The Effect of Lyrics in Music on Society

Music and its lyrical content has become an integral component of society as it constitutes an essential part in most people’s lives. The advent of MP3 players, ipods and similar gadgets has cemented the widespread reach of musical lyrics, particularly among the so – called MTV generation. While this point cannot be called into question, the exact effect of lyrics on society at large is debatable and is the subject of much controversy. The reason for this is the paucity of research on the said subject. In response to public concern over the harmful effects of explicit lyrics, much has been said and written about it but there is little scientific evidence to back up opposing claims. A careful analysis of the existing research literature, however, reveals that the lyrics in music exercises a profound influence on society and moreover, there is disturbing evidence to show that it does more harm than good. Arguments and Counterarguments about the Effect of Lyrics in Music It has been argued that the lyrical content of music has precious little effect on the collective psyche of the masses and that the focus on its pervasive influence and perceived harmful effects is largely uncalled for. The meaning of songs is subject to interpretation, it has been claimed and as such depends entirely on the listener and his or her individual perception. Besides songs nowadays are layered with intricate meaning and severely tax the cognitive skills of the listeners who usually misinterpret the lyrics or simply don’t care about them. Some are of the opinion that it is solely music as opposed to its lyrical content that affects the masses. Studies conducted by Rosenbaum and Prinsky as well as Wass et al. have supported this claim by revealing that â€Å"†¦ listeners have reported that song lyrics are not particularly important to them and that they are more attracted to qualities of music than they are to the lyrics† (qtd. in Hansen & Hansen 178). All these viewpoints are misleading as they underestimate the sheer insidiousness and impact of the lyrics in songs. The tremendous popularity of rap music bears testament to the power of words, particularly since rap or hip – hop focuses entirely on the lyrics and music merely serves to accentuate the clever wordplay and inherent themes. Thus the genre of rap music with its attendant controversy and crazed fan – following highlights the immense effect lyrics have on society. Further Hansen and Hansen have concluded from their studies that â€Å"†¦despite low levels of lyric comprehension and recall of song lyrics, listeners were able to extract themes of sex, suicide, violence,   and satanism from songs by popular heavy metal groups using schematic processing† (178) . On the basis of this and other studies, it may be concluded that the lyrics in music have the ability to shape impressionable minds, influence beliefs, determine one’s outlook towards life and subsequently at an overt level, affect the behavior and actions of individuals. Lyrics may enable people to become cognizant of socially relevant issues and empathize with their fellow humans. But more often that not lyrics of popular music appears to spawn harmful effects that have dangerous implications for our society. The Harmful Effects of Lyrics and Its Impact on Society Over the years, the lyrical content of music has undergone a metamorphosis of sorts. Lyrical themes no longer celebrate romantic love and peace but glorify pleasures of the flesh, aggression and drug use. Therefore people have become increasingly concerned with lyrics replete with sexual and violent overtones, particularly their influence on youngsters. This concern is not misplaced because in the words of Hargrave and Livingstone, â€Å"†¦ studies reveal consistent messages in music lyrics that may be considered harmful including messages promoting violence among boys / men, homophobic messages, or those encouraging early sexuality among young girls / women† (109) . Contemporary music abounds with alarmingly casual descriptions of lustful and violent activities and has had the effect of desensitizing the masses and prompting individuals to make unwise decisions. With regard to the accusation of harmful effects, lyrics have been directly implicated as a study by â€Å"Rubin, West, and Mitchell (2001) found that fans of rap and heavy metal music scored significantly higher on measures of aggression than did fans of other musical genres† (Giles 67) . And of course it is these particular genres that have come under fire for their brutal lyrics. Thus there is little doubt as to the effects of explicit lyrics on listeners. Thanks to the offensive material conveyed by songs, many of the evils that plague our society can be directly linked to the lyrics in music. For instance the increased incidence of sexual activity among adolescents, teen pregnancies, drug use, violence against homosexuals, women and other minority groups may be traced to the lyrical content of music. In view of the existing evidence, the pervasive effect of lyrics cannot be taken lightly as it threatens to undermine the very foundation on which society is based. Conclusion In light of the evidence outlined above, one may safely assert that the lyrics in music affect society to a large extent. In addition to their profound influence it is found that their effects can be harmful to the individual as well as society. Therefore the impact of lyrical content cannot be ignored or underestimated and further research is imperative to determine its exact nature. Works Cited Giles, David. Media Psychology. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003. Hansen, Christine, and Ranald Hansen. â€Å"Music and Music Videos†.   Media Entertainment: The Psychology of Its Appeal. Eds. Dolf Zillmann and Peter Vorderer. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000. 175 – 96. Hargrave, Andrea and Sonia Livingstone. Harm and offence in media Content: A Review of the Evidence. Portland: Intellect Books, 2006.   

