Why Did the British Lose the American Revolution?

America started being independent after British lose American Revolution. British had the best military and best equipped. Literally, they had the better superiority and more advantages than America got. Therefore, Britain is a very gentle country, this culture and the way they treat the colonies which are in northern America might impact the result of revolution as well. Some choices they made and the way they thought as well as the location they are, these total main elements caused the British lose revolution and made the events happened in history.The causes of conflict are that Britain was attacking American economy. Such as Boston Tea Party, The British monopoly North America tea import, and controlling prices, etc. In colonies of Britain, because of the mode of British government used so that almost every colonies had freedom and thought of democratic consciousness. The people who live in the northern America colony for twenty to thirty years had deep effects of it. Even the y oung people who were born in colony in new generation had more a sense of belonging and national identity on north colony than their actually homeland which is Britain.Accordingly, Britain loses the hearts of people, but they were trying to caught back in the wrong way. Although, it looks peaceful in the inside of America, the wars from Europe that are separated by Pacific and Atlantic are still continually affecting the northern colony in America. On the military and policy sides, although the British military are the best, but the crossing- ocean distance between Britain and American truly reduce the military power. So it didn’t be helpful on supporting the British military.At the meantime, Washington organized powerful troops and made a system for collectively resist British troops. Also, there are some countries, such as Netherlands and French which had enmity with Britain were supporting American being independent. Especially when America made public Declaration of Indep endence, French establishes diplomatic relations with America. French gave the American military supplies, food, and qualified military instructors to improve the combat effectiveness of the armed forces in North America. These elements did surely help American out on wining revolution.

Analysis of whether or not Transcendentalism is relevant to modern-day society Essay

Some aspects of Transcendentalism can be applied in today’s society, while others have lost their relevance due to the changes of social and economic conditions since the time of Thoreau. The Transcendentalists’ goal was to create a Utopia in America. They believed in a society without rules in which you would be free to do whatever you wanted as long as it did not infringe on the freedom or well-being of others. The concept of what is a Utopia is different for every person. In today’s densely populated countries it appears almost impossible to do anything that does not affect or infringe upon someone else. The Transcendentalists also believed in the Jeffersonian philosophy that each generation should only be concerned with itself and its own well-being, which would assure a solid foundation for the next generation. I think this would not work in today’s society because there are many things we could do to help our generation but would make later generations pay a price. An example of this would be providing jobs for a strip-mining project to help the current generation’s economy, while it destroys the environment for later generations. Transcendentalist beliefs of adding onto the previous generations’ efforts would not work if each generation, in helping itself, is destroying the Earth. The Transcendentalists also believed that one should live simply, with few material possessions. To explain this point, we consider how much the sheer volume of material possessions has changed over the years. When cave men roamed the earth, an elaborate material possession might have been a wood club studded with rocks, or an especially beautiful loincloth. In the 1800s, an automobile was a possession of great material value. Thoreau had a small house, 3 chairs, a desk, 2 suits, and a few books. He was able to sustain himself by growing his own food in the surrounding area. The concept of what is considered necessary for a comfortable life has changed vastly since Thoreau’s time. While all he needed was a roof over his head and a patch of land and a few seeds, most people in today’s society must have a â€Å"job† and get paid to buy shelter and food, energy, transportation, and all other modern necessities. In Thoreau’s time there were fewer people, so if someone wanted to, they could go out and live in the wilderness. Today, if someone wanted to live in the wilderness in a negotiable climate, it would be impossible because of the sheer amount of urban sprawl and the laws which are in place to protect the wilderness. As I examined the multiple points of Transcendentalism, I found that even in Thoreau’s time, it would be possible for someone to practice some of the aspects of Transcendentalism, while putting other aspects into practice would be nearly impossible. I think living in the true Transcendentalist lifestyle is neither feasible nor very beneficial. The true meaning of what Thoreau discovered while living at Walden Pond was to simplify your life and accept your place in the world. Here are some words from the man himself: â€Å"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. † â€Å"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. â€Å"

Levendary Cafe Case Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Levendary Cafe Case Assignment - Essay Example Numerous attempts to make him change his style yield no such results and another individual has to be taken to the office in China and ensure that he is implementing the changes being made by the management back in the US and monitor his work in the process. The other problem being faced is that of Chen being insubordinate towards the overall changes and order provided by the head CEO of the company. His attitude is what makes him have all these problems with sticking to the rules provided about the way to do business in China despite him being the head. It is these negative attitudes and the lack of subordination towards the CEO that is making questions to be raised about his future working in the company and whether a new manager should start being sought to replace him. The last problem that seems to be in existence in the China branch is that of financial reports. The Levendary Cafà © uses the GAAP format to make its reports so that they are all uniform and easy to translate but Chen seems rather resistant in adopting this system leaving the accountants in the US to have to carry out another set of extra work reading and changing the report to the format used which is international. As a result of the lack of properly recorded and provided financial reports, the mother branch is thinking of bringing in a financial analyst into the China branch to examine the books and explain whether this branch is making profits or not and to whether these profits can sustain expanding of the China branch as well. This analysis will determine Chen’s future with the company. The other alternative is to let Chen continue working on the China project despite his negative attitudes, insubordination and problems with the financial reporting but provide a new deadline to break even or be replaced. If Chen cannot accept a new deadline to be set for him or accept a financial analyst to be brought in to access the financial

Internet devepolment Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Internet devepolment - Research Proposal Example The main motive behind the site is improvement of ways of the business by incorporating the e-business. So the website with e-business provides more efficiency related to e-business. The website should use simple and efficient ways to handle the customer and also site visitors. You can have hyperlinks everywhere you can move anywhere on the web site freely and come back where you want. One of important thing that is customer learn-ability, if he/she is able to get the information then he will be satisfied and move forward with you. As I early mentioned that business provides its clear policy and its offers, this thing attracts the customer. So customer retention by learn-ability is more forced here. Accessibility is an attempt to get better the accessibility of the Website for people who are working or using that website. This is especially significant for people who are doing any online transaction or involved in any business on the Web. All elements on the site have to be perceivable i.e. provide text for non-text content. Here in web site you will need to all information related to your account, business policy, new offers and many other things that are important for a customer. Interface parts must be in the content and must be operable (i.e. ... As I early mentioned that business provides its clear policy and its offers, this thing attracts the customer. So customer retention by learn-ability is more forced here. Structure and navigation Site structure needs to be simple and proper. There should be no complication in its design and navigation. We need to see where you are and how to go back from where you have come. Accessibility Accessibility is an attempt to get better the accessibility of the Website for people who are working or using that website. This is especially significant for people who are doing any online transaction or involved in any business on the Web. Perceivable All elements on the site have to be perceivable i.e. provide text for non-text content. Here in web site you will need to all information related to your account, business policy, new offers and many other things that are important for a customer. Operable Interface parts must be in the content and must be operable (i.e. right to use via a keyboard or keyboard interface) for instance, if you make use of the site it should also provide you TAB capability to move to next button or menu. You can also make use of other keys for assessing any thing. If we view this in other prospective then any proper person can be able to access his account. Its mean that account in operable only to him. Understandable Information and data that is provided on the web site must be understandable i.e. text should not be ambiguous. This point is design related. Here we talk about the font size its style and its readability level. Business site gives you a apparent and suitable font style. That is same all the way through the site. This

History 1949-1960 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History 1949-1960 - Essay Example This was used in the observation of outer space, including galaxies and distant planets. In the same year, an American banker, John Biggins invented credit cards, which initiated the use of plastic money for expenditures. Later, the transistor, a device used to switch electronic signals, was invented in 1947 by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. In the same year, a number of tests led to the invention of a supersonic aircraft. This increased the speeds of airplanes from transonic to supersonic. Still in 1948, cable television came into being from the diligence of John and Margaret Walson. The year 1952 saw the origination of airbags as safety gadgets in automobiles. Barcodes and artificial hearts were also technological improvements in the same year. In the computer world, the hard disk drive was discovered in 1952. This appreciably augmented the memory capacity of computers. These and many more hundreds of inventions market the high-tech innovations in America between the year 1946 a nd 1960. Naturally, technological advancements had substantial effects on America. America’s economy grew considerably because it was able to process superior goods through a short and efficient production process (Saul, 1970). New ways of production were initiated, and new products produced. Consumers were able to get low-cost high quality goods. Technological developments also led to urbanization as people moved into America from the outside world to take up the new jobs that were accessible. There was also an extraordinary migration from the rural to urban areas as people looked for jobs, according to Saul (1970). Cities began to enlarge because they had to accommodate the large incursion of people immigrating into the city. In addition, technological advancement also enhanced substructure. Transportation was upgraded as better roads, and faster rail came to place (Mollenkopf, 1983). The improvement of air transport also meant that people could travel to other continents

The Role of the Judge in Integrity and Ethics Assignment

The Role of the Judge in Integrity and Ethics - Assignment Example One, the judge has to have an element of compliance with the law. As one of the most senior persons in the criminal justice system, the judge has to set an example of how the accused has to abide by the law by observing the law to the best extent possible. A judge who does not abide by the law in his responsibilities and other personal duties defeats the essence of his/her profession and has no merit being in the justice system to try those accused of breaking the law. Secondly, the judge has to avoid conflict of interest to the best extent possible as one of the best integrity principles. Some judges may have law firms with attorneys that represent accused persons in the court. In such circumstances, a judge would fail the integrity test by hearing a case with one of the attorneys as the partner in such law firms as the judge may be tempted to be biased towards the attorney with whom they have previously shared a law firm. Integrity tests require such a judge withdraw from such a ca se to be heard before a different neutral judge. The third element of integrity is personal responsibility. Every judge has to take it upon him/herself to ensure justice to all parties without compromise (Prenzler, 2009). This is an integrity test that a credible judge has to reflect in all his or her ruling. The public is entitled to have complete trust, respect for the integrity of criminal justice system as well as have confidence in their operations that are done professionally. As such, professions within the criminal justice system have to maintain and jealously guard such public confidence considering that justice is one of the major pillars of any constitution. All criminal justice professionals have to adhere to the highest standards possible without allowing any gaps that may lead the public to doubt such officials to guard such public confidence. Therefore, the role of integrity and ethics in the criminal justice profession is to ensure the public develops and maintains the highest degree of confidence in the institutions and to protect the rights and liberties as spelt out under the constitution to the best way possible.  Ã‚  

