Thursday, October 31, 2019

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 2 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 2 SLP - Essay Example Product X5 X5 product would be delivered to those customers who concern more about its price rather than its performance. In this regard, the product i.e. X 5 could be sold at a price of$290 keeping its performance to be almost constant but with a little decline from 2012-2015. This can be better understood with the help of the following table. Source: (Elson, n.d.) It can be observed from the above table that X5 performed well in its growth stage. But gradually, the performance of X5 has been observed to be decline at a minimum rate from its growth to maturity stage. It can be stated that the strategy employed by Joe Schmoe relating to the product X5 is better than Clipboard as Joe succeeded in maintaining steady performance. The financial data of X5 product of Clipboard has been provided hereunder (Komninos, 2002). X5 2012 2013 2014 2015 Sales 1521170 1939864 1742696 1059089 Revenue 441139433 562560659 505381705 307135801 Variable cost 346,152,154 375,821,546 598,751,425 358,694,21 6 Total cost 457,896,321 331,245,789 304,578,126 256,871,361 Profit 130043864 189381008 161777375 66072456 Product X6 X6 product will be targeted especially to the high class customers who are much more conscious about the quality and performance of the product rather than the price. The company could offer the product at a price of $460 as compared to X5 tablets which was $ 290 dollar. The performance of the product can be better understood with the help of the following table. Source: (Elson, n.d.) From the above table, it can be viewed that the performance of X6 is quite impressive in its introductory stage i.e. in 2012 but fall slightly in the next year. However, the performance has been viewed to be more impressive in the maturity stages. It can be affirmed that the strategy of Clipboard relating to the product X6 is better than Joe as it made constant growth at the maturity stages with a little decline in the year 2013. The financial information of X6 belonging to Clipboard ha s been depicted hereunder. X6 2012 2013 2014 2015 Sales 1,059,527 1,618,949 2,007,420 1,578,907 Revenue 487,382,302 744,716,491 923,413,185 726,296,995 Variable cost 354,474,689 487,105,945 350,116,782 307,489,042 Total cost 400,134,689 332,765,945 695,776,782 353,149,042 Profit 150,352,448 252,405,545 324,272,694 244,997,705 Product X7 X7 tablets will be targeted to those customers who concern both the price as well as the performance of the product. The price of X7 can be offered at $180 keeping in mind the perception of the customers regarding the product. The performance of the product can be better understood with the following table. Source: (Elson, n.d.) From the above table, it can be stated that the performance of X7 is not quite satisfactory at the growth stage but increased as well as remained constant at the maturity stages. It can be stated that Clipboard successfully managed to maintain a steady growth of X7 product as compared to Joe as the products of Joe showed no s igns of growth and remained steady. The financial information about X7 product of Clipboard has been provided hereunder. Development Decision Clipboard would decide the potential of the products on the basis of their performance in the market. All the three products performed differently in the market irrespective of price as well as performance. In this similar concern, it can be stated that the company would have to focus more upon the areas of research and development as well as different

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Imperial Rome Essay Example for Free

Imperial Rome Essay More than a thousand years ago, most of the civilized world was ruled by Rome, and the Roman Empires reach extended over hundreds of countries and cultures. It was one of the greatest empires that ever existed in the world. Its influence reached as far as Britain, Persia, and even Africa. During the life of the Empire, great achievements were conjured and its mark was immortalized in the annals of history. The Roman Empire built the foundation by which western civilization (as we know it today) was created. It produced many great and influential people, and as a super power, it was the keeper of order and stability in the tumultuous, early days of Rome. Laws and government systems that were conceptualized and enacted during this time stands as the basis for modern forms of governance, particularly that of democracy. Numerous modern languages can trace their roots from its lingua franca. While now a dead and dormant language, Latin is the language on which many etymologies are based. The empire has also given us Christianity, a religion that has significantly shaped world history and interconnected a myriad of cultures. This paper delves into the historical pieces, people, and events that make up Rome as a great empire, their influence, and how they affected the fate of the Empire and its people. The Twelve Tables as the basis for Roman Law The Twelve Tables, also known as Lex Duodecim Tabularum, were drafted in the mid-fifth century BC as the set of governing laws for the Roman Republic in its early days. Those times where ridden with great political and social struggles, so the drafting of laws that addressed their issues was a necessity. The legislation stood as the very foundation of Roman law. The Romans legal attitude and the mos maiorum, which are unwritten societal norms, conduct, or cultural tradition, are based on this system. By modern standards, some of its provisions can be considered barbaric, but it was by its principles that all Western legislation was later founded on. Though Romans realized that philosophy was not one of their strongest attributes, they took pride in their system of governance and legislation. The Tables established the basic principle of the legal code. This law, then, was solely based on interpretation, and the Tables, providing a concise resolution, transformed the legal system. A complete account of the Tables did not survive to modern times. What we have now are quotations and excepts from the original. Many were culled from the works of writers such as Cicero and Aulus Gellius. The Roman Conquest in the Punic Wars The Carthaginians, hailing from Phoenicia, were called â€Å"Poeni†, thus the term â€Å"Punic. † The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between Rome and Carthage during the second and third century BC. There were three wars, the first one starting out because of a disintegration of the parties formerly good alliance. Before any rift could form, Rome and Carthage originally signed a treaty against a common enemy, Epirus. Territorial tensions and broken agreements eventually led to the first Punic War. Even though both sides did not originally have conflicting interests, the war lasted more than 20 years. In their final battle, the Romans scored a decisive victory. This set the direction of conquest that the Roman Empire took over the course of its history. Republic vs. Empire At first, a republic system suited Rome as a small city; the constitution and government was suited for its values and social structure. This Republic shaped the laws and systems by which Rome emerged as the worlds capital. However, as their might and influence began to grow, the people preferred the rule of an Emperor instead to that of the Republic, and one of the main conflicts in the Republic was brought about by class differences. Wealth was not equally distributed, and this caused a great social unrest to the lower classes. Cicero: One of Romes Most Influential Figures Cicero, also known as Marcus Tullius Cicero, is considered as the greatest Latin orator. His prose is considered prolific and is widely read, most of which deal with politics. In the ancient world, he is considered an influential philosopher. He lived in the time when the Roman Empire was starting to crumble, and being an actor, he took part in many performances depicting the political events of that period. Constantine and the Rise of Christianity in the Byzantine Era Constantine, also known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Augustus (to his troops), is one of the greatest rulers of the increasingly growing Roman Empire. He is famous for founding Constantinople (also Byzantium) as Romes new capital. One of his most influential acts is the Edict of Milan, a decree that legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. This earned him the title as the â€Å"First Christian Emperor,† and is considered as one of the most significant factors that facilitated the spread of Christianity in the whole world. The the Greek-speaking, Constantinople-based Roman Empire is commonly referred to as the Byzantine Empire (also the Eastern Roman Empire). The Byzantine Era was characterized by the rise of Christianity as the common faith (as opposed to paganism). Aside from the growing religious transformation, the direction towards Hellenization, or a transformation towards a culturally and philosophically Greek-oriented society, was also underway. Spartacus and Slave Revolt There were several major slave revolts during the Roman times, the most notable of which was that of Spartacus in 73-71 BC. This was considered as the greatest of all slave revolts in the Empires history, but modern historians have not reached a consensus as to Spartacus reasons for leading it. Spartacus was trained as a gladiator, and some theorize that he despised battling in an arena for Roman entertainment, thus his rebellion. He led revolts all over Italy, the center of the uprising being in Campania, in southern Italy . Thousands of slaves escaped from their masters to join him in his plight, and it took a kings army to put a stop to this. The Barbarians and the Fall of the Empire Historians have attributed the fall of the Roman Empire to the Barbarians, which were either of Germanic or British origins. During the third century, the empire experienced a great economic and political crises. Germanic tribes sacked the Western Empire, which they were not prepared to withstand. The constant barbarian assaults, civil unrest, and rising costs of living contributed to the Empires inevitable demise. Bibliography Baker, G. P. (1930). Constantine the Great and the Christian Revolution 1930. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing. Cornell, T. (1995). The Beginnings of Rome: Italy from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (Circa 1,000 to 264 B. C. ). London: Routledge.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The degradation of women

