My holiday in Spain Essay Example for Free

My holiday in Spain Essay I have been to many different holiday places but I have chosen salou because they were many different places to visit and loads of things to do. I went to Spain when I was 14 years old, with my family. I stayed in a hotel called port salou it had two very large swimming pools inside and out. The weather was fabulous and the food was delicious. The first place we visited was the beach. All I could hear was the waves crashing against the warm sandy shore. The sand was golden and warm to walk on people were bathing and doing activities on the beach such as volley ball and jet skiing. The best activity I remember was the banana boat. Then we visited Barcelona zoo, in the zoo was an aquarium there were many varieties of fish and mammals, the ones that I remember the most was the huge man eating sharks their big black eyes were like shiny pebbles I could also see their razor sharp teeth which were like shards of glass. There was also an aviary full of tropical, colourful parrots squawking and fooling around in the trees. Then we approached the reptile house and a collection of primates. Hosting the worlds only albino gorilla. The albino gorilla was the main attraction at Barcelona zoo drawing in many crowds. The next place we visited was the camp Nou stadium football ground, home to Barcelona football club. Barcelona football ground was enormous holding 98,000 spectators. We were allowed to stand on every tier to see how high they were. we were not allowed on the pitch as they were a small group training. We then went to the museum to see all the trophies Barcelona had won. I was amazed there was a lot all placed in large glass cabinets. Along side the trophies were every kit Barcelona had worn over the years. There were also footballs with Barcelonas badge on which had been used in big games. The final place we visited was port Ventura a large theme park not far away from salou. It had one of the worlds largest roller coasters, and had many other attractions including shows, large play areas my sister enjoyed. We spent a full day there and didnt manage to see every attraction. The absolute best part of my holiday was the Barcelona football stadium, without a doubt the sizes was unbelievable. I also enjoyed the museum because I liked looking at the trophies. I couldnt stop looking at the kits and how much they had changed over the years. On the way out we visited the gift shop I bought a Barcelona football and football shirt it was my favourite visit of the holiday salou was one of the most enjoyable holidays I have ever had and a place I would like to visit in the future. then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then . then Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Isolation Purification and Characterisation of Rubisco

Isolation Purification and Characterisation of Rubisco Carbon is essential for life. Unfortunately, carbon in the earth and atmosphere is locked in highly oxidized forms, such as carbon dioxide. In order to be useful, this oxidized carbon must be fixed into organic forms. Plants perform this taks by carbon-fixation through photosynthesis. There is an enzyme inside plant cells, called Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). It takes carbon dioxide and attaches it to ribulose bisphosphate. In spite of its central role, rubisco is a very slow catalyst, when compared to other enzymes. Typical enzymes can process a thousand molecules per second, but rubisco fixes only about three carbon dioxide molecules per second. This slow rate is compensated by its increased production. Rubisco comprises of half of the protein in the chloroplasts making it the most plentiful single enzyme on the Earth. Rubisco also shows lack of specificity. in rubisco, an oxygen molecule can bind comfortably in the site designed to bind to carbon dioxide. Rubisco then attaches the oxygen to the sugar chain, forming a faulty oxygenated product. The plant cell then performs a costly series of salvage reactions to correct this. Studies on the enzyme by Manuel  J et al, in higher plants, revealed the presence of 8 small (S) chains with a MW of 13 kDa each and 8 large (L) chains with a MW of 55 kDa each. Assembly of all these chains occurs in the chloroplast stroma, building the whole holoenzyme L8S8 also called Form I. [Assessment of D-Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Oxygenase (Rubisco) Enzymatic Activity Handbook of Plant Ecophysiology Techniques, chapter 23, Springer Netherlands]. J. E. Musgrove et al found that the newly synthesized Rubisco large subunits made from isolated intact chloroplasts from Pisum sativum are bound non-covalently to large subunit binding protein. They found that the binding protein purified from Pisum sativum was in the form of an oligomer of relative molecular mass (Mr) about 720000. Analysis on polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulphate revealed equal amounts of two different types of subunit, termed alpha (Mr about 61000) and beta (Mr about 60000); thus th e oligomer has the composition ÃŽÂ ±6ÃŽÂ ²6 [The Rubisco Large Subunit Binding Protein, by  © 1986 The Royal Society]. The post-translational modification the Rubisco was studied extensively by Mulligan R. M., et al and Houtz R. L., et al. Their study revealed that it undergoes at least three differnet types of post-translational modifications inside the cell. The larger subunit of the enzyme is coded by a plastid gene and is translated into Rubisco holoenzyme. Mass spectral and amino acid sequence analysis of peptides prepared from Rubisco had demonstrated that this subunit is processed to the mature form by removal of the N-terminal Met-1 and Ser-2 residues and acetylation of Pro-3 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 85:1513-1517, (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 86:1855-1859 respectively]. In 1989, Houtz R. L., et al found that the LS from many species contained a trimethyllysyl residue at Lys-14 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 86:1855-1859,  Houtz R. L., et al (1991) Plant Physiol. 