Eth125 Diversity Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Eth125 Diversity Worksheet Essay Answer each question in 50 to 150 words. Provide citations for all the sources you use. 1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity is having variety. Diversity is valued because there are all sorts of ethnic groups, races, household income ranges, etc. Diversity can be classified as basically what runs our countries economy in a way if you just think about it. All these races and ethnic groups with a various range of incomes and the more money made, the more money spent, which in return boosts our economy. 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of the nation or group to which someone belongs. It can be detrimental to society because there are groups and people out there that don’t believe that the nation is superior and that everyone just needs to live their own lives not caring about anyone else. Some people have a negative attitude towards superiority in the nation and it’s government as a result of what our government does and what it doesn’t do also. Like people think the government is trying to take everyones homes away from them as a result of the government raising property taxes which is just plain stupid because there are so many low income families that can’t afford property taxes as it is and there’s going to end up being a lot of bank owned homes all over the U. S. if they keep raising taxes and what not. That’s the perspective I have on it. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is when someone intentionally moves from their home country to permanently settle in another. Immigration is when someone or a group of people move into another country or region to which they are not native in order to settle there. 4. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? Ways groups are identified are race, ethnicity, religion and gender. 5. Why do people label and group other people? People label and group other people in order to give them a distinct identity in the society. Labeling can be both positive and negative to the individual that is being labeled. 6. Define culture. Is culture limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds? Explain. Culture is the behaviors and beliefs that are characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. No, culture is not limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds as its a multi-layered property of our societies and people from other cultures are also influenced by the many groups of people that make up the country.

Food and Beverage Essay Example for Free

Food and Beverage Essay * Food and Beverage service is the food and beverage flow (from the purchasing of the foods to service to the customer) mainly concerned with the delivery and presentation of the food to customer, after completion of the food production. * Sometimes, it involves transportation if there is a separation of production and service facilities. Beverage * French bevrage, from boivre (to drink), from Latin bibo . * It is also said to be derived from the Latin word ‘Bever’ meaning rest or repose from the work. * The term beverage refers to all kinds of potable drinks which have thirst quenching, refreshing, stimulating, and nourishing properties. * Any potable( drinkable) liquid can be termed as beverage which regulates the stomach system and balances the pH level. * Beverages are consumed mainly to quench thirst , compensate loss of body fluid due to perspiration, feel fresh and active, as rituals, during social gatherings, and during and after eating. * Broadly beverage can be classified into two ways; 1. Alcoholic Beverage 2. Non- Alcoholic Beverage What is Alcoholic Beverage? * Alcohol is a colorless, odorless and volatile liquid. * It is a potable liquid containing ethyl alcohol or ethanol(C2H5OH) of 0. 5 per cent more by volume. * The percentage of alcohol in a drink varies from 0. 5 to 95 per cent , depending upon the method of preparation. * Alcohol is obtained by fermenting a liquid containing sugar. * The word alcohol came from the Arabic word ‘ al-kohl’ which referred to any fine powder that was applied to essences obtained by distillation by the alchemists of medieval Europe. Fermentation is the process in which a liquid containing sugar is acted upon by yeast which converts the sugar into alcohol and gives off carbon dioxide. * E. g. Grape juice- Wine * Apple Juice- Cider * Pear Juice- Perry. * Distillation is the process of separating elements in a liquid by vaporization and condensation. * During the distillation process of alcoholic beverages, the alcohol which is present in the fermented liquid(alcoholic wash) is separated from water. * Spirits are the examples of distilled drinks and the plants producing the spirits are known as distilleries. * The following wash are responsible for particular spirits which are as following: * Brandy- fermented grape juice * Gin, Whisky- fermented cereals * Tequila- fermented sap of Agave Tequilana weber * Rum- fermented molasses * Vodka- fermented potatoes or cereal.

