To Clone Or Not Clone. Essays - Cloning, Molecular Biology, Genetics

To Clone Or Not Clone. To clone or not to clone Cloning humans has recently become a possibility that seems much more feasible in today's society than it was twenty years ago. It is a method that involves the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when or how cloning humans really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of this issue will arise and will be virtually impossib le to avoid, but the overall idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible reality for the future. Cloning presents as much a moral problem as a technical problem. Cloning is an affront to religious sensibilities; it seems like playing God, and interfering with the natural process. There are, of course, more logical objections, regarding susceptibility to disease, expense, and diversity. Others are worried about the abuses of cloning. Cloning appears to be a powerful force that can be exploited to produce horrendous results. Cloning may reduce genetic variability, Producing many clones runs the risk of creating a population that is entirely the same. This population would be susceptible to the same diseases, and one disease could devastate the entire population. One can easily picture humans being wiped out be a single virus, however, less drastic, but more probable events could occur from a lack of genetic diversity. For example, if a large percentage of an nation's cattle are identical clones, a virus, such as a particular strain of mad cow disease, could effect the entire population. The result could be catastrophic food shortages in that nation. Cloning may cause people to settle for the best existing animals, not allowing for improvement of the species. In this way, cloning could potentially interfere with natural evolution. Cloning is currently an expensive process. Cloning requires large amounts of money and biological expertise. Ian Wilmut and his associates required 277 tries before producing Dolly. A new cloning technique has recently been developed which is far more reliable. However, even this technique has 2-3% success rate. There is a risk of disease transfer between transgenic animals and the animal from which the transgenes were derived. If an animal producing drugs in its milk becomes infected by a virus, the animal may transmit the virus to a patient using the drug. Any research into human cloning would eventually need to be tested on human. The ability to clone humans may lead to the genetic tailoring of offspring. The heart of the cloning debate is concerned with the genetic manipulation of a human embryo before it begins development. It is conceivable that scientists could alter a baby's genetic code to give the individual a certain color of eyes or genetic resistance to certain diseases. This is viewed as inappropriate tampering with Mother Nature by many ethicists. Because clones are derived from an existing adult cell, it has older genes. Will the clone's life expectancy be shorter because of this? Despite this concern, so far, all clones have appeared to be perfectly normal creatures. A genetic screening test could be used to eliminate zygotes of a particular gender, without requiring a later abortion. Cloning might be used to create a perfect human, or one with above normal strength and sub-normal intelligence, a genetic underclass. Also, if cloning is perfected in humans, there would be no genetic need for men. Cloning might have a detrimental effect on familial relationships. A child born from an adult DNA cloning of his father could be considered a delayed identical twin of one of his parents. It is unknown as to how a human might react if he or

The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently essay

The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently essay The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently essay The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently essayReading is one of the very important steps to self-perfection. A poem â€Å"The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently† written by Thomas Lux demonstrates many interesting aspects of possibility to read silently, opening people the truth about their inner world. Thus, the main aim of the assignment is to interpret the poem, and to explain what message the poet is trying to convey.First of all, it is necessary to state that according to the poem’s author, â€Å"the voice you hear when you read silently† is not silent in literal sense because when the person is simply reading the words, he is speaking to the own inner world. For instance, when the poet writes â€Å"its the writers words, / of course, in a literary sense / his or her voice, but the sound / of that voice is the sound of your voice,† these phrases mean that the one can obtain a kind of specific privacy or even intimacy in literature, when he or she reads quietly. The statement also shows that no one has the right and possibility to move into the person’s head and to understand personal feelings and emotions, and only the person is able to interpret own feelings.The poem has many metaphors and other literary devices to deeply influence the reader. For instance, the concept of â€Å"constellation† is used to cover a whole array of things. The author is saying that when somebody reads silently to itself, he or she is exposed to many sensations as well as it allows to experience many things. The person can not only â€Å"see† everything, but also this kind of reading helps to be engaged in the process of interpreting the text with all other senses. According to the poet, such a kind of reading also helps to smell things and to feel them. Of course, everything depends on the previous experience of the person because all visual images are taken from the person’s memory but reading of the new concepts also allows to create new images or to add some details to the existing picture of reality. The voice the person hears when he or she reads silently can be very loud inside the mind, and the poet mentions through litotes that this is the own voice of the reader, the voice that can be heard when the words are pronounced during the process of reading.Moreover, the poem reveals inner secrets of human soul, when the author conveys the reader that the voice he or she hears when reads silently is ‘true’ voice, the voice that really knows everything about the reader because this voice appears from the deepest level of human personality. This voice helps the reader to make some subconscious associations; let’s pay attention to the word ‘barn’, especially in a case when the voice gives this word positive or negative meaning, while the poet leaves the word without explanations. All the above mentioned devices serve to move the poem because they make the reader to be interested in the poem and forced not only to read the poem and forget it immediately but to listen to inner feelings and to think some time about the text for the purpose to understand the meaning of it and to make some conclusions.The poem also shows that there exists one word that creates an image, but all other words are also important because they fill the image with all the necessary details, or make the image to be full of visual imagery. In addition, the voice of the reader is the thing that he possesses and it is impossible to loose it because it is a part of human personality. It allows to suppose that a so-called inner voice is not an intuition as some people think but this voice is a result of individual perception of the text that is modeled precisely on the basis of the experience that a person has had in the past. By the way, this phenomenon explains the fact that, after reading the book, the film is not already look interesting. As a result, Thomas Lux understands and explains this fact about the presence of inner voice and its influence on human soul, proving that the human brain forms own images and pictures.In conclusion, the poem â€Å"The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently† by Thomas Lux deals with one of the mysterious phenomena in the world such as human mind. The mystery lies in the fact that every reader is able to hear the own inner voice in the process of reading, and Lux’s poem shows the way how the process of reading silently influences on the person’s attitude to one or another information as well as the person can interpret everything on the base of the past experience.