97:913-920,  Houtz R. L., et al (1992) Plant Physiol. 98:1170-1174]. The small subunit (SS) of Rubisco is al so post-translationally modified. This polypeptide is post-translationally imported into chloroplasts and processed by a stromal processing peptidase that removes the targeting presequence. The resultant N-terminal methionine residue of the processed SS is subjected toN-methylation (Grimm R., et al (1997) FEBS Lett. 408:350-354) prior to assembly with the LS into the holoenzyme. The reactions of Calvin cycle is as shown below: 1. Rubisco is the enzyme catalyzing the following reaction: Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate + CO2 + H2O 2 3-Phosphoglycerate + 2 H+ The enzyme also has an unusual oxygenase actvity, shown below: 2. Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate + O2 3-Phosphoglycerate + Phosphoglycolate + H2O + 2H+ At high concentrations CO2 the reaction with O2 is suppressed. Phosphoglycolate is then dephosphorylated and passed into peroxisomes where it is further oxidized, glyoxylate is amidated, and glycine is produced. This process is referred to as photorespiration and it occurs under conditions where the oxygen concentration is high. Aim: The principal objective of the experiment was to isolate, characterise the Rubisco from fresh pea leaves and estimate its specific activity. The isolation and extraction was done using ammonium sulphate precipitation at different concentrations. The enzyme fraction was separated using column chromatography with Sephacryl S-300 and confirmed with SDS-PAGE and native gel bands. The presence of the enzyme band was confirmed by comparison with that of a standard purified enzyme from spinach. The total protein and enzyme assay was done using standardised protocols. Methods: All procedures were performed at/or close to 10 ÃÅ'Ã…   C. Extraction: Fresh pea leaves, with veins removed, were taken from light-adapted actively-photosynthesised plants, which were previously put in sunlight for 1 hr prior to harvest. About 12g of leaf laminas were blended with cold extraction buffer [0.1M Kphospate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.2] and squeezed through wet Miracloth. BSA was quickly added to a concentration of 1 mg/ml and centrifuged at 20,000g for 15 min. An aliquot of 100 ÃŽÂ ¼L was stored for enzyme analysis and the rest was used for fractionation with ammonium sulphate. Ammonium sulphate precipitation: Solid [NH4]2SO4 at 30% saturation at pH 7.8 ( adjusted with ammonia solution) was added and after 10 min, it was centrifuged at 10,000g for 10 min. The pellet was stored and to the supernatant again solid [NH4]2SO4 at 45 % saturation at pH 7.8, was added and centrifuged as before. The supernatant was poured off, and the precipitate was suspended in 15 ml of fresh 55% ammonium sulphate solution [2 mM EDTA, pH 7.5] and was stored. The supernatant was brought to 90% ammonium sulphate and adjusted to pH 7.8 as before. It was again centrifuged as before. The precipitates from 30% and 90% ammonium sulphate procedures were redissolved in 10mL of extraction buffer [0.1M Kphospate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.2] and stirred gently with glass rod. Both fractions were assayed for protein (Bradford method) and Rubisco activity. The stored precipitate from 55% AS was centrifuged for 10 min at 10,000g and dissolved gently in 4 ml of extraction buffer. This was again centrifuged at 26,000 g for 10 min and the supernatant which was clear, pale yellow in color was kept. Gel filtration: 3 ml of a sub sample from above was desalted by passing through Biorad Econopac-10 column with phosphate buffer [Accessed 28-Apr-2010] [50mM Kphosphate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.5]. The colored compounds were absorbed and were separated from proteins. 3 ml of salt-free sample solution was loaded into the Sephacryl S-300 column, which was equilibrated with Hepes buffer [25mM Hepes, 0.1 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1mM DTT, 25mM MgCl2, 25mM NaHCO3, pH 7.8] at RT. The sample was allowed to run at 25 ml/sq.cm cross section per hour with Hepes buffer with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The first 10 mL was collected in a measuring cylinder and then fractions of 1.5 mL were collected in microfuge tubes. The protein was measured at 280 nm. The carboxylase was eluted as the first major peak of the protein in the elution profile. The protein samples were stored till the enzyme was identified. Then all the fractions containing the enzyme were pooled and its protein content was measured using Bradford assay. The specific activity of the purified enzyme preparation from above was compared with that of purified RUBISCO from spinach. The enzyme preparation was diluted suitably for the assay. PAGE