Hard to Be Fair

BEST PRACTICE Everyone knows that being fair costs little and pays off handsomely. Then why do so few executives manage to behave fairly, even though most want to? Why It’s So Hard to Be Fair by Joel Brockner W hen Company A had to downsize,it spent considerable amounts of money providing a safety net for its laid-off workers. The severance package consisted of many weeks of pay, extensive outplacement counseling, and the continuation of health insurance for up to one year. But senior managers never explained to their staff why these layoffs were necessary or how they chose which jobs to eliminate.What’s more, the midlevel line managers who delivered the news to terminated employees did so awkwardly, mumbling a few perfunctory words about â€Å"not wanting to do this† and then handing them off to the human resources department. Even the people who kept their jobs were less than thrilled about the way things were handled. Many of them heard the news while driving home on Friday and had to wait until Monday to learn that their jobs were secure. Nine months later, the company continued to sputter.Not only did it have to absorb enormous legal costs defending against wrongful termination suits, but it also had to make another round of layoffs, in large part because employee productivity and morale plummeted after the ? rst round was mishandled. When Company B downsized, by contrast, it didn’t offer nearly as generous a severance package. But senior managers there explained the strategic purpose of the layoffs multiple times before they were implemented, and executives and middle managers alike made themselves available to answer questions and express regret both to those who lost their jobs and to those who remained.Line managers worked with HR to tell people that their jobs were being eliminated, and they exharvard business review 122 pressed genuine concern while doing so. As a result, virtually none of the laid-off employees ? led a wr ongful termination lawsuit. Workers took some time to adjust to the loss of their former colleagues, but they understood why the layoffs had happened. And within nine months, Company B’s performance was better than it had been before the layoffs occurred.Although Company A spent much more money during its restructuring, Company B exhibited much greater process fairness. In other words, employees at Company B believed that they had been treated justly. From minimizing costs to strengthening performance, process fairness pays enormous dividends in a wide variety of organizational and people-related challenges. Studies show that when managers practice process fairness, their employees march 2006 respond in ways that bolster the organization’s bottom line both directly and indirectly.Process fairness is more likely to generate support for a new strategy, for instance, and to foster a culture that promotes innovation. What’s more, it costs little ? nancially to imple ment. In short, fair process makes great business sense. So why don’t more companies practice it consistently? This article examines that paradox and offers advice on how to promote greater process fairness in your organization. The Business Case for Fair Process Ultimately, each employee decides for him or herself whether a decision has been made fairly.But broadly speaking, there are three drivers of process fairness. One is how much input employees believe they have in the decision- making process: Are their opinions requested and given serious consideration? Another is how employees believe decisions are made and implemented: Are they consistent? Are they based on accurate information? Can mistakes be corrected? Are the personal biases of the decision maker minimized? Is ample advance notice given? Is the decision process transparent? The third factor is how managers behave: Do they explain why a decision was made?Do they treat employees respectfully, actively listening t o their concerns and empathizing with their points of view? It’s worth noting that process fairness is distinct from outcome fairness, which refers to employees’ judgments of the bottom-line results of their exchanges with their employers. Process fairness doesn’t ensure that employees will always get what they want; but it does 123 OLEG DERGACHOV B E S T P R A C T I C E †¢ W h y I t’s S o H a rd t o B e Fa i r mean that they will have a chance to be heard.Take the case of an individual who was passed over for a promotion. If he believes that the chosen candidate was quali? ed, and if his manager has had a candid discussion with him about how he can be better prepared for the next opportunity, chances are he’ll be a lot more productive and engaged than if he believes the person who got the job was the boss’s pet, or if he received no guidance on how to move forward. When people feel hurt by their companies, they tend to retaliate. And w hen they do, it can have grave consequences.A study of nearly 1,000 people in the mid-1990s, led by Duke’s Allan Lind and Ohio State’s Jerald Greenberg, found that a major determinant of whether employees sue for wrongful termination is their perception of how fairly the termination process was carried out. Only 1% of ex-employees who felt that they were treated with a high degree of process fairness ? led a wrongful termination lawsuit versus 17% of those who believed they were treated with a low degree of process fairness. To put that in monetary terms, the expected cost savings of practicing process fairness is $1. 