Corporate Responsibility Strategy Development For Maruti Suzuki Management Essay

Corporate Responsibility Strategy Development For Maruti Suzuki Management Essay The report is on Corporate Responsibility practice currently in Maruti Suzuki India Limited, review of their performance and recommending a strategy which delivers positive value with a sustainable competitive advantage. Maruti Suzuki India Limited is major concerns are the labour issues caused by the contract, young and restless and the environmental impact. With the awareness of environmental aspect, customers are shifting towards eco-friendly products and valuing product which are doing so. Regulation and global competition on becoming more environmental friendly organisation is pushing companies to do more on reducing consumption and waste. The corporate responsibility issues in value chain across the three category Environmental , Social and Economic is analysed and is tabulated with the prioritised impacts. Then the current performance highlights of the MSIL in the Environmental , Social and Economic from their annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The short comes and areas of improvement are discussed. With the issues and the present performance of corporate responsibility, a better responsible vision is created. A corporate responsibility strategy is developed to gain value. Introduction Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited) is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. Maruti Suzuki claims to be the leader of the Indian car market for over two and a half decades. The company has two manufacturing facilities located at Gurgaon and Manesar, India. Both the facilities have a combined capability to produce over a 1.5 million vehicles annually. The company plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to 1.75 million by 2013. Maruti Suzuki contributes 45 % of total industry sales in India. Maruti Suzuki is the only Indian Company to have crossed the 10 million sales mark since its inception since 1983. In 2011-12, the company sold over 1.13 million vehicles including 127,379 units of exports. (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The Company employs over 9000 people (as on 31st March, 2012). Maruti Suzukis sales and service network is one of the largest among car manufacturers in India. The Company has been rated first in customer satisfaction in the JD Power survey for 12 consecutive years (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012). Figure Maruti Vision and Core Values F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksvision-banner-bottom.jpg Source: (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Maruti Suzuki has gained several awards for organisation performance and products. Maruti is be the leader in the automobile industry in India and doing their best to improve in their performance. Figure Certifications Source : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) Maruti has a strong presence of its network and availability across India. With a 1100 sales network in 801 cities and 2958 service station in 1408 cities. Figure Maruti Domestic Presence F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksmap.jpg Source: (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) The Maruti started exporting since 1987, as of 2011 the total units exported was 863,380. Europe has the highest share with 55 % followed by Asia 17 % , Africa 16 % and Latin America 10 % . Recently they have started exporting to Oceania. Maruti has expanded into Insurance , Finance , Used Care Sale and Fleet management keeping closely aligned with the core business. Maruti also has a Joint venture with its 19 suppliers who are considered to be vital among the 290 suppliers. Maruti Insurance Maruti Finance Maruti TrueValue N2N Fleet Management While working to enhance shareholder wealth, Maruti Suzuki will regularly engage with all stakeholders to assess their needs and through its products, services, conduct and management initiatives, promote their sustained growth and well-being (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). There has been issues in the management do to the joint venture agreement between Suzuki and Government of India , until recently Government of India has sold its complete share to Indian financial institution. Due to the management changes and pose of job loses dude to the change there has been lot of unresolved issue with the work force. Since its first operations in 1983 there has been strikes , go slow protest by the labours. There have been many occurrence in the years 1984,1997,2000,2001,2002,2011 and 2012. The recent incident at Manaser shock the whole industry, leaving one dead and 100 injured when more than 500 workers broke the office and set it on fire. The reason of this from the labour side is that the contract works get only half the salary of the permanent employees also claim harsh working conditions. Discriminatory comments to a low-caste worker by the supervisors. The management disagreed to the cast discrimination. Corporate responsibility issues across value chain Clean, lean and safe cars are not only societally desirable but they also have the potential to create a competitive advantage for the industry, insofar as they meet these consumer expectations, are affordable and address needs which are applicable to, and have to be addressed by, the global community as a whole (European Commission, 2006). Environment Issues Environment issue is mainly in the Manufacturing of vehicles, inbound component and part manufacturing and Logistics. Electricity is consumed in both inbound and operations and their back up power supply is powered by fossil fuel both leading to Greenhouse gas. There are waste such as Hazardous waste from the production, shredded metals and residue from raw materials, Oil and lubrication from operation and service, package materials and water waste. Logistics is a major operation as the manufactured vehicles has to be delivered across the country and also to the harbour for exporting. With the just in time model the is an increases in the inbound logistic (India transport portal, 2010). The Fossil fuel is used for combustion and this leads to Greenhouse gas potential increasing the carbon foot print. Figure shows the important environment issues across the value chain. Figure Environmental issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide1.JPG Social Issues The recent incident in Manesar says more on the social issues which are involved with the workforce management. Even with the industry saying Maruti is best in wage payment they have workforce issue due to the contract workers, young and restless workers (Malini Bureau, 2012). Figure shows the key social impacts across the value chain, in social all the issues are taken as important as failing to respond to it will damage the reputation and decrees the brand value. Figure Social issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide2.JPG Economic Issues Economic issues concerns over the policies and the good practices in doing the business. The regulation which has to be obeyed in doing the action, this issue should not trigger companys image as corrupt and spoiled. Figure show the key economic issues across the value chain. Figure Economic issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide3.JPG Review of Corporate Responsibility Corporate responsibility practices of an organisation relies on the transparency of the practices as presented in corporate reporting and strategy documentation. Maruti Suzuki has well prepared and clear information on corporate responsibility which is published in their website and annual corporate responsibility report which are aligned to Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksbanner-1.jpg Maruti Suzukis focus has been on growing together with its business partners. The Company is aware that in Giving support to its business partners on issues of sustainability, it will Get back in return manifold. This will naturally translate into an opportunity for Maruti Suzuki and all its partners to Grow together sustainably (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). Transparency The corporate responsibility report generally tends to have its good deeds more on it and this is why there may be a lack in transparency. This report should be prepared as per the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Based on environmental and social impact performance, Maruti Suzuki India Limited has received an overall Scientific Rating of 6.3, which is 26% higher than the average for all Company Ratings. Transparency related to environmental performance is 7.6 and Transparency related to social performance is 6.1 the full index is in the Appendix A (GoodGuide, 2012). Corporate responsibility report can be made more reliable when there is a check and reliability check by external authority . Having more indicators to compare and asses the position of the company within the industry. Environment performance Maruti has significantly brought down CO2 emission per vehicle in car manufacturing. At the Gurgaon Plant, CO2 per vehicle in 2010-11 came down by 15% compared to the previous year while in Manesar facility, CO2 emission reduced by 13% during the year. Maruti uses Natural Gas for power generation, which further limits CO2 emission. The use of waste fuel of turbines to generate steam and compressed air also helped bring down CO2 emission per vehicle. Maruti has registered its first Clean Development Project with the UN Framework for Climate Change (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). In a significant initiative, a part of the hazardous waste generated at the plants is supplied to the cement industry where it is utilized for co-processing. The hazardous waste being sent includes paint sludge, phosphate sludge and ETP sludge. In all, 6,447 tons of such waste was sent for recycle/use in the cement industry in 2010-11, the first year of this initiative. The present landfills are also being emptied out, enabling efficient use of land within the facilities (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012). The 42% of the total water requirement was met through recycled and reused water in 2010-11. Figure Environmental performance in 2011 Gurgaon plant Manesar plant F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks15co2.jpg Reduction in CO2 emissions F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks13co2.jpg Reduction in CO2 emissions F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks5wa.jpg Less water used In manufacturing F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks16wa.jpg Less water used In manufacturing F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkstree.jpg 25,000 Tree Planted F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksled.jpg LED lights for street lighting and meeting rooms F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksindex.jpg 6,447 tons of waste recycle/re used F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkslo.jpg 76% of suppliers within 100 kms of radius Source : (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Environmental performance can be increased by reducing the logistic in supply chain and transporting the finished product. Recycling of the cars after its life cycle, Maruti Suzuki has to do much in their environmental aspect when it is compared with the Global terms. Social performance Maruti Suzuki spends Rs 15.2 crore on social responsibility projects in 2010-11, an increase of 34.5 per cent over the previous year. Employee volunteers remained the driving force behind the Companys social programs. They contributed about 2792 volunteer hours, at 24 volunteering centres. Road Safety is Maruti Suzukis (Q,N,C,F)* flagship national program for the society. The Company and its partners promote Road Safety by imparting driving training, awareness and advocacy (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The number of Maruti Driving Schools, set up and managed by its dealer partners, doubled to 166 during 2010-11. The Company also imparts driving training through Institutes of Driving Training and Research (IDTR), set up in partnership with state governments. These IDTRs trained 70,000 