gel: The protein content of the fractions collected from the column was determined and a suitable concentration of it was loaded in the SDS-PAGE and native gels as described by the method of Laemelli [Nature 227 (5259): 680-685]. They were then fixed, stained and destained for visualising the bands. The molecular weight of Rubisco was determined by the method of Shapiro et al [Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 28 (5): 815-820] Enzyme assay: enzyme assay was done spectrophotometrically using coupled enzyme system. The 2,3PG formed by the enzyme was phosphorylated using ATP and the resulting 2,3 bisPG was coupled with G-3-PDH and NADH. ADP generated reacts with Creatine-phosphate to yield ATP and Creatine. The carboxylase activity was followed by the oxidation of NADH at 340 nm and 25 ÃÅ'Ã…   C. The substrate/buffer solution [82mM Na Hepes, 20mM MgCl2, 1 mM ATP, 0.1 mg/ml BSA, 0.22 mM NADH, 10 mM Creatine-phosphate, 50 mM NaHCO3 ] the coupling enzymes were phophoglycerate kinase (380 U/ml), G-3-PDH (270 U/ml) and creatine kinase (200 U/ml). Pure carboxylase from spinach was added at 0.5 mg/ml concentration in phosphate buffer with 21 mM Ribulose bisphosphate in sterile, filtered water. Protein estimation: This was done by the method of Bradford M.M. [Anal. Biochem. 72:248-254.] Results: Crude extract contained the maximum total protein and the enzyme concentration as usual. While the total enzyme units was high in the crude extract the specific activity of the enzyme was high in the 0-30% AS step. Also, the total protein protein extracted with AS was less with 30-45% stage but increased with 0-30% 45-90% step significantly. The enzyme concentration, specific activity and total enzyme units was maximum at 0-30% fraction, indicating the relative purity to be the best at this fraction. A calibration graph was constructed. From the graph, the O.D of 0.152 gave the concentration of the protein in the unknown sample as 180 ÃŽÂ ¼g / mL. The above gel of 2008 shows the presence of at three bands in most lanes except in lane 6 8. Accordingly, the thicker band corresponds to that of the larger subunit and the last band to that of smaller subunit of the enzyme with their respective molecular weights as calculated from the graph. The lane 3 is my lane and does not show a thick band for LS of the enzyme. Still the SS is seen as a faint band when compared to that of lane10- pure enzyme from spinach. The native gel pattern also shows a faint band for the LS with SS subunit band almost absent. The gel pattern doesnt appear to be good with distorted bands in lanes 4,5 6, inspite of the conspicuous presence of the LS in them. (iv) Calculation of MW of Rubisco from standard molecular weight markers: Protein The band on the gel for the small subunit pea Rubiscos MW (MW 49.6 kDa) was found to between that of BSA and ovalbumin. For large subunit of the enzyme (MW 15.16 kDa) it was between lysozyme and soybean trypsin inhibitor. Discussion: The principal objective is to extract, isolate and characterise the Rubisco from fresh pea leaves. As per the conventional methods of extraction and isolation, ammonium Sulfate at different concentrations was used to isolate all proteins from the fresh pea leaves. Each fraction showed different protein content, total enzyme activity and specific activity. Column (Sephacryl S-300) chromatography was employed to separate out all proteins with an isoelectric point of pH 8 or lower. The fraction with maximum concentration of the enzyme, which was from 0-30% AS step was pooled and assayed for total and specific activity as described in the methods. Bradford protein assay was used to determine the concentration of the protein in each sample in order to determine the specific activity of each fraction of the enzyme from the column. The specific activity was also found to be maximum at 0-30 % AS step. The sample extract was run through column with positively charged matrix. Knowing that Rubiscos Isoelectric point is pH 4.2, a buffer with a pH of 8 is run through the column ensuring that Rubisco will stick to the matrix. Protein that remains in matrix is eluted using different salt concentrations in buffer and collected in fractions of 1.5 ml. Because Rubisco is known to be the most abundant protein in fresh pea leaves, the fractions containing the highest protein concentration are kept for each different salt concentration. The proteins were separated using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The sample in my lane 3 contained 2 bands (with a faint LS) with a molecular weight of 49.6 kDa and 15.16 kDa. According to Creighton, et al [Encycolpedia of Molecular Biology, 4th ed. (New York:John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), 1999.] Rubisco is made of 2 subuints, viz., large subunit: 50-55 kDa and a small subunit: 12-18 kDa. The specific activity was maximum with 0-30% AS step and decreased with increasing AS%, indicating that it was getting extracted at the earlier stage of the AS precipitation itself. There was a loss of activity as well as the relative purity of the enzyme with increasing AS% . Though the PAGE electrophoretic patterns doesnt conspicously confirm the presence of the enzyme, the assy from the fraction proved so. The probable reason of the faint band may be due to insufficient protein being loaded in the gel or may be due to over destaining of the band or less staining. On the whole Rubisco was successfully isolated.

