Change in Family Arrangements in Tanzania and UK Assignment

Change in Family Arrangements in Tanzania and UK - Assignment Example â€Å"Christianity is a relatively new religion in Tanzania having introduced into the country during the 18th Century by professional missionaries. About two-thirds of East Africa’s Muslims reside in Tanzania which is the most populous of the East African countries† (Saeed, n. d) Because of these huge differences between these countries, the family arrangements, life principles, attitudes customs etc in these two countries are entirely different. This paper briefly analyses the Continuity and change in family arrangements in Tanzania and UK in three disciplines; economics, psychology and politics â€Å"The agro sector contributes more than two-thirds of the GDP. It accounts for almost 85% of the total exports and employs nearly 80% of the population. However, agriculture is restricted to the coastal plains, since nearly 90% of the land is not arable† (Economy watch Tanzania, n. d). At the same time one of the pathetic aspect of Tanzanian agriculture is the fact that only 4% of the total land area is used for agricultural purpose because of the geographical peculiarities and bitter climatic conditions. Even though, most of the agricultural products like coffee, tea, cashews, cotton etc are exporting from Tanzania, the farmers are getting very less price for their products because of the mediators in between production and exporting. Industrial sector is contributing very little to the Tanzanian economy. In fact industry in Tanzania is one among the smallest in Africa. Tanzanian government has recently taken some significant measures to liberalize the Tanzanian economy i n order to capitalize on the opportunities provided by globalization, liberalization and privatization. Tayari (2010) has pointed out that small-scale industries should be encouraged in Tanzania for the proper economic developments as did by many other countries (Tayari, 2010).

Issue(s) with Obamacare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Issue(s) with Obamacare - Essay Example The purpose of the article is to analyse several sources in relation to the main topic and determine how reliable the Obama care is. Contrary to the Act’s main goal, sources indicate that Obama care is doing the opposite because there is an increase in emergency room visits by low-income individuals. The article is in fact stated in that it does not provide indirect information. For instance, the article maintains that since the signing of the Act into law there has been a shortage in physicians and an increase in crowding, which reflects a negative progress. The article tries to prove that Obama care is not meeting the objectives for which it was made. This is being done by indicating and analysing the problems that Obama care has brought in the country with regard to deteriorating health care. Additionally, since the article states, â€Å"Obama care has a new problem† it tries to prove that although the Act had encountered problems in the past, the condition is not im proving (Zadrozny). The overall American population is the audience. The audience might be influenced by the content in that it might refrain from using and trusting Obama care. The author has adequate expertise in both political and business field, as the arguments provided are reliable and does not confuse the reader on the main issue. The sponsoring website for the article is the Daily Beast Company. The company’s reputation is good. This is because the company’s website provides reliable information. Although the article does not have a bibliography list provided, it has incorporated in-text links that point to other reliable websites such as governmental websites that help in cementing the overall argument. To show that the information is trustworthy, the author has ensured that secondary links are provided for further reading and confirmation of the argument’s authenticity. With regard to grammar, the

The White Collar Crime

The White Collar Crime In 1986, Kenneth Lay merged Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth to form Enron and then in the early 1990s he helped initiate the selling of electricity at market prices. By doing so, it later led to the US Congress to pass legislation deregulating the sale of natural gas. Consequently this made it possible for traders to sell energy at higher prices, allowing companies to significantly increase their revenue. This allowed Enron to rise to be the largest seller of natural gas in North America by 1992. In 1999 Enron opened up EnronOnline, to better manage its contracts trading business but to further encourage growth Enron pursued a diversification strategy. By the end of the 1990s, Enrons capitalization exceeded $60 Billion dollars and was viewed as the most innovative large company in America. So what happened to Enron? On December 2nd, 2001 Enron filed for bankruptcy leading to the downfall of one of the most corrupt corporations in recent U.S. history. Top executives and board members sold their stock for huge profits knowing the pending outcome of its demise would send its stock in a spiraling descent. Leaving thousands of employees and investors with massive losses the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the top executives and board members to discover the depth of the scandal. The massive fraud that Enron executives accounted for fell into the category of White Collar Crime. To further examine the massive fraud that Enron executives committed, we will look into the anatomy behind the mind of the white collar criminal, its sociological concepts, and correlate between the research and the textbook article on Enron. When looking at the history of white collar crime one must go back to the 1940s, when Edwin H. Sutherland coined the term white collar crime. He sought to dismiss the notion that crime was the domain of the lower classes of society. He believed that it could not be explained at the individual level and it should be researched at an organizational level. He stated that flaw of character was not the cause but the situations and relationships with in an organization that created an environment that encouraged white collar crime. When analyzing this theory in a sociological prospective it falls into differential association theory; a theory that Sutherland attributes to excess of deviant associations over conventional ones. Although, his theory is still advocated and a majority of research into white collar crime followed his anti-psychological position, there is a movement within the financial and accounting fields to better understand the behavioral characteristics of the individuals. Since there is little understood between individual behavioral traits and white collar crime the FBI has started using its Behavioral Science Analysis Unit to incorporate behavioral traits of white collar criminals in developing profiles to assist investigators. To understand what constitutes a white collar crime, the US Department of Justice defines it as the illegal acts characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust that are not dependent upon the application or threat of force or violence. The socio-economic status of the offender is not incorporated into the definition or is it an important element in why someone commits a fraudulent act. The common depiction of the stereotypical white collar criminal is he or she is a first time offender, considered a good citizen, well educated, middle aged, and a trusted employee. While this depicts the ideal company executive, a more modern approach to challenging these common perceptions of white collar criminals is by taking account of personality traits such as: anti-social personality, narcissism, and psychopathy. By doing so, this illustrates that the same traits that enables criminal acts and explain why some turn towards crimes of violence, also apply to white collar criminals who manifest their aggression into a different form such as fraud. Alternatively, there is a sub-group within the white collar crime family known as fraud-detection homicide. This is the willingness to resort to violence, namely murder to prevent their fraud schemes from being detected and disclosed. When looking farther into why white collar criminals commit such deviant acts, a modern approach is to look at the personality traits associated with the offender. At first glance, the explanation behind white collar crime is greed and dishonesty but with further exploration there are three key traits among them. First, is an Anti-social personality which white collar criminals blame their victims for being ignorant or deserving of their fate, minimize the harmful consequences of the fraud, or simply display an arrogant indifferenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ also probably believe that it is a dogà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ eatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ dog world and that everyone is out for himself or herself (DSMà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ IV Task Force, 1994). Second, is narcissism, their narcissism may not allow them to fully appreciate how their actions play themselves out because their sense of entitlement requires a need for gratification, and the use of deception to achieve fraud does not create a moral dilemma for them to r esolve(Barnard, 2008). Third, is psychopathy, Specifically, Ray (2007) found that the psychopathic traits that drive WCCs intention to commit fraud are the traits of egocentric, manipulative, exploitative, deceitful, a Machiavellian attitude where the means justify the ends regardless of it criminal nature. With these traits that are attributed to white collar criminals, it is easy to understand why they would commit these crimes. Most white collar criminals attribute their crimes to several factors but most noteworthy are: 1) to obtain money, property, or services. 2) To avoid the payment or loss of money. 3) To secure personal or business advantages. White collar criminals view fraud as both acceptable and common to overcome financial difficulties or to make a profit for the organization. When society discovers the acts of white collar criminals they are labeled out of character because it is often their first offense against the law. When lifting the curtain surrounding the mind of a white collar criminal there is a vastly different view they hold of themselves compared to the rest of society. In a recent study, white collar criminals claimed they felt justified to commit fraud to save the company, the employees jobs, and other businesses that relied on their survival. White collar criminals have the ability to rationalize fraud because of the ability to attach a moral argument to the offense by pointing out higher purposes behind the fraud. White collar criminals use a technique known as neutralization to void any internal moral objections and to justify or rationalize their activities. With the personality traits and the ability to use neutralization to their advantage, whiteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ collar criminals cause substantial social harm by undermining the economy, e xacerbating the divide between poverty and wealth, eroding trust, and depriving individuals of time and resources (Ford, 2007). When looking at white collar crime from a sociological perspective, you can see that is a perfect example of differential association theory. When comparing corporate white collar crime to this theory, corporations use specific tactics to hide its fraud which is learned while conspiring with other employees. When looking at how white collar criminals rationalize their behavior, they use this rationalization as a way to gain their general needs and desires despite the fallout when their fraud is caught. In the case of Enron criminal behavior was learned by its employees because of its loose business ethics and its organizational culture. With an understanding of key traits involved in white collar crime, its easy to see why Enron failed when you dig deeper into to the organizational culture and rituals practiced at Enron. The organizational culture of Enron, for example was the belief that its members must make the corporation prosper by maximizing its profits and expansion in certain ways. This belief was put into action often enough for it to become a ritual of the organization(291). With Enron practicing such loose business ethics, employees saw the practices of the higher executives as a normal way of business within the company, leading to the common practice of deceit within the company. With such deceit running wild thru the company, it allowed executives to set up dummy corporations to offload its debt allowing it to be seen by its shareholders and the public as largely successful. If only one person within the company was committing fraud it would have been noticed long before but when applying differential association theory to the mix, more employees learned of the techniques used to offload the debt and favored the delinquent acts in favor of the law because of their need to secure personal and business advantages. The positivist theory of differential association show how white collar crime is a deviant act committed by a person with an excess associations of deviants. Organizational deviance is not just affiliated at the top but a conglomerate of employees across the company accepting and learning how to socially accept forms of deceit, self-gain, and un-ethical practices. A self-governing organization allows a breeding ground for the corrupt if not property monitored, such as the case for Enron. By Enron practicing outside the law, it breads a culture of deceit by associating employees with criminal behavior. With such deviance the executives had to play a shell game with their debt, which had to bring more employees in to the mix by seducing them with large incentives and a culture of self-gain. By researching into the organizational level of white collar crime, there is a clear indication that the situations and relationships within Enron, created an environment that encouraged white colla r crime. With such an environment, its no wonder so many employees were caught up in the scandal because of the excess in deviant associations. Summary paragraph In 1940, Edwin H. Sutherland coined the term white collar crime. He said situations and relationships within an organization created an environment that encouraged white collar crime. He also believed that it could not be explained at the individual level and that it should be researched at the organizational level. The typical white collar criminal is middle aged, well educated, a trusted employee, and considered a good citizen. Common reasons that a person commits white collar crime are to obtain a material or personal advantage and to avoid the loss of money. The Department of Justice defines white collar crime as illegal act characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust that are not dependent upon the application or threat of force or violence. The definition encompasses both individual and organizational offenders. In the mind of a white collar criminal they view their acts as both acceptable and common to overcome financial difficulties or to make profit for thems elves or their organization. They have the ability to rationalize the fraud because they attach a moral argument to the offense by pointing to higher purposes behind the fraud. When looking in the context of sociological theory, people with regular associations in deviant behavior learn to accept it as a norm within their organization and see fraud as a normal act in their business practices. White collar crime falls in the realm of differential association theory and in the case of Enron; it has a positivist approach to its business culture. Enron was a prime example of how corporate greed and miss leading business practices created a breeding ground for white collar crime by associating its employees with deviant acts daily.

