Discuss the Effect of Islam upon West Africa Essay

Change Over Time Essay Assignment # 1The camel. with its ability to go long distances without H2O and carry heavy tonss. facilitated trans-Saharan communicating. During the 7th and 8th centuries CE. Islamic vanquishers had added North Africa to the dar al-Islam. By the terminal of the 8th century CE. Muslim merchandisers had crossed the Sahara and initiated commercial dealingss with Sub-Saharan West Africa and by the beginning of the 2nd millenary. Islam had become entrenched in West African life. Islam dramatically changed West Africa culturally. politically. and economically in the clip period between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. but many basics of West African society remained the same. Economically. Islam ushered a new epoch of economic prosperity into West Africa. The acceptance of Islam by West African provinces provided them with common land upon which provinces such as Mali greatly expanded their gold trade to embrace Arab and Mediterranean states. Established Muslim trade paths facilitated the immense addition in the volume of African trade. Commercial metropoliss sprung up across West Africa. with commercialism increasing Timbuktu’s population to 100. 000. In the 12th century. Muslim merchandisers introduced cotton. rice. and citrus fruits to West Africa ; by the 16th century cotton was the chief fabric produced in West Africa. European demand for cotton fabrics ensured that West Africa would stay economically comfortable. Muslim merchandisers expanded the African break one's back trade to a Continental degree. supplying Europeans with a model upon which to construct the ruinous Atlantic slave trade. replacing little graduated table tribal bondage with immense province economic systems built wholly around capturing slaves and selling them to foreign states. However. despite these immense alterations in economic methods and volume. West African provinces relied to a great extent upon trade as the rule signifier of economic support throughout periods of Islamic influence. The addition in trade with Islamic merchandisers between 1000 and 1750 led to the pervasion of Muslim civilization among West African peoples. Islamic swayers built big mosques and universities where people could larn about Islam. every bit good as other countries of cognition. These universities spread literacy within West African society. Islam was by and large tolerant of traditional values. such as polygamy. This allowed it greater popularity than Christianity. and decreased opposition to transition. Islam was non forced upon citizens by their male monarchs. but instead was voluntarily encouraged. Despite this. many people adopted Islam. particularly those who interacted with Muslim merchandisers. However. many of those who adopted Islam did non follow Islam in its original signifier. but instead combined it with traditional spiritual beliefs to make a syncretistic faith. There was much societal convulsion among purists. such as the Fulani. and those who practiced syncretistic Is lam. Despite the big Islamic influence in the country. many chose non to follow a syncretistic religion and instead kept their traditional beliefs. The integrating of Islamic civilization into West Africa. every bit good as the economic prosperity that Islamic trade brought West Africa. led to the creative activity of big centralised provinces. As opposed to the little lands. such as the land of Ghana. that the first Islamic merchandisers encountered in West Africa. by the 15th century two big centralized imperiums had emerged. Muslim influence played a big portion in the creative activity of these big imperiums. First. the gross created by integrating of West Africa into Islamic trade allowed West African swayers to make and back up big standing ground forcess. These ground forcess ensured that these imperiums could protect their peoples and beginnings of income. every bit good as exert their influence. Second. Islamic jurisprudence. known as Shari’a. introduced to West Africa allowed for incorporate regulation. Previously. changing tribal Torahs had caused upset and atomization. every bit good as discontent. Islamic jurisprudence facilitated and demanded the creative activity of big centralised imperiums. However. Islam itself did non needfully go the sole faith of these imperiums ; many. so most. citizens of these imperiums clung to and practise their traditional heathen spiritual beliefs. Following the prostration of these two imperiums. West African political construction returned to the little regional lands that had been West African norm before Muslim merchandisers crossed the Sahara. Overall. the Islam greatly. sometimes even wholly. changed cultural. political. and economic environments in West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. Examples of this alteration include the debut of centralised lands. trans-Saharan trade. and Muslim values. Despite this great alteration. many elements of West African society. such as popular faith. dependance on trade. and basic values remained the same despite Muslim influence up through 1750 CE. Near the terminal of that period. Africa began to be colonized by European states. and fell under European influence.

Disadvantages of socio medical model

Do biomedical models of Illness make for good healthcare systems? Introduction Cultural and professional models of illness Influence declslons on Individual patients and delivery of health care. The biomedical model of illness, which has dominated health care for the past century, cannot fully explain many forms of illness. This failure stems partly from three assumptions: all illness has a single underlying cause, disease (pathology) is always the single cause, and removal or attenuation of the disease will result In a return to health.Evidence exists that all three assumptions are wrong. We describe the problems with current models and describe a new model, derived from the World Health Organization's international classification of functioning framework. 1 2 that provides a more comprehensive. less biologically dependent account of illness. Importance of models for understanding illness The model of illness adopted by society can have important consequences.In the first world war, for example, soldiers complaining of symptoms after experiencing evere stresses were sometimes shot as malingerers, but today they are considered victims and eligible for financial settlements Social acceptance that a behaviour or reported symptom constitutes an Illness bestows privileges on an Individual and formal duties on society. 3 Currently, most models of illness assume a causal relation between disease and illness†the perceived condition of poor health felt by an individual.Cultural health beliefs and models of illness help determine the perceived importance of symptoms nd the subsequent use of medical resources. 4 The assumption that a specific disease underlies all Illness has led to medicalization of commonly experienced anomalous sensations and often disbelief of patients who present with illness without any demonstrable disease process. Current models of illness Despite their importance, models of illness are rarely explicitly discussed or defined. The often crlt lclsed but nevertheless dominant 20th ton disadvantages of socio medical model BY tool 9586Do biomedical models of illness make for good healthcare systems? Cultural and professional models of illness influence decisions on individual patients disease will result in a return to health. Evidence exists that all three assumptions functioning framework, 1 2 that provides a more comprehensive, less biologically reported symptom constitutes an illness bestows privileges on an individual and disease underlies all illness has led to medicalization of commonly experienced The often criticised but nevertheless dominant 20th

Bias, fallacies, and specific rhetorical devices in the speech Essay

Bias, fallacies, and specific rhetorical devices in the speech - Essay Example They easily rely on what the speaker is saying. If the speaker knows the art of misleading, he can change the thoughts and emotions of the listener easily. Rhetoric device is a technique in which the speaker wants to make an impressive expression on the audience. The argumentations are done in such a way that the speaker can get the appropriate result from the audience by making reasoning that can either be real or are stated artificially. The result from rhetorical argumentation can also result in fallacy if the debate or conversation is done falsely. Kane’s speech has numerous examples of bias, fallacies, and rhetoric devices. The campaigner starts his part of speech with the words that â€Å"only one man can rid the politics of the State of the evil domination of Boss Jim Gettys†. This is a fallacy as the campaigner is pointing towards Kane. The campaigner has assumed that only Kane is eligible for demolishing the evil domination of Jim Gettys. They have labeled Jim Gettys rule as the evil domination, thus this has established a bias. As Kane starts his speech, he again creates a bias by calling Jim Gettys a villain and dishonest person. He has unfairly awarded him with these words without keeping in view what the audience thinks of him. And another fallacy is that Kane is sure that he will win the governor election since the voting has not even started. The rhetoric devices in this speech are the repetition of the words by breaking the momentum of normal speech and creating a dramatic effect. Examples are â€Å" Jim Gettys†¦ Jim Gettys has something less than a chance† and â€Å"the working man...the working man†. In the first example of rhetorical device there also exists a fallacy as Kane thinks that Jim Gettys will not win the governorship. The campaigner and Kane both have made arguments and have countered the arguments. Firstly the campaigner has called Gettys an evil and labeled Kane as an ideal governor. He has said this

International Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Management - Essay Example Market uncertainties and product characteristics are equally important. Firms enter through the research and development process and then get a foothold in the country. In the face of competition firms even ignore the short-term losses when they find tremendous potential in investing. Hence, several variables need to be added to the existing model as resources have become readily available. Dunning sees an interrelationship between I and O type advantages in that internalisation helps a firm to acquire or increase those assets which give it an O type advantage. The essence of the eclectic approach is to consider the OLI type advantages together and in applying them to both international trade and production. This means that it is more of a synthesis of other approaches. Dunning calls his theory systemic because it relates to the way in which the firm coordinates its activities. Dunnings model attempts to integrate elements of micro and macro theory and to explain international trade and production within the same conceptual framework. It is centered on the notion that FDI is the most effective vehicle for serving foreign markets when the firm possesses the advantages under conditions of imperfect competition (Holsapple, Ozawa & Olienyk, 2006). Dunning’s framework according to Brouthers and Hennart (2007) can be conceptualized as a tool that combines insights fro m resource-based (firm-specific), institutional (location) and transaction cost (internalization) theories. The approach is dynamic since the OLI advantages interact with one another. L advantages may create incentives to internalise and I advantages create further O advantages. The main doubt about Dunnings model is whether it is more than a mere taxonomy. The model is a helpful classification - but does it explain anything? Dunning’s framework has not been found to be sufficient to arrive at a decision concerning the mode of entry in international markets. Additional