8 million for every 100 employees dismissed. That ? gure–which was calculated using the 1988 rate of $80,000 as the cost of legal defense – is a conservative estimate, since in? ation alone has caused legal fees to swell to more than $120,000 today. So, although we can’t calculate the precise ? nancial cost of practicing fair process, it’s safe to say that expressing genuine concern and treating dismissed employees with dignity is a good deal more affordable than not doing so. Customers, too, are less likely to ? le suit against a service provider if they believe they’ve been treated with process fairness.In 1997, medical researcher Wendy Levinson and her colleagues found that patients typically do not sue their doctors for malpractice simply Joel Brockner ([email  protected] edu) is the Phillip Hettleman Professor of Business at Columbia Business School in New York. 124 because they believe that they received poor medical care. A more telling factor is whether the doctor took the time to explain the treatment plan and to answer the patient’s questions with consideration – in short, to treat patients with process fairness.Doctors who fail to do so are far more likely to be slapped with malpractice suits when problems arise. In addition to reducing legal costs, fair process cuts down on employee theft and turnover. A study by management and human resources professor Greenberg examined how pay cuts were Using process fairness, companies could spend a lot less money and still have more satis? ed employees. handled at two manufacturing plants. At one, a vice president called a meeting at the end of the workweek and announced that the company would implement a 15% pay cut, across the board, for ten weeks.He very brie? y explained why, thanked employees, and answered a few questions – the whole thing was over in 15 minutes. The other plant implemented an identical pay cut, but the company president made the announcement to the employees. He told them that other cost-saving options, like layoffs, had been considered but that the pay cuts seemed to be the least unpalatable choice. The president took an hour and a half to address employees’ questions and concerns, and he repeatedly expressed regret about having to take this step.Greenberg found that durin g the ten-week period, employee theft was nearly 80% lower at the second plant than at the ? rst, and employees were 15 times less likely to resign. Many executives turn to money ? rst to solve problems. But my research shows that companies can reduce ex- penses by routinely practicing process fairness. Think about it: Asking employees for their opinions on a new initiative or explaining to someone why you’re giving a choice assignment to her colleague doesn’t cost much money. Of course, companies should continue to offer tangible assistance to employees as well.Using process fairness, however, companies could spend a lot less money and still have more satis? ed employees. Consider the ? nancial fallout that occurs when expatriates leave their overseas assignments prematurely. Conventional wisdom says that expats are more likely to leave early when they or their family members don’t adjust well to their new living conditions. So companies often go to great expen se to facilitate their adjustment – picking up the tab for housing costs, children’s schooling, and the like.In a 2000 study of 128 expatriates, human resources consultant Ron Garonzik, Rutgers Business School professor Phyllis Siegel, and I found that the expats’ adjustment to various aspects of their lives outside work had no effect on their intentions to depart prematurely if they believed that their bosses generally treated them fairly. In other words, high process fairness induced expats to stick with an overseas assignment even when they were not particularly enthralled with living abroad. In a similar vein, some companies have devised expensive solutions to help employees cope with the stress of modern work.They’ve set up on-site day care centers and sponsored stress management workshops to help reduce absenteeism and burnout. Those efforts are laudable, but process fairness is also an effective strategy. When Phyllis Siegel and I surveyed nearly 3 00 employees from dozens of organizations, we found that work/life con? ict had no measurable effect on employees’ commitment– as long as they felt that senior executives provided good reasons for their decisions and treated them with dignity and respect. Of course, executives should not simply emphasize process fairness over tanharvard business reviewW h y I t’s S o H a rd t o B e Fa i r †¢ B E S T P R A C T I C E gible support. Determining exactly how much tangible support to provide is perhaps best captured by the law of diminishing returns. Beyond a moderate level of ? nancial assistance, practicing process fairness proves much more cost effective because, although money does talk, it doesn’t say it all. Fair Process as a Performance Booster Process fairness can not only minimize costs but can also help to increase value, inspiring operational managers to carry out a well-founded strategic plan eagerly or embrace, rather than sabotage, an organiz ational change.This form of value is less tangible than direct reduction of expenses, but it affects the bottom line nonetheless. The fact is, most strategic and organizational change initiatives fail in their implementation, not in their conception. Several years ago, I worked with the CEO of a ? nancial services institution that needed a major restructuring. The bank’s operational managers, however, were showing signs of resistance that threatened to stop the process dead in its tracks. I advised the CEO and his senior management team to conduct several town hall–type meetings and to hold informal focus groups with the operational managers.During those senior managers to respond to the root problem. Moreover, since the operational managers felt respected, they showed a similar level of process fairness with their direct reports during the actual restructuring, making the change go more smoothly. Michael Beer, of Harvard Business School, and Russell Eisenstat, preside nt of the Center for Organizational Fitness, recently provided evidence of how systematically practiced process fairness (embedded in an action-learning egy implementation as well as the shortcomings that could hinder it.Task force members distill the information