Intelligence Cycle Essay Example

Intelligence Cycle Essay Example Intelligence Cycle Essay Intelligence Cycle Essay INTELLIGENCE CYCLE Name: Institution: Date: Intelligence Cycle The intelligence cycle is the process through which information is collected and disseminated for use by policy makers. Ordinarily, intelligence results from a series of several activities that are interrelated and some times carried out at different levels, adding up to a cycle. The six activities or phases of the intelligence cycle include direction and planning, collection, processing and exploitation, production, dissemination and integration and finally continuous evaluation. The series, however, do not always occur sequentially. Although this is the cycle, it does not always happen as so and neither does it work all the time. It is not a very good description of the ways in which the intelligence process works. Additionally, it ignores two main parts of intelligence work, counterintelligence and covert action[1]. This brings the question of how intelligence cycle should work. One way that the intelligence cycle should work is through allowing the intelligence gaps to drive the intelligence collection. The intelligent managers are usually aware of the intelligent gaps that exist[2]. Therefore, intelligence managers should, â€Å"determine how the information required for the production of intelligence is collected†[3] at the planning stage. Currently, intelligence collection is guided by policy makers. This is an incorrect way of starting the intelligence process. Policy makers often do not know what gap exists within the intelligent database. In simpler terms, policy makers are not aware of what they do not know or rather the gap existing in the intelligence. Therefore, they are in no circumstance to guide the intelligence process. On the other hand, intelligence managers are aware of what intelligence is available and what is not available[4]. Thus, they are aware of the gaps existing from the collectors as well as analysts. Therefore, the intelli gence gaps identified should guide the intelligence process and not the policy makers although they can raise the specific topic of their concern. Another way that the intelligence cycle should work or one would expect it does is ensuring that intelligence collectors and analysts work together towards the same goal. Unfortunately, this is not the case and the two departments work independent from each other[5]. This happens because of various concerns about intelligent information such as security concerns, sources that are compromising and other issues that prevent the two departments from sharing information freely. Considering that intelligent collectors are deployed at the field gathering data while analysts analyze the data to make better judgments, feedback is required in order to know what information is valuable and what needs to be collected. This presents a major problem that needs to be changed to allow information sharing between the intelligence analysis and intelligent collection. After the analysis of information from the intelligence analysts, the analysis or intelligence is passed to policy makers who use such information for making decisions concerning the issues at hand. In many cases, the Directors of National Intelligence are kept out of deliberations concerning policy matters. It is crucial to note that none of the policy makers could understand the intelligence better than the Directors of National Intelligence. â€Å"It is the DNI, responsible for and knowledgeable of the intelligence judgments on major issues†¦[6]† Therefore, DNI should be included in the policy making as advisors since they have a better understanding of the intelligence used to make such policies. Additionally, the DNI should be working with other departments that are responsible for developing security programs in order to make full use of the intelligence gathered as well as get a better feedback about success of intelligence gathered[7]. As discussed, intelligence is quite important to policy makers for making decisions concerning national matters. However, the current intelligence cycle is not working as it is explained in reality. One of the ways it should work is ensuring that the first stage is not driven by policy makers who only have an idea about intelligence gaps. Rather, it should be driven by intelligence gaps as identified by the intelligence managers who are aware of the gaps. Secondly, intelligence collection and analysis should work in a parallel way where both share information as opposed to working in sequential as well as independently from each other. Finally, DNIs should be included in the process of policymaking since they have a better understanding of the intelligence and can help in achieving full benefit of the intelligence to the country by advising policymakers. Bibliography Blair C. Dennis. â€Å"Ten Years after 9/11: Is Intelligence Reform Working? Part II.† U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. May 19, 2011. Hulnick S. Arthur. â€Å"What’s Wrong With the Intelligence Cycle?† Praeger Security International. 2013. http://psi.praeger.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/doc.aspx Keithly M. David. â€Å"Intelligence Fundamentals.† Homeland Security and Intelligence. June 15, 2013. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10399189?ppg=54 [1] Arthur S. Hulnick, â€Å"What’s Wrong With the Intelligence Cycle?† Praeger Security International, 2013, http://psi.praeger.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/doc.aspx