Procter&gamble company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Procter&gamble company - Term Paper Example These units include Global Beauty, Global Baby, feminine and Family Care, Global Fabric and Home Care, and Global Health and Grooming. All these units focus on common consumer benefits, common technologies and face common competitors. The company has invested $9.7 billion in 2013 and is consistently one of the world’s top advertisers. Sports sponsorship is very popular with P&G while they also engage in social responsibility in various ways. One of the ways that P&G tries to bring the comforts of home to families impacted by natural disasters is by responding to disasters all over the world through product and cash donations. On October 30, 2013, P&G news release states that the company has expanded its partnership with American Red Cross by joining the Disaster Responder Program to support Red Cross Disaster response work worldwide. This represents a milestone in P&G’s commitment to bring relief to the disaster-stricken. In the past decade P&G has created programs like Tide Loads of Hope and Duracell Power aimed at bringing clean clothes, batteries and power to families recovering from disasters. They know some of their products can bring immediate relief and hence P&G employees pack kits containing P&G brands such as Secret, Gillette, Crest, Ivory and Lams, which are then distributed after the disaster through mobile relief units. Their partnership with American Red Cross ensures the victims receive immediate care in critical moments after the disaster. Brands such as Pampers, Crest and Tide help in rebuilding their lives with the dignity that comes with clean clothes. P&G has worked in partnership with American Red Cross for disasters like Oklahoma Tornadoes, Hurricane Isaac and Superstorm Sandy. P&G engages in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in other ways. On October 10, 2013, P&G announced that some of its brands such as Duracell, Tide and Secret had underwritten all their production costs for the Nyad Swim for Relief. To sup port Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, long-distance swim legend, Diana Nyad organized 48-hour â€Å"Swim for Relief† in New York City’s Herald Square. The funds would be donated to AmeriCares, a non-profit global health and disaster relief organization that delivers medicines, medical supplies and medical aid to people in need across the world, including the United States. Established in 1982, AmeriCares has distributed humanitarian aid worth more than $11 billion across 164 countries. Hurricane Sandy had destroyed nearly 125,000 homes in New Jersey alone and caused an approximate damage of $70 billion across the eastern seaboard. Yet another way that P&G demonstrates its responsibility towards the society is by extending educational scholarships to students committed to improving oral health of the Hispanic community. On September 26, 2013, P&G Hispanic Dental Association Foundation (HDAF) announced recipients of their annual scholarship program. These scholarships w ere awarded to 16 entry-level US Hispanic students that have been accepted into any accredited dental program. The awardees were based on their scholastic achievement, community service, leadership skills and commitment to improve health in the Hispanic community. Apart from providing scholarships to the next generation Hispanic Dental students, P&G and HDAF have also taken up the responsibility to correct misperceptions the US

Diagnosing Industrial Service of American, Inc Essay

Diagnosing Industrial Service of American, Inc - Essay Example The paper shall focus on Industrial service of American Inc. as our reference organization. The ultimate aim of this paper is to diagnose and determine whether the Industrial service of American inc. is performing according to the expectations. The paper shall consider the input and output organization. From the findings on how the inputs are organized, it would be easier to tell whether the overall performance of the company is high, medium, or low. The first section shall describe the kind of activities taking place in this company. Industrial Service of America, inc. is a company dealing with the recycling of the stainless steel, and non-ferrous products. The company also has a role of providing various services to the customers. However, according to the market analysis, the company is primarily focuses its attention towards recycling business (McLuhan, 2005). The kind of activities taking place in the company involves collecting, purchasing, and selling different recyclable meta llic equipments. The company has two categories of activities. The first category involves buying, processing and sale of stainless steel related equipments including the high-temperature alloys. The second category deals with the non-ferrous scraps such as copper, aluminum, and brass. As far as waste service segment is concerned, the company leases and sells service waste and recycling equipments (Nadler & Tushman, 1980). Inputs In order to diagnose the organization situation of the Industrial Service of American, inc. there is a need to review how the company organizes and integrates its inputs. The main inputs used in the company include the raw materials, the human resource, the capital and the management skills and knowledge employed. The main raw materials used by the company include the land, the scrap metals. As far as the scrap metal is concerned, the company has reliable sources of scrap metal. There are two main sources of these raw materials (Jones & Jennifer, 2006). The first source is the industrial and commercial non-ferrous scrap metal providers. This is where the company gets materials such as waste aluminum, copper, stainless steel, nickel-bering metals, brass, and others. The second main source of the raw materials is the peddlers who collect the material from variety of sources and deliver to the company. The company has inventory system that is used to monitor the quantities of the ferrous and non-ferrous raw materials that include the stainless steel, and the scrap. The inventory system is designed in a manner that the cost use to purchase the raw materials is relatively lower than the anticipated selling price (Jones & Jennifer, 2006). In this vein, if the company is anticipating for a future decline in the selling price of the scrap metal and the finished products, then it would make any adjustment it feels necessary in order to reduce the value of the inventory so tat it is in line with the anticipated value. The raw materials handled by the company are classified into two. The first category involves those that are in saleable condition at the time of acquisition. This means that little or no transformation would be imposed on these kinds of raw materials (Rue &Lloyd, 2003). The second category of raw materials constitutes those raw materials that

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer Essay

Analysis of alka seltzer commercial from 1950 and alka seltzer commercial from 2010 - Essay Example Moreover, the world of men in action and women indulging in feminine parties depicted in the 1950s version gives way to that of a woman in the office – a clear change that took place in the post-War Western world, but took time to get depicted in cultural products. The 1950s version begins with Speedy introducing the tablet as a significant factor that keeps the energetic life of USA, especially Washington DC intact. He starts singing the jingle about how Alka- Seltzer gives comfort to congressmen who are distracted from their work by headaches, and those fairy-like women in a fancy party who have the morning hangover. Apart from the visuals related to these two major ideas, it’s mainly Speedy who walks along throughout the commercial, followed by boxes of Alka-Seltzer, awhile singing the jingle in the all-too familiar voice of Dick Beals. The 2010 version is much more brief and swift. Speedy is given voice in the new commercials by Debi Derryberry. The stop-motion pupp etry effect of older times is recreated in the commercial by CGI effects. There’s an office secretary who is summoned by someone who says â€Å"clients are here†, soon after she sneezes into a paper napkin. She makes a gesture of tiredness, but is enlivened by Speedy who appears in a clearer, colour version and sings the jingle about Alka-Seltzer. Soon afterwards, the secretary is all ready to meet the clients. Before she leaves her cabin, she just pretends to punch Speedy, and he walks back and keeps smiling. Alka-Seltzer commercials focus more on creating a cult-effect than talking about the properties of the product. The appearance of Speedy in all the commercials is an effort to tap on the immense popularity that the earlier versions of their commercials had on people from all walks of life. There is even a pseudo-effect of a child’s presence in them, since Speedy is a midget figure with the voice of a child. The painstaking efforts to create his amicable ap pearance, even with the Alka-Seltzer tablets that form both his torso and hat, pay off well. The colour version of 2010 shows clearly that the hat carries the name Speedy and the torso is inscribed Alka-Seltzer. Moreover, there is more scope in the new commercial to make the features of speedy clearer. He has brown hair and eyebrows, large grey eyes and vivid expressions, complete with a baby smile. In the black and white commercials, the details were not so clear, and it were the captivating visuals, the voice of speedy and the animation effects that held them together. The drastic reduction of time in the new commercials call for a demand to stick to one major idea and present it in the best way possible. The drastic change in man-woman relationships in the public sphere is made clear while analyzing the two commercials. While the earlier versions showed clearly that men belonged to the tough outer world and women had a fairy-tale existence indoors. The recent version makes it cle ar that the woman has much more responsibilities than the household chores or appearing and acting good in parties. In continuation of the concept of a ‘super-mom’, the woman in the 2010 commercial manages to meet her responsibilities with a captivating smile. Speedy cures her of the brief period of inertia, by the magic tablet. Her worries fizzle out as the ‘plop, plop, fizz, fizz’ of the tablet in water. The 1950s commercial focuses more on the manliness of men and the femininity of

Analysis and Action Plan for a Middle School Teacher of English Essay

Analysis and Action Plan for a Middle School Teacher of English Language Learners - Essay Example In this classroom, Mr. O’Malley tends to use the natural approach and English Language Development (ELD) in Maria’s case even though it was not successfully as she could not interact with others. The ELD strategy involves the use of systematic instructional strategy that is designed to enhance English acquisition by students to whom English is not the primary language (WIDA, 2012). In this case, the learners interact with each other. Mr. O’Malley made sure that Maria’s classmates assisted her and included her in every activity. The natural language acquisition process has the student developing basic communication skills first and focusses on fluency while speaking English in a social context. The heterogeneous grouping of the natural process was through ensuring that Maria got included in every activity. In the case of Mikhail, Mr. O’Malley used the strategy of connecting learning to previous knowledge; though it was unsuccessful as he could not write a good essay without grammatical issues. The strategy comprises providing the student with new topic connections or events from the learner’s background and making them give a connection between the vocabulary in their first language and English. Mikhail had been schooling in the United for two years; thus he does not have a problem communicating in class, but his main problem is in grammatical mistakes. Therefore, linking his knowledge of English learned in the college to his first language can help improve his grammar. After and before reading, students tend to respond to prompts that assist them in linking their experiences to the main theme and characters (Curtin, 2009). The instructional inputs that follow the prompts give oral language practice for the ELLs and assist in deepening the students’ comprehension conceptual framework. Researchers discovered that the instructional input increases comprehension for the ELLs and deepens their

Equity and Trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Equity and Trust - Essay Example In Tinsley v Milligan, the plaintiff Tinsley sought ownership of a jointly owned property2. Tinsley was the legal owner of the property. She had been living with the defendant Milligan, and these two females had contributed monetarily to the acquisition of that property3. Milligan’s contention was that Tinsley was a trustee for both of them. As such, these women had committed a fraud on the Department of Social Security. They had purchased the property, but had retained title to the property in only the name of Tinsley. This stratagem enabled Milligan to claim benefits from the Department of Social Security, as a person without any property to her name4. In this case, the plaintiff contended that ‘he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.’ Consequently, as per her contention, Milligan was precluded from claiming an equitable interest in the property. The House of Lords ruled that as Milligan did not rely on her illegality, she could enforce such interest. Moreover, it was Tinsley who would have to rely on the evidence provided by the illegal purpose5. It was held by the House of Lords that Milligan could claim her equitable beneficial interests in the property. The Law Lords opined that a plaintiff could claim proprietary interests, as long as she did not rely on an illegality to establish the interest6. Thus, equitable interest of this type was to be considered as similar to the immediate rights to possession under the common law. As such, in this case, two women, paid for a property, but placed the property in the name of one of them. This was done in order to claim housing benefits. However, the courts did not allow this fraudulent behaviour to affect the proprietary rights of the woman, whose name had not been indicated as the half owner of the property. All the same, if the plaintiff had attempted to assert her personal right to entitlement, on the basis of unjust enrichment, she could not have succeeded in her claim.

