts†¦ 2. Culture Care Diversity refers to cultural†¦differences in care beliefs, meanings, patterns, values, symbols, and lifeways†¦between cultures and human beings 3. Transcultural Nursing refers to a formal area of humanistic and scientific knowledge and practices focused on holistic culture care†¦phenomena..to assist †¦ in culturally congruent†¦ways 4. Culturally Competent Nursing Care refers to†¦culturally based care and health knowledge in sensitive, creative, and meaningful ways †¦for beneficial†¦ health and well-being†¦ (Leininger & McFarland, 2002, pp. 83-84). â€Å"Cultural diversity† and â€Å"culturally competent care†, terms so common today, were penned by the theorist over 50 years ago (Leininger & McFarland, 2002, p. xvii). Influence of the Culture Care Theory Leininger’s theory generated little interest when it was introduced in the 1950s (Leininger, 2002). Nurses’ practices had begun to shift to include more administration of medication and assistance with complex medical treatments (Leininger, 2001). Additionally, they tried to emulate physicians by wearing stethoscopes, focusing on curative measures, and being very precise in their tasks (Leininger, 2001). Nurses, during this era, were medicine’s faithful â€Å"shot givers† (Leininger & McFarland, 2002, p. 76). Needless to say, this mindset was nurtured by physicians, who wanted nurses to remain on the periphery of healthcare, subservient to them (Fawcett, 2002). Nurses, in Leininger’s opinion, willingly relinquished their power and diminished their professional value by becoming so immersed in physicians’ procedures (Leininger, 2001). With nurses so intent on obtaining  medical validation, it was no surprise they found the Culture Care Theory â€Å"soft,† â€Å"fuzzy,† and â€Å"too feminine† (Fawcett, 2002, p. 133; Leininger, 2002, p. 75). The theorist jokingly recalled thinking, â€Å"Nurses have no time to learn about care and cultures, as they must keep to medical tasks!† (Fawcett, 2002, p. 113). Patient care was not a priority (Fawcett, 2002). Making the Theory Relevant Undeterred by the initial chilly reception, Leininger resolved to make the discipline more relevant to nurses (Leininger, 2001). She knew the situation would change gradually over time and utilized the lull to increase the number of transcultural nurses in practice and cultivated the harvest of more cultural data for use in the field (Fawcett, 2002). Transcultural Programs of Study. She developed and taught courses in transcultural nursing (Leininger, 2001). Building upon this momentum, the theorist then established several degree programs of study in transcultural nursing (Leininger, 2001). She steered nurses toward graduate-level courses in anthropology as well, and served as their advisor when several of them continued on to doctoral studies (Leininger, 2001; Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Soon, she had amassed a hardy band of transcultural devotees to assist in her tireless promulgation and support of the discipline (Leininger, 2001). Ethnonursing Research Method. As her followers began to utilze the theory, Leininger was compelled to develop a natural, inducive, and open research method to help â€Å"tease out† complex, covert, elusive cultural data (Leininger & McFarland, 2002, pp. 85, 89). It was called the ethnonursing research method (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). At the time, clinicians utilized research tools and methods borrowed haphazardly from other fields (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Enablers. The theorist worried that valuable cultural knowledge was lost, concealed, or rendered useless from the improper use of quantitative instruments to perform qualitative research (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). In response, Leininger invented five tools she called enablers to facilitate the mining of cultural data (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Each enabler was designed to collect a different type of qualitative information (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). The most popular enabler, The Sunrise Enabler to Disco ver Culture Care, was a conceptual model of the entire theory (Appendix A). Its purpose was to  systematically guide nurses through seven areas of influence to find relevant cultural knowledge and provide a holistic view during the health assessment process (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). Qualitative Criteria. To further support accurate interpretations and credible research findings, Leininger identified six criteria by which qualitative studies, like those performed with her ethnonursing method, could be evaluated (Leininger & McFarland, 2002). The criteria â€Å"credibility, confirmability, meaning-in-context, recurrent patterning, saturation, and transferability† received the endorsement of research experts, which led to qualitative data’s acceptance as valid scientific evidence. (Leininger & McFarland, 2002, p. 88) Dedicated Resources. Leininger also established the Transcultural Nursing Society in 1974 as a forum for intelligent discussion among nurses in the discipline, as well as to aid the dissemination of transcultural information (C larke, et al.). Finally, Leininger launched the Journal of Transcultural Nursing in 1988 to serve as a dedicated publishing source for transcultural nursing research, ensuring the entire nursing profession also had access to her protegà ©s’ useful findings (Clarke, et al.). Rise of the Theory After existing in near obscurity for several decades, the Culture Care Theory was thrust into the spotlight in the mid-1980s (Murphy, 2006). Several factors prompted its emergence from the shadows. First, just as Leininger predicted back in 1950, geographic borders shrank and the U.S. became the adopted country of choice for immigrants from all over the world (Leininger, 2002). The healthcare system became innudated