Business research analysis Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business analysis - Research Paper Example Mean is 68 for location. As for the topics, 69 is the mean. Again, the mean for timing of events is 43. The last part, which is the domestics reason part, resulted to 18 mean. The standard deviation for location is 47 Whereas, the standard deviation for topics is 46%. The standard deviation resulted to 50% for timing of an events. The last part is the standard deviation of 38% for domestic reasons. The descriptive statistics will show that minimum for interested in the subject, networking opportunity, personal development, professional and professional development is zero. The mean for interested in the subject is 54. The mean for the networking opportunity is 74. The mean for the personal development is 25. The mean for the professional development is 64%. The standard deviation for interested in the subject is 50%. The standard deviation for networking opportunity is 44%. The standard deviation for personal development 43%. The standard deviation for professional development is 64%. Regarding the question how useful is the conference, 32.3 said the conference was very useful. Then 38% of the population said that they were quite useful. The next group stated that the seminar was not very useful. Regarding the opinions on the conferences, 8.3% of the 300 population said that the conferences were too formal. ... The mean for the professional development is 64%. The standard deviation for interested in the subject is 50%. The standard deviation for networking opportunity is 44%. The standard deviation for personal development 43%. The standard deviation for professional development is 64%. Regarding the question how useful is the conference, 32.3 said the conference was very useful. Then 38% of the population said that they were quite useful. The next group stated that the seminar was not very useful. The other group of 14.7%. said that the conference was not all useful. Regarding the opinions on the conferences, 8.3% of the 300 population said that the conferences were too formal. The next group stated that the conference was about right belong to 79.7%. Then another 12%. said it was too informal. INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS (Please circle one response only) When asks about the frequency of the institute magazine, 9% said they were too few while another 81% said they were just right and another 10% stated that they were just too many. Of the total 300 population, 35.7% indicated they very satisfied while 39.7% said they were quite satisfied with the content of the institute magazine. Another 14.7% said they were dissatisfied with the content of the institute magazine. The very dissatisfied group is only 10%. The mean is .99. The standard deviation is 95%. The respondents said, the mean for the survey on information on conference is 2 and the standard deviation is 78%. The information on local events survey resulted to 2.13 mean. This generated the standard deviation of 76%. Of the question relating to institute developments, the mean is 2.02. The standard deviation in this situation is 79%. Relating to the topic recruitment

Select a side ( prosecution or defense) and write a paper arguing for Essay

Select a side ( prosecution or defense) and write a paper arguing for your side based on the facts of the case, the relevant law - Essay Example Most of the evidences presented in the court of law firmly advocated that Ms. Johnson was guilty of killing Michael Thomas. In accordance with the case, it can be viewed that Michael Thomas, a 25 year-old man, was killed from being stabbed once directly in the heart that led to his death. It is further observed that at the time of his death, Michael Thomas was dating Kim Johnson’s sister, Latrice for a couple of years. Furthermore, he used to be violent and abusive at the time when he was drunk. Such acts of Michael Thomas have previously resulted in generating several domestic disputes with Latrice. On the night of the incident of alleged murder, Michael Thomas came to the apartment of Kim and Latrice to meet Latrice. Contextually, Latrice refused to meet him but still Michael Thomas and his friends continued to stroll around the building premise. Eventually, Ms. Johnson came down from her apartment and engaged in a heated argument with Michael Thomas. Moreover, during the ar gument threats were exchanged between the two. Ms. Johnson had a steak knife with her which she brought from her apartment. Subsequently, when Michael Thomas moved down close to the end of the fence and attempted to climb it, Ms. Johnson ran towards him and stabbed the steak knife directly into his heart which eventually caused his death. Thus, it can be affirmed that Ms. Johnson should be penalized for her act of 1st degree murder related to the killing of Michael Thomas. Statement of Law-Explanation of the Relevant Law in the Case 1st degree murder is defined as an act of killing which is both premeditated along with deliberate. In order to penalize an individual as guilty of first degree murder related to the killing of a person, there is a requirement of three basic elements to be considered that include willingness, deliberation along with premeditation and malice. In this similar concern, the term ‘willingness’ in the context of 1st degree murder specifies that th e act of homicide is committed with the intention of ending a human life. Similarly, the terms ‘deliberation’ and ‘premeditation’ is correlated with the conscious intention to kill a person prior to the murder. Furthermore, the law governing 1st degree murder charge asserts that it must have malice. Correspondingly, malice generally includes an evil disposition or purpose which tends to harmfully affect human life (Thomson Reuters, 2013). A law related to the case can be recognized as an affirmative defense. Affirmative defense is a kind of legal defense which is recognized by criminal law. Affirmative defense is categorized into two groups that include: justifications and excuses. In this context, the aspect of justifications aims to argue that the act committed by an individual is not wrong and thus it is quite justifiable under certain given circumstances. Self-defense is categorized as one of the decisive aspects of the justification defense. Self-defen se is determined as any countermeasure which facilitates to defend oneself from harm. Similarly, an excuse defense advocates that even though the act committed by an individual was wrong but there lays certain excuses for the defendant (Croddy & Hayes, 2012). Argument With regard to the case of State v. Kim Johnson, it is found that Kim Johnson fulfills a number of legal criteria that makes her guilty for her act of 1st degree murder related to the killing of Michael Thomas. Contextually, it can be justified that the action of

Fourth Grade Ratio and Proportion Lesson Plan Essay

Fourth Grade Ratio and Proportion Lesson Plan - Essay Example The method makes it possible for students to participate in the learning process through the adoption of a learner-centered approach that involves the participation of the student in the process. The method is premised on the need to develop the capacity for critical assessment of facts in ways that promote deeper insights into the spheres that connect to ratios and proportions. The author also advocates for the need to develop a well-informed system that uses the experiences of the students to explore on the fundamental questions and dimensions of ratios and proportions. The aspect of reflection, as promoted in the book is essential for the task of developing authentic learning experiences. The use of experiences is meant to help the students to apply the lessons learnt to real activities outside the classroom. I would have proposed for increased use of illustrations and teaching aids that enhance the quality of understanding and memorability on the part of the students. The incorporation of technological aids would help the students acquire practical skills in handling diverse bodies of knowledge on the

How Social Media is Transforming Events Marketing Management Essay Example for Free

How Social Media is Transforming Events Marketing Management Essay It is believed that social media began prior to the evolution of the internet. The telephone was the first tool of social media that gave people the chance to socialize and gather information. However, at the turn of twentieth century, online communication became popular among various groups of society. People began to get into virtual communication with the use of cellular phones and computers. Social networking became popular because it was a venue to draw people towards one another. This was also very universal and its popularity was not limited to a certain age group. Amazingly, social networking and social media â€Å"become part of mainstream culture and the business world† (â€Å"History†). It was observed that social media became very valuable not only in socializing and information gathering but also in business where there has been greater dependence on the use of internet in promoting and marketing of products and/or services. Social media has provided the modern world with easy access to information, socialization and entertainment in the fastest way possible through the advancement of technology. Interestingly, the networks have become highly interactive and user-friendly that even a neophyte could easily learn to operate it in a short period of time. Social media has transformed into a powerful means of communication using numerous gadgets which have caught the interest of a larger number of people, the business practitioners take advantage of it to broaden the scope of their marketing. Truly, with the emergence of social media where people can communicate interactively with one another regardless of distance, business has been given a special place and opportunity to advertise or promote their business to a much bigger populace. Most authors have recognized the definition of social media provided by Wikipedia as the initial source of information about it. Gradually, different definitions have been formulated to increase people’s awareness of its definition. Safko and Brake mentioned that social media â€Å"refers to activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media† (2009: 6). On the other hand, Evans has an expanded definition of social media. He stated that â€Å"Social media is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into content publishers. It is a â€Å"shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in conversations between authors, people, and peers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2008: 33). The author acknowledged various forms of communication utilized in social media such as â€Å"internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, picture and video† (2008: 33). Later on, it expanded to include â€Å"blogs, picture-sharing, blogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, group creation and voice over IP. † Social media has a vast potential as a channel through which promotional activities will be forwarded to its users. Social media’s unique features make it very usable and functional in marketing events. Evans stated that it is â€Å"fundamentally different from traditional media† (2008: 33) known as newspaper, television, books, and radio. Social media is interactive media. This is one advantage of social media over traditional media. Other advantages include: (1) it has different social online channels, (2) it changes over time, and (3) it is participative. The power to influence the audience is what makes social media appealing to business practitioners. Social media is real. Existing right in front of the computer communicating genuinely in a personal way to the customer about a product is very advantageous for those who are using social media in marketing or in public relation campaign. Given the real nature of social media, event marketing has come to its new shape. At the same time, event marketing has begun to utilize the services of social media in marketing and promotion. Though at some point, they cater to similar interests; that is, individual interaction and the participation of people with the company’s representatives. Pomer, on the issue of integrating event marketing and social media, described event marketing as a strategy â€Å"which focuses on face-to-face interaction by attending, sponsoring and speaking at trade shows, industry meet-ups, etc† (par. ). Bowdin, Allen and O’Toole described strategic event marketing as â€Å"the process by which an event organization aligns business and marketing objectives and the environments in which they occur, with marketing activities that fulfill the needs of event consumers† (2006:184). Event marketing has come to its new shape through social media influence No one could deny how soci al media, being a vehicle of information and communication, has transformed event marketing into a more meaningful and highly strategic promotional activity. In Bulmer’s article on the impact of social media on business, he stated that the trend today is to â€Å"build a network or use social media to deepen customer intimacy† (par. 1). Social media has been used these days without acknowledging this fact as Bulmer put it. He emphasized that, the ability of social media to â€Å"change behavior †¦ and †¦ to impact a professional’s decision-making processes† is the real essence of success in using this in business. Practically, social media’s approach in dealing with the audience in a genuine and an interactive manner somehow influences the approaches of event management to its customers. Event marketing management therefore becomes livelier, customer-oriented, interactive, personal, and dependent on audience feedback. There are several reasons for this. First, admittedly, as Shone and Parry pointed out that â€Å"human society is complex and interactive† (2004: 50). It means that regardless of culture, different societies celebrate in diverse ways, from the ancient period to the modern times, from a traditional way to a technological way; it makes no difference as long as events involve people and celebration or activities. Shaping event management following the principles behind social media will help draw a lot of people to the message because there is interaction and exchange of communication. Secondly, various events such as festivities, wedding, etc. serve to â€Å"strengthen social bonds as well as to spread enjoyment around† (Shone Parry, 2004: 51). People’s primary intention for celebrating events publicly is to satisfy their longing for socialization and enjoyment. Thus, involving the community in events in such a way that they express inner satisfaction for socialization and enjoyment can make events management very successful. Shone and Parry stressed that without the â€Å"social contact that event often give, the feeling of isolation in society†¦ can be great† (2004: 51). Hence, event management must be in the context of the community’s perception of event celebration which is socialization and enjoyment. Given this, certain changes have been observed in conducting event marketing. Borges noted how businesses nowadays acknowledge social media as an â€Å"effective mechanism for reaching a target market† (2009: 57). He even emphasized that â€Å"myopic attitude† that a business executive has on social media will eventually lead him to lose the business. Moreover, a business executive having event marketing founded on social media will ultimately be â€Å"transparent, forthcoming, honest, sincere, and also to contribute something of worth† (Borges, 2009: 63). Since the events for the purpose of marketing require a group of community participation, the activities involved have had considerable improvement in terms of acceptable approaches in dealing with the community. The company’s marketing arm learns to be transparent, forthcoming, honest and sincere in everything they present before their audience. It is different from traditional marketing wherein its objective is purely making people buy or patronize a product using various ways to manipulate their decision-making. Hence, marketing an event for a product, presents live and active interaction and participation from the community online or offline. Event marketing management facilitates Social Media Marketing The great global financial crisis has brought to the mind of marketing managers the idea of utilizing social media in their promotional activities. The Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube, and many other social networking channels have been utilized for the purpose of marketing. The good news for marketing managers is that it is free. From the research findings presented by Bulmer in his article, he mentioned several impacts that social media has on business which helped transform event marketing to social media marketing. With such, he recognized the following findings: (1) decision making in the business world today is more social; (2) many professionals are using social networking sites particularly Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter; (3) many decisions have been drawn from information gathered through active users of social media; (4) many professionals trust the information they gather from the sites; (5) social media users have significantly increased in three years; and (6) many professionals collaborate well outside preferably using social media sites than within the organizational intranet (Bulmer). Hence, there is widespread recognition of the impact of social networking in business from the business world’s perspective. The growing business community participation in the online world proves the fact that â€Å"When you join a group online, you are joining a community† (Borges, 2009: 63). Social media started to become popular among groups of people for personal use primarily for communication purposes. Eventually, this became a good tool to interact, send greetings, and share information to friends. Most importantly, it had become a powerful instrument recognized to support the marketing arm of any business. Through social media, the way people do the business has transformed into ‘social sales’ because people believe in the power of online communication in mobilizing sales teams by building good relationship with customers. Shih recognized that social network marketing talks about the â€Å"breakthrough new marketing techniques made possible by online social networks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2009: 6). Some of these that she mentioned are: hypertargeting, enhanced ability to capture passive interest and conduct rapid testing and iteration on campaigns, social community engagement, and automated word-of-mouth marketing (Shih, 2009: 6). Furthermore, Tobin and Braziel emphasized that social media marketing plan is â€Å"based on engagement not traffic† (2008: 79) which means that this type of marketing focuses on â€Å"web events† or the interactions users have with features which could be in form of blogs, comments, post, video views, and many others. Importance of social media in marketing event Availing the use of social media for marketing purposes has a lot to offer to a business. Borges mentioned several benefits of social media aside from the fact that larger potential buyers who are receptive to new information and trend can be met through social network sites. Some of the benefits named are: low cost, brand building, staffing advantages, loyalty, level playing field, building trust, convergence of PR and social media for viral marketing, positive SEO benefits, quantifiable metrics, and educational (2008: 131-140). In terms of costs, social media requires a low budget which is almost free, for a service that values relationships. Brands are being built through a good content using the internet platform. Thus, it is simpler and appealing to consumers. Few, yet highly talented staff, who can work in an enjoyable work environment are needed when using social media because content is more important here. Using social media builds loyalty among internet users because of its being user-friendly. This is impossible to establish using advertisements and other promotional activities. Besides, all types of people can make use of it like anyone else regardless of economic or social status. Likewise, through a sincere voice in the content, the company can easily acquire trust from the people. In effect, social media as a PR tool can be an integral part of marketing activities. Furthermore, links attached to marketing in social media creates a bridge connecting to the company’s website thus increasing the chance of the customer browsing of the webpage. Learning is considered as one of the benefits of social media. Not only do the internet users learn but companies also learn. Armed with this information, social media has evolved from purely socialization and enjoyment to something highly beneficial to businesses. For this reason, there is no doubt for business executives to resort to using social media in one of the tools in marketing an event. Conclusion  Social media has begun existing without clear importance rather than for socialization and personal or group enjoyment. However, with the increasing popularity of social networking when the internet was introduced to the public in 1990, this form of social interaction gained remarkable importance not only among the general public but also among business groups locally and internationally. Indeed, the ability of the social media to satisfy the users with its personalized features, has led to the discovery that it could be a potential instrument in shaping the mind of the audience. Social media has unique characteristics. It can change perception, it is very appealing, and it is effective in marketing an event. However, any business executive who wants to use its service must understand how it serves the public. Its special features that draw people together from all walks of life are derived from an honest, transparent, forthcoming and sincere way of dealing with one another. This same way is expected among event marketers in order that marketing of events will be appropriate to users’ expectations.

