Ehrs in Health Care

EHRs in Health Care x x x Abstract In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was passed into law mandating interoperable Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption throughout the United States health care system for all providers who serve Medicare or Medicaid patients. The HITECH Act sets â€Å"meaningful use† requirements, goals, and objectives, and gives specific timelines for which to achieve them.As an incentive to expedite the process, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has offered monetary rewards for those facilities and physicians who are taking steps to implement an EHR system by 2015. Beginning in 2015, CMS will penalize facilities and physicians who have not implemented an EHR system. One of the stipulations of receiving the incentive money is demonstrating â€Å"meaningful use†, or utilizing EHR technology in a meaningful way that improves patient care.Meaningful use has three stages, each focusi ng on different areas of patient care. There are several advantages and disadvantages of implementing an EHR system, but the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. The HITECH Act is one of the most important pieces of health care legislation to date and has been called the â€Å"foundation for health care reform† (Blavin & Ormond, 2011). In 2004, the Bush administration introduced a plan to ensure that the medical profession completely converts to electronic health records (EHR).This plan was passed into law by the Obama administration in 2009 under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which is a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Kwami, n. d. ). This Act is essentially a $27 billion stimulus package meant to accelerate health care information technology in the United States. It allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer financial incentives (up to $44,000 from Medicare and $63,75 0 from Medicaid per physician or up to $2 million per hospital) for implementing anElectronic Health Record (EHR) system in their facility by 2015 (Murphy, 2012). Not only do they have to implement it, they must also meet the â€Å"meaningful use† requirements set forth by CMS for successful utilization of the EHR system. To receive the maximum incentive payment, physicians/facilities must begin participation by April 1, 2013. Starting in 2015, physicians and facilities who have not met those requirements will be penalized. What is Meaningful Use? Meaningful use is an umbrella term for the rules and regulations that hospitals and physicians must meet to qualify for the federal incentive funding under ARRA.There are three stages of meaningful use; each has different goals and objectives. For example, stage one focuses on data capture and sharing, and is grouped into five patient-driven areas related to patient health outcomes: 1. ) Improve quality, safety, and efficiency, 2. ) Engage patients and families, 3. ) Improve care coordination, 4. ) Improve public and population health, and 5. ) Ensure privacy and security for personal health information (â€Å"Meaningful Use 101,† n. d. ). Step two focuses on the advanced clinical processes involved in patient care and stage three will focus on improving actual patient outcomes.Requirements for meaningful use include the ability to e-prescribe, electronically exchange patient health information, and report on clinical data. The eventual goal is a national health information network. Facilities and physicians must achieve stage three of meaningful use by 2015. Traditionally, physicians have been reimbursed based on how many services they provide (fee for service). Meaningful use shifts this paradigm to a more patient centered process and concentrates on performance-based initiatives like pay for performance (P4P) reimbursement.CMS recently introduced three P4P programs mandated by ARRA designed to reward higher-performing hospitals and penalize poorer-performing hospitals through these reimbursement practices. Hospitals performing at or below the 50th percentile nationally on hospital quality and patient experience measures can expect to see a significant reduction in payment from CMS as early as 2012 (â€Å"Pay for Performance Payment,† n. d. ). The shift from volume-based to value-based reimbursement methodology puts more emphasis on patient care and achieving positive outcomes.Another part of meaningful use requires that EHRs are interoperable with other facilities and physicians even if they are not the within the same organization. This means that every organization’s EHR system must to be able to â€Å"talk† to other organizations’ systems. If a patient travels to another state or another country and needs to go to the doctor for any reason, the physician there will be able to bring up the patient’s EHR and treat them based on the up-to-date medical information contained in their EHR. This is especially important in emergency situations where the patient may not be in the position to supply needed information.Locally, interoperability is important because it helps physicians communicate with other facilities such as a referral. A patient’s family physician may refer them to a specialty doctor and with an EHR, both doctors can view and document findings in one record rather than having separate papers that need to be brought in by the patient and filed in their paper record. EHRs are also an asset within the same facility. When a patient gets a lab or x-rays done, the physician can immediately bring up the results rather than having to wait for the lab/x-ray technician to physically bring the results to them.Interoperability makes coordination of care easier and more efficient. Advantages of Implementing an EHR In addition to the benefits of interoperability, there are several other advantages of implementing an EHR. The main goal of an EHR is to improve the quality and safety of patient care. EHRs can help provide better health care by improving all aspects of patient care like safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, communication, education, timeliness, and efficiency (â€Å"What Are the Advantages,† n. . ). Having a single record that includes all of a patient's health information and is up to date, complete, and accurate allow for better coordination of care, accessibility of information, convenience, simpler disease management, enhanced collaboration between providers by improved information sharing, a significant reduction in medical errors, up-to-date medication and allergy lists, and cost savings in the long run (â€Å"Benefits of EHRs,† n. d. ). EHRs also reduce waste and liminate duplicate screenings and tests, as well as help physicians make better, more comprehensive clinical decisions by integrating patient information from multiple sources into one EHR (â₠¬Å"What Are the Advantages,† n. d. ). Another advantage of having your health record in electronic format is increased security and privacy. With a paper record, anyone can pull it off the shelf and browse through it, but with an electronic record there are differing levels of authorization allowing only certain people access to your chart. Also, your chart cannot get â€Å"lost†.Instead of someone having to sign it out every time they need to use it and having to manually track it, an EHR allows multiple users to access it at different times, on different computers, and leaves an audit trail automatically. Disadvantages of Implementing an EHR There are also disadvantages of EHRs including overall cost, ongoing maintenance costs, changes in workflow, and temporary loss of productivity just to name a few (Menachemi ; Collum, 2011). One of the biggest concerns of implementing an EHR system is the initial cost.Acquiring and implementing an EHR system can be quite expensive depending on the size of the facility. The projected total cost for a medium sized inpatient facility with a seven year EHR installation is approximately $19 million. In the outpatient setting, cost is approximately $14,000 per physician in the initial year of implementation for a six-physician practice, and $19,000 per physician with three or fewer physicians (Menachemi ; Collum, 2011). Smaller practices may find it hard to cope with the added expense of an EHR system; the viability of those practices may suffer as a result.Another disadvantage of implementing an EHR system is the cost of transitioning from paper to electronic records. Additional staff will be required to scan in all of the paper documents into electronic format. This process can take months depending on how big the facility is so it could really have an impact on a facilities bottom line. There will also be a period of time where the staff is less productive than they would normally be as they learn how to use th e electronic system. This period is called the â€Å"learning curve†.To help remedy this, temporary staff will need to be hired to fill in the gap and keep the workflow up to date which also has a significant financial effect on an organization. The maintenance of an EHR system can be costly and technology is not always reliable. Hardware must be replaced and software must be upgraded on a regular basis. In addition, providers must have ongoing training for staff as well as IT support available, such as a 24/7 help line. Also, as with all things electronic, there is always the possibility of the system going down.Hospitals and physicians must have a plan in place outlining what the proper procedure is for the â€Å"down time† until the system is up and running again. This generally means they will have to revert back to paper documentation while the system is down, so they also need to have a recovery plan in place detailing how they will go about getting the paper doc umentation from the â€Å"down time† transferred into the EHRs. Conclusion Although some might argue that an EHR system is too costly and too much work, it is a federal mandate that all physicians/facilities (who service Medicare or Medicaid patients) implement an EHR system.And while the transition from paper to electronic is a costly and tedious process, the benefits of an EHR are numerous and greatly outweigh the cost of implementation. As President Obama said, â€Å"You shouldn’t have to tell every new doctor you see about your medical history or what prescriptions you’re taking. You shouldn’t have to repeat costly tests. All that information should be stored securely in a private medical record so that your information can be tracked from one doctor to another — even if you change jobs, even if you move, even if you have to see a number of different specialists.That’s just common sense. † (Making the Switch: Replacing, 2010). Ref erences Benefits of EHRs. (n. d. ). Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www. healthit. gov/providers-professionals/improved-care-coordination Blavin, F. , ; Ormond, B. (2011, May). HITECH, meaningful use, and public health: Funding opportunities for state immunization registries [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www. medicaidhitechta. org/Portals/0/Users/011/11/11/ImmunRegWhitePaper. pdf Kwami, K. K. (n. d. ). The EMR federal requirements of physicians. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www. how. com/list_6961848_emr-federal-requirements-physicians. html Making the switch: Replacing your EHR for more money and more control [White paper]. (2010, September). Retrieved from http://www. healthcareitnews. com/sites/default/files/ resource-media/pdf/making_the_switch_replacing_your_ehr. pdf Meaningful use 101. (n. d. ). Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www. medicity. com/meaningful-use-101. html Menachemi, N. , ; Collum, T. H. (2011, May 11). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. ov/pmc/articles/PMC3270933/ Murphy, K. (2012, May 9). American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Retrieved from http://ehrintelligence. com/glossary/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act-arra/ Pay for performance payment systems that reward or penalize hospitals based on performance. (n. d. ). Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www. getwellnetwork. com/services/health-reform/pay-performance What are the advantages of electronic health records? (n. d. ). Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www. healthit. gov/providers-professionals/faqs/what-are-advantages-electronic-health-records

