Romeo and Juliet Research Paper Example

Romeo and Juliet Paper There are so many factors to figure in to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet that its difficult to pinpoint just one. The entire play leads up to their deaths, suggesting that their deaths are the effect of a cause. Two or three causes really; the first being their age, their youth, their hormones if you will, and their inability to control themselves; secondly, the society in which they live; one that does not tolerate their actions. Being the most studied of Shakespeares plays, it is also the one that gets misinterpreted the most. Thats not to say that any specific interpretation is wrong, just inaccurate at times. The story of Romeo and Juliet is widely studied as some sort of romantic love story. And while thats not entirely false, the focus is not the love story. Rather, the love story emphasizes the message the play is sending; that young love is impetuous, foolish, and dangerous. People seem to forget that Juliet is around 14 years old in the play, and Romeo 16 or so. Most parents or adults would agree that those ages are far too young to be involved in such a serious relationship as the one portrayed in the play. So just keep that in mind, and think about the events that take place in the play. We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer At the beginning of the play, Romeo is getting over his last infatuation, Rosaline, whom of course is described as being very beautiful, so why wouldnt Romeo be infatuated with her? What Romeos specific involvement with her is unclear in the play, but its enough to get him depressed, which shows that Romeo is led by his emotions, or even his hormones, and not his brain. This is again reinforced when he immediately becomes infatuated with Juliet just upon seeing her. Juliet is not much different in being led by her hormones. Here is a young teenage girl that has been sheltered by her family, and happens to see a cute boy at a party. Anyone who has been a teenager needs no explanation as to why Juliet is immediately attached to Romeo. Now this is where the distinction between a romantic and tragic love story, and what the play really is, becomes foggy to people. Probably the most inaccurate assumption about Romeo and Juliet is that courting and marriage at their age was a normal practice for Shakespeares time. Oh, how very wrong that is. For anyone whose been taught that in school, let me tell you now that that is a misconceived stereotype brought about by the play itself. In Shakespeares time, people were encouraged to wait until around their early Thirties, or at an age where they were financially secure, much like our society today. And there is the other factor responsible for their deaths; the society they happen to be living in. All of Shakespeares plays take place in 16th century England, no matter where the setting of the play is. That means that Romeo and Juliets society is the same as Shakespeares, and his audience would have found Romeo and Juliets romance just as disturbing as anyone today would think of two teenagers of the same age being so hot for each other. So in the end, when they are denied each other through a miscommunication, they kill themselves. Not the most intelligent of decisions. Instead of Romeo realizing that he will just be infatuated with the next beautiful girl that comes along, he kills himself. And instead of Juliet realizing what an idiot Romeo was and that there will be other cute boys, she does the same thing. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet are mostly theirs to blame, and theirs alone. The play Romeo and Juliet contains a great number of tragic events, all of which were influenced by different characters in the text. The leading characters Lady and Lord Capulet, the Nurse and Friar influenced the main characters suicides in some way. Romeo and Juliets death is the main tragedy in this play, and all characters directly influenced this. Lady and Lord Capulet were extremely distant in their daughters life, but this does not mean that they did not influence her. Neither of the parents showed their daughter any love Lord Capulet tells his wife once told his wife that they had a curse in having her [Juliet] (III. 5 line 167). Juliets primary caregiver, her nurse, boldly tells Capulet You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so III. 5 lines 168-169), questioning his upbringing or lack of it of the child. Though Lady and Lord Capulet had little time for their daughter they still had a plan for her life the arranged marriage to Paris. This marriage was not out of love for their daughter but for their own benefit, for Paris was related to royalty which would bring the family a greater social reputation. The Capulet parents forced their daughter into disobedience which morphed into love and eventually suicide by using her to achieve their own desires. The Capulet parents were the root of the tragedy As Juliets primary carer the Nurse had many opportunities to influence her decisions. The Nurse often acted as the messenger between Romeo and Juliet, saying to Romeo that her young lady bid me inquire you out (11. 4 lines 159-160) showing that her allegiance to the Capulet family did not lie with the parents but the child. As an adult the Nurse had the ability to stop the events at any time. Instead of allowing them to act as adult, and even at times encouraging them to do this, she should have stopped the events from progressing. Only after Romeo is banished does she seem to find a sense of guilt for her actions, telling Juliet, I think it best you married with the County [referring to Paris](III. 5, line 119). The Nurse cannot be blamed for all the tragic events, for she merely added to the problems the Capulet parents caused, but as Juliets mother figure she is certainly culpable. The Friar was a spiritual father and friend to both Romeo and Juliet, something which he took far too lightly. Though he was a priest, the text implies that he had great trouble distinguishing between helping and harming. When the Friar is first introduced, he casually comments on the good uses that comes from nature and how they can be straind from that fair use Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse (II. 3 lines 19-20). As a priest, one would hope that the Friar would not abuse nature yet he does so. As an escape route for Juliet, the Friar offers her (most unwisely) a poison for her to drink. The text goes on to explain that Juliet, though doubtful, takes the Friars poison because he had been tried a holy man (IV. 3 line 29). It must be said, however, that while Friar Laurence influenced the characters actions, he cannot be held solely responsible. Romeo and Juliet viewed him as perfect, and although he was a priest he could never live up to this description. Still, Friar Laurences misuse of power paved the path for the teenagers decisions. Romeo and Juliet must take most of the blame for the tragedy. While it can be argued that their actions were simply the product of those around them lack of discipline, foolish encouragement and advice from adults the text suggests another possible interpretation. It is true that these factors added to the tragedy, but it was ultimately Romeo and Juliets actions that lead to their own deaths. After Romeo heard of Juliets death he was not told to kill himself, in this matter he given no council yet he did so. Likewise, when Juliet awoke in the tomb to find her dead lover, she was not instructed to kill herself. Rather, the Friar, who was with her, warned her by saying, Stay not to question Come, go, good Juliet (V. 3, lines 158-160). Nevertheless Juliet stayed in the tomb and committed suicide. The decisions made in the text were always in control of the teenagers, and though they were influenced by others they were never dictated. Romeo and Juliets actions led to their tragic deaths, and for that death they must take most of the blame. The text suggests that Lady and Lord Capulet, the Nurse and Friar all contributed to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but it can not be ignored that Romeo and Juliet made their own decisions. For this reason I hold them responsible for their tragic deaths There is plenty of blame to go around for both Romeos and Juliets death. While both young people ultimately took that last plunge into the abyss, the question is whether they had any choice in the matter. Certainly, Shakespeares most famous play is a warning against haste, rash decision-making, and over-heated passion. Still, there were so many variables involved in their untimely death, most specifically fate, that the young lovers had no real chance at all. Did they even have a choice? Based on the actions and reactions of Juliets family, Romeos friends, and timing itself, the answer is no. The Prologue not only foretells the storys events, it gives the audience all of the information needed to make this decision. If fate is written in the stars, we know their fate is star-crossed, tangled, confused. We know thefamily feud is going to be a determining factor, from forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. The Montague-Capulet feud is toxic, and a punishment on the next generation, a Biblical concept. Also, every act and almost every scene in each act is replete with references to the stars. As Juliet lies waiting for her new husband on their wedding night, she says she would like to cut him out in little stars. Romeo, smitten by Julietsbeauty, compares her eyes to the stars. Stars, stars, stars, fate, fate, fate. Yes, Romeo drank the poison and Juliet besmirched her perfect bosom, but if their friends and adults had acted in measure, Romeos and Juliets hot-headed passion might have been tempered and cooled until Fortunas wheel turned in their direction. Wasnt it Friar Lawrence who married the two against his better judgment? He noted that these violent delights have violent ends. He knew better, and yet he married them in the thin hope that their love would end the families feuding. What if Friar Lawrence had simply required a day or a week to counsel the two? In our world today, most ministers require premarital counseling before a marriage (in the Catholic church it is four months). It was Friar Lawrences plan to conceal Juliet from Paris via the sleeping potion. Note, Friar Lawrence did not try to assist Juliet in meeting Romeo in Mantua which seems far less drastic. And what about those letters Friar Lawrence tried to send to Romeo. Some might argue fate prevented the letters from reaching Romeo; some would say Friar Lawrence should have hand delivered such news of import. Clearly, Friar Lawrenceshands are bloody. The Nurse is the good friars female counterpart. She helped to arrange the marriage when clearly it was inappropriate, especially for their time. Yet, when Juliets father threatened to throw Juliet into the streets, something akin to a death sentence, the good Nurse did not back up her charge. Nurse would rather see Juliet enter into a bigamous relationship than stand up to Capulet. Banishment was neither within Romeos will nor power to prevent, but Friar Lawrence and the Nurse conspired to ensure the lovers consummated their marriage, again putting Juliet in a no-win situation when Romeo left for Mantua. In turning her back on Juliet, the Nurse left the child bride to cope on her own. By virtue of her age and station, Juliet is a drama queen and acts as such. Ultimately though, the two might have survived if Fate had not turned such an ugly hand. Romeo tried to resolve the conflict with Tybalt, Tybalt, I have more cause to love thee but Mercutio stepped in the way. In a blood feud, would a young man of that day let such a blow ride without revenge? No. Romeo was blinded with rage when he killed Tybalt, but it wasnt what he wanted, and he seemed almost possessed at this point in the play. Call it temporary insanity. Neither did Romeo wish to die, but life without Juliet was no life at all. If only those letters had reached Romeo! How ironic considering Balthasar was able to enter Mantau, despite the quarantine, and give his friend the wrong information. Also, had the apothecary acted by conscience instead of by greed, Romeo would not have had the means to so quickly kill himself (Thy drugs are quick. ) Finally, Romeo was unable to read his lovers face and discern life. He noted but did not understand when he said, Deaths pale flag has not advanced here. He saw her red lips, her rosy cheeks and still believed she was dead. But then again, why would he think otherwise? How many live people are lying around in tombs? Lets be reasonable. We know the end. Juliet awakened (surrounded by death in a tomb) just a few seconds too late to save Romeo. If she had lived, what would her future be? Not even Paris survived. The body count was staggering, just as in a tragedy. It is tragic, except when viewed through the lens of Fate. The lovers were preordained to love one another eternally, and eternally they do live and love forever in Shakespeares pages and in the heavens. Their conception was the bitter medicine that cured embedded hatred that threatened Veronas citizens. Romeo and Juliet define passion and romance and love, and these are things that no one can prevent, not even the lovers themselves.