The degradation of women In society, females are degraded and denied the dignity and respect that men receive. For generations (and especially in under-developed countries) women have been denied access to equal opportunities, in cases of reading, writing, voting, family decision-making and career development. This inequality has been facilitated by cultural, religious and political barriers, and historically, women have been considered as the weaker sex, incapable of making rational and abstract decisions. Barriers to opportunities and sexist assumptions have caused women to become slaves within the male-dominated society. The equality of women vary across countries and cultures, as an example: in Arab countries, with high levels of Islam, women are denied access to leadership, management, and political positions, and, in turn, misrepresenting and denying them from decision-making processes. In China, the top political positions are choked with males. These traditions endanger females to male manipulation and control, limiting their opportunities. This affects women on an individual basis, and on the macro, societal environment, as they are unable to contribute to their families or wider circumstances. It is contended that the status of women must change, to be granted equal opportunities. This assessment will analyze The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Attwood, discussing the socio-political sphere of female inequality, and its relation to contemporary society. Overview of Topic In The Handmaids Tale, Attwood presents a dystopian world in which women are subjected to a variety of horrific treatments. Women are denied access to reading and writing and allowed only certain hobbies, such as gardening.   They are attached to men, and considered objects for child production, and expected to be loyal and submissive to their male counterparts, or masters, being rebellious is considered a serious crime with serious repercussions. Women have designated roles, dependent on their age, social status and ability to have children, placed into roles such as Wives, Handmaids, Jezebels and Marthas. The book takes place in the Republic of Gilead, which promotes male chauvinism and female degradation. The society in religious based, where values placed on the women are on the basis of their ability to reproduce. In this novel, the ideas of feminism have been warped. The new, religious political order dislikes the freedom of females, especially in areas of sex and contraception. The order believes that sex for pleasure, rather than reproduction, has led to infertility, and believes women are no longer treated with respect.   In contemporary society, feminism and female activism have increased, to afford the rights and privileges of women and remove the degradation of men. This has given women access to equal opportunities in a variety of aspects, including employment, healthcare, and education. The removal of the patriarchal society will benefit the community.   Discussion In Attwoods book, the decreased birth rates has presumably come from social and environmental degradation, the after-effect of dangerous gases. In a time of fear, and no children, a military coup and presidential killing led to a new state, that took control on womens bodies. Divorces were considered null, and females were unable to have bank accounts, hold jobs, vote, or read. They were denied their independence, and their social status was changed to be based on their husband’s monetary value, or their own reproductive value. This tale represents the importance of female independence, and the value that objects and activities hold to their independence. Including education, rights, property ownership, contraceptive decision making and child custody. The right to be educated is one of the most important aspects of female equality. Education allows them to contribute to society, and gain independence. According to Wollstonecraft, the degradation of women stems from the assumption that they are weak, irrational, and incapable of abstract thought. Education will empower women to make rational and abstract decisions, changing society to consider women as equal. Education will enable women to play a critical and dignified role in society, eliminating the male-dominated stereotype that women are incapable of making important decisions. Another way that women will avoid being degraded in the society is by being well prepared role models who give a dignified and respectful education to their children and this is attributed to the fact that women are the main educators and up bringers of most children in the society as cop0atredto the male counterparts. Women from the primary educators of young children thus by women having a relevant level of education on the family matters and the roles they play in the society modeling skills will give them the best opportunity to offer dignified and respectful service to the society countering the traditional thinking that women are not good role models. Biased thought which was based on the fact that women were less educated and would give falsified information while educating the youngsters. Based on the past experience women have been neglected when it comes to education opportunities and that has made men to stereotype women as toys and objects to be used by men to satisfy the needs of male ego resulting in the degradation of the value of women in the society for generations. Therefore by women getting the expected level of education on family matters especially on upbringing and making correct choices will dignify their inevitable and necessary contribution to the growth and development of the society as a whole. In the traditional setting women had been taught from infancy that beauty is a womans sceptre and this has made their minds to shape themselves to the body imprisoning women from achieving the best of themselves in the society. They have been made to be rational companions to their husbands who solely focus on the outward accomplishments limiting their complete participation and contribution to the society and this ideology has made women to be degraded based on the stereotypic male performance in the society, thus educating women to certain levels of understating will boost their dignity and respect as they will be able to have enough resources that will yield more contribution of women into societal realms. Women should get the most perfect education that boosts their understanding strengthening both the body and their hearts; this will render them independent both ideally and philosophically hence able to earn respect and dignity from the society as they have the necessary elements of knowledge that promotes the cementing of the society. In the Handmaids tale women are seen to have a deeper sense of attachment beyond what men is able to see. For instance Offred when interacting with Moira and the wife of the commander, talking about her daughter and her mother she constantly shows the implication that women connect more deeply rather than just a casual interaction. This illustration brings in the concept of sensibility in women which I think if well considered will increase the dignity and respect that is accorded to women in the modern society. This is simply because women as a whole unit should be able to come together and inform each other on the best way forward in the society instead of depending so much on their feelings in making irrational decisions that leads them to being degraded. In the novel Handmaids tale the wife of the commander reports the handmaid to the eyes or the police to be punished possibly by death because she became jealous after finding out the dress that her husband had given to the handmaid while they visited the secret lounge where jezebels entertained the state officials. Her decision was made based on her feelings instead of thinking and such kind of habit results to women being degraded their dignity especially in the eyes of the society and men. Therefore in order for women to gain dignity and respect they must corporate as one unit in tackling the issues that affect them for example in the handmaids tale the wife of the commander secretly cooperates with the handmaid in making her sleep with the commanders chauffeur so that both women dont get expelled to the colonies and sure enough it worked quiet swell. Hence in the modern society when women act and consult each other with respect and sense instead of letting their feeling to control them will be able to be dignified and respected more in the society (Wollstonecraft, 89). In addition to that for women to be dignified they should consider themselves as equal entities when it comes to representation especially in the political circles where they will be able to contribute to decisions made by the politicians regarding the society at large. Thus by women ensuring they attain certain representation in the leadership realms they will be able to be involved in the decision-making process e.g. on gender rights. Such involvement will ensure that women get their deserved dignity in the society rather than being degraded simply because they dont have a say in everything that greatly affect them. This is seen in the handmaids tale in the Gilead era where women have no rights to voting and leadership except serving as reproductive objects. In the modern world women especially in the totalitarian regimes like in Arab countries degrades women through their leadership and political tactics as they restrict women in participating in political and leadership making them less of human beings and more of objects. Therefore by women increasing their involvement in leadership and political participation they will be able to be dignified and respected as equal human beings. Another level in which I think when women attain they will not be degraded is the issues that regard career and professionalism. Most women in the past generations have been believed to do best as housewives and servants of their families. In the handmaids tale women are categorized based on the services the do in the society e.g. the hand maids, house wives, jezebels and aunts. Such categorizing of women and stereotyping imply that they can only perform as subordinates; for example in the novel women are seen as people to be led by men. The element of women being left behind in career choice and performance for instance by taking the traditionally so called manly courses like sciences has made them victims of degradation (Wollstonecraft, 89). Therefore by women taking charge of their profession by choosing classy careers like medicine and law they will be able to earn themselves dignity and respect just as men do because their misrepresentation in the manly careers has made them to be viewed as a weaker sex incapable of being accorded dignity and respect. In the handmaids tale women are seen to be used as objects for the fulfillment of mens needs like sexual and reproductive benefits. The handmaids are basically used to give birth to children for the commanders and the elites in the Gilead society. In the modern society women have been degraded because they are not economically and financially independent thus often get married to depend on men for provision of basic needs and this habit has made them to be degraded as dependable. Thus by women using education and their careers to attain financial freedom will reduce their dependency on men in the society which will in turn earn them dignity and respect as they dont depend men to sustain their lives hence they can make personal decisions regarding the best choices for their lives. In Gilead era women were the subjects of men and had no right to any profession for instance the televangelist whose career in the pre-Gilead era made her a dignified woman the society was striped off making her to be handmaid who was regularly controlled by the males as she was made dependent. Without a respectable career and independence women become less dignified and render them as a weaker sex in the society (Atwood, 123). For women to be dignified and respected in the society they should be able to be involved in the making of family decisions. This include issues of child birth, property ownership, rights to divorce, child care, access to contraceptives and family panning methods, abortion issues and the issues of polygamy. In handmaids tale women were owned by men making them their property e.g. Offred was owned by Fred and she was responsible for keeping birth to children for Fred and they didnt contribute to such decision, also the monthly sex ritual was purely mans decision and Offred distasted it as it violated her natural rights and degraded both her and the wife of Fred. In the modern society women especially those unaware of their natural regarding family decisions have been forced to polygamy, having many children and even denied justice regarding decision making on family rights and equality. Such has made them to be degraded in the society and therefore by women attaining certain level of understanding of their rights on family decisions they will be able to be accorded more dignity and respect by the society especially the men because they can use the legal means to get justice anytime their dignity has been suppressed unfairly. The more women get involved in the making of family decision the more dignity they will be able to acquire.Overview of Topic Contrary to the modern world, In Handmaid tale by Margaret Attwood its clear that in her dystopian world women are subjected to horrific treatments at all level of the society in that women are not allowed to read any of writing like magazines and tabloids, think, play mind games like scrabble, create things of their own abilities like gardening. Instead they are denied opportunities that would otherwise liberate them from the mens enslavery hence becoming vulnerable to be used as property and objects my men. In addition to that women are not supposed to be talking or even act in a rebellious way towards men instead they are expected by the society to be loyal and submissive to the men domino in the state. In the novel women have the chief role of concentrating in ensuring that they achieve their designated roles based on their levels of castes eh as wives, hand maids, Jezebels and Marthas. All the happenings experienced in the republic of Gilead are attributed to a pervasive, physic al as well as social degradation in the pre-Gilead era that made men to change the societal and political policies to degrade women dignity and promote male chauvinism in the state. All the treatment accorded to women in the Gilead era are supposedly intended to show the value of women and increase their dignity in the society after it was heavily degraded in the pre-Gilead era. In the Gilead era women have their values charged based on their abilities to use sex for reproduction purpose rather than for leisure. In the modern world there has been an increased attention towards feminism and other female activism that had seen women accorded much rights and privileges which made them to be degraded in the society my men. This is mainly attributed to the increased levels of radical feminism that has depicted men as the cause of most of womens problems and suffering yet in reality women have increasing degraded as a result of the after math of the intensifying feminism in the pre-Gilead society. Out of the attention given to women affairs they have been enable to easily access contraceptives, abortion services and use of sex for pleasure leading to reduced population in the state. According to the Gilead generation such feminism had led to women being used by women as sex objects and property and therefore the new state was targeting at offering women with their lost dignity and respect. In the modern society women activism and feminism has increased and spread its effects to the more conservative and traditional societies empowering women to know their natural rights making them to carry out a revolution against the past injustices against them in the society. This has seen women access equal opportunities in alls aspects of life and more informed generation of women who sufficiently contribute to the growth and development of the society initially dominated by degrading men. Discussion In handmaids tale the result of decreased birth rates was presumably because of social and environmental degradation during the pre-Gilead era which led to coup that formed new state that took control of women bodies and used them chiefly for reproduction purposes. In attaining their goals the state denied women privileges of voting, reading, holding property and anything else that would make them independent and empowered thus promoting the mens ability to undermine their dignity. Therefore in the modern society its clear that women have to attain some level of various things in order to be dignified in the society. Some of these thing that women need to attain I order not to be degraded include being, educated, aware of their rights, regarding both state and family issues like birth, abortion, property ownership, child custody and decision making processes in issues that affects them. For a woman to be respected and dignified in the modern society one of the things that women should attain is their rights to be educated rationally thus giving them an opportunity of making a full contribution to societies they come from. According to Wollstonecraft women have been degraded by their societies simply because they have been assumed that they are weak beings who are not able to make rational or even abstract thought about the society. Therefore for them to be seen as equal beings who can contribute to the development of the society just as the way men do, they should attain certain level of education that will serve to empower them to make rational and abstract decisions that will steer their societies ahead thus making them to be respected and dignified as human beings. Therefore by women getting the appropriate education and training they will be able to play a critical and dignified role in the society which helps in eliminating the male stereotypic thinking that wo men are incapable of making societal decisions. When women get educated they are capable of thinking and acting as men contrary to the traditional assumption and hence success in the society resulting from educated women will help to reverse the biased thinking thus giving them a deserved dignity and respect from all quarters of the society. Another way that women will avoid being degraded in the society is by being well prepared role models who give a dignified and respectful education to their children and this is attributed to the fact that women are the main educators and up bringers of most children in the society as cop0atredto the male counterparts. Women from the primary educators of young children thus by women having a relevant level of education on the family matters and the roles they play in the society modeling skills will give them the best opportunity to offer dignified and respectful service to the society countering the traditional thinking that women are not good role models. Biased thought which was based on the fact that women were less educated and would give falsified information while educating the youngsters. Based on the past experience women have been neglected when it comes to education opportunities and that has made men to stereotype women as toys and objects to be used by men to satisfy the needs of male ego resulting in the degradation of the value of women in the society for generations. Therefore by women getting the expected level of education on family matters especially on upbringing and making correct choices will dignify their inevitable and necessary contribution to the growth and development of the society as a whole. In the traditional setting women had been taught from infancy that beauty is a womans sceptre and this has made their minds to shape themselves to the body imprisoning women from achieving the best of themselves in the society. They have been made to be rational companions to their husbands who solely focus on the outward accomplishments limiting their complete participation and contribution to the society and this ideology has made women to be degraded based on the stereotypic male performance in the society, thus educating women to certain levels of understating will boost their dignity and respect as they will be able to have enough resources that will yield more contribution of women into societal realms. Women should get the most perfect education that boosts their understanding strengthening both the body and their hearts; this will render them independent both ideally and philosophically hence able to earn respect and dignity from the society as they have the necessary element s of knowledge that promotes the cementing of the society. In the Handmaids tale women are seen to have a deeper sense of attachment beyond what men is able to see. For instance Offred when interacting with Moira and the wife of the commander, talking about her daughter and her mother she constantly shows the implication that women connect more deeply rather than just a casual interaction. This illustration brings in the concept of sensibility in women which I think if well considered will increase the dignity and respect that is accorded to women in the modern society. This is simply because women as a whole unit should be able to come together and inform each other on the best way forward in the society instead of depending so much on their feelings in making irrational decisions that leads them to being degraded. In the novel Handmaids tale the wife of the commander reports the handmaid to the eyes or the police to be punished possibly by death because she became jealous after finding out the dress that her husband had given to the handmaid while they visited the secret lounge where jezebels entertained the state officials. Her decision was made based on her feelings instead of thinking and such kind of habit results to women being degraded their dignity especially in the eyes of the society and men. Therefore in order for women to gain dignity and respect they must corporate as one unit in tackling the issues that affect them for example in the handmaids tale the wife of the commander secretly cooperates with the handmaid in making her sleep with the commanders chauffeur so that both women dont get expelled to the colonies and sure enough it worked quiet swell. Hence in the modern society when women act and consult each other with respect and sense instead of letting their feeling to control them will be able to be dignified and respected more in the society (Wollstonecraft, 89). In addition to that for women to be dignified they should consider themselves as equal entities when it comes to representation especially in the political circles where they will be able to contribute to decisions made by the politicians regarding the society at large. Thus by women ensuring they attain certain representation in the leadership realms they will be able to be involved in the decision-making process e.g. on gender rights. Such involvement will ensure that women get their deserved dignity in the society rather than being degraded simply because they dont have a say in everything that greatly affect them. This is seen in the handmaids tale in the Gilead era where women have no rights to voting and leadership except serving as reproductive objects. In the modern world women especially in the totalitarian regimes like in Arab countries degrades women through their leadership and political tactics as they restrict women in participating in political and leadership making th em less of human beings and more of objects. Therefore by women increasing their involvement in leadership and political participation they will be able to be dignified and respected as equal human beings. Another level in which I think when women attain they will not be degraded is the issues that regard career and professionalism. Most women in the past generations have been believed to do best as housewives and servants of their families. In the handmaids tale women are categorized based on the services the do in the society e.g. the hand maids, house wives, jezebels and aunts. Such categorizing of women and stereotyping imply that they can only perform as subordinates; for example in the novel women are seen as people to be led by men. The element of women being left behind in career choice and performance for instance by taking the traditionally so called manly courses like sciences has made them victims of degradation (Wollstonecraft, 89). Therefore by women taking charge of their profession by choosing classy careers like medicine and law they will be able to earn themselves dignity and respect just as men do because their misrepresentation in the manly careers has made them to be viewed as a weaker sex incapable of being accorded dignity and respect. In the handmaids tale women are seen to be used as objects for the fulfillment of mens needs like sexual and reproductive benefits. The handmaids are basically used to give birth to children for the commanders and the elites in the Gilead society. In the modern society women have been degraded because they are not economically and financially independent thus often get married to depend on men for provision of basic needs and this habit has made them to be degraded as dependable. Thus by women using education and their careers to attain financial freedom will reduce their dependency on men in the society which will in turn earn them dignity and respect as they dont depen d men to sustain their lives hence they can make personal decisions regarding the best choices for their lives. In Gilead era women were the subjects of men and had no right to any profession for instance the televangelist whose career in the pre-Gilead era made her a dignified woman the society was striped off making her to be handmaid who was regularly controlled by the males as she was made dependent. Without a respectable career and independence women become less dignified and render them as a weaker sex in the society (Atwood, 123). For women to be dignified and respected in the society they should be able to be involved in the making of family decisions. This include issues of child birth, property ownership, rights to divorce, child care, access to contraceptives and family panning methods, abortion issues and the issues of polygamy. In handmaids tale women were owned by men making them their property e.g. Offred was owned by Fred and she was responsible for keeping birth to children for Fred and they didnt contribute to such decision, also the monthly sex ritual was purely mans decision and Offred distasted it as it violated her natural rights and degraded both her and the wife of Fred. In the modern society women especially those unaware of their natural regarding family decisions have been forced to polygamy, having many children and even denied justice regarding decision making on family rights and equality. Such has made them to be degraded in the society and therefore by women attaining certain level of understanding of their rights on family decisions they will be able to be accorded more dignity and respect by the society especially the men because they can use the legal means to get justice anytime their dignity has been suppressed unfairly. The more women get involved in the making of family decision the more dignity they will be able to acquire.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Comparing Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccinis Daughter, Birthmark and