American Culture and Politics

This research looks at American Culture and Politics since there is so much in American history and culture. The proposal paper contains some of the findings about the American politics and culture. This paper can help scholars who want to have a wide knowledge about American politics and culture and how they influence each other. The primary research sources that will be used include: Questionnaire and Interview. Secondary sources include: published textbooks, and published statistics. INTRODUCTIONTo begin with, American conservatives claim that the Left, from its parapets of power in Hollywood, the universities, the national media, the federal courts, and the National Endowment for the Arts, has waged, for decades, a â€Å"culture war† upon the American people — a war that the people have been losing. The conservatives' complaint is commonly put this way: the Left has set out to â€Å"politicize† American culture, to force it to conform to a new orthodoxy of po litical correctness in everything from homosexual marriage to pronoun usage (Kesler, 1998).The conservatives' point is that culture should be above, or at least separated from, the political order; that civil society — the realm of art, religion, family, and private property — should be protected, for the sake of liberty as well as culture, against political encroachments. Instead of politics trying tyrannically or arbitrarily to create culture, politics should devote itself to conserving culture (Combs, 1991). According to Goodnow politics had to do with the policies or expressions of the state will (Parashar, 1997).Thus in the conservative view, politics should grow out of culture and serve culture, not the other way around. Scholars and activist on the left should take warning: What once political movements have become translated into personal quests for fulfillment (Cloud, 1998). But at this point one sees that there are actually two conservative views of culture. They differ on the question of what it means to â€Å"conserve† culture: Does it mean to keep government's hands off it, to be neutral towards culture and allow it to develop however artists and citizens choose?Or does it mean a hands-on approach, an active promotion of â€Å"traditional American values† against their would-be subverters in and out of government? Hands-off is the preference both of libertarians, who tend to take a democratic and laissez faire attitude towards culture, and of those neo-conservatives who defend high culture against the public's attempts to influence it (Josephson, 2007). The hands-on approach is preferred by the so-called Religious Right, by most who refer to themselves as â€Å"cultural conservatives† or traditionalists, and by many neo-conservatives who are repelled by the prospect of American society's utter de-moralization.Even conservatives who are prepared to use government to shore up American culture, however, typically re ject the notion that they are â€Å"politicizing† the culture (Whitfield, 1996). They argue that they are only using politics to get beyond politics — that is, to overcome the culture's artificial or forced politicization. White Southerners, used to a friendly custodial environment, were confronting a more diverse and secular American culture (Marsden, 2006).Seizing upon this contradiction or ambiguity, the Left today charges that conservatives are prepared, when they are prepared, to take a laissez faire attitude towards culture only because theirs — the white male bourgeois culture — is the dominant one. When its hegemony is challenged, liberal critics note, as it is being challenged currently, then conservatives cease to be defenders of a hands-off cultural policy and quickly become advocates of cultural protectionism (Wald, & Calhoun-brown, 2006).Yet in challenging the supposed hegemony of patriarchal or conservative culture, most liberal intellectual s do not imagine themselves to be calling for the hegemony of their own culture. Today's liberals stand for â€Å"multiculturalism,† for the replacement of ruling-class culture by the multiplicity of cultures belonging to oppressed, or formerly oppressed, classes and groups. In the past, white males had used their culture to justify and reinforce their rule over the rest of society; it was white males who â€Å"politicized† culture, according to the multiculturalists (Sturm, 2002).Now, the rest of society — indeed, the world — can bring previously excluded cultures to bear in order to delegitimize the old â€Å"racist, sexist, homophobic† order and ordain a new, more inclusive one (Roper, 2002). From the standpoint of traditionalist conservatism, every society or people are defined by its culture, and therefore every culture is more or less an exclusive one (Neve, 1992). In John O'Sullivan's words, â€Å"A multicultural society is a contradiction in terms and cannot survive indefinitely.It either becomes monocultural or runs into trouble. â€Å"1 At this juncture, we urgently need some clarity on the meaning of â€Å"culture. † Becoming American was initially a political and constitutional choice, but finally it necessitated a series of profound transformations in business, speech, dress, religion, literature, education, heroes, holidays, civic ceremonies — in character (Bergmann & Seminar on Feminism and Culture in Latin America, 1990).The public schools movement was one of the most important, as well as one of the most obvious, of these subsequent efforts to conform the American people to their new republican institutions. It is an old political observation, echoed in Montesquieu and countless other writers, that in the beginning men make the institutions, and after that the institutions make the men. The American founders had this maxim very much in mind as they built the institutions that would guide the n ation's destiny, and today it is worth pondering anew.Perhaps it is time to build some new institutions, if we are to have a real chance to rehabilitate American culture. During a relatively brief period of time the first food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture (Schlosser, 2001) as a kind of growth: a culture is a living social organism that has particular ethnic â€Å"roots† and develops from those roots, often flowering into unique, that is, characteristic achievements of high art.To understand a culture means therefore to appreciate it in its particularity, to see it as a unique historical growth — not as a mere exemplum of a common and unchanging human nature, much less as an imperfect embodiment of the best political or social order. Reason has little to do with culture in this sense, therefore, because the modern concept of culture emphasizes the ethnic, the particular, the authentic at the expense of the universal; whereas reason strives, even in practical affairs, to see particulars in the light of universals.An authentic culture is natural in the sense of being an uncoerced growth, not in the sense of containing universal principles that can be grasped and perhaps manipulated by reason (Tomsich, 1971). Accordingly, an authentic culture cannot be designed or planned because it cannot be thought through; it is always in the process of slow change or adaptation.Ever since Edmund Burke, whose defense of the British Constitution became the model for the Right's thinking on the cultural roots of politics in general, conservatives have argued that culture is neither a goal that politicians can seek to achieve nor a product that they can make — let alone export. SUMMARY Oddly enough, the multiculturalists agree with the traditionalists on the primacy of culture over politics, and to some extent even on the definition of culture.What the multicultural ists insist on, however, is that culture does not have to be exclusive, or more precisely, that Americans can participate in many cultures without succumbing to any one of them and without ceasing to be American. But this is to pile absurdity upon absurdity. References Bergmann, E. L. & Seminar on Feminism and Culture in Latin America. (1990). Women, culture, and politics in Latin America. California: University of California Press. Cloud, D. L. (1998). Control and consolation in American culture and politics: rhetoric of therapy.New Delhi: SAGE. Combs, J. E. (1991). Polpop 2: politics and popular culture in America today?. New York: Popular Press. Eric Schlosser. (2001). Fast food nation: the dark side of the all-American meal, Volume 1000. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Josephson, M. (2007). The President Makers – the Culture of Politics and Leadership in an Age of Enlightenment 1896-1919. New York: READ BOOKS. Kesler, C. R. (1998, May 15). Culture, Politics, and the American Founding. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from www. claremont. org: http://www.claremont. org/publications/pubid. 496/pub_detail. asp Lipartito, K. & Sicilia, D. B. (2004). Constructing corporate America: history, politics, culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Marsden, G. M. (2006). Fundamentalism and American culture. New York: Oxford University Press US. Neve, B. (1992). Film and politics in America: a social tradition. New York: Rout ledge. Parashar, P. (1997). Public Administration in the Developed World. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. Roper, J. (2002). The contours of American politics: an introduction.Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Sturm, C. (2002). Blood politics: race, culture, and identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. California: University of California Press. Tomsich, J. (1971). A genteel endeavor: American culture and politics in the gilded age. California: Stanford University Press. Whitfield, S. J. (1996). American space, Jewish time: essays in modern culture and p olitics. New York: M. E. Sharpe. Wald, K. d. & Calhoun-brown, A. (2006). Religion and politics in the United States. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

Mercedes Benz Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Employment Negotiation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employment Negotiation - Assignment Example Those who are confident, show sincere interest, and have the proper skills for the job are most likely to get hired. The BATNA form is filled out below. My degree and my experience support my desirable outcome. Monster.com (2010) describes the company as, "Cricket Communications, a subsidiary of Leap Wireless headquartered in San Diego, CA, is an affordable wireless service providing flat-rate unlimited products over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks that feature the latest technology. Cricket serves customers across the United States and is a pioneer of unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required." The position is a full-time managerial position over staff. Their website is www.cricket.com. Cricket Communications, a subsidiary of Leap Wireless headquartered in San Diego, CA, is an affordable wireless service providing flat-rate unlimited products over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks that feature the latest technology. Cricket serves customers across the United States and is a pioneer of unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required. ... Their website is www.cricket.com. Explain the job market, and how your product/service (knowledge, skills, etc.) compares to others in the market. Attach the job posting or develop an appropriate job description. I believe my knowledge and skills will apply appropriately to the job description and is comparable with others in the market. The job posting is as follows: Retail Business Manager Cricket Communications, a subsidiary of Leap Wireless headquartered in San Diego, CA, is an affordable wireless service providing flat-rate unlimited products over high-quality, all-digital wireless networks that feature the latest technology. Cricket serves customers across the United States and is a pioneer of unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required. Cricket offers customers access to a variety of the latest phones and mobile applications such as unlimited text, instant and picture messaging, Mobile Web, popular games and ring-tones. We are a fast growing, entrepreneurial, fast-paced, fun place to work. We offer competitive pay; performance-based bonuses; free mobile phone and service; paid time off; and advancement opportunities. Cricket values diversity and inclusion - when everyone is included, the possibilities are UNLIMITED! To learn more about other career opportunities, Cricket Culture and benefits please visit: http://www.mycricket.com/aboutcricket/careers /. Position Overview - Retail Business ManagerAssumes direct responsibility for all day-to-day store operations, including: Targeted sales achievement Store financial management Merchandising/promotional activities Customer service and retention Audits Employee training Merchandising/promotional activities Inventory management Cash

Strategic leadership in a changing world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Web Design Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Web Design Report - Essay Example The group’s choice to select Squarespace as the preferred content management system for this project is because it offers a lot of reliable features and template designs that have a friendly user interface. The valuable qualities of using Squarespace as the CMS for designing and developing the final website product outweigh the advantages of using another CMS system like Word Press or Joomla. Detailed descriptions of the benefits are explained below: Most Content Management Systems (CMSs) are created to help individuals who are not interested in not handling the technical part of building a website. The platform of the CMS should offer a simple design user interface for the end user. A system that has technical and hard to understand user interface configuration tend to demoralize an end user from the system. Therefore investing in a rich color background and text or attractive font is worthwhile to keep the admin and other users intrigued. The Squarespace CMS platform made it easier for the admin  customize the website content. The CMS platform also allows other authorized users to update content without having to get training regarding computer coding or technical language knowledge required for system maintenance. The Squarespace CMS platform template used to design the Connecting Syracuse system has a well-developed interface structure that enables easy placement of information on the webpage from the administration’s central interface. The customizable CMS tool utilizes the drag and drop functionality AJX function which enables the end web product system to have a consistent theme on all the web interface pages. This is advantageous since the system developer does not having to write the source code from scratch. These platform tools are good for web design beginners who want build customized front-end interfaces for a website without going into the technical sections. Clearly, using the Squarespace website builder is simpler as