Locke And The American Political System Essays - Libertarian Theory

Locke And The American Political System Essays - Libertarian Theory Locke And The American Political System John Locke and his ideas about philosophy was a major influence on the American political system, not to mention many other political systems, too. His ideas were very universal, especially those regarding rights and freedom, two topics for which the United States of America is best known. Locke claimed that there is a law of nature governing human beings and that it is knowable by human reason(Lavine, 136). This law of nature is the basis of American politics, one by which we all live by today. This law included the idea that all human beings are equal, possessing the same natural rights of life, liberty, and property... and that all human beings have the same obligation not to infringe on the rights of other(136). Most of laws and justifications Americans live by today are based on exactly these arguments. John Lockes statements about this law of nature for all human beings justified many revolutions, including the American revolution of 1776. Because this revolution had such a great impact on American political system, it is clear just how significant Lockes beliefs were, and still are. His ideas were even clearly put in the American Declaration of Independence. In Jeffersons words, the Declaration of Independence states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... Today, the American people may not recognize it at all, but they do all live by the laws revealed by John Locke.

Collegial vs. Collegiate

Collegial vs. Collegiate Collegial vs. Collegiate Collegial vs. Collegiate By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between collegial and collegiate? Both words, and the root word college and the related term colleague, stem from the Latin word collega, meaning â€Å"colleague.† But for the most part, collegial refers to a state of mind, while collegiate is a more concrete adjective. A colleague is one with whom one works or interacts in a profession, a government office, or a religious environment, and though collegial can refer to the sharing of authority or power among colleagues in both religious and secular contexts, the primary connotation is a value-laden one of camaraderie. However, it is sometimes employed as a synonym for a specific sense of collegiate. That word’s primary usage is in reference to college students or their activities; sports contests between teams representing different colleges or universities, for example, are referred to as intercollegiate athletics. Collegiate, however, also refers to a certain type of religious entity mentioned below. College itself usually refers to an institution of higher learning, either in the sense of a building or a campus of buildings and other facilities or in the sense of its students, faculty, and administration. A college may be a traditional liberal arts institution or may specialize in professional, technical, or vocational subject areas, such as a business college. The term is also used to refer to a constituent part of a university, often consisting of multiple departments offering courses of study in the same general area, such as a college of sciences. Often, when colleges expand so much that they are subdivided for administrative and educational efficiency, they change their status to that of a university. (That word derives from the Latin term for universe; meanwhile, varsity, a shortening and alteration of university, is British English slang for university and refers in general to the primary squad on a school athletic team or, occasionally, in another competitive endeavor. Other uses of the term college are for a group of clergy members living and working together, for any body of people with the same interests or goals, or, most familiarly, in the phrase â€Å"electoral college,† referring to a group of people selected to elect a person for a political office. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two People20 Rules About Subject-Verb AgreementParataxis and Hypotaxis

Hotel Resorts in Orange County California Research Paper

Hotel Resorts in Orange County California - Research Paper Example This research aims to evaluate and present Orange County California and their offerings to the visitors. As also stated in the introductory section of this research paper, Orange County is composed of some of the most attractive tourists’ destinations within the world. Among the various reasons that attract huge number of tourists to the county, the advantage of location is one. The county is bordered on the north by Los Angeles and San Diego has surrounded the county along the south. Towards the east of Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County are situated along with the Santa Ana Mountains. Most importantly, the boundaries of the county towards the west are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Due to the features of the location in which the county is situated, the tourists who visited this tourist spot can share the experience of warm climate throughout the year. As the Pacific Ocean is very near to Orange County, the tourists and local people enjoy the beauty of various enchanting and charming beaches. There are a number of cities present within Orange County, both large as well as small. Anaheim in Orange County is known as the ‘home’ of Disneyland and is second in the list of the most populous cities in California. The home of Knott’s Berry Farm in the county is Buena Park and this city paves the gateway of the county to Los Angeles. Apart from these two important and popular cities of Orange County, there are also several cities that add up to the beauty of the county. Fullerton, Surf city, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Seal Beach are the most popular cities of the county. (County of Orange, 2011). The hotels and resorts section of Orange County offers several attractive destinations to the tourists. In the South Orange County, Aliso Creek Inn & Golf Course offers an ideal tourist location for families and tourists are made to feel every comfort of home in this hotel. Americas Best Value

Marketing Orientation Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Orientation Concepts - Essay Example A company’s focus on the market revolves around the concepts that it may apply when targeting that particular market. Although there are different variations of market orientations, there are four principal categories that have been significantly explored. In the production concept, a company mostly attempts to increase its production without taking customer demands into account. The primary focus of a business that adopts this approach is to minimize costs through large scale production (Morgan, Vorhies and Mason, 2009). This model is based on a company’s belief that economies of scale resulting from production in large amounts would make it possible to reduce operational costs, while maximising profits. Production orientation is virtually extinct or completely assimilated into other approaches, since product quality is currently vital to enhancing the appeal of a commodity.The focus of a sales oriented corporation is clear cut, since it involves producing commodities and then selling them to target markets. This model entails companies manufacturing products or creating services that they forecast customers would need, without carrying out comprehensive research. The model overlooks the fact that selling goes beyond availing products to the market and must involve intensive research, before venturing into product development and eventually putting an appropriate promotion strategy into place. Nonetheless, the sales concept upholds the notion that customers are unlikely to make a purchase.