How To Make Red Cabbage pH Paper Test Strips

How To Make Red Cabbage pH Paper Test Strips Its easy, safe, and fun to make your own pH paper test strips. This is a project that kids can do and that can be done from home, though calibrated test strips would work in a lab, too. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 15 minutes plus drying time Heres How Cut a red cabbage (or purple) into pieces such that it will fit into a blender. Chop the cabbage, adding the minimum amount of water needed to blend it (because you want the juice as concentrated as possible). If you dont have a blender, then use a vegetable grater or chop your cabbage using a knife.Microwave the cabbage until its at the boiling point. Youll see the liquid boil or else steam rising from the cabbage. If you dont have a microwave, soak the cabbage in a small volume of boiling water or else heat the cabbage using another method.Allow the cabbage to cool (about 10 minutes).Filter the liquid from the cabbage through a filter paper or coffee filter. It should be deeply colored.Soak a filter paper or coffee filter in this liquid. Allow it to dry. Cut the dry colored paper into test strips.Use a dropper or toothpick to apply a little liquid to a test strip. The color range for acids and bases will depend on the particular plant. If you like, you can construct a chart of pH a nd colors using liquids with a known pH so that you can then test unknowns. Examples of acids include hydrochloric acid (HCl), vinegar, and lemon juice. Examples of bases include sodium or potassium hydroxide (NaOH or KOH) and baking soda solution. Another way to use your pH paper is as a color-change paper. You can draw on pH paper using a toothpick or cotton swab that has been dipped in an acid or base. Tips If you dont want colored fingers, soak only half of the filter paper with the cabbage juice, leaving the other side uncolored. Youll get less usable paper, but you will have a place to grab it.Many plants produce pigments that can be used as pH indicators. Try this project with some of the other common home and garden indicators. What You Need Red CabbageFilter Paper or Coffee FiltersBlender - optionalMicrowave - optionalDropper or Toothpicks - optional

Discuss why and in what ways young people have been treated Essay - 2

Discuss why and in what ways young people have been treated differently in the criminal justice system - Essay Example There are several reasons for treating younger people differently by the court of law. According to a leading researcher of United States National Institute of Mental Health; Jay Giedd, during adolescence the brain is not completely developed for making any kind of organizational or strategic decision making processes. Hence it is unfair to expect juveniles having adult levels of decision making or organizational skills. Human brains do not develop completely before 18 years. According to latest researches, it has been observed that teenagers are susceptible to surroundings. It is very clear that younger people have a sharp brain and they have the potential to learn things quickly compared to other age group people. Northern Ireland has a different and separate justice system for children between age group 10 to 17. Similarly many other countries have separate jurisdiction system for children and young people. It is believed that children and teenagers can obtain proper correction in rehab centres than in prison. Researchers have also mentioned that if young children are put to prison with adult criminals either they will become the victims in prison or else they will become worse depending on the surroundings they are exposed. This essay will discuss about the difference of criminal justice system and the reasons with respect to children. The public prosecution system and the police; both play important role during the execution of a criminal justice system. Police and prosecution system are responsible for providing substantial evidence before the court in order to prove whether a convict is guilty. In case of children the system and the procedure remains same however the liberty is more compared to adults. In many countries it has been observed that children and young convicts are allowed to speak in order to know their intentions. After the diversionary youth conference and the decision from PSNI in the year 2003, PPS have been given the

Personal Jurisdiction in the Internet Age Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Jurisdiction in the Internet Age - Essay Example It is providing general information, allowing readers to contribute their opinions, and these characteristics are certainly more passive than interactive. A closer examination, however, reveals that this website is quite interactive. At the top of the page there is a "donate" link. Readers are encouraged to support this site financially because it is not a traditional commercial enterprise. Donating online is a form of two-way communication and hardly passive. In addition, there are many advertisements on this web page. While advertisements alone, per se, are inadequate to justify personal jurisdiction, these particular advertisements are related to the conspiracy topic of the web site. There are shirts with the web page logo for sale, advertisements for investments in gold and precious metals to hide from an inevitable economic crash, and a web site store hawking everything from key rings to videos and hats. Most significantly, these products are sold online, through the web site. T he operator of this web site, therefore, must recognize that many states can acquire personal jurisdiction. This web site is not passive. This web site is much more than the "middle spectrum" cases to which Wolf refers.