Samsun Galaxy Tablet's Design, Operations, and Supply Chain Strategies Research Paper

Samsun Galaxy Tablet's Design, Operations, and Supply Chain Strategies - Research Paper Example Moreover, they are the second largest semiconductor chip manufacturer in the world at present. Many people believe that they may surpass the leader Intel in that segment also in near future itself. It is widely believed that Samsung Electronics is best positioned for the new developments in the smartphone market and will continue to expand its leadership in memory, as well as new components like AMOLED and Mobile AP. The company is more favourably positioned than before in most of its product categories: it is quickly becoming the number one player in handsets (from a distant third place behind Nokia and Motorola in 2005), it's already the dominant number one player in TV (from fourth in 2004) and it's a major player in new components like Mobile AP (part of System LSI) and AMOLED (part of Display Panel), which are relatively new businesses. It has several "stars" including smartphones, tablets, AMOLED and System LSI; a few "cash cows" such as DRAM and featurephones; and one real "do g" in LCD displays (Samsung Electronics: The Jewel of the Samsung Empire — Secrets of Success and Future Growth Engines, p.151) Even though Apple Inc is believed to be the most valuable technology company in the world, the death of Steve Jobs has opened many opportunities for Samsung to defeat Apple not only in mobile phone market but also in the tablet market as well. At present Apple Inc and Samsung are believed to be engaged in fierce battle to dominate the smartphone and tablet market. Even though Apple was successful in introducing world’s first touch screen phone (iPhone), Samsung was able to give a strong reply to iPhone with the help of their Galaxy S2 and S3 series of smart phones. Same way, Apple introduced iPad or tablets much earlier than Samsung; however, Samsung tabs are causing strong challenges to iPads even though they came little bit late in the market. Samsung Electronics Co. is so big and profitable that the measure for telling when the company is d oing better than normal is when it goes on a streak of setting record quarterly profits. It happened in 2010 and it’s happening now. Samsung’s second quarter results broke the record set in the first quarter. Some analysts think the third quarter will be even better, but that net income will drop sequentially in the fourth (Samsung 5 Lessons: The 2nd Record Edition) In short, Samsung is one of the most rapidly growing consumer electronics companies in the world at present. Samsung tablets are capturing wide public attention because of its superior performances and cheaper prices compared to the products of its competitors. The future of tablets is bright since it is a blend of mobile phones and laptops. It should be noted that mobile phones are handy; however, its capabilities are limited compared to a laptop. Same way, laptops are convenient for computing purposes; however, they are bulky and heavy weighted. On the other hand, tablets can be used as a computer as well as a smartphone. Moreover, it is handy and light weighted. In short, the future of tablets seems to be extremely bright and hence it is important to learn more about this produc

Management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Management - Article Example Techniques associated with training fall under two categories the first one being on-the-job method and lastly off-the-job method. On-the-job techniques include orientations, job rotation while the ones relating to off the job are lectures and conferences (Griffin, 395). Considering the fact that I am a new employee, orientation focusing on the mission, rules, regulations as well as a comprehensive outline of my responsibilities will enhance the performance of my present job. Coupled with the interactive nature of orientation is demonstration where the leader to whom I report to illustrates the use of both the tools and equipments necessary in the performance of my roles (Griffin, 401). Job rotation that involves changing duties is a training aspect that will grow my skill set in a series of tasks thereby improving on my efficiency and increasing my knowledge base. Moving on to the off-the-job training methods, lectures that integrate power point presentations enhance the understanding of important topics and provide an opportunity to ask questions that maybe instrumental in the practical environment (Griffin, 393). Conferences and discussions provide relevant information in an equal measure. In both, experienced experts are able to convey information on various ways of minimizing risks while performing duties effectively. This will go a long way in enabling me to solve challenges and meet the expectations of my job performance. The benefits of training in the job environment are substantial because training increase the morale of workers, reduces supervision and minimizes errors that may hamper smooth operations. Other than increasing efficiency, which translates to higher productivity, training offers an opportunity for career growth and

A. Critically assess why organisations should implement supportive Essay

A. Critically assess why organisations should implement supportive career management practices - Essay Example With more internal and external pressures to deliver client oriented services, professionals and organizations alike are increasingly pushed either to perform or face the axe of competitive market forces. Both the individual and the organization are all sailing in an expectant climate of taking responsibility for career management and development. Practitioners and researchers are in agreement that effective career management strategies are essential resources for organizational and individual growth prospects. Even though interest in the long-term growth may seem to be a shared objective of both individual employees and their employers, the key to a sustainable success remains the maintenance of sharp skills, which is largely the responsibility of the individual. The adage of ‘working for an employer for a lifetime with career prospects of â€Å"moving up the ladder†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ seems to be a distant antique memory. In response to the new workplace dynamics, organizational management in the 21st century strives to reward quality services. In this regard, therefore, a working world characterized by globalized outsourcing, reorganization, contract labor, streamlining and downsizing has been adopted to curb escalating costs. As such, those entering the job market can, thus, be expected to have dynamic careers with the ability to serve clients in different organizations during a work life estimated to last for 40–50 years. ... While self-management is an important element of individual independence, it takes a self-activated attitudinal shift to cultivate reliance on oneself from the dictatorial organizational career management systems (Arnold, 1997). Critical self-analysis with a view to discovering inner, hidden talents, unexploited capabilities and career ambitions not only helps the individual to map out a concrete action plan but also creates the impetus towards the realization of one’s own desires (Sturges et al., 2000). Precisely, career self-assessment helps in developing more elaborate ideas on desired goals and how to achieve such aspirations. Contributing to the same subject of career development, Seibert, Kraimer and Crant (2001) are also in agreement that individual career self-management has an immense contributory effect on improving employee outcomes as well as the general success of one’s career. Accordingly, personal initiatives such as career oriented feedback from colleagu es provide a more satisfying level of carrier progress via identification of specific areas that require improvement. Notably, those active in monitoring and managing their career development are more likely to engage in informative career conversations to illuminate paths that better serve to accomplish personal aspirations (Schein, 1993). Indeed, self-assessment through feedback from colleagues informs a deeper understanding of oneself on certain fundamental internal career prospects which, in turn, enhance commitment to a more delivering career. Research into a more satisfying work life indicates that personal careers are most productive when employer’s goals are met (Sturges et al., 2000). Certainly, nothing would be more satisfying than knowing that preset targets

The Blame Game Essay Example for Free

The Blame Game Essay When I think about law enforcement, the thoughts that come to mind are to protect and serve its citizens, its people, and the innocent. The Waco Siege is an example of what happens when Law Enforcement Agencies fail to do their most basic job, protect the innocent. The Waco tragedy could have been avoided if the Law Enforcement Agencies involved had done their job of protecting the innocent and did not make such catastrophic tactical errors. The Waco Siege began on February 28, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19, 1993. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel. After the ATFs failed to execute the search warrant, a siege was begun by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which lasted 50 days, and ended when a second assault on the compound was made, and then fire engulfed the compound. Seventy-six people died in the fire, including more than 20 children and two pregnant women. As Peter Meyer points out, the mistakes began with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound followed the killing of four ATF agents who were attempting to serve warrants on the occupants. According to Kate O’Beirne in her article â€Å"Waco II the Awful†, the committees found that the ATF could have avoided the killings: The agents in charge recklessly proceeded with the raid even though they knew they would encounter armed resistance. She further concluded that the ATFs entire investigation of Koresh and his followers for possible violations of federal gun laws was grossly incompetent. It is clear that the ATF wanted to mount a large- scale military raid (dubbed Showtime), with Koresh as the target (O’Beirne). The ATF sought special training in close-combat fighting from Army Special Forces two months before the bureau had probable cause for a warrant and before its undercover investigation had even begun. The agency rejected an offer by Koresh to permit an inspection of his compound (O’Beirne). The arrest warrant could have been served on Koresh when he left the compound, but ATF agents mistakenly believed that he rarely ventured out: The agents maintaining 24-hour surveillance from a house across the street didnt know what he looked like. The affidavits filed in support of the arrest and search warrants were riddled with false statements, outdated facts, and inflammatory, unsubstantiated charges of child abuse, which were outside the jurisdiction of the ATF anyway. When over 70 ATF agents, in commando gear complete with ski masks, arrived at the compound to execute their dynamic entry, the Davidians fired on them. The ATF had been expected. The agency had notified the media that something was to happen that weekend, and a TV cameraman in need of directions sought the assistance of a local who happened to be a Koresh in-law. He headed straight to the compound. The agents in charge dismissed an ATF undercover agents warning that Koresh knew of the raid (Abrams). Nobody at the ATF has been held accountable for these gross errors in judgment and subsequent lies during a criminal investigation. Two senior raid commanders were fired following an internal investigation, but they were rehired two months later, with back pay and attorneys fees, after complaining through the civil-service system. Suspicions linger that they were rehired, in nonsupervisory roles, to prevent them from making embarrassing disclosures about the agency. In his article The Waco Disaster, David Kopel states that Congress investigated the FBIs actions, too. The committees found that the FBI had failed to appreciate that the pressure on the Davidians bonded them all the more closely and reinforced Koreshs apocalyptic vision of their fate. While FBI negotiators held out hope that a peaceful resolution was possible, the agents became increasingly frustrated with the delays. One FBI behavioral-science expert counseled patience in a series of memos to headquarters, until he learned that his superiors werent pleased with the tone of his advice: They felt it was tying their hands. According to the article â€Å"Waco Revisited,† the author notes, that the FBI agent in charge at Waco testified that the reason the feds eventually turned off the electricity in the compound was that â€Å"cold and wet FBI personnel† resented the presumed comforts of the Davidians. The agents testimony indicated that the decision to mount the tear-gas assault was the result of their weariness and frustration; they were â€Å"tired and ticked off. † Every reason the FBI gave as necessitating the siege dissolved on close inspection. There was no evidence that Koresh was planning a violent breakout; the hostage-rescue team didnt have to stand down for training for another two weeks; other law-enforcement personnel could have relieved them and guarded the perimeter; and there was no evidence that children in the compound were in immediate jeopardy. The initial assault (Plan A), involving the slow and incremental injection of tear gas by tanks into the compound, was undertaken at 6:02 in the morning. When this non-assault was met with gunfire, Plan B went into effect at 6:07. Over the next six hours, tear gas was inserted into every portion of the compound, while the buildings were dismantled. There was no Plan C (Meyer). Elliott Abrams argues, that the FBI failed to acknowledge the fact that CS gas was banned for battlefield use by 100 nations or that it could make victims incapable of evacuating the area, according to an army field manual. Clearly, FBI officials had miscalculated the Davidians reactions to the gas-and-tank assault, and failed to provide fire protection at the scene. The Waco Tragedy has become the most controversial law enforcement operation in modern American history. Although the official investigation of the incident now places all of the blame for the carnage on the Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh, numerous crimes by government agents were never seriously investigated or prosecuted. If those crimes go unpunished, the Waco incident will leave an odious precedent that Law Enforcement Agents can use the color of their office to commit crimes against citizens.