A critical analysis of article-3 of the European Convention on Human Dissertation

A critical analysis of article-3 of the European Convention on Human Rights - Dissertation Example Every human being needs the fundamental rights as a primary requirement in their life,which feciliates them with security to live their life in present day world.The basis of this right is the respect to the human values by securing the human rights. The basis of this right is the respect to the human values by securing the human rights. On the contrary, ECHR is all set to work for the protection of human rights in th european countries. However, some of its policies regarding certain humain rights are still not worth effective. As, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibits torture â€Å"inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment†. In other words we can say any intentional act by which severe pain or suffering is caused physically or mentally to a person. The definition has tried to cover a huge objective scope, rather than becoming subjective and more definite. Resultantly, due to its infinite nature, the Article 3 has been a critical issue. There is a lack of exact definition and clear meaning of torture mentioned in the article. Nevertheless, torture has a wide range, from normal torture to severe punishment and that may vary in different age group. But, Article 3 does not seem to cover all the aspects of human rights. Initially the UK Court had restrictive view on what consisted of torture, preferring to find that states had inflicted inhuman and degrading treatment. Though ECHR is fighting for the rights of children and protect the children from violations but the criteria it has designed is not able to act effectively. Thus the court held that practices such as sleep deprivation, subjecting individual to intense noise and requiring them to stand against a wall with their limbs outstretched for extended periods of time, did not constitute torture1. On the contrary, there is a necessity of giving more emphasis on the rights of the children, because they are the usual victim of torture and prohibitions, which deprive them of th e human rights in their normal day to day life. That may lead to troublesome life of the children. In such case, the convention’s Article 3 seems to be insufficient to provide protection to the children in an authentic way. Keeping in view, the importance of child’s right The United Nations Convention on the Human Rights of the Child defines a child as a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier, 2 agreed by 192 of 194 member countries. Biologically, a child is anyone between birth and puberty or in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood. Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as not able to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult.3 The positive side of European Convention on Human Rights is their step towards the reforms in human rights and possibly, there are chances of more amendments and impro vement in the capacity of the policies; enabling them to protect the children from any kind of abuses. Due to the lack of contents in the Article 3 of European Convention, The UK Court has emphasized the fundamental nature of Article 3 in holding that the prohibition is made in absolute terms, irrespective of a victim's conduct. The Court has also held that states cannot deport or extradite individuals who might be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in the recipient state.4 If we look at the history of torture, it was first used in the ancient Greeks and Romans for interrogations. Torture was used only on slaves until the 2nd century. But, gradually that started spreading to all the sections in lower class people. Statement of a slave was valid, only if it has come out through torture.5 But at the present scenario when we talk about child torture and their right it would be important to find the definition of torture and its relevance with child†™s right. Torture, according to the United Nations

Birth Control in Schools Essay Example for Free

Birth Control in Schools Essay Schools are the one institution in our society regularly attended by most young people-nearly 95% of all youth aged 5 to 17 years are enrolled in elementary or secondary schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 1993). Large percentage of youth attend schools for years before they encounter sexual risk-taking behaviors and a majority is enrolled at the time they initiate intercourse. Just as youth in communities with high rates of poverty and social unawareness are more likely to become pregnant so youth in schools with high rates of poverty and social inadequacy are also more likely to become pregnant. In particular, when female teens attend schools with high percentages of dropout rates and with higher rates of school vandalism they are more likely to become pregnant. The lack of opportunity and greater disorganization in some minority communities in this country, teens in schools with higher percentages of minority students are also more likely to have higher pregnancy rates than teens in schools with lower percentages of minority(Manlove, 1998).. Students in these studies, it is often difficult to distinguish the impact of school character from the impact of the community characteristics in which they reside. Social scientists and educators have suggested a wide variety of explanations for how schools reduce sexual risk-taking behavior. Some of their explanations have observed research supporting them, while others are credible, but lack supporting research. For example, educators concerned with adolescent sexual behavior have suggested that: 1. Schools structure students time and limit the amount of time that students can be alone and engage in sex. 2. Schools increase interaction with and attachment to adults who discourage risk-taking behavior of any kind (e.g., substance use, sexual risk-taking, or accident-producing behavior). More generally, they create an environment which discourages risk-taking. 3. Schools affect selection of friends and larger peer groups that are important to them. Because peer norms about sex and contraception significantly influence teens behavior, this impact on schools may be substantial. However, just how schools affect selection of friends and peers is not clearly understood. 4. Schools can increase belief in the future and help youth plan for higher education and careers. Such planning may increase the motivation to avoid early childbearing. As noted above, multiple studies demonstrate that educational and career aspiration are related to use of contraception, pregnancy, and childbearing. 5. Schools can increase students self-esteem, sense of competence, and communication and refusal skills. These skills may help students avoid unprotected sex. Despite the growing strength of the abstinence movement across the country, large majorities of adults favor SEX and AIDS education that includes discussions of condoms and contraceptives. For example, a 1998 poll of American adults found that 87% thought birth control should be covered (Rose Gallup, 41-53), a 1998 poll found that 90% of adults thought condoms should be covered (Haffner Wagoner, 22-23)and another 1999 poll found that 82% of adults believed all aspects of sex education including birth control and safer sex should be taught . (Hoff, Greene, McIntosh, Rawlings, DAmico, 2000). Given both the need for effective educational programs and public support for such programs, schools have responded. According to a 1999 national survey of school teachers in grades 7 to 12, about 93% of their schools offered sexuality or HIV education (Darroch, Landry, Singh, 204-211, 265). Of those schools teaching any topics in sexuality education, between 85% and 100% included instruction on consequences of teenage parenthood, STD, HIV/AIDS, abstinence, and ways to resist peer pressure to have sex. Between 75% and 85% of the schools provided instruction about puberty, dating, sexual abuse, and birth control methods. Teachers reported that the most important messages they wanted to convey were about abstinence and responsibility. During the same year, survey results from a second survey of teachers and students in grades 7 to 12 were completed (Hoff et al., 2000). Their results were similar to the study above. They revealed that at least 75% of the students and similar percentages of the teachers indicated the following topics were covered in their instruction: basics of reproduction, STD and HIV/AIDS, abstinence, dealing with pressures to have sex, and birth control. Despite the fact that most adolescents receive at least a minimum amount of sexuality or HIV education, it is widely believed by professionals in the field that most programs are short, are not comprehensive, fail to cover some important topics, and are less effective than they could be (Britton, deMauro, Gambrell, 1-8; Darroch, Landry, Singh, 2000; Gambrell Haffner, 1993; Hoff, et al., 2000). For example, both surveys of teachers discussed above found that only half to two thirds of the teachers covered how to use condoms or how to get and use birth control. there is very little information about the extent to which sex- and HIV-education curriculum have been found to be effective and are implemented with fidelity in additional schools. However, considerable unreliable information indicates few schools implemented the lessons. There is a widely held belief that schools have established a foundation for programs, but that effective programs need to be implementing more broadly and with greater dedication throughout the country. I want to take you back to when I was a teenager and how I personally can relate to the same choices and decisions our teenagers is face with today, in my personal experience; My boyfriend and I had our sex talk we decide I should go to my mother and talk to her about some form of birth control, her response was no. there was no explanation, no reasoning, and no questions ask about why I want to go on it. It was simply no! The end result I have 21yrs old. Im not saying that we made the best choice because I still had an option to use a condom and contraceptives. Todays teenagers resources are plentiful, they can go to cook county hospital, they have Planned Parenthood and there local clinic in there neighborhood and now they have program that are being implemented in their high schools. Children, who do not have supported parents, can not talk to their parents. I want to bring in another aspect as to what can happen when you do not enforce communication about birth control, sex and consequences with your teenager, as you know Im a grandmother I wouldnt trade my granddaughter in for anything in the world. Not enforcing the use of contraceptive, I feel one of the reasons that I became a grandmother in my thirty. because I did not get as involved with my son as I should have after he inform me that he was sexually active. The high Schools offer them open lines of communication and provide a safe atmosphere in which allows them to express their thought as to why they are there in the first place. It’s possible it can lead to single parenthood and a high drop out rate. Pregnancy among teenagers is continuing to rise despite a 40 million Government campaign to reduce the problem, while sexually transmitted diseases are reaching epidemic levels. The Royal College of Nursing revealed that increasing numbers of teenagers are indulging in sex and even taking part in orgies called daisy chaining. The Department for Education and Skills has admitted that 66 out of 150 local education authorities have at least one school based health service in their area providing advice, access to or direct provision of contraception. You have statistics on birth control and personal experience wouldnt you rather your teenager be knowledgeable than not? Biliography Britton, P. O., DeMauro, D., Gambrell, A. E. HIV/AIDS education: SIECUS study on HIV/AIDS education for schools finds states make progress, but work remains. SIECUS Report, 21(1), 1-8 (1992) Chandy, J. M., Harris, L., Blum, R. W., Resnick, M. D. Female adolescents of alcohol misusers: Sexual behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 23, 695-709 (1994) Darroch, J. E., Landry, D. J., Singh, S. Changing emphases in sexuality education in U.S. pubic secondary schools, 1988-1999. Family Planning Perspectives, 32, 204-211, 265 (2000) Gambrell, A. E., Haffner, D. Unfinished business: A SIECUS assessment of state sexuality education programs. New York: SIECUS (1993) Haffner, D., Wagoner, J. Vast majority of Americans support sexuality education. SIECUS Report, 27(6), 22-23 (1999) Hoff, T., Greene, L., McIntosh, M., Rawlings, N., DAmico, J. Sex education in America: A series of national surveys of students, parents, teachers, and Jones 8 principals. Menlo Park, CA: The Kaiser Family Foundation. (2000) Manlove, J. The influence of high school dropout and school disengagement on the risk of school-age pregnancy. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8, 187-220 (1998) National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, 1993. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1993) Rose, L. C., Gallup, A. M. The 30th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the publics attitudes toward the public schools. Phi Delta Kappan, Sept., 41-53 (1998, September) Singh S. Adolescent pregnancy in the United States: An interstate analysis. Family Planning Perspectives, 18, 210-220 (1986)

Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power

Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power Do the advantages of using nuclear power outweigh the disadvantages and thus making it a safe and economical method of generating electricity? At this time it is believed that there are far more disadvantages than advantages when it comes to the use of nuclear power. This report will list the advantages and disadvantages and prove that nuclear power is the next stepping stone in technological advancements and a cleaner future. HYPOTHESIS The advantages of utilizing nuclear power will by far demean the disadvantages and therefore prove that it will be beneficial to make use of nuclear power as an energy source. DISCUSSION ADVANTAGES One of the main advantages of nuclear power is that it does not emit a large quantity of green house gases such as CO2 [1] [2] and thus does not contribute to global warming. In turn this allows for a cleaner global environment. As seen in the below diagram, Coal-fired power stations release 5912000 tons of CO2 per year. Nuclear power stations use less than a twenty-fifth of that because they only release 230000 tons of CO2 per year. Therefore in the environmental aspect, nuclear power is safe and beneficial for the world s future. Figure 1: A graph of the CO2 Emission by Each Power Source Another advantage of nuclear power is that it has relatively low costs involved in its production [5]. It yields much more electrical energy for each unit of nuclear fuel (uranium rods) used than the conventional fossil fuel power stations (coal) [1] [2]. Due to this it will also cost less to ascertain the resources needed to produce the same amount of energy as fossil fuels as is made evident in the below graph. This results in nuclear fuel costing much less per kilowatt hour for a consumer than any other method of producing electricity [fig. 2]. Therefore nuclear power will be economically beneficial for the world s electricity consuming population. Figure 2: A graph showing the US Electricity Production Costs for 1995 2008 An organization known as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in place to ensure that all nuclear power stations and nuclear activity which occur anywhere in the world is done without error which ultimately makes the use of nuclear power a safer option [7]. They implement standards and regulations which must be adhered to by all nuclear facilities [7]. One of their main tasks is to oversee the installation of the nuclear systems and transportation of nuclear materials to insure safety and security [7]. These monitoring protocols allow the usage of nuclear energy to be safe and secure. Over time improved designs have come about for nuclear reactors such as the advanced reactor in Japan which has been operating since 1996 [6]. The major safety feature in this reactor is its passive safety system. In the event of a malfunction, no intervention from an operator is required thus eliminating the chance of a human error [6]. If this type safety feature was to be implemented in all the current and future nuclear reactors, it would significantly enhance the safety of the nuclear plants. There is a variety of safety features for nuclear reactors one of which is the three barriers between the fuel rods and the environment [6]. The fuel rods are in a solid ceramic pellet which forms the first barrier [6]. These pellets are inside a closed zirconium tube, which forms the second barrier [6]. The final barrier is the containment of the fuel rods. They are stored in a steel pressure vessel and this vessel has walls up to 30cm thick therefore preventing all radioactive radiation from escaping. Other than those safety barriers the whole containment structure has one meter thick reinforced concrete walls [6]. Thus in the event of a human error there are provisions in place to minimize the severity of the error. These measures will increase the safety of using nuclear power plants even more. DISADVANTAGES The technology and resources used for producing nuclear power can also be used in malicious activities such as illegal nuclear weapons manufacturing [1]. The IAEA has a security area specifically implemented to eliminate such events. It protects the transport and installations of nuclear substances so that they cannot be used for the above mentioned malicious activities [7]. Therefore this is no longer a major disadvantage of using nuclear power. There is a possibility of a nuclear reactor melting down due to human error or bad maintenance. This will result in environmental destruction and/or human casualties [2]. If a human is exposed to a radioactive substance then it is likely that that person and their future generations could suffer from genetic deformities. In the last 50 years there have only been two serious nuclear catastrophes: The Three Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986). In the Three Mile Island incident the radiation was contained and there were no subsequent environmental or health problems. There have been ten other meltdowns but they were mostly a part of a military or an experimental reactor and they did not result in any hazards on the reactor s surroundings. The first nuclear power station ever created was at Calder Hall in England [10]. It was created in 1956 and has had no operational problems since [10]. This indicates that nuclear reactors can be very safe and therefore beneficial. One of the requi rements of a nuclear reactor is to ensure that a core meltdown must be restricted to the nuclear plant therefore ensuring the safety of nearby residents and the environment. It can thus be deducted that in the event of a reactor meltdown, our safety will not be compromised therefore human or accidental error are not a devastating issue. Terrorism is a huge concern in relation to nuclear reactors especially since the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York [3]. The concern is that a terrorist will crash an airplane in to a nuclear reactor or radioactive waste plant but such nuclear facilities are some of the most terrorist attack resistant infrastructures built [6]. This is because of their robust design (one meter thick walls). Analysts have conducted experiments that have proved that nuclear facilities are terrorist proof. One of the experiments includes using a Boeing 767 and a penetrating missile when testing the strength of facility. Therefore nuclear reactors and radioactive waste facilities are not prone to terrorist attacks. The earth s supply of nuclear fuel (uranium) is very limited and is only expected to last for another 30 to 60 years [2]. Because of the rate of technological developments, it is likely that a new source of electricity will be discovered within 30 to 60 years. With this in mind there is no reason to not use nuclear power in the meantime. A large disadvantage of nuclear power is that it takes about 20 to 30 years to create a nuclear power station (in western democracies) [2]. The planning and building is very time consuming [2]. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it decreases the chances of an error occurring which could have potentially lead to a meltdown accident or any other accidents occurring. This could also increase the quality of the power station s construction which therefore making the nuclear power station safe to use. CONCLUSION As can be seen from the above mentioned points, the use of nuclear power has numerous benefits, both in terms of economics and safety. One cannot deny the disadvantages to using nuclear power but there are solutions available, as showed above, that either negates the disadvantage or minimizes its severity. Therefore the advantages of using nuclear power outweigh the disadvantages by far, which makes nuclear power a safe, secure and economical option for generating of electricity. GLOSSARY Meltdown: When a nuclear reactor core overheats causing the encasement to melt thus allowing radiation to escape. Greenhouse gases: Gases that are produced by most traditional fuel sources which affect the ozone layer and the containment of heat within the Earth s atmosphere. Kilowatt: Is a unit used to measure power and is equal to 1000 watts. Fuel rods: A specialized container used to store nuclear fuel. Human error: An error which has occurred due to the incorrect intervention of human(s).