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay Example for Free

The role of prophesy in the Judeo-Christian tradition Essay In Hebrew, the usual word for prophet is nab. The New Testament uses prophetes from which the English â€Å"prophet† is derived. Prophets were interpreters of God’s will. In popular thought, prophecy is associated with predicting future events but this was not the main function of Biblical prophets. According to Newsome (1984) Hebrew prophets have their roots in a wider Near Eastern context where seers played a clairvoyant role, sometimes using sheep’s entrails as signs pointing to future happenings (p. 11). Seeing the future was associated with ecstatic trance-like states as the seer communicated with spirits, or with God. In the Hebrew tradition, clairvoyant ability became less significant, with prophets taking on a special role as guardians of God’s covenant. The prophet’s job was to challenge the children of Israel to keep the commandments, to keep their covenant with God by upholding justice, living righteously and forsaking the worship of false Gods. There may have been guilds based at some of the ancient holy shrines, such as Shiloh where Samuel operated. I Kings 22: 6 refers to King Ahab summoning four hundred prophets to seek their advice. One of the most important prophets was Nathan, who challenged David to live up to the ideal of kingly conduct. In the Bible, there are sixteen books named for prophets (the twelve minor prophets form one book in the Hebrew bible but are sub-divided in Christian versions). There were many other prophets besides those after whom books have been named, including Elijah and Elisha. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are considered Major Prophets. Moses and Aaron are also referred to as prophets, though they are not usually regarded as such. Indeed Deuteronomy 18:18-22 suggests that Moses represents the â€Å"example of what a YAHWEH prophet should be† (Newsome, p. 5). The prophet spoke truth to power. In doing so, they pointed out what consequences would follow if people failed to keep the commandments. God would punish God’s people. Consistently, the message was â€Å"Obey my voice, and I will be your God †¦ walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you† (Jeremiah 7: 23). When Jeremiah spoke about the Temple’s destruction, this was not a prediction but a warning of what would happen if the Hebrews disregarded justice. When speaking of the future, what was said was based on what prophets knew â€Å"of the nature of a holy God and of a sinful, arrogant people† (Newsome, p. 11). Ecstasy continued to be associated with prophecy but what was more important was the content of their message, not the means by which this was communicated. False prophets had to be denounced. Famously, Elijah battled with the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Above all, prophets were bearers of â€Å"revelation†, their words came to them from God. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as a prophet (Luke 7: 16) and in Christian theology Jesus is understood as God’s word made flesh. Prophets were often reluctant to accept their calling, for example, Jonah (see Jonah 1: 3). Sometimes they operated against the established political system, calling kings to account. At times prophets appear as honored members of a king’s inner circle. In the New Testament, Matthew often cites â€Å"prophecies†, suggesting that prophets predicted events in Jesus life. One way of understanding this is that Matthew was anxious to emphasize continuity between God’s revelation in Jesus and God’s revelation through the prophets. The role of prophet existed in the early church but was never formalized, perhaps because â€Å"prophecy† cannot be controlled. It can challenge established authority. The New Testament also warns against false prophets (Matthew 7: 15), so any claim to be a prophet must be tested against the content of the message. Reference Newsome, James D. 1984. The Hebrew Prophets. Atlanta, Ga: J. Knox Press.

What women want Essay -- essays research papers

The film What Women Want is directed by Nancy Myers. In this film, the issue of the catalyst initiating change is looked at and the affects of this change. This film shows how the protagonist, Nick Marshall, a middle aged advertising agent develops his perception of women and creates strong relationship with his daughter. Nick loves the world he initially lived in. He did not treat women with much respect, yet had no trouble finding dates and was content in living this way. The change initiated is accidental when Nick is electrocuted in the bathtub, allowing him to hear women’s thoughts. This scene is important as it shows the catalyst responsible for Nick’s transition into a new phase. Slow motion is a filming technique used as the audience can become fully aware of the significance of the scene. As the hair dryer falls into the water, it falls slowly. Rapid camera angles are used with non-diegetic music (mood music) in order to create a humorous tone for the scene. At first, Nick opposes this change as he tries to get rid of this new gift of his by electrocuting himself again. This does not work. This opposition to change is parallel to Old Bill in The Simple Gift, as his change is also not expected or welcome. As the film goes on, Nick’s perspectives change, both towards women and this gift he has. As shown in a particular scene where Nick is sitting around laughing, enjoying women’s company. This film technique of gesture show Nick enjoying the women’s company, but al...

London by William Blake and Composed upon Westminster Bridge bt William Wordsworth Essay