Isolation of Recombinant Escherichia Essay Example for Free

Isolation of Recombinant Escherichia Essay One technique important in both genetics and biochemistry is the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), first developed in the 1960s, and then automated in 1983. Current PCR technology was not developed until the discovery of thermostable polymerases, specifically Thermus aquaticus (Taq) polymerase (1). The protein Taq polymerase was first isolated from the extreme thermophile T. aqauticus, where extreme thermopiles are bacteria that live in temperatures at or above 45 °C. The Taq enzyme is a member of the DNA polymerase I family (2, 3). The interesting property of Taq polymerase is that it has a temperature optimum at 74-75 °C, allowing it the remain active in temperatures required for PCR double stranded DNA denaturation (3, 1) . The protein has an approximate molecular weight of 6263 kDa when isolated from T. aquaticus, and 94 kDa when isolated from recombinant Escherichia coli, and is still stable at temperatures of 93-95 °C, hence the thermostability of the enzyme ). Taq specifically lacks any proofreading activity in the 3’ to 5’ direction, and therefore has a relatively high error rate of single base mispairings of 1 error per Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR 9000 nucleotides, as well as a frame shift error rate of 1 per 41,000 basepairs (5, 6). Taq polymerase has an activity that is highly dependent on the environment of which it is in as it is thermostable, and has differing activities at nearly all temperatures up to the point of denaturation. Taq specifically can add up to 1000 base pairs in length on a template in under one minute under typical PCR conditions. The enzyme has a specific activity of 200,000 units mg-1, and can add approximately form 60 nucleotides per second at 70 °C (7). The isolation of Taq is essential for the PCR reaction. The most important reason for Taq being used in PCR is the thermostability at high temperatures (95 °C). This allowed for the process of elongation, annealing, and denaturation to occur without the replacement of new enzyme, and thereby, was more efficient, faster, and cheaper because the reaction could be automated through the use of a machine known as a thermocycler which basically is just a machine able to change temperatures of an isolated environment rapidly (7). Prior to the discovery of Taq, PCR was done using Klenow fragments of E. coli DNA polymerase I at 37 °C. The lack of thermostability required replenishment of enzyme after each PCR cycle (8). One of the initial difficulties of Taq polymerase was the organism in which it was expressed in, T. aquaticus, as it was difficult to culture and produce large quantities of enzyme. E. coli bacteria were engineered to expressed the Taq polymerase gene to allow for retrieval of large quantities of enzyme ). The isolation of the Taq gene involved culturing T. aquaticus and then isolated the DNA of the cells through lysing, proteinase K addition, extracting of aqueous and phenolic phases, dialyzing of extractions, addition of SDS, and then centrifugation of solution to eventually retreieve the DNA of the organism as outlined in Lawyer et al., 1989. With the isolation of the 2401+ BP gene of Taq, the gene was incorporated into a 6.58 kbp plasmid (pLSG1). The gene was inserted 171 bp distal to the lacZÃŽ ± promoter/operator, and 109 bp distal to the BgII site, so the gene expression could be controlled through an inducible promoter. With the pLSG1 plasmid, the vector was introduced to E. coli bacteria to allow for plasmid uptake (4). Other experiments have been conducted towards the purification of Taq from recombinant E. coli. Specifically Engelke et al., 1990 developed a method for purfication of Taq. The E.coli strain 2 DH1 was used for the expression of the recombinant plasmid containing Taq polymerase. The bacteria were grown in 12 Litre batches of Luria Broth; using 1 mL of saturated DH1 culture and 80ÃŽ ¼g/mL of ampicillin. Isopropyl-1-thio-ÃŽ ²-Dgalactopyranoside (IPTG) was added to 0.5mM and the cultures were grown for 16-20 hours. The cells were harvested in 2.4 L of buffer A (50 mM TrisHCL, pH 7.9, 50 mM dextrose, 1mM EDTA) and collected via centrifugation, resuspended in Buffer A with 4mg/mL lysozyme and incubated at room temperature for 15 minutes. Buffer B (10 mM TrisHCl, pH 7.9, 50mM KCl, 1mM EDTA, 1mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 0.5% Tween 20, 0.5% NP-40) was added and incubated in 180 mL fractions, for 60 minutes at 75 °C in a water bath. The mixtures were centrifuged at 8000 rpm for 15 minutes at 4 °C. Taq then precipitated with polyethyleneimine (PEI) at room temperature, then isolated through centrifugation and suspended in buffer C (20mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 1 mM EDTA, 0.5mM PMSF, 0.5% Tween 20, 0.5% NP-40) containing 0.25 M KCL. PEI eluatents were diluted in 50mM KCL and buffer C and applied to a 150mL BioRex 70 ion exchanger column, and then eluated using 200mM KCL. The protein was dialyzed for 12 hours against two changes of 1 L storage buffer (20mM HEPES, pH 7.9, 100 mM KCL, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM PMSF, 1mM dithiothreitol, 50% glycerol. The experiment resulted in 40-50 mg of protein per litre of cell culture (9). The methods used in this experiment differed in certain key aspects. First, Engelke’s experiment made use of a higher concentration of ampicillin. The IPTG was added to the same concentration, but was added after cell growth up to an optical density of 0.700. Instead of a water bath at 75 °C, this experiment made use of an air incubator for the temperature requirements. Engelke’s experiment made use of PEI to precipitate Taq, while this experiment made use of 30g of (NH4)2SO4 per 100mL of supernatant. Buffer C was not used throughout this experiment, and no ion exchange columns were used. The dialysis procedure was done for twice as long with twice as many changes of solution per 6 hours. The changes made from Engelke’s experiment offers a different method for protein precipitation. The method used by Engelke made use of PEI which is an affinity precipitation method versus a salt prec ipitation method. The PEI Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR method has the major drawback through the lack of selectivity, and can often precipitate nucleic acids as well (10). This is why the BioRex column needed to be used. Ammonium sulfate has the advantage that the precipitation can be controlled based on ionic strength of species involved, as well as has no negative effects on the activity of the target enzyme. Salting out also has the advantage that only native state proteins are precipitated due to the hydrophobicity involved with native state proteins (10). Buffer C was not required for this experiment as no BioRex column was required. This experiment made use of various techniques and methods including: SDS-PAGE, differential centrifugation, Western Blotting, real time-PCR (rtPCR), PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis, and dialysis. Two important techniques were PCR and rt-PCR. PCR does not allow for the quantification of DNA amplicons as it is an end-point PCR, but it does allow for confi rmation of template duplication along with measurement of base pair length. Amplification of primer would confirm the presence of a thermostable DNA polymerase. The following agarose electrophoresis helps to find amplicon size which can tell us the activity of Taq, as well as the specificity, as one template should only return one band in PCR (7). rt-PCR allows for a quantitative assessment of PCR, and therefore the kinetics of the reaction, as it detects the amount of amplicons produced in the reaction. The point at which the standard curve reaches threshold in cycle number gives information on the activity of Taq, as a more active sample of Taq reaches threshold earlier. Melt curve analysis also provides information regards DNA amplicons in solution (11). The purpose of this experiment was the test the methods for the isolation of PCR grade Taq polymerase from recombinant E. coli using differential centrifugation, salting out, and heat denaturation following lysation of cells to potentially improve isolation of Taq from past methods. The presence of Taq will be confirmed through Western blotting, and rt-PCR and PCR reactions along with purity will be assessed through SDS-PAGE. The activity of Taq will be found through rt-PCR and PCR. Finding the most efficient method for the isolation of Taq offers a valuable reagent source for any PCR reactions required. The isolation technique would also be applicable to any thermostable proteins. 3 EXPERIMENTAL PROECDURES Isolation of Taq Polymerase Luria broth (500 mL + 100ÃŽ ¼g/mL ampicillin) was inoculated with 50 ÃŽ ¼L of frozen Taq polymerase expressing E. coli cell stock. Incubation was commenced for 12 hours at 37 °C until the Optical Density had reached 0.700. IPTG (0.5 mM or 0.112g/L culture) was added and the culture was incubated for 12 to 14 hours at 37 °C. The 50mL of cells were then centrifuged (4000 RPM x 15 minutes at room temperature) in an Eppendorf Centrifuge 5810, and 5 mL of buffer A (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.9, 50 mM dextrose, 1mM EDTA) was used to suspend the separated pellet. The solution was then centrifuged again (4000 RPM x 15 minutes at room temperature) in an Eppendorf Centrifuge 5810 and the pellet was once again suspended in Buffer A, with an additional 20 mg of lysozyme added. The reaction was incubated for 15 minutes at room temperature. Following incubation, 5mL of buffer B (10 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.9, 50mM KCl, 0.5% Tween 20, 0.5% NP-40, 1mM PMSF, 1mM EDTA) was added and incubated at 75 °C for 1 hour in a New Brunswick Scientific-Innova 40 incubator shaker series, and shaken by hand approximately every 5 minutes. The solution was then centrifuged (15000 RPM x 10 minutes at 4 °C) in a Thermoscientific Sorvall RC 6+ centrifuge and using a 603s Delta Range 30g of (NH4)2SO4 per 100mL of supernatant (8 mL of supernatant equivalent to 2.4g (NH4)2SO4 ) was added and incubated for 10 minutes at room temperature and shaken on the Innova 40 incubator. The lysate was then centrifuged again (15000 RPM x 10 minutes at 4 °C) in Thermoscientific Sorvall RC 6+ centrifuge and the resultant pellet was suspended in 2mL of buffer A. The solution was then dialyzed in a Spectra/Por membrane tubing set at 6000-8000 Da molecular weight selection in 1 L of storage Buffer (50 mM Tris HCl, pH 7.9, 50mM KCl, 0.1mM EDTA, 1mM DTT, 0.5 mM PMSF, 50% glycerol) for 24 hours at 4 °C changing the buffer every three hours. The dialysis solution was then diluted in a 1:1 ratio of storage buffer and stored at -70 °C until needed. Protein Concentration Determination A Bovine Serum Albumin Bio-Rad assay standard curve was prepared (0 –0.3 mg/mL) using Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR a 1mg/mL stock solution and an Asys Expert Plus spectrophotometer set at 620 nm. Bio-Rad assay was run in triplicate using 20ÃŽ ¼L of protein dilution and 150 ÃŽ ¼L of diluted Bio-Rad Dye Concentrate. 10x and 100x dilutions of the sample prepared previously were made and 20ÃŽ ¼L were used with 150ÃŽ ¼L of diluted Bio-Rad Dye concentrate. The solutions were incubated for 10 minutes and absorbances were tabulated. sandwich was then assembled with an additional ice block in the transfer apparatus. The apparatus was run at 180mA overnight in a refrigerator and the membrane was then stored in TBST buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6, 137 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20) and refrigerated. 24 hours prior to the primary antibody (Anti-Taq monoclonal Antibody (8C1)) addition, the membrane was blocked in 1 gram of Carnation nonfat dry milk (5% w/v) and 20 mL of TBST Buffer. The primary antibody in TBST with SDS-PAGE 5% w/v nonfat dry milk at a 1:800 dilution of A discontinuous polyacrylamide gel was antibody was added to the membrane and shaken prepared using a Mini-PROTEAN Tetra Cell for 1 hour at room temperature. The membrane was module. The casting stand was assembled for 1mm then washed three successive times for 15 minutes gel and filled with National Diagnostics 12% with TBST buffer at room temperature. The Resolving Gel (Protogel 2400 ÃŽ ¼L, Resolving Gel secondary antibody (Peroxidase-conjugated Buffer pH 8.8 1560 ÃŽ ¼L, dH2O 1974 ÃŽ ¼L, 30% w/v AffiniPure Goat Anti-Mouse IgG (H+L)) was then APS 21ÃŽ ¼L, TEMED 6ÃŽ ¼L), casted to 1 cm below top applied in TBST with 5% w/v nonfat dry milk at a of glass plate, and then 4% Stacking Gel (Protogel 1:2000 dilution of antibody and shaken for one hour 390 ÃŽ ¼L, Stacking Gel Buffer pH 6.8 720 ÃŽ ¼L, dH2O at room temperature. The membrane was then 1830 ÃŽ ¼L, 30% w/v APS 6ÃŽ ¼L, TEMED 3ÃŽ ¼L) was washed three successive times for 15 minutes with casted on top with a ten well gel comb. The TBST buffer at room temperature. The edges of the electrode set up was then submersed in 1 x Trismembrane were dried with a Kim and next 1mL of Glycine SDS Page Running Buffer. To each 20 ÃŽ ¼L Renaissance Western Blot Kit NEN Life Sciences of sample, 20 ÃŽ ¼L of Laemmli buffer (0.5 M TrisProducts, Cat. No. NEL 101 luminol reagent with HCl, pH 6.8, 4.4% w/v SDS, 20% v/v glycerol, 2% 1mL of oxidizing reagent were mixed together and v/v 2-mercaptoethanol, 10 mg/mL bromophneol then applied to the membrane. The membrane was blue) was added and boiled for 3 minutes and then then imaged with an exposure time of 40 seconds cooled for 5 minutes on ice. To one well 7ÃŽ ¼L of using AlphaEaseFC software. New England BioLabs Inc. Prestained Protein Marker (7-175 kDa) was added. To the following PCR/agarose gel electrophoresis wells 15 ÃŽ ¼L of standard Taq polymerase was added, A master mix for PCR was prepared (1x PCR along with 20ÃŽ ¼L of six different samples, with the buffer minus Mg, 0.2mM dNTP, 1.5 mM MgCl2, fifth being prepared the previous year with the same 0.5ÃŽ ¼M forward primer, 0.5ÃŽ ¼m Reverse Primer, 0.1 method of isolation as outlined previously. The gel ng Template DNA and Nuclease-free PCR water) was run at 200 Volts for 40 minutes, incubated in and 22.5 ÃŽ ¼L of master mix and 2.5ÃŽ ¼L of Taq fixing solution overnight and then stained with Bio- sample, the standard, or the Taq prepared a previous Safe Coomassie Blue for one hour at room year were added to PCR tubes and centrifuged temperature under agitation. The gel was then briefly on a Fisher Scientific Accuspin micro 17 analyzed used AlphaEaseFC software. just briefly using 1.5mL eppendorf tubes with no caps to contain the PCR tube. The PCR tube was Western Blotting then added to T3 Biometra Thermocycler and Using the method described above for SDSdenatured at 94 °C for 3 minutes and then 35 cycles PAGE, a SDS-PAGE gel was taken prior to fixing. of PCR with the denature 94 °C for 45 seconds, The gel was then transferred to transfer buffer anneal 55 °C for 30 seconds, and extension at 72 °C (20mM Tris-HCL, pH 8.0, 150 mM Glycine, 20% for 1.5 minutes. The sample was then incubated at Methanol). Immobilon-P transfer membrane with 72 °C for 10 minutes and then temperature was 0.45 ÃŽ ¼m pore size and Whatman paper were cut to maintained at 4 °C. The samples were then stored at the size of the gel. The membrane was wet with -20 °C until agarose gel preparation. A 1% agarose 100% methanol, then transferred to MilliQwater gel w as prepared through 1.5g of agarose (Sigma and soaked for several minutes. A standard blotting No. A-6877 Type II) to 150mL of Tris-Acetate4 Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR EDTA (TAE) buffer. The solution was microwave for 1 minute and mixed until in solution. Once cooled to 60 °C, 7.5 ÃŽ ¼L of Biotium Gel Red Nucleic acid stain was added and mixed. The solution was then poured into the electrophoresis tray; a comb was installed, and set at room temperature. One Litre of 1x Tae buffer was prepared through dilution of 50x TAE buffer and then the solution was poured onto the electrophoresis tray to cover the gel in 1mm of buffer. 