Isolation, Cloning, and Translation of Plasmid DNA

Isolation, Cloning, and Translation of Plasmid DNA Abstract: The objective of this experiment was to clone a kanamycin gene into the MCS of a pUC18 plasmid, and then to transform cells with the plasmids. Purified pUC18 and pKan plasmid samples were obtained. A 0.7 % agarose gel was prepared, and the wells loaded with the plasmid samples. Restriction endonucleases were used to cut a kanamycin resistance gene from a pKan plasmid. DNA ligases were used to ligate the kanamycin resistance gene on to the multiple cloning site of the pUC18 plasmid. Escherichia coli (strain DH5ÃŽÂ ±) were then transformed with plasmids. The presence of the kanamycin resistance gene in the pUC18 was determined using the indirect (pUC18 selection) and direct selection methods. The results from the gel image were inadequate. Zero colony counts were recorded on the kanamycin plates for the indirect selection method. Zero colony counts were recorded on the kanamycin/ carbenicillin plate for the direct selection method. In Conclusion it can be said that although the kana mycin gene should have been inserted into the pUC18 plasmid, the results from both selection methods indicate that it wasnt. Introduction: DNA cloning is a process in which a certain piece of DNA is replicated several times [1]. This process in essence involves isolating the gene or DNA fragment of interest, and transferring it to another molecular of DNA [1]. In order for the cloning process to begin, the DNA of interest has to be cut at precise locations [1]. Specific endonucleases are used for this process. After which a small molecule of DNA is chosen, that has restriction sites that are complementary to the DNA of interest and is capable of self-replication [1]. These small molecules of DNA are called cloning vectors (phages, plasmids, Yeast Artificial Chromosomes, or Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes can be used) [1]. The two pieces of DNAs (the vector and DNA of interest) can be joined together by using a DNA ligase [1]. The newly formed composite DNA molecule is called a recombinant DNA [1]. The recombinant DNA can then be introduced into a host cell by a process of transformation [1]. Once transformed multiple c opies of the host cell can be produced, and in doing so multiple copies of the DNA are also produced [1]. Bacterial DNA can carry genes for antibiotic resistance [2]. The antibiotic resistance gene can either be on the chromosomes or on other external chromosomal pieces of DNA (e.g. plasmids) [2]. The pUC18 is a cloning vector plasmid that contains an ampicillin resistance gene [2]. On the other hand the pKan plasmid contains a kanamycin resistance gene [2]. The pUC18 plasmids are extremely useful for transformation with an Escherichia coli host cell [2]. The pUC18 plasmid consist of an origin of DNA replication, pBR322 derived ampicillin resistance gene, and a lacZ gene of E.coli [2]. The lacZ gene is part of something called the lac operon [1]. The lac operon in essence consists of the lacZ, lacY, and lacA genes [1]. The combination of the three genes allows the cell to utilize lactose [1]. When sufficient quantity of lactose is available, the cell is able to utilize the lactose by producing the enzyme beta-galactosidase [2]. pUC18s lacZ gene contains a collection of different restrict ion enzyme recognitions sites [2]. This site within the lacZ gene is called a Multiple Cloning Site (MCS). The MCS of the pUC18 plasmids can be recognized by a number of different enzymes; hence cuts can be made at various different places [2]. In gene cloning experiments, X-gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl,-D-galactoside) is used to indicate the presence of the lacZ gene, and hence indicates whether or not a cell is producing the enzyme beta-galactosidase [2][3]. This indication is given by a blue coloration of the colonies growing on a medium containing X-gal [2]. Beta-galactosidase cleaves X-gal into D-galactoside and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indole [3]. The actual presence of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indole is what causes the colonies to true blue [3]. The pKan plasmid contains the kanamycin resistance gene. In this experiment the kanamycin resistance of the pKan plasmid will be cloned into the MCS of the pUC18 plasmid [2]. This new recombinant DNA will then be transformed into an E.coli strain DH5ÃŽÂ ± host cell [2]. A brief overview of the isolation, cloning and transformation processes are given above [2]. This process in the end will yield an E. coli strain that is resistance to both ampicillin and kanamycin [2]. As mentioned earlier, the multiple cloning sites (MCS) of the pUC18 plasmid is located with its lacZ gene [2]. This means that when the kanamycin resistance gene is inserted into the multiple cloning sites, the lacZ gene is disturbed [2]. This alters the production of beta-galactosidase [2]. Hence the E.coli cells are not able to utilize X-gal on a growth media, producing white colonies instead of blue [2]. The presence of white colonies can be used as an indication for insertion of the kanamycin gene in pUC18 plasm id [2]. A kanamycin/ampicillin selective media can also be used to make sure that the pUC18 plasmid has the kanamycin gene inserted into it [2]. In summary the main objectives of this experiment is to clone a kanamycin gene into the MCS of a pUC18 plasmid, and then to transforms a cell with the plasmids. The hypothesis is that a kanamycin resistance gene will be inserted onto the MCS of the pUC18 plasmid, and as a result the cells will be resistant to both antibiotics. Materials and Methods: The following materials and methods are taken from: Hausner, M., Jong, M. (2010). Experiments in Biotechnology (BLG888 ed.). Toronto: Ryerson University. Pg 7-19 Materials: Bacterial plasmids, restriction enzymes, solutions and media used: Overnight cultures of DH5ÃŽÂ ±/ pUC18 and MM294/pKan (5x10mL) were used. DNA solution kit that was used consist of solution 1 (glucose/Tris/EDTA to which lysozymes were added), solution 2 (SDS/NaOH), and solution 3 (KOAc). Enzymes RNAase (5mg/ml) and DNA ligase were used. Isopropanol and ethanol were used. TE buffer used contained 10Mm TRIS and 0.1 mM EDTA. Tris borate buffer that was used contained (TBE)(1X)10.8g Tris, 5.5g Boric acid, 10 mM EDTA, and up to 1000 ml distilled water. DNA loading dye and Ethidium bromide solution were used. The plasmids pUC18 and pKan were used. The restriction enzymes that were used were BamHI (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H.) and HinDIII (isolated from Haemophilus influenza). 5M ammonium acetate was used. Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl was used. 50mM EDTA was used. 5 x ligation and restriction buffers were used. TE buffer that was used contained 10Mm Tris, 0.1 Mm EDTA. Cell culture of E. coli strain DH5ÃŽÂ ± was used. 50 ml of LB broth and 3 sterile saline tubes. 2 LB plates, 8 LB + carbenicillin (carb), and 3 LB + carbenicillin (carb) + kanamycin (kan) plates were used. X-gal solution was used. 1 plate of LB+ kanamycin (kan). Methods: Preparation of the plasmid DNA: pUC18 and pKan plasmid were prepared over a period of three days (three weeks). Two centrifuge tubes with the culture sample were centrifuged for 10 minutes and supernatant discarded. 100Â µl of solution 1 was added followed by 10Â µl of RNase. After 20 minutes solution 2 was added. Five minutes later ice cold solution 3 was added, which was centrifuged 10 minutes later for 10 minutes. 400Â µl of the supernatant was extracted to a clean tube, to which 400Â µl of isopropanol was then added and was left for 30 minutes at -20oC. The DNA sample was then centrifuged and the pellet speed vac. The dry pellet was re-suspended in 20Â µl of TE buffer. A gel was prepared with accordance to steps in the lab manual. The DNA samples were then loaded on to the wells and the electrophoresis apparatus ran. The gel images were taken to see presence of the pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Endonuclease restriction digestion of the plasmids and ligation of the kanamycin fragment to pUC18: Two centrifuge tubes were prepared from 10Â µl of pUC18 and 10Â µl of pKan plasmids. To each tube restriction buffers, restriction enzymes and sterile water were added (refer to the lab manual for details). The prepared tubes were centrifuged and left in a water bath. 5Â µl of EDTA was added to each tube. 100Â µl of TE buffer and Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl were added. The tubes were then pulse centrifuged and top layer remove and transferred to new tubes (A1 and B1). 100Â µl of Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl was added, top layer removed and transferred to new tubes again (A2 and B2). Ammonium acetate and ethanol were added to tubes A2 and B2. The tubes were centrifuged, supernatant discarded, pellet speed vacuumed, and finally re-suspended in TE buffer. Tube C and D were prepared with accordance to the lab manual. The new tubes were then centrifuged and incubated. Transformation of an ampicillin sensitive E.coli Strain: The first five steps to prepare the cell culture of DH5ÃŽÂ ± for transformation were done by the lab staff. Details on the steps can be found in the lab manual. Four centrifuge tubes were prepared. Tube 1 contained uncut DNA plasmids, tube 2 contained DNA sample from tube C, tube 3 contained DNA sample from tube D, and tube 4 contained sterile water. The pre-prepared cells were then added to the tubes and heat shocked. LB broth was added to each tube and incubated for 20 minutes. X gal was spread evenly on the 8 LB+ carb plates. 100Â µl from tubes 1, 2, and 4 were spread on 3 of the LB+carb+X-gal plates. 100Â µl from tube three was then plated on the remaining five LB+carb+X-gal plates. Tube 3 was also plated on to 3 LB+carb+kan plate. A dilution series (using 0.1Â µl from the previous) was prepared from tube 3 using 3 sterile saline tubes. 