Discuss the use of directed evolution in enzyme technology Essay

Discuss the use of directed evolution in enzyme technology - Essay Example Moreover, the synthesis of molecules in the laboratory requires the aid of enzymes. However, scientists have had challenges in designing highly specific enzymes that exhibit remarkable stability for use in the different processes that require enzymes. Initially, they relied on rational design, but the products of this process did not prove desirable. The emergence of the directed evolution enzyme technology in the 1990s has served to alter the production of enzymes. This process relies on selected parent gene, subjection to a mutagen until they yield variants of the parent gene selected. This paper will discuss the process of directed evolution enzyme technology (Simpson 2012, p. 54). Prior to the development of the directed evolution concept, the application of enzymes in a diverse range of processes presented salient challenges. As many enzymologists have described, enzyme specificity is the most critical aspect in the functioning of any enzyme. The enzyme must exhibit exemplary specificity for its substrates. This serves to increase its efficiency in the catalysis process. However, many of the enzymes developed for use in many processes exhibited limited specificity (Soetaert & Vandamme 2007, p. 146). Moreover, whereas many processes were designed to occur at remarkably high temperatures, many enzymes proved unstable. Evidently, many of the enzymes exhibited low and undesirable reaction rates, and the rates of substrate conversion proved slow. In other cases, product inhibition occurred, retarding the process. These challenges necessitated the development of a procedure that could serve as a reliable method for the production of enzymes with desirable qualitie s. As highlighted above, the process of rational design that comprised of screening produced DNA libraries and subsequently engineering them did not address most of these setbacks (Arnold & Georgiou 2003, p. 54). The minimal success in rational design is

HIV AIDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 40-70 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HIV AIDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN 40-70 - Essay Example y is designed to illustrate statistics on this often-underlooked population demographic to determine whether the 40-70 female maintains high prevalence of HIV and AIDS. It further looks to identify whether any social programs exist which impact this particular group and discusses the potential toll HIV and AIDS can take on their lives. AIDS is cited as the third largest cause of death in African American women between the ages of 35 and 44, with the disease being the fourth leading cause of death in the 45-54 year old African American female group (CDC, 2008). Combined, this is a significant cause for alarm. In the pursuit of identifying appropriate research for older African American women ages 55 and beyond, no statistical diagrams or charts which highlighted studies could be located. The aforementioned clearly illustrates that more research into the 40-70 African American population should be identified. For instance, contemporary research studies tend to show a pattern of behaviors which, when charted, can be predicted which give insight into what drives the behaviors socially. Once you have painted a construct of how people interact in these different, segregated social groups, it makes the process of identifying methods to assist these women more difficult as it provides no personality, socio-cultural template by which to relate to the struggling women. As 64 percent of all people in the United States who have HIV and AIDS are African Americans, understanding how infection rates occur and the overall sexual practices of the 40-70 group could provide the necessary tools to break down social barriers in terms of treatment options. Sadly, however, it does not appear that there are adequate social programs in place to assist women of this age group who might be battling with HIV and/or AIDS. However, there are several which are designed to offer clinical research information and a sense of community. One of which is the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF)