Talisman Energy

Talisman Energy 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The following report outline research that will evaluate the goals and objective within organization. In doing so a series of interview with the relevant personal of Talisman (M) Sdn Bhd is done. Talisman Energy (Talisman) is an independent international upstream oil and gas company undertaking exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Talisman was establish in 1992. The company primarily operates in North America, the North Sea, and Southeast Asia. It is headquartered in Alberta, Canada and employs over 2,600 people. The Malaysia branch is located at Menara Citibank Kuala Lumpur. Refer to appendix 1 for location and subsidiaries. Talisman is listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TLM. Talisman is also part of the SP/TSX 60 Index. At year end, the company value was over $16 billion with 1,1019 million shares outstanding 2.0 INTRODUCTION The history of Talisman Energy (Talisman) dates back to 1953, when the company was established as BP Canada. It later became an independent company, in 1992. In the same year, Talisman Energy discontinued its mining operations in order to focus on its core areas. Talisman Energy (Talisman) is one of the largest independent oil and gas producers in Canada. Its main business activities include exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It has about seven operating subsidiaries. Talisman has ongoing production, development, and exploration operations in North America, the North Sea, Southeast Asia and Australia, North Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. Talismans operations are conducted principally in five geographic segments: North America, UK, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, and other. The company produced over 430,000 boe/d in 2008, approximately 50% oil and 50% natural gas. The North America segment includes operations in Canada and the US. The UK segment includes operations in the UK and the Netherlands. The Scandinavia segment includes operations in Norway and Denmark. The Southeast Asia segment includes operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. The other segment includes operations in North Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Peru, and Qatar as well as other international exploration areas. 3.0 ANALYSIS AND FINDING OF THE SUMMARY SCENARIO 3.1 Company Goal and objective In any planning process, objectives and goals must be carefully established. Starting from the proposed objectives and goals, the strategies to reach them will be outlined The lack of clarity of the proposed objectives can compromise the whole sequence. According to Oliveira (2002), the objectives serve the following company purposes: 1. provide to people the feeling of a specific and adequate role in the company 2. give consistency to decision making among a large number of different executives; 3. encourage dedication and fulfillment based on expected results; and 4. supply a base for corrective actions and control. In charting direction of the company Talisman Energy (Talisman) has set three priorities objectives. Refer Table 1 Developing long-term growth opportunities Building high impact exploration Continue focusing on current portfolio Table 1 Goal Strategy The main elements of Talismans objective are: †¢ To establish sustainable, profitable growth from its unconventional gas business in North America, as well as Southeast Asia, and Norway. †¢ To create an exploration portfolio, which contributes to renewal by finding material hydrocarbons over time. †¢ And to underpin this with sustainable sources of cash from mature areas, as well as focusing the portfolio. Two main reasons the objective was introduced were to lower finding and development (FD) costs, and to increase the reserve life index over time. FD costs will be bought down in several ways: †¢ The unconventional business model has structurally lower FD costs than the conventional gas business model. †¢ Talisman is looking to expand activity in Southeast Asia, where FD costs are generally lower. †¢ If the exploration shift to larger prospects is successful, FD costs will fall. 3.2 SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Strong market position Diversified geographical presence Lack of scale High debt Opportunities Threats Acquisitions and agreements New oil and gas production Economic slowdown in the US and Euro zone Environmental regulations Saturation of resources Table 2 Swot Analysis Table Strengths Strong market position Talisman Energy is an independent, international upstream oil and gas company whose main business activities include exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The companys three core areas are North America, the North Sea, and Southeast Asia. In North America, Talisman is a leading deep gas explorer and has significant unconventional natural gas potential. In the North Sea, the company operates more than 40 oilfields and has extensive exploration acreage in Norway. In Southeast Asia, Talisman has substantial long-life natural gas reserves and highly prospective exploration acreage. Opportunity : A strong market position helps the company to leverage its market share. Diversified geographical presence Talisman Energy has ongoing production, development, and exploration operations in North America, the North Sea, Southeast Asia and Australia, North Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. The companys operations are conducted principally in five geographic segments: North America, UK, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia, and others (comprising North Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Peru, and Qatar). Talismans aggregate production for the year ended December 31, 2008 was approximately 452,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), consisting of approximately 189,000 boe/d from North America, 117,000 boe/d from the UK segment, 33,000 boe/d from the Scandinavia segment, 92,000 boe/d from Southeast Asia, and 21,000 boe/d from the rest of the world. Opportunity : A diversified geographical presence enables the company to reduce business risks arising in a particular geography. Weaknesses Lack of scale The company lacks the desired scale to compete with large players in the industry. Many of the companys competitors are much larger in size in terms of revenue generated, number of employees, and their presence in Europe and other developing market. One of its key competitors, British Petroleum (BP), generated revenues of about $288,951 million and employed about 97,600 people worldwide for the financial year ended December 2007 (FY2007). Another key competitor of the company Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon Mobil) generated revenues of about $390,328 million and employed 81,000 people as on FY2007. However, Talisman generated revenues of about C$7,919 million during the FY2008, and employed about 2,600 people worldwide as of FY2008. Problem : Owing to its relatively small scale of operations, the company could find it difficult to face competition. High debt The company has a significant amount of debt. For the FY2008, the company has an outstanding debt of C$3,949 million. Even though it is a decrease of 9% from FY2007 which stood at CAD$4,341 million, this figure is still high especially during the credit crunch. The companys substantial debt could limit its ability to obtain additional financing to operate its business. Further, it would make it difficult for the company to satisfy its obligations including making interest payments on debt obligations. Opportunities Acquisitions and agreements The company has been expanding its geographic reach through acquisitions and agreements. In January 2008, Talisman announced that one of its subsidiaries have acquired all the shares of CNOOC Wiriagar Overseas from a subsidiary of CNOOC for a consideration of $212.5 million. CNOOC Wiriagar Overseas holds a 3.06% interest in the Tangguh LNG Project. The Tangguh LNG Project, located in West Papua, Indonesia, consists of a number of offshore gas wells, production facilities, pipelines, and LNG plant facilities with a nameplate capacity of 7.6 million tons per year. In June 2008, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Talisman Energy entered into agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) within Iraq for interests in Blocks K44 and K39 respectively. In the same month, Talisman Energy announced that its wholly-owned limited partnership FEI Shale (Fortuna) reached agreement to earn up to a one-third working interest in US properties owned by Hallwood Energy (Hallwood). Upon completion of the capital program, Fortuna will have earned a one-third interest in substantially all of Hallwoods assets, including properties in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, for a total of 108,000 acres (net to Fortuna). These agreements and acquisitions would provide Talisman with growth opportunities and drive its revenue growth. New oil and gas production New oil and gas production Talisman Energy has considerably increased its oil and gas production in recent times. In December 2008, Talisman (Vietnam 46/02), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Talisman, announced first oil production from the Song Doc field in Block 46/02 offshore Vietnam. Gross production from five pre-drilled wells is expected to reach approximately 25,000 bbls/d by early 2009. An additional three development wells are currently being drilled. Talismans share of proved and probable reserves in the Song Doc field is estimated at six million barrels (mmbbls), with proved reserves of three mmbbls. Talisman Energy announced first gas production from the Rev Field in Norway, in January 2009. The field is expected to produce at a plateau rate of 100 mmcf/d of gas and 6,000 bbls/d of condensate and natural gas liquids from two subsea wells. A third producer, the Rev East well, is expected to be brought on-stream later in 2009. Talismans share of proved and probable reserves in the Rev Field at year end 2007 is estimated at 26 million boe, with proved reserves of 16 million boe.Talisman Energy Norge, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Talisman, has a 70% interest in the Field, with Petoro holding the remaining 30%. Production is transported via a nine kilometer pipeline to the Armada platform in the UK, operated by BG International (CNS), for processing and final export to the UK. The new oil and gas production would increase the companys output which in turn increases its revenues. Threats Economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone The US and European Union are the two key markets for Talisman. According to International Monetary Funds (IMF) World Economic Outlook, January 2009, the US and Eurozone economies could face slowdown in 2009. The GDP growth rate in the US has decreased from 2% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2008 and is projected to record a negative growth of 1.6% in 2009. The GDP growth rate in the Eurozone has declined from 2.6% in 2007 to 1% in 2008 and is projected to record a negative growth of 2% in 2009. A weak economic outlook for Eurozone and the US would put pressure on the revenues of the company. Economic slow down in the US and Eurozone could impact industrial development, which could adversely affect demand for Talismans products. Environmental regulations As a result of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the worldwide Port State Control initiative, stringent new regulations have been enacted. These regulations pose the possibility of unlimited financial liability for pollution damages. Companies operating in the oil and gas industry are subject to strict environmental regulations. Distribution and storage houses need to strictly comply with environmental regulations which keep changing frequently. Compliance with these regulations forces distributors, such as Talisman, to incur high costs. These factors can have a potential negative impact on the companys margins. Saturation of resources The maturity of the North America basin reserve continues to give rise to increases in both replacement costs and operating costs. Larger companies are finding it increasingly difficult to increase their North American production as conventional production is declining in these more mature basins. Furthermore, output from proven natural gas reserves in Canada has been declining significantly. Although the development of Mackenzie Valley reserves would boost gas reserves to some extent, decreasing output is a long-term threat for Canadian oil and gas companies such as Talisman. In addition, offshore exploration space and the existing reserves are maturing and are slowly being saturated. There has been a succession of dry holes being drilled in the region in the last two years. The saturation of reserves in North America would severely impact the companys operations. 