10 Â µl from dilution 2 and 100 Â µl from dilution 3 were spread plated onto 2 LB plates. Colonies from each plate were counted. Blue and white colonies from tube 3 plates were then streaked on to a LB+Kan plate. Results from the LB+Kan plates were then recorded. Additional details can be found in the lab manual: Hausner, M., Jong, M. (2010). Experiments in Biotechnology (BLG888 ed.). Toronto: Ryerson University Results: Figure 1: 0.7 % agarose gel digest showing the presence of the pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Lane 3 and 2 were used by Abbas and Jamie. The figure above shows the 0.7% agarose gel image showing the presence of pUC18 and pKan plasmids. If banes appeared in the respective lanes, the plasmid samples would be used in the next part of the experiment. The image above shows bands appearing for lane 3 (pKan), but none for lane 2 (pUC18). This indicates the presence of the pKan plasmid but absences of the pUC18 plasmid. Hence due to inadequate results, additional plasmid sample were prepared by the lab staff. In total results from all 14 plates were recorded. Indirect Method: Table 1: Results for colony counts for the indirect (pUC18) selection method on LB+ carb+ X-gal plates Plate 1 Plate 2 Plate 3 Plate 4 Plate 5 Tube 1 TMTC-Blue N/A Tube 2 5-Blue Tube 4 0 Tube 3 40 Blue/ 5 White 55 Blue/ 15 White 79 Blue/ 22 White 65 Blue/ 3 White 54 Blue/ 12 White The results for tube 1, 2, 3, and 4 plated on the 8 LB+ carb+ X-gal plates are shown above. Tube 1 contained an uncut plasmid which explained the high number of colonies for plate 1. Tube 2 contained a cut pUC18 plasmid, which can be explained by only 5 colonies. Tube 4 contained only sterile water; hence zero colonies appeared on the plates. Tube 3 was plated on 5 plates, showing an average of 59 blue colonies and 11 white colonies. Direct Method: No colonies were obtained from the three plates of LB + carb + kan plates. Competent Cell and Percentage Transformation Calculation: The dilution series was prepared from tube 3, as indicated in the materials and methods section. Dilution 2 had a 100 colonies and dilution 3 had 30 colonies. The CFU (colony forming unit) calculations and values are shown below. CFU = (# of colonies) x (dilution factor) / (volume plated) CFU for dilution 2 = 100 x 104/ 0.1 = 10000000 cells/ml CFU for dilution 3 cant be calculated because it doesnt fall between the 30-300 colony limit. Table 2: Percentage transformation of colonies using competent cells (CFU) Plate 1 Plate 2 Plate 3 Plate 4 Plate 5 Average Percentage Transformation For total colonies (%) (45) 0.0045 (70) 0.007 (101) 0.0101 (68) 0.0068 (66) 0.0066 (70) 0.0070 In order to calculate percentage transformation, calculations from CFU are need. Percentage transformation can be calculated using the total colonies (i.e.. plate 1: 40 blue+5 white =45 total). Percentage Transformation = (Transformed cells per ml /competent cells (CFU) )x 100% So for example for the average of 70 total colonies; =0.007% Discussion: As mentioned in the result section the agarose gel image was inadequate. Lane 2 and 3 in figure 1 represent the pUC18 and pKan plasmids respectively. Clear bands were seen for the pKan plasmid however this is not the case for the pUC18 plasmid. In order for the plasmids to show up, they had to be extracted from their respective E. coli strains(pUC18 (DH5ÃŽÂ ±) and pKan (MM294). The presence of bands on the pKan lane proves that there is actual extraction from the cells. The presence of multiple bands could indicate the presence of multiple size plasmids of pKan. The fact that no bands were seen for pUC18 could be as a consequence of inadequate extraction from the E. coli cells (DH5ÃŽÂ ±). Experimental procedural error could have resulted in this. Both strains of microbes would have been genetically engineered to only contain the plasmid of interest; hence the risk of contamination is reduced. The selection methods for the experiments were divided into indirect (pUC18 selection) and direct selection methods. As mentioned in the materials and method section, cells from tube 1 were streaked on to a plate. The cells were transformed with undigested pUC18 plasmids. The colonies were too many to count and were all blue. The high number of colonies could simply occur because of the stable natural of the undigested pUC18 plasmid. The undigested pUC18 plasmids contain an uninterrupted lacZ gene, capable of producing beta-galactosidase. Beta-galactosidase is hence able to utilize X-gal on the plates and produce the large number of blue colonies. Since the cells were carbenicillin resistance (due to the pUC18 plasmids), they were able to grow on the plates. Cells were transformed with digested pUC18 plasmids from tube 2. Cells from tube 2 formed too few colonies (only 5) when compared to tube 1 (TMTC). This is due to the unstable nature of the digested pUC18 plasmids. These plasmids were digested with HinDIII and BamHI, and it possible that not all of them had an opportunity to re-ligate properly. The restriction enzymes could have cut up the lacZ gene or the carbenicillin (ampicillin) gene making it difficult for the plasmid to come back to its original conformation and survive on the X-gal+carb plate. A large majority of the pUC18 could have been cut in to smaller fragments rendering then inactive. Tube 3 initially contained the digested pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Cells were then transformed with the content of this tube. Since the transformation process is not perfect, there is no way to know what plasmid the cell took up. Hence it can be assumed that cells were transformed with either only the pUC18 plasmids, the pUC18 plasmids with the kanamycin gene, pKan and Puc18 or in some case only the pKan plasmid. Five plates were spread plated with these cells and presence of blue and white colonies were noted. As the results indicate a mixture of both blue and white colonies were obtained with an average of about 59 blue colonies and 11 white colonies. Blue colonies would hypothe tically contain cells (plasmids) with an intact lacZ (producing beta-galactosidase) gene justifying the blue color. The white colonies would have there lacZ gene disturbed (not producing beta-galactosidase), because another piece of DNA would have been inserted into the MCS. However the production of white colonies doesnt dictate the insertion of the kanamycin gene into the pUC18 plasmids. It is highly possible that another gene or DNA fragments from the pKan plasmid got inserted in the pUC18 plasmids. Confirmation of this was performed by streaking white colonies onto a kanamycin plate. The fact that no colonies grew, indicated that the kanamycin gene was in fact not inserted. This proves that the results are false positive because white colonies appeared on the X gal plates, but didnt on the kanamycin plates. This means that the white colonies werent transformed with what we wanted. Finally it is noted that when tube 4 was streaked on to a plate, no growth occurred. This seems log ical as the cells in this tube were only transformed with sterile water, which means no plasmids were present. The cells would not have contained plasmids with the carbenicillin resistance gene, and hence did not survive on the carbenicillin plates. The direct method results were recorded from the LB + carb + kan plates. No growth was observed in any of the plate, which proved to be highly contradictory to our hypothesis. Presence of white colonies on the indirect method plates but none on the direct method plates was suprising. White colonies were assumed to have pUC18 plasmids with both kanamycin and carbenicillin resistance genes. Hence its inability to grow on the carb + kan plates was surprising because white colonies grew on the X-gal plates. However as mentioned earlier it could be possible that another fragment of DNA was inserted into MCS besides the kanamycin gene. The fact that white colonies also didnt appear when they were streaked on to a kanamycin plate, ties in with these results. Both direct and indirect methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Indirect method involves multiple steps and hence in many cases can be time consuming. More plates are involved in the indirect methods, making it difficult to keep track sometimes, also adding to cost. However the indirect method helps to indentify the false positive/false negative results. The indirect selection method helps to make a comparison between the cut and uncut pUC18 plasmids. Comparison of the colonies shows the effect of restriction enzymes of the activity of the pUC18 plasmids. Moreover the indirect method is much more selective. This is because it first shows which colonies have an insertion in the multiple cloning site through the blue/white screening method. Then the plating of these white colonies on to a kanamycin plate helps to confirm that it was a kanamycin resistance gene that was actually inserted (on the MCS). The direct method is very concise involving only one plate, which save b oth time and money. This selection method has no chance of giving false negative/false positive results. The direct selection method selects for cells that have been transformed with pUC18 plasmids, and have a kanamycin resistance gene in their MCS. Since the pUC18 plasmid already has an ampicillin resistance gene (carbenicillin in this case), the insertion of kanamycin resistance gene allows it to survive on a LB+carb+kan plate. A problem comes when the plasmids dont have the necessary gene inserted in their MCS. So in this case for example it could be possible that the plasmid doesnt contain the kanamycin gene so the kanamycin antibody kills it, even though the carbenicillin resistance gene is there. Another technicality comes when a cell transformed contains both pUC18 and pKan at the same time. Because this selection method only selects for cells that have both carbenicillin and kanamycin resistance, it is difficult to tell whether the cell selected has both plasmids (pUC18 and pKan) or only a pUC18 (with the kanamycin gene). Therefore although more time consuming the indirect method is more useful. Some of the experimental errors that occurred could have been due to improper spreading techniques. The process of cell transformation that was used was through heat shock. It could be possible to use other cell transformation technique such as electroporation. In Conclusion it can be said that although the kanamycin gene should have been inserted into the pUC18 plasmid, the results indicate that it wasnt.