Regulation of Human Skin Pigmentation

Regulation of Human Skin Pigmentation Introduction In the human body, the skin is the largest organ, with it being a complicated epithelial and mesenchymal tissue. It consists of an epidermis which is multilayered as well as structures such as sebaceous and sweat glands, hair follicles, a dermis consisting of elastic and collagen fibres. There is also a layer of subcutaneous fat. There has been a discovery of over 1000 disease entities involved with the skin such as eczema, psoriasis, melanoma and urticaria. Around 15% of a human adults total body weight is accounted for by the skin with a surface area of approximately 2m2. The skin consists of three layers; the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. The outer layer of the skin is known as the epidermis, which is a stratified squamous epithelium , where 95% of its cells are keratinocytes. The remaining cells in the epidermis are the melanocytes, merkel and langerhans cells. The role of the epidermis is to provide a defence barrier against environments of an inhospitable nature. The epidermis can be divided into four layers, in order from outer layer to deepest layer; stratum corneum (the cornified layer), stratum lucidum (the clear/translucent layer), stratum granulosum (the granular layer), stratum spinosum (the spinous layer) and the stratum basale (the basal layer) . There is a single layer of keratinocytes in the basal layer, where daughter cells can be produced by them to terminal differentiation via proliferation, resulting in the forming of the cornified layer , which can take around 40 days, however this can be shorter in various diseases, such psoriasis. About ten layers of corneocytes that are flattened make up the cornified layer . From the neural crest, dendritic cells can be derived which are known as melanocytes, which are also found in the basal layer. Melanosomes, which are subcellular organelles, transport melanin, which are synthesised by melanocytes, to the neighbouring basal keratinocytes. In order to prevent harm to the nuclei of the basal keratinocytes from ultraviolet radiation, a melanin cap is formed by the melanosomes. Melanosome size and number, as well as melanins nature determine skin colour or pigmentation. Langerhans cells are derived from the bone marrow and are antigen presenting dendritic cells founds in the epidermis. Sensory information is transmitted from the skin to the sensory nerves by merkel cells found in the epidermis . The dermis is the layer beneath the epidermis, and its thickness depends on the area of the body. For example, on the eyelid, the dermis is thin, whilst the dermis is thick on a persons back. The dermis consists of two layers; the papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. The papillary dermis is in contact with the basement membrane zone, which provides adhesion between the epidermis and dermis, where skin blistering can occur due to defects. Blood vessels as well as sensory nerve endings are richly supplied to the papillary dermis. The reticular dermis is in contact with the hypodermis and is the main component of the dermis. Interstitial components, such as elastic and collagen fibres, and cellular components, such as fibroblasts and plasma and mast cells, are what make up the composition of the dermis. Collagen accounts for around 70% of the dermis dry weight , where types I and III are predominant. The predominant cell type, however, is fibroblasts in the dermis, which are derived from the mesenchyme. The hypodermis is the deepest layer of the skin consisting of lipocytes. The function of the hypodermis is to connect the skin to the bone and muscle, thus supplying the bone with nerves and blood vessels. The arrangement of these is in fat lobules, where the fibrous septae separates one from another. The connection between the dermis and the hypodermis is strengthened by fibre bundles originally from the dermis. Around 80% of the entire body fat is found within the hypodermis in those individuals who are not obese . As very briefly mentioned previously, melanocytes function is dependent upon for pigmentation. These cells from melanoblasts during embryological development. Each basal melanocyte is connected functionally to the dermal fibroblasts as well as to the basal keratinocytes. These three cell types interact and communicate with each other in order to regulate the skins phenotype and function through the secreted factors and receptors in addition to cell to cell contact . Stem cell keratinocytes and basal melanocytes has a slow proliferation rate in normal circumstances, however the upper basal keratinocytes have a much rapid proliferation rate, which carries them towards the skins surface alongside the ingested melanin thus forming a barrier. Therefore the skins colour is not personified by only the melanin found in melanocytes, but also in a conjunction with pigment found in the superficial layers of the skin . Currently, pigmentation is known to be regulated in a direct or indirect fashion by over 125 different genes, with this number potentially rising 150-200 in less than another 100 years. Out of them genes, the ones whose function is understood, a lot of them affect processes that are involved in development which are critical for melanoblasts. Some genes regulate melanocytes differentiation and survival whilst others control processes affecting pigmentation. Melanosomes functions or biogenesis is affected by more than 25 of the genes. Some critical enzymes involved in the control of pigmentation include tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein 1 (TRP-1) and DCT (DOPAchrometautomerase). If these enzymes are mutated, melanins which are synthesis could be affected in terms of their quantity and quality. Some critical structural proteins required for the melanosomes to mature structurally include Pmel17 and MART1. Mutations in proteins that are involved in the sorting of melanosome proteins can result inherited disorders of hypopigmentary nature . This critical appraisal will look at in further detail the different types of pigmentation, constitutive and facultative, and how they are regulated, including the roles of MC-1R, cyclic AMP (cAMP) pathway Agouti Signalling Protein, MITF and ultraviolet radiation. Also covered in this piece of work is CRHs and ÃŽÂ ²-endorphins roles in regulation of human skin pigmentation. Melanin Within the melanosomes, melanins are synthesises via the previously mentioned enzymes. The reaction which limits the melanogenesis rate becomes catalysed by tyrosinase, as is tyrosinases hydroxylation resulting in 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), along with DOPA oxidising into DOPAquinone. The oxidation of 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) take place in mice due to TRP-1, however this same activity doesnt take place in humans. DOPAchrome is isomerised into DHICA by DCT. In human, there is productions of two types of melanin, eumelanin which is black or brown and pheomelanin which is yellow or red. Tyrosinase is essential for the synthesis of both types of melanin, whilst TRP1 and DCT more for the synthesis of eumelanin . With regards to skin pigmentation, there are two types; Constitutive pigmentation and Facultative pigmentation. Regulation of Constitutive Pigmentation Depending upon the racial and ethnic background of the person, the colour of human skin varies from extremely light to extremely dark. Several major chaperones, melanin, oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin and carotenoids determine the colour of human skin. In 1954, the first observation was made with regards to the pigmentary system of the skin by Szabo when an immunohistochemical technique was used to test tyrosinases enzymatic activity via staining of tissues , where Caucasian skin was examined at first followed by other colours of skin. Along with various other studies as well as Szabos it was shown that in different human skin types had similar melanocytes densities as well as distribution in similar body areas. They also found that there is less melanin content in lighter skin, with melanosomes which are pigmented poorly being clustered above the nuclei within keratinocytes. There is more melanin present in darker skin, with the distribution of melanosomes that are pigmented heavily being individual in keratinocytes rather than clustered, which increases light absorption. The density of melanocytes is different in distinct parts of the body. For example, the skin on an individuals palms or soles is lighter in comparison to others parts of the body. Environmental factors can affect the density of constitutive melanocytes in the skin, including ultraviolet radiation (UVR), where the density can be increase by 3 or 4 times of the norm. Another environmental factor that can increase the density are toxic compounds, for example hydroquinone, resulting in the destruction of melanocytes. In increase of decreased melanocyte densities, pigmentary disorders which are inherited can result, for example freckles or vitiligo respectively . Due to Bcl2s high expression, epidermal keratinocytes are resistant to apoptosis as they have a slow proliferation rate in normal circumstances. It has been shown that the palms and soles dermis have a high level of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) secretion which causes the Wnt/ÃŽÂ ²-catenin signalling pathway to become inhibited via the suppression of the growth function of melanocytes, thus inhibiting the melanogenic pathway. This can have effects on some transcriptional regulators, for example microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF), to some downstream melanogenic proteins. Epidermal Keratinocytes also become affected by DKK1 as melanin uptake is diminished, resulting in a skin phenotype which is a lot thicker with less pigmentation . Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC-1R), which is domain receptor of seven transmembranes which binds to pro-opiomelanocortin peptides due to it being coupled with ÃŽÂ ±s G-protein , is a major skin pigment phenotype determinant. It regulated the quality and quantity of melanin production. Two agonists regulate MC-1R function, which are ÃŽÂ ± melanocyte stimulating hormone (ÃŽÂ ±-MSH) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). An antagonist called Agouti signalling protein (ASP) also regulates MC-1R function. When ÃŽÂ ±-MSH or ACTH activate MC-1R, melanogenic cascade expression is stimulated, resulting in stimulation of eumelanin synthesis. This can be reversed by ASP, resulting in stimulation of pheomelanin production. MC-1R gene expression can be upregulated by ÃŽÂ ±-MSH and ACTH, which act in a positive feedback loop . Melanogenesis Melanogenesis can be defined as the biosynthetic pathway of melanin in living cells, which is a complex process with multiple steps which involves substrates, specific enzymes already mentioned and various cofactors commencing with phenylalanine and/or tyrosinase resulting in melanin deposition on the melanosomes protein matrix. The understanding of melanogenesis was greatly increased in the 1950s onwards by Fitzpatrick et al . During the cycle of hair growth in Agouti mice, melanogensis regulation occurs quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Pheomelanins are produced instead of eumelanins in the anagen phase, a switch incurred by the melanocytes in the hair follicles, causing a yellow band on top of a brown background. The regulation of this switch involves extension and agouti loci products that encode MC-1R and ASP respectively. When a ligand binds to MC-1R it activates, resulting in activation of adenylyl cyclase by the ÃŽÂ ±s G-protein, causing an increase in the intracellular cAMP significantly. If the extension locus incurs any mutations, the MC-1R reception will become non functional, therefore adenylate cyclase will remain inactive in ÃŽÂ ±-MSH presence, meaning mice will have a yellow coat colour. The MC-1R receptor is bound by ASP, which results in the ÃŽÂ ±-MSH effects being antagonised, which includes the adenylate cyclase activation caused by the ÃŽÂ ±-MSH . There is lots of evidence which shows that ÃŽÂ ±-MSH, ACTH and cAMP have key roles in skin pigmentation regulation in humans. For example, ÃŽÂ ±-MSH hypersecretrion has been reported to cause skin hyperpigmentation. Patients with severe obesity and hair pigmentation which is red have been shown to have pro opiomelanocortin gene mutations . In human melanocytes that have been cultured, dendricity and melanogenesis are upregulated by the pro opiomelanocortin peptides. Pharmalogical cAMP can also mimic these effects. All of this clearly suggests that ÃŽÂ ±-MSH, ACTH and cAMP have a vital role in melanogenesis regulation. Role of cAMP It is suggested that cAMP has a pivotal role in melanogenic enzymes activity / expression regulation. This is because the enzyme activity of melanogenesis is diminished much more than TRP-1 and DCT. The melanogenic effects of the pro opiomelanocortin peptides seem to be mediated via the cAMP pathway upregulation through the activation of MC-1R as well as adenylate cyclase. Within the cell, cAMP binds to protein kinase A (PKA), enabling activation of the catalytic subunit. PKA phosphorylates its substrates, then translocating to the nucleus, phosphorylating cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) transcription factors family. Specific genes have their expression activated by this family of proteins, which contains consensus cAMP responsive element (CRE) sequences within their promoters. CREB-binding protein is also phosphorylated by PKA, where PKA dependent gene expression is required in order for the interaction with the family of CREB proteins . MITF, which is a helix loop helix transcription factor has been shown to be encoded by the mi locus. This is due to mice which have the mi mutation have a coat colour which is diluted, have white spots, or entire pigmentation loss. They can also have a microphthalmic phenotype caused by ocular development defects. Within melanocytes, mast cells, pigment cells in the retina and osteoclasts, MITF has been found to be expressed. Also, the lack of melanocytes seems to be the cause of the defective pigmentation in mi mice. It has been established that in the development and survival of melanocytes, MITF plays a key role, which is confirmed by the cloning of the MITF homologue within humans. Patients who have type II Waardenburg syndrome have been known to have mutations in MITF present, where there is defective pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes, as well as hearing alterations . It was shown by Bertolotto et al that there is some sort of connection between the cAMP pathway with MITF. In normal melanocytes and B16 melanoma cells, MITF expression was shown to be increased by cAMP. Tyrosinase expression stimulation that is induced by cAMP requires MITF as shown by a MITF missing the transactivation domain by a dominant negative mutation . PKA becomes activated by cAMP. PKA then goes on to phosphorylate and activate CREB. CREB binds to CRE after it is activated. The CRE is