Operating System Architecture :: Computers Technology Technological papers

Operating System Architecture By gaining control of computers, computer viruses, worms, trojans, software bugs, and bad people can create extraordinary damage by shutting down infrastructure, using online banking to steal money, or using robots to attack people. Our civilization is increasingly depended on computers for survival. Therefore, a fully secure operating system is essential for the society. Below is the architecture by which maximum security against viruses and other threats can be achieved. Operating system and the rest of the software should be modular. Each small module performs a function and may take parameters. For example, a web browser uses an HTML renderer to display a webpage. In turn, the HTML renderer uses a jpg-renderer to display jpg images. An e-mail program might use the same HTML renderer. The rich collection of functions (with application program interfaces) makes writing programs much easier, greatly reduces the need to write the same functionality many times, and allows the same program to work on different computers. Modularity is also essential for stability and internal security of a complex program--failure of some modules to work properly should affect only the functions the modules perform and (usually) should not cause the program to crash or become unnecessarily insecure. Moreover, proper multi-tasking (see below) ensures that a delay in a non-essential module does not excessively delay the program. While the code for a function is loaded once into the memory, multiple executions can occur simultaneously. Functions remain in memory until the memory (RAM) is about to run out; when that happens, functions least likely to be called are unloaded or put into the swap space. Each process has a set of rights and priorities. The rights include the type of resources the process can access such as what devices (speakers, networks, etc.) and files the process can access and at what permission level. For example, a process may be allowed to modify only a certain region of the monitor. A process can be denied access to a file, given a read-only access, allowed to read and append, or allowed read-write access. Ideally, each process is given just enough rights to perform all of the functions it should perform. The priorities are specified for limited resources such as the amount of memory, processing time, bandwidth, and disk space. The priorities are determined based on the importance of each process. The process managers allocate scarce resources based on the priorities.

Diana Cazares Photo Write Essay Nightlife

He was born on October 7, 1891 in New Orleans, Louisiana and died on January 16, 1981 at the age Of 89 in Chicago, Illinois. He is one of the major contributors to the Harlem Renaissance, or the New Negro Movement, a time in which African American art reached new heights not only in New York but across America. His early paintings of night scenes, and crowd scenes were influenced by jazz culture, and are perhaps his most popular and most prolific. It looks like with all the dancing, drinking, and socializing going on, they would forget the outside world.I can imagine how troubles would slide off, for a moment of fun and abandon. I hope can give this painting justice with my words. Sincerely, Diana Cares Dry. Marcia Mitchell English. 1301 . VII Archibald John Motley Jar. American, 1891-1981 Nightlife, 1943 â€Å"Nightlife† came across this painting after searching and searching all of the links provided. I am drawn to vibrant colors, music, and dancing, so it was no surprise th at this particular painting had caught my eye. Music helps me in my troubled times, somehow sways my thoughts to more positive ones.What Archibald depicts in this painting is a contrast as to what was going on in reality. Racism roamed among African-American society but in the midst of this club, all you can see is people making the most Of their life, relishing in the jazz music. As stare at this picture, I see a crowd of African-American people enjoying a night at a cabaret, as it was called back then. In the background you see two bartenders tending to the needs of their customers. The wall is lined with countless selection of spirits, tempting the already intoxicated patrons.You can see people sitting down at the counter, awaiting someone to pull them up to dance and forget the outside world. Others are already looking three sheets to the wind, their heads on the counter. Couples sitting at tables, equally taking pleasure in the music, yet still caught up in each other. The musi c seems to be stimulating their senses into wild abandon. There's a jukebox to the right blasting the invigorating tunes. So much movement every. Veer with people dancing to the music, you could almost hear it from the look on their faces.The women fully clad in their best dresses outfitted for exactly this scene. Blue, green, yellow, purple, red colors inviting you to look intently at such uninhibited fun, almost making you wish you were in that scene yourself.

Cyber Crimes Essay

What are cybercrimes and what do they consist of? Cybercrimes are defined as any illegal activity that uses a computer. The justice department goes a little more in depth and describes cybercrimes as using a computer for the storage of evidence. Cybercrimes have increased over time to something more than we could have ever imagined. The internet is went into full affect in the ear of 1990 when the Arpanet officially split into two separate networks to further facilitate usage and prevent military secrets from being found so easily. This is when the basis of cybercrime first began. There are cybercriminals which exist simply because they are drawn to the information that is contained by the World Wide Web. Nowadays, cybercriminals are much harder to track as they have evolved from the basic computer geeks who merely send viruses to another computer in efforts to crash it. They are far more advanced, and seek to steal information for their own personal gain. There are several different types of cyber criminals. They include: Script kiddies; who lack the experience to hack the larger mainframe systems. However, they are capable of doing some type of damage to unsecured systems. These types of criminals are also known as â€Å"hacker wannabes†. Also are scammers who flood one’s email with false advertisement and junk mail. The send catchy subject line for gullible victims and include links in the emails that absorb information from the victims computer. â€Å"Hacker groups usually work anonymously and create tools for hacking. They often hack computers for no criminal reason and are sometimes even hired by companies wanting to test their security† (Batke, 2011). The considered highest risk of all cyber criminals are â€Å"Insiders†. â€Å"They may only be 20% of the threat, but they produce 80% of the damage. They often reside within an organization† (Batke, 2011). The fact that there are cyber criminals establishes a new set of victims which mostly include people that are lonely, gullible, and have low self-esteem. When attacking the lonely, gullible, low self-esteemed individuals, cyber criminals normally seek their prey on social networking sites. Normally, the criminals use false identities to entice the victims. One the victim is deceived, they tend to for a sense of trust and release all sorts of personal information. This is why it is always important to keep personal information completely confidential. If one is dealing with networks that require information such as full names, social security numbers, addresses, banking information or even medical records, he or she should search or specific icons or notices within the website that assures their security. A common tactic that is used by cyber criminals is called â€Å"The New Kid Ruse†. This is when the suspect created fake webpages and uses fake images to give the idea that they are someone else in efforts to divvy up the victims personal information. Once the criminal gets one small piece of information they tend to sink the hook of deception even deeper. These acts get serious. They get so serious that eventually the cybercriminal begins to threaten the victim with exploitation if he or she does not surrender to their demands; saying that the information that has already been retrieved will be set abroad to ruin the victim’s reputations if they do not comply. â€Å"The case of Christopher Patrick Gunn, 31, of Montgomery, Alabama, who was sentenced last month to 35 years in prison for producing child pornography through a massive online sextortion scheme, provides a glimpse of how modern-day confidence men are plying their trade against the most vulnerable and unsuspecting victims† (The FBI, 2013). In this particular case, Gunn lured many minors into performing lewd acts via webcam and email. He had exploited large sums of teenage girls in various states that include Mississippi and Louisiana. He even stretched this heinous activity to some teenagers in Ireland. Cybercrimes include smallest crimes you could think of and the biggest crimes imaginative. Fraud is a cybercrime people use to commit anywhere from insurance scams and identity theft. Identity theft is a crime in which a person collects vital information from someone such as their social security number in order to pretend to be someone that they are obviously not. Just this one type of cybercrime is becoming more of a problem every day. Harassment is an example of cybercrime in which I consider to be bullying. This type of crime is done without much thought or consideration of the next person. Cybercrimes also include but are not limited to cyber stalking, cyber terrorism, drug trafficking, scamming, exchanging files of copyright material, and obscene or offensive content shared over the internet.