3.3 Current Year Performance Talisman generated a record $3.5 billion in net income in 2008, benefiting from high commodity prices during the year. Net income included a $1.7 billion recorded gain on held-for-trading financial instruments, primarily commodity contracts. Talisman entered into these contracts to protect 2009 cash flow and their capital program against a significant drop in prices. They also set a new record for cash flow of $6.2 billion, an increase of 42% over the previous year. Production from continuing operations averaged 419,000 boe/d for the year, 3% above 2007. Including non-core assets that were sold or are scheduled for sale, production was down 4%. Talisman used this record cash flow to strengthen the balance sheet, reducing long-term net debt to $3.9 billion, down from $4.3 billion a year earlier. In total, they paid down approximately $900 million in debt. The Company also spent a record $5.1 billion on exploration and development. North America accounted for 48% of spending, North Sea development projects 25%, Southeast Asia development 9% and international exploration 17%. Talisman replaced 75% of its production with proved reserves from drilling and non-price revisions in 2008. Refer to table 3 for further details (millions of C$ unless otherwise stated) 2008 2007 2006 Cash flow1 6,163 4,327 4,748 Net income 3,519 2,078 2,005 Earnings from continuing operations1,2 2,544 952 1,424 Per common share Cash flow ($)1 6.06 4.19 4.35 Net income ($) 3.46 2.01 1.84 Earnings from continuing operations ($)1,2 2.5 0.92 1.3 Oil production (mbbls/d) 3 224 241 262 Gas production (mmcf/d) 3 1,247 1,265 1,342 Total production (mboe/d) 3,4 432 452 485 Total production from continuing operations (mboe/d) 2,4 419 405 410 Average sales price ($/boe) 76.03 59.57 57.45 Exploration and development spending 5,106 4,449 4,578 Net debt1 3,949 4,341 4,496 Table 3 Current Year Performance 3.4 Recommended Strategies From the SWOT we found a few problems arising from the analysis below are the few strategies recommended in order to ensure the efficiency of the performance Weakness High Debt In order to reduce the high debt the company should emphasize on the strategic areas and exiting the non strategic areas. By selling of the non strategic area could increase the cash flow and therefore the company could drastically reduce greater amount of debt. Lack of scale In order to gain competitive advantages against the large scale companies such as BP (British Petroleum). The company should using the differentiate strategy. According to Micheal Porter differentiation advantage occurs when a firm delivers greater services for the same price of its competitors. They are collectively known as positional advantages because they denote the firms position in its industry as a leader in either superior services or cost. A firm possesses a sustainable competitive advantage when its value-creating processes and position have not been able to be duplicated or imitated by other firms Threat Economic slowdown in the US and Euro zone -This issue based on global issue the best way to mitigate the impact of economic slowdown is by improving the efficiency. During economic crisis the company must focus on their bottom line. Productivity, energy usage, etc. all must be made more effective. Environmental regulations Due to stringent and frequently change of oil pollution act the company might incurred high cost on compliance to the act. The best strategy for the company is to setup a team on monitoring closely on the compliance process. This is to avoid sudden change or adhoc changing process. Any sudden changes without a proper planning definitely incurred a very high cost. Saturation of resources Saturation of resources could have an impact on the company operation. The best way to deal with it is through Focusing on portfolio strategy. By focusing on high impact exploration area and exiting on depleting area or countries 3.4 Action programme The following action programme express on how Talisman could aligns with the goals and objectives of many diverse sites 1. Focus the Portfolio (core asset) Exit non strategic areas †¢ Potential non-core asset sales of 35,000-45,000 boe/d, with expected proceeds of $1.5-2.0 billion by the end of 2009. †¢ Exit some countries (i.e., the Netherlands, Denmark, Trinidad Tobago). †¢ Additional non-core asset sales in the UK and North America. 2. Grow Existing Base Maintain existing assets as firm base †¢ Size the UK to produce 80,000-100,000 boe/d through at least 2013 from existing assets. †¢ Continue to invest in core conventional North America natural gas areas with a view to keeping conventional production relatively flat. †¢ Southeast Asia production has doubled in the past five years and has the potential to double again in the next five (e.g. increasing Corridor volumes, Northern Fields development, Song Doc). 3. Findings on new Growth Opportunities Determine unconventional potential †¢ Talisman has built a large (2.5 million net acre) unconventional land base. †¢ The Company plans to spend $800-900 million on unconventional development projects over the next 18 months. †¢ An additional $300-400 million is planned for unconventional pilots over the same period. †¢ A total of 240-290 wells could be drilled as part of these program. Potential Future Growth in North Africa, South America †¢ Talisman has been active in Algeria since 1994. This is a very prolific hydrocarbon basin. †¢ The Company plans to drill up to eight exploration wells in Colombia and Peru through the end of 2009. 4. Optimize Global Exploration Support core area growth in the short term †¢ The Company will maintain active exploration programs in its core areas. †¢ Exploration spending is expected to average $700 million per year through 2010. Increase focus toward larger pool sizes †¢ Future focus areas include the Barents Sea (Norway), the central North Sea (UK), Colombia and Peru. †¢ The Company plans to drill up to 28 key exploration wells over the next 18 months. 3.4 Implementation Control Developing an effective company goals and objective is only half the battle. Getting it implemented is the other, and generally it is the tougher half. The most important part of implementation is monitoring taking a periodic look at how its going. Monitoring the implementation of objective is important for a number of reasons. First, it helps to assure that the efforts conform to the plan. Meaning the company is on track. Second, to make sure the results achieved align with objectives. Monitoring allows for corrective action and making the necessary changes along the way. To fine tune, not only strategies, but planning process as well. And since monitoring is part of a control process, it encourages improved performance. Knowing theyll be measured stimulates employees to do a better job. Finally, and most importantly, monitoring provides the essential link between the written plan and the day-to-day operation of your business. It demonstrates to all that the company are really managing the business according to plan. A significant benefit of the monitoring process is that it serves as your early warning system. It gives Talisman the opportunity to communicate how they are doing. For example, In Focus the Portfolio action program, the company may run into a technical problem such as delay on bidding process and slip its schedule by six weeks. The management needs to know about it. Through such feedback, the company can improve the implementation and reinforce the spirit of cooperation within organization. But lets be realistic. The company will run into implementation problems. Every company does. Some of the strategies may prove ineffective or strategies wont work as intended. The company can take one of four corrective actions. First, the company can change the schedule slipping in due date. Second, they can change the tactics in performing to implement the strategy. Third, by changing the strategy. Finally, as a last resort, the organisation can compromise the objective. Each of these corrective actions is applicable under specific circumstances 4.0 Conclusion Goals serve as a stimulus for effort by giving company something to strive for, the most important things must know where they are heading so they can effectively plan to get there. Goal setting, when supported by careful planning, provides a sense of direction to keep company focused on the most important activities. For Talisman they emphasize on three main objectives which are developing long-term growth opportunities, building high impact exploration and continue focusing on current portfolio. From the research we can conclude that goals serve as filters to eliminate extraneous demands. Over a period time, goals can bring to life order, meaning, and purpose that will sustain interest of stakeholder and motivation. By setting goals, an individual expresses their desire to achieve, to improve life, and to be more effective, more productive, and more successful tomorrow than today. Being a successful organization does not come by accident. It depends on following a practice of goal-setting and continuous growth (kaizen), as well as seeking predetermined goals. We could say then Success is the progressive realization of worthwhile, predetermined goals. Abbreviation Definitions bbl barrel bbls/d barrels per day bcfe/d billion cubic feet of gas equivalent per day boe barrels of oil equivalent boe/d barrels of oil equivalent per day C$ Canadian dollar LNG Liquefied Natural Gas mbbls/d thousand barrels per day mboe/d thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day mcf thousand cubic feet mcfe/d thousands of cubic feet of gas equivalent per day mmboe million barrels of oil equivalent mmcf/d million cubic feet per day mmcfe/d million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day Reference and Bibliography Goh Ing King, Lecturer Notes Purchasing Management Azlina Ghazaly, Senior Buyer Talisman Malaysia Sdn Bhd Menara Citibank CIPS Course Book. Level 5 study guide Management in the Purchasing Function Micheal E. Porter, From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy Talisman Energy Inc. http://www.talisman-energy.com Appendix Appendix 1 : Location and Subsidiaries