Comparing Perfection in Artist of the Beautiful, Rappaccini's Daughter, Birthmark and Prophetic Pictures In four of Hawthorne's stories there is a struggle for power and control as a vehicle to obtain perfection or beauty. In "The Artist of the Beautiful", "Rappaccini's Daughter", "The Birthmark" and "The Prophetic Pictures" the characters are controlled by their desire for perfection in their creations, but they do not achieve their goals without sacrifice. In "The Artist of the Beautiful" Owen is spends years perfecting his creation. His quest for "the Beautiful" controls him. His sensitivity to delicate perfection affects him even physically as he is made ill by the large mechanical steam engine. "Being once carried to see a steam-engine...he turned pale and grew sick, as if something monstrous and unnatural had been presented to him". He is as delicate as the butterfly he creates. "For Heaven's sake...as you would not drive me mad, do not touch it! The slightest pressure of your finger would ruin me forever". In his obsessive pursuit of perfection he cuts himself off from the human experience. He builds what he believes he was "created for" without a thought to what he is sacrificing to achieve his goal. The butterfly is mysterious and beautiful, but for all of his effort it is destroyed.   Years are sacrificed in the quest for perfection. To Owen the sacrifice may have been well worth it, but considering Hawthorne's warnings about the folly of separating oneself from humanity in other stories, he may again be saying that Owen's quest for mechanical perfection is an empty victory in light of the life and joy he could have had with Annie. In "Rappaccini's Daughter" the scientist sacrifices his own daughter to bot... ...retched lady!...did I not warn you?", "You did...but- I love him!" Apparently, the artist painted the truth and the fate of Elinor's relationship with Walter, but persuaded by love, she chose to ignore his warnings. The power of the artist is clear. He tried to make Elinor see her future with Walter clearly. But it was the power of denial (and the power of love?) that Elinor chose to follow. I think Hawthorne may be implying in these stories that perfection is unattainable and the quest for it may be unrewarding, even fatal. In these and some of Hawthorne's other stories, I believe he is reminding people of the delicate blessings of life. Our pursuit of happiness outside of a connection with other people and our reckless endeavor to supersede the power of the supernatural may result in temporary satisfaction, but is ultimately unfulfilling and even dangerous.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Doctor Zhivago