20 ÃŽ ¼L of PCR product prepared previously and 4ÃŽ ¼L of Gel Red dye were mixed and 20ÃŽ ¼L of each sample, the standard, and Taq prepared the previous year and Invitrogen life Technologies 1 Kb DNA ladder Cat. No. 15615016 was run at 150 Volts, 100 mA for one hour (or until dye reached the bottom of the gel). The bands were then visualized under 300 nm light and fluorescence was measured at 590 nm. The gel was analyzed using AlphaEaseFC software. concentration of the sample Taq was 1.88 + 0.11 mg/mL. The solution of proteins was not pure Taq as confirmed by the SDS-PAGE (Fig. 2) as various proteins created distinct bands (B to K excluding E). The standard Taq revealed only one band (A), indicating band E was most likely belong to Taq, as it was the darkest band in the gel. An analysis of the molecular weights of the bands through electrophoretic mobility (Tab. 3) showed the standard Taq having a molecular weight of 115.2 + 14.6 kDa, and the likely band (E) had a molecular weight of 113.4 + 14.3 kDa. There was a distinct distortion in the bands of the SDS page in all lanes with the exception of the standard Taq and the 2011 Taq (Fig. 3). The distortion is of a smile. The overall gel also has a large distortion, but of a frown. It would appear there was a similar protein to D E and F present in all samples, including the 2011 sample. The standard Taq did not contain the bands. Re al Time PCR The Western Blot (Fig. 4) revealed distinct A master mix for PCR was prepared (1x PCR bands; however, there were more than one band in buffer minus Mg, 0.2mM dNTP, 1.5 mM MgCl2, each lane with the exception of the standard Taq. 0.5ÃŽ ¼M forward primer, 0.5ÃŽ ¼m Reverse Primer, 0.1 Two distinct bands were present in 5, Taq, and 2 (b, ng Template DNA and Nuclease-free PCR water). c). The lanes of * and ? contained several bands To PCR tubes, 22.5 ÃŽ ¼L of Master Mix and 2.5 ÃŽ ¼L also. The overall gel also expressed a slight color of Taq sample or the standard Taq were combined, banding along the solvent front edge which is mixed through vortexing and then centrifuged with shown in both Fig. 3 and 4. The 2011 lane did not a Fisher Scientific Accuspin micro 17 just briefly appear to have any Taq present, as no band was using 1.5mL eppendorf tubes with no caps to distinguished. The entire ladder expressed some contain the PCR tube. The Taq samples were antibody activity. prepared in triplicates. 20ÃŽ ¼L of each sampled were The real time-PCR revealed a threshold reached then transferred to a 96-well PCR plate and then at 20 cycles, with the vast majority occurring at 24 sealed. The well was then placed in a BioRad CFX cycles. The melt curve showed an approximate connect Real Time System using the programing of melting temperature of 81 °C (Fig. 7). enzyme activat ion (95 °C, 30 seconds, 1 cycle), 40 The agarose gel electrophoresis revealed one cycles of Denaturation (95 °C, 1 second) and distinct band at approximately 5883.5 base pairs in annealing/extension (60 °C, 5 seconds), with a melt length. The brightest bands, and therefore the curve of (60-95 °C in 0.5 °C intervals, 3 seconds per highest quantities of Taq enzyme were found in the step, 1 cycle). The samples were then analyzed std., 2 and 4. When the base pairs specific activity using AlphaEase FC software. of the enzyme was calculated it was found to be 834.5 + 63.9 bp/min/ÃŽ ¼g of sample, or 3922.3 + 192.9 bp per minute. RESULTS The results of the Bio-Rad assay on the sample of Taq polymerases diluted to 10x and 100x revealed that the 10x dilution was far to concentrated and fell outside the linear curve of the Bio-Rad assay. The retrieval of protein from the Luria broth was found to be 300.8 + 17.7 mg protein per L of Luria broth. These results (Tab. 1) suggest the protein 5 DISCUSSION Through the analysis made through SDS-PAGE, the MW of the standard Taq was found to be 115.2 + 14.6 kDa and 113.4 + 14.3 kDa. This is different from the accepted literature value of 94 kDa (9). Even with error correction, the prot ein did not fall Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR within the range of the accepted literature value. In total, the two proteins differ by 23% and 21% without error correction, or 21.2 kDa and 19.4 kDa respectively. In comparison to one another, the two bands have essentially the same molecular weight, indicating whatever error occured in the gel was equivalent on both the standard and the isolated Taq. One explanation for the difference in the molecular weights may be explained through the quantitiy of protein used. The darkest and thickest band ( E, fig. 4) likely belongs to the Taq protein. To get a more defined band, a dilution would be effective in making a higher resolution band (12). The amount of protein isolated per volume of Luria broth was determined to be 300.8 + 17.7 mg per L of Luria Broth. Quite obviosuly, there are issues both with the heating of the gel, and distortion of the bands into â€Å"smiles†. The distoration of the gel likely was caused by unequal heati ng of the gel causing the center of the gel to be hotter than the peripheries, as the walls of the apparatus act as heat sinks (13). The uneven heating can be removed by switching to a lower voltage for a longer period of time (12). The distortion of the protein bands within the individual lanes produced a smile structure. The distortion was likely caused by either an overloading of proteins, which can be solved by dilution of the protein sample, or was due to salt conditions of the loading sample. This step could be fixed through extra steps of dialysis to decrease salt content of the loading sample. (14). One final issue with the SDS-PAGE gel was the distance between bands. The target molecular weight was near 100 kDa, so the concentration of the gel could be decreased to allow for a higher resolution of the higher molecular weight proteins, or allowed to run for a longer period of time (14). A purity assessment of the isolated Taq enzyme can be made through the SDS-PAGE gel (fig. 2). Distinct banding occurs in ten different bands on the Taq lane, with 9 being distinct from Taq protein (E). This highlights that there were infact multiple proteins still present in the Taq solution. This would indicate that the heat shock portion of the methods was insufficient in denaturing all of the proteins in the E. coli, allowing for precipitation upon salting out. This is based on the extra protein banding only occuring for the Taq polymerases prepared for this experiment. A factor that could have also played a role was the incubation at 75 °C was continually 6 interrupted through the need to shake the reaction vessel thereby lowering the temperature of the solution. This was due to mechanical difficulties of the equipment. It would be best to find a working New Brunswick Scientific-Innova 40 incubator shaker series to improve the protein isolation. To decrease the protein impurities, an increased heat cycle could be implemented, as Taq is thermostable at 75 °C, and could sustain structure at that temperature for long durations (7). The ammonium sulfate salting out would be mor e efficent after an increased heat cycle as even fewer native state proteins would remain (10). Another method to decrease impurities would be to add a purification step using another specific property of Taq polymerase. This could be the isoelectric point. This could be done through ion exchange columnsor isoelectric focusing (12). The extra isolation step would significantly decrease the impurities, and increase the specific activity per mg of protein of sample.The impurities were likely a result of other proteins present in E. coli bacteria lysate that were relatively thermostable, as those proteins would be most probable (9). The isolation of Taq can be confirmed through the Western Blotting and PCR reactions (Fig. 4-7), as a distinct band in the Western Blot, and measureable amplicon replication in the PCR and rt-PCR. In the standard of Taq of the Western blot (Fig. 4) there is a distinct band. The same band in the channel containing the isolated Taq can be seen. The band occurs in the same relative vicinity as the Taq molecular weight band in the SDS-PAGE (Fig. 2) so would fit best fit the Taq enzyme. The banding of the blot shows a common band across all lanes that line up with the standard Taq, emphasizing the isolation of Taq. There is a hesitation in confirmation of Taq due to the extra protein banding in the prepared fractions, as these bands were not seen in the standard Taq. The banding would suggest proteins transferred from the gel to the membrane and was still able to bind to the primary antibody or secondary antibody. There are various possible explanations for this. First and foremost, the banding occurred in areas wherever protein was present (ladder and lanes). This would indicate lack of specificity in the primary antibody which is intended to only find full sequence Taq and bind to it (15, 16). Another problem may be due to lack of blocking solution binding to the membrane, or Isolation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR excessive washing removing blocking solution from the membrane. A final possible explanation may be binding of the secondary antibody to membr ane bound proteins with the exception of casein (the blocking protein used) (15, 17). Antibody specificity can be corrected by finding a new antibody, lack of blocking simply requires longer blocking periods or increased blocking solution concentration, and washing can be minimized to see resultant effect on the membrane. Each of the possible problems with the Western Blot would have to be tested by altering the procedure used above by one method (washing, antibody, blocking solution). The PCR results show template replication through thermocycling, which indicates the presence of thermostable DNA polymerases in the PCR tube. From this, it can be conferred that Taq polymerase was indeed isolated. Further confirmation could be made through further purification of Taq. This could be done through 2-D SDS-PAGE vs Isoelectric point electrophoresis using the isoelectric point of Taq and using the bands emphasized as Taq, and a lower concentration gel (12). Another method would be to analyze the gel bands through other methods such as mass spectropscopy or NMR (18). There wa s distinct differences between three sets of Taq polymerases: the standard, the sample prepared in the previous year, and the sample produced in this experiment. Most distinctly the proteins differ with respect to SDS-PAGE gels. Quite obviously, the purest of the enzymes was the standard Taq, followed by the 2011 sample, and the sample prepared in this experiment. The sample prepared through this experiment had a high amount of a salt concentration and resulted in distorted bands, along with numerous other proteins present in the sample. The enzymes also differed with respect to the Western Blot (Fig. 4). The 2011 sample failed to return 2 ° antibody response, indicating lack of Taq polymerase, or lack of primary antibody binding, while the standard and experimental sample both had representive banding. There may have been excessive blocking or drying of the lane containing the 2011 Taq, as the SDS-PAGE shows a representive band in the region of Taq, that is the darkest band in the lane (15). The protein concentrations as determined through the Bio-Rad assay (Tab. 1, Fig. 1) returned 7 drastically different results. The two protein concentrations differed by 2x concentration. The easiest explanation of thi s result is the 10x dilution was insufficient in reducing the absorbance to within the standard curve. Due to the absorbances being above the standard curve, the results are invalid, as the region in which the curve is linear is up to 0.5mg/mL (19). The 100 x dilution returned a result of 1.88 + 0.11 mg/mL. This coroborates the SDS-PAGE findings as the protein was not excessively overloading the lane. The SDS-PAGE could have been further diluted, but the concentration used was sufficient for the purposes of the experiment. In an analysis of the PCR results (fig. 7), the brightest fluorescence bands occurred in the std., 2 and (4/Taq) lanes. This would indicate the highest activities occuring in these lanes. When compared to the western blot, the darkest banding of regions of Taq (5,?,*) returned the bands with less fluorescence. This result shows that the amount of enzyme may inhibit the PCR reaction as the the bands with the highest recoveries returned the lowest fluorescence. With an assessment of the basepair length, reaction time, and amount of enzyme used, an approximately activi ty of 834.5 + 63.9 bp/min/ÃŽ ¼g of protein, or 3922.3 + 192.9 bp per minute. In comparison to the literature values of the protein, this is slightly above the 60 base pairs per second value, however, that was at 70  °C (7). The rt-PCR returned a consistent melting temperature of 81 °C (Fig. 6)for all amplicon samples indicating the lack of a primer-dimer formation. Threshold was initially reached at 20 cycles (Fig. 5), which an RFU value of approximately 9000. This indicated a high activity of the taq polymerase used, at least above 1.25 Units (20). Both PCR assays agree with one another. There was no primer dimer formation noted on the agarose gel, or the melt curve analysis. There was a high activity of the enzyme sample isolated as found through the bpmin-1 and cycle # of reaching threshold, however, between the two assays, the rt-PCR has the significant advantage of time, and no electrophoresis required. Currently, Taq is widely available and would likely be cheaper to simply purchase commercially. This experiment does however outline a method for thermostable protein isolation which could be used for the more recent and more valuable thermostable enzymes (Pyrococcus furiosus Polymerase) which Is olation of Recombinant Taq Polymerase for PCR are superior to Taq in both thermostability, and error rate due to proofreading ability (21). Overall, the purpose of the experiment was met. Taq was indeed isolated from a culture of recombinant E. coli. This was confirmed through the Western Blotting, and thermostable DNA activity in the PCR and rt-PCR. The purity was assessed and found to be below that of the methods used by Engelke et al., 1990. The purity could be increased through use of a cation exchange column (9). The length of heat denaturation and an automatic heat controlled shaker would help to remove excess proteins and improve purity. The length of dialysis time would need to be increased for less band distortion in SDS-PAGE, and either more selective primary antibody, increased blocking or decreased washing would be required for improved Western Blotting. For further experiments, it is suggested testing the new method modifications, and or implementing recombinant Pyrococcus furiosus Polymerase.