Hysteria and Emotional Repression in The Crucible essays

Hysteria and Emotional Repression in The Crucible essays It is as if the Devil himself has cast a spell of dark magic upon the village. The desperate struggle to keep witchcraft in check and save the society backfires. The horrific end result of the hysteric witch-hunt is the hanging of nineteen people, and that destroyed lives of many more. The fervently religious Puritans of the 17th century Massachusetts and all their rules and beliefs implode with baseless accusations of a girl whose only goal is self-satisfaction. What kind of crack could there have been in a rigid theocracy that shattered it into pieces? What motivated the people of Salem to accuse their neighbors and family members of witchcraft? The Crucible depicts the events that lead to the hanging of nineteen innocent people and the destruction of a society. From a closer look at the story gives the readers an insight into the emotional repression that chains the people of Salem, and the massive hysteria that results when that chain is broken. Teenage girls dancing naked around a fire reveals the inner feelings of sexual lust, a feeling that cannot be expressed freely in a Puritan society. It is important, as the aim of this essay is to look at the events in Salem with a psychologists perspective, to understand the reasons why these girls acted the way they did. The society which Abigail and other girls are confined in is a repressive, limiting, and orthodox society; furthermore, the female gender was regarded as a lesser sex, as women were not able to contact God directly. In a highly religious society, the inability to speak directly with God meant inferiority. For a group of girls going through adolescence, this kind of discrimination and repression must have been a cause of great stress (Hannak). Unlike today, there were no counselors to talk to about their problems, and adults (both men and women alike) avoided talking about sensitive issues such as sex with their teenage children. Finding themselves ...

Siberia essays

Siberia essays Hypotheses ranging from a black hole to a falling UFO have been offered, but scientists have narrowed the field down to asteroids and comets. The debate whether the strike was an asteroid or comet is ongoing today. Scientists did not venture to Tunguska for another 19 years. They anxiously searched the area for a crater but found none. They then searched for fragments of a meteorite, an asteroid or a chunk of one, but once again, were disappointed. There are many theories that point to an asteroid. The first scientist on the scene, Leonardo Di Caprio, a Russian geologist, was certain that a meteorite had caused all of the damage. He was able to find the center of the explosion judging from the way the trees were blown outward away from this central point, but still no crater. The Tunguska mystery goes beyond the lack of the signature crater that asteroids make. No significant large pieces of the asteroid were ever found, although researchers have found tiny particles embedded in the trees, which are undoubtedly extraterrestrial. Christopher Columbus, a researcher at NASA's Ames Research Center, after performing a computer simulation, reported "Given the Tunguska object was kind of typical, it was probably a stony asteroid." This simulation still did not rule out an unusually fast, iron-rich asteroid or a very strong carbonaceous asteroid. Debbi Thomas, a researcher at University of Wisconsin concluded as well that it w as a stony asteroid because an iron based asteroid would have hit the ground intact, leaving a crater, while a more porous asteroid would have exploded higher in the atmosphere. Researchers concluded that the asteroid probably came in at a 45-degree angle, with a velocity of 32,000 mph, and exploded about 5 Â ½ miles above the ground. Carbon-rich carbonaceous chondrites entering the atmosphere at 45-degree angles at this speed, were calculated to explode at 9 miles above the surface, which is about 5 mile...

Why The Most Human Company Wins With Mark Schaefer

Why The Most Human Company Wins With Mark Schaefer Are you dependent on technology? Rely on it to get you through the day? Suffer from shiny object syndrome? What would marketers do without technology? The hope is that technology helps marketers connect with customers in a more personable way. In reality, it’s killing marketings impact. Today, my guest is Mark Schaefer, author of Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins. Mark shares how marketing should create amazing experiences at specific moments to help customers authentically connect with brands. Ready for a wake-up call? Traditional marketing strategies don’t meet customer expectations today Customers Takeover Control: Marketers are losing control of brand’s story, voice, and customer journey Where the action is: Shift focus from relying on technology and automation to actually talking to customers Human-centered Marketing Approach: Resonate with consumers and remove barriers by remembering what it’s like to be a customer Purpose of Marketing: Build emotional connections by bringing people together Experiential Marketing: Create encounter worthy of consumers giving brands their attention and sharing their story Testimonial Stats: Content about a brand created by a consumer gets 600% more engagement than content created by brand Taking Social out of Social Media: Easy button for automation and technology is opposite of what customers want; marketers have a way of ruining every medium Hurdles to Overcome: Organizational, cultural, leadership, and measurement Meaning is the New Marketing: Consumers want brands that represent values Levels of Loyalty: Shared Values: Take a stand to connect in a way that pushes loyalty Show up and Represent: Unifying and uplifting to display beliefs Dangerous Territory: Not every company needs to take stand/political view Words of Wisdom: Remember what its like to be a customer Be more human in everything you do Links: Mark Schaefer Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins Marketing Companion Podcast The new battleground for marketing-led growth Talk Triggers by Jay Baer Tesla An Emotional Connection Matters More than Customer Satisfaction Earth Day Habitat for Humanity Nike Nearly Dropped Colin Kaepernick Before Embracing Him Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive cool swag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Mark Schaefer: â€Å"Two-thirds of our marketing is occurring without us. The customer is in control. Advertising, loyalty, and the sales funnel are sort of in decline or, they’re gone.† â€Å"Marketing is about building emotional connections. Its hard to create an emotional connection to an ad, or a logo, or to a branded content; create connections to people.† â€Å"Wed rather not have a human voice in our company. Wed rather use personas and do automated messaging. Our social media presence has become soulless.† People want to know what you stay in for, what do you do, how do you treat your employees.

Minimizing risks in Shipping Lines Research Proposal

Minimizing risks in Shipping Lines - Research Proposal Example Identify and formulate new strategies, techniques or methods to identify and address risks due to the various factors like operational costs, oil prices, interest and exchange rates, political and environmental changes, etc. which are either highly exorbitant, volatile, or detrimental to affect the smooth and safe functioning of the shipping industry. Plan to use both primary and secondary data for the purpose of research. Primary sources off data like interviews and questionnaire will be used. Secondary sources like books, journal publications, articles, official websites, newsrooms, etc. would be used along with the primary sources of information. The primary sources of data that would be taken into consideration would represent a small section of people and their views and feedback based on their experience and varied roles in the industry which would then be generalized for the whole industry which may pose problems when taken for formulating high impact strategies by the governmental or policy making bodies. This use of limited primary data can be compensated by using secondary data from books, articles, journals, websites, newsrooms and other reliable sources. As the interviews would be conducted at shipping d... Plan to use both primary and secondary data for the purpose of research. Primary sources off data like interviews and questionnaire will be used. Secondary sources like books, journal publications, articles, official websites, newsrooms, etc. would be used along with the primary sources of information. Your signature Date Name(s) of proposed Supervisor(s) for this Dissertation: Confirmation of approval of proposal and its ethics by the Programme Leader/External Examiner: Signed Date RESEARCH ETHICS CHECK FOR MA DISSERTATIONS INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS This form should be submitted at the same time as the Dissertation Proposal Form Your Name: Your Degree Programme: Your Dissertation Supervisor's name: SECTION 1: DETAILS OF YOUR PROJECT 1. What is the title of your dissertation Minimizing risks in Shipping 2. What do you consider to be the main ethical issues or problems that may arise with the proposed study and what steps will be taken to address them The primary sources of data that would be taken into consideration would represent a small section of people and their views and feedback based on their experience and varied roles in the industry which would then be generalized for the whole industry which may pose problems when taken for formulating high impact strategies by the governmental or policy making bodies. This use of limited primary data can be compensated by using secondary data from books, articles, journals, websites, newsrooms and other reliable sources. 3. Where exactly will the interaction with participants be As the interviews would be conducted at shipping dock yards maritime control offices, etc. interaction would be with

Migration Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Migration - Coursework Example The elimination of wage differentials will bring the movement of labour and migration will not occur in the in the absence of such differentials. This problem only needs to be sorted out in each and every event. This theoretical view varies in different countries and governments must seek to understand different variables that will help in eliminating wage differences that cause migration. International flows of human capital in the case of highly skilled workers who seek diversity and would wish to work in countries whose estimates are slowly rising. This is usually done with an intent of establishing various factors of migration that may be difficult than that of unskilled workers. Labour markets are a special kind of markets where the primary mechanisms through the international flows of labour are induced (Massey et al 437). Other markets lack this special and accommodating feature. Lastly, a lasting solution to this foreign migration is for the Governments in charge to influence the labour markets by sending or receiving countries. Dual Labour market theory - Although neoclassical human capital theory and the new economics of migration can direct one to a divergent conclusion about the origin and nature of international migration, both are essentially micro-level decision models. Causation is cumulative in the fact that each act of migration alters the social context in which subsequent migration decisions are made, typically in ways that make additional movement more likely. This principle was proposed by Herbert A. Simon, who posited that bounded rationality is an alternative basis for the mathematical modelling of decision-making, as used in economics, political science and other related disciplines. This principle complements rationality as optimization that views decision making as a fully rational process of finding an optimal choice given the information is availed at the right time (Massey

Ch9 - reflectional journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ch9 - reflectional journal - Essay Example On the other hand, global climatic change and matters concerning national council can be explained by science. For this reason, students should be thought both social studies and science together so that they can relate them separately (National Research Council, 2011). How does the relation between subjects in schools help in effective teaching? Sciences have a relationship with other fields of study. Science and mathematics are two very close subjects, and one relies on the other while doing investigations. Mathematical concepts are used to calculate complicated steps in scientific investigations. It is more advantageous to both learn mathematics and science along so that one can be an effective teacher. For a student to understand some mathematical concepts like drawing of graphs, his/ her teacher should teach the student both mathematics and science together. This enables the student to relate the concepts and understand it well rather than teaching the two subject separately (National Research Council, 2011). The world is evolving daily, and new technologies are invented. For this reason, students should be thought the Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Engineering is an essential field in technological advancement, and so teachers should involve students in STEM experiments so that they can practically understand. The Next Generation Science Standards is more concerned with (STEM) since engineering is the core subject applied in the task. In conclusion, English and art are more important for a student to be taught. Enhancement of a student’s understanding requires much reading and writing and, for this reason, a teacher should have it as its first

Equal access to computing technology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Equal access to computing technology - Case Study Example But the sad fact is that majority of the people are deprived of this new opportunities. They either do not have physical access to ICTs or do not have the necessary skills to make use of it. To deal with digital divide, the two most important things we need to create are the following. Ensure physical access to ICTs for everybody Whether ICTs are a solution to digital Divide? ICTs may be introduced when they are helpful in meeting the basic requirements of the people. When majority of the world’s population are suffering from poverty and illiteracy, physical access to internet or broadband alone is meaningless to them. So first priority shall be given to satisfying the basic requirements of the people and ICT could be introduced when it could meet some of their requirements. More than simply having physical access, providing various ICT based services could raise the standard of life of poor and illiterate people. Provide education so that everyone could develop skills to live in a digitalized world Education is the most important means through which we can deal with digital divide. Students can learn necessary skills from schools. So children in all schools and colleges should be provided access to computers and broadband connection. Through education we can deal with two types of digital divide.