Comparing the Duty of the Physician in Dracula, Frankenstein, and Awake

   Through close analysis of the respective physicians illustrated within Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and Oliver Sack's Awakenings, one is able to comment upon their respective duties. The duty of the doctor, as portrayed in these texts, can be seen to be highly varied and immensely diverse. Bram Stoker's Dracula deals with the role and duty of the doctor, and with the relationship between them and their patient extensively. Stoker, from a medical family himself (his brothers were doctors), creates a very stereotypical male doctor/female patient scenario with Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing aiding Lucy Westerna and Mina Harper. Of the two physicians however, Seward comes to illustrate the failings of Victorian English society, and is also romantically involved with one of the patients (Lucy Westerna) which confuses and muddles the normal duties one would expect from a doctor to their patient. From these distractions and lack of belief in the supernatural - modern Victorian society dismissed the supernatural - Dr. Van Helsing stands at the forefront of our attention in the battle against Dracula, and demonstrates his duties admirably for all to see. Doctor Abraham Van Helsing is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating characters we encounter within the novel. Aside from his role as "a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day" (Stoker, 121), he is also a gentleman of much compassion and care. At his introduction, Van Helsing is obligated to rush to the Westenra household in Whitby to attend to Lucy Westrena's mysterious illness, as a request from Dr. Seward. Due to the fact that Dr. Seward sucked gangrene poison from Van Helsing's wound ... ...om the extreme case of neglect as illustrated in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein with Victor, to the loyal, courageous Dr. Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula, to the personally moving battle of Dr Sacks in Awakenings. All offer a different level of duty to their patient(s), despite the fact that all have sworn the same Hippocratic Oath.    Bibliography Hammond, Ray. â€Å"The Scientist as God.† The Modern Frankenstein: Fiction Becomes Fact. Poole: Blandford, 1986. 21-45. Rpt. in Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Momanto and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 170. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Sacks, Oliver. Awakenings. London: Picador, 2002. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Broadview Editions, 3rd Edition 2012. Smith, Andrew. Dracula and the Critics. Sheffield: Pavic Publications, 1996. Stoker, Bram. Dracula. London: Penguin, 1998.   

Ihor’s Campaign Essay examples -- Epic Poem Poetry Essays

Ihor’s Campaign Slovo o polku Ihorevi, Ihoria syna Sviatoslavlia, vnuka Ol’hova, or The Tale of Ihor's Campaign, Ihor the Son of Sviatoslav, Grandson of Oleh is â€Å"an epic poem written in the 12th century by an anonymous author† who was most probably from Kyviv or Chernihiv (Hordynsky and Stech 2001). â€Å"From the tenor of the poem, it can be deduced that the author was a mature, experience man, perhaps serving in one of the princely retinues and was versed in the manners and customs of his day† (Kuzych 2000). The original was discovered in 1795 by Graf A. Musin-Pushkin in the archives of Yoil in the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl, Russia, and was published in Saint Petersburg in 1800 with the assistance of the paleographers A. Malinovsky and Mykola Bantysh-Kamensky (Hordynsky and Stech 2001). â€Å"The single preserved copy was apparently hidden after 1240 when the Mongol incursions into Ukraine began† (Kuzych 2000). The only original copy is claimed to have been burned in 1812 when Moscow was seized by Napoleon’s troops (Wikipedia 2005) and the lack of a genuine script â€Å"allowed a number of skeptical critics in the early 19th century to consider the work a falsification of a later date† but many scholars, â€Å"particulary Mykailo Maksymovych, demonstrated connections between the Slovo and Ukrainian folk poetry† (Hordynsky and Stech 2001). â€Å"The subject of the poem is the unsuccessful campaign mounted in the spring of 1185 Ihor Syviatoslavych of Novhorod-Siverskyi against the Cumans and its central theme is the fate of the territories of Rus’† (Hordynsky and Stech 2001). The lyrical poem combines historical subject matter with â€Å"dreams, laments, natures’ reaction to the hero's fate, monologues of princes, other motifs and ... ...ble platinum coin form the Millennium Commemorative Coin Set† portraying the author composing the poem while watching Ihor’s battle take place (Kuzych 2000). In 2000 Ukraine indirectly honored the epic poem by minting a â€Å"commemorative 5-hryvnia silver coin minted for: ‘The 900th Anniversary of the Novhorod-Siverskyi Principality’† and depicted a prince leading an army in front of the old Rus’ fortress (Kuzych 2000). Works Cited Hordynsky, S. and M. R. Stech (2001). Encyclopedia of Ukraine. http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\S\L\SlovoopolkuIhoreviIT.htm Kuzych, I. (2000). Commemorations of "The Tale of Ihor's Campaign.† The Ukrainian Weekly No. 40. http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2000/400024.shtml Wikipedia: The Free Encylcopedia. The Tale of Igor’s Campaign. (2005). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Igor's_Campaign