The Revolution in France coincided with the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution of England. During this period the rich became richer, the poor became even poorer, and major towns or cities became over crowded. The thoughts and feelings of the people living throughout the country at this time, often were expressed in poetic form. Two such poems set around the same time and both set in London are â€Å"London†, by William Blake and William Wordsworth’s â€Å"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge.† â€Å"London† is written nine years before â€Å"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge†, and tells of the suffering of the people of London. A uniform and exact feeling is sensed in the opening two lines of the poem, as both streets and the Thames are described as being â€Å"chartered† and something which is chartered is very exact and has a definite and set outline. The next two lines ending the first stanza tell of weakness and woe in every face Blake meets, meaning there is sadness and regret along with vulnerability sensed by him as he passes people along his journey. The first two lines of the second stanza read of the cry of both men and infants. The reason why infants cry is because they cannot say what is hurting or annoying them. Therefore we are led to realise that the suffering felt by the adults of London or of ‘Man’ as it were, is so intense that even they cannot verbalise it and so they cry out. Ending the second stanza we read that the poet hears â€Å"mind-forg’d manacles†. These are forms of fears, enforced into the minds of people, holding them back from doing or saying certain things. We are told these fears are found â€Å"in every person’s voice, in every ban†, meaning that these common fears are sensed by the poet, in every person he encounters. The opening lines of the third stanza again tells of crying and also now of admonition. In this case the chimney-sweeper’s cry is heard. In those days chimney-sweepers were young children forced to go out to work by their families. They did very difficult and pain staking work for very little money – it shows their pain and suffering in doing so. Condemnation comes from the church. The religious leaders are appalled at the fact of this, yet the poet describes the church as â€Å"blackening†, giving us the impression of an unpleasant ‘refuge’ which turns a blind eye on the suffering of the sweeps. The closing two lines of the third stanza reads of a â€Å"hapless soldier’s sigh run in blood down the Palace walls.† This conveys to us that the hopelessness felt by soldiers is stemming from the fact that their welfare is not considered by those in charge. The soldier is sent to war by a ruler who cares little for him. The first three lines of the final stanza tells us that the majority of noise heard comes from â€Å"youthful Harlot’s curses/ [which] blasts the new born Infant’s tear†. This means that a lot of the noise heard during the night comes from young prostitutes shouting at young babies to be quiet because they are crying. An uncomfortable and unsettling mix is created through the contrast of these young women who sell their bodies for sex, yelling at young, fearful and unadulterated infants. The final line is an ominous one containing the statement â€Å"And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse†. The fact that we are told of how the prostitutes are â€Å"blighting† with â€Å"plagues† the â€Å"Marriage hearse† is significant – Marriage usually means a life just starting out with someone else, this contrasts with a hearse which carries coffins and so is usually linked with death and hence symbolises the end of a life. The curse and words associated with disease give us a sense that sexually transmitted diseases are quickly spreading and they are readily killing all of society. Overall Blake takes a negative and strict viewing point of London which echoes the great suffering of the day. Another poem, set in London and written just nine years after â€Å"London† offers a contrasting tone to Blake’s. It is William Wordsworth’s â€Å"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge†. â€Å"Composed Upon Westminster Bridge† is a similar poem to â€Å"London† as the poet is the one travelling through the London it describes, yet the poems contrast greatly. Wordsworth opens with an emphatic statement, praising London as he says it surpasses anything on the earth. In the second and third line Wordsworth makes the statement: â€Å"Dull would he be of soul who could pass by/A sight so touching in its majesty:† which means one would have to be ‘dead inside’ if he/she couldn’t appreciate such beauty. The fact that Wordsworth uses the word â€Å"majesty† offers a regal sense, a regal beauty – giving us the idea of just how grand and magnificent this city actually is. This contrasts well with the disease ridden city described by Blake, using such words as plague and blight, giving the city an altogether unsettling atmosphere. In the fourth line Wordsworth starts out by giving the word â€Å"City† a capital letter, which stresses just how important the city actually is. Wordsworth then goes on to tell us how â€Å"like a garment [it] wears/The beauty of the morning†. Like a garment is a simile, and in this case Wordsworth uses clothing imagery to convey to us his point. The fact that he links this with the beauty of the morning suggests to us that this beauty â€Å"fits well† with the city. The ending of the fifth line flows into the sixth line and tells of a silent beauty of all of the man made things found in a city. A complete contrast to this, are the two references made by Blake of â€Å"Man’s† creations telling us of â€Å"black’ning† churches and blood-stained Palaces. A disturbing and unpleasant contrast to the silent beauty implied by Wordsworth. The next line tells of how these buildings merge seamlessly with nature; â€Å"Open unto the fields, and to the sky;† As this links directly with the previous line of the silent beauty of the city’s buildings, Wordsworth is connecting man and Nature; the city is at one with Nature’s wanders, at one with God. Blake makes no reference linking both man and Nature, in fact we are given but one reference to nature and that is of the â€Å"chartered Thames†, due to the fact of this we can only infer that Blake is trying communicate to us in fact the great over industrialised ‘hell’ London really is, and just how much Nature has been destroyed in order to create this city. Wordsworth ends this section by telling us in line eight of the scene as â€Å"All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.† conveying to us Wordsworth’s thoughts that London is very clean, very sparkling, beautiful and new. . In lines nine and ten Wordsworth makes another emphatic statement, literally exclaiming that at no other time has the sun, not even since creation, made the landscape more beautiful than currently in London. â€Å"Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!† shows of Wordsworth’s great surprise of just how beautiful London is. He cannot believe what he’s seeing and so is very moved. This again differentiates with Blake’s views on London. He tells of a common fear sensed within all people he met, that they are ill at ease and afraid to go freely around this ‘great’ city. Which can only mean that London may not have been this great and calm city described by Wordsworth. The last lines in the poem are descriptive of the landscape and line twelve sees Wordsworth expressing the freedom felt by Nature: â€Å"The river glideth at his own sweet will†. This contrasts greatly with the limits and restraints conveyed to us through the description of the Thames as being â€Å"chartered†. Suggesting to us the restraints put upon Nature, immobilising it from flourishing due to man’s greed for industry and money. Wordsworth ends his poem exclaiming that it is so quiet and tranquil that even the houses â€Å"seem asleep†. The last line of the poem sets up London as being the ‘heart’ of Great Britain, London is the thing which enables Great Britain to work correctly: â€Å"And all that mighty heart is lying still.† We really sense Wordsworth’s surprise at finding this essential life force so still and at rest. This is the complete opposite to Blake’s bustling, overcrowded and disease ridden city. The nights are filled with young â€Å"harlot’s† swearing at screaming babies, while they’re out trying to earn a bit of money from sell in themselves for sex while. And all the time aiding to the destruction of society due to the spreading of disease. On the whole, undoubtedly my favourite poem is William Blake’s â€Å"London†. I feel Blake’s poem far surpasses Wordsworth’s as Blake offers to us a more realistic and altogether poignant atmosphere to Wordsworth’s happy and â€Å"perfect† city. I feel that his use of language and style of writing expresses well the perception of London during the course of industrialisation as being an overpopulated and disease ridden â€Å"hell†.

Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 31~32

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Booty and the Beasts The second time Amy came out of the bedroom, she was dressed in her familiar hiking shorts, flip-flops, and a WHALES ARE OUR PALS T-shirt. â€Å"Better?† â€Å"I don't feel any better, if that's what you're asking.† Nate sat at the table with a can of grapefruit juice and a pint of vodka in front of him. â€Å"I mean, are you more comfortable now that I'm dressed? Because I can be naked again in a flash –  » â€Å"You want a drink?† Nate needed to forget the whole naked encounter as quickly as possible. Applying alcohol seemed like the most efficient method at this point. â€Å"Sure,† she said. She pulled a glass out of one of the kitchen cubbies, the clear door folding back like the protective cover of a frog's eye. â€Å"You want a glass?† Nate had been sipping alternately from the juice can and the vodka bottle until he had enough room in the can to pour in some vodka. â€Å"Yeah. I don't like reaching into the cupboards.† â€Å"You're kind of squeamish for a biologist, but I guess it does take some getting used to.† Amy set the glasses in front of him and let him mix the drinks. There was no ice. â€Å"You adjust.† â€Å"You seem to have adjusted. When did they take you? You must have been really young.† â€Å"Me? No, I was born here. I've always been here. That's why I was perfect to work for you guys. The Colonel has been teaching me cetacean biology for years.† It occurred to Nate that he had seen a few human children around and hadn't really thought about growing up in Gooville. Someone had to teach them. Why not the infamous Colonel? â€Å"I should have known. When you were trying to locate the whale by listening for it that last day. I should have known.† â€Å"Correction, when I did locate the whale by listening for it, for which you still owe me dinner.† â€Å"I think this is one of those all-bets-are-off situations, Amy. You were a spy.† â€Å"Nate, before you get too angry, you need to remember the alternative to my spying and finding out what you were working on in detail. That would have been to just kill you. It would have been much easier.† â€Å"You and Ryder act like you did me a favor. Like you saved me from some great danger. The only danger I was in was from you in the first place. So stop trying to impress me with the quality of your mercy. You did it all – tore up the lab, sank Clay's boat, all of it – didn't you?† â€Å"No, not directly. Poynter and Poe tore up the lab. The whaley boys sank Clay's boat. I took the negatives out of the packet at the photo lab. I kept them informed, and I made sure you were where they needed you to be, that's all. I never wanted to hurt you, Nate. Never.† â€Å"I wish I could believe that. Then you show up here like that, trying to convince me that this is a great place to live right after Ryder has given me the speech.† He drained his glass, poured himself another drink, this one with just a splash of grapefruit juice over the top. â€Å"What are you talking about? I haven't seen Ryder since I've been back. I just got in a few hours ago.† â€Å"Well, then it's always been a part of the plan: Let Amy lure the biologist into staying.† â€Å"Nate, look at me.† She took his chin in her hand and looked him right in the eye. â€Å"I came here of my own free will, without any instructions from Ryder or anyone else. In fact, no one knows where I am, except maybe the Goo – you can never be sure about that. I came here to see you, with all the masks and the role-playing out of the way.† Nate pulled away from her. â€Å"And you didn't think I'd be mad? And what was with the whole ‘Look how luscious I am' act?† She looked down. Hurt, Nate thought. Or acting hurt. If she cried, it wouldn't matter. He'd be useless. â€Å"I knew you'd be mad, but I thought you might be able to get over it. I was just trying to be floozish. I'm sorry if I'm not very good at it. It's not a skill you get to use a lot in an undersea city. Truth be told, the dating pool is sort of shallow here in Gooville. I was just trying to be sexy. I never said I was a good floozy.† Nate reached over and patted her hand. â€Å"No, you're a fine floozy. That's not what I was saying. I wasn't questioning your†¦ uh, floozishness. I was just questioning its sincerity.† â€Å"Well, it's sincere. I really do like you. I really did come here to see you, to be with you.† â€Å"Really?† What was the biological analog for this? A black widow spider male falling for one of her lines, knowing innately where it was going. Knowing right down to his very DNA that she was going to kill and eat him right after they mated, but he would worry about after. So time and again Mr. Black Widow passed his dumb-ass, sex-enslaved genes on to the next generation of dumb-ass, sex-enslaved males who would fall for the same trick. Spinning a little conversation: Interesting name, Black Widow. How'd you come about that? Tell me all about yourself. Me? Nah, I'm a simple guy. I'm doomed by my male nature to follow my little spider libido into oblivion. Let's talk about you. Love the red hourglass on your butt. â€Å"Really,† Amy said. There were tears welling in her eyes, and she lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently. â€Å"Amy, I don't want to stay here. I'm not – I want – I'm too old for you, even if you weren't a lying, destructive, evil – ; â€Å"Okay.† She held his hand to her cheek. â€Å"What do you mean, ‘okay'?† â€Å"You don't have to stay. But can I stay with you tonight?† He pulled his hand back from her, but she held his gaze. â€Å"I need to be way more drunk for this,† he said. â€Å"Me, too.† She went over to the scary fridge thing. â€Å"Do you have more vodka?† â€Å"There's another bottle over there in that thing – that other thing that I'm afraid of.† He caught himself watching her bottom while she found the bottle. â€Å"You said ‘okay. You mean you know a way out?† â€Å"Shut up and drink. You gonna drink or you gonna talk?† â€Å"This isn't healthy,† Nate observed. â€Å"Thank you, Dr. Insight,† Amy said. â€Å"Pour me one.† â€Å"Nice red hourglass.† â€Å"What?† Back at his bungalow at Papa Lani, Clay sat on the bed with his head in his hands while Clair rubbed the knots out of his shoulders. He'd told her the Old Broad's story, and she'd listened quietly, asking a few questions as he went along. â€Å"So do you believe her?† Clair asked. â€Å"I don't even know what I'm admitting to believing. But I believe she thinks she's telling the truth. She offered us a boat, Clair. A ship. She offered to buy us a research vessel, hire a crew, pay them.† â€Å"What for?† â€Å"To find Nate and her husband, James.† â€Å"I thought she was broke.† â€Å"She's not broke. She's loaded. I mean, the ship will be a used one, but it's a ship. It will still run in the millions. She wants me to find one – and a crew.† â€Å"And could you find Nate if you had a ship?† â€Å"Where do I look? She thinks he's on an island somewhere, some secret place where these things live. Hell, if she's telling the truth, they could be from outer space. If she's not†¦ well, I can't just run a ship around the world stopping at islands and asking them if they happen to have seen people crawling out of a whale's butt.† â€Å"Technically, baby, whales don't have butts. You have to walk upright to have booty. This is why we are the dominant species on the planet, because we have booty.