The Fiscal and Monetary Policy and Economic Fluctuations Essay - 3

The Fiscal and Monetary Policy and Economic Fluctuations - Essay Example Interest-rate targets are a vital tool when dealing with variables like inflation and unemployment. Adjustments on the rates are made to keep inflation within a target range so as to ensure economic growth and therefore safeguarding economic momentum. The key reasons for changing interest rates are; to give the economy a short run boost so as to lower interest rates. And to make up for a loss as a result of the interest being subjected to taxation this is achieved by increasing the interest rates Demand side policies and Supply side policies are two strategies that create economic growth by encouraging people to spend money (Mikek, 2000). These strategies base on fiscal policy that is a general term referring to the federal government tax and spending policies. And monetary policies that refer to the actions of the central bank to achieve macroeconomic objectives like; full employment, stable economic growth and price stability. Demand side policies basing on fiscal policy decreases unemployment by helping to increase economic growth rate and aggregate demand (Siu, 2004). With a higher level of the demand and a high economic growth, the level of bankruptcy in firms will go down leading to fewer job losses. Nevertheless, demand for workers will increase thereby lowering demand deficient unemployment. Demand side policies play a role in increasing economic growth rate. However, if the economy is already stable, a further increase in AD will cause inflation and therefore increase in interest rates. Demand side policies based on the monetary policy involves cutting interest rates that lead to decrease in the cost of borrowing and also encouraging people to spend and invest. This increases both GDP and AD thereby reducing demand deficient unemployment (Mikek, 2000). Lower interest rates reduce saving incentives, and mortgage

Planting and maintaining trees in tough sites Term Paper

Planting and maintaining trees in tough sites - Term Paper Example One of the main researches that were made by this field was the identification and recognition of the characteristics of land that make it tough for trees plantation. A number of characteristics have been identified that make a land a ‘tough site’. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOUGH SITES: 1. POORLY DRAINED SOIL: The drainage of the soil is the main category to consider the toughness of a site for plantation purposes. A site is said to contain well-drained soil if it is capable of draining column of water of 24-inch in 24 hours or less. A test for this purpose is conducted through digging a 24-inch deep hole in the land and filling it with water. It is then examined whether the water is drained in 24 hours or not. If the water is not fully drained even after 24 hours, the soil is deemed to be poorly drained. 2. DROUGHTY SOILS: The soil is said to be droughty soil if the drainage rate is very high and a 24-inch water column is drained in very few minutes. The content of organic mat ter is also very less in droughty soils, sometimes lesser than 1%. This can be calculated by a laboratory test. 3. ALKALINE SOIL: The alkalinity of soil is also considered to determine the toughness of a site. A soil with higher value of PH (PH>7.0) is considered to be alkaline. It is important to note here that most of the trees grow better in acidic soil with PH

The Fiscal and Monetary Policy and Economic Fluctuations Essay - 3

The Fiscal and Monetary Policy and Economic Fluctuations - Essay Example Interest-rate targets are a vital tool when dealing with variables like inflation and unemployment. Adjustments on the rates are made to keep inflation within a target range so as to ensure economic growth and therefore safeguarding economic momentum. The key reasons for changing interest rates are; to give the economy a short run boost so as to lower interest rates. And to make up for a loss as a result of the interest being subjected to taxation this is achieved by increasing the interest rates Demand side policies and Supply side policies are two strategies that create economic growth by encouraging people to spend money (Mikek, 2000). These strategies base on fiscal policy that is a general term referring to the federal government tax and spending policies. And monetary policies that refer to the actions of the central bank to achieve macroeconomic objectives like; full employment, stable economic growth and price stability. Demand side policies basing on fiscal policy decreases unemployment by helping to increase economic growth rate and aggregate demand (Siu, 2004). With a higher level of the demand and a high economic growth, the level of bankruptcy in firms will go down leading to fewer job losses. Nevertheless, demand for workers will increase thereby lowering demand deficient unemployment. Demand side policies play a role in increasing economic growth rate. However, if the economy is already stable, a further increase in AD will cause inflation and therefore increase in interest rates. Demand side policies based on the monetary policy involves cutting interest rates that lead to decrease in the cost of borrowing and also encouraging people to spend and invest. This increases both GDP and AD thereby reducing demand deficient unemployment (Mikek, 2000). Lower interest rates reduce saving incentives, and mortgage

Creons tragic Downfall Essay Example for Free

Creons tragic Downfall Essay Creon is the tragic hero of the play, Antigone, by Sophocles, and suffers the greatest downfall. It all begins when he maes his public announcment as the new king. He states his message loud and clearly to everyone, that if anyone feels the need to bury the body od Polyneices, they will be going against the law and will be sentenced to death. In this powerful speech, he shows the need for control and order in the way he plans to rule. At the same time, he is showing arrogance in the way he insures all of his choices in judgement are correct. Creon is told that someone has gone against his words and burried the body of Polyneices; he becomes outraged and orders the sentry to find him and turn him over at once. The sentry watches as he sees Antigone come out to bury her brothers body for a second time. He catches her and she is presented to Creon. Creon questions her, and she does not deny what she has done. He orders her to death. She tells him her reasons for her actions, but they are completely ignored by Creon. Antigone is going to be taken toa vault and left to die. Creon, being stubborn, wont even listen to the pleas and threats of his own son, but when Teiresias enters, he listens to what will happen if he does not change his decisions. So he takes a drastic turn. He pushed all of his arrogance aside, along with his stobbornness and he asks for help, what shall I do? At this moment he becomes weak in front of his people. Creon the king, asking for help? He is suppose to know it all! He is then told to go quickly and free Antigone from her vault and build a tomb for the body of Polynieces. Creon is ordered to do exactly what he stated was against the law, but in order to save himself, he follows everything that he is told. Immediately he performs a burial for Polynieces and digs out Antigones vault, in hopes of saving himself from the proce of paying flesh for flesh. Asking for help is not an easy thing to do, especially when youre so head strong like Creon, but asking for help in a situation where you know you need it shows incredible courage. If only Creon had done it a little bit  earlier. After doing everything he could to change his stubborn choices, he fails. Mourning over what destruction he had caused, the deaths of his wife, son, and Antigone are his entire fault. He has tragicallu ruined himself, and now instead of dying,je os fprced to live in shame and in great pain in front of the people he ruled for his short time as king.