in the microphthalmia promoter, which upregulates its transcription. Microphthalmia expression is therefore increased, which leads to amplified binding of microphthalmia to the M box motif found in the tyrosinase promoter. Tyrosinase expression is increased, as is the upregulation of the synthesis of melanin. Agouti Signalling Protein In cultured human melanocytes, eumelanin synthesis and the activity of tyrosinase is inhibited by ASP. TRP-1 and the expression of tyrosinase is also reduced by ASP. Because of tyrosinases slightest inhibition of activity as well as to the near loss of the expression of TRP-1 and DCT, ASP decreases eumelanin synthesis. It has been found that genes were downregulated by ASP founds in tyrosinase and DCT, as well as upregulated genes which have some association with a basic helix loop helix transcription factor (ITF2). This shows that ITF2 may have a role in melanogenesis regulation, particularly in the previously mentioned switch of eumelanin to pheomelanin. Regulation of Facultative Pigmentation Physiological regulation that causes an increase in skin colour can be defined as facultative skin pigmentation. There are lots of factors that regulated facultative skin colour, including ultraviolet (UV) which is also known as the tanning reaction which occurs in fish as well as humans. The skins response to UV radiation is kinetically complex causing tanning of the skin over a period of several weeks . The effects of UVR can be divided into acute and chronic effects. The acute effects include erythema (sunburn), tanning and immunosuppression. The skins visible pigmentation is added to by UV causing erythema of the skin itself. There are three different stages of tanning, two of which occur rapidly, immediate and persistent tanning, and one that takes time in order for it to develop, delayed tanning. Immunosuppression can result in a decreased number and function of antigen presenting langerhans cells, as well morphological changes. The chronic effects of UVR include photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. In photoaging, wrinkles and freckles start to appear on the skin, where there is a leather type appearance. Photocarcinogenesis can be caused due to the indirect damage of DNA by reactive oxygen species generation. There are three types of UVR: UVA which is 320 400nm long. Its the longest wave from all the types of UVR and can penetrate deeply into the dermis. UBV is 280 320nm long. It can penetrate the epidermis and is 100 fold more energetic and mutagenic. UVC is 200 280nm long but does not reach the surface of Earth. Immediate Persistent Tanning The reaction of immediate tanning can occur almost instantaneously, within a few minutes after being exposed to UV, where it still persists several hours later. Persistent tanning is a separate second stage of the tanning reaction whereupon it occurs within a few hours after being exposed to UV, with it still being persistent several days later. Melanin and/or melanogenic precursors oxidation and polymerisation is thought to be behind both immediate and persistent tanning. The responses of both these types of tanning are greater to UVA than to UVB. Immediate tanning has a colour of gray to black whilst persistent tanning appears brown.It has been shown that one week after being exposed to UV, there is very little production of more melanin . Reported in 1986 was that immediate tanning can be educed by UVA in epidermal sheets. Honigsmanns results suggested that existing melanin or melanin precursors chemical oxidation is reflected upon by immediate tanning rather than pigment granules physiological movement. Reactive oxygen species are able to cause the oxidation of tyrosine as well as DOPA to melanin which occurs in immediate tanning. Also, pigmentations UVA induction is dependent upon melanin which is soluble and there are two different types of melanin absorption which are involved in UVA photoxidation. Delayed Tanning The reaction of delayed tanning has a developmental time of more than several days. Skin tanning appears to peak one week after being exposed to UV, after which tanning appears to diminish for the next ten weeks, but doesnt return to the constitutive level after that time. Within the same time frame, Asian skin pigmentation increase is relatively small. Therefore there is a higher level of hyperplasia in skin that contains smaller levels of constitutive pigment, playing somewhat of a protective role in the response to UV than did the increased pigmentation the skin types that are lighter. Skin pigmentation increase over a long term caused by UV are due to lots of physiological facts being regulated by UV, affecting the growth and / or differentiation of melanocytes. Pigmentation is also stimulated by DNA damage caused by UV exposure . The levels of eumelanin and pheomelanin slowly increase together after being exposed to UV on human skin. This shows that by UV, they are not regulated separately. In various ethnic origins skin pigmentation, there are around two fold differences in melanins chemical content and the melanosomes distribution and size of the particle are important to the visible colour of skin. In comparison with skin which is protected to skin which is constantly radiated with UV, there is only less than a two-fold increase again. All of this shows that aside from the quantity of melanin, other factors are necessary for skin pigmentation. An increase in their expression of ÃŽÂ ±-MSH and ACTH is a response by epidermal keratinocytes and melanocytes to UV exposure. This MC-1Rs function and expression to become upregulated, increasing the response of melanocytes to melanocortins. The weakly functioning MC-1R variants can be located in people with fair skin with red hair who have more pheomelanin with an inability to get a tan. The expression of Endothelin-1 by keratinocytes is enhanced by UV, thus enhancing MC-1Rs expression also, but endothelin-1 works via its own receptor on the melanocytes. The secretion of interleukin-1 by keratinocytes is also caused by UV, stimulating endothelin-1, ÃŽÂ ±-MSH and ACTH secretion by keratinocytes. In keratinocytes, p53s stimulation by the exposure to UV causes increased POMC gene expression resulting in an increase in ÃŽÂ ±-MSH secretion as well as MC-1R function stimulation in the neighbouring melanocytes . ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin/ÂÂ µ-opiate receptor It was reported for the first time by Kauser et al that ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin and the ÂÂ µ-opiate receptor system is expressed in epidermal melanocytes, theyre associated closely with melanosomes, and that in melanocyte biology regulation, this system is active due to its pigmentation, dendricity and proliferation upregulating ability. In the epidermal melanocytes and keratinocytes, the presence of both aforementioned ligand and receptor gives a platform for both autocrine and paracrine mechanisms for the regulation of melanocyte behaviour. ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin and ÃŽÂ ²-lipotropic levels are raised being exposed to UVR , further suggesting that ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin has a role in epidermal melanocytes. Kauser et al also showed that ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin that has been supplied exogenously can cause an increase in melanogenesis and proliferation in epidermal melanocyte cultures. ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin also has an association with melanosomes suggesting that melanogenesis might be regulated l ocally in the secretory granule. Corticotropin Releasing Hormone It has been established that Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH) does have some sort of role in pigmentation. MC-1R action as well as the ÂÂ µ-opiate receptor moderates melanocytes behaviour in hair follicles where there is complete expression of the pro opiomelanocortin system within the pigmentary unit. The expression of CRH is low is different melanogenic zones, whilst there is differentiated distribution of melanocytes in the same area. CRH Receptor 1 seems to be more important in follicular melanocytes for the stimulation of melanogenesis, proliferation and dendricity. However, the role of CRH is in skin pigmentation is not 100% full established, and is an area that definitely required further research in order to gain some clarification. Aging As people get older, pigmentation continues to increase until adolescence or adulthood. Once theyve reached this point, pigmented lesions often begin to appear, and the hair starts to turn gray. It was found in 1979 that the quantity of melanocytes was decreased by about 10% with each decade the age went up by. This was confirmed by two other researches , where one was carried out on darker skin also. Another study compared very fair skin with Caucasian skin, finding that melanocyte density was greatly enhanced following continuous exposure to sunlight in the darker skin, however langerhans cell densities were decreased in the same time frame in both skin types after being exposed to UV.. It was proposed by Stierner et al that being exposed to UV might have some role in the development of melanoma in both exposed and protected skin, as well as being exposed to aberrant UV profoundly can be a lot more harmful than normal exposure , which has since been confirmed by various other studi es . Disruption of Regulation From time to time, different types of pigmentary disorders can occur due to disturbance of the normal regulation of skin pigmentation. Tyrosine function regulation lays importance on intracellular pH as catalytic functions are affected by the intramelanosomal pH as well as melanosomal protein delivery requiring the sorting pathway to have the right pH gradient. It is also considered that pigment production is regulating in some part by intracellular pH in different types of skin depending upon the racial or ethnic origin . Every single form of albinism is caused by tyrosine dysfunction or other types of melanogenic proteins, which can cause skin pigmentation to be blemished. Another pigmentary disorder is Hermansky Pudlak syndrome. This disorder have pleiotropic clinical effects . Pigmentary disorders which are caused by the acquiring of melanin involve the skin becoming lighter or darker. Skin colour which reduced is normally caused from epidermal melanin content declining. The skin may become darker due to an extremely large number of melanin being produced due to there being a an enhanced quantity of melanocytes, however it can also be due to melanin distribution becoming abnormal. Conclusion To summarise, in different skin colours and racial backgrounds, the density of melanocytes is near identical. The quantity and distribution of melanin is largely dependent upon for constitutive skin pigmentation. Less DNA damage occurs to melanocytes present in darker skin than those present in lighter skin. The activity of melanogenesis increases in darker skin in a more efficient manner than in lighter skin. The determination of constitutive skin pigmentation is achieved by: Melanoblasts migration during development Melanoblasts differentiation and survival to melanocytes Melanocyte density Melanosomal enzymes and their structural components expression and function Eumelanin and pheomelanin synthesis Melanosome transport to the dendrites Melanosomes being transferred into keratinocytes Melanin distribution in the skins suprabasal layers. MITF seems to respond to UV pretty quickly, with a response after 1 to 2 days. Some melanosomal proteins respond slower, such as tyrosinase, TRP-1 and DCT, with a response being elicited after about 1 week, where 3 weeks later an increase in the synthesis in melanin can be observed, whereas melanocyte density is increased around 4 to 5 weeks. Cyclic AMP causes the complex induction of intracellular processes which seem to be interconnected. The sub-pathway where PKA is activated, MITF is upregulated as is some of the enzymes involved in melanogenesis, causes melanogenesis stimulation. A cAMP activated pathway, through ERK activation inducing the degradation and phosphorylation of MITF, regulated melanogenesis negatively, where PKA is independent upon. The skins melanin distribution plays a key role in pigmentation that is visible. After around 1 week, the existing pigments migration towards the epidermal surface is increased, after which newly synthesis melanin restores the balance in the distribution of pigment around 4 to 5 weeks later. It is also apparent that when the distribution in the content of melanin undergoes minor changes, it can result in major changes in visible pigmentation, affecting constitutive pigmentation as well as facultative pigmentation or the responses to being exposed to UV. After reading through the literature to carry out this critical appraisal, it is evident that lots of studies have opposing and conflicting results as well as conclusions which may be incoherent, where the same group of authors may diverge from something which they have previously stated. This is most probably due to lots of variants when conducting these types of in vivo and in situ physiological studies. These variants most definitely include: UV source types How much dose amount and frequency that has been applied The sites which have been exposed and their locations The point in time which is assessed after being exposed to UV The history of the subjects, and whether they have been exposed to the same / higher levels of UV conducted in the experiments previously The capacity of an individual DNA repairing Very importantly, the racial and / or ethnic origin of the subjects. There are many areas which require clarification in field, which are definite area of potential future research. For example; Is melanocyte function affected eumelanin against pheomelanin production? As facultative pigmentation is increased, is there further protection against damage caused by UV? Does DNA repair have a role in reducing the skins long term damage? Also, photocarcinogenesis understanding needs to be enhanced, some of the parameters that are critical to it, and some strategies on how to reduce its risks. Research into which pathways participate in melanogenesis induced by UV and MSH still seems to be under way. Any advances could help in discovery of new potential ways of treating certain pigmentary disorders. The regulating mechanisms in the synthesis on melanin arent understood as clearly as required, where its been speculate that research into this may lead to topical melanogens discovery that can cause the production of melanin when UV irradiation is absent, which causes photo aging as well as some skin cancers. Further studies are necessary regarding the pigmentary role of ÃŽÂ ²-endorphin, which seems to be the forgotten melanocortin with regards to pigmentation. Similarly, the role of CRH in pigmentation also needs to be enhanced further. It is also shown that some hormones play a role in regulation of pigmentation including some oestrogens and androgens, which are areas that could used for further research to increase our understanding.