How to Identify Trees With Leaves

How to Identify Trees With Leaves Would you like to learn how to identify trees in your local community? The best place to get started is by looking at the trees foliage.   Trees With Leaves This is a big category, so lets break it down into two main groups: Trees with needles or scale-like leaves.  Cedar and juniper trees have scale-like leaves that look more like flattened out fans than either leaves or needles.  Cedar  trees have green scales and small cones.  Junipers, on the other hand, have bluish, berry-like cones. Trees with leaves.  To make things simpler, we are once again going to break this category into two groups. Trees With Simple Leaves These trees have one leaf attached to each stem. Leaves with a consistent leaf edge are called unlobed leaves while trees with leaves that form shapes along their margins are called lobed leaves.  If your tree has unlobed leaves, you must next determine whether or not it has teeth - or serrations around its margin. Unlobed and smooth (no teeth).  Magnolia  have large, glossy green leaves with rust-colored hairs on the under-surface.  Live oaks  have long slender deciduous leaves and small acorns.  Dogwoods  have wavy edges and 6-7 veins that pattern either side of the leafs midrib. If your tree has leaves that are oblong or elliptical and appear crowded on short branches, it might be a  Blackgum.  And if its leaves are thick and pointed, it might be a  Persimmon.Unlobed and serrated.  Willow  trees have long skinny leaves.  Basswood  trees have wide leaves with coarse teeth and a notched area around the stem.  Elm  trees are asymmetrical at the stem and double serrations around the edge. If your trees leaves are soft and shiny with teeth that curve in from the surface, it is probably a  Beech.  If its leaves are heart-shaped with double serrations, it is likely a  Birch. And if it has elliptical leaves with jagged edges, it is probably a  Cherry.  Ã‚  Lob ed. If your tree had leaves with different lobe patterns on the same tree, it is probably a  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Sassafrass  or a  Mulberry.  If the lobes seem to radiate from a central point like fingers on a hand, it is called palmate and it is a maple, sweetgum, sycamore, or poplar.  Maple  trees have three to four lobes and are arranged opposite of one another on the branch.  Sycamore  trees have big leaves that are larger than four inches with shallow lobes and alternating (not directly across from one another,) on the branch. Trees with star-shaped leaves with pointed lobes are likely  Sweetgums.  And leaves that look like they have been cut off or flattened at the top with two lobes on other side of the mid-rib are probably  Poplars. If the lobes appear to radiate from several points along the midrib, the leaves are considered pinnate and it is either an oak or a holly tree.  White Oak  trees have lobes that are rounded along the edges and no spines.  Red Oakà ‚  leaves are rounded at the base but jagged or spiny along the edges. And  Holly  trees have small red berries and leaves with sharp, pointed lobes. Trees With Compound Leaves Palmately compound leaves. Trees in this category have multiple leaves that appear to grow from the same point on the stalk.  Buckeye  trees have long leaves with jagged saw-toothed edges while Horsechestnut  trees have shiny nuts and seven leaflets that turn yellow in the fall.Pinnately compound leaves. Trees with that have pinnate compound leaves have leaflets that grow from multiple points along the stem. Leaves that appear doubly compound (leaflets within leaflets,) are likely  Locust  trees.  Hickory  trees have nine blades that are uneven in size and alternate along the stem.  Ash  trees have leaflets that are opposite from one another along the stem and are the same shape and size. Walnut  trees have 9-21 pointed leaflets that alternate along the stem.  And  Pecan trees have 11-17 curved, sickle-shaped leaflets that alternate along the stem.

Management Information system (journal) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Management Information system (journal) - Essay Example Infra-structure became the foundation for serving customers, working with suppliers and managing internal business processes System Design Development and Architecture, on the other hand, considered the relevant and crucial interplay of hardware, software, people or human resources, culture and processes to ensure effective implementation towards the achievement of organizational goals. Through designing appropriate strategies that incorporate details on systems design and architecture, organizations are able to tap internal resources and develop core competencies, as required. One learned from the module that the basic process of systems development involves defining the project, creating a model of the current system, deriving a model for the new system, measuring the costs and benefits of all alternatives, selecting the best option, designing the new system, completing the specific programming functions, installing and testing the new system, and completing a post-implementation audit (Laudon and Laudon: Chapter 8). By recognizing the crucial details that go into systems design, business and IT practit ioners could apply concepts learned in real life contemporary

Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and Essay

Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development - Essay Example As technological change permeates our lives, it is essential for each individual to understand the forces underlying and unleashed by technological change in order to become better decision makers, managers, policy analysts, and researchers. Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development As Braunerhjelm points out, economists have undoubtedly made considerable advances during the last decades in understanding the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth, and have brought in more profound insights on how entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth are interrelated. According to him, the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development can be identified from its most immediate foundation in simple perception, common sense, and a clear economic observation that performance to convert proposals into economic opportunities lies at the very core of entrepreneurship (2). Entrepreneurship can be stated as the foundation of innovation and revolution, and as such stimulates the development in efficiency and profitable competitiveness. Knowledge and flexibility are the two significant factors that are closely linked with entrepreneurship and have been noticed for their importance as measures for achieving competitiveness in this rapidly developing globalised economy. In the same way, development and growth of upcoming entrepreneurship brings chances for a country’s development within an intensified global competition due to the phenomena like globalisation and liberalisation, and modern technological innovations. According to Pirich et al, most economic, psychological and sociological research focus on the fact that entrepreneurship is a process, and not just a stagnant phenomenon and it is more than just a mechanical economic factor. Moreover, entrepreneurship is associated with choice-related issues and has a wide range of functional roles which involves coordination, innovation, uncertainty bearing, decision making resource allocation, capital supply, and ownership (14). Schumpeter holds the view that innovative entrepreneurs are the vehicles that can move the economy into development from a stagnant equilibrium, depending on the blending abilities of entrepreneurial individuals. In his opinion, â€Å"whatever the type, everyone is an entrepreneur only when he actually carries out new combinations and loses that character as soon as he has built up his business, when he settles down to running it as other people run their business† (Schumpeter, 78). Likewise, there has been a great deal of attention focused on studying various models of innovation throughout the recent decades to identify the significance of innovation with various institutions. The Economist (1999) (as cited in Pirich, et al) reports that innovation has turned out to be the industrial religion of the late 20th century, where business considers it to be the key to increase profits and market sh are and Governments generally select it while trying to fix the economy; moreover, the rhetoric of innovation has substituted the post-war language of welfare economics (15). The entrepreneur takes the place of the most essential agent in almost all of the production, distribution, and growth theories. Entrepreneurship is the driving force of economic growth and this concept suits best with the long waves theory of Joseph Schumpeter. According to Schumpeter,