http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/562734/Stalinism http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Doctor_Zhivago Stalinism in Russia The novel Doctor Zhivago, although it contains passages written in the 1910s and 1920s, was not completed until 1956. The novel was submitted to the literary journal Novy Mir. However, the editors declined Pasternak's novel because of its embedded rejection of socialist realism. The author, much like Zhivago in the story, showed more concern for the interests of individuals than for the welfare of the social order.Soviet censors interpreted some passages as anti-communist and more idealistic. They were also infuriated by Pasternak's understated disparagement of Stalinism and his references to the Gulag. In 1957, an Italian publisher, Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, organized for the novel to be smuggled out of the Soviet Union by Isaiah Berlin. Much to the Soviet Union’s dismay, Feltrinelli simultaneously published copies in both Russian and in Italian. Deman d for Doctor Zhivago was so great Feltrinelli was able to authorize translation rights into eighteen different languages long before the novel's publication.The Communist Party of Italy debarred Feltrinelli from their association in retribution for his role in the publication of a novel they felt was vital for communism. On the other hand, the novel topped international bestseller lists, the British MI6 and the American CIA commenced an operation to ensure Doctor Zhivago was correctly submitted to the Nobel Committee. It was known that a Nobel Prize for Boris Pasternak would seriously damage the international integrity of the Soviet Union.In result to this, British and American operatives seized and photographed a manuscript of the novel and privately printed a small number of books in the Russian language. These were submitted to the Nobel Committee's surprised judges just ahead of the deadline. The fictional story, Doctor Zhivago, is about a physician and poet named Doctor Yuri Zh ivago, who lives during the first half of the 20th century in Russia. In this story, Yuri Zhivago’s brother, Yevgraf, a Russian general, relays the story of his brother Yuri to a teen girl, Tonya Komarovskaya.Yevgraf believes Tonya is Yuri’s daughter, who was inadvertently abandoned when she was a small child. He first asks Tonya if she can recall anything about her mother. When she said she could not remember he tries to convince her by starting at the beginning of Yuri’s story. To understand Yuri’s life tale and how it relates to Stalinism, one must know the major themes of the novel; loneliness, companionship, individuality, community, corruption and revolution. Yuri’s story begins when he was a small child, his mother died and he had been taken in by the Gromekos, who were family friends.With the loss of his mother, Yuri, must have felt alone until he began to develop a relationship with the Gromeko’s daughter, Tonya. As Yuri and Tonya g rew up, it was anticipated they would marry. When they finally married, Yuri needed to leave to help the wounded soldiers in the Russian Civil War. There he met Laura, a woman who had volunteered for the war so she could find her husband, Pasha. She became a nurse, assisting Yuri with the injured. They began to build a relationship during their time together, though it started friendly, it soon became romantic.About the time they were going to be leaving for home they made a promise to each other, promising that they will not lie about their â€Å"friendship. † The film shows a vase of sunflowers as Laura and the soldiers leave Zhivago behind. These flowers are a symbol of the relationship Yuri had with Laura; the flowers were in full bloom when Laura was there but when she departed they began to wilt, like Yuri’s heart. When Yuri’s arrived at the Gromeko’s house, also his home, there were other people living in the large house.These people were told to l ive there by the Soviet government because the house was too big for just the Gromeko family. During his time back in his â€Å"own† home he is asked, by a Soviet official, to go in secret to the home of a dying man. Zhivago goes and takes a look at the man and determines the cause of his illness. He says the cause of the man’s illness is something they don’t have in Russia, starvation. When he says this to the official he says it in such a way that shows the communist are either blind for they don’t care. Zhivago is an idealist and therefore does not like the Communists and in return his behavior is noticed.One night when Yuri comes home he sees that Tonya had put out the fire in their home because they did not have enough fuel. To solve their fuel problems he goes outside and takes wood from a nearby fence. Watching from a distance is Yevgraf, who decides not to arrest his brother even though he had arrested better men for lesser crimes. Instead he foll ows his brother back to his home. He comes into the house and this is how Yuri meets his brother. Before Yevgraf leaves he tells Yuri, the government does not like his poetry because it shows individuality. Yevgraff warns them, telling them they should leave Moscow.Yuri and his family get on a train to leave Moscow and go to Varykino. The people on the train are all poor and quite but one of the men was very vocal in his disapproval of revolution. Before the train left a Communist soldier was telling the people on the train how they were on the train and that the work they would be asked to do was all voluntary. The vocal man shouted at him saying it was a lie. Later in the train ride, they come to a stop as Strelnikov’s train comes past theirs. Strelikov, or Pasha, was an idealist before the Civil War, but he soon became one of the communists.Yuri get off of his train while they are stopped and he runs through the wood and comes across the Strelnikov train. The Red Army sold iers take him to Pasha, where the two men finally meet. Yuri informs Pasha that Laura is still alive and how it was that he and Laura had met. He also said she was in Yuriatin. What neither of the two men knew was that Laura was being watched. The people that were watching, the White Army, Laura were hoping Strelnikov would come go home to his wife, they wanted to kill him. Pasha was killed when he was found just outside of Yuriatin.Victor Kamarovsky found Laura and Yuri in Yuri’s old home, he told them he had a train that would take them out of Russia where they would be safe. At first neither Yuri would not go because he did not want to leave Russia and Laura would not leave without Yuri. When Victor told Yuri what happened to Pasha Yuri decided he would go for Laura’s sake. Laura and her daughter took the same slay as Victor but there was no room for Yuri. He told Laura he would follow on there slay and he would meet up at the train. Before they leave Yuri gave Laur a the Balalaika. This was a sign that Yuri had no intentions of leaving Russia.On the train Laura admits to Victor she is caring Yuri’s baby. This child is later inadvertently abandoned by Victor. The Russian government was corrupted; on one hand they had the Bolsheviks who were communist and tried to â€Å"sugar coat† the political and economical faults, such as, starvation, poverty and homelessness. While on the other hand, there was the White Army, who were a democratic party wanting to reveal the corruption for what it was. This split in the government led to the Russian Civil War. In the end the Bolsheviks won the war and took hold of the government.When power was given to the Bolsheviks they ruled with a method created by Joseph Stalin. Stalinism is the technique used by Joseph Stalin, who was part of the Soviet Communist Party and was the state leader from 1929 until he died in 1953. Stalinism is accompanied with an establishment of terror and totalitarian rule. In a party dominated by intellectuals and rhetoricians, Stalin stood for an ideal approach to revolution, barren of ideological sentiment. Once power was given to the Bolshevik, the party leadership happily left Stalin the tasks involving the boring details of party and state administration.Yuri’s story relays what life was like under Stalin’s communist rule. The solitude the people of Russia felt, the need for individuality and the corruption they saw in the government; these were the things the communists were trying to hide. The communist wanted the people to see companionship with their community and that they needed the revolution. Pasternak’s novel was an idealist’s point of view of the Russian government and was everything the Bolsheviks did not want the public to read. It showed how the Bolsheviks were trying to control the emotions and personalities of the people.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Naturalism in Miss Julie Essay

†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Naturalism developed in France in the 19th Century as an extreme form of realism. It was inspired in part by the scientific determinism of Charles Darwin, an Englishman, and the economic determinism of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, both Germans. Four Frenchmen—Hippolyte Taine, Edmond and Jules Goncourt, and Emile Zola—applied the principles of scientific and economic determinism to literature to create literary naturalism. According to its followers, literary naturalism has the following basic tenets: (1) Heredity and environment are the major forces that shape human beings. In other words, like lower animals, humans respond mainly to inborn instincts that influence behavior in concert with—and sometimes in opposition to—environmental influences, including economic, social, cultural, and familial influences. Miss Julie, for example, responds partly to her inborn female instinct for male companionship and partly to her environmentally induced hatred of men. Consequently, she both desires and despises Jean, causing her deep internal conflict. (2) Human beings have no free will, or very little of it, because heredity and environment are so powerful in determining the course of human action. (3) Human beings, like lower animals, have no soul. Religion and morality are irrelevant. (Strindberg, an atheist when he wrote Miss Julie, later converted to Christianity under the influence of the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. ) (4) A literary work should present life exactly as it is, without preachment, judgment, or embellishment. In this respect, naturalism is akin to realism. However, naturalism goes further than realism in that it presents a more detailed picture of everyday life. Whereas the realist writer omits insignificant details when depicting a particular scene, a naturalist writer generally includes them. He wants the scene to be as â€Å"natural† as possible. The naturalist writer also attempts to be painstakingly objective and detached. Rather than manipulating characters as if they were puppets, the naturalist writer prefers to observe the characters as if they were animals in the wild and then report on their activity. Finally, naturalism attempts to present dialogue as spoken in everyday life. Rather than putting â€Å"unnatural† wording in the mouth of a character, the naturalist writer attempts to reproduce the speech patterns of people in a particular time and place. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Naturalist writers generally achieve only limited success in adhering to Tenet 4. The main problem is that it is next to impossible for a writer to remain objective and detached, like a scientist in a laboratory. After all, a scientist analyzes existing natural objects and phenomena. A naturalist writer, on the other hand, analyzes characters he created; they may be based on real people, but they themselves are not real. Thus, in bringing these characters to the stage or the printed page, the naturalist writer brings a part of himself—a subjective part. Also, in their use of literary devices—such as Strindberg’s use of symbols in Miss Julie to support his theme–naturalist writers again inject their subjective selves into the play. In real life, would Miss Julie own a dog that mates with a pug, symbolizing and foreshadowing her brief sexual encounter with Jean? Would she force her fiance to jump over a horsewhip that symbolizes her effort to dominate him?.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Indian Bones essays