Philosophy in Mathematics Essay -- essays papers

Philosophy in Mathematics Mathematics has contributed to the alteration of technology over many years. The most noticeable mathematical technology is the evolution of the abacus to the many variations of the calculator. Some people argue that the changes in technology have been for the better while others argue they have been for the worse. While this paper does not address specifically technology, this paper rather addresses influential persons in philosophy to the field of mathematics. In order to understand the impact of mathematics, this paper will delve into the three philosophers of the past who have contributed to this academic. In this paper, I will cover the views of three philosophers of mathematics encompassing their history, views and effects on technology. Rene Descartes (1596-1650), G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716), and Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) (Ebersole, S. (#5)) are the three philosophers. Though all three of these philosophers contributed their own reviews on the subject of mathematical phil osophy, they all saw the world and thus it‘s mechanical contributions â€Å"as being controlled by mathematical principles.† (Ebersole, S.). Rene Descartes was born, March 31, 1596 near Tours, France (Weisstein, E.), to an important family; Descartes’ father held a position as â€Å"Councilor† in the local parliament. Rene was the 2nd of four children in his family, and suffered chronic illness’ (Wilkins, D.). At the young age of 8 years old, Descartes attended a school for which he would hold indubitable regard, the Jesuit School at La Flà ªche. Descartes would continue at this school for eight years until 1612 at which point the encountered the influential (on his life) Mydorge and Mersenne. Together Descartes would devot... ...d November 16, 2003, from ‘A Short Account of the History of Mathematics’ (4th edition, 1908) by W.W. Rouse Ball. Website: http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Pascal/RouseBall/RB_Pascal.html 7.) Zalta, E. (2003). Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Retrieved November 16, 2003, from The Metaphysics Research Lab. Website: http://mally.stanford.edu/leibniz.html 8.) C.& G. Merriam Co. (1913) Definition. Retrieved November 16, 2003, from Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary Version, Website:www.dictionary.com 9.) Garber, D. (1995). Review of G.W. Leibniz: Critical Assessments,' by Roger Woolhouse ISIS: Journal of History of Science in Society, Dec 95, Vol. 86 p. 651-53. 10.) Stephanos, S. (1977). Elaboration of the Psychosomatic Phenomenon: Observations on the Biography of Blaise Pascal. High Wire January 1,1977, Vol. 20 (2-3) p. 168-79

Investigating the Possibility of a Developmental Trend in the Way That Children Describe Themselves Essay