they gain from these interviews into major themes and feed them back to senior management. Then they discuss how the strategy could be rolled out most effectively. SFP is a model for process fairness: More than 25 companies – including Becton, Dickinson; Honeywell; JPMorgan Chase; Hewlett-Packard; and Merck – have used it with great success to hone the substance of their strategic initiatives and, probably more important, to gain employees’ commitment to making those initiatives happen.Most companies say that they want to promote creativity and innovation, but few use process fairness to achieve those ends. They’re missing out on a great opportunity to create value. Harvard Business School profes sor Teresa Amabile has conducted extensive research on employees working in creative endeavors in order to understand how work environments foster or impede creativity and innovation. She has consistently found that work environments in which employees have a high degree of operational autonomy lead to the highest degree of creativity and innovation.Operational autonomy, of course, can be seen as the extreme version of process fairness. When employees feel that they are heard in the decision-making process, they are more likely to support–rather than merely comply with– those decisions, their bosses, and the organization as a whole. talks, it became clear that the managers felt that the CEO and senior executives failed to appreciate the magnitude of the change they were asking for. Interestingly, the managers didn’t request additional resources; they simply wanted those at the top to recognize their dif? ult plight. By expressing authentic interest, senior execu tives created a trusting environment in which managers felt they could safely voice their true objections to the change effort. That enabled march 2006 methodology known as the strategic ? tness process, or SFP) has helped numerous organizations capture value by getting employees to buy in to strategies. A critical element of SFP is the appointment of a task force consisting of eight well-respected managers from one or two levels below senior management.Their job is to interview roughly 100 employees from different parts of the company to learn about the organizational strengths that are apt to facilitate strat- The nature of organizations, though, means that few (if any) employees can have complete operational autonomy – just about everyone has a boss. Creativity and innovation tend to suffer in work environments characterized by low levels of process fairness, such as when employees believe that the organization is strictly controlled by upper management or when they believ e that their ideas will be summarily dismissed. When employees believe that 125B E S T P R A C T I C E †¢ W h y I t’s S o H a rd t o B e Fa i r their supervisor is open to new ideas and that he or she values their contributions to projects, however, creativity and innovation are more likely to ? ourish. Two examples illustrate how process fairness creates value by attracting innovative employees or additional customers. The CEO of a renowned electricalengineering ? rm, for instance, wanted to change the corporate culture to be more receptive to new ideas, so he separated a large group of workers into teams of ten, asking each team to come up with ten ideas for improving the business.Then the team leaders were brought into a room where the company’s executives were gathered and were asked to â€Å"sell† as many of their team’s ideas as possible. The executives, for their part, had been instructed to â€Å"buy†as many ideas as possible. The team leaders swarmed like bees to honey to the few executives who had reputations for being good listeners and open to new ideas. The other executives stood by idly because team leaders assumed from past experience that they wouldn’t listen. One company that used process fairness to create value is Progressive Casualty Insurance.In 1994, the ? rm began to give potential customers comparison rates from two competitors along with its own quotes for auto insurance. Even though Progressive’s rates weren’t always the lowest, the very act of delivering this information created goodwill. Potential customers felt that they were being treated honestly, and the practice drew many new sales. servant, Winston S. Churchill. † After being castigated by his countrymen for the letter’s deferential tone, Churchill is said to have retorted, â€Å"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite. In a change management seminar I’ve taught to more than 40 0 managers, I ask participants to rate themselves on how well they plan and implement organizational change. I also ask the managers’ bosses, peers, direct reports, and customers to rate them. The measure ers were â€Å"lucky enough to still have their jobs. † But economically supporting those who lost their jobs doesn’t cancel out the need to show process fairness to those affected by the change–which, incidentally, includes everyone.Ironically, the fact that process fairness is relatively inexpensive ? nancially may be why this numbers-oriented executive undervalued it. Another reason process fairness may be overlooked is because some of its bene? ts aren’t obvious to executives. Instead of wrestling with uncomfortable emotions, many managers ? nd it easier to sidestep the issue– and the people affected by it–altogether. contains more than 30 items, and managers consistently give themselves the highest marks on the item that measure s process fairness: â€Å"When managing change, I ake extra efforts to treat people with dignity and respect. † Those rating them, however, are not nearly as positive. In fact, this is the only item in which managers’ self-assessments are signi? cantly higher than the ratings they receive from each of their groups. It’s not entirely clear why this perceptual gap exists. Perhaps managers are tuned in to their intentions to treat others respectfully, but they aren’t