with people clinicians did not understand and could not effectively assist (DeRosa & Kochurka, 2006). Desparate to address patients’ needs in a culturally respectful manner, they discovered Leininger’s blueprint for congruent care (DeRosa & Kochurka, 2006). The federal mandates of the 1990s further catapulted the Culture Care Theory into prominence (Murphy, 2006). The directives were designed to resolve disparities in healthcare and ensure equitable treatment for those from diverse backgrounds (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). This meant that academic programs, clinical settings, and healthcare agencies now had to promote, incorporate, and enforce Leininger’s ideas of cultural competence (Murphy, 2006). Impact of the Theory on the Author The Culture Care Theory, developed organically from one woman’s insightful observations, has left an indellible mark on not only nurisng, but education, medicine, law, social science, religion, and so forth (Leininger, 2002). It would be far easier to name the areas of society that the theory has not impacted, for that would be a much shorter list. Amazingly, the author also owes Madeleine Leininger a tremendous amount of personal gratitude. While conducting research, the author was stunned to learn that Leininger’s theory was the motivation for her academic scholarship. The theorist’s emphasis on congruent care and its positive influence led to the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) campaign to significantly increase the number of culturally competent healthcare professionals in critical shortage areas. The NURSE Corps Scholarship Program, which offers a full tuition grant, monthly stipend, and full-time employment to intellectually out standing nursing students, was founded to accomplish this objective. Because of the theorist’s tenacity and zeal, this future clinician’s ambition to serve the underrepresented was made a debt-free reality. Leininger passed away in August of last year (Ray, 2012). Ironically, the author was awarded her scholarship during this same month. Janet Jones wrote in Leininger’s obituary guest book entry, â€Å"She truly was a visionary and her work will continue to be of great significance to many more generations of nurses† (Madeleine M. Leininger, Ph.D., 2012). The author could not agree more with this statement and, in tribute, intends to contribute to Leininger’s legacy of nursing excellence by maintaining a culturally-informed practice, performing research that offers innovative knowledge to the profession, obtaining an advanced degree, and serving as a staunch advocate for the marginalized. Similar to the theorist, the author also pledges to refuse to accept limitations as to what a nurse can accomplish. The author bel ieves Madeleine Leininger would expect no less. References Clarke, P., McFarland, M., Andrews, M., & Leininger, M. (2009). Caring: some reflections on the impact of the culture care theory by McFarland & Andrews and a conversation with Leininger. Nursing Science Quarterly, 22(3), 233-239. doi:10.1177/0894318409337020 Dayer-Berenson, L. (2011). Cultural competencies for nurses: Impact on health and illness (pp. 9-39). Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. DeRosa, N., & Kochurka, K. (2006). Implement culturally competent healthcare in your workplace. Nursing Management, 37(10), 18-18, 20, 22 passim. Fawcett, J. (2002). Scholarly dialogue. The nurse theorists: 21st-century updates — Madeleine M. Leininger. Nursing Science Quarterly, 15(2), 131-136. Jeffreys, M. R. (2010). Teaching cultural competence in nursing and health care inquiry, action, and innovation (2nd ed.). (pp. 9-10). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Leininger, M. M. (Ed.). (2001). Culture care diversity and universality: A theory of nursing. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Leininger, M., & McFarland, M. (2002). Transcultural nursing in the new millennium: Concepts, theories, research & practice (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Leininger, M. (2002). Culture care theory: a major contribution to advance transcultural nursing and practices. Journ al Of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 189-192. Literature review. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1555/02chapter2.pdf Madeleine M.Leininger, Ph.D. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.heafeyheafey.com/newobituary/display.asp?id=7022 McFarland, M., & Eipperle, M. (2008). Culture care theory: a proposed practice theory guide for nurse practitioners in primary care settings. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 28(1-2), 48-63. doi:10.5172/conu.673.28.1-2.48 Maier-Lorentz, M. (2008). Transcultural nursing: its importance in nursing practice. Journal Of Cultural Diversity,15(1), 37-43. Mensik, J. S., Martin, D., Scott, K. A., & Horton, K. (2011). Development of a Professional Nursing Framework: The Journey Toward Nursing Excellence. Journal Of Nursing Administration, 41(6), 259-264. doi:10.1097/NNA.0b013e31821c460a Murphy, S. (2006). Mapping the literature of transcultural nursing. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 94(2 Suppl), E143-51. Ray, M. A. (2013). Madeleine M. Leininger, 1925–2012. Qualitative Health Research, 23(1), 142-144. doi:10.1177/1049732312464578 Sagar, P. (2011). Transcultural nursing theory and models: application in nursing education, practice, and administration. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Sitzman, K., & Eichelberger, L. W. (2011). Understanding the work of nurse theorists: a creative beginning (2nd ed.). (pp. 93-98). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Transcultural Nursing Society. (n.d.). Theories and models. Retrieved from http://tcns.org/Theories.html Appendix A Figure. Adapted from Transcultural Nursing Society. (2013). Theories and models. http://tcns.org/Theories.html. Reprinted with permission.