This version of Rosenberg’s research into children’s self-descriptions analysed data from semi-structured interviews with two children; Annie (8) and Kirsty (16). The data was interpreted to ascertain whether, as in Rosenberg’s research, children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental progression and whether locus of self-knowledge shifts from other to self as children get older. Substantial support was found for Rosenberg’s theory that children’s self-descriptions become more complex with age and demonstrate a developmental trend. Some support was found for the idea that the locus of self-knowledge shifts from other to self with age but some of the children’s responses ran counter to expectation. Introduction A child’s sense of identity begins to form at a young age and develops throughout childhood. Eleanor Macoby (1980) pointed out that a sense of self emerges gradually as a child develops more complex understandings. Research shows that children differ in the way that they describe themselves at different ages. Bannister and Agnew (1977) and Harter (1983) found that as children get older they use more complex descriptions and include more references to emotions and attitudes. Younger children rely more on physical attributes, activities and preferences. Bannister and Agnew (1977) proposed that as children get older they become better able to ‘distinguish themselves psychologically’ from others (The Open University, 2009, p.20). Harter (1983) proposed that the way children describe themselves follows a developmental sequence which reflects the notion that identity develops in increments throughout childhood. Rosenberg (1979) focused part of his research into the self-concept on investigating this idea of a developmental trend in children’s sense of identity. He interviewed a sample of 8-18 year olds and created categories in which to sort the children’s responses. In keeping with the findings of Bannister and Agnew and Harter, Rosenberg found that younger children used mostly physical descriptions of themselves while older children relied more on character traits. As a result he concluded that ‘the self becomes less and less a perceptual object and more and more a conceptual trait system’ (Murphy (1947), as cited in The Open University, 2009, p.21). He found that, as children get older, they focus more on interpersonal traits and refer more frequently to relationships and inner qualities. Rosenberg also investigated what he called the ‘locus of self-knowledge’ – the extent to which children develop an ‘independent, self-reflective sense of self’ (The Open University, 2009, p.22). This was measured by asking children who knew them best, themselves or someone else. He found that younger children were more likely to claim that another, usually a parent, knew them better. Older children were more self-reliant when it came to judging themselves. Therefore, Rosenberg concluded that the locus of self-knowledge shifts with age from another to the self. Increased self-knowledge would result in more psychological self-descriptions so this relates to the idea of developmental progression being demonstrated in children’s self-descriptions. This study is based on Rosenberg’s research and is an analysis and interpretation of interview data. Children’s responses are allocated to Rosenberg’s categories in order to answer the research question: Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? This study will focus on answers to the ‘Who Am I?’ statements but will also pay attention to further interview responses to understand differences in the way children of different ages self-evaluate, view themselves and others and conceptualise an ideal self. This study also examines the concept of a locus of self-knowledge and asks: Does a child’s locus of self-knowledge shift from other to self with age? Method Design Rosenberg’s research design is employed in this study – the responses from a semi-structured interview are compared. Participants The participants are Annie (8) and Kirsty (16), pupils from schools in the Milton Keynes area. They were recruited by the ED209 course team who asked school teachers for help in identifying willing participants. Materials A microphone and a video-recorder were used to amplify and record the interviews. Rosenberg’s semi-structured interview, with questions on self-description, self-evaluation, self and others, ideal self and locus-of self-knowledge was used. A sheet of A4 with the words ‘Who Am I?’ printed at the top and ten numbered lines beginning with ‘I†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ was provided to enable participants to complete the written exercise. Adaptations of Rosenberg’s categories were used to analyse the responses to the Who Am I? exercise. The analysis of the ‘Who Am I?’ statements was presented on category analysis forms (appendix 1). A consent form was provided for the parents of the children to sign. Procedure The interviews took place in May 2005 during the day. Both children were interviewed by members of the ED209 course team in familiar rooms used by the schools. Annie was accompanied by a classroom assistant. The participants were told that they could stop the interviews at any time and were briefed as to the purpose of the research. A sound recordist and producer were present but efforts were made to ensure that neither they nor the equipment used inhibited the participants. Background noise was occasionally intrusive and recording halted. The final recording of the interviews was edited to ensure a smooth flow. The recorded interviews were listened to several times. The ‘Who Am I?’ statements were identified and transferred onto a pre-prepared category analysis form (appendix 1). The categories, Physical, Character, Relationships and Inner, were adapted from Rosenberg’s (see appendix 2). Each sentence read out by the interviewer was taken to constitute one statement. The statements were then coded. To ensure coding consistency, each statement was reviewed against the criteria for the inner category, then relationships, then character and then physical. Only if there was no way it could be said to fit within the ‘higher’ category was it pushed down. Even if it may have fitted within two categories, the fact that an order of review was applied meant that it would not be considered for a second category if it had already been allocated. Once the categories had been applied, the responses in each column were added up and the percentages calculated so that the results could be compared with Rosenberg’s findings. Next the detailed responses to the interview questions, including the locus of self-knowledge questions, were analysed in the context of Rosenberg’s research findings. The responses of the children were analysed to see if the same patterns were present. Ethics The data collected by the Open University ED209 course team was intended to comply with the BPS ethical code and principles. The children agreed to take part and their parents signed consent forms on their behalf. At the start of each interview the children were informed of their right to withdraw from the research and were told that they could ask for the recording to be stopped at any time. The purpose of the research and they way in which the data would be used was explained to them before the interviews began. Results The first research question was: Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? The second research question was: Does a child’s locus of self-knowledge shift from other to self with age? Table 1 shows a comparison between Annie and Kirsty’s self-descriptions. It shows that the majority (60%) of descriptors used by the younger child are about physical characteristics and activities and the remainder are character descriptors. She makes no reference to relationships or inner qualities. The majority of the older child’s responses relate to inner qualities (50%). She spreads the remainder of her descriptions across the physical, character and relationship categories. Self Evaluation When discussing their strengths and weaknesses, Kirsty focused far more on character and relationship descriptions than Annie, who focused on physical attributes, particularly for her weak points (‘my ears†¦ my legs’). However, Annie counted her friends as a strength and the fact that she likes ‘being myself’. Self and Others Annie’s awareness of similarity to others in her age group was centred on having the same likes and dislikes. She also identified differences between herself and others in this way. Kirsty talked about having the same experiences as others her own age but identified character and inner traits as distinguishing her from others. Ideal Self Annie’s notion of herself in later life was focused upon what job she might do and how else her time may be spent. Kirsty focused on the character traits that she hoped to have developed. Locus of Self-Knowledge The locus of self-knowledge responses were not straightforward as both participants gave ambiguous answers at times. Annie conceded that in some ways her mother would know her better than she knew herself and Kirsty insisted that her mother knew her just as well as she did herself. Discussion In the ‘Who Am I?’ data, it can be seen that, in accordance with Rosenberg’s findings, the majority (60%) of descriptors used by the younger child are about physical characteristics and activities. Rosenberg found that older children are more likely to use character traits to define the self. In this analysis, Kirsty actually uses a lower percentage of character descriptors than Annie, but this is influenced by the large percentage of inner descriptors used. The data in this study supports Rosenberg’s finding that older children referred more frequently to relationships. He also noticed that older children were more likely to reference inner qualities, which can be seen by the high percentage of Kirsty’s inner descriptors (50%). For the main part, the analysis of the self-description data supports Rosenberg’s findings. Rosenberg found that older children focused on interpersonal traits when describing their strengths and weaknesses. Kirsty’s responses follow this pattern but Annie also mentioned the large number of friends she has as a strength. She also said that ‘being myself’ was a strength which was interesting. The interviewer explored this a little more and she seemed to revert back to describing preferred activities. Further prompting, however, may have ascertained that by ‘being myself’ she meant that she was confident about who she was, which would be a character description. It is difficult to tell at this point if Annie lacks the ability to explain what she means which may affect the results. Rosenberg found that only 36% of 8 year olds mentioned interpersonal traits when talking about the person they would like to become, compared with 69% of 14-16 year olds. Annie and Kirsty’s responses fall into the majority pattern for their age group. Analysis of the data provides a positive answer to the research question, Do children’s self-descriptions show evidence of a developmental trend? The developmental trend as identified by Bannister and Agnew, Harter and Rosenberg, is characterised by younger children relying on physical attributes when describing themselves and older children being able to use more sophisticated and complex descriptions that focus more on psychological characteristics. The data in this study largely supports this theory. The evidence for the locus-of-self-knowledge shifting from other to self with age (as Rosenberg found) is less obvious. When asked about who knows her best at school Annie identifies teachers and parents as being the best judge of her performance, which supports the idea that the locus of self-knowledge in young children rests with another. However, when questioned further about who would be right if they had different answers about Annie’s maths performance, Annie’s responses indicate that she is the best judge of her ability. However, when questioned about her behaviour at home she places the locus of self-knowledge with her mother. Kirsty, somewhat surprisingly given her high percentage of references to inner qualities (indicating high self- knowledge), believes that her mother would know her just as well as she knows herself and explains that her mum has ‘pretty much figured me out’. She decides that any differences in answers about how she would behave at home would be a matter of different interpretations. It is possible that Kirsty is unsure about what is being asked and a reformulation of the questions might provoke different responses. Although Kirsty does not exactly place the locus of self-knowledge within herself, she does not place it with someone else either, and so the data does not, in itself, contradict Rosenberg’s theory. The analysis of the locus of self-knowledge responses produces some support for Rosenberg’s findings but it is not conclusive. However, it is important to remember that this is a sample of only two participants and so the data is not enough to prove or disprove his theory. Another limitation of this study is that the coding reliability was not checked. Coding was applied according to one person’s interpretation. Had the coding of the data been interpreted differently results may have been different for the self-descriptions data (see appendix 3 for alternative coding of Kirsty’s responses. In this instance the evidence in favour of a developmental trend in self-descriptions is present but less compelling). Another consideration lies with the ethics of the research. The issue of informed consent is often difficult in research with children. In the case of a young child, such as Annie, it is not clear that she fully understands the nature of the research, despite the fact that it is described in simpler terms than those used to explain it to Kirsty. It is also possible that the power-imbalance between the interviewers and the participants may prevent them from withdrawing from the interview, even if they are told that they can. Conclusion The results of this study provide support for the idea of a developmental progression in the way that children describe themselves, particularly the analysis of the ‘Who Am I?’ data. Qualitative analysis of the other interview questions, however, while showing some support for Rosenberg’s theory, also presents some deviation from expectations.