as good at reading how those intentions come across to others. Or maybe it’s just wishful – and self-serving – thinking.Some managers wrongly believe that tangible resources are always more meaningful to employees than being treated decently. At a cocktail party, the CEO of a major international bank proudly told me about the hefty severance pay his company gave to its laid-off employees. I expressed admiration for his organization’s show of concern toward the people who lost their jobs and then asked what had been done for those who remained. Somewhat defensively, he said that it was only necessary to do something for the employees who were â€Å"affected† by the layoffs.The othSocial psychologist Marko Elovainio of the University of Helsinki and his colleagues recently conducted a study of more than 31,000 Finnish employees, examining the relationship between employees’ negative life events (such as the onset of a severe illness or death of a spouse) and the frequency of sicknessrelated absences from work for the subsequent 30 months. The study showed that the tendency for negative life events to translate into sickness-related absences depended on how much process fairness employees experienced before the events occurred.That is, not being pretreated with process fairness led to absences waiting to happen. Sometimes corporate policies hinder fair process. The legal department may discourage managers from explaining their decisio ns, for instance, on the grounds that disclosure of information could make the company vulnerable to lawsuits. Better not to say anything at all, the thinking goes, than to risk having the information come back to haunt the organization in the courtroom. Clearly, legal considerations about what to communicate are important, but they should not be taken to unnecessary extremes.All too often organizations withhold information (such as the alternatives to downsizing that have harvard business review Why Isn’t Everybody Doing It? With all that process fairness has going for it, one might expect that executives would practice it regularly. Unfortunately, many (if not most) don’t. They’d do well to follow the example of Winston Churchill, who keenly understood the cost-effectiveness of process fairness. On the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Churchill wrote a declaration of war to the Japanese, ending it as follows: â€Å"I have the honour to be, with high con sideration, Sir, Your obedient 126W h y I t’s S o H a rd t o B e Fa i r †¢ B E S T P R A C T I C E been considered) when revealing it would have done far more good. Legal and medical advocates in Hawaii, for instance, are currently drafting a statute that would allow health care professionals to apologize for medical errors without increasing the risk of lawsuits. Doctors often refrain from apologizing for mistakes because they fear that admitting them will anger their patients, who will then be more likely to ? le malpractice suits. In fact, the opposite is true: Patients who feel they’ve been treated disrespectfully ? e more malpractice suits than those who feel they have been treated with dignity. By making apologies for medical mistakes inadmissible during a trial, the law would let doctors express regrets without worrying that doing so would hurt them in court. Managers who unwaveringly believe that knowledge is power may fear that engaging in process fairnes s will weaken their power. After all, if employees have a voice in deciding how things should be run, who needs a manager? Managers sometimes do run the risk of losing power when they involve others in decision making.But usually the practice of process fairness increases power and in? uence. When employees feel that they are heard in the decision-making process, they are more likely to support– rather than merely comply with – those decisions, their bosses, and the organization as a whole. The desire to avoid uncomfortable situations is another reason managers fail to practice process fairness. As Robert Folger of the University of Central Florida has suggested, managers who plan and implement tough decisions often experience con? icting emotions. They might want to approach the affected parties out of sympathy and to explain the hinking behind a decision, but the desire to avoid them is also strong. Andy Molinsky at Brandeis University and Harvard Business Schoolâ₠¬â„¢s Joshua Margolis analyzed why managers ? nd it so hard to perform necessary evils (such as laying off employees and delivering other bad news) with interpersonal sensitivity, which is an important element of process fairness. Leaders in this situation have to manage their own internal dramas, including feelings of guilt (for, say, making poor strategic decisions that led to the downsizing) and anxiety (about having suf? ient interpersonal sensitivity to accomplish the task gracefully). Instead of wrestling with those uncomfortable emotions, many managers ? nd it easier to sidestep the issue–and the people affected by it– altogether. â€Å"Emotional contagion† also comes into play in these situations. Just as we tend to laugh when we see others laugh, even when we don’t know why, we also involuntarily feel anxious or sad when those around us feel that way – and that’s uncomfortable. No wonder so many managers avoid people in emotional pa in. Unfortunately, such avoidance makes it very unlikely that they will practice process fairness.Breadth. Depth. Performance. Leadership. Tuck Executive Program July 22–August 11 Leading high-potential and senior executives to new levels of business performance Gateway to Business Management April 30–May 5 & November 12-17 Delivering skills and perspective functional managers need for advancement Finance Essentials for Senior Managers September 10–15 Offering greater accountability and transparency in your organization New Branding Imperatives May 7–9 Presenting strategies for maximizing brand equity and competitive