Literary Analysis of the poem Beowulf Essay Example for Free

Literary Analysis of the poem Beowulf Essay Beowulf is considered as one of the longest poems in literature with more than 3,000 lines. It is has no known author, but it was considered as the national epic of England. Beowulf is a man a hero who faced three major battles in the poem. These battles were not against other humans, but were against monstrous creatures (The Norton Anthology of English Literature). It is a poem that deals with legends, of hero and his men, and his great battles. It is composed mainly to entertain, a work of fiction with several relations to historical context. And with this, some speculations were raised, saying that Beowulf was something more that a poetic narrative of the hero, Beowulf. The epic poem was then related to a Christian context, saying that it was a Christian allegory. The poem takes place in the late 5th to 6th century, following the Anglo-Saxon’s settlement in England, after making contact with Germanic tribes in Scandinavia and Germany. Beowulf may be based on real people and real events at that time in Scandinavia. The clans mentioned in the poem were clans which are found in the area, as well as some of the prominent personalities in the story. So basically, the epic poem is a work of fiction but was based on factual characters and events during that time. The time of Beowulf was a time of Paganism, but Beowulf himself addresses a higher being rather than man, wherein he presents himself to the Father Almighty. According to Helterman, â€Å"As the view of the intellectual setting has shifted from a pagan to a Christian context, this ‘something more’ has been seen as a Christian allegory or didacticism†¦yet the tone of the poem and the lack of specific Christian allusions cause difficulties for such an approach (Helterman). The poem didn’t mention anything regarding Christianity, and Beowulf was a pagan. But there were several â€Å"Christian sentiments of a general sort† which were attributed to the hero. Because of the Christian-like characterization of the hero Beowulf, there were several speculations saying that the author was a Christian in England who wrote about Scandinavian history, which then became the epic poem Beowulf. But some said that the Christian attribution in the hero’s character could mean that he was an archetype, the generic, idealized model of a person (Chickering). And at that time, Christianity was a budding religion, wherein Beowulf’s character could have been patterned into that of an ideal Christian. Beowulf as the hero of the epic was made the way he is, the ideal person. But then again, every hero has its counterparts. And just like Beowulf, his counterpart can be seen in a Christian context. The epic poem Beowulf is divided into three major battles. The first one is his battle with the monstrous creature called Grendel, which was the reason why he went to Hrotgar. Just like Beowulf, Grendel also has a Christian context. He is to be the descendant of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve which was banished for killing his own brother. Because of this, Grendel is given an antagonistic comparison with Cain, who was the first person to commit murder in the Christian bible. Grendel, along with his mother, was compared to as the kinsmen of Cain, whereas Beowulf was the pagan hero considered as the archetype of a human being. Beowulf and Grendel were great opposites, as manifestation of the forces of good battling with the forces of evil, or in the context of religion and Christianity, will be righting the wrong. Beowulf’s character is the manifestation of Christianity’s good; wherein his defense of Heorot was an act to â€Å"order the chaotic universe,† where Grendel and his mother on the other hand, were the forces that bring chaos, falling into pattern of disorder (Batchelor). This is manifested by their physical appearance wherein they do not resemble or have any human characteristics. They were monstrous in size and strength. They can kill people with the swipe of their hands, and they even eat people, as to what Grendel did to Hrotgar’s men. Another possible association with religion and Christianity was during the creation of Heorot, the great hall which was built for the people of King Hrotgar (Helterman). The creation of the hall was because of the word of the king. It is the same as that of the Christian’s Genesis, wherein with the word of God, there was light. And it was with that word that He was able to create day and night, and everything that he wished and commanded. Just as with Hrotgar’s word, Heorot was created, all for the sake of the people, since in this hall they dined, ate and sang, until the time that Grendel came into the story. When Grendel came, it was like introducing chaos into order so that you could cleanse it, just like the cleansing of the sins of the people, just like the Great flood, where chaos or the flood was added in order to cleanse the world of the sinners. When Grendel came into Heorot, chaos caused destruction, thus it would require reconstruction, where after reconstruction was the cleansed state. Grendel, even though he caused a great deal of devastation to the people, has served a purpose, which was to strengthen the then destroyed Heorot. His chaos has led to a good outcome in the story. It could also be viewed on another angle, where the battle between Beowulf and Grendel was actually the same as to that of the myth of creation, where light and darkness mixed and â€Å"fought† in order to create the earth and everything in it. Another instance that relates the epic poem Beowulf to Christianity was during the battle against the mother of Grendel. Beowulf was definite on the losing end at that moment, since his sword, Hrunting, lost its powers and cannot harm the creature he is up against with. In his desperation, he was able to locate a sword in the Grendel’s lair, which only he could be able to use. It was a heavy sword of the giant, which he used to behead the mother of Grendel and eventually prolong his life. Even though he was able to slay the monster and keep his life, he gives the credit of his victory to the â€Å"higher being,† the â€Å"Wielder of Men. † It was an indirect association to God in Christianity, since he recognizes His powers and that his victory wasn’t possible without him. Beowulf being a pagan is just a characteristic, since there was no evidence of him knowing about Christianity (Batchelor). But the fact that he addresses to a higher being is a manifestation of being Christian even in his beliefs. The epic poem Beowulf is truly a literary piece that was made to entertain, with the life of Beowulf as a hero, his adventures, his battles, and even his death, makes it a wonderful read. But there are other underlying concerns that could come about while reading the epic. It is undeniable that there are other meanings in what was written, rather than just to entertain. The poem Beowulf is associated with religion, especially Christianity. The main character’s recognition of a higher being is but one of many manifestations of this underlying messages.

Francis Ford Coppola :: essays research papers

Following careful thought on which director to study, I chose Francis Ford Coppola. Although he has directed more films than I have had the opportunity to experience, I have viewed enough to understand his progression and style of his work. Over almost forty years of work, Coppola has directed about twenty-five films, produced near forty-five, composed two, and acted in eight. He is known predominantly for Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Godfather I (1972), II (1974), and III (1990). However, he has worked in other genres, such as Horror/Romance, Musical, and even Comedy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the few of his numerous films that I have seen, Coppola appears to use much of the same aesthetic techniques. Most of his works’ mise-en-scene, with some exceptions, seems to be very basic. When he is filming, Francis Ford Coppola does not put too many unnecessary items into the scene. When using a Wide-angle lens, the frames are very open and spacious. This allows the viewer to focus on what is happening, rather than distract their attention. This technique can also prove useful. For example, if he wanted to make a character seem alone, abandoned, and insignificant, this type of shot would work well. Opposite a number of his films, in Apocalypse Now, it was important to some of the frames full. However, they still were not completed with excess objects, instead they were lavishly filled with the natural, lush greens of the Philippines. Francis Ford Coppola also uses dissolves in his works. In The Cotton Club (1984), this technique was used a couple of t imes, when both dancing and singing was being performed. His editing style proved continuous. It was neither choppy, nor disruptive to the viewer, which allowed for a more pleasant experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Francis Ford Coppola uses sound in a rather conventional way, but at times adds a touch of his own creative style. The character that the audience is meant to empathize with may have their own particular motif, displayed through music. In The Conversation (1973), whenever Harry Caul, played by Gene Hackman, was intensely thinking about something, the same piano music would play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His direction of the actors was executed extremely well. He knew exactly what he wanted from them, and did not give up until it was as he had expected. Some of his setbacks in Apocalypse Now support this opinion. He wanted every part to be performed perfectly.