people during 2010-11. While working to enhance shareholder wealth, Maruti Suzuki will regularly engage with all stakeholders to assess their needs and through its products, services, conduct and management initiatives, promote their sustained growth and well-being (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The Company works closely with communities in four villages at Manesar. It runs education support centres, a computer literacy centres and vocational training programs including driving training, besides upgrading school infrastructure in these villages. Figure Social initiatives Maruti Suzuki is one of the best paid companies, with the economic and drops in sales figure it has been put in tough times. There have been rising issue with the management and labour in the past and in July 2011 the works broke the office in Manesar plant and set it on fire with took a life of a senior executive and left hundreds injured. This issue are due to the lack of management attention , having contact workers , young and restless workers. The loss in lockout of Manesar plant was more than 1 billion rupees (India CSR, 2012). Economic Performance Maruti Suzuki strongly believes in sustained business growth and works towards the well being of its direct stakeholders. It makes far-reaching investment decisions taking into consideration unmet customer needs, market growth potential, upcoming regulations and long term sustainability of the Maruti and its various stakeholders (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). Maruti Suzuki is investing over Rs. 60,000 million in new manufacturing facilities, expansion of RD infrastructure and vehicle stockyards. Maruti registered its highest ever sales of 1,271,005 vehicles in domestic and export markets in 2010-11.Companys sales in the domestic market crossed the one million vehicle milestone for the first time in with the sale of 1,132,739 units, a growth of 30.1% over the previous year. Figure Economic performance ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS ACHIEVEMENTS 2009-10 ACHIEVEMENTS 2010-11 CHANGE Domestic Sales (nos.) 870,790 1,132,739 30.1% Export Sales (nos.) 147,575 138,266 -6.3% Total Sales (nos.) 1,018,365 1,271,005 24.8% Net Sales (Rs. mn) 289,585 361,282 24.75% Profit After Tax (Rs. mn) 24,976 22,886 -8.3% Reserves and Surplus (Rs. mn) 116,906 137,230 17.3% Market share (A+B+C)* 44.6% 44.9% 0.3 % Contribution to national exchequer (Rs. mn) 51,442 71,343 38.6% Expenditure on RD (Rs. mn) 1,733 4,163 140.2% Expenditure on CSR (Rs. mn) 113 152 34.5% Source : (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Developing Better Vision With rapid economic growth and investment in new capacities, skill development is critical for the country and the manufacturing sector. While this requires a concerted effort at the national level, Maruti Suzuki is doing its bit in this area as part of its CSR program. With learning from the past Maruti has an issue which impact social dimension which in turn affects the economic dimension. With the growing awareness of environment, failing to act will bring in issues in long term. Stage 1 Maruti has its value since its launch and is said to be Indias Pride , on environmental impact the have to improve their indicators. Environmental and social performance can be only improved if the people who are involved are willing to bring in the process. They have ISO 14001:2004 Environment Management System Certificate for Gurgaon and Manesar Plants, Figure bring in the Human resource factor in the ISO 14001 in the stages will help in effective engagement of people. Figure Sustainability through human resource factors F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCoursework14001.jpg Source : (Bonnie Su-chun, 2001) Stage 2 Redesigning process, product and business to gain value, one of the causes for manesar Plants incident was the lack of ownership and executive decision. With the past experience the should be new process in place to avoid such fatal risk. Creating new ways for improving efficiency, adding more value for the customers will be achieved only with the interest of the stakeholders. Innovation in more energy efficient cars , Stage 3 and 4 are with the innovation and expansions of business aligning to its core business. This can be new venture dealing with the cars after their life cycle, this could bring in more value and reduce the waste. To have an effective execution of the vision there should be an integrated and systematic in the five critical areas. Figure Vision Vision Developing Corporate Responsibility Strategy The Corporate responsibility strategy could be implemented in 3 years addition along the way. Corporate Responsibility Drivers Stakeholders including consumers, investors, and employees pay increasing attention to the social and environmental footprints of business and corporate-responsibility (Bhattacharya, et al., 2011). The drivers for the corporate responsibility are Growing concern of the environment. Social wellbeing of the workers. Customers preference of products which are efficient and environmental friendly To improve the brand value Key Issues Objectives Improving workforce management by collaborating with the associations and satisfy the genuine needs of labours. Improving executive task ownership and responsibility through having a structure. Improving community through local hiring, working with NGOs to run education and health camps. Educating good driving habits through Road Safety Initiatives and Maruti Driving Schools. Compiling with governing body and organization for environmental impact assessments, social impact assessments and internal management systems. Research and development on bring out more efficient vehicles. Targets and Key Performance Indicators Training 3,00,000 people on Safe driving. Opening 50 more Maruti Driving Schools. Reducing CO2, electricity and water consumption by 3 % per vehicle in both the manufacturing plants. Improve workforce welfare, avoid strikes. To have 75% of suppliers with ISO 14001 certification. Reducing packaging material by 5 % and using bio degradable packaging material. Reducing