positioning www. tuck. dartmouth. edu/exec 603-646-2839 tuck. xec. [email  protected] edu B E S T P R A C T I C E †¢ W h y I t’s S o H a rd t o B e Fa i r I can understand how managers feel. Several years ago, I was working with a telecommunications organization after the ? rst layoffs in the company’s history. The CEO an d his senior management team wanted me to talk to the midlevel managers about how the layoffs would affect the people who remained and what they could do to help their direct reports â€Å"get over it. † Feeling betrayed and fearful, however, the midlevel managers were in no mood to help others return to business as usual. They identi? d me with the problem and implied that I was partly responsible for the decision to downsize. That was a moment of real insight for me: Trying to counsel this unhappy and suspicious group, I completely understood the discomfort that managers experience when they’re called on to act compassionately toward people who feel aggrieved. It was much harder than I expected. The senior managers of the company admitted to me that they were tempted to avoid the rank and ? le – partly out of guilt and partly because they doubted whether they would be able to keep a cool enough head to practice process fairness.That’s a natural response , but ignoring negative emotions only keeps them swirling around longer. When senior managers made themselves more accessible to their workforce, employees reacted positively, and the organization developed a renewed sense of purpose. ter able to cope with (and hence not act on) their negative emotions. Furthermore, managers are more likely to endure a dif? cult process when they know that the effort will have a tangible payoff. But it’s not enough for managers to be vaguely aware that process fairness is cost effective. Corporate executives should educate them about all the ? nancial bene? ts, using charts and ? ures, just as they would when making a business case for other important organizational initiatives. Invest in training. Study after study has shown that fair-process training can make a big difference. Subordinates of the trained managers, for instance, are When I was working with an executive at a utility company several years ago, for example, I noticed that she m ade a common mistake: She didn’t tell others that she had seriously considered their opinions before making her decisions, even though she had. I advised her to preface her explanations by saying explicitly that she had â€Å"given their input some serious thought. Six months later, she told me my advice had been priceless. She learned that it’s not enough for executives just to be fair, they also have to be seen as fair. Training is most effective when it’s delivered in several installments rather than all at once. For example, one suc- It’s not enough for executives just to be fair; they also have to be seen as fair. Toward Process Fairness Companies can take several steps to make fair process the norm. Address the knowledge gaps. Managers need to be warned about the negative emotions they might experience when practicing fair process.Merely acknowledging that it is legitimate to feel like ? eeing the scene can help managers withstand the impulse to do so. Studies have shown that people can tolerate negative experiences more easily when they expect them. Just as forewarned surgical patients have been found to experience less postoperative pain, forewarned managers may be bet128 not only signi? cantly less likely to steal or to resign from the organization, but they are also more likely to go the extra mile – aiding coworkers who have been absent, helping orient new employees, assisting supervisors with their duties, and working overtime.Several studies by Jerald Greenberg have even found that employees whose managers underwent process fairness training suffered signi? cantly less insomnia when coping with stressful work conditions. Daniel Skarlicki, of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, and Gary Latham, of the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, have identi? ed some factors of an effective process fairness training program. Participants respond better to active guidance than to a lecture on the bene? ts of improved process fairness.That’s why it’s particularly effective to give trainees speci? c instructions on what they need to do and how they need to do it, such as how to detect resistance to a new strategic initiative. After the participants have practiced these behaviors, give them feedback and let them try again. cessful program consisted of a two-hour session each week for eight weeks, along with assigned role-playing homework. That way, participants could receive feedback from instructors during the formal training sessions and from their peers in between meetings.As with most constructive feedback, referring to behaviors (â€Å"You never explained why you made this decision†) rather than to traits (â€Å"You came across as condescending†) proved to be most compelling. Both the process and the outcome of the training need to be communicated to participants – but not at the same time. Before the sessions begin, focus on the outcome. Participants are likely to be far more engaged if they are told that the program will help them gain their employees’ commitment to strategy implementation than if they are told it will help them communicate that they’ve seriously considered other people’s points of view.During the course, however, focus on process. Thinking about expected outcomes (improved strategy implementation, for instance) can distract people from learning the speci? c practical skills they need (such harvard business review as how to involve people in decision making) to achieve the desired results. Finally, it is important for trainees to maintain expectations that are both optimistic and realistic. Once again, the distinction between outcome and process is useful to keep in mind.You can generate