Meaning of Life Essay

Here’s what a recent survey found: †¢ 25% of people say it is to seek truth and create meaning for yourself †¢ 22% think the meaning of life is to lovingly help others and make the world better †¢ 18% say there is no meaning †¢ 8% think it is to reproduce and continue your genes and the human race †¢ 8% say it is to find happiness †¢ 6% believe it is to learn how to serve and worship God, while †¢ 8% don’t know While it seems there are several purposes to life, science is beginning to reveal there is one fundamental purpose to all life. Every moment of your existence your body works to keep energy flowing. Every second you breathe air, you add food and water to replace the energy you use. Everything you sense or do is connected to the flow of energy in one form or another. You are so used to this energy flow that you hardly notice it. It is the ultimate process of your life. If your energy stops flowing you die: flowing energy differentiates living creatures from dead ones. While the purpose of all life might be to help energy flow, the same laws of energy indicate that a meaning of your own life is to find how your energy flows best. Is this science echoing those scriptures that suggest you have your own unique ‘gift’ that you should use? What does your energy enable you to do best? This can be as simple as determining what you are truly passionate about or what you do better than anyone else. Unfortunately, many of us are not aware of what this is. As such, the individual meaning of your life is for you to discover what makes your energy flow best and then how to do that. How you use energy best varies for everyone – therefore, everyone has a slightly different meaning to someone else. Ignoring this means your energy will be all mixed up and your life will be chaotic. This is what most scriptures and spiritual writings are trying to tell us, but just didn’t understand energy well enough. If you look at ancient scriptures and spiritual writings in terms of energy you start to realise that they, and modern science, are all saying something similar. In short, while the purpose of all life is about helping energy flow, spread and balance, your individual meaning is about determining how you do this best, what you do that helps your energies flow best.

Logitech Case analysis Essay

Logitech is an innovative global provider for several technological accessories and peripherals. Logitech become incorporated in the early 1980’s and nearly three decades later it had roughly 40% of the market share in arenas such as Mice, Webcam, and Remotes. In order to fully understand Logitech’s success it is important to understand their strategy for growing but also their strategy for the issues they have faced. And ultimately deciding what will be their competitive advantage in the future. In order to understand the strategy of Logitech is it imperative to conduct a brief external analysis, beginning with the general environment. The general environment focuses on demographic, economic, political/ legal, socio- cultural, technological, geographic, and physical environmental trends. These trends help analyze what the next strategic moves should be. In Logitech’s case it is crucial for them to analyze all seven trends but focus on the technological trends. N ext, an industry analysis needs to be done in order to gain an idea of what kinds of competitive forces the industry will face. These forces are based off of five criteria: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new substitutes, and rivalry among existing competitors. The third step in conducting an external analysis is understanding the competitor’s objectives, strategies, and their capabilities. Logitech realized early on whom its competitors were, Creative Technology Ltd., Microsoft Corporation, and Royal Philips Electronics, and was able to differentiate its products from them. Strategy is a set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage. Based on Logitech’s objectives of growth and earnings, they enacted a few key strategies in order to achieve their goals. One strategy was acquisition; Logitech realized that to enhance the company’s development it was crucial to expand their portfolio into other markets and not just the computer mouse. This strategy was seen through the acquisition of QuickCam PC in 1998, Labtec, Inc. in 2001, Intrigue Technologies, Inc. in 2004, etc. After Logitech’s initial product, they realized that they would have to be proactive in findi ng innovative ways to grow and in 2000 they introduced their first gaming console controller. Followed quickly by the production of Logitech’s  io Personal Digital Pen. Logitech’s competitive advantage has been the first- mover advantage, allowing them to build a rapport with buyers enabling them to have larger market segments. This is seen with their pioneering of the computer mouse and keyboard, as well as having been on the forefront in video conferencing. The case also states, â€Å"Instead of following market trends, Logitech has often created them.