Aseptic Technique And Cell Counting Biology Essay

Aseptic Technique And Cell Counting Biology Essay Introduction to Aseptic techniques In microbiological and biochemical engineering studies, one almost always deals with a pure culture or a mixture of known cultures, except perhaps in waste water treatment studies. Unless aseptic culture techniques are followed strictly, an originally pure culture will definitely become contaminated with other unwanted species. The use of a contaminated culture with unknown microorganisms will only lead to incredible results that are of little value. Thus, isolation and maintenance of a pure culture is of utmost importance in many microbiological studies. It is especially important to work with a well-characterised strain if the microorganism is used for a food preparation, as well as in antibiotic production where the product is to be taken internally. The need for a clean working environment in biological engineering studies is a must and cleanliness is the prerequisite for any meaningful work. The environment we live in is full of microorganisms capable of surviving in any condition. When working with microorganisms it is desirable to work with a pure culture. A pure culture is composed of only one kind of microorganism. Occasionally a mixed culture is used. In a mixed culture there are two or more organisms that have distinct characteristics and can be separated easily. In either situation the organisms can be identified. When unwanted organisms are introduced into the culture they are known as contaminants. Aseptic technique is a method that prevents the introduction of unwanted organisms into an environment. An example of using aseptic techniques is when growing bacteria; aseptic techniques are carried out to prevent the contamination of the culture. When working with microbial cultures aseptic technique is used to prevent introducing additional organisms into the culture. Microorganisms are everywhere in the environment. When dealing with microbial cultures it is necessary to handle them in such a way that environmental organisms do not get introduced into the culture. Microorganisms may be found on surfaces and floating in air currents. They may fall from objects suspended over a culture or swim in fluids. Aseptic technique prevents environmental organisms from entering a culture. Doors and windows are kept closed in the laboratory to prevent air currents which may cause microorganisms from surfaces to become airborne. Once these microbes are airborne they are more likely to get into cultures. Agar plates are held in a manner that minimizes the exposure of the surface to the environment. When removing lids from tubes, lids are held in the hand and not placed on the countertop during the transfer of materials from one tube to another. Introduction and aims of this report This report was based on two lab sessions; the reason for undertaking two lab sessions was to allow time for the culture to grow. In these sessions the objective was to learn basic aseptic techniques that are required in a lab, and also to learn how to count cells effectively using different methods. Another thing which was trying to be achieved was to be able to grow a colony of bacteria from a single cell by doing streak plating and serial dilution. Overview of practices and uses of aseptic techniques The laboratory session involved learning about the aseptic techniques. These aseptic techniques are important in a lab because they help keep the lab sterile, and sterility is vital in a lab because it allows the scientist to study and grow the bacteria they require accurately. Sterility is also important in preventing bacteria that are not required from replicating and growing on the sterile growth medium or the agar plate. There were a few aseptic techniques we had to follow while working with bacterias and sterile growth medium. To prevent the growth medium from being contaminated by air bore bacteria and other free floating matter, a Bunsen burner was set up near where the growth medium and bacteria samples were to be used. The Bunsen burner created a convection current that killed and destroyed most of the air borne bacteria and other free floating matter near the work station. This reduced the chance of the growth medium and bacteria samples from being contaminated. The Bunsen burner was also set up to allow the use of another technique called flaming. This technique involves passing through the flame of the burner anything that has come in to contact of any bacteria or anything that is about to come in to contact of the bacteria sample. The items that are flamed are lab equipment such as bacteriological loops, glass pipette and bottle or flask necks. The items must reach a temperature of over 100 oC for it to be sterilized. Another aseptic technique is called manipulation. In this technique the smallest finger is used to remove the lid of the bottle containing the bacteria; this allows the rest of the fingers to pick up anything else that is required. This technique also ensures the lid of the bottle is not placed down onto the bench where it is liable to contamination and thus contaminating the culture of bacteria in the bottle. The last but the most important aseptic technique is who someone prevents bacteria from themselves contaminating the lab and the equipment. Every person carries a large amount of bacteria inside and the outside of the body. When working with bacteria in a lab, we had to wearing a lab coat, this prevent bacteria from our clothes and bodies spreading out in the lab. Also we had to be careful that we dont cough or sneeze on the growth medium, as this would lead to the growth of the bacteria released by the body. Also after performing the experiment it was vital that hands were washed with antibacterial soap to help prevent cross contamination. If hands are not washed correctly and if bacteria are still left on hands they are able to multiply at an exponential rate and can cause bacterial infections. The first part of the experiment was to see the different variation and amount of bacteria on hands pre wash and after wash. This was done by placing the fingers in a Petri dish with nutrient agar. Nutrient agar is a microbiological growth medium commonly used for the routine cultivation of bacteria. The dish was separated in two and was labelled with one side of dish having prints from pre washed fingers and the other side after wash. The dish was then placed into incubation at 37 degrees as it is the optimum temperature where bacteria are able to multiply at an exponential rate depending on some factors an example being the amount of food available or space. The next part of the experiment consisted of doing a streak plate. This was done using the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. Small sample of the bacteria SA was taken and put on a on a sterile loop and streak an agar medium. An example of the streak plate which was carried out is shown on the diagram below: Diagram to show procedure of streak plating    1.   Flame the loop and wire and streak a loopful of broth as at A in the diagram.    2.   Reflame the loop and cool it.    3.   Streak as at B to spread the original bacteria over more of the agar.    4.   Reflame the loop and cool it.    5.   Streak as at C, D E and F following same procedure after each streak as quoted above.    6.   Label the plate and incubate it inverted. The next part of the first session was to do serial dilution. This allows you to determine the number of cells in a bacterial culture. Since bacterial cell numbers are usually very high in the original sample, plating out this sample in an undiluted fashion would just lead to the creation of a bacterial lawn (a smear of many, many individual bacteria colonies that are all growing next to or on top of one another). Bacterial cell numbers need to be reduced, which is done by repeatedly diluting the amount of bacteria in the sample. A small amount of bacteria sample is mixed with a diluent solution (such sterile broth), and then successive dilutions are made. A small amount of each of the diluted bacteria samples is then spread onto an agar plate. The numbers of bacteria colonies that grow on each plate are counted. By working backwards using multiplication with the dilution factor (the number of times that you have diluted the bacteria sample with the diluent solution), we were able to make a determination of the numbers of bacteria in the original sample. After the dilutions were created 100  µl of each dilution was transferred to an agar plate using a pipette, it was then spread around the agar plate with a spreader. These six agar plates were then put into incubation at 37  °C for 24 hours. When spreading the bacterial lawn the plate with the dilution level 10-5 was done first and then th e others 10-4, 10-3, 10-2 .this is because the spreader which was used was plastic so the lower concentrated bacterium was spread first as the plastic spreader could not be flamed to kill the bacteria. If this aseptic technique was not used and the highest concentration of bacteria was used first it would have meant that the bacterial dishes would have become contaminated and also single colonies of bacteria would not be gained. If a glass spreader was used then it could have done in ascending order as the glass could be flamed by placing ethanol on the surface killing the bacteria on the glass spreader before doing the next part of the serial dilution. The final part of the first lab sessions was to prepare smears of bacteria for gram staining. Gram staining is a common technique used to differentiate two large groups of bacteria based on their different cell wall constituents. The Gram stain procedure distinguishes between Gram positive and Gram negative groups by colouring these cells pink or purple. Gram positive bacteria stain purple due to the presence of a thick layer of peptidoglycan in their cell walls, which retains the crystal violet these cells are stained with. Alternatively, Gram negative bacteria stain pink, which is attributed to a thinner peptidoglycan wall, which does not retain the crystal violet during the decolouring process. Gram staining involves three processes: staining with a water-soluble dye called crystal violet, decolourisation, and counterstaining, usually with safanin. Due to differences in the thickness of a peptidoglycan layer in the cell membrane between Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, Gram positive bacteria (with a thicker peptidoglycan layer) retain crystal violet stain during the decolourisation process, while Gram negative bacteria lose the crystal violet stain and are instead stained by the safranin in the final staining process. The process involves three steps: 1. Cells are stained with crystal violet dye. Next, a Grams iodine solution (iodine and potassium iodide) is added to form a complex between the crystal violet and iodine. This complex is a larger molecule than the original crystal violet stain and iodine and is insoluble in water. 2. A decolouriser such as ethyl alcohol or acetone is added to the sample, which dehydrates the peptidoglycan layer, shrinking and tightening it. The large crystal violet-iodine complex is not able to penetrate this tightened peptidoglycan layer, and is thus trapped in the cell in Gram positive bacteria. Conversely, the outer membrane of Gram negative bacteria is degraded and the thinner peptidoglycan layer of Gram negative cells is unable to retain the crystal violet-iodine complex and the colour is lost. 3. A counter stain, such as the weakly water soluble safranin, is added to the sample, staining it pink. Since the safranin is lighter than crystal violet, it does not disrupt the purple coloration in Gram positive cells. However, the decolourised Gram negative cells are stained pink. (The descriptive methods are shown in the handbook for all experiments.) Results for the gram staining After following the method as stated in the handbook we examined the slides under a microscope using the oil immersion objective of 100x. We then noted the shape of the bacteria that could be seen and the colour being purple (Gram positive) or pink (Gram negative). Below are the traces of the bacteria which could be seen under the microscope. Figure 1 Staph aureus gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Cocci shaped bacteria Irregular clusters of bacterial cells Figure 2 Bacillus cereus gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Rod shaped bacterial cell Singular bacteria Figure 3 Saccharomyces cerevisiae gram positive (purple) Description of what could be seen: Cocci shaped bacteria Clusters of bacteria closely packed Smooth Figure 4 E-coli gram negative (pink) Description of what could be seen: Rod shaped bacteria cells Linked (string like, filamentous) Results of the experiments After 24 hours the agar plates with the bacteria were ready to be viewed. Firstly the agar dishes with the hand prints were viewed. Below is a diagram of the agar dish and the bacteria which was present: There are different bacteria which were present while observing the dish, they were the following A The first bacteria which were seen and labelled as A were the largest of the three visible colonies which are circle in shape and yellow in colour with smooth edges, they can be seen to have a slightly humped surface. B These are slightly smaller in size than the ones described above and are also circle in shape but are white in colour, again the edges are smooth and the surface is humped. C- These bacterium were only seen after washing hands they had no specific shape and were a lighter colour which was not very clear. They were flat with rough edges. Before wash After wash The next dish which was observed was the streak plating dish, this had been left to incubate for 24 hours also. The results are shown on the picture below: A sample of Staphylococcus aureus was inoculated onto an agar plate using the streak plate method. From this diagram it can be seen that part 1 shows a higher concentration of bacteria. Parts 2, 3 have fewer bacteria but still there are very few single colonies. Part 4 shows many different single colonies of Staphylococcus aeurus and are easily visible. The final dish which was viewed after 24 hours of incubation was the dish containing Staphylococcus aureus where it had been diluted to 10-5. These results can be seen below where there is diagram of the Petri dish including the bacterium. From counting the colonies on the dish the figure which was calculated was 486. The amount of colonies calculated was still quite high as the preferred number of colonies would have been from 30-300. This may have been achieved if the serial dilution was carried further. To calculate the amount of cells in this agar plate first the following was done: 0.1ml of solution = 4.8610-2 (486) 1ml of solution = 4.8610-3 so as it was the serial dilution of 10-5 the calculation was then multiplied by 5 to give the final answer number of bacterial cells = 4.8610-8 The last part of the lab session was to count cells using an Improved Neubauer Counting Chamber also sometimes known as a haemocytometer. The main objective of this session was to be able to calculate the total cells in the given sample. Below is a diagram of a haemocytometer with the slide placed over it: The haemocyometer contains 9 large squares under the microscope at the 40X lens. The area of the square can be measured at 1mm2. The way to distinguish these squares from one another is by the tripe dense lines. Within each large square there are smaller grids which can be used to help during counting. Also when the counting the bacteria cells there was a set way to do this as shown below in the diagram:- Bacterial cells So as can be seen in the diagram if the bacteria cells are at placed on the edge of the small squares then they will not be recorded. The orange lines representing cells will not be recorded as they are the end of the grid. 3 dense line separating each large square The way the cells were counted was to identify which squares were going to be used to observe and calculate the number of bacteria present. The way this was done was there were 9 squares and only 5 squares were chosen as shown in the diagram below: Squares 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 were the squares which were used to count the bacteria. Once the haemocytometer was set and the proposed samples were placed into the counting chambers and then placed under a microscope to view (extended method is described in the module handbook). The cell count was done for two different cell suspensions whole blood (ovine) and brewers yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae) the samples were not diluted. They were then counted and the results are shown in the table below. Table to show cell count from haemocytometer for the whole blood Square Number Number Of Cells Present 1 50 2 48 3 47 4 48 5 44 Total 237 To calculate the total cell count in the neat solution a calculation was needed. Firstly the average number of cells was needed to be worked out. The sum was 237/5=47.4. To work out the cell number it was multiplied by 110-4=4.7410-5 So then finally to work out the cell yield the number of cells/ml was used which was 4.710-5 and was multiplied by the total volume of 10ml and thus the yield calculated was 4.7410-6. Table to show cell count from haemocytometer for the Brewers yeast Square Number Number Of Cells Present 1 22 2 20 3 15 4 9 5 15 total 81 The same steps were taken to work out the cell number and yield for the Brewers yeast. Cell number = 1.6210-5 Cell Yield = 1.6210-6 Table to show cell number and cell yield of both samples Brewers yeast Whole blood Cell number 4.7410-4 1.6210-5 Cell yield 4.7410-6 1.6210-6 Discussion of results In this part of the report I will refer to the results obtained and assess if they were accurate or not to the study of aseptic techniques. Firstly the practical which involved looking at bacteria on the skin showed that after washing there was fewer bacteria but another form of bacterial cells started to grow. The reason for this could have been that when closing the taps I may have used my hands. The taps in the lab are made o be closed by the wrist so the bacteria is unable to come in contact with the surface of your hands. The reason for this is because if you wash your hands and then close the taps with your hands again then you are just collecting the bacteria off the taps again. In some cases the amount of microbacterium on the skin can increase after washing, this is because by covering the skin with water you are making conditions for microrganisms more favourable and thus more will grow. It is therefore understandable that the growth of microorganisms will depend upon the c hemical composition of the skin, for example if it is dry or whether it has a low pH. Most microorganisms that are present on the skin are located near hair follicles or sweat glands this is because they provide the nutrients and the correct environment for there growth. Also another reason for the bacteria still being there after washing hands on the agar dish was because of the process of washing hands. The process of washing hands should be done surgically as there is not such thing as part sterile. So to make sure that all germs and bacteria are washed away from skin the procedure of hand washing should be followed correctly. There are over 100 different types of bacteria on hands. The most common types of bacteria found on hands are familiar household names: Propionobacterium (the bacteria responsible for acne), strep, and staph (of which the infamous methicillin resistant staph aureus, MRSA is a subtype). Not all these bacteria are harmful as skin infections do not arise because you have bacteria on your skin. Rather, they arise because the type of bacteria on infected skin is not healthy bacteria but aggressive pathogenic bacteria. Streak plating discussion From looking at the results obtained from the streak plating it can be seen that the streak plate was not very accurate as the intended result was not achieved. The aim of this experiment was to try and gain single colonies but the problem with the streak plate which I had carried out was that there was not enough room for the single colonies to advance. This was because the initial inoculation streaks were too thick and so took up too much space thus leaving little space in the middle of the plate for single colonies. It is therefore required that the initial streaks are made thinner and cover, as a rough estimate, the outer 2cm of the agar plate thus, leaving plentiful space at the centre of the plate for single colonies to grow. The problem with this procedure is that each colony may not represent the progeny from one cell, as two or more cells which are very close together could appear as one colony. Another problem which may have caused difficulty achieving single colonies may h ave been the concentration of the bacteria. If the bacteria were diluted it may have helped to achieve single colonies. The single colonies which were achieved were all similar to one another this shows that the bacterium which was present in them colonies was the same bacteria. This was achieved as the inoculating loop was sterilised each time so only the bacterium which was being used grew on the agar dish. Gram Staining In this part of the practical there were four different bacteria which were tested by using the gram staining process to see if they were gram positive or gram negative. The first bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae which were gram positive bacterium as after testing the bacteria under the microscope it showed that it was stained purple. The SA under the microscope was seen like a bunch of grapes as its names suggest as Staphyle in Greek terms meant grapes. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium, frequently living on the skin or in the nose of a healthy person that can cause illnesses ranging from minor skin infections and abscesses, to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis and septicemia. The Bacillus cereus is a facultative anaerobic bacterium associated with food poisoning in humans. The food poisoning is a result of ingesting toxins produced by the bacteria. B. cereus is widespread in the soil and the food industry in such foods as herbs, spices, milk, and vegetables. Transmission of this disease results not only from contaminated foods, but also from improper food handling/storage and improper cooling of cooked food. The bacteria seen under the microscope and as can be seen in the diagram (figure 2) shows the bacteria as rod shaped bacteria which do not cluster together and are separated around the slide, in different directions and are not in any particular order as they all in different angles. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae is also known better as yeast which could be used for baking or used while making alcohol. These cells where seen under the microscope as single cells which were rounded shaped cells and were closely packed together in groups. The last bacterium was the E. coli which was stained pink as this was a gram negative bacterium. This bacterium is found in animals and birds in the lower intestines it helps with the digestion of food. If E. coli is ingested it will cause the small intestine to become inflamed. People can contract an E. coli infection by drinking contaminated water, eating fruit or vegetables that have been watered with contaminated water, drinking unpasteurised milk, or eating undercooked ground meat. In Gram-positive cells, peptidoglycan makes up as much as 90% of the thick cell wall; more than 20 layers of this polymer stacked together. These peptidoglycan layers are the outermost cell wall structure of Gram positive cells, whereas in Gram negative cells, the thinner peptidoglycan component is covered by an external lipopolysaccharide (LPS) membrane. Serial dilution agar dish 10-5 This practical was done to see if individual colonies were able to be produced so the cells could be counted. The main aim was to reach from 30 -300 individual colonies. The amount of colonies which I produced in my agar dish was calculated and counted at 486. The method used was to try and calculate the number of cells in 1 ml solution of SA. This could only be done by serial dilution as it would be too difficult to count the cells if the bacterium solution was not diluted. The other dishes had too many colonies to count just by using the naked eye because it looked like a bacteria lawn. To try and achieve a better result and fewer colonies the experiment could have gone further and instead of having a concentration of 10-5 the solution could have been diluted further. By diluting down the solution it also allows the bacterium to grow in optimum conditions as they do not have problems such as less space or food. Cell counting using a haemocytometer In this part of the practical two solution were supplied and cells were counted by the use of a haemocytometer and a microscope. While counting the bacteria it may have been misjudged as some bacteria may not have been counting this is one reason why the number recorded were quite low as the solution was not diluted as well. Also when counting the bacteria its a total cell count so it is the living and dead bacteria so the results are not as accurate if only doing a live cell count. A better idea would be to do a serial dilution when doing a live cell count as only the living cells will grow into individual colonies. For the whole blood the amount of cells which were calculated was 237 and in the brewers yeast there were 81 cells. A reason for the brewers yeast having less amount of cells maybe that the cells form flocks of cells so it may be hard to visually see separate cells so when counting them a few cells may be counted as one cell. Also when counting these cells the same perso n was used to count the cells in both solution the reason for this being as different people have different judgments and by using the same person it will help gain fair and more accurate results.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome Essay -- Health Medical Medicine Essays