optimism by focusing on the outcomes: Touting the improvements that previous trainees have made should help people feel positive about their own chanc es for growth. And you can inject realism by focusing on the process: Behavioral change is dif? cult and rarely takes a linear course. Trainees shouldn’t expect to get better at process fairness day by day; but, if they keep working at it, they will improve. I suggest trainees ask themselves three months after the program if they are practicing process fairness more on average than they were three months prior to it.Conducting after-action reviews also helps managers continue to hone their skills long after the training sessions are over. Make process fairness a top priority. Like most managerial behaviors, the practice of process fairness must begin at the top. When senior managers explain why they have made certain strategic decisions, make themselves available for honest two-way communication with the rank and ? le, involve employees in decision making, provide ample advance notice of change, and treat people’s concerns with respect, the practice of process fairness is likely to spread like wild? e throughout the rest of the organization. By modeling process fairness, senior management does more than communicate organizational values; it also sends a message about â€Å"the art of the possible. † People are more likely to try to tackle dif? cult challenges when they see others whom they respect doing so. In one company that was trying to implement a much-needed restructuring, senior executives effectively served as role models not only by describing the mixed feelings they had about practicing process fairness but also by articulating the process they went through that ultimately convinced them to do march 2006 o. The message they sent was that it was legitimate for operational managers to have mixed emotions, but, at the end of the day, the reasons in favor of practicing process fairness prevailed. In addition to acting as role models, senior managers may communicate the value they place on process fairness by making its practice a leg itimate topic of conversation throughout the organization. I worked with one company, for example, that selected its employee of the month based on process fairness skills as well as bottom-line results.Other organizations have made managers’ annual pay raises partly dependent on 360-degree feedback about how they plan and implement decisions, in which perceptions of process fairness ? gure prominently. Recent corporate scandals show that giving workforces outcome-only directives (â€Å"I don’t care how you get there, just get there†) can be disastrous. Forwardthinking organizations care not only about the outcomes their managers produce but also about the fairness of the process they use to achieve them. This is not a call for micromanagement.Just as there is usually more than one way to produce ? nancial results, there is more than one way to involve people in decision making, to communicate why certain actions are being undertaken, and to express thoughtfulne ss and concern. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ There is a moral imperative for companies to practice process fairness. It is, simply put, the right thing to do. As such, process fairness is the responsibility of all executives, at all levels, and in all functions; it cannot be delegated to HR. But with that moral responsibility comes business opportunity.An executive must minimize the costs of decisions that might threaten employees and maximize the bene? ts of decisions that may be sources of opportunity for them. In both instances, practicing process fairness will help get you there. The sooner you realize it, the better off you and your company will be. Reprint R0603H To order, see page 151. â€Å"A new, surprising, and authoritative take on an important aspect of modern society that most people just don’t know about. † Toby Lester, Deputy Managing Editor, The Atlantic Monthly Fred Reichheld is the godfather of customer loyalty. His new book, The Ultimate Question, continues to push the envelope with innovative, practical ideas. † John Donahoe, President, eBay Marketplace â€Å"Perceptive analysis brought to life by references to real people and real situations. † Kieran C. Poynter, Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLp AVAILABLE WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD, INCLUDING: 5th Ave. & 46th St. , NYC Rockefeller Center 5th Ave. & 48th St. , NYC HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PRESS www. HBSPress. org

Adaptation Model of Nursing Analysis

Adaptation Model of Nursing Analysis Roy’s Adaptation Model One of the most prominent nursing theories is the Adaptation Model of Nursing, developed by Sister Callista Roy. It focuses on the human ability to adapt to environmental stimuli through our set of systems; biological, psychological and social. The main goal of this model is to live adequately by striving for balance. The Roy adaptation model interprets the person as a rounded adaptive system constantly interacting with the external and internal environment, with the goal to maintain integrity. According to (Roy and Andrews, 1999), adaptation refers to â€Å"the process and outcome whereby thinking and feeling persons as individuals or in groups, use conscious awareness and choice to create human and environmental integration†. There are three levels of adaptation described by Roy each representing the condition of the life processes; integrated, compensatory, and compromised life processes (Master, 129). An integrated life process that is lost may change to a compensatory process, which tries to reestablish adaptation. However if the compensatory process is not enough, it leads to compromised processes. There are two types of coping processes in Roy’s model; innate and acquired. Innate coping mechanisms are genetic, while acquired processes are learned. Coping processes