employee injury rate by 10 %. Governance Stakeholder Engagement Maruti has a well-structured organization with good communication channel to perform. Figure Corporate governance structure F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcorprategor.jpg Source : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) To have an effective Corporate Responsibility there should be good engagement across all levels with the understanding about it. The Board of directors who look into the whole CR function and discuss with the committees for prioritising the issues and key activities. These committees are different for economic, social and environment they are responsible for the distributing the roles and responsibility to the staffs , achieving targets and reporting to the Board of directors. Control and audit looks into the performance of staffs, changes in the global stage and benchmarking. Figure Governance, Accountability and Reporting Structure Remuneration of executive and employees for achieving their targets will motivate them to carry on the good work. The Stakeholder engagement can be improved by does the activities in Figure Stakeholder engagement activities Figure Stakeholder engagement activities Stakeholder Activity Shareholders and Investors Annual General Meeting Investor Meets Suppliers Product Meeting Joint Venture HR Meeting Dealers Balanced Score Card Dealer conference Zone Meeting Social Meetings with Community NGOs meeting Environment Regulatory Authorities Community Feedback Management Systems The process of managing the sustainability should be headed by the Board of directors having the knowledge of the prioritise issues and key activities. Management communities get in the views and concerns from various elements, they then asses the importance and benefit of performing the action on it. The also look in for possible risk which will affect them. These are taken into account in the planning stage itself. Environmental , social and economic impacts should be open to scrutiny by government agency , independent regulatory bodies and other firm in order to have a transparency and increasing the confidence of the reliability in the performance figures. The risk management activity is reviewed by the Audit Committee through a management subcommittee, namely the Executive Risk Management Committee. It reviews risk management activities on a regular basis, in addition to scanning for emerging risks. Economic Social Executive Risk Management Committee Board Of Directors Assessment by Authorities and outside firms Environmental Stakeholder Concerns, Business Impacts, Risks And Opportunities Management Committee Adapted : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) Risk Risk is caused both from internally driven and externally driven. Figure Maruti Risk Economic Risks Environmental Risks Systematic financial failure Labour Strike Competitor Economy slowdown Carbon Positioning Flood and Land Slides Plastic waste Earthquake Land and water use management Geopolitical Risks Societal Risks Government Changes New policies and regulations Water supply crises Power supply crises Fire and Safety Reputation Technological Risks Failure of IT system Cyber attack and Data privacy Conclusion Maruti corporate responsibility is performing good at the moment when compared to its competitor in the domestic region. The major issue in the social are the labour unrest. With the improved vision the company will bring in more value. The process is improved with implying human resources factors and managing the at all levels. Transparency is gained by allowing the external firms and authorities to scrutiny. The new corporate responsibility strategy is aligned to the existing activities and issue. Stretching the environmental performance figures will gain brand value and compete with the international industry level . Bibliography Bhattacharya, C., Danie, l. K. Sankar, S., 2011. What really drives value in corporate responsibility?. [Online] Available at: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/What_really_drives_value_in_corporate_responsibility_2895 [Accessed 11 12 2012]. Bonnie, F. D. Su-chun, H., 2001. Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource. International Journal of Operations Production Management, 22(12), pp. 1539 1552. European Commission, 2006. A Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century, Belgium: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. GoodGuide, 2012. Maruti Suzuki India Limited GoodGuide Ratings. [Online] Available at: http://companies.goodguide.com/l/121398/Maruti-Suzuki-India-Limited [Accessed 11 12 2012]. India CSR, 2012. Lockout in Marutis Manesar Unit Costing Rs 90 crore Per Day: Assocham. [Online] Available at: http://www.indiacsr.in/en/?p=7334 [Accessed 10 12 2012]. India transport portal, 2010. A peek into Marutis supply chain management. [Online] Available at: http://indiatransportportal.com/2010/12/a-peek-into-maruti%E2%80%99s-supply-chain-management/ [Accessed 09 12 2012]. Malini, G. Bureau, E., 2012. Four reasons behind Maruti Suzukis Manesar problems. [Online] Available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-22/news/32777541_1_maruti-suzuki-s-manesar-maruti-s-manesar-shinzo-nakanishi [Accessed 09 12 2012]. Maruthi Suzuki, 2012. Awards. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/certifications.html [Accessed 10 12 2012]. Maruthi Suzuki, 2012. Maruthi Suzuki Sustainability Report 10-11, Gurgaon : Maruti Suzuki India Limited . Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. About Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/about-us.aspx [Accessed 11 12 2012]. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Annual Report 2011-12, New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Limited. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Environmental Performance. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/environmental.html [Accessed 10 12 2012]. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Sustainability approach. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/sustainability-approach.html [Accessed 10 12 2012].