Case Study Review - Reviving an Ancient Therapy to Manage Chronic Pain :: essays research papers

Title: Reviving an Ancient Therapy to Manage Chronic Pain Reference: Podiatry Today, December 2003, pg. 46-53 Author: Nicholas A Grumbine, DPM Rating: 4/5 Abstract Objective: This article was written to increase people’s awareness of leech therapy in healthcare to manage chronic pain. Case studies on were designed to determine whether leeching would improve chronic pain in a safe and effective manner. Background: Chronic pain results when there is delayed healing. Grumbine claims that chronic pain ‘produces a fear in the patient and a panicked feeling that the pain will return or increase’. Grumbine also explores other biological treatments like leech therapy, and the effects that medical leeches have on their patients. Usually, medications were used to control chronic pain, such as sleep medications and antidepressants. Now it has been observed that leeching prevents blood clotting and severe burning pain. The ingredients of leech saliva help stabilize cellular membranes and the overall well-being of the skin and body functions improve. As blood flow increases and improves circulation, the arteries, veins and capillaries dilate, and there is a reduction of oedema, shunting and congestion. Study Design: Case studies were designed to determine whether leeching procedures would affect patients with chronic pain, and by what amounts. These were patients aged from 13 to 96 that were defiant to usual tradition procedures. Five case studies were made. The case studies were performed on two elderly patients; one diagnosed with RSD , and the other patient suffering from burnings, oedema and hyperesthesia. Three other patients were also treated; a 16-year-old adolescent also with RSD and a severe hypertrophic scar, as well as a patient with Berger’s disease and a war veteran with ‘scrape metal wounds’. Results: Preoperatively, patients’ levels of pains were at an average of 8.6 out of 10. After leeching procedures, pains were significantly reduced to an average of 3.5 out of 10. Not only did the pain dramatically decrease, but there were dermatological signs of improvement. Leech therapy aided all of the patients that were case-studied. One of the elderly patients, a 53-year-old with RSD, had oedema reduced from her foot and her pain controlled with medication and fitted orthotics. The 16-year-old patient recovered well from her severe painful hypertrophic scar, after having 10 leeches ‘engorged 3 to 5 cc of blood’ and having 50 percent of the incision faded and 80 percent reduction of pain which allowed her to walk again ‘pain-free’. The third patient, a 52-year-old, had reduced swelling of her feet from severe burning, hyperesthesia and ‘forefoot oedema’ after the application of 12 leeches.

The Power Areas of Life :: Of Water and the Spirit African Culture Essays

The Power Areas of Life The significant elements in Of Water and the Spirit were the elements that contrasted starkly with the modern world. There were many aspects of the Dagara culture that were alien to my culture. The use of and belief in magic and the supernatural ama zed me. I found an absence of secularism in the African society. The Dagara's inability to distinguish between thought and reality stunned me. The element that I chose to talk about is the strong bond displayed between the very old and the very young. This element plays a significant role in Malidoma's story, and it really made me consider the values in my society. Malidoma established the importance between the young and old early on in his narrative. He identified these two ages as the two power areas of life. In African culture the young children spend the majority of their time with their grandparents. Th ey are responsible for the rearing of the child. This relationship is established so that the child can learn from his or her wise grandparents. The bond is also important because if it is strong enough, it can be a bridge between the world of the livin g and the dead after the grandparent has passed away. Malidoma's grandfather was a very real part of Malidoma's life even after his grandfather's death. When Malidoma was in the seminary, the only tie that he had to his people and culture was his grandf ather. His grandfather, even though he had died when Malidoma was very young, was the steady and supportive force throughout Malidoma's life. When Malidoma was young he spent huge amounts of time with his grandfather. The thing that Malidoma really emphasized about their relationship, was that his grandfather always talked to him as if he were an adult. No one else treated Malidoma as if he were an adult; their bond was special. Malidoma was referred to as a brother by his grandfather. This bond of brotherhood between the elderly and child is stronger than death. In a way, it is strengthened by death. The French colonial rule was able to completely disconnect Malidoma from his family and culture. They alienated him so much, that after fifteen years away from his village, he couldn't reconnect with his people without undergoing the extensive initiation ceremony. The bond with his gra ndfather was unscathed by life with the Jesuit priests.

Essay --

No two people are the same, not even identical twins. There are overachievers, and alternatively underachievers, alcoholics and abstainers, the timid and the outgoing, and every possible mixture in between. Living With Our Genes argues that genes are the most outstanding factor in the process of developing the complex variability of human nature. Hamer and Copeland lay out the idea of the nature-nurture controversy by identifying the differences between temperament and character. Temperament is the collection of primal behavioral tendencies we acquire, which are adapted to varied degrees by our character, beliefs, and the values our surroundings bestows on us. Essentially it is a game of genes versus environment, with a constant back and forth as the authors explain the behavioral characteristics that effect our lives. The nature/nurture argument originates from the fact that people are more reluctant to accept a genetic influence on behavior than they are on more simple traits such as eye color or an inherited illness. Hamer and Copeland put it as follows, "We accept that ...

Dear Members of the Academic Standing Committee

I am so sorry but I cannot attend the Academic Standing Committee Meeting because of an unfortunate circumstance. A family emergency requires me to move out of town and I will be gone for a few days.I regret that I may not be able to attend the meeting but I am assuring the committee that I now have an academic plan that would help me succeed in schooling.Should I be re-admitted to school, I will be putting my studies at the top in the list of my priorities. I am now working a job and I will be quitting this job as soon as I receive the news that I have been readmitted. This will be crucial since the job might cause conflicts between my class schedules and study habits.Without the hindrances attached with having a job, I can devote as much time as needed in my academics. My focus will be purely on school matters.I will also be moving closer to the campus. I am currently residing at Orange County but I will be moving to an apartment just across the campus once my readmission has been approved. This translates to a more convenient travel from the house to school.Moreover, I will get tutoring services for better study habits and I also plan to make full use of the student resources center which would be of great help in my academicsI will commit myself to being successful with my studies. It will help that I am really passionate about the new major that I will be taking which is Graphic Design. I have now set my goal to graduate with this field as my specialty and I know that this major would influence the rest of my life.I want to let the school know that I will be doing my best and I will really study hard to prove that I deserve to be readmitted.Sincerely,

Patent Nonuse and the Role of Public Interest as a Deterrent to Technology Suppression Essay