Indian Bones essays My older brother, Steve went to school out in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Just recently my family and myself made a trip out to visit him and his surroundings. Some of my favorite places were the pueblos. We took many tours and learned a plethora about the Native Americans. After all of the changes and reform our country has been through, I often wonder how can our society still not treat the Native Americans as equal? In one of my classes, we read an article by Clara Spotted Elk speaking out on this very same issue. "Indian Bones," is a small outcry of just some of the injustices the Native Americans have put up with because the scientific community and many other communities do not accept their religious views. She reveals an estimated 600,000 Indian remains are scattered across the country. Some of the Indian remains can be found anywhere from museums, laboratories, and even on display at tourist attractions. Spotted Elk goes on to point out power and influence affects different ethnic groups, and equates the treatment of African Americans with Native Americans. She also mentions the aid of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye by trying to reintroduce the "Bones Bill" to recover the remains of their ancestors. The mistreatment of the Native Americans is an outrage in itself, but what I find most disturbing is the amount of time that has lapsed, Spotted Elk's strong evidence is not new. Why have we allowed this mistreatment to go on for so long; aren't we more civilized? This is inhumane of our race to sit back and allow it. I have tried to go out to Arizona and New Mexico to work with these underprivileged people but the timing and situations have not worked out. However, before I came to the University of Scranton I spoke with some people who are going to help me get in touch with people here for the same program. Clara Spotted Elk's article has inspired me to pursue my quest to aid the Native Americans. ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Rising College Tuition essays

Rising College Tuition essays The topic of rising college tuition costs is an issue that hits very close to home. Being a student, it is very hard to deal with attending a school that has high tuition costs. The University of New Hampshire has one of the highest tuitions for state schools in the country. For out of state students UNH is one of only 22 schools out of 575 listed on CollegeBoard.Com that costs more than $20,000 for tuition. This fact is a major problem today when more schools each year are raising their tuition costs for students. A few of the biggest points that CQ makes about rising college costs are wasted money on extravagant facilities, overpaid administrators, and under worked faculty. These issues are very serious, and they can be seen all over the country, even in the little town of Durham, NH. While UNH doesnt really have overpaid administrators in the half million dollar club we do have extravagant facilities as well as under worked faculty. To be fair though, the under worked faculty do seem to be under paid as well. UNH has been undergoing renovations on various class rooms and residence halls for the past 3 years, and in the past 3 years what do we have to show for it? We have an enormous residence hall, Mills Hall, which contains suite style living quarters for students. While students do enjoy the suite style housing, it does take up extra room that could have been better apportioned to a normal hall style, creating a great deal more beds. Then we have the newly renovated Congreve Hall, which was blessed with a central air system, however, this central air system has caused numerous water leaks and mold growths, even causing a student to have to be moved from their room so the walls could be re-sheet rocked. Then we have the new, incredibly large, dining facility, Holloway Commons. There can be no argument about it, that the new dining hall is a wonderful piece of architecture with many great interna...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Assessment Essay Example for Free

Assessment Essay Initial assessment- the starting part, used to decide what is known, what needs to be taught and what can be assessed. Formative assessment- this stage is where the learner is still in training and requires feedback on how they are progressing. Summative- used to judge completion. Whether you have passed or not. Holistic- clustering of assessments based on the grouping of a work role, rather than stand alone. Functions of assessment in training – Identify the skill gap – Design the training – Deliver the training – Plan the assessment – Assess – Feedback – Either move on to the next part of training or go back and re do the previous assessment. This starts from the minute you get a new learner signed on. I do this by, setting out a training plan, giving the training, deciding with the learner when we both feel they are ready to be assessed and then do the assessment. With Sonya, she came from another salon where she had already done her level 2, she was about to be signed on to level 3. Before we got her signed on we done an assessment on a colour and a cut to make sure she was competent at level 2. 1:2 Key concepts and principles of assessment Reliability: By using the criteria and qualification and credit framework any assessor working independently should come to the same decision when assessing a learner. The learner should have been given the appropriate training and be competent to do the assessment. Validity: Is the work valid to the unit? The learner should be watched at all times to make sure the work is authentic. Assessments show us, what the learner is capable of and where further training would be required. It would also show if the learner needed any extra help. 1:3 Responsibilities of the assessor – Make sure the candidates logbook is marked of when an assessment has been passed. – Provide opportunities for assessment and make sure you book time out in your column. – Be fair to all candidates, avoid any discrimination, comparing one against the other. – Assess the learner against the national occupational standards and not your own opinion of what the standards should be. – Consider the needs of the individual candidates; one might have a different learning style to the other. Learning difficulties should also be taken into account and help appropriate given where needed. – Plan and assess assessments with candidates. Make sure learner and assessor think it is the right assessment to be done and that the learner is capable of doing the assessment. – Place the learner under no undue pressure. If the candidate does not feel good about doing the assessment you should encourage them, if as an assessor you think they are capable of passing the assessment. But do not apply pressure as this could make the learner worry or feel stressed out by this. – Check and ensure all the evidence is valid, authentic, current, sufficient and reliable. Make sure the work is valid to the unit and accurate, the learners own work, the work is consistent and of the appropriate nvq level criteria and is not a fluke. The work should also be current, i.e. if the learner has transferred salons and had some assessments already signed off you should make sure they are currently competent. – Give constructive feedback. Using â€Å"complement sandwich† Positive comment Critical comment Positive comment Make sure you include the learner to give self assessment so you know how they think they have done. When giving your feedback always start with â€Å"how do you think you did?† Always give feedback promptly and record all assessment decisions and evidence clearly and fully so that everyone can always look back and see what has been said and done. Also in case there are any disagreements on the outcome you can look back at the records. – Agree future action plans with the learner so that both the learner and assessor know what the next stage will be. – Any discussions with the learner should be carried out in a professional manor. During meetings with the learner you should review the progress of assessment plans and determine where additional learning and training is required. I have recently had an issue with one of my trainee’s, she did not want to be taught anymore, and just wanted to be assessed on her cutting. She felt she had had enough training , although I didn’t. As she felt very strongly about this I allowed her to do a model we were going to use as training as an assessment, I did this so she would understand that she needs more training. Once she had completed the assessment I checked the cut, and explained to her where she had gone wrong, and also explained to her that with a little bit more practice she would be able to be assessed on models similar to what she had done and would be able to be marked off on them. She has agreed to have a little bit more training and agreed we will decide together in future when she will be assessed so as not to waste models. 1:4 Regulations and requirements relevant to assess hairdressing. – Realistic working environment. Must develop realistic management procedures that incorporate a ‘salon image’. – All assessments must be carried out under realistic commercial pressures and on paying clients. Assessments should be completed within the commercial timescale. Candidates must be able to achieve a realistic volume of work. – The space per working area conforms to health and safety legislation. – The range of services, professional tools, products, materials and equipment must be up to date and available for use. A reception area for clients to be greeted must be available. It must also include a payment facility. – A retail facility must be provided. Assessment. (2016, Sep 20).

Friday, October 18, 2019

Organizational Conflicts of Interest In Contracts Management Dissertation

Organizational Conflicts of Interest In Contracts Management - Dissertation Example I am going to focus on the four instances that tend to create organization conflict of interest in contract management process and how the OCI regulation helps contract officers to handle them. I will also include research questions and a problem statement on the topic that will give readers more understanding on what I am talking about. Problem statement The goal of this research paper is to come up with a good solution to solve the problem of organizational conflicts of interest in the process of contract management process. Organizations need to make sure that the process of giving out contracts is free and fair and that the best qualified for the job gets it (Friedberg 1999). Anyone with any other interests should not get the job at any cost. The main reason why organizations are facing this problem and making it so rampant in the contract management process is because organizations lack proper guidelines that can prevent this. Organizations also have contract management officers who lack integrity and the knowledge of how to curb this vice (Lo et al 2000). The people seeking these contracts also play a major role in this process these are the contractors who try to find illegal ways to get the jobs or have other interests in the organization apart from the job itself. If organizations do not find ways to avoid this, then most contracts will never be up to the required standards of the organization and also the government standards. It is important that organizations make sure there are regulations to be followed in any contract management process (Marilyn 2009). The government should also make sure the regulations they have come up with are stricktly followed by the organizations and their contract officers. Research questions 1. Why Organizational Conflicts of Interest exist in Contracts Management? 2. Who are the people involved in this conflict of interest in contract management? 3. What makes these people have these conflicts of interest in the contrac t process? 4. How can the organizations and the government solve this problem? We need to know that organizational conflict of interests can result due to several factors. A potential conflict of interest is created by these aspects on an available contract; this makes the nature of the work to be performed on the contract to create an actual conflict of interest on the contract management process (Friedman 2002). The conflict here comes up because of a future acquisition. What are the two main situations in which organizational conflict of interest may occur in the contract management process? The first situation is when a contractor is probably unable to give unbiased assistance or advice to the organization offering the contract. Here we clearly see that the contractor interests are conflicting with how he is giving the organization assistance on how the contract will be handled or any other imperative information. Subsequently organizational conflict of interests may occur in co ntract management process is when a contractor has an inequitable competitive advantage for a contract that is available. (Nelson 2002) In the organizational conflict of interests embody two underlying concerns that define organizations conflict of inte