Ellen Foster :: essays research papers

At the age of ten, most children are dependent on their parents for everything in their lives needing a great deal of attention and care. However, Ellen, the main character and protagonist of the novel Ellen Foster, exemplifies a substantial amount of independence and mature, rational thought as a ten-year-old girl. The recent death of her mother sends her on a quest for the ideal family, or anywhere her father, who had shown apathy to both she and her fragile mother, was not. Kaye Gibbons’ use of simple diction, unmarked dialogue, and a unique story structure in her first novel, Ellen Foster, allows the reader to explore the emotions and thoughts of this heroic, ten-year-old girl modeled after Gibbons’ own experiences as a young girl. Kaye Gibbons’ experiences as a child are the foundations for this breathtaking saga of a young girl’s tragic memories of her childhood. As with Ellen, Gibbons’ parents both died before she was twelve-years-old forming the basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and actions of Ellen. The simplistic and humble attitude that both Gibbons and Ellen epitomize in the novel is portrayed through diction and dialogue throughout the novel allows the audience to gain a better understanding and personal compassion for both the character and author. The novel is written in a short, choppy sentence structure using simple word choice, or diction, in a stream of consciousness to enable the reader to perceive the novel in the rational of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another , relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is. Gibbons uses this to show the reader how Ellen is an average girl who enjoys all of the things normal children relish and to contrast the naive lucidity of the sentences to the depth of the conceptions which Ellen has such a simplistic way of explaining. Gibbons’ and Ellen’s harrowing past is related in the novel through Ellen’s inner thoughts and the dialogue between characters. However, when Ellen converses with other characters, Gibbons chose not to use quotation marks or any of the formal methods of documenting dialogue between characters; she Ellen Foster :: essays research papers At the age of ten, most children are dependent on their parents for everything in their lives needing a great deal of attention and care. However, Ellen, the main character and protagonist of the novel Ellen Foster, exemplifies a substantial amount of independence and mature, rational thought as a ten-year-old girl. The recent death of her mother sends her on a quest for the ideal family, or anywhere her father, who had shown apathy to both she and her fragile mother, was not. Kaye Gibbons’ use of simple diction, unmarked dialogue, and a unique story structure in her first novel, Ellen Foster, allows the reader to explore the emotions and thoughts of this heroic, ten-year-old girl modeled after Gibbons’ own experiences as a young girl. Kaye Gibbons’ experiences as a child are the foundations for this breathtaking saga of a young girl’s tragic memories of her childhood. As with Ellen, Gibbons’ parents both died before she was twelve-years-old forming the basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and actions of Ellen. The simplistic and humble attitude that both Gibbons and Ellen epitomize in the novel is portrayed through diction and dialogue throughout the novel allows the audience to gain a better understanding and personal compassion for both the character and author. The novel is written in a short, choppy sentence structure using simple word choice, or diction, in a stream of consciousness to enable the reader to perceive the novel in the rational of an eleven-year-old girl. One short, simple sentence is followed by another , relating each in an easy flow of thoughts. Gibbons allows this stream of thoughts to again emphasize the childish perception of life’s greatest tragedies. For example, Gibbons uses the simple diction and stream of consciousness as Ellen searches herself for the true person she is. Gibbons uses this to show the reader how Ellen is an average girl who enjoys all of the things normal children relish and to contrast the naive lucidity of the sentences to the depth of the conceptions which Ellen has such a simplistic way of explaining. Gibbons’ and Ellen’s harrowing past is related in the novel through Ellen’s inner thoughts and the dialogue between characters. However, when Ellen converses with other characters, Gibbons chose not to use quotation marks or any of the formal methods of documenting dialogue between characters; she

Dionysus :: essays research papers fc

Dionysus Winter squalls are drained out of the sky. The violet season of flowering spring smiles. The black earth glitters under green lawns. Swelling plants pop open with tiny petals. Meadows laugh and suck the morning dew, while the rose unfolds. The shepherd in the hills happily blows the top notes of his pipe. The gathered gloats over his white kids. Sailors race across the thrashing waves. Their canvas full of the harmless breeze. Drinkers acclaim the grape-giver Dionysus, capping their hair with flowering ivy. (Bernard).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dionysus, in Greek mythology is a god of wine and vegetation, who showed mortals how to cultivate grapevines and make wine. â€Å"He was good and gentle to those who honored him, but he brought madness and destruction upon those who spurned him or the orgiastic rituals of his cult† (Wendell 23)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The yearly rites in honor of the resurrection of Dionysus gradually evolved into the structured form of the Greek drama, and important festivals were held in honor of the god, during which great dramatic competitions were conducted. The most important festival, the Greater Dionysia, was held in Athens for five days each spring. It was for this celebration that the Greek dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote their great tragedies. Also, after the 5th century BC, Dionysus was known to the Greeks as Bacchus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. He is the only god to have a mortal parent. The birth of Dionysus began when Zeus came to Semele in the night, invisible, felt only as a divine presence. Semele was pleased to be a lover of a god, even though she did not know which one. Word soon got around and Hera quickly assumed who was responsible. Hera went to Semele in disguise and convinced her that she should see her lover as he really was. When Zeus visited her again, she made him promise to grant her one wish. She went so far as to make him swear on the River Syx that he would grant her request. Zeus, was madly in love and agreed. She then asked him to show her his true form. Zeus, was unhappy, and knew what would happen, but having sworn he had no choice. He appeared in his true form and Semel was instantly burn to a crisp by the sight of his glory. Zeus did manage to rescue Dionysus, and stitched him into his thigh to hold him until he was ready to be born.