Lab Report: Antibiotic Evaluation by the Kirby-Bauer Method

Lab Report: Antibiotic Evaluation by the Kirby-Bauer Method Introduction Chemical antimicrobial agents are chemical compounds capable of either inhibiting the growth of microorganisms or killing them outright. Those which are taken internally to alleviate the symptoms of or promote healing from disease are called chemotherapeutic drugs, and among these is a class of compounds called antibiotics. In order for a chemotherapeutic drug to be classed as an antibiotic, it must be produced by a microorganism such as bacterium or fungus or at least derived from a chemical produced by one.It must also be capable of killing or inhibiting the growth of other microorganisms and of doing so when taken in very small quantities. To study whether a microbial product qualifies as an effective antibiotic, a standard procedure called the Kirby-Bauer method is employed. This method, which is the procedure recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration, was devised by William Kirby and A. W. Bauer in 1966. In the current protocols involved in the Kirby-Bauer method, Mueller-Hinton standard agar is used as the medium for bacterial culture.The pH of the standard agar is 7. 2 to 7. 4 and it is poured exclusively to a depth of 4 mm. The medium is heavily inoculated with bacteria and paper disks containing enough of the antibiotic under study to create an optical density of 1 (the McFarland standard) are placed on top of the cultures. By examining the results of incubation in the form of a zone of inhibition around each disk after incubation, it can be determined how effective each antibiotic is against any given bacterium. A minimum inhibitory concentration can then be deduced for the given antibiotic vs. he specific bacterium tested so that appropriate dosage may be determined. Resistant bacteria cultures will show a small or no zone of inhibition if their growth is not sufficiently inhibited for the antibiotic to be a viable candidate in treating infection by that organism. Sensi tive cultures, on the other hand, will be appreciably inhibited in their growth or, ideally, eliminated entirely in a relatively large radius around the McFarland standard disk. In this case, the antibiotic under study might be prescribed as a useful counter to illness brought on by that particularly bacterium.In the experiment discussed here, we tested eight antibiotics against four common opportunistic pathogens, namely Streptococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of these, the first two are Gram positive and the latter pair are Gram negative. The eight antibiotics tested were: Ampicillin, a beta-lactam antibiotic that inhibits the final stage of bacterial cell wall synthesis by binding to receptors within the cell wall. The result is a porous cell wall and subsequent lysis carried out by the bacteria's own enzymes.It is effective against many bacteria, both Gram positive and Gram negative, and is particularly used in treating infect ion by E. coli, Salmonella typhosa and Enterococcus faecalis, among others. (DrugBank) This antibiotic is a semi-synthetic derivative of penicillin, which is itself an antibiotic produced by the fungus Penicillium notatum. Bacitracin, a mixture of polypeptides obtained from Bacillus subtilis var Tracy. It inhibits synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer in Gram positive bacteria by preventing the function of a molecule that transports components to synthesis sites.Bacitracin has a low threshold of toxicity when taken orally or injected, but it has found application as a topical ointment in the prevention of wound infection by Staphylococci. (DrugBank) Chloramphenicol, a broad spectrum antibiotic that is produced synthetically but which was originally discovered in a Streptomyces bacterium. It can be employed against several types of infection but most notably has found application in combating typhoid fever cholera. This antibiotic inhibits protein synthesis by suppressing the function of the 50S subunit in bacterial ribosomes.Chloramphenicol is bacteriostatic but does not kill bacteria. It also has a low toxicity threshold when ingested, and so it is now used almost exclusively to combat life-threatening illness or infection. (DrugBank) Erythromycin, which is produced by a Streptomyces and functions as a protein synthesis inhibitor in much the same way as Chloramphenicol. It is much less toxic than Chloramphenicol and is used to combat such diseases as whooping cough, diptheria, and pelvic inflammation due to syphilis. (DrugBank) Novobiocin, one of the aminoglycoside antibiotics.This class of antibiotics works by binding to the bacterial 16S rRNA and causing the misreading of tRNA. Because of this, the bacteria synthesizes incomplete or toxic polypeptides, resulting in the death of the bacterial cell. Novobiocin can be used to treat infection by Gram negative bacteria and Mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is not effective against anaerobic b acteria, however, and is not often used against Gram positive infections because other antibiotics that are less toxic to the patient are available for this purpose. DrugBank) Moreover, Novobiocin is known to bind to and alter the function of DNA gyrase, effectively stopping proper replication in the bacterial cell and thus bactericidal. Penicillin G, another antibiotic of the beta lactam class. It is used primarily against Gram positive bacteria such as the Streptococci but is also effective against some Gram negatives such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae and the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which is responsible for syphilis.Penicillin G inhibits synthesis if peptidoglycan by the same mechanism as in Ampicillin. (DrugBank) Polymyxin B, a mixture of polypeptides derived from Bacillus polymyxa. It can be used bactericidally against most Gram negative bacteria and is applied most often against urinary tract, blood, and meningal infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It has no effect upon Gr am positive bacteria. It kills bacterial cells by binding to a removing lipids in the cell membrane.Due to this mechanism, however, Polymyxin B also damages eukaryotic cells and thus sometimes proves to be a neuro- and nephrotoxic in humans. (DrugBank) Tetracycline, synthesized from chlortetracycline, a compound produced by a Streptomyces. It works by binding to the bacterial ribosome and interfering with protein synthesis and is effective against a wide range of Gram positive and negative bacteria, including the Mycoplasma and the bacteria responsible for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and nongonococcal urinary tract infections. DrugBank) Material and Methods Cultures:Streptococcus faecalis Staphylococcus aureus Escherichia coli 1 Pseudomonas aeruginosa One person each in a team of four heavily inoculated two Mueller-Hinton agar plates with one of the cultures listed by aseptic transfer from a broth culture using a sterile cotton swab. Each plate was marked off into four segments, a total of eight sectors. One McFarland standard disk containing one of the eight antibiotics tested was placed, using alcohol-flame sterilized forceps, in the center of a sector.After