Genetic Influences on Salmonella Formation

Genetic Influences on Salmonella Formation IHF Gene Influences Salmonella Enteritidis Biofilm Formation Integration Host Factor (IHF) is important for biofilm formation by Salmonella enterica Enteritidis Bruna Leite, Catierine Hirsch Werle, Camila Pinheiro do Carmo, Diego Borin Nbrega, Guilherme Paier Milanez, Cristina E. Alvarez-Martinez, Marcelo Brocchi Abstract Salmonella enterica Enteritidis forms biofilms and survives in agricultural environments where it infects poultry and eggs. Once established, biofilms are difficult to eradicate, due to their high resistance compared to planktonic cells, causing serious problems in industry and public health. In this study, we evaluated biofilm formation in wild-type strains of S. enterica Enteritidis and in ihf mutants employing different microbiology techniques. Our data indicate that ihf mutants display impaired biofilm formation, with a reduced of matrix formation and a decrease in CFU and metabolic activity. Phenotypic analysis indicated a deficiency in curli fimbriae expression and in cellulose production and pellicle formation. These results show that IHF has a regulatory role in biofilm formation in S. enterica Enteritidis. Keywords: Biofilm, Salmonella enterica Enteritidis, Polysaccharide matrix, Curli fimbriae, Cellulose, Integration Host Factor. Introduction A biofilm is defined as a bacterial colony adherent to a solid surface, which secretes a protective exopolysaccharide matrix. Every natural wet surface is a potential substrate for microbial biofilms. These sessile multicellular microbial consortia are embedded within self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In food handling facilities, biofilms can be particularly problematic The ability to form biofilms is also an important factor in the virulence of S. Enterica. S. enterica subspecies I serovar Enteritidis is a leading cause of salmonellosis worldwide, and has emerged as one of the most important foodborne pathogens for humans. It is mainly associated with consumption of contaminated meat and eggs of poultry. A number of studies have demonstrated that S. enterica is capable of forming biofilms on a wide variety of contact surfaces, and the formation of biofilms may improve the ability of these organisms to resist stresses such as desiccation, extreme temperatures, antibiotics, and antiseptics. Biofilm formation allows S. enterica to survive for long periods in a poultry farm environment and to contaminate poultry meat and eggs, which remain the leading vehicles of salmonellosis outbreaks Many factors are involved in biofilm development. Curli fimbriae and cellulose are the major components of biofilm formed by S. enterica, whereas capsular polysaccharide, other polysaccharide-rich compounds such as lipopolyssaccharide (LPS), and a large secreted protein, BapA, also contribute to biofilm formation. Several regulatory genes involved in biofilm formation have been identified The expression of curli fimbriae and cellulose can be assayed phenotypically by growing enteric bacteria on Congo red indicator plates Bacteria may live in planktonic form in liquid media or as biofilms on biotic or abiotic surfaces. They need to adjust their genetic programs in order to switch from one lifestyle to another. The production of bacterial products and behaviours associated with environmental adaptation must be tightly coordinated to optimize the energy consumption. In bacteria, gene expression regulation is exerted primarily at the level of transcription initiation using a large array of transcription factors whose concentrations and activities change depending on specific environmental or metabolic signals. Topological changes in DNA also influence promoter recognition, open complex formation, and gene expression Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) are global regulators of gene expression in bacteria. They alter the topology of DNA by bending, bridging, or wrapping it, leading to DNA transactions and multiple cellular effects that culminate in the modulation of gene expression. Integration-host factor (IHF) is a dimeric NAP that binds DNA in a sequence-specific manner and introduces curvatures of up to 180 °, which influence many aspects of bacterial physiology, including global gene expression, DNA topology, site-specific recombination, and DNA replication. In E. coli and S. enterica Typhimurium, the two IHF subunits-IHFÃŽ ± and IHFÃŽ ²-can assemble as hetero- or homo-dimers. There is also evidence indicating that the different dimeric forms of IHF regulate different but overlapping sets of genes Based on the global regulatory role of IHF, we hypothesized that this NAP can influence or directly regulate genes involved in biofilm formation in S. enterica Enteritidis. This hypothesis is supported by previous observations demonstrating that IHF activates curli production in S. enterica Typhimurium. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the role of IHF genes in the initial stages of biofilm formation in S. Enteritidis. To this end, we performed phenotypic studies using isogenic deletion mutants of individual ihf genes (ihfA or ihfB) and a double mutant strain with deletions in both IHF subunits (ihfAB double mutant). Materials and methods Bacterial strains In this study, the S. enterica Enteritidis wild-type strain PT4SEn (IOC4647) provided a by the Fundaà §Ãƒ £o Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was used. The draft genome of this strain was recently published (Milanez et al. 2016). It was found to be pathogenic in a mouse model assay (Carmo et al., unpublished results). The mutants of S. Enteritidis PT4SEn were previously constructed (Carmo et al., unpublished results) by deletion of ihf genes using the lambda Red system by transduction with P22HT phages. Mutant strains were designated as S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn ΔihfA, PT4SEn ΔihfB, and PT4SEn ΔihfAB. Bacterial growth conditions and storage Bacteria were cultivated in Luria-Bertani broth (LB) and on Luria-Bertani agar (LBA) plates prepared according to the method of Sambrook and Russell. All strains were stored at -80 °C in 30% glycerol All strains were inoculated from fresh LBA plates into 15 mL LB and grown for 18  ± 2 h at 37 °C in an orbital shaker at 140 rpm. Cells were harvested by centrifugation (for 5 min at 9,500 g and 4 °C) and resuspended in NaCl (0.9%) adjusted to 0.5 McFarland scale equivalent to 1.5 108 cells/mL prior to use in subsequent assays. Complementation of S. enterica Enteritidis ΔihfA and ΔihfB mutants Sequences corresponding to the ihfA and ihfB genes and their regulatory regions were obtained by PCR from the PT4SEn genome using the primers listed in Table 1. The DNA fragments were cloned in the pACYC184 vector (New England Biolabs, USA) between the NcoI and EcoRI restriction sites (restriction enzyme sites in the DNA fragments were introduced via the primers) and the vector was subsequently electroporated into the respective S. enterica Enteritidis mutant strains. Cloning, PCR amplification, electroporation, plasmid extraction, and agarose gel electrophoresis were performed as suggested by Sambrook and Russell (2001). After DNA purification using the Wizard ® Genomic DNA Purification Kit (Promega Corporation, Madison, USA), Sanger sequencing was performed using 3730XL Applied Biosystems (Foster City, California, USA) by the High Performance Technologies Central Laboratory in Life Sciences (LACTAD, University of Campinas UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil). Biofilm formation on polystyrene plates Biofilms were formed in 96-well plates (Cell Culture Plate, Nest, Biotechnology Co, China) containing 200 ÃŽ ¼L of cell suspension (1 106 cells/mL) of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn wild-type or mutant strains in LB supplemented with 0.25% of glucose. Plates were incubated at 37 °C with orbital shaking at 140 rpm for 48, 72, and 120 h. At the end of the incubation period, planktonic cells were carefully removed, and biofilms were washed twice with 200 ÃŽ ¼L of saline solution (0.9% NaCl). The crystal violet staining method was used to assess total biofilm biomass. Each well of the biofilm plates was incubated with 200 ÃŽ ¼L of methanol for 15 minutes. Subsequently, methanol was removed and 1% (v/v) crystal violet solution was added, followed by a 5-min incubation period. Wells were washed with distilled water and finally 33% (v/v) acetic acid was added. The absorbance was measured at 570 nm. The colorimetric method based on the reduction of XTT (2,3- bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-5-(phenylamino)carbonyl-2H tetrazolium hydroxide; Sigma-Aldrich, USA) was used to determine cell activity (XTT is converted to a coloured formazan salt in the presence of metabolic activity). To each well of the biofilm plate, 200 ÃŽ ¼L of a solution containing 200 mg/L of XTT and 20 mg/L of phenazinemethosulphate (PMS; Sigma-Aldrich, Ukraine) was added. Microtiter plates were incubated for 3 h at 37 °C in the dark. The absorbance was measured at 490 nm. To assess the number of viable cells in biofilms, 200 ÃŽ ¼L of saline solution was added to each well before removal of the biofilm by scraping. For each sample, an aliquot of 1 mL (5 wells) was sonicated (20 s with 22% of amplitude; Ultrasonic Processor, Cole-Parmer, Illinois, USA) to promote biofilm disruption. The number of colony forming units (CFU) in biofilms was determined by performing 10-fold serial dilutions in saline solution, plating on LBA plates in triplicate, and incubating for 24 h. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of biofilm cells Biofilms of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn wild-type and mutant strains formed in 24-well plates (Well Cell Culture Cluster, Costar) were dehydrated by a 15-min immersion in increasing ethanol concentrations (70, 95, and 100% ethanol [v/v]) and placed in sealed desiccators. The samples were mounted on aluminium stubs with carbon tape, sputter-coated with gold, and analysed with a JEOL JSM-5800LV scanning microscope. All experiments were carried out in duplicate. Biofilm formation at the air-liquid interface Biofilm formation at the air-liquid interface was assessed in S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn strains by inoculation of LB cultures without NaCl, followed by incubation at 28 °C without shaking. Every day for 10 days, each isolate was visually examined for pellicle formation. Experiments were performed in triplicate. Expression of curli fimbriae Bacterial colony morphology of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn wild-type and mutant strains was analysed on LB agar without NaCl, supplemented with Congo red (1.01340.0025, Sigma-Aldrich, Germany; 40 ÃŽ ¼g/mL) and Coomassie brilliant blue G (B0770-5G, Sigma-Aldrich, China; 20 ÃŽ ¼g/mL). Bacterial cultures were spread on agar plates and the colour and degree of colony rugosity were determined after 96 h of growth at 28 °C. Images were captured with a camera (Nikon P500) and under an HBO 100 Carl Zeiss Illuminating microscope system. Cellulose production The fluorescence exhibited by bacteria after growth of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn wild-type and mutant strains in LB plates with Calcofluor (Fluorescent Brightener 28; F3543-1G, Sigma-Aldrich, China; 200 ÃŽ ¼g/mL) served as an indicator of cellulose production. Fluorescence was analysed visually using an UV light (366 nm) after 48 h of growth at 37 °C. Statistical analysis Data were analysed using STATA software, version 13.