Confederacies and Chiefdoms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Confederacies and Chiefdoms - Essay Example   There were three main confederacies that inhabited the Eastern North America, namely the Hurons, the Iroquois and the Powhattans (Johnson & Smith, 2003). The three confederacies took the form of having one single leader who was in charge of different tribes or communities that had been united to form a confederacy. The confederacies were mainly found in the regions of Southern Ontario, near lakes Ontario and Erie, where the Huron confederacy occupied, while the Iroquois Confederacy occupied the central New York region and the Powhattans occupied the Chesapeake regions (Johansen, 2005). On the other hand, the chiefdoms were organizations of a single community under the leadership of their chiefs, who wielded much authority and powers over the people and established informal government structures, with their aides under them, who were responsible for overseeing the implementation of the chief’s authority by the different sections of the community. The chiefdoms occupied the major river ways of the Mississippi River hence their being referred to as the Mississippian chiefdoms (Milner, 2006). The advantages in both forms of political organization is that the coming together of tribes and communities gave the political organizations the strength to fight against their enemies as opposed to when they could fight as single tribes or communities. However, the disadvantage is that the political organizations allowed for the leaders to exploit their subjects since their word was the authority.   Therefore, the subjects had to share the spoils of their hunting, gathering and agricultural exploits with the leaders, through paying such exploits as tribute to the leaders (Milner, 2006). The population estimate of the confederacies and the chiefdoms in the eastern North America region has been the subject of controversy between archeologists. However, there is an agreement between the archeologists, based on the archeological artifacts that have been discovered in this region, that hunting and gathering was the main social and economic activity of the people, while

THERMODYNAMICS Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THERMODYNAMICS - Speech or Presentation Example d) If the driver needs to bring back the gauge pressure to its original value, what mass (units grams) of air must be released from each tyre (at 50 °C) in order to bring each tyre back to its safe operating pressure. Q2) A piston cylinder device is used to expand water. The process occurs isothermally at 200 °C and the starting volume of the water is 1 m3. The water is in a saturated liquid state at its initial state. At the end of the isothermal expansion process, the water has a quality of x = 0.8. Q3) A diffuser is used to decelerate a stream of air from 230m/s to 30m/s. The air stream moves steadily through this diffuser at a rate of 1.7kg/sec, whereby its (absolute) pressure at the inlet is 80kPa and outlet 100kPa, respectively. At the inlet port, the air is at 127 °C. Note1: Ensure you refer to Figure 6-22 (page 199) in the text book for a â€Å"tip† clarifying the equivalence of J/kg and m2/s2 units. You will need this to ensure the units are equivalent between enthalpy and kinetic energy in your solution within this problem)! Note2: You can solve this problem either using constant specific heats or variable specific heats. You should know the difference between the two solution methods, even though you are required to use only of these methods (not both) in your

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Primate Observations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Primate Observations - Research Paper Example Different species of the order primates responded differently to their respective subsequent environments thereby resulting in unique adaptive features thereby becoming completely different animals. Humans are the most civilized of the primates and possess distinct features from the rest of the non-human primates such as monkeys, chimpanzees, and apes among others. However, some of the non-human primates possess characteristics similar to those of humans thereby corroborating the common ancestry theory and the theory of evolution all of which seek to explain the origin of the different animals (Waal and Frans 55). Apes are arguably the largest arboreal animals implying that they are the largest mammals living in trees. The primates are of the biological family known as Hominoidea of the family Homo thereby making them very closely related to humans. They therefore have numerous personality traits similar to those exhibited by humans. The primates are herbivores and natives of Africa and East Asia owing to the existence of large tropical services that provided adequate habitation. Currently, they live in different parts of the world owing to animal transportation by humans and their own migrations as conflict between them and humans heighten. However, some of the apes can eat other animals a feature that quantifies the primates as being both carnivores and herbivores. Monkeys on the other hand are a category of primates of the family cacopithecidae. Just as any other primate, they are natives of Africa and parts of East Asia and are of numerous species. The deferment species possess different features with a majority of the species being arboreal while others leave on the ground. Monkeys have tails that they use frequently in their daily survival activities. They are smaller than any other primate is and live in groups consisting of both males and females. Apes and monkeys as observed during the tour of the zoo exhibit a number of traits similar to those of huma ns while others are strange and therefore set them apart from the rest of human primates. Their different characteristics are results of their different habitats occurrences that validate the evolution theory and its elated adaptations. Apes and monkeys live in groups, they are social animals a feature that distinct the primates from the rest of other mammals. The animals are social and therefore live in societies consisting of males, females, and children. In their societies, the adults protect the young ones and provide them with food. This is typical of humans who are also very social and coexist peacefully with one another despite the constant competition for food among other resources. Additionally, humans show affection and protection to their children. The monkeys and apes showed great protection to their babies often carrying them below their bellies. In case they released their babies, the mothers ensured that the company was safe and only among other monkeys or apes. This way, the other apes teased the baby and played with it before sharing their meals with it. Additionally, the apes and the monkey showed affection to the old amongst them. While they fought for the food thrown at them, they never scrambled for those that fell close to the old. This is synonymous to human who are the most civilized primates and show great affection to both their old and the young. The theory of evolution and the evolution of humans assert that before inventing the upright position, humans just like the rest of the non-human primates carried their babies on their underbellies (Kinzey 34). This position proved convenient for walking on the four feet and for handling both food and tools. The primates at the zoo corroborated this claim. With their babies in

Philosphy of education Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosphy of education - Term Paper Example It helps in developing a world where justice, equality and standards of life are core principles to aid and guide humanity. The acquisition of education, however, requires a great deal of struggles form the individual. An educated person is the one who is civilized, morally enlightened and understands human dignity as a core principle which should not be compromised in any field. An educated society hence, creates certain implied duties on the individuals to work for mutual benefits leading to technological advancements, help each other to maintain peace in the society and maintain relationships to keep the learning track going. Plato’s theory of education explained learning as an ongoing process where learning develops with the growth of a person. He proposes that an individual’s learning continues from 6 to above 50 years of age. Learning, according to Plato, is a must to thrive in the society. In the same way I consider learning as an important and integral part of a person’s life which cannot be separated but rather a person should stay open to accept and follow new ideas, thoughts and issues.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

THERMODYNAMICS Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THERMODYNAMICS - Speech or Presentation Example d) If the driver needs to bring back the gauge pressure to its original value, what mass (units grams) of air must be released from each tyre (at 50 °C) in order to bring each tyre back to its safe operating pressure. Q2) A piston cylinder device is used to expand water. The process occurs isothermally at 200 °C and the starting volume of the water is 1 m3. The water is in a saturated liquid state at its initial state. At the end of the isothermal expansion process, the water has a quality of x = 0.8. Q3) A diffuser is used to decelerate a stream of air from 230m/s to 30m/s. The air stream moves steadily through this diffuser at a rate of 1.7kg/sec, whereby its (absolute) pressure at the inlet is 80kPa and outlet 100kPa, respectively. At the inlet port, the air is at 127 °C. Note1: Ensure you refer to Figure 6-22 (page 199) in the text book for a â€Å"tip† clarifying the equivalence of J/kg and m2/s2 units. You will need this to ensure the units are equivalent between enthalpy and kinetic energy in your solution within this problem)! Note2: You can solve this problem either using constant specific heats or variable specific heats. You should know the difference between the two solution methods, even though you are required to use only of these methods (not both) in your

Philosphy of education Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosphy of education - Term Paper Example It helps in developing a world where justice, equality and standards of life are core principles to aid and guide humanity. The acquisition of education, however, requires a great deal of struggles form the individual. An educated person is the one who is civilized, morally enlightened and understands human dignity as a core principle which should not be compromised in any field. An educated society hence, creates certain implied duties on the individuals to work for mutual benefits leading to technological advancements, help each other to maintain peace in the society and maintain relationships to keep the learning track going. Plato’s theory of education explained learning as an ongoing process where learning develops with the growth of a person. He proposes that an individual’s learning continues from 6 to above 50 years of age. Learning, according to Plato, is a must to thrive in the society. In the same way I consider learning as an important and integral part of a person’s life which cannot be separated but rather a person should stay open to accept and follow new ideas, thoughts and issues.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Third version of Parents Essay Example for Free