incubating for 18 hours at 37Â °C, the diameters of the clear zones (zones of inhibition) around each McFarland disk was measured with a standard ruler to the nearest millimeter. The measurements obtained were matched against a chart (Claus 407) to determine whether the bacterium was resistant, sensitive, or intermediate in susceptibility to the antibiotic used. The numbers against which these measurements are matched take into account the difference in zone sizes caused by variations in diffusion rates through agar in the antibiotics tested. Results Bacterium: Streptococcus faecalis | |Antibiotic used |Inhibition zone size (mm)|Culture response | |Ampicillin |28 |S | |Bacitracin |20 |S | |Chloramphenicol |22 |S | |Erythromycin |21 |S | |Novobiocin |20 |S | |Penicillin G |20 |S | |Polymyxin B |0 |R | | Tetracycline |24 |S | Bacterium: Staphylococcus aureus | |Antibiotic used |Inhibition zone size (mm)|Culture response | |Ampicillin |48 |S | |Bacitracin |22 |S | |Chloramphenicol |24 |S | |Erythromycin |25 |S | |Novobiocin |39 |S | |Penicillin G |43 |S | |Polymyxin B |0 |R | |Tetracycline |32 |S | Bacterium: Escherichia coli | |Antibiotic used |Inhibition zone size (mm)|Culture response | |Ampicillin |20 |S | |Bacitracin |11 |R | |Chloramphenicol |0 |R | |Erythromycin |25 |S | |Novobiocin |21 |S | |Penicillin G |8 |R | |Polymyxin B |6 |R | |Tetracycline |12 |R | Bacterium: Streptococcus faecalis | |Antibiotic used |Inhibition zone size (mm)|Culture response | |Ampicillin |0 |R | |Bacitracin |0 |R | |Chloramphenicol |21 |S | |Erythromycin |22 |S | |Novobiocin |10 |R | |Penicillin G |0 |R | |Polymyxin B |18 |S | |Tetracycline |25 |S | Discussion S. faecalis was sensitive to all of the antibiotics tested except for Polymyxin B. Since that antibiotic is known to be effective only agai nst Gram negative bacteria, this observation is in keeping with expected results.As a Gram positive, one would expect, as we observed, that it would be sensitive to polypeptide inhibitors, such as Penicillin G and Ampicillin, as well as protein synthesis inhibitors, such as Tetracycline and Erythromycin. Novobiocin, while not often used against Gram positives due to concerns about its toxicity, is known to be effective against Gram positives as well, which is borne out by these observations. Like S. faecalis, S. aureus is a Gram positive, and so would be expected to be sensitive to the same antibiotics and resistant to Polymyxin B. Our observations verify this as well. E. coli is Gram negative, and our observations show it to be sensitive only to Ampicillin, Erythromycin, Novobiocin.It was, however, resistant to Penicillin G, demonstrating that there is some chemical factor which allows one beta lactam antibiotic to inhibit this bacterium (Ampicillin) while another (Penicillin G) do es not. This is likely due to the difference in chemical structure of the two. Penicillin G lacks an amino group, which is present on Ampicillin. It may well be that the presence of a partially-charged amino group on Ampicillin allows it to be uptaken by the bacterium more readily than Penicillin G. (Deacon) More unexpectedly, E. coli was resistant to Chloramphenicol, even though this antibiotic is useful in inhibiting other Gram negative bacteria. It may be that the E. oli strain used in this experiment has developed a resistance to this particular antibiotic. P. aeruginosa also proved to be resistant to Ampicillin, Bacitracin, Novobiocin, and Penicillin G. This suggests that the chemical structure which allows Ampicillin to inhibit E. coli is not effective in the case of this bacterium, which is sensitive to neither of these beta lactams. Bacitracin is only useful against Gram positives as well, so it had no noticeable affect upon P. aeruginosa. On the other hand, this culture was sensitive to Polymyxin B, Tetracycline, Chloramphenicol, and Erythromycin, as one would predict for a Gram negative. Its resistance to Novobiocin is due to its having a modified DNA gyrase (Miller 674).It is worth noting in this case that while the bacterium is resistant, Novobiocin does have some effect at a standard concentration, and higher concentrations can be used to kill the organism. Such concentrations, however, would also be toxic to the patient if taken as a chemotherapeutic dosage. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria has been an ongoing phenomenon since shortly after the widespread use of penicillin, the first antibiotic, began. The rate at which this occurs has increased as the availability and employment has increased since then, and it has now become a significant medical problem. The major reason for this is that the use of antibiotics acts as a selective pressure. Those bacteria which carry a mutation on their plasmids that make them able to s urvive treatment give hem access to a niche which non-resistant strains cannot exploit, leading to their proliferation both in infected individuals and ultimately in the environment in general. The use of antibiotics kills not only pathogens, but also normal microflora which might otherwise prevent virulent bacteria from establishing a foothold in the human body. Thanks to the phenomenon of transformation, in which living bacteria can incorporate naked genetic material left over when other cells are lysed for reasons other than antibiotic sensitivity, resistance genes can cross between genera. For example, the Staphylococci can incorporate resistance genes from Bacilli and Streptococci.Added to this are resistance genes that exist as transposons found in the main bacterial genome and which can be transmitted to other members of the same species by temperate phages via the process of transduction. These mechanisms have resulted in the arisal of such things as Vancomycin-resistant str ains of S. aureus, responsible for a usually-lethal nosocomial infection that, ironically, is carried by the very bacteria that Alexander Fleming first observed as being susceptible to penicillin, the original antibiotic. (Deacon) Literature cited Bauer AW, Kirby WMM, Sherris JC, Turck M. 1966. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standardized single disk method. Am J Clin Pathol 45(4):493-6. Deacon, J. The Microbial World: Penicillin and Other Antibiotics. http://helios. bto. ed. ac. k/bto/microbes/penicill. htm. Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, The University of Edinburgh. August 2003. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00320. July 29 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00816. txt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00862. txt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/d rugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00953. txt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00694. xt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00646. txt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD01190. txt. July 29, 2006. DrugBank, http://redpoll. pharmacy. ualberta. ca/drugbank/cgi-bin/getCard. cgi? CARD=APRD00572. txt. July 29, 2006. Miller RV, Scurlock TR. 1983. DNA gyrase (topoisomerase-II) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 110 (2):694-700. Understanding Microbes: A Laboratory Textbook for Microbiology, by G. William Claus, W. H. Freeman and Co. , New York, 1988.