Patents are contracts between the society and the inventor to encourage development in the field of science and technology. It helps the society by enabling them to utilize this technology, and the inventor by protecting his rights and rewarding him appropriately for this intellectual efforts and innovations. Once a patent is given by the patent office, the inventor has to work the invention by himself or through somebody else by means of an assignment or a license. The patent office does not look at the potential commercial value of the invention whilst giving the patent. The invention should have a specific use and should fulfill what it is meant to do. Many inventions given patents have turned to be commercial failures. However, there are several instances in which neither the patentee has worked the invention by himself, nor has he allowed others interested to do so. This is a very serious situation, because it goes against the very intention of granting the patent. The patent system grants patents only to those inventors who are willing to reveal their invention with others, so that it can benefit society. Some patentees may not work their invention due to several reasons, one of which may be to wrongfully hide or suppress technology from the public. One of the first such cases was the Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co. case of 1908. In this case, the patentee had invented a machine that could make a folded paper bag with a rectangular bottom. However, he had not made his invention available to the public, thus preventing others from working the invention. At that time, this invention was a breakthrough, and many people felt bad, because the very intention of giving a patent was not fulfilled. No concrete rules regarding nonuse of patents and compulsory licenses were existent at that time, and everything was left at the mercy of the patent holder. Lower courts also found that the patentee was unreasonable. They in fact tried to draw a line between ‘reasonable nonuse policy’ (inventor unable to use his invention because or some understandable problems) and ‘unreasonable nonuse policy’ (purposefully suppressing technology). However, as no concrete rules existed at that time, the higher court had to give its decision in favor of the rightful owner of the invention. Many breakthrough technologies exist which are being currently suppressed from the public. A plastic that is strong, long-lasting, and can be utilized to make houses that last forever, was granted patents, but not accessible to the public by the owner. New rubber for tires is invented which does not blow up. If this technology could be utilized currently, the lives of many people who die in road accidents could be saved. A new material has been invented for use in toothpastes, which protects the teeth from developing cavities. These technologies are being suppressed due to the anticompetitive intentions of their owners. Some patentees may not use or license their technology so that others may be forced to infringe up on their patents. Lawsuits for infringements could be filed, which could give them earning in millions. An instance of this is a case between Minolta and Honeywell’s, in which Minolta had to pay $127 million to Honeywell for infringing their auto-focus camera patent, although the owners were not using their patent. The patent office should come up with strict rules such that all the patentees have to give an annual report of how their patent is being worked commercially, and in case it is not being worked, the reasons for the same. In case the inventor does not respond, the patent should be revoked. Instances of patent nonuse can be used as evidence in the court, against individuals who indulge in anticompetitive practices. Such practices are strictly considered unlawful under the US Antitrust Laws. The Sherman Act was one of the first such as to protect against unfair trade practices. According to this act, any individual monopolizing or attempting to monopolize, or combines with other people or with other nations to monopolize any trade business in the US, shall be held guilty of an offense under the act. Patent is a monopoly granted to the owner, but they are also contracts between the owner and the public, to permit the later to access the technology. Patent laws are likely to be misused. The exclusionary right (to prevent others from using or making the invention without the license of the owner) is limited and should be more meaningful. The patent system does not give absolute monopoly to the owners. In the case Pfizer V. Government of India [434 US 308 (1978)], the US permitted foreign nations to sue under the Section 4 of the Clayton Act. The Government of India was asking Pfizer to grant licenses for certain broad spectrum antibiotics. However, the company refused to give reasonable licenses. Several antitrust violations such as price-fixing, fraud, market-division, etc were being imposed by the Indian Government against Pfizer and group. The respondents also said that petitioners were trying to limit and monopolize the production, sale and distribution of their patents. The respondents also said that these practices had destroyed businesses. The Company said that the Indian Government could not bring this case forward, as they belonged to another nation. However, the court went on to say that foreign nations could also claim under antitrust laws. The court said that the case was similar to having a citizen having his rights under the antitrust laws being violated. In the case Remington Products V. North American Philips corporation [107 FRD 642, 1985], Remington alleged that the company Philips, a leading Dutch MNC, was indulging in anticompetitive behavior by not disclosing information needed to work the discovery. The defendant claimed that certain clauses in a Dutch statue did not permit disclosure. However, the US court granted the case in favor of Remington saying that the defendant wrongfully withheld information regarding the discovery. The plaintiff had previously approached the defendant to provide information regarding the discovery. However, the defendant refused to give this information needed saying that the information was irrelevant. In the Chevron Research Company’s patent [1970; RPC, 580], the court said that the patentee has to disclose full and relevant information regarding the patent. In the Image Technical Services V. Eastman Kodak Co. [504 U. S. 51 (1992)] provides an association between the antitrust laws and the intellectual property rights regime. Kodak Company had a patent for a photographic device. The case was alleged by companies that serviced Kodak’s products. In this case, a distinction is being made between ‘attempting monopolization’ and ‘attaining monopolizing by exploiting’. The court had to study the market situation to determine if the company was trying to control prices or destroy competition. Kodak in fact monopolized manufacture of components of its photographic equipment and even monopolized servicing of its equipment. The court had said that both patents and copyrights did not come under antitrust laws. An inventor had the right to license or refuse license of his invention. However, a patent owner may be held for developing practices against the antitrust laws (that could destroy competition). The extent to which antitrust laws could be applied to patent laws had to be determined by studying the market situation. The plaintiffs had gathered enough proof that Kodak were trying to monopolize their market situation by limiting the availability of its components to the service companies Nowadays, exclusive license holders may also try to misuse their rights by monopolizing their licensed to make or use the patent. This can be demonstrated in the Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. v. Michelson case. Dr. Michelson had invented a new spinal treatment device and had given a license to Medtronic which manufactured medical equipment. However, the company did not promote his treatment device, and hence the doctor had to grant licenses to other companies that would compete with the original license holder. The company filed a case in the court claiming that the patent holder breached clauses of the contract. However, the Court felt that the company had adopted certain anticompetitive principles that did not promote the patent. Patent holders are trying to maximize their monopoly, by indulging in anticompetitive acts. Often there is a clash between patent laws and antitrust laws. Patent laws provide the holder with rights to eliminate competition, whereas antitrust laws enable protection of healthy business competition practices. A clear border line has to be drawn between these two conflicting legal regimes. In the case Illinois Tools Works V. Independent Ink, the question of the manufacturer having a market power over a patented product or process could be presumed whilst granting the patent, was being asked. A patent holder may hold so much of powers in the market such that he/she may dominate the scene. A patent holder will usually violate antirust laws if he or she feels that they are in a situation to dominate the market. In this case, Illinois printers invented a printing device and had prohibited the customers from using non-patented ink. The defendant felt that such terms were against the true spirits of competition, and were under the impression that Illinois tool works were trying to dominate the market situation. It may be difficult in such a case to determine the party that would carry the burden of proof. The patent holder had tried to extend his patent. In this manner, they had created both, primary and secondary market rivals. The primary rivals included other manufacturers of printers, and the secondary rivals included other manufacturers of printer inks. The court gave its decision in favor of Independent Ink, citing that patents could not be extended to non-patentable areas. A patent had only specific boundaries, and crossing such boundaries constituted infringement. In another case, Schering-Plough held a patent for a drug. A company that manufactured a generic version of the same drug felt that the original company’s patent was invalid. They wanted to file for a patent opposition, but Schering-Plough decided to pay the generic drug manufacturers to withdraw the case and also stay out of the market for some period. Federal Trade Commission filed a case before the Supreme Court, saying that Schering-Plough was trying to destroy all competition in the market by wrongfully preserving its invalid monopoly. The Court felt that the agreement between Schering-Plough and the generic manufacturers was invalid and was executed to destroy competition in the market. Patent laws should make it easier to obtain a compulsory license in case the patentee wrongfully suppresses the invetion from the public. A compulsory license should be given to anybody in case:- The patentee is unable to meet the reasonable requirements of the public with relation to his patented process or product. †¢ The patentee does not make the invention available to the public at an affordable cost. †¢ The invention is not being worked in the jurisdiction of the patent office. †¢ Special considerations should be given to inventions that relate to public health and nutrition, and emergency situations. Compulsory license should be a sanction (for the patentee) and a remedy (for the public); in case the patentee indulges in anticompetitive practices. The concept of compulsory licenses developed following the African AIDS crisis situation. The continent was in a crisis situation with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A few companies such as Glaxo, Merck, etc held a patent for an antiretroviral drug which could be life-saving for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. However, these companies had indulged in several anticompetitive practices. The cost of treating each AIDS patients in Africa was exceedingly high (US$ 10,000 per patient per year). Hence, the drugs were inaccessible for many poor patients who belonged to underdeveloped nations. Cipla, an Indian pharmaceutical company volunteered to supply the drug at a fraction of the overall costs the other companies were offering (US $ 350 per year per patient). Some of the African Nations had to modify its trade laws so that parallel imports and compulsory licenses could exist. However, the original companies that held the patents for antiviral drugs began to sue for infringement. These companies had to later withdraw their infringement cases, as there was a worldwide agitation against the anti-public health policies adopted by the patent holders. Later, at the WTO conference in Doha, a comprehensive agreement to protect public health issues was adopted to prevent unhealthy practices by the patent holders (through compulsory licenses). Some people feel that the patent system can create an obstruction in the development of science and technology, as instances of nonuse often arise. Once a patent is granted, it may even prevent others from inventing around a particular invention or inventive concept. This will seriously hinder the developments in that particular field. Inventors, who tend to sit on their inventions by refusing access to the public, should be henceforth refused patents.