Edocs, Inc. †Case questions

3. The most important terms for edocs founder Kevin Laracey to further discuss in future negotiations will be the following: †¢ The valuation proposed by the Venture Capital investors, a number that could easily be inflated by shopping the deal around as the venture capital market is booming. †¢ The Board of Directors provision, as Mr. Laracey wants to make sure that in the first years of the Company he will remain CEO, and that the co-founders of edocs will be part of it as well. †¢ The share vesting schedule, which Mr. Laracey feels represents a lack of faith by the Venture Capital Investors in them. †¢ The Anti-dilution and Right of First Refusal which in essence binds edocs to future and larger equity participations from CRV. †¢ The warrants issue subject to the availability of other VC investors. This clause is troublemsome for the CEO of edocs because it will cause further dilution of his his colleagues stakes in the Company. 4. As for Charles River Ven tures, Mr. Guerster has essentially two main things in mind regarding the term sheet: †¢ The board composition, because he feels that Mr. Canekeratne is not suitable to be a board member as he will bring no added value to the company, and a large board of directors is not feasible. †¢ The warrants issue that Mr. Guerster feels is an appropriate penalty for edocs if they cannot find other investors to do the deal with. 5. edocs is searching for venture capital financing in 1998, a vibrant year for the market. Furthermore, the term sheet that was presented to them was quite investor friendly, with some strict provisions that unnecessarily burden the entrepreneurs. In short, edocs can and should negotiate some of the terms presented to them by CRV. First of all edocs is aware that if it shopped the deal around it could get a higher valuation and the provision to include the employee share option pool in the valuation seems too onerous. An acceptable compromise between committing to CRV and to dilute their stake so much in the beginning would be to exclude the option pool from the valuation. This would change the VC’s stake from 38% to 33%. May not seem like a respectable sum at first, but it may be relevant to encourage future financiers. The lower the A round investor’s stake, the better. Another provision that should be altered is the board composition. As it was mentioned before, this is bound to be one of the most contentious issues between the entrepreneur and the VC. The founders argue that all 3 of them should be on the steering wheel after the investment, while CRV insists on having a small board of directors with as many board representatives as the founders (2 and 2). It is likely that the founders will have to cave in on this issue because it’s not likely that they would get better terms elsewhere. Even if it is unreasonable to put the 3 founders of the company on the board, as the VC will not want it to have a founder majority, at least Mr. Laracey should be granted a place as a CEO for a fixed amount of time. In a very early stage it is important for the Company to have the guidance of someone who founded and knows the business by heart. Perhaps more importantly we have the warrants provision. There is a rational economic reasoning behind this provision. If CRV cannot find another party to invest in the Company thi s will mean two things: investors are not willing to bet on the success of edocs which sends a negative signal to CRV, and it will result in an undiversification of its portfolio and consquently more risk. CRV will consequently want a compensation for this extra risk and the warrants are apparently the answer. We have to take edocs’ position into account though. As we will see later they have negogiating leverage and as such are in a position to change the provision. On the other hand, the clause at the least creates some perverse incentives for CRV. If CRV is or turns out to be confident about the future success of edocs it will not try to look for additional investors and will just cash in the cheap warrants. As such, and to make the term sheet a little more Company favorable we believe that the side letter should not be included in it. In conclusion in a time where a large inflow of capital to VC funds is pushing valuations up, edocs has an opportunity to use that leverage to, while not explicitly shopping around the deal, eliminate the provisions that dilute their shareholdings excessively and to have some control of the Company during its first years. From the preceding discussion we can conclude that the term sheet is more investor friendly –i. e. CRV friendly- than company friendly –i. e. favorable for edocs. Therefore, in the negotiation process the venture capitalists have more to lose when the terms of the deals after negotiation, giving edocs more power in turn. Also, from Exhibit 18-8 we can tell that the commitments of venture capitalists have been increasing exponentially over the past years. From this we can conclude that there are many potential VCs out there who might very well be willing to finance edocs at more favorable terms, giving the latter again more bargaining power in the negotiation process. Laracey, Moran, and Canekeratne have done an extensive study on the competitive landscape in the electronic payment and bill presentment services market. They identified several (potential) competitors such as IBM, MSFDC, Checkfree, International Billing Services, and document services. Compared to edocs these firms are more established and are active in the market for a longer period of time, nonetheless they are all largely competing for the same clientele. In order to outperform these parties edocs builds on many different key elements. First of all it offers advantages to the billing entity in the sense that it allows them to differentiate from their competitors’ â€Å"print only† offerings. From a cost perspective, edocs allows for significant savings in terms of document delivery, processing, remittance, and printing costs. Also, the service will be beneficial for the customer who receives the bills. They can push the documents to the preferred e-mail package, and bill payment will be easier and not as time-consuming. Especially, the technological and strategic partnership with CyberCash will allow for â€Å"one-click† bill payment. The main point at which edocs differs from its competitors is that edocs is offered as a software product, whereas the competitors mainly offer Internet document production and delivery as a service. The founders figured that competitors had a hard time gaining acceptance for these service-only offerings, since customers are concerned about third parties standing in between the biller and the customer. Also, the fact that Laracey, Moran, and Canekeratne had access to cheap software development personnel in Sri Lanka allowed them to differentiate themselves from their competitors, because edocs software was now developed both more quickly and cheaper than competitors could develop the software. Edocs can also be compared to similar firms from a financial point of view. Exhibit 18-6 gives an overview of financial data of comparable firms. However, it must be noted that it is questionable to what extent these firms are all really comparable to edocs. More specifically, IBM and Xerox are much more established, mature firms. Documentum and Document Sciences are, like edocs, both young firms, because they only reveal sales data as of 1995. Checkfree is the only start-up in this context that is not making profit so when wanting to do a relative valuation, using multiples that include net income does not make much sense. Hence, in order to come up with an implied valuation for edocs, we propose to do a multiple valuation, including the average market value-to-sales multiple of comparable start-up firms as a relevant measure to compute the value of edocs. Appendix A gives an overview as to how we came up with this number. As said before, we disregarded the data from IBM and Xerox because these firms are in a much more mature phase than edocs. Subsequently, we computed the average MV-to-sales multiple for Documentum, Document Sciences and Checkfree over the period of 1994 to 1997. Next, this number was multiplied with each of the sales forecasts under the â€Å"target performance scenario†(retrieved from Exhibit 18-4). Averaging the value of the period between 1998 and 2002 leaves us then with an implied value of $268. 3 million.

ANWR Oil Drilling essays

ANWR Oil Drilling essays Destruction of the Environment or Over-Zealous Conservation? With the 2000 Presidential election looming and both candidates in a near deadlock, Al Gore and George W. Bush have been forced to take stands on some very tough issues that affect the lives of everyday Americans. One of these decisions is what to do about the recent escalating crude oil prices. Many people believe that the candidates should promise to open up the strategic crude oil reserve until the prices stabilize. Others believe that the candidates should promise to negotiate with members of the OPEC bloc in an effort to stabilize prices. Many others believe that the candidates should look within the country, and begin oil drilling in untapped regions of the country such as Alaska. There are several benefits to opening additional wells in the Alaskan region, such as new jobs for American workers, cheaper crude oil, and less dependency upon an often unstable Middle Eastern region. These people believe that because there are already wells drilled in Alaskan regions with sim ilar environmental conditions as the region in question, that there will be no harmful affects to begin drilling. Obviously there are many dissenters of this opinion who believe that by drilling in regions such as Alaska, we risk environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez, regardless if we drill in the ocean, or if we drill on land. These people believe that by drilling on land, we will destroy the permafrost that the oil derricks will be set upon permanently as well as well as risk the overall contamination of the environment. If we decide to drill into the ocean floor, we risk the chance of an oil pipe bursting, and risk an environmental disaster even worse than the Exxon Valdez incident. In addition, there are also several solutions to the increase in crude oil prices that do not involve risking the environmental region of Alaska. The area primarily in question regarding oil dr...