Free Essays - Breaking Kates Spirit in Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

Breaking Kate's Spirit in Taming of the Shrew In the play Taming of the Shrew, a man named Petruchio attempts to tame a mean spirited woman named Kate. Much to Kate's chagrin Petruchio convinces her father that Kate loves him so they will now be married. Through several maneuvers to try and squash Kate's pride, Petruchio is met with strong resistance at first when he finds she can equal him in verbal back and forth. The fact that Petruchio could match Kate surprises her as well. Eventually, Kate sarcastically gives in with her speech about the sun and moon on the way to her sister's wedding. Finally after all his calculating moves throughout Petruchio successfully breaks Kate's spirit which is evident in her final speech. Petruchio undertakes to woo Kate before he has met her. He decides to recommend himself to her father as the dominant male that could tame her: "And so she yields to me. For I am rough and woo not like a babe."(II.I.136-137) Petruchio reports to Baptista that it is a match. Conclusively, he refuses any further discussion of the matter. If Petruchio were to speak more of the truth then his strategy to woo Kate may be revealed. His domineering attitude has limited Kate to express her thoughts of the situation. From the moment Petruchio sets foot in her room, Kate is most abrasive towards him. Kate makes an effort to assert her dominance by developing a shrewish attitude. They engage in a lengthy verbal duel with elaborate puns. "If be waspish, best beware my sting."(II.I.209) Kate's puns are generally insulting or threatening, but Petruchio twists them into sexual innuendo. His persistence in breaking her spirit causes Kate to become more conniving. Petruchio has employed a hawking metaphor to describe how he has begun his reign over Kate. "My falcon now is sharp and passing empty. And till she stoop she must not be full-gorg'd, for then she never looks up her lure. Another way I have to man my haggard, To make her come, and know her keeper's call, That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites That bate and beat, and will not be obedient.

Advertising to Children Notes Essay

* Children cannot comprehend advertising messages due to their young age. * Children don’t understand persuasive intent until they are eight or nine years old and that it is unethical to advertise to them before then. According to Karpatkin and Holmes from the Consumers Union, â€Å"Young children, in particular, have difficulty in distinguishing between advertising and reality in ads, and ads can distort their view of the world. † Additionally children are unable to evaluate advertising claims. Beder, 1998) * Older children pay less attention to advertisements and are more able to differentiate between the ads and TV programs but they are also easy prey for advertisers. Around puberty, in their early teens, children are forming their own identities and they are â€Å"highly vulnerable to pressure to conform to group standards and mores. † At this age they feel insecure and want to feel that they belong to their peer group. Advertising manipulates them through their insecurities, seeking to define normality for them; influencing the way they â€Å"view and obtain appropriate models for the adult world;† and undermining â€Å"fundamental human values in the development of the identity of children. † Advertisements actively encourage them to seek happiness and esteem through consumption. (Beder, 1998) * Younger children often do not understand the persuasive intent of advertisements, and even older children probably have difficulty understanding the intent of newer marketing techniques that blur the line between commercial and program content. Calvert, 2008) * One key area in research on the effect of advertising on children has been analysis of age-based changes in children’s ability to understand commercial messages, particularly their intent. Before they reach the age of eight, children believe that the purpose of commercials is to help them in their purchasing decisions; they are unaware that commercials are designed to persuade them to buy specific products. The shifts that take place in children’s understanding of commercial intent are better explained using theories of cognitive development. Calvert, 2008) * During the stage of preoperational thought, roughly from age two to age seven, young children are perceptually bound and focus on properties such as how a product looks. Young children also use animistic thinking, believing that imaginary events and characters can be real. For instance, during the Christmas season, television is flooded with commercials that foster an interest in the toys that Santa will bring in his sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. Young children â€Å"buy in† to these fantasies and the consumer culture they represent. Preoperational modes of thought put young children at a distinct disadvantage in understanding commercial intent and, thus, in being able to make informed decisions about requests and purchases of products. (Calvert, 2008) * With the advent of concrete operational thought, between age seven and age eleven, children begin to understand their world more realistically. They understand, for example, that perceptual manipulations do not change the underlying properties of objects. More important, they begin to go beyond the information given in a commercial and grasp that the intent of advertisers is to sell products. By the stage of formal operational thought, about age twelve and upward, adolescents can reason abstractly and understand the motives of advertisers even to the point of growing cynical about advertising. (Calvert, 2008) * Increased use of the Internet to target children offers increasing opportunities for advertisers to convey their messages. * A new arena for advertising is the Internet. It is estimated that about four million children are using the Internet worldwide and this figure is bound to increase dramatically over the next few years. Beder, 1998) * As the enormous increase in the number of available television channels has led to smaller audiences for each channel, digital interactive technologies have simultaneously opened new routes to narrow cast to children, thereby creating a growing media space just for children and children’s products. (Calvert, 2008) * Newer marketing approaches have led to online advertising and to so-called stealth marketing techniques, such as embedding products in the program content in films, online, and in video games. Calvert, 2008) * Television has long been the staple of advertising to children and youth. Children view approximately 40,000 advertisements each year. The products marketed to children— sugarcoated cereals, fast food restaurants, candy, and toys—have remained relatively constant over time. But marketers are now directing these same kinds of products to children online. (Calvert, 2008) * Rapid growth in the number of television stations and online venues has also led advertisers to market directly to children and youth. Because children and youth are heavy media users and early adopters of newer technologies, media marketing and advertising campaigns using both television and newer media are efficient pathways into children’s homes and lives. Although television is still the preferred medium for reaching children and youth, marketers are exploring how to reach this age group online using cell phones, iPods, game platforms, and other digital devices. Banner ads, for example, which resemble traditional billboard ads but market a product across the top of an Internet page, appear on most webpages. And â€Å"advergames† integrate products such as cereal and candy into online video games to sell products to youth. (Calvert, 2008) * Although television is still the dominant venue for advertising, marketers are exploring new ways to market to children and adolescents through online media and wireless devices, often using stealth techniques whereby consumers are immersed in branded environments, frequently without knowing that they are being exposed to sophisticated marketing campaigns. Marketers carefully analyze children and adolescents’ interest patterns, focusing on games for â€Å"tweens,† as well as communication software for teens. Tracking these patterns provides extensive information that marketers now analyze in aggregate form, but that can, in the future, be used for one-on-one relational marketing strategies directed at specific individuals. (Calvert, 2008) * Online interactive agents are a virtual form of stealth advertising. Marketers program robots, or bots, to reply? to surfers who initiate a conversation. Such bots are programmed to respond to users in a one-on-one relational way that builds brand loyalty, as for instance, with virtual bartenders who â€Å"talk† to those who visit their sites. These alcohol-related websites feature humor, games, and hip language to appeal to minors. (Calvert, 2008) * Many companies have realized that children, particularly tweens and teens, enjoy using technology for education, communication, and entertainment purposes. The Internet allows tweens and teens to become involved with, explore, and learn about products when and where they want to (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). * Some marketers suggest that the best way to engage children through the Internet is by the use of ‘viral’ or buzz marketing strategies that encourage children to email their avourite commercials and other product information to each other (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). As the Internet has continued to grow in prominence and commercial strength, concerns about this medium have grown accordingly, particularly as they relate to children and teens (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). * Typically, these concerns focus around issues of time spent on the Internet and its effect on intellectual and social development, the vulnerability of children to advertisers’ tactics and children’s access to inappropriate content (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). One of the concerns often voiced about children and Internet advertising is how much time children are exposed to advertising messages while online and also how much attention they pay to these messages (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). * Because exposure to Internet advertising is not regulated like advertising on broadcast television, there is concern about the amount of exposure that a child may have to advertising messages. On television, a single advertisement for a single brand may last 30-60 seconds before switching to another advertisement. On the internet, however, a child can spend hours on a single web site playing games, chatting to friends, catching up on product news, all while being continually exposed to a range of persuasive messages for that brand (Schumann and Thorson, 2007). * While television and other media have long been used to sell to children, the Internet presents some important differences. For example, television advertisers are asked to maintain a clear separation between content and advertising; Internet advertisers are not. And television advertisers are prohibited from using their corporate logos both as content and pitchmen at the same time; Internet advertisers face no such restrictions. As a result, Tony the Tiger has free rein among the games, quizzes and activities on Kellogg’s site, while on television he is restricted to station breaks (Carleton, 2000). * Today, children spend an estimated $130 million annually, and influence another $500 million in household purchases. And the Internet is a great place to reach those young consumers (Carleton, 2000). * Unlike traditional media, the Internet allows children and adolescents to access different kinds of content, and a specific characteristic is that this can be done in privacy, without the knowledge of parents (Marshall, 2010). * The most influential sources of information for children today making decisions and keeping contact with peers are media, meaning that children receive far more information from media than from parents and schools. This phenomenon has been called ‘the parallel school of media’, which means that children and adolescents will daily use up several hours on various media (Marshall, 2010). * Children can very quickly adopt and use new media technology and companies and advertising agencies are extremely innovative and creative when it is a question of targeting children with commercial messages (Marshall, 2010). * Children are targeted because of the amount of money they spend on themselves, the influence they have on their parents and because of the money they will spend when they grow up (three different markets). Young children are increasingly the target of advertising and marketing because of the amount of money they spend themselves, the influence they have on their parents spending (the nag factor) and because of the money they will spend when they grow up. (Beder, 1998) * Children represent three different markets. In addition to the direct money that children spend and the money they influence, children also represent a third major market and perhaps the most significant and that is the future market. Advertisers recognise that brand loyalties and consumer habits formed when children are young and vulnerable will be carried through to adulthood. (Beder, 1998) * In Australia, children under 18 have an average $31. 60 to spend each week and they influence more than 70 per cent of their parents’ clothes and fast food purchases. (Beder, 1998) * Both the discretionary income of children and their power to influence parent purchases have increased over time. (Calvert, 2008) * The affluence of today’s children and adolescents has made youth a market eminently worthy of pursuit by businesses. Calvert, 2008) * Evolution of a child consumer. (Beder, 1998) – From age 1: Accompanying Parents and Observing. Children are taken with their parents to supermarkets and other stores where all sorts of goodies are displayed. By the time a child can sit erect, he or she is placed in his or her culturally defined observation post high atop a shopping cart. From this vantage point the child stays safety in proximity to parents but can see for the first time the wonderland of marketing. – From age 2: Accompanying Parents and Requesting. Children begin to ask for things that they see and make connections between television advertising and store contents. They pay more attention to those ads and the list of things they want increases. At the same time, the youngster is learning how to get parents to respond to his or her wishes and wants. This may take the form of a grunt, whine, scream, or gesture–indeed some tears may be necessary–but eventually almost all children are able on a regular basis to persuade Mom or Dad to buy something for them. – From age 3: Accompanying Parents and Selecting with Permission. Children are able to come down from the shopping trolley and make their own choices. They are able to recognise brands and locate goods in the store. At this point the child has completed many connections, from advertisements to wants, to stores, to displays, to packages, to retrieval of want-satisfying products. For many parents this is a pleasing experience. Ditto for the marketers, for it signals the beginning of the child’s understanding of the want-satisfaction process in a market-driven society. – From age 4: Accompanying Parents and Making Independent Purchases. The final step in their development as a consumer is learning to pay for their purchases at the checkout counter. – From age 5: Going to the Store Alone and Making Independent Purchases. – By the age of eight children make most of their own buying decisions. * Integrating a variety of different theoretical perspectives, Patti Valkenburg and Joanne Cantor advanced a developmental model? of how children become consumers * In the first stage (birth to two years), toddlers and infants have desires and preferences, but they are not yet true consumers because they are not yet truly goal-directed in their product choices. During the second stage (two to five years), preschoolers nag and negotiate, asking for and even demanding certain products. At this point in their development, young children do not understand the persuasive intent of commercials; they focus on the attractive qualities of products and cannot keep their minds off the products for long. These developmental characteristics make them extremely vulnerable to commercial advertisements. By the end of this stage, children replace whining and throwing tantrums to get a desired product with more effective negotiation. In early elementary school (five to eight years), children reach the stage of adventure and first purchases. They begin to make clearer distinctions between what is real and what is imaginary, their attention spans are longer, and they make their first purchases outside the company of their parents. * In the final stage (eight to twelve years), elementary school children are attuned to their peer groups’ opinions. Their critical skills to assess products emerge, and their understanding of others’ emotions improves considerably. In the later years of this stage, interest shifts from toys to more adult-like products, such as music and sports equipment. Although children’s consumer behaviors continue to develop during the adolescent years, the foundation is laid in these early years with a progression from simple wants and desires to a search to fulfill those desires to making in- dependent choices and purchases to evaluating the product and its competition * (All Beder, 1998). The ability of elementary children to recognize both traditional online advertising such as banner and button ads and embedded advertising that is part of advergames seems to be limited. With only about a third of the children able to accurately identify advertising, a large percentage is left unable to identify advertising content. * Children’s culture is increasingly dominated and defined by market interests, as advertisers, children’s industries, and other producers of consumer goods clamour to capture the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of this profitable demographic. * The creation of online communities and spaces for children and youth has thus become a growing and lucrative endevour for many media, toy and food companies. This article provides a critical analysis of one such online community called NeoPets, whose premise is that users create or adopt a virtual pet to nuture. * Acquisition of currency (called ‘NeoPoints’), gained by playing various games, exchanging or selling items, filling out marketing surveys, and entering contests and games of chance, allows for the purchase o pet food and other virtual consumer products. * Neopets is part of a landscape of global, youthful, digital entertainment products that have emerged with the Internet and technological convergence. In its few years of operation, 16 million users have created Neopets. According to promotional material, Neopets is one of the fastest growing Internet youth communities. * The neopets site generates revenue through a strategy it calls ‘immersive marketing’, a scheme similar to product placement in films. Food manufacturers and entertainment giants have thus flocked to neopets, eager to reach this youthful market through insinuation of their brand in games and activities on the site. * Neopets generates a substantial part of its revenue by providing market research and consumer studies of its users. The neopets website exemplifies the new ‘children’s digital media culture’- a culture which fosters deepening levels of intimacy between marketer and children by dissolving traditional barriers between ‘content and commerce’. * In neopia, products and brand names are integrated within the many games and features that are part of the rich content on the site. Advertisers and entertainment companies such as Walt Disney, McDonalds and Mattel have flocked to Neopets, eager to reach the tween and teen market. * The majority of neopets users are under 18 years of age, with 39% below the age of 12 and 40% between 13-17 years old. Neopets conforms to modern conventions found in Saturday-morning cartoon series, comics, children’s advertising and product design: the use of a brightly coloured palate, with a predominance of primary and secondary colours, and highly-stylized ‘bubbly’ graphics. * Immersive advertising directly integrates a sponsor’s product or service into the activities available with in the site. Advertisers hope that immersive advertising campaigns will encourage children to play with the products, thus enabling them to later identify their brand. As children and youth continue to expand their access and presence on the Internet, they adopt participatory roles in the creation of online content and contribute in meaningful ways to online environments, including games and communities. * As children are sucked into the commercial marker in an increasingly competitive cradle-to-grave branding strategy, neopets strategy of immersive advertising amidst a fantastical community concerned with the ethos of acquisition and entrepreneurialism as entertainment provides a salient example of ‘childhood as a cultural space constituted by consumerism’. Neopets global marketing strategy of cross-media licensing and integrated marketing is a blatant example of branding children’s media environments. Slapping consumer culture onto children’s culture means we are denying children a degree of autonomy and agency in creating their own spaces.