Biol 130 First Midterm Notes

Unit 1 – Introduction to the Cell Robert Hooke – built the first microscope (30x magnification); viewed slices of cork called cellula (little rooms). Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek – worked with glass huge improvement in quality of lenses nearly 300x magnification became possible first to observe: * single-celled organisms â€Å"animalcules† * protists from pond water * bacteria from his mouth – â€Å"father of microbiology† * blood cells * banded pattern in muscle cells * sperm from †¦ 1830s – Compound microscope – improved magnification and resolution and allowed visualization of objects less than 1 ? . 1000-1500x magnification Beginning of Cell Theory Robert Brown (botanist) – noticed that every plant cell contained a round structure called it ‘kernel’-nucleus Matthias Schleiden (another botanist) – all plant tissues are composed of cells; embryonic plant always arose from a single cell Theodor Schwann (zoologist) – similar observations in animal cells; recognition of structural similarities btw plants and animals! * Cell Theory formulated by Schwann Cell Theory 1. all organisms consist of one or more cells 2. he cell is the basic unit of structure for all organisms 3. added 20 years later: all cells arise only from pre-existing cells fact (scientific) – an attempt to state our best current understanding, based on observations and experiments(valid only until revised or replaced) Steps in Scientific Method 1. make observations 2. use inductive reasoning to develop tentative explanation (hypothesis) 3. make predictions based on your hypothesis 4. make further observations or design and carry out controlled experiments to test your hypothesis 5. nterpret your results to see if they support your hypothesis Theory – a hypothesis that has been tested critically under many different conditions andby many different investigators . using a variety of different approa ches. By the time an explanation is regarded as a theory it is widely accepted by most scientists in the cell * the â€Å"solid ground† of science: evolution, germ theory, cell theory *If a theory is thoroughly tested and confirmed over many years by such large numbers of investigators that there is no doubt of its validity †¦ it may eventually be regarded as a law.Gravity, laws of thermodynamics, laws that govern behaviour of gases ‘Strands’ of Cell Biology 13 cytology 1600s Hooke looks at cork Leeuwenhoek looks at lots of things 1800s Brown notes nuclei bio-chemistry synthesis of urea in lab fermentation done by cells! glycolysis Krebs cycle every cell comes from a cell Schleiden & Schwann formulate cell theory electron microscopy stains & dyes genetics Mendel, pea plants DNA chromosomes chromosome theory 1930s DNA double helix DNA sequencing Dolly the sheep! nano-technology! genetic code Light Microscopy:Bright field – light passes through specimen , contrast is slow and specimen is hard to see Phase contrast – contrast is changed by changing light in microscope DIC – uses optical modifications to change contrast between cell and background – due to density differential Staining – stain used to visualize cell and components, only some stains can be used on living cells 14 bright field phase contrast DIC unstained (sperm cells) stained blood cells tissue – small intestine Fluorescent Microscopy – fluorescent dyes bind to protein or DNA to see where they are in cells – tracks movement Electron Microscopy(Scanning & Transmission):SEM – scan surface of specimen to form image by detecting electrons from outer surface. Good surface images TEM – forms image from electrons passing through specimen therefore fine details of internal organelles 16 SEM TEM Basic Properties of Cells: * are highly complex and organized * atoms molecules macromolecules (organelles ) enclosed in plasma membrane * use the same ‘genetic program’ Central Dogma * DNA RNA protein * are capable of reproducing themselves * must first replicate genetic material acquire and use energy (â€Å"bioenergetics†) and carry out a variety of chemical reactions (â€Å"cellular metabolism†) * have many processes that are highly conserved at the molecular level * membrane structure, genetic code, ATP synthesizing enzymes, actin filaments, eukaryotic flagella, †¦ * engage in many mechanical activities * transport of materials in/out, within * assembly and disassembly of structures * motility / movement * respond to environmental signals * move away or toward stimuli * respond to hormones, growth factors, etc * are capable of self-regulationâ€Å"homeostasis† most evident when control systems break down; defects in DNA replication, DNA repair, cell cycle control Two Classes of Cells – karyon = nucleus Prokaryotic Cells: lack of nucleus, NO CYTOSKELET ON(very small), membrane bound organelles. Mostly unicellular. Bacteria and Archaea. Single, circular strand of DNA(fewer proteins). Cell wall in addition to PM 1-10 uM in diameter. 2 types: 1. Eubacteria – all have cells walls except for mycoplasma(resistant to antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis). Mycoplasma(smallest) Cyanobacteria (largest and most complex). 2.Archaeabacteria – all have cell walls and are known as extermophiles, occupy broad range of habitats, halophiles=salty, acidophiles=acid, thermophiles= hot. Eukaryotic Cells: 10x larger than prokaryotic cells, membrane bound nucleus/organelles. More complex DNA due to histones/proteins. 4 groups: 1. Protists- very diverse group – mostly single cells; algae, water molds, slime molds, protozoa 2. Fungi – single cell(yeast) or multi-cellular(mushrooms) and have cell walls. Heterotrophs; depend on external source of organic compounds 3. Plant cells- multi-cellular and have cell walls. . Anima ls- multi-cellular, no cell walls and are heterotrophs Cytoplasm – everything between plasma membrane and nuclear membrane, includes all membrane-bound organelles (except nucleus) Cytosol – only fluid component Endomembrane system – internal membranes that are either in direct contact or connected via transfer of vesicles (sacs of membrane). including: nuclear envelope / membrane, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, vacuoles Nucleus – stores genetic information Endomembrane System – creates intracellular compartments with different functions.Endoplasmic reticulum (ER; rough, smooth), Golgi apparatus, lysosomes. Mitochondria – generate energy to power the cell Chloroplasts – capture energy from sunlight, convert to carbohydrate Cytoskeleton – regulates cell shape, movements of materials within the cell, movement of the cell itself Flow of Traffic in EMS – Rough ER: synthesis of proteins for – ex port (secretion) – insertion into membranes – lysosomes Golgi apparatus: collection, packaging & distribution Lysosomes * cell ‘stomachs’ have enzymes that can digest †¦ * all 4 classes of biological macromolecules worn-out organelles (mitochondria replaced every 10 days) * material brought into cell by phagocytosis Phagocytosis – plasma membrane engulfs smaller molecule and then called phagosome. Lysosome takes it in and digests, small particles are releases into the cytoplasm. Autophagy – lysosome digests a damaged organelle, small particles are released into cytosol. mitochondria (all eukaryotic cells) and chloroplasts (plant cells): * contain DNA that encodes some (but not all) of their own proteins * have unusual double layers of membranesOrigin of Eukaryotic Cells: Endosymbiont Theory * once believed that eukaryotes evolved gradually, organelles becoming more and more complex * now accepted that early eukaryotes originated as preda tors * certain organelles (mitochondria, chloroplasts) evolved from smaller prokaryotes engulfed by larger cell * later chloroplasts and the ability to perform photosynthesis Symbiosis – Mutual Advantage advantage to host cell: * aerobic respiration (aerobic bacteria mitochondria) * photosynthesis (cyanobacteria chloroplasts) advantage to bacteria: * protected environment supply of carbon compounds from host cell’s other prey Evidence Supporting Endosymbiont Theory mitochondria and chloroplasts †¦ * are similar size to bacteria, reproduced by fission like bacteria * have double membranes, consistent with engulfing mechanism * have their own ribosomes, which resemble those of prokaryotes rather than eukaryotes in terms of size, composition and sensitivity to antibiotics * have their own genomes, which are organized like those of bacteria last but not least: * are genetically similar to proposed ‘parent’ bacteria rather than ukaryotic cells Cytoskeleton important in: * cell shape * cell motility * movement / position of organelles * movement of materials within cell * movement of chromosomes during mitosis Cytoplasm in a living cell is never static * cytoskeleton is constantly being taken apart and rebuilt * organelles and vesicles are racing back and forth * can cross the cell in ~ 1 second * unattached proteins moving randomly, but rapidly * can visit every corner of the cell within a few seconds * contents of cytosol are in constant thermal motionCommon to all cells: * selectively permeable plasma membrane * genetic code; mechanism of transcription and translation * ATP for the transfer of energy and metabolic pathways Model Organisms 45 Unit 2a – Intro to Cellular Chemistry Most Common Elements in Living Organisms: * C H O N – make up 96% – also P and S are common too * Exist as complex macromolecules and simpler forms like water and carbon dioxide nucleus – dense core in centre, consists of protons and neutrons electrons – continually orbit the nucleus # of protons – defining feature of an element = atomic number – # protons + # neutrons = mass of an atom = mass number – by default, an atom is ‘neutral’, with # protons = # electrons – electrons influence reactivity of an atom †¦ Atomic mass = atomic number + # of neutrons (electrons are neglected because mass is so small) Isotopes – same number of protons but different number of neutrons in the same element Anion – gain electron and are negatively charged Cation – lose electron and are positively chargedOutermost ‘valence’ shell influences an atom’s reactivity * electrons in outermost shell valence electrons * unpaired valance electrons determine the number of bonds an atom can make * atoms with filled valance shell = most stable, atoms that are closest to filling are most reactive * elements abundant in organisms have at least one u npaired valence electron Some Definitions: covalent bonds – two or more atoms share pairs of valence electrons * strong bonds of biological systems non-covalent bonds, including * ionic bonds * hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) * hydrophobic interactions olecule – group of atoms held together by energy in a stable association compound – molecule composed of two or more different types of atoms Types of Covalent Bonds * electrons shared ‘equally’ * non-polar covalent bond * can be single (like H2), double (O2) or even triple, depending on number of electrons shared * electrons not shared equally * polar covalent bond * one of the atoms has a stronger pull on the electrons than the other * pull on electrons = electronegativity * water is the most abundant molecule in biological organisms * human body is ~70% water water as a solvent can dissolve more types of molecules than other molecule known * the polarity of water is key to its role in biology hydrogen bon ding – electrical attraction between electronegative atom and partial positive of hydrogen hydrophobic – no affinity for water – â€Å"water fearing† hydrophilic – affinity for water – â€Å"water loving† Acid-base Reaction substance that gives up (donates) protons acid (increases [H+] in solution) substance that accepts protons base (decreases [H+] in solution) chemical reaction that involves transfer of protons acid-base reaction * most olecules act as either an acid or a base * water can be both (both gives up and accepts protons) weak acid: very few molecules dissociated (acetic acid, water) strong acid: readily gives up protons (hydrochloric acid) when pH = pKa species is 50% ionized Carbon is the most important element in biology carbon atoms give biomolecules their shape but other atoms attached to carbons determine their reactivity * critical H, N, O containing attachments called functional groups *learn orgo functional groups for this courseMacromolecules * large, organized molecules that are typically created by polymerization * biological macromolecules (biomolecules) provide the structure and carry out the activities of a cell 4 groups: * carbohydrates(polysaccharides) * lipids(fats) * proteins * nucleic acids * monomers of groups are different – chemical reactions used to make the chains are similar Overview of Macromolecules 3 Proteins – more functions than any other group of macromolecule * enzymes – catalysis; accelerate chemical reactions transport – through cell membranes, in circulation * support – cytoskeleton, fibres of cartilage, hair, nails * signalling / regulatory – hormones, membrane proteins, intracellular messengers * movement- of the cell itself – contractile proteins, flagella – within the cell – motor proteins * defense – antibodies, complement proteins Proteins are Polymers * amino acids are connected in linear polymers of a specific sequence * 20 genetically encoded amino acid monomers to pick from * string of amino acids (AAs) = peptide or polypeptide polypeptide folded and coiled into a specific conformation = protein * sometimes 2 or more peptide chains (subunits) combine to form mature, functional protein Amino Acid Structure AAs are ionized under physiological conditions ionization increases solubililty, facilitates interactions with each other and other solutes, increases reactivity (zwitterions) 7 non-ionized ionized R group unique to each AA oxygens tend to pull electrons away, making it easy to lose proton gains a proton Amino Acid Side Chains – R Groups: * nonpolar – hydrophobic R groups no charged or electronegative atoms to form H bonds * insoluble in water * R groups bury themselves with the peptide chain to ‘hide’ from water * polar side chains – soluble in water * uncharged – but partial charges can form H-bonds * charged – gr oups containing acids or bases – highly soluble in water AA are linked together by covalent peptide bonds: carbon from carboxyl group is linked to N terminus of amino group. R groups and central C’s do not participate in the bond. Condensation Reaction – making the chain Hydrolysis – breaking the chain Polypeptide chain: side chains extend from peptide-bonded backbone * chain is flexible – can rotate at single bonds on either side of peptide bonds * so side chains are not all projecting to one side! * chains can be from 2-3 to thousands of AAs in length * backbone is directional, convention is to number AA ‘residues’ starting at N terminus this is the primary sequence Sickle Cell Anemia – disease in which red blood cells are abnormally shaped. Caused by single point mutation which results in substitution of single amino acid in one chain of hemoglobin protein Protein Structure:Primary Structure – unique sequence of amino acids Secondary Structure – Folding into elements of structure, hydrogen bonding between amino acids(R groups not involved). 