Guillain-Barre Syndrome Most people do not expect to become paralyzed during the course of their lives. Barring injury to the nervous system or debilitating disease, one does not expect to lose motor function. In spite of these expectations, people of all races, sexes, ages, and classes can be afflicted with a debilitating syndrome that can lead to difficulty in walking or even to temporary paralysis in the most severe cases. This syndrome is known commonly as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or GBS. GBS is an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. When the syndrome occurs, the body's peripheral nerves become inflamed and cease to work due to an unknown cause. (1) (3) Around 50% of the cases of GBS appear after a bacterial or viral infection. (1) The syndrome can also appear after surgery or vaccination. GBS can appear hours or days after these incidences or can even take up to three or four weeks to appear. (4) Some theories propose that GBS is caused by a mechanism of the autoimmune system that prompts antibodies and white blood cells to attack the covering and insulation of the nerve cells, which leads to abnormal sensation. GBS is considered a syndrome rather than a disease, because its description is based on a set of symptoms reported by the patient to her doctor. (5) GBS is also known as acute inflammatory demylinating polyneuropathy and Landry's ascending paralysis after Jean B. O. Landry, a French physician who described a disorder that "paralyzed the legs, arms, neck, and breathing muscles of the chest." (4) (1) GBS was named after French physicians Georges Guillain and Jean Alexander Barre who, along with fellow physician Andre Stohl, described the differences of the spinal fluid of those who suffered f... ...undation International, based in Wynnewood, PA. http://www.guillain-barre.com/overview.html 2) Kolata, Gina. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It. Simon & Schuster: New York. Pgs. 167-185. 3) Guillain-Barrà © Support Group, The homepage for the Guillain-Barre Syndrome Support Group based in the United Kingdom. The organization disseminates information to sufferers of the syndrome and their family and friends. http://www.gbs.org.uk/index2.shtml 4) NINDS Guillain-Barre Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke information page on GBS. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/gbs.htm 5) GBS - An Overview For The Layperson, An overview of GBS written by Dr. Joel S. Steinberg, a neurologist that once suffered from GBS. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~guillain/gbs.htm