Overview of Crawlers and Search Optimization Methods

Overview of Crawlers and Search Optimization Methods With the explosive growth of knowledge sources out there on the planet Wide internet, its become progressively necessary for users to utilize automatic tools in  the notice  the specified data resources, and to trace and analyze their usage patterns. Clustering is worn out some ways and by researchers in several disciplines, like clump is done on the premise of queries submitted to look engine. This paper provides an outline of algorithms that are useful in program optimization. The algorithms discuss personalized conception based clump algorithmic rule. Fashionable organizationsare geographically distributed. Typically, every web site domestically stores its ever increasing quantity of  everyday  knowledge. Using centralized Search optimized to find helpful patterns in such organizations, knowledge is not possible as a result of merging knowledge sets from totally differentwebsitesinto a centralized site incurs immense network communication prices. Knowledge  of  these organizations dont seem to be solely distributed over numerous locations however conjointly vertically fragmented, creating it troublesome if not possible to mix them in a very central location. Distributed Search optimized has therefore emerged as a full of life  Subarea  of  Search  optimized analysis.  Theyre  planning  a way to seek out the rank of every individual page within the native linguistics program surroundings. Keyword analysis tool conjointly accustomed. Keywords – Distributed data, Data Management System, Page Rank, program Result Page, Crawler INTRODUCTION A search engine may be a computer code thats designed to look for data on the planet Wide internet. The search results are typically given in a line of results usually named as Search Engine Result Page (SERPs). The data could also be a specialist in sites, images, data and different varieties of files. Some search engines conjointly mine knowledge out there in databases or open directories. In contrast to internet directories that are maintained solely by human editors, search engines conjointly maintain period data by running an algorithmic rule on an internet crawler. A look engine may be a web-based tool that permits users to find data on the planet. Wide internet well-liked samples of search enginesare Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search. Search engines utilize automatic code applications that follow the net, following links from page to page, site to site. Every program use totally different advanced mathematical formulas to get search results. The results for a particular question are then displayed on the SERP. Program algorithms take the key components of an internet page, together with the page title, similar content and used keywords. If any search result page get the higher ranking in the yahoo then it is not necessary that it’s also get the same rank at Google result page. To form things additional sophisticated, the algorithms utilized by search engines dont seem to be closely guarded secrets, theyre conjointly perpetually undergoing modification and revision. This implies that the factors to best optimize awebsitewith should be summarized through observation, additionally as trial and error and not one time.The programis divided roughly into 3 components: crawl, Indexing, and looking out. WORKING POSTULATE OF SEARCH ENGINE Crawling The foremost well-known crawler is termed â€Å"Google larva.† Crawlers scrutinize sites and follow links on those pages, very similar to that if anyone were browsing content on the net. They going from link to link and convey knowledge concerning those sites back to Google’s servers. An internet crawler is a web larva that consistently browses the planet Wide internet, generally for the aim of internet assortment. An internet crawler might also be referred to as an internet spider, or an automatic trained worker. Indexing Search engine assortment is that the method of a Search engine collection parses and stores knowledge to be used by the program. The particular program index is that the place wherever all the info the program has collected iskept. Its the program index that gives the results for search queries, and pages that are keep at intervals the program index that seem on the program results page. Without a look engine index, the program would take amounts of your time and energy anytime a question was initiated, because the program would need to search not solely each web content or piece of information that has got to do with the actual keyword employed in the search question, however each different piece of knowledge its access to, to make sure that its not missing one thing that has one thing to try and do with the actual keyword. Program spiders, conjointly referred to as program crawlers, are however the program index gets its data, additionally as keeping it up thus far and freed from spam. Crawl Sites The crawler module retrieves pages from the net for later analysis by the assortment module. For retrieve pages for the user query Crawler start it with U0. In this search result U0 come at a first place according to the prioritized. Now crawler retrieves the result of 1st important page i.e. U0, and puts the next important URLs U1 within the queue. This method is continual till the crawler decides to prevent. Given the big size and also the modification rate of the net, several problemsarise, together with the subsequent. Challenges of crawl 1) What pages ought to the crawler download? In most cases, the crawler cannot transfer all pages on the net [6]. Even the foremost comprehensive program presently indexesa little fraction of the whole internet. Given this reality, its necessary for the crawler to fastidiously choose the pages and to go to â€Å"important† pages 1st by prioritizing the URLs within the queue properly [fig. 1.1], in order that the fraction of the net thats visit isadditionally significant. It’sstartingout revisiting the downloaded pages so as to find changes and refresh the downloaded. The crawler might want to transfer â€Å"important† pages1st. 2) However ought to the crawler refresh pages? After download pages from the internet, crawler starting out revisiting the downloaded pages. The crawler has to fastidiously decide what page to come back and what page to skip, as a result of this call might considerably impact the â€Å"freshness† of the downloaded assortment. for instance, if a particular page seldom changes, the crawler might want to come back the page less usually, so as to go to additional often dynamical. 3) The load on the visited websites is reduced? When the crawler collects pages from the net; it consumes resources happiness to different organizations. For instance, once the crawler downloads page p on web site S, the location has to retrieve pageup from its classification system, intense disk and central processor resource. Also, once this retrieval the page has to be transferred through the network that is another resource, shared by multiple organizations. III. RELATED WORK Given taxonomy of words, an easy methodology used to calculate similarity between 2 words. If a word is ambiguous, then multiple strategies could exist between the two words. In such cases, entirely the shortest path between any a pair of senses of the words is taken into consideration for conniving similarity. A tangle that is usually acknowledged with this approach is that it depends on the notion that every one links at intervals the taxonomy represent a consistent distance. Page Count The Page Count property returns an extended price that indicates the amount of pages with information in an exceedingly Record set object. Use the Page Count property to see what percentage pages of knowledge square measure within the Record set object. Pages square measure teams of records whose size equals the Page Size property setting. Though the last page is incomplete as a result of their square measure fewer records than the Page Size price, it counts as an extra page within the Page Count Price. If the Record set object doesnt support this property, the worth are -1 to point that the Page Count is indeterminable. Some SEO tools square measure use for page count. Example- web site link count checker, count my page, net word count. Text Snippets Text Snippets square measure usually won’t to clarify that means of a text otherwise cluttered operate, or to reduce the employment of recurrent code thats common to different functions. Snip management may be a feature of some text editors, program ASCII text file editors, IDEs, and connected code. Search optimized additionally referred to as Discovery of Knowledge in large Databases (KDD) [9], is that the method of mechanically looking out giant volumes of knowledge for patterns mistreatment tools like classification, association rule mining, clustering, etc. Search optimized may be also work as info retrieval, machine learning and pattern recognition system. Search optimized techniques square measure the results of an extended method of analysis and products development. This evolution began once business information was initial hold on computers, continuing with enhancements in information access, and additional recently, generated technologies that enable users to navigate through their information in real time. Search optimized takes this organic process on the far side retrospective information access and navigation to prospective and proactive info delivery. Search optimized is prepared for application within the community as a result of its supported by 3 technologies that square measure currently sufficiently mature: Massive information assortment Powerful digital computer computers Search optimized algorithms. With the explosive growth of knowledge sources accessible on the globe Wide net, its become progressively necessary for users to utilize machine-driven tools in realize the required info resources, and to trace and analyze their usage patterns. These factors bring about to the requirement of making server facet and shopper side intelligent systems which will effectively mine for data. Net mining [6] may be generally outlined because the discovery and analysis of helpful info from the globe Wide net. This describes the automated search of knowledge resources accessible online, i.e. website mining, and also the discovery of user access patterns from net servers, i.e., net usage mining. Web Mining Web Mining is that the extraction of fascinating and doubtless helpful patterns and implicit info from artifacts or activity associated with the globe wide net. There square measure roughly 3 data discovery domains that pertain to net mining: website mining, net Structure Mining, and net Usage Mining. Extracting data from the document content is called the Website mining. Net document text mining, resource discovery supported ideas compartmentalization or agent primarily based technology might also fall during this class. Net structure mining is that the method of inferring data from the globe Wide net organization and links between references and referents within the net. Finally, net usage mining, additionally called diary mining, is that the method of extracting fascinating patterns in net access logs. Web Content Mining Web content mining [3] is associate automatic method that works on the keyword for extraction. Since the content of a text document presents no machine readable linguistics, some approaches have steered restructuring the document content in an exceedingly illustration that might be exploited by machines. Web Structure Mining World Wide net will reveal additional info than simply the knowledge contained in documents. As an example, links inform to a document indicate the recognition of the document, whereas links commencing of a document indicate the richness or maybe the range of topics coated within the document. This will be compared to list citations. Once a paper is cited usually, it got to be necessary. The Page Rank strategies profit of this info sent by the links to search out pertinent sites. Search optimized, the extraction of hidden prophetic info from giant databases, may be a powerful new technology with nice potential to assist corporations target the foremost necessary info in their information warehouses. Search optimized tools predict future trends and behaviors, permitting businesses to create proactive, knowledge-driven selections. The machine-driven, prospective analyses offered by Search optimized move on the analyses of past events provided by of call support systems. Search optimized tools will answer business queries that historically were too time intense to resolve. LIMITATION Duringdata retrieval, onewithall the most issues is to retrieve a collection of documents, that dont seem to be giventouser question. For instance, apple is often related to computers on the net. However, this sense of apple isnt listed in most all-purpose thesauri or dictionaries. IV. PURPOSE OF THE ANALYSIS Knowledge Management (KM) refers to a spread of practices utilized by organizations to spot, create, represent, and distribute data for utilize, awareness and learning across the organization. Data Management programsare aunit generally tied to structure objectives and area unit meant to guide to the action of specific outcomes liketo shareintelligence, improved performance, competitive advantage, or higher levels of innovation. Here we tend to area unit viewing developing an internet computer network data management system thats of importance to either a company or an academic institute. V. DESCREPTION OF DRAWBACK Top of Form After the arrival of laptop the knowledge are hugely out there and by creating use of such raw assortment data to create the data is that the method of Search optimized. Likewise in internet conjointly lots of internet Documents residein on-line.The internetisa repositoryof form of data like Technology, Science, History, Geography, Sports Politics et al. If anyone is aware ofa concern specific topic, then theyre exploitation program to look for his or her necessities and it provides full satisfaction for user after giving entire connected data concerning the subjects.