Greg Beato: Amusing Ourselves to Depth

GREG BEATO: Amusing Ourselves to Depth 1. Tim Keck started The Onion because â€Å"he wanted to create a compelling way to deliver advertising to his fellow students†. â€Å"Part of the first issue’s front page was devoted to a story about a monster running amok at a local lake; the rest was reserved for beer and pizza coupons. † (389) This shows that the newspaper’s direction towards â€Å"fake news† and advertisement. 2.The Onion is one successful newspaper because it prints 710,000 copies of each weekly edition, 6,000 more than the Denver post; have 3000 local advertisers; attract 2 million online readers a week and boast a 60% increase in their print circulation. (389-390) 3. Beato choose the title â€Å"Amusing Ourselves to Depth† because it warns the fate that would befall us if public discourse were allowed to become substantially more entertaining (390), which is the opposite to what The Onion is doing. This suggests Beato is against this idea, and supports The Onion, that entertainment in news is good. 4.Beato mentions â€Å"America’s most informed citizens simply prefer comedy over the stentorian drivel the network anchormannequins dispense,† (390) to argue against Neil Postman’s notion. 5. The Onion focused on expressing a worldview of any kind and delights in crapping on pieties and regularly publishes stories guaranteed to upset someone by being completely honest. 6. Beato is not suggesting that fake news is better than â€Å"real† news but implying that by being honest, expressing a worldview of any kind and not afraid of offending people with a pinch of entertainment is better way to convey news.

Wildlife and the Pittman-Robertson Act

Wildlife and the Pittman-Robertson Act The early part of the 20th century was a low point for many wildlife species in North America. Market hunting had decimated shorebird and duck populations. Bison were dangerously close to extinction. Even beavers, Canada geese, whitetail deer, and wild turkeys, all common nowadays, reached very low densities. That period became a pivotal moment in conservation history, as a few conservation pioneers turned concern into action. They are responsible for several key pieces of legislation which became the first North American wildlife protection laws, including the Lacey Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. On the heels of that success, in 1937 a new law was enacted to fund wildlife conservation: the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (nicknamed for its sponsors as the Pittman-Robertson Act, or PR Act). The funding mechanism is based on a tax: for every purchase of firearms and ammunition an excise tax of 11% (10% for handguns) is included in the sale price. The excise tax is also collected for the sale of bows, crossbows, and arrows. Who Gets PR Funds? Once collected by the federal government, a small portion of the funds go toward hunter education programs and target shooting range maintenance projects. The rest of the funds are available to individual states for wildlife restoration purposes. In order for a state to collect Pittman-Robertson funds, it must have an agency designated as responsible for wildlife management. Every state has one these days, but this caveat was originally a powerful incentive for states to get serious about taking steps toward wildlife conservation. The amount of funds a state is allocated any given year is based on a formula: half the allocation is in proportion to the state’s total area (therefore, Texas will get more money than Rhode Island), and the other half is based on the number of hunting licenses sold that year in that state. It is because of this fund allocation system that I often encourage non-hunters to purchase a hunting license. Not only do the proceeds of the license sale go to a state agency working hard to manage our natural resources, but your license will help funnel more money from the federal government into your own state and assist in protecting biodiversity. What Are PR Funds Used For? The PR Act allowed the distribution of $760.9 million for the purpose of wildlife restoration in 2014. Since its inception, the Act generated over $8 billion in revenue. In addition to building shooting ranges and providing hunter education, these monies have been used by state agencies to purchase millions of acres of wildlife habitat, conduct habitat restoration projects, and hire wildlife scientists. It is not just game species and hunters who benefit from PR funds, as projects are often focused on non-game species. Plus, most of the visitors of protected state lands come for non-hunting activities like hiking, canoeing, and birding. Â   The program has been so successful that a very similar one was designed for recreational fisheries and enacted in 1950: the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, which is often referred to as the Dingell-Johnson Act. Through an excise tax on fishing equipment and motorboats, in 2014 the Dingell-Johnson Act led to the redistribution of $325 million in funding to restore fish habitat. Sources The Wildlife Society. Policy Briefs: Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. United States Department of the Interior. Press Release, 3/25/2014. Follow Dr. Beaudry: Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Google