† â€Å"You know what I mean.† â€Å"It's an important point.† She slid into his lap, her arms around his neck. Clay smiled despite his anxiety. â€Å"Technically, man is not the dominant species. There's at least a thousand pounds of termites for every person on earth.† â€Å"Well, you can have my termites, thanks.† â€Å"So man isn't really dominant, whether it's brains or booty.† â€Å"Baby, I wasn't saying that man was the dominant species, I was saying that we are the dominant species. Wo-man.† â€Å"Because you have booty?† She wiggled on his lap by way of an answer, then leaned her forehead against his, looked in his eyes. â€Å"Good point,† Clay said. â€Å"What about this ship? You going to let the Old Broad buy it for you? You going to go look for Nate?† â€Å"Where do I start?† â€Å"Follow one of these signals. Find whatever is making it and follow them.† â€Å"We'd need location for that.† â€Å"How do you do that?† â€Å"We'd need to have someone working the old sonar grid the navy put down all over the oceans during the Cold War to track submarines. I know people at Newport who do it, but we'd have to tell them what we're doing.† â€Å"You couldn't just say you were trying to find a certain whale?† â€Å"I suppose we could.† â€Å"And if you have your ship and that information, you can follow the whale, or the ship, or whatever it is to its source.† â€Å"My ship?† â€Å"Roll over, I'll rub your back.† But Clay wasn't moving. He was thinking. â€Å"I still don't know where to start.† â€Å"Who has the booty? Turn over, Captain.† Clay slipped off his aloha shirt and rolled over onto his stomach. â€Å"My ship,† he said. Nate was suddenly cold, and when he opened his eyes, he was pretty sure that his head was going to explode. â€Å"I'm pretty sure my head is going to explode,† he said. And someone rudely jostled his bed. â€Å"Come on, party animal, the Colonel sent for you. We need to go.† He peeked between the fingers he was using to hold the pieces of his head together and saw the menacing but amused face of Cielle Nuà ±ez. It wasn't what – who – he expected, and he did a quick sweep of the bed with one leg to confirm that he was alone. â€Å"I drank,† Nate said. â€Å"I saw the bottles on the table. You drank a lot.† â€Å"I didn't get a knob so just anyone could use it anytime they want.† â€Å"I noticed your knob. It looks out of place.† About that time Nate realized that he was naked, and Nuà ±ez was standing over his naked body, and he was going to have to let the pieces of his head go where they may if he was going to cover himself. He felt for a sheet, pulled it up as he sat up and threw his legs off the bed. â€Å"I'm going to need a moment.† â€Å"Hurry.† â€Å"I have to pee.† â€Å"That will be fine.† â€Å"And throw up.† â€Å"Also fine.† â€Å"Okay. You go away now.† â€Å"Brush your teeth.† And she left the room. Nate looked around the room for signs of Amy, but there were none. He didn't remember where her clothes were, but the last time he'd seen them, he was pretty sure they weren't on her. He stumbled into the bathroom and looked into the basin, mother of pearl with its little siphon fixtures and the green sphincter drain. Seeing that pretty much did it for him, and he heaved into the sink. â€Å"Hi,† Amy said, poking her head out of the retracting shower door. Nate tried to say something – something about trapdoor spiders, in keeping with an arachnid theme he was developing with regard to Amy – but it came out more bubbly and moist than he intended. â€Å"You go ahead,† Amy said. â€Å"I'll be in here.† And the door clicked shut like a frightened clam. When Nate had finished reviewing the contents of his stomach, he rinsed his face and the sink, emptied his bladder into the thing on which he would not sit, then leaned against the sink and moaned for a second while he gathered his thoughts. A head popped out of the shower. â€Å"So, that went well.† â€Å"The water's not running.† â€Å"I'm not showering, I'm hiding. I didn't want Nuà ±ez to see me. The Colonel shouldn't know I've been here. I'll leave after you go. Brush your teeth.† And then she was back in her shell. He brushed, rinsed, repeated, then said, â€Å"Okay.† Out she came, grabbed him by the hair, kissed him hard. â€Å"Nice night,† she said. The shower clicked shut, Amy inside. â€Å"I'm too old for this.† â€Å"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that. Not now, later. Go. She's waiting.† CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO The Replicator Versus the Imitator Nuà ±ez bought him a large cup of coffee at a cafe where whaley boys stood around pouring down lattes the size of fire extinguishers and exchanging clicks and whistles at an irritating volume. â€Å"If ever there was a creature that didn't need caffeine,† Nate said. Nuà ±ez kept him moving, while he kept trying to stop to lean on things. â€Å"Don't ever drink with them,† Nuà ±ez said. â€Å"Especially the males. You know their sense of humor. You're as likely as not to get a wet willy in the ear, and it's a real wet willy.† â€Å"I may have to hurl again.† â€Å"Don't destroy yourself out of spite, Nate. Just accept things how they are.† He wasn't trying to destroy himself, and he wasn't spiteful. He was just confused, hungover, and kind of in love, or something remotely like love, except that the pain was more localized in his temples rather than being the overall, life-ruining pain it usually caused him. â€Å"Can we stop in at the Lollipop Guild and get a couple aspirins?† â€Å"You're late already.† In the corridors she handed him off to a pair of killer whaley boys. â€Å"You should be honored, you know?† Nuà ±ez said. â€Å"He doesn't meet with many people.† â€Å"You can take my appointment if you want.† The Colonel had a goo recliner waiting for him when he walked through the iris door. Nate sat in it and held his coffee cup like a security blanket against his chest. â€Å"Well, can you see now that life wouldn't be so bad here?† Nate's mind raced. Amy said the Colonel didn't know, but maybe the Goo knew, but the Colonel was tapped in to the Goo, so did he know? Or had he sent her in the first place and this was all a scam, just like when he'd sent her to Hawaii to spy on him? She'd fooled him for a month there, why couldn't she be fooling him now? He wanted to trust her. But what was Ryder getting at? â€Å"What's different, Growl? When I saw you nine hours ago, I was a prisoner, and I'm a prisoner now.† Ryder seemed surprised. He wiped the lock of gray hair out of his eyes furiously, as if it had caused him to make some sort of mistake. â€Å"Right, nine hours. So you've had some time to think.† He didn't sound sure. â€Å"I got drunk and passed out. In the clear, lightning-bug light of day, Colonel, I still want to go home.† â€Å"You know, time† – Ryder patted the living chair he was sitting in as if he were petting a dog, sending waves of blush through the pink Goo outward from where he touched. Nate shivered at the sight of it – â€Å"time is different down here, it's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Relative?† Nate offered. â€Å"It's on a different scale.† â€Å"What do you want from me, Colonel? What can I possibly offer you that I get the special treatment of being spared and granted multiple audiences with the†¦ the grand pooh-bah?