Analyzing ‘The Fool’ As Used By Jaques

Analyzing ‘The Fool’ As Used By Jaques In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Jaques is a static, melancholy character who continually prefers to remain removed from the imprudence of love, wishing he could speak his mind without reprehension. In contrast to most of the other characters, who seize opportunities for change, Jaques, for the most part, successfully resists the magic of the Forest of Arden. His use of the word â€Å"fool† is telling. He frequently uses the term ‘fool’ to describe others, such as Orlando and Touchstone, for pursuing love. Also, the post of a fool in court intrigues him, for such fools are allowed to speak their mind without consequence – an ability that Jaques desires. Eventually a reversal of circumstances renders Jaques the fool, which causes his stubborn character to give way and recognize the merits of love and cordial speech. This essay shows how the word and role of â€Å"fool† both strengthen and humble Jaques. Jaques uses â€Å"fool† frequently in Act II, scene vii, where it merely describes the profession of a court jester. Such a fool has the ability to say anything he wishes because however sarcastic or biting his statements towards others might be, they could be interpreted as jest and forgiven. He speaks with Duke Senior about how he â€Å"met a fool i’ th’ forest,† and how he wishes he were a fool so that he might â€Å"blow on whom he please,† or criticize whomever he wants to without consequence. However, he modifies the meaning of the role of the fool that he wishes to play from an optimistic one, to one more dark and heavy of purpose. The jester in the forest was musing generally about fortune and the passing of time, whereas if Jaques were to have the ability to speak freely, he would â€Å"Cleanse the foul body of th’ infected world, /If they will patiently receive [his] medicine.† By stating his desire to ‘purge the world of its infections,’ he taints the purpose of the fool from that of simply making a situation more lighthearted to ‘lifting the world from its wrongdoings.’ Although the purposes are similar – changing a negative situation into a positive one – Jaques chooses to word the purpose of a jester in such a way that a negative outlook of the world is emphasized; the words â€Å"foul body o th’ infected world† lends a resonating image of pus and festering flesh, which one would not naturally associate with a court fool. Jaques also suggests superiority of thought to the specific fool that he met in the forest by mocking the fool’s intelligence. He laughed for an hour â€Å"sans intermission† after hearing the contemplative musings of the fool, and later compares the fool’s brain to a sea biscuit that has been dried after a voyage, having â€Å"strange places cramm’d/With observation, which he vents/in mangled forms,† or having a jumble of thoughts which he fails to present coherently. By suggesting the idiocy of the fool in the forest, Jaques inherently implies that he finds himself more intelligent, and so further justifies his thought tendencies of dwelling on the negative; now, not only does he view the world as a more negative place, but feels that he is right to think so and those that think otherwise are not as smart as he. To ensure he does not compare he own intellect to that of the fool’s, he emphasizes his desire to wear the clothing of a fool: a â€Å"motley coat,† or patchwork costume. By wishing to only dress as a fool, he attains the right to free speech without compromising his opinions and ‘sinking’ to a level of intelligence in which he would maintain the incoherent thoughts of the fool he met. In Act III, scene ii, Jaques’ use of the term â€Å"fool† shifts during a conversation with Orlando. He initially bids Orlando to sit with him and â€Å"rail against our mistress the world, and all our misery,† or complain about the state of the world. When Orlando refuses to sit with Jaques, Jaques responds, â€Å"The worst fault you have is to be in love,† and later, further belittles Orlando by addressing him as â€Å"Signior Love.† Jaques has made it clear that he associates Orlando strongly with Orlando’s preoccupation with love, and thinks poorly of Orlando for it. Indeed, he states, â€Å"By my troth, I was seeking for a fool when I found you,† Jaques may have been looking for a â€Å"fool† as in a court jester, but upon its association with Orlando, the meaning of the word changes from that of a jester to that of ‘one who has a deficiency in sense and understanding.’ Again, with the aid of the word â€Å"f ool,† Jacques has scoffed at the ideals of love. However, the nature of Orlando’s retorts stings Jaques. Orlando states that the fool Jaques was seeking has â€Å"drown’d in the brook,† and if Jaques were to look in, he should find the fool. When Jaques replies he would see only his reflection, Orlando continues, â€Å"Which I take to be either a fool or a cipher.† He cannot endure being called a fool and leaves abruptly. Suddenly, his means of strengthening his melancholy has betrayed him; he has used the term â€Å"fool† to his advantage thus far and unhappily found himself to be the subject at which it is directed. Through this reversal of who is called, â€Å"fool,† Jaques’ superiority complex is kept in check, and although he continues to call such lovers as Orlando, â€Å"fools,† he also shows faint recognition of the reasoning behind the pursuit of love. In the final scene, Act V, scene iv, when Touchstone and Audrey enter the wedding scene, he remarks, â€Å"There is sure another flood toward, and these couples are coming to the ark.† He compares the lovers to a pair of animals seeking the shelter of Noah’s ark, recognizing the ‘flood’ of ever-present dangers that reside outside of the forest: corruption, hatred, and the vengeful, approaching army of Duke Frederick. He also recognizes the ‘shelter from the storm’ that marriage might provide; it would allow them to focus their attention on a more intimate and loving counterpart and distract them from the threats that lie in the outside world. However, such recognition is short-lived, and he overthrows any glimmer of sympathy he might have had for the lovers with his next sentence, â€Å"Here comes a pair of very strange beasts, which in all tongues are call’d fools.† Even though he has openly noted the safety which marriage would provide, he proceeds to pronounce the folly of the pursuit of love, and marvels at the ‘strangeness’ of the couple. Such an opinion implies that Jaques would prefer the storm of the outside world than the safe haven that love provides, reconfirming Jaques’ negative attitude and his preference for a state of mind in which the fears of the world are not ignored, but openly recognized and embraced. Throughout the rest of the scene, Jaques shows evidence of both maintaining his aversion to love and recognizing its merits, but he continues to use â€Å"fool† to strengthen his superiority of thought. Addressing Duke Senior with regards to Touchstone, Jaques remarks â€Å"Is not this a rare fellow, my lord? He’s as good as anything, and yet a fool.† Since Touchstone is both a fool by profession and a fool to Jaques because he is in love, Jaques’ line can be interpreted with the application of both meanings of â€Å"fool†: ‘he’s as smart as they come, even though he is only a jester,’ and ‘he’s as smart as they come, yet still foolishly in love.’ Either way, Jaques projects an air of superiority to Touchstone he places the esteem of the profession below that of his own a court fool and implies that a fool would not be of comparable intelligence to him, and in the interpretation where ‘fool’ hol ds the meaning of one in love, Jaques judges Touchstone and categorizes him as one without calculation and reason. During his departure speech, his implications of superiority are maintained in that he bestows gifts on many of the characters that were not his to give. For instance, he ‘bequeaths’ Duke Senior’s former honor to him, and gives Rosalind to Orlando again. However, he passes this opportunity to share his negative opinions with others, and instead, speaks cordially to them. In his re-giving of Rosalind, he says to Orlando, â€Å"You to a love, that your true faith doth merit,† recognizing the admirability of Orlando’s faithfulness and the goodness that it deserves, again recognizing the delights and benefits of love. He addresses Touchstone genially as well, and appropriate to Touchstone’s position as a jester, jokes with him about the strength of his relationship with Audrey, stating, â€Å"†¦thy loving voyage/ Is but for two months victuall’d,† meaning that his love for Audrey is not the kind of deep love that would last bey ond two months. And even though he still refuses to partake in love or the festivities associated with it, he departs the scene to join Duke Frederick and his group of religious converts stating, â€Å"There is much matter to be heard and learned [from them].† He leaves the audience with the impression that, although he has not grown to love, his steadfastness in his negative perspectives has been humbled a bit through his interactions with the other characters. Jaques’ melancholy is an object of curiosity the audience does not know why he chooses to brood over the world the way he does, remaining so solitary, but Jaques makes it clear through the use of the word â€Å"fool† that he prefers the sullen state such a sullen state. He addresses Orlando and Touchstone as such, believing them to be foolish in their pursuit of love, and also expresses his desire to wear the costume of a court fool so that he might criticize others freely. He uses the term â€Å"fool† to project his intelligence over others; however, he does not remain completely unaffected by criticism. Even though he remains melancholy for the entirety of the play, after being rendered a fool, he becomes slightly more humbled and expresses an ability to see the merits of amiable speech in addition to the legitimacy of others’ romantic ideals.

Business Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Ethics - Assignment Example At will employment can be defined as one in which the employee is free to quit from the job at any given point of time and the employer as well is free to terminate an employee for any reason at any given point of time except that the reason for termination cannot be an illegal one such as retaliation, discrimination and violation of public policy. Thus an employer does have any legal obligation as such to an employee prior to termination. At will employee may get terminated even for the most whimsical reasons, also an employer is free to change the employment terms such as compensation and job responsibility at his will. At will employee’s employment is held as a voluntary action and under such an employment, the employee cannot be forced to work and an employer cannot employ them for an indefinite time (DelPo & Guerin, p. 34). However, there is a difference between legal and ethical obligations. Although legally an employer might not have an obligation towards his at will em ployee but ethically he might have as it is related to the morality of that person. However, since every person has his or her own sense of ethics therefore, it is hard to define what set of ethical obligation does an employer will have for his employee under at will employment. Set forth a policy concerning romance in the workplace It is necessary for an organization to issue policies for couples in work place. In order to protect against claims of nepotism, favoritism and sexual harassment, organization must adopt policies on workplace dating. These policies stipulate the types of intimate relationships which are acceptable in the workplace and also mention those which are not and violate the office decorum. Some organizations provide clear code of conduct guidelines to its employees which are expected to be followed at work place. The guidelines pertain to display of affection in public and also disclosure of relationship to the management. The violation of the guidelines of work place dating policy by couples can pose a serious threat to the employee involved. Organization can go for informal counseling to formal interventions such as transfers, written warnings and also termination. According to Karl and Sutton employers favor a stricter policy when performance of couples suffers or the romance becomes noticeable to all the members. Also management should not take any action when a couple’s performance does not suffer due to the relationship or rather shows improvement. In absence of formal work place romance policy, it is the duty of the manager to keep his eyes open so that the relationship or the romance does not hamper the general workflow. The dating policies vary from one organization to another thus it is necessary for employees to familiarize with both informal and written policies (Waldron & Kassing, p.120). Define insider trading. Discuss whether insider trading is ethical. Insider trading is defined as a term that is used when a person is involved in insider trading if he purchases or sells the stocks in public company which is based on non public information about a particular company. The information that is gained by means of unfair advantage makes the trading unethical. But not all kinds of insider trading are illegal (Emanuel & Emanuel, p.253). A huge amount of quantitative and qualitative information exists in the markets which are an important part of free market system and thus it can be said that insider trading i