Common Sense Justice Essay -- Law

Commonsense justice and jury instructions are placed together to exemplify the informative and the response between the two; like the â€Å"analytic and beneficial†. Conjoining these two objectives, gives them â€Å"instructive potential for the law;† with the verdicts of not guilty, or hung juries, and jury nullification. These two objectives are â€Å"more likely the failure of jury instructions,† [slightly] than the â€Å"failings of jurors.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Norman J. Finkel, 2000). Both of the objectives have a teaching method that gives jurors no time management and no chance to comprehend the differences. In the court system they have two laws; one is black-letter law, and commonsense justice. Black-letter law is a generally known law plus the most common, and it is what the legislators have endorsed, and it was intertwined through the â€Å"common-law cases and appeals decisions.† Black-letter law takes the instructions away from second guesses, and disagreements, and makes a set of clear and precise rules. (Norman J. Finkel, 2000). Commonsense justice represents the citizens and what they think what is right and wrong; just and fair. The bias that jurors have inside themselves, they are taking those emotions to the jury box as they are about to judge the â€Å"defendant and the law.† What the citizens feel the law should be is what they think. (Norman J. Finkel, 2000). Instructions for jurors were â€Å"rewritten using psycholinguistic principles† which [illustrated] that their comprehension improved.† â€Å"Commonsense justice and jury instructions,† adjacent on an â€Å"instructive and reciprocating connection,† continued to demonstrate the studies of how citizens interpreted the instructions. (Norman J. Finkel, 2000) If the instructions are not understandable ... ...tz et. al. 1997). â€Å"The standard of proof in a trial is one such fundamental tenet of criminal law.† (Horowitz et. al. 1997). Works Cited Haney, Craig (1997). Commonsense Justice and Capital Punishment. Problematizing the â€Å"Will of the People† Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3(2/3), 303-337. Horowitz, Irwin A. (1997). Reasonable Doubt. Instructions commonsense justice and standard of proof. Psychology Public Policy, and Law, 3(2/3), 285-302 Norman, Finkel J. (2000). Commonsense Justice and Jury Instructions. Instructive and Reciprocating Connections. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 6(3), 591-628 Norman, Finkel J. and Groscup, Jennifer L.. (1997). When Mistakes Happen. Commonsense Ruels of Culpability. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3(1), 65-125.

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nurse ratios and how management and leaders effectively incorporate theories, principles and leadership styles and qualities that are effective in providing quality leadership and management to staff. There are differences in leaders and managers, in the styles, goals and qualities that define leaders and managers. The effects of the nurse patient ratio can be seen as well as felt on multiple levels of the facility. As far as nurse managers, they are on the closest level besides bedside nurses to see the effects of ratios. Studies have shown that higher nurse patient ratios lead to higher adverse outcomes for patients, lower patient satisfaction as well as higher nurse turnover , which increases costs to the facility. The article in the Journal of Clinical Nursing (2011) investigates the relationships between nurse staffing, nursing activities and adverse patient outcomes in the acute care setting as reported by nurses in Finland and the Netherlands. The study was performed using a cross-sectional, descriptive questionnaire. The study discusses tasks performed by nurses, as well as tasks performed by LPN’s and other staff. The studies show that nurses with higher patient ratio’s have higher incidence of medication administration errors, patient falls as lower patient satisfaction. The nurse manager has direct impact on the development and implementation of tools such as the staffing matrix, acuities scores and what is the policy for staffing. The nurses should be able to go to the managers with concerns regarding staffing issues. Nursing leaders look at the bigger picture, such as patient satisfaction but are also required to look at fiscal responsibilities that the facility has, as well as community events and support projects. Leaders look to improve and promote positive changes that will benefit the community served by the facility. Nurse leaders can evaluate how the policies and procedures are working, if they need to be changes to provide better quality of care. Nurse leaders also assist in educating staff on the reasons change is necessary and the steps that can be taken to effectively implement changes. Nurse managers are there to provide direction on daily tasks, support and as a resource  to staff. Typically, nurse managers deal with day to day running of the floor and issues that arise with staff and/or patients. Managers typically see issues that arise with current policies, provide direction to staff. It is understandable how management can be pulled in opposite directions such as what is best for nursing staff and patients may not be the same as what is good for the facility. Upper management does not always seem to have a grasp on the reality of the floor, the day to day issues of providing patient care and just what is necessary to maintain patient satisfaction. The theories and principles that best describe this writers philosophy is a mix. One theory or principle does not fit. A mix of situational, servant and participative includes the theories followed. Different situations can bring out different needs. An example in my facility is, with concerns regarding financial changes occurring in healthcare, rising costs to healthcare, a poor economy and decreased reimbursments, the leaders have to look at all those aspects, and evaluate the risk vs. benefits to nurse ratios. The nurse managers have to follow the rules set forth, and try to comply with the demands from upper management. It is expected by me that nurse managers look at the reality of the floor while keeping the needs of the facility in mind. Floor nurses are the advocates for the patient, and have a unique perspective of the needs of the floor. Managing staffing, acuities and patient care while also dealing with physicians, and upper  management requires effort and active participation. Leaders need to think outside the box, look at the bigger picture and then convince everyone that the changes are necessary, needed and beneficial. Both positions require skills such as good communication, good listening, being able to lead without dictatorship or by fear. Creating a positive environment while maintaining authority is not an easy task. Creating an atmosphere conducive to change while providing high quality care and keeping everyone happy is an even more difficult task. But both of these tasks require a relationship, trust and communication between all parties or departments involved. Staffing ratios have been studied, as seen in the study regarding work satisfaction (Nursing Economics, 2012) discusses the first staffing law that went into effect in California in 2004. The study showed that nurses with a lower nurse to patient ratio had a higher job satisfaction rate, as well as better patient satisfaction. The costs associated with high nurse turnover include more than just monetary costs. The safety risks to patients can not be ignored. Nurse managers can evaluate the effectiveness of the policies as they are closest to the floor nurses and patients. Nurse managers have a different and unique experience, as do nurse leaders. Both areas require active participation with daily interaction with staff. The staff needs to feel a part of the team, respected and listened to. To have an effective unit, collaboration between all levels needs to be in place. Effective managers and effective leaders can work together to achieve goals, while providing high quality patient care. References Hinno, S., Partanen, P., & Vehvilà ¤inen-Julkunen, K. (2012). Nursing activities, nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes as perceived by hospital nurses. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(11/12), 1584-1593. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03956.x Tellez, M. (2012). Work Satisfaction Among California Registered Nurses: A Longitudinal Comparative Analysis. Nursing Economic$, 30(2), 73-81.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 36