† Nate was going to say â€Å"with the alpha whacko,† but he thought of Amy and realized that something had changed. He no longer felt like he had nothing to lose. Rider swiped at his hair and clutched at the flesh of his chair with the other hand. He began rocking slightly. â€Å"I want someone to tell me I'm thinking clearly, I guess. I dream things that the Goo knows, and I think it knows things that I dream, but I'm not sure. I'm overwhelmed.† â€Å"You might have thought about that before you declared yourself wizard.† â€Å"You think I chose this? I didn't choose this, Nate. The Goo chose me. I don't know how many people have been brought down here over the years, but I was the first biologist. I was the first one who had some idea how the Goo worked. It had the whaley boys bring me to a place like this, where there was raw, unformed animal, and it never let me leave. I've tried to make things better for people in Gooville, but – † Ryder's eyes rolled up in his head as if he were starting to have a seizure, but then he was back again. â€Å"Did you see the electricity on the whale ships? I did that. But it's not – It's different now than it has been.† Nate suddenly felt bad for the older man. Ryder was behaving like an early Alzheimer's patient who is realizing that he's losing recognition of his grandchildren's faces. â€Å"Tell me,† Nate said. Ryder nodded, swallowed hard, pressed on – hardly the picture of the powerful leader he'd appeared the night before. â€Å"I think that after the Goo found its safe haven here under the sea, it needed to have more information, more DNA sequences to make sure it could protect itself. It produced a minute bacterium that could spread throughout the oceans, be part of the great world ecosystem but could pass genetic information back to the source. We call the bacteria SAR-11. It's a thousand times smaller than normal bacteria, but it's in every liter of seawater on the planet. That worked fine to transmit information back to the Goo for three billion years – everything that could be known was in the sea. Then something happened.† â€Å"Animals left the water?† â€Å"Exactly. Until then, everything there was to know – every piece of information that could be known – was transmitted through DNA, replicators, in creatures that lived in the seas. The Goo knew everything. Mind you, it might take a million years to learn how to make an arthropod's segmented shell. It might take two million years to learn to make a gill or, say, twenty million to make an eye, but it had its safe niche, so it had the time – it didn't have anywhere it needed to be. Evolution doesn't really have a destination. It's just dicking around with possibilities. The Goo is the same way. But when life left the water, the Goo got a blind spot.† â€Å"I'm having a little trouble seeing the immediacy of your story, Colonel. I mean, why, beyond the obvious that I'm sitting inside this thing, is this supposed to be urgent?† â€Å"Because four hundred million years later, the land creatures came back into the water – sophisticated land animals.† â€Å"Early whales?† â€Å"Yes, when mammals came back to the sea, they brought something that even the dinosaurs – the reptiles and amphibians that had come back to the water – didn't have. Something the Goo didn't know. Knowledge that didn't replicate itself through DNA. It replicated through imitation, learned knowledge, not passed on. Memes.† Nate knew about memes, the information equivalent of a gene. A gene existed to replicate itself and required a vehicle, an organism, in which to do it. It was the same with memes, except a meme could replicate itself across vehicles, across brains. A tune you couldn't get out of your head, a recipe, a bad joke, the Mona Lisa – all were memes of sort. They were a fun model to think about, and computers had made the idea of a self-replicating piece of information more manifest with computer viruses, but what did that have to do with – But then it hit him. Why he'd learned about memes in the first place. â€Å"The song,† Nate said. â€Å"Humpback song is a meme.† â€Å"Of course. The first culture, the first exposure the Goo had to something it didn't understand. What, maybe fifteen million years ago it found out it wasn't the only game in town. Three billion years is a long time to get used to living in what you think is your private house only to suddenly find out that someone moved into an apartment above you while you were sleeping. â€Å"For a long time the Goo didn't perceive that genes and memes were at odds. Whales were the first carriers. Big brains because they need to imitate complex behaviors, remember complex tasks, and because they could get the high-protein food to build the brains the memes needed. But the Goo came to terms with the whales. They're an elegant mix of genes and memes, absolute kings of their realm. Huge, efficient feeders, immune from any predation except from each other. â€Å"But then something started killing whales. Killing them in alarming numbers. And it was something from the surface world. It wasn't something the Goo could find out about from its ocean-borne nervous system, so that's when I think it created the whale ships, or a version of them. Late seventeen or early eighteen hundreds, I'd guess. Then, I think when it had somehow gotten back enough samples of human DNA, it made the whaley boys. To stay camouflaged but to watch, to bring people back here so it could learn, watch us. I may have been the final link that started the war.† â€Å"What war? There's a war?† Nate had a quick vision of the paranoid megalomaniacs that the Colonel said he'd considered for pseudonyms, Captain Nemo and Colonel Kurtz, both complete bedbugs. â€Å"The war between memes and genes. Between an organism that specializes in the replication of gene machines – the Goo – and one that specializes in the replication of meme machines – us, human beings. I brought electrical and computer technology here. I brought the Goo the theoretical knowledge of memes and genes and how they work. Where the Goo is now and where it was before I came is the difference between being able to drive one and being able to build a car from lumps of raw steel. It's realizing the threat. It's going to figure it out.† Ryder looked at Nate expectantly. Nate looked at him as if he wasn't getting the point. When he'd studied under Ryder, the man had been so cogent, so clear. Grumpy, but clear. â€Å"Okay,† Nate said slowly, hoping Ryder would jump in, â€Å"so you need me to†¦ uh†¦?† â€Å"Help me figure out a way to kill it.† â€Å"Didn't see that coming.† â€Å"We're at war with the Goo, and we have to find a way to kill it before it knows what's happening.† â€Å"Then don't you think you should keep your voice down?† â€Å"No, it doesn't communicate that way.† The Colonel looked perturbed at Nate's comment. â€Å"So you want me to figure out how to kill your god? â€Å"Yes, before it wipes out the human race in one fell swoop.† â€Å"Which would be bad.† â€Å"And we have to kill it without killing everyone in Gooville.† â€Å"Oh, we can do that,† Nate said, completely confident, the way he'd seen hostage negotiators in cop movies tell the bank robbers that their demands were being met and the helicopter was on the way. â€Å"But I'm going to need some time.† The strangest thing was, as Nate left the Colonel's chamber after being in direct contact with the Goo for only a few minutes, his hangover was completely gone.