Sexuality in Advertising – an Occurring Issue

Abramovitz 1 She arches her back, glancing at the camera with a look of ecstasy. Water pours down her body, wearing only soapy suds from the loofah in her hands. While a pink bottle of ‘Herbal Essence’ body wash sensors a mature view of this woman’s body, the tagline on the side reads â€Å"Our new moisture-rich lather turns H2O into H2Ohhhh! † This is a real advertisement Clairol for Herbal Essence body wash, but there countless advertisements like this one that American society is bombarded with on a daily basis. These ads use women’s sexuality to sell both high end and everyday products to consumers. Even though the objectification of women in advertising has become more apparent and worse, it is not a new phenomenon; instead the insecurity of women experience through comparing themselves with idealized women in advertising has been an ongoing problem since the 1920’s. As fashion changed though women's social empowerment so began the sexual objectification of women in advertising. The iconic figure of the Roaring 20’s was the Flapper. In Edsels, Luckiest and Frigidairies: Advertising the American Way, a flapper is defined as â€Å"A women who could vote, work, drink, and smoke†. 327) Women became more empowered to vote and to go into the workforce, and such large social changes brought new fashions. The once suppressed woman changed out of frumpy petticoats and into short beaded dresses. These were reflected in the flapper style and impacted the sale of silk stockings. â€Å"Silk stocking initially had been regarded as a luxury item †¦ few of whom felt any great compulsion to display their social status in such items. But since silk stockings carried status, once they were made more available to middle and lower class women display became almost a necessity †¦. Women would become increasingly self-conscious about their legs†. (Mquade and Wright 327-28) Silk stockings, once a luxury to have, now were used to objectify the legs of women. A woman could not read the newspaper without viewing advertisements speaking to her awful, ugly, nude legs. Unless she Abramovitz 1 went out and bought herself a pair of silk stockings she would not be sexy enough to be seen in public. Women would be pressured to go out and purchase stockings so she could be up to par with her female friends. The beginning of sexual advertisement in silk stockings promoted the idea of one body part being ‘sexy’. As one progresses through the history of American advertising, one will see that the exploitation of different body parts linked with sexual desire as a technique to raise the sales on items. The Roaring 20’s not only brought the flapper and her iconic silk stockings, but the popularity of the Model T. The automotive industry heavily relies on the sexual objectification of women in its advertising, from the 1950’s to today. One popular car of the 1950’s was the Pontiac Star Chief, a convertible with a roomy interior. In a 1957 advertisement for the Pontiac Star Chief shows a woman in the car, captured at an angle where the viewer cannot see the woman below the waist. A man is right outside the car peering in, and the caption on the ad says â€Å"Spread Your Legs! Enjoy maximum leg room in the new Pontiac Star Chief†. While the phrase â€Å"Spread your legs† is meant to talk about the interior of the car, it also refers to the woman as she opens herself for the man’s pleasure. The double entendre links together motors and women. If a man has a faster and better car, he is likely to get a prettier woman. This mentality is still relevant today’s society, even if the design is more refined. In 2006, Audi, a company that designs and sells luxury vehicles, released it’s Designed to thrill advertisements. One particularly is shocking. It’s simplistic; a black background and whites, reminiscent of a blueprint but in the shape of a female breast. On the side in small print the ad reads ‘designed to thrill’ and on the bottom right corner the Audi symbol is present. The tagline, on the surface, is talking about Audi’s internal mechanics and the fact that engineers improved them to go faster and cause a thrill in the driver. Because of how the graphic is shaped, the catch Abramovitz 1 line entertains a new meaning. When ‘Designed to thrill’ is pictured next to the form of a female bosom, it implies that the woman anatomy was made for the men’s sexual pleasure, or â€Å"thrill†. Objectifying the breasts implies that if a man were to obtain the luxury car, he would get women to show themselves and be more promiscuous. The modern objectification of women in advertisements does not just happen in male oriented products, but female ones too. An online ad for Blush lingerie shows a women in a skirt, a dog and the dog's apparent owner; a man dressed in a business suit. The dog is looking up the woman’s skirt and blushes because of it sees. Because this is an ad for lingerie, one can assume that the dog is getting a look at scandalous underwear. The professional pleating of the skirt the woman’s wearing, and her low demure heels, the ad represents the woman as a high end professional in the business world; a person to be taken seriously. The blushing dog takes away her credibility though because if she is allowed to be sexy she cannot be respected and intelligent. Ads like this do not embrace the many sides of women, but force them to choose one or the other, although they may appear to be smart and sexy. Because you can't see her face, just her legs up, it depersonalizes her, dehumanizes her, objectifying her into the sexy, classy, high end lingerie she's wearing. Not only do ads promote the objectification through the type of underwear women wear, but they also promote reckless sexual behavior. Jean Killbourne, who wrote the book Deadly Persuasion, discusses an ad which promotes this behavior. â€Å"’ The only downfall to female guests that stay over for breakfast is they leave with your nicest shirts’, says an ad featuring a man getting dressed. His back is to the young women in his bed, who is covering herself up as if embarrassed. People in ads like this aren’t lovers, they are users being used. † Advertisements like these promote a culture of commodity; people objectify their friends to what they have to Abramovitz 1 offer sexually, and the aftermath of feelings that naturally come after a sexual connection are thrown in the trash and replaced by a diminished feeling of self worth. When advertisements promote cultures of reckless sex, they pressure people to shallowly judge others by their appearance and how â€Å"sexy† they are rather than their moral character. The objectification of women in advertising is not new. It has been an issue in our society since the 1920’s when print commercial advertisement began to boom. Women today continue to compare themselves with idealized women in advertising and the creates a lasting harm on their self-conscious. Carol Shepard, said â€Å"The objectification of women in advertising campaigns psychological ramifications. It socializes women to think of themselves in the manner in which they are depicted, and causes them to engage in self objectification. †¦ [This] creates anxieties relating to their weight, appearance, body satisfaction, and also creates a negative mood. (qtd Harper & Tiggermann, 2008). Thus, their body image causes them to suffer emotionally and psychologically. Perhaps, by buying the advertised items, the viewing audience of women believes that they will instantly become taller, thinner, younger and prettier†. (Shepard, 5) As the objectification of women in advertising is not a new phenomenon, neither are the mental issues that women deal with because of it. Little girls will always wonder why they look at the pretty models in their mother’s magazines and then glance in the mirror only to wonder why they aren’t as pretty. Although the days of silk stockings and red convertibles are long gone, the advertisements and slogans that destroyed our women continue today.