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA). Data from all assays were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Sidaks adjustment for multiple comparisons was performed after a significant fitting. The significance level was set at 5%. Results ihf mutants display reduced viability, biomass, and metabolic activity A decrease of about 1-2 log10 in number of viable cells was observed for the ihf mutants in comparison with the wild-type S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn strain by CFU counting (Figure 1-A). The differences observed were statistically significant (P < 0.05) for all periods of time evaluated. The introduction of the pACYC184 plasmid carrying ihfA or ihfB was generally associated with an increase in CFUs, but complementation did not completely restore the values to those obtained with the wild-type strain. No statistical differences were observed at 48 and 72 h of incubation between ΔihfAc and the wild-type strain. The same observation is valid for ΔihfB after 120 h of incubation (Figure 1-A). These results show that the restoration of ihfA or ihfB gene copies in mutant strains is generally associated with an increase in CFUs in biofilms. The total biofilm biomass, assessed by CV staining of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn and mutant strains is presented in Figure 1-B. An increase in biomass is observed for the wild-type strain over time. However, this effect was not observed for the correspondent PT4SEn ihfAB double mutant. None of the mutants presented an increase in biofilm matrix density at 48 and 72 h of incubation (P < 0.05). The complemented PT4SEn ihfA and ihfB mutants (ihfAc and ihfBc) showed an increase in total biofilm biomass in comparison to the non-complemented mutants (Figure 1-B). All mutant strains exhibited a significant reduction in metabolic activity measured by the XTT assay for cells in biofilm (P < 0.05). In addition, the double mutant (ihfAB) showed the greatest reduction in metabolic activity at 72 and 120 h (Figure 1-C). ihf genes are essential for biofilm structure To further characterize biofilm formation and structure in strains lacking ihf genes, we performed scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of cells in biofilms. As shown in Figure 2, the absence of ihfA or ihfB drastically affects biofilm formation, as null mutants of S. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn (Figure 2-D, E and F) exhibited a low amount of matrix and small number of cells compared to the wild-type (Figure 2-A). Complementation of ihf gene deletions by a wild-type copy of the corresponding gene promoted a significant restoration of biofilm formation (Figure 2-B and C). Pellicle formation at the air-liquid interface To further characterize the mutant strains with respect to their ability to form biofilms we analysed the biofilm formation at the air-liquid interface of cultures of the different strains. Cultures of the wild-type strain formed a thick and rigid pellicle after 10 days of growth (Figure 3-A). On the other hand, PT4SEn ihfA or PT4SEn ihfB mutant strains formed a less compact and fragile pellicle (not shown). Interestingly, the double mutant strain PT4SEn ihfAB did not form a visible pellicle at all at the air-liquid interface. Instead, cell deposition was observed at the bottom of the tube (Figure 3-B). Complementation with the wild-type copy of ihfA and ihfB restored the phenotype of the single mutants (PT4SEn ΔihfAc and PT4SEn ΔihfBc strains), which now formed a thick and rigid pellicle (not shown). Curli and cellulose Since curli and cellulose are important components in biofilm formation, we evaluated the role of IHF on their production. To this end, colony morphology was analysed on LBA plates supplemented with Congo red and Coomassie brilliant blue, as previously described.. enterica Enteritidis PT4SEn wild-type and PT4SEn ΔihfA and ΔihfB complemented strains exhibited a phenotype consistent with curli fimbriae and cellulose production, with red, dry, and rough (rdar) colony morphology (Figure 4-A to D). However, the PT4SEn ΔihfA, PT4SEn ΔihfB, and PT4SEn ΔihfAB mutants of S. enterica Enteritidis did not display the same colour and roughness, but instead exhibited a similar, but not identical, smooth and white (saw) morphotype, indicating a deficiency in the expression of curli fimbriae and probably also of cellulose (Figure 4-E to H). The expression of cellulose was also tested by screening the colonies for Calcofluor binding Cellulose production was observed for all strain s evaluated by this method, except for the double mutant ihfAB that was not fluorescent under an UV light source and was considered a poor producer of cellulose (Figure 5). Discussion The presence of microorganisms on food contact surfaces is one of the most common causes of food spoilage and transmission of foodborne diseases. Inadequate cleaning and disinfection of food-processing environments is the cause of major economic losses and represents a serious danger to public health. The ability of microorganisms to adhere and form biofilms makes disinfection even more difficult and challenging Infections with Salmonella enterica Enteritidis represent a major health problem and a significant burden on the food industry. About 80% of the infections are caused by biofilm formation In the matrix of a biofilm, bacteria grow on either biotic or abiotic surfaces, attaching to the surface and to each other, conferring resistance to immunity responses as well as antimicrobial agents As a consequence, antimicrobial treatments typically fail to eradicate biofilms. The need to create effective therapies to counteract biofilm infections is a pressing challenge in the food indus try The growing interest in understanding the regulatory network of gene activities during the transition from a planktonic to a sessile cellular lifestyle, prompted us to investigate the role of IHF in S. enterica Enteritidis biofilm formation. IHF has an important role in the regulation of gene expression and environment adaptability of S. Enterica Therefore, S. Enteritidis deletion mutants for ihfA, ihfB, or both genes (ihfAB) were employed in different assays to analyse biofilm formation. The logic behind this approach is based on the fact that IHF can act as a homodimer (IHFÃŽ ±ÃŽ ± or IHFÃŽ ²ÃŽ ²) or as a heterodimer (IHFÃŽ ±ÃŽ ²) The results presented here indicate an important role of this NAP in the formation of biofilms in S. enterica Enteritidis. All typical biofilm characteristics analysed in this study (CFU, biomass, and cellular metabolic activity) were significantly decreased in S. enterica Enteritidis mutant strains for ihfA, ihfB, or ihfAihfB. The biofilms formed by mutant strains exhibited a decreased matrix density compared with the wild-type strain. Therefore, these results indicate that IHF can influence the initial stage of biofilm formation by S. enterica Enteritidis, as the matrix is necessary in this phase. This is also supported by CV staining and SEM. The colony morphotypes observed in Congo red among wild-type and complemented strains exhibited the rdar morphotype, an indication of curli and cellulose production, while the mutant strains exhibited a similar but not identical saw morphotype, suggesting an altered expression of curli and probably also of cellulose. In fact, bacterial growth in calcofluor-containing medium indicated that the single ihf-mutants were able to produce cellulose, but the ihf-double mutant exhibited some deficiency in the production of this polysaccharide. Previously, Gerstel, Park, and Rà ¶mling demonstrated that the ΔihfAB double mutant of two S. enterica Typhimurium strains caused a reduction in CsgD expression and an altered rdar morphotype suggesting a role for IHF in curli expression in S. enterica Typhimurium. Curli is expressed by two divergent operons, csgBAC and csgDEFG. CsgD is a major regulator of curli expression and biofilm formation. This gene activates transcription of csgA and csgB that encodes the major (CsgA) and the minor (CsgB) curli subunits In addition, csgD also regulates cellulose production Therefore, IHF plays an important role in biofilm formation in S. enterica Typhimurium. Our results demonstrate a similar role for IHF in the biofilm formation of S. enterica Enteritidis. Despite high genetic similarity, the Enteritidis and Typhimurium serovars differ in various ecological and host-relationship parameters However, the regulation of biofilm formation by IHF in both serovars suggests that IHF plays a cen tral role in S. enterica biofilm biogenesis. However, additional studies of IHF function on biofilm biogenesis in other S. enterica serovars are needed to further clarify this question. In addition, the single ihf mutants also exhibited a phenotypic alteration in biofilm formation, indicating that both subunits are necessary for appropriate biofilm production. In our results, all the ihf mutants showed a deficiency for curli fimbriae production by phenotypic tests. To some extent, a deficiency in cellulose production was also observed, particularly in the double ihf-mutant. The complementation of the ihfA and ihfB mutants by the introduction of a pACYC184 plasmid carrying the wild-type genes reverted the deficiency in biofilm biomass, cell metabolism, and CFUs, but in the majority of the tests the values did not reach those observed for the wild-type strain. This is probably due to a dose effect of IHFÃŽ ± or IHFÃŽ ², despite the low copy number (about 15 copies per cell) of the plasmid used. In fact, the expression of ihf genes is finely regulated and depends on the growth phase The two operons bcsABZC and bcsEFG are responsible for cellulose biosynthesis in both S. enterica Enteritidis and S. enterica Typhimurium. This was demonstrated by the construction of non-polar mutants of bcsC and bcsE genes that formed a fragile pellicle at the air-liquid interface of LB medium The same authors also showed that cellulose-deficient mutants were more sensitive to chlorine treatments, indicating that the deficiency in the production of extracellular matrix can leave the cells more susceptible to the action of some chemical agents. In our study, IHF mutant strains formed a less compact pellicle in LB compared to wild-type strains. In addition, the ihf double mutant did not form an air pellicle at all, suggesting a role for IHF in the expression of cellulose. These findings corroborate a previous study in which S. enterica Typhimurium ihfAB mutants exhibited reduced bcsC transcription when evaluated by microarray analysis, but further studies are needed to better charact erize the underlying molecular mechanisms. Karaca, N Akcelik, and M Akcelik (2013) also evaluated pellicle formation at the air-liquid interface of 31 S. enterica isolates. They showed that the growth rate of isolates with a rigid pellicle was greater than that of the ones forming a fragile pellicle. Biofilm production at the air-liquid interface can facilitate and contribute to gas exchange, while enabling the acquisition of nutrients and water from the liquid phase. Biofilms at air-liquid and solid-air interfaces can cause serious problems in industrial water systems. In conclusion, our results indicate that IHF has an important regulatory role in biofilm formation of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis. Moreover, both IHF subunits appear to have a role in this process. Our data pave the way for further studies investigating the mechanisms involved in the regulation of biofilm formation by IHF. Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from Fundaà §Ãƒ £o de Amparo à   Pesquisa do Estado de Sà £o Paulo (FAPESP 2014/13412-8) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientà ­fico e Tecnolà ³gico (CNPq), Brazil. BL, DBN, and GPM were supported by a FAPESP fellowship (FAPESP 2012/25426-8, 2012/10608-3, and 2012/05382-6, respectively). CHW and CPC were supported by fellowships from CNPq (141629/2012-6 and 140786/2012-0, respectively). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest or conflict.