†- an indicator of their first- mover competitive advantage. Although Logitech had much success with its strategies of innovation and acquisition, they have also had their fare share of implications, some of which they have overcome and others that remain. One critical issue that Logitech faced was the recent financial crisis of 2007/2008. Because technological products are a luxury good, consumers tend to cut back when there is less disposable income. This can be seen in the 9% decrease, 29% decrease, and 39% decrease for sales, operating income, and net income respectively from 2009 t o 2010. One method that Logitech maneuvered the crisis was by reducing its workforce by 15%. Additionally, they cut dividends causing their earnings retention ratio to increase, which give them excess cash for R&D as well as excess cash for acquisitions. Another issue that Logitech faced was having numerous manufacturing plants dispersed globally. After Logitech realized that these dispersed plants were hindering their growth, they consolidated. This allowed them to increase their competitiveness and maintain lower priced products. The examples above relate to issues that Logitech faced but were able to overcome. However, there are still issues that Logitech faces but have unable to resolve. The dominant challenge that Logitech faces currently is in regards to evolving buyer needs. In 2010, Apple enhanced their touch screen technology by incorporating built- in accelerometers, which eliminated the need for mice or Trackpads. Additionally, Apple and Windows products now come equipped with higher quality speakers and camera, diminishing the need for Logitech peripherals. With the decreasing market demand for Logitech’s peripherals, they must decide the strategic direction for their future. From the inauguration of Logitech, they have always exceled in overcoming their competitors by their innovative strategy. In order to overcome the issues they currently face they need to bring innovation back to the table. They need to truly differentiate by focusing directly on attributes, consumer relationships, or links within or between  firms. In addition to achieving differentiation as a competitive advantage, Logitech needs to redirect their strategic goals by examining the five major elements of strategy. They need to reevaluate their arena and narrow their market segments. They need to focus their vehicle on acquisitions, as they have done in the past. Redirecting their strategic direction and putting the focus back on innovative, cutting- edge product will help them re-differentiate from their competitors, which will allow Logitech to continue in the future as a premier technology company.

Near v. Minnesota Supreme Court Case

Near v. Minnesota was a groundbreaking case which ensured that prohibitions against prior restraint applied to states as well as the federal government. The Supreme Court used the Fourteenth Amendment to incorporate First Amendment Freedom of Press to the states. Fast Facts: Near v. Minnesota Case Argued: January 30, 1930Decision Issued: June 1, 1931Petitioner: Jay Near, publisher of The Saturday PressRespondent: James E. Markham, Assistant Attorney General for the State of MinnesotaKey Questions: Did Minnesota’s injunction against newspapers and other publications violate the freedom of the press under the First Amendment?Majority: Justices Hughes, Holmes, Brandeis, Stone, RobertsDissenting: Van Deventer, McReynolds, Sutherland, ButlerRuling: The gag law was unconstitutional on its face. The government should not censor publications by using prior restraint even in instances where publishing certain material might land the publication in court. Facts of the Case In 1925, Minnesota legislators passed a law that became known publicly as the Minnesota Gag Law. As the name suggests, it allowed a judge to issue a gag order, preventing any publication from printing content that could be considered a â€Å"public nuisance.† This included content the judge believed to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, malicious, scandalous, or defamatory. The gag law was a form of prior restraint, which occurs when a government entity pro-actively prevents someone from publishing or distributing information. Under Minnesotas law, the publisher bore the burden of proving that the material was true and published with good motives and for justifiable ends. If the publication refused to comply with the temporary or permanent injunction, the publisher could face fines of up to $1,000 or imprisonment in a county jail for up to 12 months. The law was put to the test six years after it was enacted. On September 24, 1927, The Saturday Press, a Minneapolis newspaper, began printing articles that suggested local officials were working with gangsters known for bootlegging, gambling, and racketeering. On November 22, 1927, the paper was served with a temporary injunction. The publisher, Jay Near, objected to the injunction on constitutional grounds, but both the Minnesota District Court and the Minnesota Supreme Court overruled his objection. Newspapers and the American Civil Liberties Union rallied to Near’s cause during the trial, worried the success of Minnesota’s Gag Law would encourage other states to pass similar laws allowing prior restraint. Ultimately, a jury found that The Saturday Press had engaged in â€Å"the business of regularly and customarily producing, publishing and circulating a malicious, scandalous and defamatory newspaper.