Travel Writing Essay

Travel Writing Essay Travel Writing Essay Travel Writing: River Town The next morning I caught a taxi north of Yulin, where the Great Wall ran through the desert. Tourists rarely came to see the wall here, because it was unrestored and the northern Shaanxi roads were so bad. There was no mention of the wall in my guidebook, but I had a Chinese map of the province that marked the ruins clearly. The cabbie took me to a big Ming Dynasty fort that stood five miles outside of town, where Yulin's irrigated fields ended and the desert began. From the fort's highest tower the view stretched northward for miles. Occasionally, the barrenness was punctuated by a slice of green where water had found its way - a stand of trees, a lonely field - but mostly it was just sand and low brown hills and a vast thoughtless sky. At nine in the morning the sun was already hot. I looked out at the empty landscape, at the hard low line of the horizon, and I realised why they had built the wall here. Even if there had been no Mongol threat, the terror of the land's monotony would be enough to make you build something. The wall ran east and west from the fort. Westward it continued to its final stopping point at Jiayu Pass, in the mountains of northern Gansu province. Eastward the ruins ran to Zhonghai Pass, at the shore of the Yellow Sea. All told, the distance between these two endpoints was probably more than 1,500 miles, and Yulin was somewhere roughly in the middle; but the wall had never been fully surveyed and nobody knew the exact length. I stood there at the desert fort, looking out at the heat waves shimmering above the sandy hills, and I decided to go toward the ocean. I tightened my boots and walked east along the ruins. Most of the wall was just a 3ft-high ridge of packed earth that had been worn down by the wind and sand. Every 200 yards or so I passed the ruins of a signal tower - a crumbling 20ft-high pile of dirt standing uselessly under the burning sun. I followed the

The 10 Best Places For Dads to Work in 2017

The 10 Best Places For Dads to Work in 2017 The United States is pretty terrible when it comes to family leave- but it’s even worse for dads. Very few employers even provide paid parental leave for fathers. As Simon Isaacs, co-founder of Fatherly, told Business Insider, â€Å"This means a lot of new dads are not able to take time to bond with their babies and be at home with their families.† Isaacs is quick to add that paternity leave is not â€Å"time off.† â€Å"There is an increasing body of evidence,† he says, â€Å"behind the importance of father-child bonding beginning in the first few weeks†¦ With more couples than ever sharing responsibilities at home, paternity leave is also important to support your wife or spouse.† The conversation is happening, and hopefully, change is in the works. But in the meantime, Fatherly has compiled a sweet list of companies leading the charge. Here are some of the highlights, taking into account leave policies, flexible hours, and telecommuting opti ons.1. NetflixNetflix wins all the praise from Fatherly. And should have our respect anyway given their â€Å"Unlimited Vacation† policy. Their parental leave policy is stellar; parents (mothers and fathers) can take up to a full year of paid leave. They can also change their hours around to work as much or as little as they need at different times. And they can come in and out, go full-time, part-time, etc. and keep receiving their salaries as normal. As long as you do your job at Netflix, the company trusts you and takes care of you.2. EtsySecond on Fatherly’s list is Etsy, giving its employees a gender-blind blanket 26 weeks of paid leave. You have to take the first six weeks consecutively (at the beginning, i.e. the first six months), but then you can spread the rest out over the course of two years (post birth or adoption) as needed. Their Brooklyn office also boasts dedicated parents’ rooms and a twice weekly communal meal called â€Å"Eatsy.†3. AmE xGo Platinum with AmEx’s parental leave policy. First of all, if you adopt, undergo fertility treatment, or use a surrogate, you’re eligible for $35k in medical assistance. Then, you get 20 weeks of paid paternity leave. Then an additional 20 days of subsidized backup dependent care per year. Plus, at some of their office locations, you can take advantage of â€Å"Summer Flex† and compress your work weeks to maximize weekend time off with the fam.4. SpotifyYou get 24 weeks of paid paternity leave with no restrictions on how to use it- until your kid’s third birthday. (You even get this retroactively as a new recruit if you come in with a child under three.) Their â€Å"Welcome Back† program lets your return gradually to full-time status with the added bonus of telecommuting options. And they have a Dad-centric â€Å"Focus on Fatherhood† group with activities, programming, and networking breakfasts with top execs giving advice about work/life balance.5. FacebookFacebook offers $20k in family planning benefits for fertility treatments, egg freezing, surrogacy, etc. Then 17 weeks paid leave, plus the standard 21 days of PTO and unlimited sick days, including an additional three days per year for â€Å"taking care of sick dependents.† If your kid gets the flu, take the day off, then log into Dads@Facebook (the company’s online dad space) for advice.6. TwitterTwitter is more like Netflix than Facebook, in that there is no PTO policy. Do your job well and take all the time you need otherwise. They’ve just doubled their paid paternal leave to 20 weeks. And they have great company perks, including a prep class for Dads about to go on leave to help in the transition.7. VMware, Inc.This company offers $5k to help with adoption or surrogacy ($10k lifetime limit), a $250 â€Å"Welcome Baby† gift, and 18 weeks paid paternity leave. And they have a non-accrued vacation policy to let you shape your own tim e off- as long as you’re delivering good work.8. Bank of AmericaBank of America offers a lot of support to new parents: a Welcome Kit, free financial planning, Lifecare advice and assistance, and 16 weeks paid paternity leave. You also get a 25-day backup child care allotment and a 25-day adult care allotment for when a caregiver is not available.9. PatagoniaFathers at Patagonia get 12 weeks paid leave to be used at any time before the child’s first birthday. They have a great work-life balance reputation, and are very concerned with employees and their children thriving. There are lots of ways they help a new family get set up, including FSAs and stipends.10. DeloitteYou’re eligible for paternity leave from day one of your employment, to the tune of 16 paid weeks. They offer child-care coverage and reimbursement, and employees get an average of 40 paid days off per year regardless. Managers here won’t track time off either. So do your work, and get your life in order without stress.