Third version of Parents Essay Birth place of parents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both my mother and father were born and brought up in India. My father finished Physical Therapy when he was only nineteen years old, and soon after, he took up a job in Norway. Later on he moved to the USA, got married and settled down in South Florida. Traits of my father.—Intelligence, honesty, integrity, love for the family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     My father is a very intelligent and knowledgeable man He is a very sincere and hard working man and looks for perfection in any job that he undertakes.    .He has conservative family values and never seeks fun and recreation without his family. He is a very honest person and is straightforward. He never goes out to social gatherings without my mother and they are always seen together. My parents have been happily married for nearly twenty five years and make an ideal couple. Traits of my mother—Extrovert by nature, helpfulness, sensitivity, light-heartedness., expertise in public speaking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  My mother is a very fun-loving and out-going person. She does a lot for the community and organizes   six   to seven events a year, in her Indian Community Association. She possesses great interpersonal skills and is also good at public speaking .She can convincingly talk to a crowd without any hesitation and reservation. She is a wonderful home maker.   She loves music and dancing and is also a good orator. Traits that I inherit from my father.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have inherited the family values of my father and would stretch myself for family and friends. Patience is another trait that I am proud to have imbibed from him. Diligence to duty is the foremost characteristic of my father and I too never shy away from hard work. I am very hard working like my father and give my maximum effort to anything that I undertake. I am also abreast with what is going on in spheres that are relevant to my education and future career and my father is responsible for my interest in commercial business news. Traits that I inherit from my mother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  I have inherited the same leadership qualities, organizing capability, oratory and dancing skills of my mother. My mother is the root cause of my aptitude to public speaking and I can lead a team, organize events and coordinate efficiently .I have also imbibed the proper balance between duties and hobbies in my routine. I am nimble on my feet and this dancing skill has been handed down to me by my mother. Like her, I too love to drive cars fast. .Rapport with my parents   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  I have a great rapport with both my father and mother though I am closer to my mother. The topics of discussion vary. I look up to my father for advice in serious matters, and discussions are restricted to cars, college, business, education and the like With my mother I am more comfortable with emotional problems and can discuss anything under the sun. It can be either be a light-hearted sharing of jokes, holidays, a birthday present, or a tough question paper, an unexpected silly mistake in my Math exam, or a silly argument with my friend.   There is not one problem that I cannot confide in her and seek her intuitive emotional support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The absolute intellectual rapport that exists between my father and me and the emotional closeness with my mother provide a very good balance in me. Hobbies and interests   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     My father is a good reader. His interests are in world affairs, economy and the financial markets. There is not a day when he would miss reading a newspaper or listening to news telecast. He knows the nuances of business , industry, , fluctuations in stock indices, emerging economies, global trends, growth prospects of different sectors, political trends, and so on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My mother loves reading, music, and participation in social events. She loves to listen to all kinds of music. She is the president of a local Indian Community Association. She has been successful in organizing events because she knows what kinds of competitions and events would interest her friends in the community. She is a perfect coordinator and her friends look up to her for her innovative ideas in social gatherings.     She is quite popular and her name has been published a in the local section of the news papers. Her other interests include car driving. She loves to drive cars and is excited when the speedometer shoots up.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Reporter System Using LuxABCDE