Free Essays on The Fire Next Time

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin is not a â€Å"story† in the conventional way we are used to a story with a main character, a plot and so forth. This book is more of a diary entry of Baldwin’s experiences with certain topics, mainly racism and religion. Baldwin examines his relationship with the church in his youth, the events surrounding him that lead him to that relationship. During his meeting with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he compares the feelings of his past relationship with God, to the Nation of Islam. Baldwin, like myself and many other Americans, was pushed into church as a child. Not attending for the enlightenment that God is supposed to bring us, nor the divine revelation that we experience when we are â€Å"saved†, he attended church because it was the right thing to do. â€Å"I supposed that God and safety were synonymous† (Baldwin 16). He walked the streets of my current neighborhood, and saw the things that I witnessed as a child attending school in lower Manhattan. Hookers, pimps, gamblers, addicts, and an assortment of other things made a â€Å"bad† neighborhood. Witnessing this, he felt that the only safe place from this was church. He was eventually â€Å"saved†. He explains in the book that the church was a racket, and that â€Å"It was good luck that I found my self in the church racket instead of some other, and surrendered to a spiritual seduction long before I came to any carnal knowledge† (Baldwin 28). His knowledge of the struc ture of the church, not to be mistaken with religion, founded the idea of the church being a racket. â€Å"I knew how to work on a congregation until the last dime was surrendered-it was not very hard to do-and I knew where the money for â€Å"the lord’s work† went (Baldwin 38). He stated that â€Å"being in the pulpit was like being in the theatre; I was behind the scenes and knew how the illusion was worked† (Baldwin 37). That is the primary reason that I do not attend church, no... Free Essays on The Fire Next Time Free Essays on The Fire Next Time â€Å"White people [†¦] have to accept and love themselves [†¦] which will not be tomorrow and may very well be never.† James Baldwin, author of The Fire Next Time, said this in reference to his thoughts on whites and blacks seeing each other as equals (12). He states that when whites learn to love and accept themselves, the â€Å"Negro problem will no longer exist, for it will no longer be needed† (12). To understand why he believes this, one must first know other concepts and beliefs of Baldwin. First off, Baldwin says that there was no such thing as a â€Å"Negro† before the whites invented it. Second, he thinks that whites do not love and respect themselves, therefore they cannot love or respect others. Also, Baldwin says that whites and blacks cannot be equals until they come to each other as lovers. Once these ideas of Baldwin, and of many other blacks in the early 1960’s, are understood, then one is capable of knowing why Baldwin sa ys this about the â€Å"Negro† problem. The first thing to look at is the fact that Baldwin says whites invented the â€Å"Negro†. This statement is often argued by saying that there were black slaves in Africa, and other parts of the globe, many years before there were slaves in the United States. However, the difference is that the majority of the slaves in Africa were black, because that was the color majority in Africa. There were white slaves and free blacks in Africa. There, and in other places, one was a slave not due to the color of their skin, but because their tribe was captured or because they were sold into slavery. In the United States, all the slaves were black, because they were mostly all brought over from Africa. However, as time went on, Americans ignored the fact that the color of the skin of their slaves was due to where their slaves originally came from. The mistake made by Americans was that they made the skin color black synonymous with the word slave. Americans n... Free Essays on The Fire Next Time The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin is not a â€Å"story† in the conventional way we are used to a story with a main character, a plot and so forth. This book is more of a diary entry of Baldwin’s experiences with certain topics, mainly racism and religion. Baldwin examines his relationship with the church in his youth, the events surrounding him that lead him to that relationship. During his meeting with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he compares the feelings of his past relationship with God, to the Nation of Islam. Baldwin, like myself and many other Americans, was pushed into church as a child. Not attending for the enlightenment that God is supposed to bring us, nor the divine revelation that we experience when we are â€Å"saved†, he attended church because it was the right thing to do. â€Å"I supposed that God and safety were synonymous† (Baldwin 16). He walked the streets of my current neighborhood, and saw the things that I witnessed as a child attending school in lower Manhattan. Hookers, pimps, gamblers, addicts, and an assortment of other things made a â€Å"bad† neighborhood. Witnessing this, he felt that the only safe place from this was church. He was eventually â€Å"saved†. He explains in the book that the church was a racket, and that â€Å"It was good luck that I found my self in the church racket instead of some other, and surrendered to a spiritual seduction long before I came to any carnal knowledge† (Baldwin 28). His knowledge of the struc ture of the church, not to be mistaken with religion, founded the idea of the church being a racket. â€Å"I knew how to work on a congregation until the last dime was surrendered-it was not very hard to do-and I knew where the money for â€Å"the lord’s work† went (Baldwin 38). He stated that â€Å"being in the pulpit was like being in the theatre; I was behind the scenes and knew how the illusion was worked† (Baldwin 37). That is the primary reason that I do not attend church, no...

An awareness campaign for rescue dogs

An awareness campaign for rescue dogs The topic I have chosen is an awareness campaign for rescue dogs. My goal is to inspire others to rescue dogs as opposed to buying them from a pet shop or a breeder. I will be researching and exploring why rescuing is the better option, where and how to adopt them. I will also be discussing my dogs story and why my family and I made the decision to rescue my adorable, loveable, four- legged, furry, best friend, Henry! The inspiration I had for this project idea was my dog’s story. I hate the idea that there are so many dogs going through what my dog went through before we rescued him, such as being abused, left on the streets, etc. After my dog was previously abused and left on the streets he lived with a small family who found him but did not want to keep him. I want to raise awareness to this issue and bring attention to these dogs who do not have a voice of their own. I will be achieving this by making a logo and a specific color to represent rescue dogs. I may also make merchandise (e.g. badges, t-shirts, etc.). I want to make bananas for dogs to wear to symbolize rights for dogs. Bright colored posters and merchandise will also be features to draw attention to it. I have chosen ‘Fairness and development’ as a global context. I chose this as it is obviously unfair that dogs are being treated in such a way as well as pet shop dogs/ breeder dogs are preferred over rescue dogs. I want to tell others that rescue dogs deserve a second chance at life with a new family. Majority of dogs put up for rescue have been previously abused and neglected which is not fair. My dog was on going to be on death row which means he was in a designated area for a while to die as no one wanted to adopt him but he was lucky to have us. This makes me think about how many dogs are in death row/ going to be and how one family could save a life. Not choosing a rescue dog over a pet shop dog can potentially end a dog’s life. However not choosing to buy a dog from a shop will not kill the dog as it will have many other families to choose from. How many dogs have been put down or put into pounds because someone just had to have the cute puppy in the window instead of an equally cute puppy begging for a family that will truly love and respect them that they never had experienced before? This is not ok. This should not be ‘the normal’.

Famous Person with Disabilities ( BEETHOVEN) Essay

Famous Person with Disabilities ( BEETHOVEN) - Essay Example Beethoven felt that his hearing loss was the most crippling limitation that he could have ever suffered during the height of his career, and was faced with the fear of losing his identity as a master of sound (Owens, 2011). During his battle with deafness, Beethoven proved to the world that you can still be the best at what you do, and just because one has a disability neither means that he/she should give up on life, nor should he/she give up on the pursuit of their dreams and/or professions. Ludwig van Beethoven: A Legend Is Born Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. Being born to a family of musicians, it was no surprise that Beethoven himself was musically inclined. He studied first under his own father, Johann, who taught young Beethoven all he knew about music. Johann, at times a â€Å"raging† alcoholic, and was very strict on Beethoven, often forcing him to get out of bed in the middle of the night in order to practice his music. Sometimes for hours on end, Beethoven was forced by his father to play and practice. The practice paid off and at the age of eight, and Beethoven gave his first live performance (History, 2011). Though Beethoven’s family wasn’t rich, his father hoped to make the family rich through Beethoven’s musical talents. Because Beethoven’s family was respected servants of the royal court, Beethoven’s family had both connections and means to help Beethoven further his musical education. As far as formal, traditional educations go; Beethoven, however, dropped out of traditional school at the age of thirteen in order to concentrate more on his musical talents, going on tours and so forth (Buzzle, 2011). After learning all that his own father could teach him, Beethoven then studied under Haydn and Mozart; Beethoven’s father often said he wanted Beethoven to become the next Mozart (History, 2011). During his lifetime, Beethoven composed forty-one pieces of work, ni ne of which were symphonies. Beethoven: A Legend Develops a Life Changing Handicap At age twenty-eight, Beethoven gradually began losing his ability to hear (History, 2011). Still, he continued to compose, play, and publish music. He hid his disability from family, friends and the public for as long as he could, which is normal for many people who develop disabilities (Owens, 2011). Once Beethoven’s disability was no longer deniable, he became deeply depressed and began to confide in others of his handicap and of his contemplations on committing suicide, also a common feeling and reaction for those who develop a handicap (Owens, 2011). John Owens became quadriplegic due to a dirt bike accident in 2006; he says that at the onset of his disability, he also went into deep depression and contemplated suicide as well (Owens, 2011). â€Å"When you go through something that changes your life forever, it becomes a challenge just to wake up in the mornings. Even I contemplated suicid e, feeling that my life was over, knowing that I might never be able to do the things I love the most, which back then was playing football, a sport in which I excelled. I knew I possessed the talent and ability to make football my profession, and I was working toward this very goal before my accident. So, I very much know how Beethoven must have felt being a great musician and losing his

Managing Decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Decision - Essay Example As such, it requires a certain kind of a person to make such major decisions which will make the business successful. It is imperative to note that the whole process of starting a business requires an ardent decision maker who can sacrifice the safety of his comfort zone for the good of the business (Teale, 2003). Good decision making is necessary because a new venture is very risky and makes heavy demands on professionalism, resources, personal time and funds. With a strong inner drive to reap good fruits from the business that is just started, the entrepreneur needs to take control and make plausible decisions. This report will consider techniques to a business opportunity- a coffee shop. The business opportunity chosen is Luna coffee shop. The business seeks to provide beverage products near the hospital located at the city center of Atlanta. When analyzing the market, it was clear there was a gap as most of the patients, nurses, doctors and workers in the hospital preferred to have their tea, coffee and other beverages delivered to them from outside the hospital. This coffee shop will offer the proximity and comfort of delivering coffee near the hospital while at the same time giving the customers their convenience. Furthermore, the coffee shop seeks to tap into a new medical college that has nearly been opened near the hospital. The mission statement is â€Å"Fresh, revitalizing and nourishing†. This shows that the beverages are unique, fresh and packed with natural ingredients to give the customer that nourishing and revitalizing feeling. The business wishes to work with direct suppliers of natural herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, garlic and other therapeutic herbs which are key to making our coffee unique and attractive. The coffee shop will start at a twenty person sitting capacity but will soon be expanded as the number of customers increase. Luna coffee shop wishes to make their approach

Daniel C. Smith , Teacher Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Daniel C. Smith , Teacher - Case Study Example He entered into a discussion with the talk show host about teaching the African history in his class during the black history month. Procedural history The case was authored in the United States Supreme Court. This is where the proceedings started and the decision was made. The decision made was based on a motion summary of the judgment. The case was decided after all the evidence and interpolation of all constitutional issues were interpreted and considered in the case. Issues After the case was put before the judges several witnesses and information concerning the case was produced. He was given a chance to prove his case. School superintendent testified that he received a call from his secretary about calls that were being made into a radio show about a statement made by one of the teachers. The comments were about a banner hanged that read, â€Å"200 years of United States history, 2000 years of African history† the teacher continued and added his comments to â€Å"in 200 years we went to the moon. After 2000 years they are still urinating in the drinking and bathing water.† The superintendent responded to one of the messages from a group called Media watchdog. The group said it had a recording of the telephone conversation made to the radio show but they could not identify the caller. Daniel, who was later on identified as the caller, was given a chance to respond to the claims. ... In this case, there are two conflicting rules that are supposed to be considered. The constitution of the United States advocates for freedom of speech, while the ethics of public servants are asked to carry themselves with decor. The court will also look at the impact that the remarks had on the community. In addition, the intention of the remark will be a focus point. The court will try to make its decisions while considering all these facts. Analysis The court has heard all the comments and arguments from both sides. The court has heard what Mr. Daniels had to say about the accusations before the court he has been given to respond to the accusations. The remarks made that â€Å"in 200 years we went to the moon. After 2000 years they are urinatinging and drinking water†, are at the center of the case. These remarks were made in reference to the Africa history month. In making its decision the court will consider the repercussions that the remarks have in the community. The c onstitution is clear on how such malicious remarks should be treated. The respondent is a civil servant does not allow him to make sue constitution freedom approach is guaranteed responsibility. Such remarks can cause unrest in the county. The comments attracted a lot of attention from the media and other centers. This could affect a lot the subsa1tantive due process of the case. Many views on how the case should go were aired. On February 10, 2002, a concerned citizen wrote a letter the governor of the state. The letter was written by Mrs. C. Scott is protesting the treatment of Mr. Daniel. She stated that Mr. Daniel was simply exercising his freedom of speech. She demanded an investigation to be done about the case. On February 12, 2002, a board