Marketing library & information services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing library & information services - Essay Example In order to provide MLIS, understanding of the working of a library and its purpose and ideology is of great importance. Marketing has played a crucial role in the Australian academic libraries. Accelerating rates of change has become the marketing reality in current times (Kotler & Caslione, 2009). The scope of marketing in MLIS has seen increase in the recent years. This is partly due to technological advancement and partly due to changes in the educational requirements that the library aims to meet. In addition to that, new marketing methods have evolved that make it necessary for libraries to incorporate effective marketing into the delivery of resources to customers. The library needs to be speaking the language of the buyer in order to market well (Scott, 2007). Also marketing serves as a useful tool in promoting and advertising the resources of the library; this can have mutual benefits for both the library and its customers: to the library since it can attract more number of customers and to its customers in easily locating and accessing the services that they need. In Australian academic libraries, the role of marketing has received a lot of attention since educational advances and technological developments along with limited budgets have made students demand more in return for the membership fees that they are paying for libraries. One of the most significant contributions of marketing to LIS is that it helps in fostering a healthy marketing relationship with its customers. A good marketing strategy aims to identify potential customers and identifying their needs. It further requires the designing of products that meet these needs. Organizations are seeing the benefits of customer loyalty and are taking a customer-centric approach to strategy (Jain & Singh, 2010). If marketing is customer-focused, it helps to assert the importance of the customer over all other

Collegeaged Drinking in USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Collegeaged Drinking in USA - Essay Example These figures, which are quite staggering, stand as a testament to the magnitude of the problem and underscore the importance of asking and answering the following question: what are the factors which drive college students to drink and can university policy annihilate this problem. Available evidence suggests that the primary factors are immaturity, lack of self-control and peer pressure, further suggesting that a well-designed policy response can stem the problem. There is strong evidence to suggest that heavy and binge drinking among college students are the outcome of psychosocial immaturity. Professors Fischer, Firthum, Pidock and Dowd, undertook an extensive study to identify alcohol drinking patterns amongst college students and their causes. Following a thorough review of the literature on the causes of binge and heavy drinking among college students, Fischer et al. surveyed 1,592 students (915). The research findings clearly indicated that the primary cause of heavy and binge drinking was psychosocial immaturity. This is itself, according to the researchers, was a problematic finding as the root causes of the said immaturity were traced back to the relationship the respondents had with their parents (915). Those who had experienced a less than healthy relationship with their parents or who had not benefited from a stable family environment, exhibited signs of psychosocial immaturity. This made them vulnerable to alcoholism (915-916). T he implication here is that family environment proved the most important predicator of susceptibility to alcohol abuse. While psychosocial immatirity has been identified as an important predictor of alcohol abuse among college students, lack of control is another. Psychology professors, Leeman, Fenton and Volpicelli contend that empirical evidence strongly suggests that heavy and binge drinking among college students is symptomatic of "impaired control" (42). Impaired control, which may be defined as "a breakdown of an intention to limit consumption in a particular situation" (42) has been identified as a trait common to the majority of college students who engage in binge and heavy drinking. These students may not have a prior intention to heavily drink in a particular situation and, indeed, need not have an alcohol abuse problem but they most certainly have a self-control problem. Their inability to control their drinking in a particular situation is indicative of their inability to control their own selves. In fact, the survey study conducted by Leeman, Fenton and Volpicelli shows that in many inst ances, students did not have any prior intention to engage in binge drinking and, quite importantly, had a contrary intention. Nevertheless, when finding themselves in a situation where alcohol is available and those around them are encouraging them to drink, they embark upon heavy drinking (44-45). While their inability to stop themselves or adhere to their original intent not to drink heavily may be construed as symptomatic of alcoholism, it is not necessarily so. Instead, it is symptomatic of an "impaired control" problem which may later escalate into a substance abuse problem (45-46). Therefore, a leading cause of binge and heavy drinking amongst college students may be identified as lack of