Judaism :: essays research papers

Early History of Judaism It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot spot of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most representative of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion follows the discussion. A Place to Call Home No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on the whole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have denied Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and helps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem

Identity and Self-Esteem: A Look at Self-Verification in African Americ

Individuals are born into families, races, cultures, and countries, but have little awareness of their individuality as very young children. The psychological sense of being separate individuals from their families or caretakers appears to be of little importance until they recognize themselves as separate selves. This is true for all human beings in all cultures, but for races or cultures who have been marginalized, having a separate identity and gaining self-esteem appear to play an even more important role. This essay will look at African American literature from a psychological perspective. From Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs to Zora Neale Hurston's Delia in "Sweat" to James Baldwin's John in Go Tell It On the Mountain, group and individual identity, in conjunction with a high level of self-esteem, are critical factors in determining the successes achieved by individuals and literary characters in the African American literary tradition. Without this sense of group identit y, individual identity, and self-esteem, the African American character becomes like Richard Wright's Bigger Thomas and can not survive. Self-esteem is an important component of human growth. Abraham Maslow's psychological theory argues for a hierarchy of needs composed of a pyramid of five levels. "Beyond the details of air, water, food, and sex, he laid out five broader layers: physiological needs, needs for safety and security, needs for love and belonging, needs for esteem, and the need to actualize the self, in that order. " (Boeree) Maslow argued that few reach the highest level of self-actualization. According to his research, only about 2% of the population reach that level, and most of those were historical figures-Albert Einstein, Ab... ... Abstract. Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass." African American Literature. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W. W. Norton, 1997. 302-368. Drake, Kimberly. "Rewriting the American self: Race, gender, and identity in the autobiographies of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs." Melus. Winter 1997. Vol. 22, Issue 4, p. 91. Full text article. Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl: Written By Herself. Ed. and Intro. Nell Irvin Painter. New York: Penguin, 2000. Parsons, Richard D., Stephanie Lewis Hinson and Deborah Sardo-Brown. Educational Psychology: A Practitioner-Researcher Model of Teaching. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001. 80-81. Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.

Bill Budd :: essays research papers

Herman Melville’s Billy Budd is a story about true goodness. It entails the conflict of good and evil, but more than that it portrays innocence in its’ most purest form.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Innocence is an exploitable commodity. While this is universally recognized, there are many different ways people confront it. Some people choose to embrace and protect it. While others choose to abuse it and corrupt it. Those who choose the latter are evilplain and simple. By making this choice they are reflecting not upon the innocent, but upon themselves. This reflection is humanity in its darkest configuration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy Budd and John Claggart are opposing forces. Billy Budd who is described as “strength and beauty. Tales of his prowess recited. Ashore he the champion, afloat the spokesman; on every suitable occasion always foremost.'; John Claggart, a man “in whom was the mania of an evil nature, not engendered by vicious training or corrupting books or licentious living but born with him and innate, in short ‘a depravity according to nature.’'; These two people who are clearly on opposite sides of the spectrum contrast one another in a plethora of ways. Where Billy is sweet, John is bitter. Where Billy is naà ¯ve, John is knowledgeable. Where Billy is content, John is jealous. Lastly, where Billy is good, John is bad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ugliness that results in the death of both men portrays the triumph of sinister forces over the meek. John Claggart, who is a powerful and feared man aboard Bellipotent, lashes out at Billy who is for the most part defenseless. This is an injustice of biblical proportions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What could have prevented this from happening? Perhaps, if Billy picked up on John’s malicious intent the entire tragedy could have been avoided. But, on the other hand Billy was good and sought goodness. That is why he failed to see the evilness in Claggart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To discourage Billy’s goodness is to compromise the very thing that makes us human in the first placeHumans seek goodness instinctively. Thus, it is society’s innate responsibility to protect the good (naà ¯ve) from those who are in a position to hurt them (people with knowledge.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The significance of Billy’s death is that of sacrifice and honor. Billy’s death was, in a wordmajestic. “At the same moment it chanced that the vapory fleece hanging low in the East was shot through with a soft glory as of the fleece of the Lamb of God seen in mystical vision, and simultaneously therewith, watched by the wedged mass

Cooperative Strategy

Critically discuss the underlying motivations and associated competitive advantages that explain why MNEs enter into cooperative structures and strategies, using examples. In recent years there has been an upsurge in the number of MNEs entering cooperative structures and strategies. According to Jones cooperative structure is a means of a substitute or complementary to multinational strategies. It is a strategy in which firms work together to achieve shared objectives. They form partnerships once they believe a local firm had the competitive advantage in the industry or engaged in contractual agreements with public firms.Cooperative strategies and structures have become larger and more complex and crucial more central to the core strategies and competitive advantages of participating firms as a response to the pressures of competing in a global market. In this essay I will firstly discuss the underlying factors which forces MNEs to partake in cooperative strategies. I will then menti on the different types of cooperative structures and strategies. Thirdly using examples I will discuss the motives and disadvantages which arise from MNEs entering into cooperative structure and strategies.After which I will close of with some points to consider in building a successfully cooperative strategies. Cooperative structure and strategy was first coined by firm pre World War 1. In the international business environment in the 21st century there are very few companies which possess all the resources or capabilities they need to develop strategies and organizational capabilities to gain competitive advantage on their own. Firms in the European nations were free to engage in cooperation. The US firms were bound by legislation which causes them not to be free to collaborate.According to Bartlett et al. the key challenge facing companies is their ability to maintain independence by maintaining firm control over its activities which led to the building of strong external relatio nships which may be with their customers, suppliers, competitors or even other institutions. Factors which trigger firms to shift towards cooperative strategy and structures (cooperation) stems from rising cost in R&D, shortened life cycle due to constant technological evolution, growing barriers to market entry (where some firms may lack the now-how), capital shortage, increasing needs for global scale economies and expanding importance of global standards as the world have now become a global market with greater demands and competition being placed on firms. Increasingly they must collaborate with others to meet the need of the global environment. Firms may undertake co-operation such as strategic alliances in this type of cooperation the participating firms agree to collaborate specific aspects of their business combining some of their resources and capabilities to create a mutual competitive advantage.Another form of cooperation is joint ventures which is the most formal mode of cooperation. It involves two or more participating firms taking joint equity in separate entities distinct from the parent company. It may take the form of an entirely new enterprise or one that the joint venture come together and acquire. Eg Fuji-Xerox. During the interwar years the sharing of risk and reduction of financial pressure was the basis for joint ventures, cartels and collaborations.Licensing and Franchising are also forms of cooperation they are contractual relationships between firms they offer ways of reducing capital necessary to engaging in international business. Networks as cooperation are found in many different industries and take many different forms they have no formal existence and are rooted in sustained ongoing commercial relationships where partners have learnt to trust and rely on one another. They exist to link forms operating in different stages of the value chain.All these are different forms in which a firm may undertake to acquire the skills and res ources they lack all in effort of creating value. MNEs engaging in cooperation can benefit from a range of motives giving them competitive advantage over the competitor or sustainability. Such advantages/motives are learning and resource transfer this is where the cooperative structure formal informal networks through licensing agreement to formal joint venture which can form conduits for information flows, knowledge and other tangible and intangible resources.This means that cooperation become a route through which firms gain access to resources they do not possess and either cannot or do not wish to do develop internally. This is because more and more firms are now focusing on narrow sets of core capabilities and innovation (R&D) depends on interdisciplinary work. Firms narrowing their capabilities forces firms to look at external sources of competencies and resource that they no longer possess internally. Example: The requirements imply that todays MNEs must develop the skills t o not only manage assets and resources under their