Toll like receptors and their therapeutic potential Essay -- essays re

Cellular Basis Of Disease: Why has the discovery of Toll-like receptors revolutionised our understanding of how the innate immune system works, and what is the therapeutic potential? The body has two immune systems: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. Adaptive, or acquired, immunity refers to antigen-specific defence mechanisms that take several days to become protective and are designed to react with and remove a specific antigen. This is immunity develops throughout life. Innate immunity refers to antigen-nonspecific defence mechanisms that a host uses immediately or within several hours after exposure to an antigen. This is the immunity that you are born with, and is the initial response by the body to eliminate microbes and prevent infection. It is in the innate immune system that Toll-like receptors are important in helping our understanding. The most important role of the innate immune system is to react rapidly to infectious agents with the initiation an inflammatory response, and to shape the subsequent adaptive immune responses. There are currently two different models for immune system induction. The first model predicts the recognition of non-self determinants on pathogens, and the other, more controvertial, model predicts that there is recognition of damage or danger to self-tissues. In the first model, pathogens are recognised by either specific or general components of their structure. A system referring to the patterns that are recognised are the pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and the receptors recognising them are pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The second model, put forward by Matzinger, is that it is the danger itself that is sensed. It is argued that it is tissue damage or cellular debris from necrotic cells that sends the signal for the immune system to initiate a response. The presence of DNA or RNA, that shouldn't be outside of the cell, may cause an alarm signal. Heat shock proteins released from the cell, or mannose that is normally cleaved off, may also serve as an alarm signal. It is suggested that the PRRs are there to recognise these endogenous signals from ruptured cells, and not to recognise pathogens as proposed in the first model. It is the first model that is most widely accepted in the scientific community, and it is this model of events that I shall describe. Activation of the ... ...77(9):7059-65 9. Horng T. et al., 2002. The adaptor molecule TIRAP provides signalling specificity for Toll-like receptors. Nature. 420(6913):329-33 Takatsuna H., et al. 2003. Identification of TIFA as an adapter protein that links TRAF6 to IRAK-1 in IL-1 receptor signaling. J Biol Chem. 2003 Yang L, Blumbergs PC, Jones NR, Manavis J, Sarvestani GT and Ghabriel MN (2004). Early expression and cellular localization of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in human traumatic spinal cord injury. Spine. 29: 966-71 Therapeutic targeting of Toll-like receptors for inflammatory and infectious diseases. O'Neill LA. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2002 Oct;1(10):797-807 Role of toll-like receptors and their adaptors in adjuvant immunotherapy for cancer. Seya T, Akazawa T, Uehori J, Matsumoto M, Azuma I, Toyoshima K. Anticancer Res. 2003 Nov-Dec;23(6a):4369-76 Toll-like receptor signaling in anti-cancer immunity. Okamoto M, Sato M. J Med Invest. 2003 Feb;50(1-2):9-24 H. Hemmi, et al., "A toll-like receptor recognizes bacterial DNA," Nature, 408(6813):740-5, 7 December 2000. bst.portlandpress.com/ bst/031/0637/bst0310637.htm

Albert Einstein :: essays research papers

Albert Einstein March 14 1879 - April 18 1955 Born Ulm, Germany. Died Princeton, USA. Albert Einstein was a very famous Scientist, he was mostly famous for his theory of Relativity. In 1894 Einstein's family moved to Milan and Einstein decided officially to relinquish his German citizenship in favor of Swiss. In 1895 Einstein failed an examination that would have allowed him to study for a diploma as an electrical engineer at Zurich. After attending secondary school at Aarau, Einstein returned (1896) to the Zurich Polytechnic, graduating (1900) as a secondary school teacher of mathematics and physics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He worked at the patent office in Bern from 1902 to 1909 and while there he completed an astonishing range of theoretical physics publications, written in his spare time without the benefit of close contact with scientific literature or colleagues. Einstein earned a doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1905. In 1908 he became a lecturer at the University of Bern, the following year becoming professor of physics at the University of Zurich.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1909 Einstein was recognized as a leading scientific thinker. After holding chairs in Prague and Zurich he advanced (1914) to a prestigious post at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft in Berlin. From this time he never taught a university courses. Einstein remained on the staff at Berlin until 1933, from which time until his death he held a research position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first of three papers (1905) Einstein examined the phenomenon discovered by Max Planck, according to which electromagnetic energy seemed to be emitted from radiating objects in discrete quantities. The energy of these quanta was directly proportional to the frequency of the radiation. This seemed at odds with the classical electromagnetic theory, based on Maxwell's equations and the laws of thermodynamics which assumed that electromagnetic energy consisted of waves which could contain any small amount of energy. Einstein used Planck's quantum hypothesis to describe the electromagnetic radiation of light.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein's second 1905 paper proposed what is today called the special theory of relativity. He based his new theory on a reinterpretation of the classical principle of relativity, namely that the laws of physics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. As a second fundamental hypothesis, Einstein assumed that the speed of light remained constant in all frames of reference, as required by Maxwell's theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later in 1905 Einstein showed how mass and energy were equivalent. Einstein was not the first to propose all the components of special theory of relativity. His contribution is unifying important parts of classical mechanics and Maxwell's electrodynamics. Albert Einstein :: essays research papers Albert Einstein March 14 1879 - April 18 1955 Born Ulm, Germany. Died Princeton, USA. Albert Einstein was a very famous Scientist, he was mostly famous for his theory of Relativity. In 1894 Einstein's family moved to Milan and Einstein decided officially to relinquish his German citizenship in favor of Swiss. In 1895 Einstein failed an examination that would have allowed him to study for a diploma as an electrical engineer at Zurich. After attending secondary school at Aarau, Einstein returned (1896) to the Zurich Polytechnic, graduating (1900) as a secondary school teacher of mathematics and physics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He worked at the patent office in Bern from 1902 to 1909 and while there he completed an astonishing range of theoretical physics publications, written in his spare time without the benefit of close contact with scientific literature or colleagues. Einstein earned a doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1905. In 1908 he became a lecturer at the University of Bern, the following year becoming professor of physics at the University of Zurich.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1909 Einstein was recognized as a leading scientific thinker. After holding chairs in Prague and Zurich he advanced (1914) to a prestigious post at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft in Berlin. From this time he never taught a university courses. Einstein remained on the staff at Berlin until 1933, from which time until his death he held a research position at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first of three papers (1905) Einstein examined the phenomenon discovered by Max Planck, according to which electromagnetic energy seemed to be emitted from radiating objects in discrete quantities. The energy of these quanta was directly proportional to the frequency of the radiation. This seemed at odds with the classical electromagnetic theory, based on Maxwell's equations and the laws of thermodynamics which assumed that electromagnetic energy consisted of waves which could contain any small amount of energy. Einstein used Planck's quantum hypothesis to describe the electromagnetic radiation of light.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Einstein's second 1905 paper proposed what is today called the special theory of relativity. He based his new theory on a reinterpretation of the classical principle of relativity, namely that the laws of physics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. As a second fundamental hypothesis, Einstein assumed that the speed of light remained constant in all frames of reference, as required by Maxwell's theory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later in 1905 Einstein showed how mass and energy were equivalent. Einstein was not the first to propose all the components of special theory of relativity. His contribution is unifying important parts of classical mechanics and Maxwell's electrodynamics.

Blue Hotel :: essays research papers

The Blue Hotel Steven Crane is not one of the most liked authors in the world. He tends to become to engulfed in the scenery around the action that is taking place rather than the action itself. When watching the movie, cannot experience this description since it is given to them. Details are very important for the readers because if the reader cannot see the same thing that the writer sees then the reader might lose interest in the story. In the story â€Å"The Blue Hotel,† Crane uses his excellent setting and character description along with the physical, emotional, and intellectual responses of people under extreme pressure and the betrayal and guilt he shows between the characters to help the reader better understand the story or poem. Crane shows these characteristics in almost everything he writes. In â€Å"The Blue Hotel,† Crane does an excellent job of describing the setting to you in every way possible. For example in the beginning of the story â€Å"The Blue Hotel,† he says â€Å"the hotel was painted a light blue, a shade that is on the legs of a kind of heron, causing the bird to declare its position against any background.† He does this type of depiction on every single thing he describes. Then in paragraph three he says, â€Å"A little Irishman wore a heavy fur cap squeezed tightly down on his head. It caused his two red ears to stick out stiffly, as if they were made of tin.† In the movie you are left with no dialogue and all you can do is witness what is being presented. In the end Crane even goes into an in depth description of the bitter cold snow outside. From his description the reader can imagine more chilling scenery than that one that can be created by Hollywood. Crane also does a good job of establishing his characters through one of his major themes; the physical, emotional, and intellectual responses of people under extreme pressure. Crane shows this in his characters to help the reader better understand what the character is going through. One example of this is when the Swede accuses Johnny of cheating in a card game. This offends Johnny and his emotional and physical reaction is to challenge the Swede to a fight. Crane stories consist of that moment when the characters confront the inescapable impasse of their situation, they are caught and boxed in by fate, and then nothing happens.