Free Essay on Shakespeares King Lear - Is King Lear a Good King? :: King Lear essays

Is King Lear a Good King? At the beginning of the play we learn that King Lear is old and wishes to retire from his position of King of Britain. The decision greatly alters his life and the lives of those around him. He is accustomed to power and flattery from his subjects and expects the same regard and appraisal from his daughters. On his retirement he makes a very foolish decision to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. "Give me the map there. Know we have divided In three our Kingdom and 'tis our fast intent to Shake all cares and business from our age (Act I, i, 37-39) ." Lear surrenders all his power and land to his daughters as a reward for their fake demonstration of love towards him. This rash decision leads to his imminent downfall. The reader can actually foresee the breakdown of King Lear and his loss of control and order. Lear foolishly becomes angry at his youngest and favorite daughter because she refuses to phrase her love and affections. Lear then banishes Cordelia. This foolish act causes Lear to become vulnerable to his other two evil daughters as they conspire against him. After later realizing his mistake and how little Goneril and Regan care about him, he begins to go mad. Yet right from the start I had to question if he wasn't mad already. What king would just retire and divide up a powerful and sturdy kingdom? A Kingdom is run best under one ruler because only one decision is made without any contradiction. Dividing up a Kingdom politically has many disadvantages that Lear doesn't seem to realize. A Kingdom divided means there will be more than one ruler and a difference of opinion will occur. There will always be disagreements and arguments which may end in haste, creating tension between the rule rs, especially if they are related and are envious of each others power and are fighting over the same love interest. Although Lear may feel he had a good reason to divide his land there really is no rational reason for his action. He only divided his land so he could be showered with loving words from his daughters. His desire to fuel his ego by abdicating his throne for reward eventually causes him to lose everything, including his family and even his sanity.

Micro-Environment Essay

1.0Background Information With the advent of gene technology, it is important to understand not only the phenotype of the organism but also the genotype. Previously, you should have learnt the analysis of genetic traits and the various ways where they can be transmitted from parents to children (by phenotype analysis). Each chromosome is divided into different sections called genes. Genes are the basis of inheritance where traits like hair colour and blood type are controlled by the production of proteins by these genes. Genes contain coded instructions that the body uses to assemble hundreds of different types of proteins that make an individual unique! These amazing trait controllers (genes) are made up of molecules called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is a double-helical polymer bound together by hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairing nucleotides (A to T, G to C). A particular gene is a set of coded instructions made up of a particular order of nucleotides. The variation of which allows the myriad of codes to exist in an organism for it to be unique. This is what controls the genotype of an organism and henceforth, the extraction and isolation of an organisms DNA is imperative, in order to allow further insight into the organism using different molecular-based methods. In this experiment, you will be taking a closer look at this DNA molecule. You will be extracting your own DNA using buccal/cheek cells as the starting material. 2.1Materials Saline 15 ml centrifuge tube Paper cup Drinking water Vortex Centrifuge 10% SDS Bromelain protease (50mg/mL) Ice cold isopropanol Graduated pipettes 2.2Methods IMPORTANT NOTE: Ensure that you have not eaten in the past 1 hour before conducting this experiment (if you are the DNA donor). Ensure that gloves are worn at all times in the experiment. 1. Swish you mouth with about 100 mL drinking water, for about 20 seconds, to remove any food particles. Discard this wash into the sink. 2. Using a permanent marker pen, label your group name onto the paper cup and 15 mL centrifuge tube containing 10mL saline. 3. Pour all the 10mL saline solution into your mouth and vigorously swish for 60s. Do not discard the centrifuge tube. 4. Expel the saline mouthwash into the labelled paper cup. 5. Carefully, pour the saline mouthwash from the paper cup, back into the 15 mL centrifuge tube from step 2. Tightly cap the tube. 6. Pass the capped tubes to the laboratory technician in order to be centrifuged (4500 rpm, 5 min). 7. Upon centrifuging, you should be able to see your buccal cell pellet (the whitish lower solid layer at the bottom of the tube). Gently, pour away the supernatant (the liquid upper layer). 8. Place the tube on ice. 9. Add 2 mL saline into the tube and vortex for 5-10 seconds. 10. Add 1 mL 10% (w/v) sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) solution (active component in detergents). 