† Near appealed the judgment to the Minnesota Supreme Court.   The court found in favor of the state. In his decision, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Samuel B. Wilson, noted that the state should have deference when enacting laws in the interest of protecting the public. Justice Wilson added that the permanent injunction did not prevent the paper from â€Å"operating a newspaper in harmony with the public welfare.† Near appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court evaluated the case in terms of whether or not Minnesotas Gag Law was constitutional. The court did not rule on the validity of the jury’s findings. Constitutional Issues Does Minnesota’s law, which allows prior restraint of â€Å"obscene, lewd, lascivious, malicious, scandalous, or defamatory† content, violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution? Arguments Weymouth Kirkland argued the case for Near and The Saturday Press. He argued that First Amendment freedom of the press should apply to states. Chapter 285 of the Laws of 1925, Minnesotas Gag Law, was unconstitutional because restricted freedom of the press. The temporary and permanent injunction gave significant power to Minnesota judges, Kirkland argued. They could block publication of anything that they considered not â€Å"in harmony† with public welfare. In essence, Minnesota’s Gag Law silenced The Saturday Press, he told the court. The State of Minnesota argued that liberty and freedom of the press were not absolute. â€Å"Liberty† protected under the Fourteenth Amendment did not allow publications to print anything unconditionally. Minnesota had enacted a law aimed at protecting the public from salacious and untruthful content. It did nothing to abridge the freedom of the press to publish truthful journalistic accounts. Majority Opinion Justice Charles E. Hughes delivered the 5-4 opinion. The majority declared Minnesota’s Gag Law unconstitutional. The Court used the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause to apply First Amendment Freedom of Press to the states. The intent of this freedom, Justice Hughes wrote, was to prevent censorship in the form of prior restraint. â€Å"Liberty of speech, and of the press, is...not an absolute right, and the State may punish its abuse,† Justice Hughes wrote. However, that punishment cannot come prior to publication of the content, Justice Hughes explained. Under Minnesota’s libel laws, the state affords anyone criminally wronged by the publication of material a way to address their frustration in court.   Justice Hughes left the door open for some form of prior restraint in the future. The majority agreed that the government could justify prior restraint in some narrow circumstances. For example, the government might be able to make a case for prior restraint during wartime if a publication threatens to reveal military secrets. However, Justice Hughes wrote: â€Å"The fact that, for approximately one hundred and fifty years, there has been almost an entire absence of attempts to impose previous restraints upon publications relating to the malfeasance of public officers is significant of the deep-seated conviction that such restraints would violate constitutional right.† Dissenting Opinion Justice Pierce Butler dissented, joined by Justices Willis Van Devanter, Clark McReynolds, and George Sutherland. Justice Butler argued that the Court had overstepped in imposing First Amendment protections on the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Butler also opined that striking down Minnesota’s Gag Law would allow malicious and scandalous papers like The Saturday Press to prosper. The Saturday Press regularly published defamatory articles â€Å"concerning the principal public officers, leading newspapers of the city, many private persons, and the Jewish race.† The publication of this content, Justice Butler argued, was an abuse of free press and Minnesota’s Gag Law offered a logical and limited remedy. Impact Near v. Minnesota was the first ruling in which the Supreme Court addressed the legality of prior restraint under the First Amendment. The ruling laid the basis for future cases that dealt with censorship of media, and Near v. Minnesota continues to be cited as a bedrock case defending freedom of the press. In New York Times Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court’s per curiam opinion relied on Near v. Minnesota to create a â€Å"heavy presumption† against prior restraint. Sources Murphy, Paul L. â€Å"Near v. Minnesota in the Context of Historical Developments.†Ã‚  Minnesota Law Review, vol. 66, 1981, pp. 95–160., https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/2059.Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931).â€Å"Near at 85: A Look Back at the Landmark Decision.†Ã‚  The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, https://www.rcfp.org/journals/news-media-and-law-winter-2016/near-85-look-back-landmark/.