Should animals be used in Sports and entertainment Research Paper

Should animals be used in Sports and entertainment - Research Paper Example The side in favor of using animals for sports and entertainment present their views that involvement of animals in activities of sports and entertainment is a normal practice and it has been used for centuries in cultural activities. There are a number of cultural events in Spain and South America which use bulls who end up either running on the roads and striking whoever comes in their way, or trying to hit the waving cloth. These activities do not cause harm to the participating animals in any way and therefore there is nothing unethical about this. (Debatepedia) On the other side, the opposing side argues that such cultural activities are what promote the use of animals in a brutal way. They argue that humans tend to go a step further and involve the animals in a cruel game or way. According to them, if the use of animals in simple sports and entertainment is banned, then the brutal games will be finished itself. The side against the involvement of animals for means of sports and entertainment also argues that animals should also not be used for showing skills and displaying their trained nature to the public. Such activities are performed in the circus where the wild animals are trained to behave in an unnatural way of publicly accepted attitude by the force of a whip (RSPCA Victoria). Also they see the elephant rides as unethical as this means that the commercial purpose promoters are using the animals as a means to an end and not as an end themselves. This is according to the categorical imperative introduced by Immanuel Kant (Kant). In this context, it can be related to the fact that the animals are used for commercial purposes and not taken care of because they are animals. In response to this, the side in favor of utilization of animals for entertainment and sports present their views that the circus is where the public, particularly children, experience these animals. When the general public watches and experiences these animals, only then they fall in love with these animals. They argue that one can only love an object or living being if he or she watches and experiences it. When these people see these animals in circus or in zoo, they fall in love with them and then they take care of them. Therefore, usually circus and zoo turns out to be the first step of taking care of the animals on the part of general public and eventually falling in love with them. Most people do not go on safari rides or jungles to see the wildlife and therefore their only chance of watching these animals is in zoo or circus. Therefore, it is also fair to the humans to experience the gifts of nature in the shape of animals, and also there is nothing wrong in doing this. Humans who like to play and enjoy usually tend to feel good when they are involved in sporting activities. When a person who loves to play football play well end up in a good mood when it plays football. Also jolly people who like to enjoy feel happy when they are involved in an act of entertainment as this makes them and others laugh and enjoy. Similar to people are animals who also feel happy when they play and provide entertainment. Most of the animals have playful personalities and

APP assignment6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APP assignment6 - Assignment Example hey’s uses the batch process is shown in the division between the processing of cocoa beans, roasting the beans, making the chocolate liquor, and so on. In a way, Hershey’s also uses the assembly method because it employs mechanized fixed production arrangements to produce the same goods. The special hulling machine that takes out the nib or the inside of the bean from the shell is one example of automation used by Hershey’s in its production. Automation regulates the speed of different related activities that are carried out in step (Wilson & Hill 23)—roasting the beans, producing chocolate liquor, mixing milk-sugar and chocolate liquor, mixing cocoa butter with chocolate crumb, conching, cooling the chocolate, then packaging. Hershey’s chocolate making is continuous, not intermittent. Continuous refers to a form of production that operates continually with no irregularities or repeated pauses. In the continuous production method, products are generated continually according to demand estimate (Wilson & Hill 37). Hershey’s mass produce chocolates or manufacture chocolates on a massive scale for selling and supplying. The company does not produce in accordance to customer’s orders. The production method of a chocolate industry is largely determined by the demand projection. The features of a continuous production method that are demonstrated by the Hershey’s chocolate making system are as follows: process production is continuous; mass production; the products are generated on fixed quality criteria; and the products are generated in forecast of demand. If Hershey’s wants to open a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. Midwest it has to consider several factors. First is the availability or accessibility of resources or raw materials. The company should make sure that its facilities are near to a source of cacao. If these facilities are not located near to such sources, then the cost of transportation and sourcing will cut down the company’s

Daniel C. Smith , Teacher Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Daniel C. Smith , Teacher - Case Study Example He entered into a discussion with the talk show host about teaching the African history in his class during the black history month. Procedural history The case was authored in the United States Supreme Court. This is where the proceedings started and the decision was made. The decision made was based on a motion summary of the judgment. The case was decided after all the evidence and interpolation of all constitutional issues were interpreted and considered in the case. Issues After the case was put before the judges several witnesses and information concerning the case was produced. He was given a chance to prove his case. School superintendent testified that he received a call from his secretary about calls that were being made into a radio show about a statement made by one of the teachers. The comments were about a banner hanged that read, â€Å"200 years of United States history, 2000 years of African history† the teacher continued and added his comments to â€Å"in 200 years we went to the moon. After 2000 years they are still urinating in the drinking and bathing water.† The superintendent responded to one of the messages from a group called Media watchdog. The group said it had a recording of the telephone conversation made to the radio show but they could not identify the caller. Daniel, who was later on identified as the caller, was given a chance to respond to the claims. ... In this case, there are two conflicting rules that are supposed to be considered. The constitution of the United States advocates for freedom of speech, while the ethics of public servants are asked to carry themselves with decor. The court will also look at the impact that the remarks had on the community. In addition, the intention of the remark will be a focus point. The court will try to make its decisions while considering all these facts. Analysis The court has heard all the comments and arguments from both sides. The court has heard what Mr. Daniels had to say about the accusations before the court he has been given to respond to the accusations. The remarks made that â€Å"in 200 years we went to the moon. After 2000 years they are urinatinging and drinking water†, are at the center of the case. These remarks were made in reference to the Africa history month. In making its decision the court will consider the repercussions that the remarks have in the community. The c onstitution is clear on how such malicious remarks should be treated. The respondent is a civil servant does not allow him to make sue constitution freedom approach is guaranteed responsibility. Such remarks can cause unrest in the county. The comments attracted a lot of attention from the media and other centers. This could affect a lot the subsa1tantive due process of the case. Many views on how the case should go were aired. On February 10, 2002, a concerned citizen wrote a letter the governor of the state. The letter was written by Mrs. C. Scott is protesting the treatment of Mr. Daniel. She stated that Mr. Daniel was simply exercising his freedom of speech. She demanded an investigation to be done about the case. On February 12, 2002, a board

APP assignment6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APP assignment6 - Assignment Example hey’s uses the batch process is shown in the division between the processing of cocoa beans, roasting the beans, making the chocolate liquor, and so on. In a way, Hershey’s also uses the assembly method because it employs mechanized fixed production arrangements to produce the same goods. The special hulling machine that takes out the nib or the inside of the bean from the shell is one example of automation used by Hershey’s in its production. Automation regulates the speed of different related activities that are carried out in step (Wilson & Hill 23)—roasting the beans, producing chocolate liquor, mixing milk-sugar and chocolate liquor, mixing cocoa butter with chocolate crumb, conching, cooling the chocolate, then packaging. Hershey’s chocolate making is continuous, not intermittent. Continuous refers to a form of production that operates continually with no irregularities or repeated pauses. In the continuous production method, products are generated continually according to demand estimate (Wilson & Hill 37). Hershey’s mass produce chocolates or manufacture chocolates on a massive scale for selling and supplying. The company does not produce in accordance to customer’s orders. The production method of a chocolate industry is largely determined by the demand projection. The features of a continuous production method that are demonstrated by the Hershey’s chocolate making system are as follows: process production is continuous; mass production; the products are generated on fixed quality criteria; and the products are generated in forecast of demand. If Hershey’s wants to open a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. Midwest it has to consider several factors. First is the availability or accessibility of resources or raw materials. The company should make sure that its facilities are near to a source of cacao. If these facilities are not located near to such sources, then the cost of transportation and sourcing will cut down the company’s

Political Philosophy and Major Theme Machiavelli Essay Example for Free

Political Philosophy and Major Theme Machiavelli Essay Machiavelli had a true and abiding love for Florence. He wanted to make Florence great and also find himself a job, as he lost his when the Medici family came into power. He dedicated his book on political science, The Prince, to Lorenzo Medici in the hopes that Lorenzo would be impressed and offer him a job. However, Lorenzo ignored the book and Machiavelli. The Prince is a didactic examination of political power, how to achieve it, maintain it, and expand it. Machiavelli does not take into consideration what is morally right, or amoral, only what is useful and useless. The book is more like a technical manual, and technical manuals only state the facts. The book defines what turns a mere man into a great ruler and what turns a great ruler into a mere man. Machiavelli’s book of politics is unique because it is so realistic. He does not place man in a false utopia where man live in eternal peace and harmony, everyone doing good to one another for the good of the public whole. Rather, he writes a manual where there are political conflicts and tensions. Machiavelli writes how a prince should deal with these conflicts and tensions. He condones cruelty, punishment, religion, rewards, compassion, and integrity to achieve power. Whatever means to achieve the end. QUESTIONS 2. Discuss Machiavelli’s â€Å"heroes†. Select one and discuss the traits that he finds admirable in that person. Be specific. Machiavelli’s heroes are Moses, Cyrus, Romulus and Theseus. They all formed civilizations. When Machiavelli talks about his heroes he is speaking of how to acquire a princedom. As Isiah Berlin says in his essay, Machiavelli admired these heroes because they were high-minded, tough, and tough enough to use brutality against the few, to help the public good of the princedom. He especially admired Moses because he was worthy to talk to God. Moses had the opportunity to create a new civilization with the Israelites because they were being treated badly by the Pharaoh . Therefore, Moses took advantage of their discontent with their new master and led them in a revolt. Eventually creating a new civilization. Machiavelli admired Moses because of his strength of character that carried him through the difficult trouble of gaining power. 3. Discuss Machiavelli’s opinions on the uses of cruelty to accomplish certain goals. The Prince is about the ways to achieve political power, with no preference for the way in which it is achieved. Machiavelli does not advocate unnecessary cruelty. His book is only about how to obtain and keep a princedom. Machiavelli believes that cruelty is sometimes necessary to acquire or/and keep political power. Machiavelli recognized that in the time he lived a political ruler would have to use cruelty, he writes, â€Å"The new prince, above all princes, cannot possibly avoid the name of cruelty†. He also states in Chapter VIII that cruelty may be useful sometimes in achieving certain ends, but it would bring no glory. 1. What does Machiavelli think of â€Å"the people† in the course of human history? Machiavelli refers to â€Å"the people† as â€Å"the masses†, lots of times. He realizes that â€Å"the people† are a dominant force in politics, whether it is a democracy or a republic. When a princedom is added to an already established kingdom, he writes that the customs must be the same between the two and that no new taxes or laws should be enacted. To do so would cause the people to revolt and the recently acquired princedom would be in jeopardy. Machiavelli realizes a prince cannot keep political power if his people hate him. A hostile population may abandon him or turn against him when hostile noble attack, then the prince will lose the kingdom. Machievelli also believed that a prince may â€Å" make an example of a very few† be execution of severe punishment, but that letting the population bring disorder among themselves was bad for the whole community. Therefore, Machiavelli was wary of â€Å"mob rule†. Machiavelli realizes that â€Å"the people† have to be relatively happy for a princedom to be healthy. 4. In general, what is Machiavelli telling his â€Å"Prince† with regard to the use of power? Machiavelli’s entire book is about power. How to achieve a princedom with power. Power over â€Å"the people† with cruelty (or punishment); power over other princes with deceit or a bigger army or powerful friends; power over the army with cruelty and/or money. He speaks of control over captured cities by dividing them into factions, disarming the people or forming hostilities among the people. All of these things achieve power. A prince must also be more powerful than his counselors, listening and gleaning knowledge but making his own decisions; because a weak prince will do whatever his counselors tell him and then his counselors will take over the princedom. EVALUATION OF BOOK I think this is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a while. It’s dry, realistic, terse, and to the point. It’s also very easy to read (I was pleasantly surprised). All of the historical connotations are especially interesting. I read that Hitler, Mussolini, and Lenin found Machiavelli valuable reading; I would like to delve more into that one!! In the Renaissance religion and learning were beginning to be thought of as separate and Machiavelli was a man of his time. His book was entirely didactic and did not have a trace of religion. He spoke of cruelty and deceit in matter-of-fact tones and kept his book strictly a manual, with no judgements. In our modern time, we have to discern his book in the same manner that he wrote it. If we do not, we will not understand what he was writing.