Coca Cola External Environmental Factors

During the strategic marketing management process, there are many external forces that any company must be aware of in order to be profitable. These very important factors to be considered come in the form of technology trends, economic and government trends, consumer trends and innovations. It is very important to become aware of all of the potential opportunities and threats that may arise from these trends. I believe that for Coca-Cola, there are external forces in all of these areas that they must be aware of and incorporate into their planning if they are to continue to be successful.When it comes to technology, in recent years there are many emerging trends that I feel that Coca-Cola could use to their advantage. The popularity of services such as Twitter and Facebook may give Coca-Cola the opportunity to spread the word about their products to territories that haven’t yet been reached by their competitors. Since the majority of people use these services all over the wor ld, we feel that it is a great place for them to advertise.While it is still very important to have advertisements on television, more and more people are using the internet, and we feel that by collaborating with internet companies, they would be able to increase their profits. In addition to the increased use of the internet, another technology trend that Coca-Cola should be aware of is the production of bio-degradable bottles. Today’s plastic bottles are very bad for the environment and people are aware of this. Until recently, there was only technology to produce plastic that was made from petroleum.Now though, in the year 2010, there is technology to produce plastic that is made from plants. This plastic, also known as PLA or polylactide, emits fewer greenhouse gases, uses less energy than other plastic bottles and is also recyclable and compostable. We believe that since the environment is such a high priority in everyone’s minds, they should take advantage of th is technological development. Economic and Government trends are an extremely important part of the external environment. Since consumers are directly affected by the status of n economy, a company should always be aware of the economic conditions in the countries in which they operate. Currently, all over the world, we are dealing with a recession. The unemployment rate is very high, and as a result, consumers have decreased buying power. When consumers have less income, the first thing that they stop buying are luxury goods. In my opinion, Coke is a luxury item and not a necessity. I feel that if Coca-Cola wants to continue to be successful in the current economic conditions, they must begin to produce goods that people must buy. An example of such a product would be dairy products, like milk.While a consumer who has a strict budget may skip purchasing Coke, they will not skip on purchasing milk. While technological and economic factors are extremely important to Coca-Cola, we fee l that currently, the most important factor that needs to be addressed are changing consumer trends. Today, consumers are becoming more and more health conscious. When people purchase a food or drink, we think that they would ideally prefer something that has some health benefits to it. Coke has always been criticized for being bad for your health due to the food coloring, carbonation and high-fructose corn syrup.While we don’t believe that it is likely that Coca-Cola will lose much business to other cola competitors such as Pepsi, I do feel that they will lose business to companies that are producing healthy alternatives to cola, such as fruit drinks. I feel that Coca-Cola should be innovative and possibly consider changing some of the ingredients in Coke, such as using natural sugar instead of corn syrup and natural sources of food coloring rather than chemicals. Another very important consumer trend that should be noticed by Coca-Cola is the increasing population of Hispan ics in the United States.Hispanics make up a very large part of the population, and Coke isn’t marketed specifically to this ethnic group. We feel that if Coca-Cola marketed more directly to Hispanics, they would increase their profit. Lastly, a very important consumer trend is being â€Å"green†. As previously mentioned, consumers in the United States, as well as the majority of other countries in the world, are very concerned with the effects of pollution and the general well being of the planet. Coca-Cola’s biggest competition is Pepsi. In the past year, Pepsi has introduced the â€Å"Pepsi Refresh Project. †This program awards funding to people in America who have come up with great ideas on how they can improve their community. Some of the ideas that have been funded by Pepsi so far are making school buses more eco-friendly, growing fresh produce at schools to fight childhood obesity and making buildings in cities more energy efficient. In 2010, the Pepsi Refresh Project will give away more than $20 million to people with similar ideas. Each month, Pepsi will accept up to 1,000 new ideas every month and will award up to $1. 3 million in grants to the ideas who have received the most votes by other consumers.We feel that this is a very effective way of bettering the world that we live in and that Coca-Cola should do something very similar. Pepsi has so far only implemented this program in the United States, so this gives Coca-Cola the opportunity to use this idea on a global scale, and extend the benefits to other countries. We feel that being â€Å"green† is a very important consumer trend, and if Coca-Cola used a similar program across the world, they would begin to develop an image where they have the environment’s best interest at heart, and will gain the support of people all over the world as well as increasing their profits.

Tkam Reflection

Gem an d Scout have a life head of them that Tactics can look forward too. With this, Attic's good sense e of morality partially comes from the fact that he has to teach his children the right lesson. If the book went on for another twenty years, I believe that Gem and Scout would have a better life with a better sense of morality that Male would. Also, Bob's bad sense of morality affect De the characters around him and even caused the life of a human. Since, Bob has a poor sense of morality, he does not feel bad blaming his beating of Male on Tom Robinson.Tom was obviously innocent and died trying to escape jail which Bob put him in. In a way, Bob is r expansible for Tom's death. Did not realism how the morality of someone could be affected and how morality makes a difference on a person before reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout this essay, I had a lot of positives and negatives. I would say had more negatives than positives but eventually worked them out. The easiest part of the essay for me was writing the parts the parts not about the quotes and research.For exam el saying, â€Å"Bob Lowell lives a very poor life with nothing to look forward to. † was a lot easier that n explaining a quote. This is because quotes and evidence were extremely hard to come by when writing this paper. Most of the entrees by scholars I looked through did not explain how morality affected the characters, yet they explained that â€Å"Bob's sense of morality was not right†. Ho waver, would eventually find a good article such as Laurie Champion's that explained morale TTY in the book in depth. I also wrote two essays.The first one finished well before the due data but realized I was talking about the wrong information. Deleted most of it and started over. The sees were some challenges and some positives of writing this essay. Learned some interesting facts about myself as a writer when wrote this sees ay. One of the biggest one was the fact that I talk about my opinions and what I have to s ay too much. When started to write this essay, actually wrote the whole thing without maybe on e or quotes. I believed the essay was perfect but I knew I had to add quotes.I learned that I could write a lot eased on what I read throughout doing my research. Also learned that if I pr ovoid myself with an outline, can write the essay a lot smoother. When I started writing the sees ay, I had no idea what points I was going to bring up when talking about the specific topic. I ma De myself an outline and was able to write the essay a lot smoother. If I could go back and fix anything about my essay I would probably add more quotes and evidence. I did not use that many quotes compared to my friends and if I had time would find more information.

Courage Under Fire

The film â€Å"Courage Under Fire† tackles ethical issues and moral dilemmas. Here an officer during the course of his investigation, searches for the truth in the different accounts regarding a Desert Storm mission while struggling with his own demons. Wildland Fire Leadership Values and Principles espouses three main merits in a leader; Duty, Respect and Integrity. In the film, the characters display such characteristics under different circumstances.Perhaps one of the main principles that can be observed in the film is the choice of the two key characters to choose the difficult right over the easy wrong. Rather than leave their crash site in the middle of night, where darkness will provide them good cover and a good chance to escape safely, Captain Karen Walden did otherwise for the sake of her injured co-pilot. She took into consideration the safety of all the members of her team and tried to save what could be saved. When Monfriez tried to stage a mutiny to push the team to escape, Cpt.Walden asserted herself; demonstrating her prowess as a capable leader, who earlier in the day effectively put to use all their available resources to assemble a make-shift fort to keep them safe and make good use of their ammunition until rescue arrives. As for Colonel Nat Serling, he accepted full responsibility of his actions and their consequences during the attack which took the life of his closest friend. Though there was visible stress after he realized his action, it was brief and he rallied his men to finish the mission.His decisions and his alertness during the event prevented major loss in their part. In the Monfriez’s false account, his description of Capt. Walden was of characters contradictory to those of the values and principles mentioned above. This characterization devoid of notions of integrity, respect and duty produces a person unfit for such a job that required leadership and proficiency. Along with demonstrating the leadership principles and values, the characters also perform actions that they consider fitting in their given situations.To arrive at these actions, they relied on their own capacities rather than waiting for the orders of outside forces; like what Colonel Serling did when he ordered the tanks to turn on their lights to distinguish their own forces from that of the enemies’. Though command was asking him to relay the conditions, he preferred not to focus on the question and proceeded to give orders based on his analysis of the situation. Amidst pressure Capt. Walden stood by her decision, having confidence in her capabilities.Her ability to translate her bravery into actions and also her leadership skills to the men, resorting only to drastic measures when circumstances call for it, display her influence over the people around her. This influence should not be interpreted as something overbearing; the abilities of Walden and Serling to communicate their desires and convince others to do it, suc h as General Hershberg agreeing to extensions and allowing Serling time to explain and Capt. Walden’s command over her troops, are qualities of good and effective leaders.Only when it is abused or used incorrectly does it become overbearing and unbecoming of a good leader. However, the feedback they get as people with position are not the same. A hint of gender bias appears in the film; Walden was the first woman to be awarded a medal already handed to numerous men, such a ruckus was made in the decision to do so stemming from existing ideals that as Eagly et al. states; â€Å"in explicit leadership roles, women tend to be viewed less positively than men (qtd. in Unger 253), and Monfriez weakens Walden’s character by emphasizing on her emotional attributes.While Serling kept on with the mission even though Boylar had died, Walden chose to remain in the site for her injured co-pilot. This might be attributed to differences in leadership due to dispositions but other co ntrasting elements should also be taken into account. While the tank has been confirmed hit, thus its crew dead, Walden’s co-pilot was still alive and as a leader bound by moral duties, Walden chose to stay. Steven Covey in his foreword to Greenleaf, Spears and Covey’s (4) book, wrote that â€Å"†¦the essential quality that sets servant-leaders apart from others is that they live by their conscience- the inward moral sense of what is right and what is wrongâ€Å". Though not directly, the conscience that exists in member-oriented leaders is a factor of moral courage which according to Hildreth (96) â€Å"consists in enduring, through the force of the moral sentiment, those numerous pains which spring from the malevolence of others to whom our conduct gives offence; particularly those pains which we are subject through the sentiment of self-comparison, pains of obloquy, mortification, and disgrace†.Aside from conscience, moral courage is similar to other f acets of ethical leadership such as â€Å"judicious use of incentives, astute ordering of priorities and allocating resources where they count the most† (Greenleaf, Spears and Covey’s 73). Both these values can be observed in the key characters. Courage Under Fire not only showed the bravery of its characters in the field of battle but in the midst of people and their peers as well.It is in this film several embodiments of leadership virtues can be seen and perhaps learned by those who choose to watch this. Courage Under Fire. Dir. Edward Zwick. Perf. Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon. 1996. DVD. 20th Century Fox, 2000. Greenleaf, Robert K. , Spears, Larry C. , & Stephen R. Covey. Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. 25th ed. New Jersey: Paulist Press.2002. Hildreth, Richard. Theory of Morals: An Inquiry Concerning the Law of Moral Distinctions and the Variations and Contradictions of Ethical Codes . Boston: Published by C. C. Little & J. Brown. 1844. Unger, Rhoda. Handbook of the Psychology of Women and Gender. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. 2004. â€Å"Values and Principles. † fireleadership. gov. 3 June 2009. < http://www. fireleadership. gov/ values_principles. html>