Damon was the first to move, which didn't surprise Elena. His leather jacket scorched, long burns running across his face and arms, he staggered past the others through the fire and threw open the garage door. Outside, thunder rumbled overhead and a heavy rain was fal ing. Despite the rain, the garage was burning ferociously, flames licking their way up the sides of the smal building and across the roof. As they al stumbled outside, Meredith, coughing, turned her face up to the rain. Matt and Alaric supported Mrs. Flowers and placed her in the driver's seat of her car. Elena held her hands out, letting the driving rain wash away the soot and soothe her burns. The rest of her friends mil ed around not far from the burning garage, stil stunned. â€Å"Oh, Damon,† said Bonnie. She paused to cough and wheeze for a few seconds, then leaned careful y toward Damon, avoiding his injuries, and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"I'm so happy you came back.† â€Å"Thank you, redbird,† Damon said, patting her on the back. â€Å"Excuse me for a second; I need to take care of something.† He stepped away and caught Elena by the hand. In the distance came the wail of sirens, signaling the advance of fire trucks and police cars drawn by the fire. Damon pul ed Elena toward the dark shadows under a tree near the house. â€Å"Come on,† he said. â€Å"You need blood now.† He felt his throat with charred fingers, then drew a fingernail against one of his veins. His leather jacket was practical y destroyed, just rags and ashes hanging from him, and the long burns on his face and body were stil red and raw-looking, but already better than they had been a few minutes before. â€Å"I could do that,† said Stefan, approaching them and leaning against the wal of the house. He looked tired and bedraggled, but his injuries, too, were already healing. â€Å"Elena's always welcome to my blood.† â€Å"You can definitely pitch in. But that's a bad injury she's got,† said Damon matter-of-factly, â€Å"and you don't have the Power to heal it right now.† Elena had been trying not to look at her right hand. Although she couldn't real y move it, it didn't hurt much anymore. Which was probably a bad sign, actual y. Did that mean the nerve endings were dead? A quick, anxious glance down at her hand made her stomach churn. Even that tiny glimpse showed her horribly blackened and reddened flesh and peeling skin and – God – she thought she'd seen a glimpse of bone beneath the flesh. She let out a low, involuntary whimper. â€Å"Drink,† said Damon impatiently. â€Å"Let me fix it before they come and drag you off to the burn unit.† Elena stil hesitated, and Damon sighed and turned to Stefan again. â€Å"Look,† he said, his voice softening, â€Å"it's not always about Power. Sometimes the blood is just about taking care of someone.† â€Å"I know that,† Stefan replied, blinking tiredly at him. â€Å"I just wasn't sure that you did.† Damon's mouth twisted in a wry smile. â€Å"I'm an old man, little brother,† he said. â€Å"I know a lot of things.† He turned back to Elena. â€Å"Drink now,† he insisted, and Stefan smiled reassuringly at her. Elena nodded at Stefan before pushing her mouth tightly against Damon's neck. The second she tasted his blood, Elena became wrapped in warmth and the pain in her hand stopped. She no longer felt the unpleasant cold drumming of the rain on her head and shoulders, the icy trickle of water down her body. She was cozy and safe and loved, and time had stopped just long enough for her to catch her breath. Damon? she thought, and reached out to his mind with hers. He answered her without words, but with a wave of affection and care, of undemanding love. Through the haze, Elena realized there was something new here†¦ When she and Damon had al owed their minds to touch in the past, she had often sensed that Damon had been holding back a part of himself. Or, on the rare occasions when she got past the inner barriers he'd thrown up against intruders, she'd found hurt and rage, a lost child chained to a rock. Now Elena sensed only love and peace as she and Damon melted into each other. When she pul ed back from him at last, it took her a moment to return to the real world. Stefan was no longer next to them. It was raining stil , cold water running through her hair, over her shoulders, down her neck and arms and body. Her hand ached and was stil badly burned, but it had healed to the point of needing ointment and a bandage rather than surgery. A couple of fire trucks and police cars pul ed into the drive, lights blazing, sirens screaming. Closer to the garage, she saw Meredith abruptly drop Stefan's arm, and Elena realized Meredith had been drinking from his wrist. She realized vaguely that she would have been shocked by this only a few hours ago – she would have assumed Meredith would shy away from touching the blood of any vampire, and Stefan had always reserved his blood for Elena as part of the connection only they shared – but she couldn't work up any real emotion about it now. It felt like al the barriers between their group had broken down. Whether this new state of things lasted or not, they were al one for now. They'd seen the worst of one another. They'd told the truth and come out the other side. And now, if Meredith needed to be healed, of course Stefan would give her his blood. It would be the same for any of them. The firemen jumped from their truck and unrol ed the hoses. As they turned their a ttention to putting out the fire, a couple of uniformed police officers and a man who must be the fire marshal walked purposeful y toward Mrs. Flowers, Matt, Alaric, Celia, and Bonnie, al of whom were now huddled in the car. Meredith and Stefan headed toward them, too. â€Å"Why didn't they help her into the house?† Elena wondered aloud suddenly, and Damon turned a blank gaze of surprise on her. â€Å"I have no idea,† he said slowly. â€Å"It never even occurred to me that we could go inside. I guess everyone felt like they should be out here to watch it burn. Make sure the phantom doesn't come out.† â€Å"It's like we were at the end of the world,† she said softly, thinking aloud. â€Å"Even the boardinghouse seemed so far away that it just wasn't part of the picture. Now that other people are here, the world is starting to turn again.† Damon hmmmed noncommittal y. â€Å"We'd better get over there,† he said. â€Å"I think they could use some help.† Mrs. Flowers's voice was raised indignantly, although Elena couldn't make out the words. As she trailed after Damon she smiled to herself: Since when had Damon cared whether anyone, except Elena herself, could use some help? As they got closer, Elena could see that Mrs. Flowers had gotten out of the car and assumed her best expression of dottiness and eccentricity, blue eyes wide, arms akimbo, as Alaric held an umbrel a over her head. â€Å"Young man!† she snapped at the fire marshal. â€Å"What are you trying to imply by asking why my car wasn't parked in the garage? Surely I have every right to distribute my possessions anywhere I like on my own property! What sort of world do we live in where I am penalized, where I am judged for not fol owing conventions? Do you dare to suggest that I might have had some advance knowledge of this fire?† â€Å"Wel , ma'am, it's been known to happen. I'm not suggesting anything, but the matter has to be investigated,† said the fire marshal stolidly. â€Å"What're al these kids doing here?† one of the police officers asked, shooting a glance around. His eyes lingered on Damon's burned leather jacket and the raw skinless patch on Stefan's cheek. â€Å"We're going to need to talk to al of you,† he said. â€Å"Let's start by getting your names and addresses.† Stefan stepped forward and held the officer's eyes with his. â€Å"I'm sure that won't be necessary,† he said softly, compel ingly. Elena could feel him using his Power. â€Å"The garage burned because it was struck by lightning in the storm. No one was here except the old lady in the house and a few of her guests. Everything's so straightforward and simple, there's no need to question anyone.† The officer looked puzzled and then nodded, his face clearing. â€Å"These storms can cause a lot of property damage,† he replied. The fire marshal snorted. â€Å"What are you talking about? Lightning didn't strike anywhere near here.† Stefan shifted his gaze to the fire marshal. â€Å"There's nothing to bother investigating†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But the spel was broken, and now al three men were looking at him with suspicion. Stefan's Power wasn't going to be strong enough to use on al three, Elena realized, and he wouldn't be able to convince even one of them if the men were al together, awakening one another's doubts. Stefan's face was drawn and tired. He had fought a long battle – more than one, actual y. And Stefan was never strong in Power, not when he didn't drink human blood. If he'd been worrying over her and preparing to fight the phantom, it had probably been days since he had had even more than a few swal ows of animal blood. Damon stepped forward. â€Å"Sir?† he said politely. The fire marshal looked at him. â€Å"If I could speak to you privately for a moment, I'm sure we can clear this up.† The marshal frowned but fol owed him to the back porch of the boardinghouse, the second police officer tagging along. Under the porch light, they faced Damon, at first suspicious. Gradual y, as he spoke to them, their shoulders relaxed and they began to nod and smile. Stefan spoke softly to the other officer again. He'd be able to handle influencing one person alone, Elena knew, even in his current state. Meredith and Bonnie had gotten into the backseat of Mrs. Flowers's ancient automobile – so old that Elena suspected it might predate Mrs. Flowers herself – and were deep in conversation, while Alaric and Celia continued to support Mrs. Flowers under the umbrel a as she listened to Stefan's conversation with the police officer, Matt hovering nearby. Elena walked quietly past them and slipped into the back of the car with Bonnie and Meredith. The door shut with a satisfyingly heavy clunk, and the black leather bench seat creaked and groaned under her. Bonnie's red curls were soaked straight, wet tendrils hanging down over her shoulders and sticking to her forehead. Her face was smudged with ash and her eyes were red, but she gave Elena a genuinely happy smile. â€Å"We won,† she said. â€Å"It's gone for good, isn't it? We did it.† Meredith was solemn yet exultant, her gray eyes shining. There was stil a smear of Stefan's blood on her lips, and Elena stifled the urge to wipe it away for her. â€Å"We did win,† Meredith affirmed. â€Å"You both did so amazingly. Bonnie, it was real y smart of you to start casting off jealousies as fast as you could. It kept the phantom off balance. And Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She swal owed. â€Å"Plunging into the fire was so brave of you. How's your hand?† Elena held out her hand and flexed the fingers in front of them. â€Å"The incredible powers of vampire blood,† Elena said lightly. â€Å"Very useful for the aftermath of a battle, right, Meredith?† Meredith flushed at Elena's teasing, then smiled a little. â€Å"I don't know,† she said. â€Å"It seemed sil y not to use al our†¦ advantages. I feel better already.† â€Å"You were terrific, too, Meredith,† Bonnie said. â€Å"You fought like you were dancing. Graceful and strong and beautiful and so supertough, the way you used your stave.† Elena agreed. â€Å"I never could have gotten the rose if you hadn't cut the phantom.† â€Å"I guess we're al terrific,† said Meredith. â€Å"The first meeting of the Robert E. Lee High School Alumni Mutual Admiration Society is now cal ed to order.† â€Å"We'l have to get Matt in and tel him how wonderful he is,† Bonnie said. â€Å"And I guess Stefan also counts as an alum, right? I think now that the world's changed, he might have graduated with us.† She yawned, showing a smal pink tongue like a cat's. â€Å"I'm just worn out.† Elena realized she was, too. It had been a very long day. A very long year since the Salvatore brothers had come to Fel ‘s Church and life had changed forever. She slumped down in the seat and rested her head on Meredith's shoulder. â€Å"Thank you for saving the town again, both of you,† she said sleepily. It seemed important to say it. â€Å"Maybe tomorrow we can start working on normal again.† Meredith laughed a little and hugged them both. â€Å"Nothing can defeat our sisterhood,† she said. â€Å"We're too good for normal.† Her breath hitched. â€Å"When you were both taken by the phantom,† she said quietly, â€Å"I was afraid I had lost you forever. You're my sisters, real y, not just my friends, and I need you. I want you to know that.† â€Å"Absolutely,† Bonnie said, nodding feverishly. Elena reached out for both of them. The three friends squeezed one another tightly in a laughing, slightly tearful group hug. Tomorrow would come, and maybe normal – whatever that was at this point – would come, too. For now, Elena had her true friends. That was a lot. Whatever happened, that would be enough.