Professional Ethics in Construction Industry | Proposal

Professional Ethics in Construction Industry | Proposal Background In the complex and hectic world of work, it is becoming harder to live and work by values and behaviors based on integrity and principles. Pressures are placed upon professionals of the construction industry, where they do not always act the way they should, and matters are seldom black and white. Even though professionals are trying to the right thing most of the time, grey areas do exist. With ongoing ethical misconducts blasted daily in the media, especially within construction industry, construction players must acknowledge that the need for professional ethics is increasingly obvious. Negligence, conflict of interest, fraud, unfair conduct, confidentiality, bribery, and violation of environmental ethics are among the commonly unethical conducts in the construction industry. The practice of profession poses challenging ethical questions for which a working knowledge of ethics and professionalism is critical to the construction players. Professionals have the fundamental right to perform with responsibility and accountability in their line of work. Professional ethics should be driven by personal ethics, where a balance of both the requirements of the client and the impact on the society should be maintained by the professionals when making decisions. It has been suggested, however, that professionals in general tend to believe that their obligations to their client far outweigh their responsibility to others, such as the public (Johnson, 1991, p. 28). Problem Statement Construction players may refer to standards such as the professional code of ethics; however, the cases are not intended to provide absolute answers nor are they resolution, standard operating procedure, or policy for ethical problems. The purpose of a code of ethics or set of ethical principles is to define a standard of conduct that reflects the values of the organization or profession. They are designed to guide about ones personal reaction to ethical dilemmas. But when it comes to ethical dilemmas, construction players may not have the skills or competencies. Individual implicit ethical knowledge and practice need to be amplified into the profession, turning implicit ethical knowledge into explicit that leads towards the development of ethical professional ethics. However, it seems doubtful that professionals can always rely on own personal ethics as they find themselves working with diverse cultures, values and expectations. Professionals are often left to make tough decisions in the face of extremely chaotic and complicated ethical dilemmas. Scholarly publications have offered little help in terms of offering solutions to ethical dilemmas whereas practitioner publication have been ineffective for helping professionals reinforce their moral character. There will always be cases when professionals struggle between what they assume the profession expects and what the moral character tells. Even though majority of organization have their own ethical codes of conduct, the curbing of unethical conduct is difficult. Despite having professional code of ethics in the organization, professionals of the construction industry had directly or indirectly experiences some degree of unethical conduct. Aim Dignify and elevate the professional ethics among professionals in construction industry. Objectives To determine the factors affecting participants behaviours in professional ethics To identify the impacts of unethical behaviours on the project cost, safety and quality of work To evaluate the awareness on the importance of professional ethics in construction industry. Research Question What are the significant barriers that limit professional and ethical behavior? Why ethical issues occur in the construction industry practice? What should be done differently to improve professional and ethical behavior? How do ethical principles apply to the current construction industry? Scope of Research The scope of the research will be focus on assessing the professional ethics in construction industry. Prime attention is taken on the consultant firms at Klang Valley area only due to time and cost factor. The targeted respondents for this research will concentrate on the consultant quantity surveyors as observed from the working title, within the areas selected for the study. Research Methodology A literature review was undertaken to study the current issues of professional ethics in the construction industry, types of ethical misconducts and impacts of unethical conducts to the consultant quantity surveyors. Questionnaire survey will be directed towards consultant quantity surveyors concerning their views and experiences on a range of ethical issues surrounding construction industry activities. The survey will be conducted through postal mail and personal interviews. Case study of ethical issues in the construction industry will be set up. Significance of Implications of Study The outcomes of adhering to the professional ethics among professionals are highlighted in this research. These outcomes will be cornerstone for encouraging the professionals to comply with the principles of ethics, so that their works meet the clients expectations and that their obligations will be carried out in professional manner in the future. It is important for professionals to practice the knowledge of ethics using applicable codes or standards. The more the professionals practice their responses to ethical dilemmas, the more likely it is to make the right decision when the pressure is on. What is more, implementing the ethical conducts gain professionals significant credibility and respect from the clients and these professionals will win further in the long run. This study also suggests that professionals better understand why professional ethics is critical to be successful in the field. Corporate Social Responsibility: Marketing Strategy Corporate Social Responsibility: Marketing Strategy 1. INTRODUCTION Companies and their managers find themselves in an uncertain environment. This happens of the ever changing conditions that occur on the global economic market. Due to the changes and improvements of the new information and communication technologies, the companies and their managers find it harder and harder to reach an convince their clients or consumers. It is mandatory that these managers use all the potential promoting techniques in order to attract the consumers. It is no longer just about the usage of standard advertising techniques, the marketing specialists must take into account several other methods of advertising like online social networks, viral marketing, corporate social responsibility etc. In our paper we are underlining the importance of the Corporate Social Responsibility from the marketing point of view and especially of using this tool as a brand notoriety increasing factor. We live a world of continuous change, were mankinds influence on the environment is large r and larger. But Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not just about the environment like many people think. The organizations of the entire world become more and more preoccupied by the necessity and the benefits of a responsible approach to society. 2. THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has first appeared in business for the first time in the second part of the 18th Century in the USA as a form of philanthropy, or donating to organizations / individuals in need (Sethi, 1977, in Bronn and Vrioni, 2001). From a historical point of view, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has become an important field of study, associated with management, in the 1950s. One important aspect to this development of CSR, was presented by Frank Adams in 1951, when he wrote in a Harvard Business Review about the importance of good citizens that should become professionals of the top management level (Banerjee, 2007, p. 5). Other authors state that CSR is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a socially responsible manner. Stakeholders exist both within a firm and outside. Consequently, behaving socially responsibly will increase the human development of stakeholders both within and outside the corporation. (Hopkins M. 1998) The performance of each organization, no matter its type (private, public, economical or NGO), is linked to the degree of development of their communities and in their social environment. Also the impact of such organizations on the environment has become an vital aspect which reflects the human interest for preserving the natural ecosystems and the pollution. This first aspect is joined by other elements of interests like: social equality and good governance. In 2001, the European Commission has defined CSR as: a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (EU Commission, 2001) Over the years, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has become more present in the everyday life of corporations and even public administration institutions. There were numerous efforts to define this concept, but often no clear definition is given, making theoretical development and measurement difficult. Mallen Baker (2004) states that CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development considers corporate Social Responsibility as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large (Baker, 2004). Also in 2001 (McWilliams and Siege, 2006), CSR is defined as: situations where the firm goes beyond compliance and engages in actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility usually refers to a couple of important elements like: (1) a collection of policies and practices linked to relationship with key stakeholders, values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities and the environment; (2) the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development, commonly understood as sustainable development is the ability of the current generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs objectives. (ECRC, accessed in October 2012). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the way a corporation achieves a balance among its economic, social, and environmental responsibilities in its operations so as to address shareholder and other stakeholder expectations. It is known by many names, including corporate responsibility, corporate accountability, corporate ethics, corporate citizenship, sustainability, stewardship, and triple-E bottom line (economical, ethical, and environmental;) (. After a careful analysis of the above mentioned concepts we can underline several important aspects of the CSR concept: Companies and organizations in general must act responsibly with regard to their environment; The concept of corporate social responsibility must integrate social, environmental and education aspects in their day to day activities; The usage of corporate social responsibility in ones company must have a positive impact on the organization and on society; All the activities integrated in the CSR scope must have an ethical aspect which must not by crossed. Following the 2001, EU Commission definition, the European Commission has defined the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility as the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society (EU Commission, 2011). The same paper underline that enterprises should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close collaboration with their stakeholders, with the aim of: (1) Maximizing the creation of shared value for their owners/shareholders and for their other stakeholders and society at large; (2) Identifying, preventing and mitigating their possible adverse impacts. 3. PRINCIPLES OF IMPLENETING A CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGY FOR MARKETING PURPOSES In order to create a proper Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy, and to use this important tool in the marketing aspect of the organization, companies must adhere to several important principles that we consider to be of great importance of the companies (ISQ, 2012): Ethics and transparency accordance to the principles of ethics, honesty, mutual respect, trust between the parties, integrity and transparency in business, combat the traffic of influence, offering or receiving bribes and corruption in the public and private stakeholders and influence in this fight, as well how to promote fair trade practices. Fundamental Human Rights fully respect the protection of fundamental human rights based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and incorporating into their practices, the principles of fundamental United Nations and International Labor Organization Conventions. Recognize the right of all workers to form trade unions and representative bodies of workers and to comply with these organizations and respect the effective right to collective bargaining. Good governance Organizational commitment to the practices integrated into the social, environmental and economic leadership to the organization, seeking to reduce exposure to risks of economic, environmental and social activities, implementing requirements, standards and documents, to ensure its continuity. Dialogue with stakeholders Rely on dialogue as the only legitimate means of achieving persuasion, resolving disagreements and conflict resolution. Ensure an open, transparent and trust relation with the various stakeholders, establish channels of consultation with stakeholders and incorporate their concerns, and report a credible and objective performance in its economic, environmental and social. Value Creation Promote management of high quality products/services and processes by integrating environmental and social aspects in planning and decision making. Promote investment in research and development and incorporating innovation in your products/services and processes. Diversity and equality Respect and value differences as a fundamental condition for the existence of an ethical development of humanity and seek to encourage the promotion of cultural diversity, social and ethnic difference as a positive development of the organizations mission, not tolerating discrimination under any pretext. Environmental Protection and Management Promote projects, initiatives and good practices that contribute to the preservation of the environment. Investing in sustainable technologies and products and enhance the ecological dimension and eco-efficiency. Development of local communities Support initiatives to promote social, economic and cultural, based on transparent criteria for evaluation of relevance to the community. Promote the participation and involvement in volunteer work. Responsible Marketing Lead the marketing and communication policy of respect for truth, transparency, consistency and integrity of assertions, reflecting the organizations values. Encourage ethical and responsible behavior from the public to environmental, social and citizenship. 4. USING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN MARKETING The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility as we can see it has a great impact on many of the organizations departments and functions. We can not discuss the concept of CSR without taking into consideration the environment, the ethical aspects of consumer communication, the implication in local community and many others. One of the most important aspects and activities that the Corporate Social Responsibility, is the promotion and advertising activities, that the companies undertake when developing CSR strategies and activities. Even when the company undertakes, environmental protection activities, charitable activities, the assurance of diversity and equality and the development of local communities the organizations use them as marketing and brand notoriety increasing agent. Corporate responsibility policies have been gaining increasing attention from senior executives as questions of sustainability and green agendas have come to permeate business the world over. The business and marketing environment have evolved greatly in the last 20 to 30 years. If we look back at the evolution of the economic world in the last century, we can clearly observe a clear development of this environment. Before we can start to understand the development of the corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool, we have to understand the evolution of the marketing concept in the last century. Philip Kotler has made a short presentation of the marketing concept evolution in his book Marketing 3.0 (2010): Evolution Marketing 1.0 product orientation Marketing 2.0 consumer orientation Marketing 3.0 value orientation Objective To sale goods To satisfy and keep clients To make the world a better place Potentiating factors Industrial revolution Information technology New technology wave The manner in which companies see the market Mass consumers with physical needs A smarter consumer A human being with heart and soul The marketing fundamental concept Product development Differentiation Values Marketing general directions for the company Product specification Company and product positioning The companies mission, vision and values Proposal value Functional Functional and emotional Functional, emotional and spiritual Interaction with the consumers Transaction between a company and several consumers An individualized relationship Cooperation between more companies and consumers Source: Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., Setiawan, I., Marketing 3.0 de la produs la consumator Ã…Å ¸i spiritul uman, Publica Publishing House, Bucharest, 2010, p. 20 As we can see for the above presented table, we find ourselves in the 3.0 marketing period which is considered to be the orientation of the entire marketing activity as an actor that create value for the consumer, the company and the society. So from what we can observe we can state that the two concepts have similar interests. Bur right now we find ourselves in the middle of an financial and economic crisis, this position has forced the companies to present themselves as trustworthy and responsible. The companies and their managers have pursued easy-win strategies or activities with direct commercial benefits, such as measuring and reducing their corporate carbon footprints. Such activities undoubtedly bring some value to businesses and society, but they fall far short of the mark (Bhattacharya, 2011). What we are slowly starting to see is a second wave of corporate responsibility behavior marked by a clearer focus on the total business value such policies can bring. To fully benefit from corporate responsibility, businesses must wake up to the fact that they need to take a more indirect route to creating value with it. They must start by seeing where and how key stakeholders react to a firms corporate responsibility initiatives. In order to have a successful marketing campaign using CSR strategies and activities there are several steps that have to be taken into consideration (Yohannan, 2012): Start Inside: Internal education and engagement is essential for the success of any CSR commitment and campaign. Defining CSR must work for the internal stakeholders based on the reality of business practices, their propensity for risk and desire for leadership. Brand or Bust: Branding provides a way to tie disparate assets together and provides a framework for key audiences such as employees to contribute and share the companys story. Industry Matters: Understanding the material issues of the company are critical. While many companies focus on environment, philanthropy and diversity and inclusion, they may be missing compliance issues or areas that may lead to brand differentiation or leadership. Efficiently Influence: Focusing on a handful of sustainability or key opinion leaders in the social space can elevate your companys profile dramatically. Gaining CSR notoriety can provide a halo for an improved reputation and drive core business objectives such as license to operate and sales. Measure Relentlessly: Know the end game. While CSR is a journey, it must deliver a spectrum of results every step of the way. Understand the urgency in the business and customize your marketing by audience and channel. Of course there are several advantages for using corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool. Among the most important ones we must consider the following ones (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2007): (1) Enhanced reputation and brand image Reputation is an important sustainable competitive advantage, because it is very hard to build and cannot be easily mimicked by competitors. A organisations reputation results from trust by its stakeholders. A strong reputation in ethical environmental and social responsibility can help a organisation build this trust; (2) Increased profit and customer loyalty Research has shown that there is a growing desire by consumers not only to buy good and safe products, but they also want to know that what they buy was produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way such as sweatshop-free and child-labor-free clothing, smaller environmental impact; (3) Creating new business opportunities Experience gained through addressing CSR challe nges also provides opportunities for organizations to create new business opportunities. (4) Increased ability to attract and retain employees A organizations dedication to CSR can be an important aid to recruitment and retention compared with competitors. People want to work for a organization that is in accordance with their own values and beliefs; (5) Increased productivity and morale Committing CSR internally to improve working conditions, lessen environmental impacts can lead to increased productivity and staff morale where the workforce are more reliable, enthusiastic and efficient. (5) Innovation in market through cooperation with local communities CSR requires cooperation with the local communities and relationships can be improved. This can help organisations in tailoring products and services as well as more rapid acceptance to local markets. 5. CONCLUSIONS The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility is in the same time a new and a old one. As we were able to see, CSR has developed in practice since the late 1800 as philanthropic activities. But today, this concept has evolved to take into account several other aspects like: (1) environmental protection; (2) implication in local communities; (3) involvement in social, educational activities and (4) internal and external business environment. In order for the managers and their companies to bee successful in their marketing campaigns they must use CSR as a marketing tool following and being aware of several important principles: Ethics and transparency; Fundamental Human Rights; Good governance; Dialogue with stakeholders; Value Creation; Environmental Protection and Management; Development of local communities; Responsible Marketing. Using all these principles and a responsible CSR activity towards society, the consumer and ethics in general, the companies will have successful market ing and profitable activities. Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles: Model of Chemical Cycling Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles: Model of Chemical Cycling The general model of nutrient cycling shows the main reservoirs relating to both the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Most nutrients accumulate in four reservoirs, each of which is defined by two attributes: whether it contains organic or inorganic matter and whether or not the matter is directly accessible for use by organisms. One section of organic materials is comprised of the living organisms themselves and detritus; these nutrients are available to other organisms when consumers feed and when detritivores (decomposers) consume non-living organic matter. The second organic section includes fossilised deposits of once-living organisms (i.e. fossil fuels, e.g. coal, oil, natural gas and peat), from which nutrients cannot be assimilated directly. Material moved from the living organic section to the fossilised organic compartment long ago, when organisms died and were buried by sedimentation over millions of years to become coal, oil, natural gas or peat. The Carbon Cycle. Biologically the transfer of carbon between living organisms and the non-living environment is The Carbon Cycle. In the atmosphere, carbon is covalently bonded to oxygen to form a gas; carbon dioxide (CO2). As a result of the process of photosynthesis (powered by light energy, usually from the Sun), CO2 is extracted from the atmosphere to make plant food from carbon. The process is called fixation; the integration of CO2 into the molecules of organisms. The majority of CO2 fixation is accomplished by photosynthesis, in which photosynthetic organisms form carbohydrates from CO2 and water (H2O), using light energy to drive the biochemical reactions involved. Photosynthetic organisms make use of carbohydrates to manufacture other organic molecules that make up their cells, e.g. cellulose, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Inorganic CO2 in the atmosphere is converted by photosynthetic organisms via the process of photosynthesis into simple carbohydrates. Carbon dioxide+water(+ light energy)glucose+oxygen 6CO2+6H2O(+ light energy)C6H12O6+6O2 Herbivores and omnivores obtain carbohydrates and other more complex substances by consuming photosynthetic organisms and metabolise (chemically break down) the carbohydrates and complex substances into useful constituents for their own bodies/cells/molecules. Carnivores obtain these useful substances by eating herbivores/omnivores. Carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere when organisms undergo the process of cellular respiration; small amounts of CO2 are released into the air by the decomposition of dead organisms by the action of certain bacteria and fungi (detritivores): the majority of this CO2 returns to the atmosphere to be available for re-use in further photosynthesis. Carbon-containing substances from photosynthetic organisms are required by animals and some microorganisms in order to produce energy and as a source of materials to drive many of their own biochemical reactions; this is essential to such organisms. Glucose+oxygenCarbon dioxide+water+ Energy (ATP + heat) C6H12O6+6O26CO2+6H2O+ Energy (ATP + heat) The reciprocal processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration are responsible for the major transformations and movements of carbon. On a global scale, the return of CO2 to the atmosphere by respiration is closely balanced by its removal by photosynthesis. However, the burning of wood and fossil fuels adds more CO2 to the atmosphere; as a result, the amount of atmospheric CO2 is steadily increasing. Humans have an impact on the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere with the use and burning of fossil fuels; these actions also release CO2 into the atmosphere. Not all carbon-based matter is immediately decomposed. Under certain conditions dead organic matter accumulates more rapidly than it is decomposed within an ecosystem. The remnants are locked away in subterranean deposits. Fossil fuels will be formed when deposits of sediment compress this matter; this process takes many millennia. Continuing geological processes may expose the carbon in these fuels to the environment after an extensive period of time, but mostly the carbon within the fossil fuels is liberated during human activities, e.g. use of fossil fuels for combustion. Carbon, in the form of CO2, is the major greenhouse gas released to the environment/atmosphere as a consequence of human activities. The continuing discharge of greenhouse gases (CO2 is just one greenhouse gas) is causing the temperature of the earth to rise, disrupting the climate and affecting sea-levels. Sometime around the middle of the 18th century the industrial revolution began. Since then the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by approximately 40% and will carry on increasing unless society reduces or eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels. The exploitation of fossil fuels for energy has resulted in the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Additionally over 30% of the CO2 rise over the last 150 years came from transformations in land use. These include deforestation and the cultivation of land for food production. The primary source of carbon/CO2 emissions from the Earth is as a result of tectonic or volcanic activity. Much of the CO2 released as a result of tectonic or volcanic activity is derived from the subduction of rocks including carbonate rocks. Much of the overall released CO2 was trapped when the Earth formed. Some discharged carbon remains as CO2 in the atmosphere; some is dissolved in the oceans; some is incorporated into organic molecules in living or dead/decomposing organisms, and some is trapped in carbonate rocks. Carbon is removed into long-term storage by burial of sedimentary strata (e.g. coal), that store organic carbon from un-decayed biomass and carbonate rocks e.g. limestone (calcium carbonate). The processes of tectonic movement and subduction release some of the CO2 through vents such as volcanoes (above and below ocean surfaces). The Nitrogen Cycle Although Earth’s atmosphere is almost 80% nitrogen, it is mostly in the form of nitrogen gas (N2), which is unavailable to plants and hence to consumers of plants. Green plants absorb nitrogen in the form of nitrates dissolved in the soil water. They use these nitrates to make proteins or nucleic acids; these proteins or nucleic acids are passed along the food chain as herbivores eat plants and are then themselves eaten by carnivores. In this way the nitrogen taken from the soil becomes incorporated into the bodies of all types of living organisms. The nitrates are returned to the soil in a number of ways. Urine contains urea, a breakdown product of proteins, and proteins are also passed out in the faeces, so the waste passed out of animals bodies contains many nitrogen-rich compounds. Similarly, when animals and plants die their bodies contain a large proportion of protein. Some of the detritivores that break down the waste products from animals and the bodies of animals and plants specifically digest the proteins. As detritivores break down the protein they excrete ammonium compounds. These ammonium compounds are then digested by nitrifying bacteria which excrete nitrates, which are returned to the soil to be absorbed by plants again. By the time the microbes and other animals that feed on decaying organic material (detritus feeders) have decomposed the waste products and the dead bodies of organisms in ecosystems, all the energy originally captured by the green plants in photosynthesis has been transferred to other organisms or back into the environment itself as heat or mineral compounds. A natural pathway for nitrogen to enter ecosystems is via nitrogen fixation. Only certain organisms (prokaryotes) can fix nitrogen, i.e. convert N2 to molecules that can be used to synthesise nitrogenous organic compounds e.g. amino acids. Prokaryotes are vital links at several points in the nitrogen cycle (see picture on next page). In terrestrial ecosystems nitrogen is fixed by free-living (non-symbiotic) soil bacteria as well as by symbiotic bacteria (Rhizobium) in the root nodules (also called nitrogen nodules) of legumes and certain other plants. Some cyanobacteria fix nitrogen in aquatic ecosystems. Organisms that fix nitrogen are fulfilling their own metabolic requirements, but the excess ammonia (NH3) they release becomes available to other organisms. A major contribution in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to the pool of nitrogenous minerals is the industrial fixation of nitrogen for fertiliser: this is in addition to the natural sources of usable nitrogen. The direct result of nitrogen fixation is ammonia (NH3). Since NH3 is a gas, it can evaporate back to the atmosphere. This local recycling of nitrogen by atmospheric deposition can be especially pronounced in agricultural areas where both nitrogen fertilisers and lime (a base that decreases soil acidity) are used extensively. Although plants can use ammonium (NH4+) directly, most of the ammonium in soil is utilised by particular aerobic bacteria as a source of energy; their activity oxidises ammonium to nitrite (NO2) and then to nitrate (NO3); the nitrification process. Nitrate released from these bacteria can then be assimilated by plants and converted to organic molecules e.g. amino acids and proteins. Animals can assimilate only organic nitrogen, and they do this by eating plants or other animals. Some bacteria utilise nitrates, under anaerobic conditions, to obtain the oxygen they need for metabolism from rather than from O2. As a consequence of the denitrification process, some nitrate is converted back to N2, returning to the atmosphere. The process called ammonification, mainly carried out by bacterial and fungal decomposers, is the decomposition of organic nitrogen back to ammonium: this process recycles large amounts of nitrogen to the soil. Overall, most of the nitrogen cycling in natural systems involves the nitrogenous compounds in soil and water, not atmospheric N2. Although nitrogen fixation is important in the build-up of a pool of available nitrogen, it contributes only a tiny fraction of the nitrogen assimilated annually by total vegetation. Nevertheless, many common species of plants depend on their association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria to provide this essential nutrient in a form they can assimilate. The amount of N2 returned to the atmosphere by denitrification is also relatively small. The important point is that although nitrogen exchanges between soil and atmosphere are significant over the long term, in most ecosystems the majority of nitrogen is recycled locally by decomposition and re-assimilation.