Reporter System Using LuxABCDE La Rosa, S.L., Diep, D.B., Nes, I.F., et al. (2012) Construction and application of a luxABCDE reporter system for real-time monitoring of Enterococcus faecalis gene expression and growth. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78 (19): 7003-7011 Reporter genes are the genes encoding a protein which can be tracked and quantified by microscopy and various biochemical assays. They provide a non-invasive and sensitive method to monitor levels of gene expression, protein localization and to determine the transcriptional and translational regulators of a gene of interest. In this study, Rosa and co-workers have developed a bioluminescence based reporter system using luxABCDE to monitor the growth and gene expression of Enterococcus faecalis. E. faecalis is a nosocomial pathogen reported to be the cause of diseases such as endocarditis, urinary tract infection, bacteremia etc. (Schlievert et. al., 1998) and particularly infects individuals with compromised immune system or suffering from an underlying illness (Mundy et. al., 2000). Several studies have been undertaken to determine the factors involved in the virulence of the nosocomial strains of E. faecalis (Jett et. al., 1992; Chow et. al., 1993; Shankar et. al, 2001). These stud ies involve creating mutants for a possible virulence trait and then comparing them in animal models. There are several advantages of using reporter gene in lieu of traditional methods which usually involve harvesting the infected organ and sample preparation to estimate the level of infection by E. faecalis (Hanin et. al., 2010; Ike et. al., 1984). This traditional method, apart from being time consuming, also requires sacrifice of a large number of animals used in biological experiments. Using reporter genes, although not able to completely replace animal experimentation, will certainly reduce the number of animals required. Another advantage of using reporter genes is that it will enable real time monitoring of spread of infection by imaging the light emitted from the activation of the lux operon which was not possible with the other studies that have been undertaken. Use of lux operon also provides several advantages over other reporter gene based systems used in studies pertain ing to E. faecalis which employ green fluorescent protein (gfp) or firefly- luciferase enzyme (luc). Both gfp and luc require excitation by an external light source and luc also requires the addition of an extraneous substrate- both of these are not required in case of luxABCDE thus providing another advantage to the use of this reporter system. Rosa and co-workers constructed the bioluminescent reporter system by cloning the luxABCDE operon present in pPL2lux into pREG696 as shown in Figure 1. The native luxCDABE operon from Photohabdus luminescens shows poor expression in gram-positive bacteria (Qazi et. al., 2001). Therefore, the genes were rearranged into luxABCDE and translational signals were inserted in front of luxA, luxC, luxE to increase the expression of the lux operon. pPL2lux was originally designed for Listeria monocytogenes and thus carries a listeriophage integrase gene. This plasmid does not work in E. faecalis because of the absence of the required listeriophage sequence. Therefore, a highly expressed Listeria promoter Phelp (for highly expressed Listeria promoter) was cloned into pPL2lux just upstream of the luxA gene and this construct was named pPL2luxPhelp . Similarly, other promoters P32 and P16S were cloned upstream of luxA gene to form pPL2luxP32 and pPL2luxP16S respectively. P32 is another strong pr omoter and P16S is a synthetic E. faecalis 16sRNA promoter with a ribosome binding site (RBS) and an ATG codon fused at its end. These modified pPL2lux plasmids were digested with Xho1 and Not1 and the excised fragment (luxABCDE and the promoter) was cloned into the corresponding sites in pREG696 to form pSL101P32/16S/help. pREG696 has a spectinomycin resistance gene and a segregational stability cassette (axe- antitoxin and txe- toxin) from the multi-drug resistant plasmid pRUM of E. faecium (Grady and Hayes, 2003). This segregational stability cassette enables stable inheritance of the plasmid by killing of plasmid-free cells. All the DNA fragments inserted were sequenced before transferring them into E. faecalis MMH594 by electroporation. Figure 1 Schematic of the construction of pSL101 and its derivatives. (Figure reproduced from La Rosa et. al., 2012) The stability of pSL101P32, pSL101P16S, pSL101Phelp was tested by a doing a plasmid stability test. The plasmids were transformed into E. faecalis and overnight cultures were diluted 1,000-fold and grown in nonselective GM17 media. After every 24 hours a fresh culture was inoculated and this was continued for 7 days. At every inoculation, the culture was diluted and plated onto selective and nonselective plates and incubated at 37 °C overnight. Bioluminescence of the resulting colonies was measured and the number of colonies on both selective and nonselective plate was counted to score for resistance to spectinomycin. The stability of these  plasmids was compared to pIL252luxABCDEPhelp which was created by cloning the Phelp luxABCDE cassette into pIL252. This plasmid lacks the axe-txe stability system and is therefore lost after overnight culture with antibiotic selection (Figure 2a). On the other hand, there is no loss of pSL101P32 even after 7 days of culturing in non-selective media and only 30% loss in case of pSL101P16S and pSL101Phelp. This result shows that the segregational stability system is required for stable maintenance of the reporter plasmids in E. faecalis grown in nonselective media. The methodology adopted by the authors to do this experiment has two drawbacks- firstly, plating the culture onto nonselective and selective plates simultaneously may give erroneous results when there are more colonies on the selective plate than on the nonselective plate. To avoid this, the colonies on the nonselective plate obtained after incubation for 16 hours should be patched onto selective plates and then scored for antibiotic resistance phenotype. Secondly, nowhere in the manuscript do the authors mention doing the experiments in repeats. Performing an experiment in duplicates or triplicates is advantageous as it makes the data obtained more reliable. Figure 2 (a) Plasmid stability of pSL101 derivatives in E. faecalis MMH594 (b) Correlation between bioluminescence and number of CFU/ml in E. faecalis MMH594. à ¢- , pIL252luxPhelp; â™ ¦, pSL101P32; à ¢-  , pSL101P16S; à ¢- ², pSL101Phelp. (Figure reproduced from La Rosa et. al., 2012) After confirming the stability of the plasmids in E. faecalis MMH594, overnight cultures were diluted and grown in GM17 medium and bioluminescence was measured to assess the correlation between light emission and cellular growth. To determine the relationship between CFU number and bioluminescent signal cultures in mid-exponential phase were diluted and viable cell count and bioluminescence was measured. Figure 2b shows that a linear relationship exists between number of CFU and the bioluminescent signal and thus pSL101 reporter system can be used to measure the real-time growth of bacteria. Also, to determine the relation between absorbance and bioluminescence growth of cultures with pSL101 derivatives was measured using a microplate reader by recording the absorbance at 620 nm for 7 hours after 15 min intervals. Bioluminescence of the culture was measured by quantifying the bioluminescent signal captured by an imaging system. The experiment was done in three independent repeats. It was found that during the exponential phase bioluminescence increased because of high metabolic activity of the cells and thus high availability of substrate- flavin mononucleotide (Bachmann et. al., 2007) required for luciferase enzyme (Figure 3). As the cells enter the stationary phase, a decline in the bioluminescence signal was observed corresponding to the decrease in the concentration of the substrate. Similar effect was observed for pSL101P32, pSL101P16S, pSL101Phelp. In case of the negative control, no bioluminescence was observed which confirms no background. Growth of different strains of E. faecalis was also monitored using the pSL101P16S system to determine its broad applicability. Four strains of E. faecalis differing in their origin (clinical isolate, probiotic strain, laboratory strain and commensal strain) were transformed with pSL101P16S and absorbance and bioluminescence was measured as above. As in the case of E. faecalis MMH594 a good correlation (R2 > 0.94) was observed between absorbance and bioluminescence thus proving that pSL101 system is not limited to a single strain of E. faecalis but can be used for other strains too. Figure 3 Bioluminescence during growth of E. faecalis MMH594 transformed with pSL101 derivatives. Closed symbols represent the bioluminescent signal and open symbols represent optical density at 620 nm. (a) pSL101P32. (b) pSL101P16S. (c) pSL101Phelp. (Figure reproduced from La Rosa et. al., 2012) E. faecalis is normally found in urine and blood samples of people suffering from diseases caused by this microorganism. It is also commonly found in Therefore, pSL101P16S was used to monitor the growth of E. faecalis in these environments. To measure the growth in milk, Nestle NAN Infant Milk Formula was pre-heated to 37 °C and inoculated with PBS (phosphate-buffer saline) washed probiotic strain Symbioflor 1 and commensal strain E. faecalis 32. Both the strains were lux-tagged with pSL101P16S. Bioluminescence was measured as described above and number of CFU was measured at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 22 hours after inoculation by plating the cultures on GM17 media with spectinomycin. The experiment was done in duplicates. There was no background luminescence detected by milk and for both the strains, a linear correlation (R2= 0.95) between bioluminescence and viable cell count was observed (Figure 4). Similarly, growth of lux-tagged E. faecalis MMH594 and T2 was measured in urine by preheati ng the media at 37 °C and inoculation with PBS washed cells. Although a low level of luminescence was observed in urine, there was a significant increase in the luminescence corresponding to the growth of bacterial strains (Figure 5) as in the case of milk. This experiment shows that the pSL101 system can be used in other growth environments as long as the background luminescence due to media is low. Figure 4 (a) Bioluminescence of E. faecalis strains grown in Nestle NAN Infant Milk Formula. The colour scale shows the intensity of bioluminescnce signal. (b) Bioluminescence and CFU/ml of Symbioflor 1(black triangles) and E. faecalis 62 (gray diamonds) tagged with pSL101P16S and grown in milk. Open symbols represent CFU/ml and closed symbols represent bioluminescence (Figure reproduced from La Rosa et. al., 2012) Figure 5 (a) Bioluminescence of E. faecalis strains grown in urine. The colour scale shows the intensity of bioluminescnce signal. (b) Bioluminescence and CFU/ml of E. faecalis MMH594 (black circles) and E. faecalis T2 (gray diamonds) tagged with pSL101P16S and grown in urine. Open symbols represent CFU/ml and closed symbols represent bioluminescence. (Figure reproduced from La  Rosa et. al., 2012) In the next experiment growth of lux-tagged E faecalis was monitored in Galleria  mellonella. G. mellonella larvae can be maintained at 37 °C thus permitting the study of host- pathogen interaction at the human physiological temperature. Also, they have a fairly advanced immune system comprising of phagocytic cells in the blood type fluid called hemolymph. To determine whether the luxABCDE cassette influences the virulence of E. faecalis MMH594, killing of G. mellonella larvae was monitored when infected by wild-type E. faecalis MMH594 and the strain tagged by pSL101P16S. This was done by injecting 10  µl of E. faecalis suspension (in 0.9% saline) into the body cavity of 10 larvae through the hindmost leg. As a control 10  µl of 0.9% saline was injected into another 10 larvae. These infected larvae were grown at 37 °C on 90 mm petri dishes and were examined every 2 hours. It was observed that the infection due to E. faecalis is accompanied by the melanisation of larvae whic h indicates towards the activation of prophenoloxidase (PO) responsible for biosynthesis of melanin and plays a role in the defence reactions against invading organisms (Sugumaran, 2001). From Figure 6a it can be confirmed that the virulence of lux-tagged strain of E. faecalis is similar to the wild type strain. Therefore, the lux-tagged strain was used to visualize the progress of infection in G. mellonella. Figure 6b shows the bioluminescent images of infected larvae captured till 48 hours after infection. The bioluminescent signal was detected immediately after infection and declined after 2 hours. After 4 hours post infection, a peak in the signal was observed and was constant till 24 hours after which all larvae were dead (Figure 6c). To confirm whether the bioluminescent signal corresponds to the growth of E. faecalis the infected larvae were sterilized by 70% ethanol and dissected and transferred into 0.9% saline solution. These samples were vortexed and homogenous mixture of insect and bacteria was serially diluted and plated on GM17 plated with spectinomycin. At each time period, 3 insects were dissected and number of CFU was counted. A drop in the number of CFU was observed 2 hours after infection but this was followed by increase in growth till 48 hours (Figure 6d). This result is in good agreement with the bioluminescent signal measured in the infected larvae and shows that the bioluminescent reporter can be used to monitor the progress of infection by E. faecalis in G. mellonella. Figure 6 (a) Percentage survival of G. mellonella larvae when infected with wild type E. faecalis MMH594 (à ¢- ¡),  ­pSL101P16S tagged E. faecalis (X) and 0.9% saline (ââ€"Å ). (b) Bioluminescent images of G. mellonella larvae infected with  ­pSL101P16S tagged E. faecalis. The colour scale shows the intensity of bioluminescent signal. (c) Bioluminescent signal measured corresponding to the growth of  ­pSL101P16S tagged E. faecalis over 48 hours post infection. (d) Number of CFU  ­of E. faecalis from the homogenous mixture of larvae and bacteria. (Figure reproduced from La Rosa et. al., 2012) The use of luxABCDE as a reporter for monitoring growth of E. faecalis in animal models has several advantages (as stated earlier). On the other hand, there are certain limitations of this system. Bioluminescence of luxABCDE relies on fatty acid synthesis and thus on the metabolic activity of the cells. Lower the metabolic activity lower will be the bioluminescent signal. Due to this, the pSL101 reporter system designed in this study may not be able to measure the growth of bacterial cells with low metabolic rate. This is especially disadvantageous in case of biofilm formation by E. faecalis in which the cells may have low metabolic activity. Also, the report does not describe the effect of pSL101 derivatives (with P32, P16S and Phelp) on the growth of E. faecalis. Although, it is mentioned that the growth of E. faecalis MMH594 strain with pSL101 is similar to the strain with pSL101P32, pSL101P16S, pSL101Phelp (data not shown) it is necessary to investigate whether the pSL101 and its derivatives present any metabolic load on the E. faecalis strain. The study shows that the pSL101 derivatives are stably maintained in E. faecalis but the plasmid stability test was done only for duration of 7 days and it is possible that the plasmids may be rapidly lost after this time period. This will prevent the use of the pSL101 reporter system to monitor growth of E. faecalis in other animal models, such as mouse, where long-time monitoring is required. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the stability of these plasmids in E. faecalis over a long time. Additionally, it may be difficult to observe any bioluminescent signal from deep tissues of animal models if the signal is weak, as in the case of low number of E. faecalis cells. In conclusion, a simple and robust reporter system using luxABCDE has been developed to monitor the growth of E. faecalis in animal models. Despite the limitations, this method is non-invasive and will significantly reduce the burden on experimental animals. It can be used to investigate the various genes involved in the virulence of E. faecalis facilitating better understanding of pathogenicity of E. faecalis. References:- Bachmann, H., Santos, F., Kleerebezem, M., et al. (2007) Luciferase detection during stationary phase in Lactococcus lactis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73 (14): 4704-4706. Chow, J.W., Thal, L.A., Perri, M.B., et al. (1993) Plasmid-associated hemolysin and aggregation substance production contribute to virulence in experimental enterococcal endocarditis. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 37 (11): 2474-2477. Grady, R. and Hayes, F. (2003) Axe-Txe, a broad-spectrum proteic toxin-antitoxin system specified by a multidrug-resistant, clinical isolate of Enterococcus faecium. Molecular microbiology, 47 (5): 1419-1432. Hanin, A., Sava, I., Bao, Y., et al. (2010) Screening of in vivo activated genes in Enterococcus faecalis during insect and mouse infections and growth in urine. PloS one, 5 (7): e11879. Ike, Y., Hashimoto, H. and Clewell, D.B. (1984) Hemolysin of Streptococcus faecalis subspecies zymogenes contributes to virulence in mice. Infection and immunity, 45 (2): 528-530. Jett, B.D., Jensen, H.G., Nordquist, R.E., et al. (1992) Contribution of the pAD1-encoded cytolysin to the severity of experimental Enterococcus faecalis endophthalmitis. Infection and immunity, 60 (6): 2445-2452. La Rosa, S.L., Diep, D.B., Nes, I.F., et al. (2012) Construction and application of a luxABCDE reporter system for real-time monitoring of Enterococcus faecalis gene expression and growth. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78 (19): 7003-7011. Mundy, L.M., Sahm, D.F. and Gilmore, M. (2000) Relationships between enterococcal virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Clinical microbiology reviews, 13 (4): 513-522. Qazi, S.N., Counil, E., Morrissey, J., et al. (2001) agr expression precedes escape of internalized Staphylococcus aureus from the host endosome. Infection and immunity, 69 (11): 7074-7082. Schlievert, P.M., Gahr, P.J., Assimacopoulos, A.P., et al. (1998) Aggregation and binding substances enhance pathogenicity in rabbit models of Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis. Infection and immunity, 66 (1): 218-223. Shankar, N., Lockatell, C.V., Baghdayan, A.S., et al. (2001) Role of Enterococcus faecalis surface protein Esp in the pathogenesis of ascending urinary tract infection. Infection and immunity, 69 (7): 4366-4372. Sugumaran, M. (2001) Control mechanisms of the prophenoloxidase cascade. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 484 289-298. Nikhil Aggarwal