11. Gently tap the tubes several times (~8 times) to gently mix the contents. You may invert the tube twice if needed. 12. On ice, add 2 – 3 drops of the lab supplied bromelain protease enzyme into the tube. 13. Gently tap the tubes several times (~8 times) to gently mix the contents. You may invert the tube twice if needed. 14. Cap the tube and place it is a 50oC for 10 minutes. 15. With a clean pipette, gently pipette in 10 mL ice cold isopropanol (95% v/v) slowly into the tube. Tip: Place the filled pipette with its tip against the inside wall of the test tube. Slowly allow the isopropanol to dribble down the inside of the tube. 16. Cap and place the tube in a test tube rack at room temperature for 10 minutes. DO NOT mix, shake, or bump the test tube during this period. 17. The isopropanol is lighter than the contents of the tube. When added according to the directions, the isopropanol will form a clear layer ABOVE the suspension. 18. Observe the test tube for 5 minutes. The DNA will gradually separate from the suspension and rise into the isopropanol layer. Describe the appearance of the DNA. 19. Take a photo as proof of your observation. 20. To remove the accumulated DNA from the tube, follow the directions for DNA spooling as below:- a. Gently insert the glass rod through the isopropanol layer into the clumped/accumulated DNA. b. Carefully, twirl the rod between your fingers, winding the DNA strands onto the rod. c. Slowly remove the rod. Describe the appearance of the spooled DNA. d. Take a photo as proof of your observation. 0. Questions 1. Which one of the following do you think will contain DNA? Explain your reasoning. Bananas; concrete; fossils; meat; metal; spinach; strawberries. 2. What effect would the SDS have on the cell membranes and cold ethanol on DNA? 3. What type of enzyme would be needed to separate the DNA into smaller pieces? 4. Is the DNA extracted pure enough for further applications (i.e. PCR)? 5. If you were to repeat the experiment with an equal number of red blood cells, the amount of DNA collected would either: increase / decrease / stay the same (choose one). Explain your answer. Adapted from:- Bres, M., Weisshaar, A., 2008. Thinking about Biology: An Introductory Laboratory Manual. 3rd Ed. Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey, USA. Pg. 333 – 338. Teaching AS Biology Practical Skills. University of Cambridge: International Examination. Pg. 74 – 78. 43 Practical 10 Digestion of Lambda (ÃŽ ») DNA with a Restriction Enzyme (EcoR I endonuclease) 1.0Background Information Restriction enzymes (nucleases) are enzymes that cleave the phosphodiester bonds on the sides of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). These nucleases recognize specific DNA sequences in the double-stranded DNA, which is usually a four to six base pair sequence of nucleotides, and digests the DNA at these sites, resulting in the DNA becoming fragmented into various lengths. Some restriction enzymes cut cleanly through the DNA double helix while some produce uneven or sticky ends. By using the same restriction enzyme to cut DNA from different organisms, the sticky ends produced will be complementary and the DNA from the two different sources can be recombined. In humans, no two individuals have the exact same restriction enzyme pattern in the DNA except for identical twins. Restriction enzymes are named based on a system of nomenclature where the first letters represents the genus name of the organism whereas the next two letters come from the species name. If there is a fourth letter, it stands for the strain of the organism. Finally, if there are Roman numerals, it represents whether that particular enzyme was the first or second etc. isolated in that category. FIGURE 10.1 Cartoon of how EcoR I recognises the restriction site and cleaves the DNA. The second technique used in this practical is the separation and analysis of DNA fragments. Agarose gels are commonly used for this where the  gels that have been prepared with a suitable nucleic acid stain in it, have wells for the samples of DNA to go into. The agarose gel is covered in a suitable buffer so that the DNA is in a neutral pH solution. That way, the DNA moves one direction because of its charge. Since the phosphate groups on the skeleton of DNA are negatively charged, the whole molecule takes on the negative charge. Hence, when the DNA is placed inside the gel and the electricity is turned on, the poles are drawing the DNA toward the positive side, where it will then move through the gel and separate according to the size of the fragments. This technique is called electrophoresis. Results are obtained with the help of UV light that is refracted by the nucleic acid stain that sticks onto the DNA fragments. In this experiment, you will be using the EcoR I restriction endonuclease to digest a known DNA called phage lambda (ÃŽ ») and analysing your sample using agarose gel electrophoresis. 2.1Materials Pre-laboratory work Computer/laptop LambdaDNA.docx (Word document file) Laboratory work Micropipette Sterile pipette tips Microcentrifuge tube (1.5 mL capacity) EcoR I (20 U/ µL) and buffer Distilled deionised sterilised water Agarose gel (prestained with EtBr) 1x TAE buffer Agarose gel electrophoresis set UV Transilluminator