Escape of the Gymnasium

As I sat in a managerial meeting, nervously taking the wrath from demanding hierarchy management, my mind began to drift back to an incident in my early childhood†¦ â€Å"Nice shot Shrimps!† There I was shooting the basketball in gym class, all five foot four inches, 125 pounds of me. I am known as â€Å"Shrimps,† but my real name is Donald I am a small kid, with the heart of a kitten. Patiently waiting for the school bell to ring, to notify me and the rest of the school it was time to go home for the day and come back again in a week and half, I could hardly wait to get home and show my parents my straight A report card. It seemed like two life times had passed already, but I was still stuck there waiting to hear the ring of the damn bell. All of a sudden, I realized Lenord was headed into my vicinity. My pulse began to race, sweat dripping from my forehead; I continued to shoot the basketball. Soon I became scared, so scared I thought I was going to wet myself. The threat was real, very real, but this wasn't the first time I'd been in danger and sure seemed like it wouldn't be the last. I can still see him even now, with a crystal clear vivid image of him. How could anyone forget what he looked like? Everyone in the school knew him as J Dog, but behind the slang name J Dog, he was known to all too many as Lenord. Lenord was double the size of any average Joe his age, standing tall looking over the top of his peer's heads desperately awaiting someone to step in his way. J Dog, the big fat aggressive pain in everyone's bottom, the school bully. J Dog was always with four of his immediate peers. J Dog generally picked fights with weaker students. He would abuse them with his strength and powerful vocal cords, which built his ego on his victims. For nearly the past seven years I have watched him and his four man mafia pick on younger boys. I can not even count the times on my twenty fingers and toes that I was the onlooker, watching sadly from the â€Å"birds eye view,† waiting for their time to come and be put in their place. One incident I witnessed was when J Dog and his four man mafia picked a fight with a varsity football player. As I observed the attack through the bathroom stall the fight seemed too unfair. J Dog and his crew attacked the peer in the boys' bathroom. They all took their turns aggressively punching and kicking the peer. I sat in the stall curled up on the toilet, bracing myself nearly feeling every blow. Showing no remorse they continued on their brutal attack until they seemed too tired to go on. The fight ended with a vicious kick to the face by J Dog. Constantly and repetitively J Dog and his crew moved away from the school handbook and the countless school policies that it entailed. Yes indeed I knew what they were doing, as well as everyone else at the school including the school staff, but no one took the time to create a peaceful environment. It just seemed that no one would stand up to their mischievous behavior. I never understood why this was this way. Why do we all sit here back on our heels and watch this reckless' abandon go on with his terror? We were all equally guilty, guilty as J Dog and his fellow perpetrators. The longer we stood back and accepted their behavior and the longer they were able to rage throughout the school, the stronger they became. This was not a good thing for me, or for the entire school. J Dog and his four brotherhood boys came for me one spring morning. In fact it was the last day of school prior to a well anticipated eleven day Easter break. I'd been playing basketball with a few of my peers in the schools' gymnasium. Looking on the other side of the gym behind a set of bleachers, sat J Dog and his fellow four up to no good teasing and laughing at fellow students. The obnoxious jerk himself, Lenord, and his four manned mafia soon came to the side of the gym where I was playing basketball. Before I had the chance to warn my friends I heard abruptly, â€Å"Donald, you four-eyed worthless piece of shit,† the bully said. â€Å"It's your turn.† My heart hit rock bottom, feeling myself gasp for air, I asked myself â€Å"oh no here we go, I think it is my turn to be plum bulled, or isn't it?† Such simple words, so much unsaid. I didn't need any further explanations. I knew what they wanted and it was not their sanity back. As mentioned earlier I'd seen others after they'd had their turn. It was never a pretty sight. Too many times over the years I have witnessed the brutal attacks on my fellow classmates. In time they would have progressed beyond schoolyard aggression, sinking lower into the anti-social status of the criminal underworld. They'd never be leaders of any kind, just straight up thugs. They'd been well schooled in this art. I had never once in my life been in a fight. Well unless my sister counts? To say I was scared of the upcoming attack would have been an understatement. I was petrified. I knew if I was not careful in what I said or did I may end up dead. As I sat there overshadowed by five ruthless thugs, I knew that even in a fair fight I couldn't possibly win. Other students swirled around us, isolating our little group. It was well known everyone in the oval knew of the intended attack. Sweating profusely, I was nearly drowned in my own sweat, knowing what was waiting for me, wondering why he didn't just lash out and end this mockery, this teasing. I did not even realize then that he'd had to work himself into a frenzy so he could just hit, and hit, and hit. â€Å"What's up, Shrimps? Don't you want your pretty boy face all smashed up like everyone else in this school? Or will you be upset because you will need a face lift?† As I sat there I could only think of dumb things like this girl name Ashley sucking her thumb and my friend telling me to imagine my peers naked while giving a speech. Only the sight of these two things registered on my numbed, frightened brain. â€Å"Why don't you leave me alone? Go annoy someone else.† I took the basketball and dropped it at my feet. â€Å"Are you throwing the basketball at me, Shrimps?† He snorted, searching for any excuse to start a fight with me. I didn't want to give him an excuse. He stood there warlike; hands on hips, wearing his all blue attire. His stomach fat erupted through ragged holes in his once blue t-shirt. Supporting the color blue was what J Dog felt was the holiest color known to mankind. â€Å"Don't be silly, I just dropped it at my feet,† I whined, not at all mentally prepared for the brutal assault. â€Å"I know you didn't just call J Dog silly,† one of his collogues shouted. â€Å"Or I'll flatten you myself. Come on J Dog, give the idiot a reason to talk back and let's get the hell out of here. It is just too hot in here to have to put up with all of this shit,† he added as he grinded his teeth, showing the enormous gap in his bottom teeth, so enormous I could kick a field goal through it. â€Å"You call me silly, did you? You're nothing but a poor excuse for human life. You can run to the teachers all you like, see, I am not afraid of them.† Thoughts began to race inside me. I wondered why school authorities put up with him. Too many times Lenord and his four mates' behavior were over looked. School fights happened; sometimes students went home a little worse for wear. I could not help to notice that in a mere two minutes the bell would sound. Thinking to myself will that bell ever ring and let me out of this mess I got myself into? I responded to this coward known to too many as J Dog, â€Å"I didn't call you silly; I just said I did not throw the basketball at you.† I was answered by a heavy push in the chest, the first sign of physical violence. Staggering back, it was followed by another massive blow from the aggressive J Dog. He stepped back up to me, face to face, as J Dogs four amigos stood close beside him, crowding me like flies on dead carcass. â€Å"Won't you stay and fight?† He spit little specks of salvia at me but I dared not acknowledge them. â€Å"Bloody little coward.† He'd been right; I was a coward, so scared I couldn't run, even if I wanted to, even if there'd been somewhere to go and get away from the mess I was in. I silently choked back sobs, fighting to hold back tears of terror. The panic controlled me; I stood there looking like a buffoon right in front of Lenord, his four friends, my best friend, twenty other students, and one especially hot girl named Cindy. Again the palms of his massive hands stabbed at my chest and, again, I staggered back. I felt the impact of his hands long after they'd abruptly returned to his hips. The five men closed back up on me as we danced further away from the gymnasium bleachers or what I like to call protection from a fall and embarrassment. I felt my grip on reality slipping further and further away. Others were here to only see another beating set forth by J Dog and to witness my shame. Not that J Dog and his mates wouldn't let everyone know how well, or poorly, I took the abuse. There was a certain honor in taking your licking like a man. I hadn't felt like a man, and had been sure there was little honor in J Dog. However, I couldn't hide for the rest of my life. It had been time to stop the hopelessness and stand up for myself and for the rest of the school population. It had to be all or nothing. I preferred nothing, but in the back of my head I wanted nothing more than to set the example. Putting on a brave face, I firmed my voice and looked the outsized buffoon in the eye. â€Å"I know you can beat me like a red headed step daughter, I don't doubt it at all.† As the jittered mess in my voice came out I wanted to look and feel confident in what I said to this animal. â€Å"But Lenord,† I added, â€Å"Just remember one thing. When I hit the ground, so too will your front teeth, you worthless coward. I'll get one punch in, you know I will, and that punch will be directed right for your front teeth. When I am done with you, you will no longer look like the donkey you look and smell like now! Is beating me up worth losing your front teeth?† I was being optimistic, I doubted that I could even get in one punch; I doubted even if delivered I could have knocked out any of his teeth. The reaction from the overweight J Dog was almost priceless. Suddenly it was the bully who backed off, looked lost, looked everywhere but at his bewildered fellows or me. â€Å"Er†¦ er†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he stuttered, â€Å"you're not worth the effort, you are just a waste of my breath, you little crap headed pansy. I wouldn't waste my spit on you. You better get away from me before I change my mind and pound the crap out of you.† Now I was the one standing aggressively, hands on hips, watching the fast disappearing of the other bullies as they soon walked away in disbelief. Cocky in my arrogance, I spit out a final mouth of spit in their vicinity. It had been the most rewarding victory of my life, standing there on that field of honor, knowing that I had conquered the mighty, invincible J Dog. I wanted to shout it out to the rest of the school and let everyone in the school district know of J Dog's defeat. My mind switched off that near death episode, back to the present, to the here and now. Hierarchy management surrounded me, trying to pressure me and abide to their will. Tacky school clothes were replaced with tailored business suits, the overt threat of violence with an undercurrent of raw power. Things hadn't changed. As before, I was the underdog, the potential victim. These smiling men were planning on beating me far worse than the luckless J Dog could ever have imagined. Here I was fighting for my life, my work life, and for the future of my family and myself. I could lose everything. I felt too old to start everything all over again. These smiling piranhas had planned on chewing me up and spitting out the bones. I had to fight for myself and for what I knew was right, and it was time to either stand up and fight their smirking aggression, or lie down and die like a dog. I thought again of J Dog the bully, remembering how quickly he'd collapsed after I stood in his way of destruction. Clearing my throat, I looked straight in the owner's eyes. â€Å"This is what should happen,† I began, as an idea rushed into my mind. Fully knowing what I was going to say, I continued as I spilled out the beans.