2 shapes: alpha helix and beta pleated sheet(parallel and antiparallel). * learn more Tertiary Structure- interactions of elements of secondary structure forming a global fold, folded into these unique shapes by ionic bonds (electrostatic),hydrogen bonds, disulphide bridges, hydrophobic interaction, van der waals – dipole-dipole(all non-covalent except for S-S). Order of amino acids determines final shape.Maintain globular shape even if very weak. Quaternary Structure – more than one polypeptide chain put together to form the final functional protein, linked by covalent and non-covalent interactions. Protein Domain – segment of polypeptide that forms a compact, stable and independently folding structure. Often the building blocks for larger, more complex proteins. Disulfide bonds * covalent stabilization of protein structure found i n secreted proteins (destined for a more hostile extracellular environment) * formed in ER (oxidizing environment)Once folded, do proteins ever unfold? changes in physical or chemical conditions (pH, salt concentration, temperature) disruption of H-bonds, ionic bonds, disulfide bridges, etc that maintain the protein’s shape protein ‘denatures’ or unfolds Possible to renature Do proteins ever fold incorrectly? any mutation that leads to a missing or incorrect amino acid can lead to incorrectly folded protein WHY 32 Possible outcomes: mutation – leads to incorrectly folded protein * protein never functions properly loss of function protein folds properly at first but unfolds under certain conditions eventually loss of function * protein misfolds AND is deposited in insoluble aggregates within cell * loss of function and disruption of other aspects of cell activity * many human diseases now known to be associated with misfolded proteins . Alzheimers, cystic f ibrosis, type II diabetes, retinitis pigmentosa, Parkinsons, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, some cancers *read about catalysts and enzymes in Janelle’s notes, page 8-9 Nucleic Acids: Information Polymers * deoxy ribo nucleic acid (DNA) sequence of subunits in DNA polymer directs RNA synthesis * ribo nucleic acid (RNA) * RNA directs ordering of AAs in a peptide chain * information stored as DNA sequences enables living organisms to pass on hereditary information * also allows each cell to pass on hereditary information to the next generation of cells Monomers of Nucleic Acids: Deoxyribo nucleotides – phosphate + deoxyribose + nitrogenous base(A,C, G, or T) Ribo nucleotides – phosphate + ribose + base (A,C,G, or U) Nucleic acids are linear (unbranched) polymers of nucleotides * each nucleotide consists of three parts: * a nitrogenous base a (5-carbon) pentose sugar * a phosphate group Purines = A&GPyramidines= C,T and U * Ribose + base = nucleoside * Ribose + base + phosphate = nucleotide Functions of Nucleotides * monomeric units of RNA and DNA * important signal molecules within cells * cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) * important agents in energy transfer reactions * cleave off phosphate group to release stored energy * act as coenzymes – organic non-protein molecules required for enzyme function * usually adenine-containing nucleotides combined with B vitamins 8 condensation reaction 5’ end – beginning of chain. Chains always built 5’ 3’.Look at above example phosphate group is 5’ 3’ end – where new bases can be added Polymerization rxn’s are endergonic: * making phosphodiester bonds requires energy * energy comes from addition of 2 phosphate groups. * Activated nucleotides = nucleotide triphophates The most famous phosphorylated nucleotide †¦ adenosine triphosphate = ATP 11 adenine 4’ 5’ 5 6 1 2 3 9 4 8 7 1’ 3’ 2’ O P CH2 O O O– P O O O– P O –O O– OH OH O NH2 N N N N ribose adenine + ribose (= adenosine) Secondary Structure of DNA: two strands of DNA align in ‘antiparallel’ arrangement with bases facing inwards. H-bonds form between bases. P P P P P P P P C C G G AA T T P O O O O O O O O O O O C G OH P Note: 3 H-bonds between C and G, 2 between A and T. Only space in the sugar phosphate backbone is for Pyramidine and Purine to bond together. Features of DNA Double Helix * stabilized by H-bonds between complementary bases and hydrophobic interactions between bases * entire molecule water-soluble because charged phosphates backbone face outward * major and minor grooves are significant in regulation of gene transcription Higher Order DNA Structure: DNA molecules can adopt higher order structure – Allows for compact packaging and strict regulation of gene expression RNA vs DNA like DNA: sugar-phosphate backbone covalently linked by phosphodiester bonds * 4 different bases unl ike DNA: * uracil (U) instead of thymine (T) * pairing is A-U, C-G * sugar is ribose instead of deoxyribose * hydroxyl group makes ribose much more reactive * RNA is much less stable than DNA Secondary Structure of RNA: like DNA: * H-bonds form between complementary base pairs unlike DNA: * most of the time, this base-pairing is between bases on the same strand * leads to formation of ‘stem and loop’ structures with single-stranded regions and double-stranded antiparallel regions * H-bonding is spontaneous, stabilizes the molecule final molecule is single-stranded * Complex folds can result in some RNA having catalytic activity Carbohydrates * Group of molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in a 1:2:1 ratio: (CH2O)n Only monomers are in this ratio, oligomers you lose water * Monomer=monosaccharide * Dimer=disaccharide * Trimer=trisaccharide/oligosaccharide Types: 1. Monosaccharides – simple sugars 2. Oligosaccharides – small chains (oligo=few) * Attached to proteins – glycoproteins * Attached to lipids – glycolipids 3. Polysaccharides – very long sugar chains Typical Structural Features of Sugar Monomers: carbonyl group (either ketone or aldehyde) * lots of -OH groups * vary in length of carbon skeleton (C3, C5, C6, †¦) – triose, pentose, hexose * isomeric forms (glucose, fructose, galactose) * identical chemical groups arranged differently * monosaccharides often form rings in solution Isomers – same atoms, different arrangements structural isomer – identical groups but bonded to different carbons stereo (optical) isomer – identical groups bonded to same carbons but in different orientations sixteen different hexose structures possible, all with formula C6H12O6 C OH C OH OH H C OH H HO C H C O H C OH H H C OH H C OH H C OH H HO C H H C OH H structural isomer stereo- isomer H C C O HO C H H C OH H C OH H HO C H H C OH H fructose glucose galactose *arrangement of hydrox yl groups make a big difference in biological function Disaccharide – 2 sugar monomer: * glucose + fructose = sucrose(table sugar) * glucose + lactose = lactose * glucose + glucose = maltose Formation of disaccharides by condensation reactions. monomers are linked when C1 of one monosaccharide binds to a C on another – often C4 geometry of bond different depending on hether OH group of C1 is in ? or ? position which C of other sugar is involved in linkage 7 C1, ? C4 ?-glucose ?-glucose maltose, ? -1,4 glycosidic bond ?-galactose ?-glucose lactose, ? -1,4 glycosidic bond (glucose has flipped over) C1, ? C4 Polymerization to build Polysaccharides starch both are storage forms for energy starch – plants; glycogen – animals both consist of ? -glucose monomers linked by ? -1,4 bonds both coil into a helix (due to geometry of linkages) starch is mixture of unbranched amylose and branched amylopectin glycogen is highly branched lycogen Structural Polysaccharide in Plants: Cellulose 9 polymer of ? -glucose, joined by ? -1,4 linkages each glucose is flipped relative to adjacent ones allows for H-bonding between adjacent strands extremely stable most abundant organic molecule on earth parallel strands joined by H-bonds Structural Polysaccharide in Animals: Chitin a component of cell walls of fungi, exoskeletons of arthropods (insects, crustaceans), radulas of molluscs, beaks of cephalopods second most abundant organic molecule on earth like cellulose, joined by ? 1,4 linkages but rather than glucose, monomer is N-acetylglucosamine like cellulose, also strengthened by H-bonding btw strands 10 Structural Polysaccharide in Bacteria: Peptidoglycan component of bacterial cell walls the most complex CHO so far! two different alternating monomers linked by ? -1,4 bonds chain of amino acids attached to one of the sugars – peptide bonds instead of H-bonds (stronger) Significance of how monosaccharides are linked: * ? -1-4 linkages of starch and glycogen readily hydrolyzed * ? 1-4 linkages in structural polysaccharides very resistant to enzymatic degradation For example: enzymes that digest cellulose (cellulase) produced only by certain classes of bacteria, fungi and protozoa Difference between glycosidic bonds from peptide and phosphodiester bonds: in common: * condensation reactions different: * peptide and phosphodiester bonds always occur at the same position within their monomers * each sugar monomer has several hydroxyl groups, and geometry of glycosidic bonds is highly variable Functions of Carbohydrates: Structural: * cellulose, chitin and peptidoglycanCell-cell recognition: * membrane proteins covalently bonded to oligosaccharides Energy Storage * ? -1,4 –linkages of starch and glycogen are readily hydrolyzed to release stored energy Lipids * group of carbon-containing compounds that are largely non-polar / hydrophobic * significant proportion of a given lipid molecule is hydrocarbon * the only macromolecul e that is not a polymer major groups of lipids in cells: * fats / oils – energy storage * sterols * cholesterol – membrane component * steroids – hormones * * Phospholipids * major component of biological membranesFats (Triacylglycerols, Triglycerides) * form that fat is stores in apidose tissie * glycerol with 3 fatty acids attached * the link between glycerol and fatty acid = ester bond: condenstation rxn (liberates water) * hydrophobic * fatty acid(carboxylic acid with long hydrocarbon tail) Saturated Fatty Acid – have maximum number of hydrogen atoms on each atom; straight and flexible because of only single bonds Unsaturated Fatty Acid – contain at least 1 double bond. The double bond is rigid and creates a kink in the chain. The rest of the chain however is free to rotate about C-C bonds.Cis – H on the same side of double bond; don’t solidify easily Trans – H on the opposite side of the double bond. Hydrogenation – making a fat saturated/more solid at room temperature to improve shelf life therefore less healthy. Sterols – group of steroids based on cholesterol(important component of cell membrane) Phospholipids : * 1 glycerol, 2 fatty acids, 1 phosphate group(polar head group) * Amphipathic = hydrophilic and hydrophilic regions – their most important feature with respect to biology Micelles – sphere with hydrophobic tails ‘hiding’ in centre . Can only occur with relatively short tails Lipid Bilayer:Universal Structure for all Biological Membranes composition varies with: type of organism (prokaryote vs animal vs plant vs †¦) type of cell within organism (muscle, liver, sperm, egg, †¦) type of membrane within cell (plasma membrane, Golgi, ER) inner versus outer layer different patches or ‘domains’ within a particular membrane Fig 11-4 two closely apposed sheets of lipids, studded with proteins lipids serve as permeability barrier protei ns perform most of the functions carbohydrates (sugars) attached to protein and lipids in a non-random manner *all membrane lipids are amphipathic Lipid bilayers form spontaneously: hydrophobic molecules would exclude water, clustering together to minimize energy cost of organizing water molecules * form large droplets or surface film * amphipathic molecules are subject to conflicting forces * solved by formation of bilayer * energetically most favourable stable, spontaneous * lipid bilayers are †¦ * closed – no free edges * self-sealing * important feature for cell fusion, budding, locomotion Fluid Mosaic Model * The plasma membrane is described to be fluid because of its hydrophobic integral components such as lipids and membrane proteins that move laterally or sideways throughout the membrane.That means the membrane is not solid, but more like a ‘fluid'. * phospholipids are constantly moving spinning in place; travelling laterally within ‘leaflet’ * phospholipids are occasionally ‘flipped’ to the opposite leaflet during membrane synthesis but they rarely ‘flop’ back * even proteins cruise slowly through the membrane! Membrane fluidity – how easily lipid molecules move within a membrane leaflet Alignment of phospholipid tails * tightly packed tails membrane more viscous, less fluid * freely moving tails higher fluidity What aspects of phospholipid composition influence this? length of fatty acids * from 14-24 carbons, 18-20 carbons most common * degree of saturation of fatty acids # double bonds * typically one saturated fatty acid and one with one or more double bonds Cholesterol: * under physiological conditions, cholesterol makes membrane stiffer – less fluid * cholesterol can make up to 50% of plasma membrane lipid in some animal cells Regulation of Membrane Fluidity: – fluid state must be maintained for normal cell function strategies for maintaining membrane fluidity: * chang e composition of membranes * alter phospholipids desaturate fatty acids (to deal with cold) eg cold water vs warm water fish * change length of FA chains (yeast, bacteria) * adjust amounts of cholesterol (animals) these mechanisms have been demonstrated in: * pond fish dealing with dramatic day / night temp differences * cold-resistant plants * extremophile bacteria living in hot springs * winter wheat preparing for autumn ^ polyunsaturated FAs * sperm reduce their cholesterol just before fertilization †¦ Functions of Lipids: * storage of chemical energy * signal molecules * vitamins * wax coating on leaves * biological membranes