Current research into the health-related impact of bullying at work. The WritePass Journal

Current research into the health-related impact of bullying at work. Abstract Current research into the health-related impact of bullying at work. from [cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D9105C52-7FED-42EA-A557-D1785DF6D34F/0/bullyatwork0405.pdf] Cook, C.R., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.G., Kim, T.E. Sadek, S. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: a meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(2), pp. 65-83. American Psychological Association. Coyne, I., Seigne, E. Randall, P. (2000) Predicting workplace victim status from personality. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 9(3), pp. 335-349. Taylor Francis Daniel, T.A. (2006). Bullies in the workplace: A focus on the â€Å"abusive disrespect† of employees. SHRM Whitepapers. Retrieved 16/12/2012 from   [http://moss07.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Pages/CMS_018341.aspx.] Einarsen, S. (2003). Individual effects of exposure to bullying at work. Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice. London: Taylor Francis. Fuller, Robert W. (2003). Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers. Hoel, H., Cooper, C.L., (2000). Destruction conflict and bullying at work. UMIST Survey. Retrieved 16/12/2012 from [socialpartnershipforum.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/UMIST%20report.pdf ] Kurth, S. B., Spiller, B.B., Travis, C. B. (2000). Consent, power and sexual scripts: Deconstructing sexual harassment. In C. B. Travis J. W. White (Eds.), Sexuality, society and feminism, pp. 323-354. Washington, D.C. American Psychological Association. Mark,G.M. Smith,A.P. 2008. Stress models: A review and suggested new direction. Vol. 3.  Ã‚   Nottingham University Press. .Namie, G., Namie, R. (2000). The bully at work: What you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc. Rick, J., Perryman, S., Young, K., Guppy A. Hillage, J. (1998). Workplace trauma and its management: a review of the literature. IES Report. Retrieved 17/12/2012 from [hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/1998/crr98170.pdf] Sansone, R.A. Sansone, L.A. (2008) Bully Victims: Psychological and Somatic Aftermaths. Psychiatry (Edgmont), 5(6), pp. 62–64. Turney, L. (2003) Mental health and workplace bullying: The role of power, professions and on the job training. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 2(2), [auseinet.com/journal/vol2iss2/turney.pdf] UNISON, (2003). Bullying at work. Retrieved 16/12/2012 from [unison.org.uk/acrobat/13375.pdf] Vartia, M. (2001) Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its target   and   the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health, 27(1), pp. 203-214.

Market Potential Indicators for Laptop Computers Research Paper

Market Potential Indicators for Laptop Computers - Research Paper Example While all of these indicators provide clues to the countries listed as emerging markets, some of these indicators are more critical to laptop marketing than others. We want to know population and electricity consumption because we need to ascertain that there is a sufficient number of potential consumers and that those consumers are likely to have the needed electricity required to charge and operate our laptops. In a country where there is low electricity consumption, we can assume that people are without refrigerators and other power-intense kitchen appliances, and do not use air conditioning. This suggests a lifestyle that will not lend itself to the perceived need and purchase of a laptop, considering that desktop PCs cost far less. We want to know how active the middle class is in earning money and spending it, and what percentage of the total they earn and spend, because we need to tailor our product design and marketing accordingly.

MGMT436 U4 DB2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGMT436 U4 DB2 - Research Paper Example These structures are mandatory for an organization to retain its market relevance. Additionally, technology provides unique and complex opportunities to change. From the changes experienced in the modern business market, it is an obvious assumption that technology has been a positive influence in organizational change. The market has grown significantly as practices have become more relevant and competitive. This has increased the quality of goods and services available in the market. Most software used in organizational change is based on their ability to develop effective ways to improve business structures. For instance, an organization requires software that determines the most effective marketing structure in regards to cost and consumer preference. In addition, an organization may develop its IT systems to increase their business connectivity (Carnaghan & Klassen, 2010). Technology has been fully responsible for the growth of the modern corporate world. This trend will not change as more companies are embracing the need to consider technology as a tool for change. In addition, the positive influence on companies will be more exceptional as more ways to make technology more influential have been developed (Carnaghan & Klassen,