Information Perception Management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1111 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Perception The interaction provided in the weekly assignment drew upon our knowledge of perception in each business situation. Perception is an idea of the reality in the world we know. The problem is what we perceive to be true, may be clouded by irrelevant information. Thus, devouring our perceived reality: as figment of our imagination. Perception can have negative and positive connotations. Perception in management needs to be free of biases, stereotypes, discrimination. An excellent and common example of the fallacy of negative perception is an abundance of people who joke that blondes are unintelligent and flighty. If an employer hires two blonde workers, and finds them to be like the preceding stereotypes of blondes; meaning unintelligent and flighty. The employer might perceive all blondes to fit that particular mold. The negative perception is both a fallacy and stereotypical. All people regardless of race, gender, or age are unique. One person may be highly intelligent, whereas another person may be exceptionally creative. People do not fit into a particular mold, and each person should be treated the same regardless of race, gender, or age. Management has the tedious job of researching the facts in relation to disciplinary function, interviewing applicants, and ethical conduct with an organization. In this weeks assignment, we are analyzing perception and its role in effective management. The first scenario pertains to an employee who is late to work three days in a row. The manager has only been recently promoted, and does not have familiarity with the late employees routine or work habits. The immediate sensory perception would be to assume the employee is chronically late, making excuses, and needs to be reprimanded. The perception of the employee can be related to the Attribution Theory, which is defined by Robbins (2005) as â€Å"the explanation of the ways in which we judge people differently, depending on the mean ing we attribute to a given behavior (Robbins, 2005, p. 136). An effective manager must do research to gain a better understanding of the employees normal routine and the facts related to the occurrences of tardiness to date. The first step is to look into the employees personnel file, and find any written reprimands relating to being tardy. The conclusion to checking the file was no written reprimands and performance reviews were all positive. The option of speaking with coworkers about the late employees previous tardy behavior was deemed unprofessional. The organization has plenty of information available to verify the employees tardiness to date. The author believes that subordinates should never be included in management research, unless they are directly affected by the actions or specific research. As a precautionary step, the manager needs to check other time records to make sure that the previous manager had not overlooked his tardiness in the past. The review of time record review indicates that the employee was only late the previous week. The immediate sensory perception of a chronically late employee who is making excuses has been distinguished through effective management and research. The manager at this point can sit down and have a conversation with the employee and have a firm understanding of what is going on and take action to correct the tardiness. After discussing the tardiness with the employee, the manager has determined that the tardiness is linked to external factors. External factors are outside causes, such as the car breaking down. The internal factors would be causes that were under the employees personal control; such as personal inability to wake up on time. The first scenario could have had an alternate chain of events had the new manager made an immediate response and reprimanded the employee. The employee could have resigned or promoted a negative attitude amongst other employees; therefore validating the need for al l managers to base decisions regarding discipline on facts rather than an immediate perception. The second scenario is the new manager sitting in for an employment interview with a potential employee. In the interview, the applicant states he was born in another country. He additionally received his degrees in another country. After receiving his masters degree, he moved to the United States. The applicant has significant college credentials, but lacks experience with the specific designs he would be hired for. Though the applicant has deficits in the design experience, he does have experience in working with teams for other designs. The applicant was approved for hire. A shortcut of judging others was avoided in this interview. The new manager could have easily pointed out that the applicant was not from the United States, nor did he receive his education in the United States. The selective perception could make the applicant stand out, because he is different by birthright. The applicant would presumably have a strong accent, which would be another shortcut for judging in the selection perception. The new manager subjectively listened to the information the applicant had, and made an unbiased opinion based on the best candidate for the position. The third scenario is about an employee who has access to the private plans of a competitor. Indulging in the information could benefit the managers company extensively: though the consequences for this action could be indistinguishable. The idea of accessing a competitors private information is unethical. The ethical choice to not access the information is the utilitarian criterion (Robbins, 2005, p. 157). The utilitarian criterion takes into account the consequences for the unethical action. In conclusion, the illustration of how perception applies to each scenario is astounding. A manager has to look at each workplace incidence with objectivity, being cautious not to judge each situation immediately. T he research the manager did in the first scenario; was beneficial to the company and the late employee. The non-judgemental selection of applicant in scenario two helped bring an exceptional employee to the design team. The third scenario dealt with an unethical method of retaining a competitors private information. The idea was thwarted by management, and the possibility of lawsuit was extinguished. The utilitarian criterion was used; which likes the negative consequences to the unethical action. The three scenarios revolve around perception and the options a manager has. References Behavior; Reports Summarize Behavior Research from Claremont Graduate University. (2008). Biotech Week, 293. Retrieved from https://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com Drawdy, D. D., Andrews, M. C., Buckley, N. S. (2008). Mentoring, Supervisor Support, and Perceived Organizational Support. Leadership Organization Developmental Journal, 29(3), 235-247. Retrieved from https://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com Jenson, S. M., Luthans, F. (). 2006. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 27(8), 646-666. Retrieved from https://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organization Behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education. Spector, P. E. (2004). The Stressor-Emotion Model of Counterproductive Work Behavior. 151-174. Retrieved from https://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Information Perception Management" essay for you Create order