are further categorized into applying to individuals; regulator and cognator subsystems. The regulator subsystem is biological responding through chemical, endocrine, and neural means. The body has a natural response to stimuli such as hormones, electrolytes etc. The cognator subsystem acts by four cognitive emotional channels: perceptual and information processing, learning, judgment, and emotion (Masters, 129). These subsystems main goal is to maintain the processes of life; integrated, compensatory or compromised. The input of the individual adaptive system comes from the environment. There are three classes of stimuli that Roy has ident ified. The focal stimulus is what the human is instantly aware of in their consciousness. Contextual stimuli are the other stimuli that contribute to the focal stimulus, but are not the focus of the human awareness. Lastly is the residual stimuli, which has unknown effects to the situation at hand. According to Roy’s model, understanding the health of the patient is based on understanding the environment, the adaptive system, and the scientific and philosophic assumptions. Responses made relative to the human goal of thriving promote wholeness of health. Health is both a process and a state of becoming whole and integrated. Assumptions from adaptation level theory and assumptions from systems theory have been combined into a single set of scientific assumptions. From systems theory, human adaptive systems are intermingling parts that cooperate together. Human adaptive systems are complex multifaceted and respond to myriad environmental stimuli to achieve adaptation. With their ability to adapt to environmental stimuli, humans have the capacity to create changes in the environment (Roy & Andrews, 1999). Drawing on characteristics of creation spirituality, Roy combined the assumptions of humanism and vertivity (common purposefulness of human existence) into a single set of philosophical assumptions. Humanism insists that human experiences are essential to knowing and that it has power in creativity. Vertivity affirms the belief in the purpose, value, and meaning of all human life. Roy defines nursing as a â€Å"health care profession that focuses on human life processes and patterns and emphasizes promotion of health for individuals, families, groups, and society as a whole† (Roy & Andrews, 1999, p.4). Nursing is what expands adaptive abilities and enhances person and environment. Nursing assesses of stimuli and behavior that influence adaptation. Based on these assessments, interventions are made to manage the stimuli. There are two types of nursing, a science and as a practice discipline. As a science, the goal to â€Å"develop a system of knowledge about persons that observes, classifies, and relates the processes by which persons positively affect their health status† (Roy, 1984, pp. 3-4). As a practice discipline one uses the scientific knowledge to promote health through an essential service (Alligood, 2014). Nursing facilitates adaptation by assessing behavior and intervening to promote adaptive abilities and to enhance environment interactions. According to Roy, humans are adaptive creatures. The human system is a whole with parts that work together to pursue a goal. These human systems include both the individual and the group. Humans systems adjust to the environment and in turn, affect the environment, due to their capability in consciousness and meaning. Roy defined the person as the main focus of nursing, the recipient of nursing care, a living, complex, adaptive system with internal processes (cog nator and regulator) acting to maintain adaptation in the four adaptive modes (physiological, self-concept, role function, and interdependence) (Alligood, 2014). â€Å"Health is a state and a process of being and becoming integrated and a whole person. It is a reflection of adaptation, that is, the interaction of the person and the environment† (Andrews & Roy, 1991, p. 21). Adaptation is a process to enhance psychological, physiological, and social integrity. Health can be perceived as a scale from extreme poor health to peak wellness. However both health and illness can co-exist, the goal of health is to cope with illness in a competent way. Health and illness are one inevitable part of the person’s total life experience (Alligood, 2014). When mechanisms for coping prove to be ineffective, illness persists. Through adaption one can achieve proper health. Environment is â€Å"all the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding and affecting the developme nt and behavior of persons or groups, with particular consideration of the mutuality of person and earth resources that includes focal, contextual and residual stimuli† (Roy & Andrews, 1999, p. 18). In order for adaptive responses to occur changes in the environment must be observed. These changes could be positive or negative, large or small, both internal and external factors. Mrs. Muriel Crane is a 74 year old female presenting to the emergency room because her breathing has become more difficult and she noted an increase in sputum production. Her family physician referred her to the ER for treatment of an acute exacerbation of COPD, a condition she has had for the last10 years. To summarize Roy’s model of adaption, it focuses on the human ability to adapt to various environmental stimuli, both innately and externally. In context to this model, she has various issues to discuss. These issues must be related to human adaptation to the environment/condition, or can b enefit from this theory. First, her breathing problems are a response to her body not being able to receive the oxygen she requires. Getting her oxygen up is a major focus. She is also suffering from a cough, spewing up thick yellow sputum which also keeps her up at night. She is constantly tired, with no energy for daily activities. Over the last month Mrs. Crane has been losing weight, but has no appetite, as she’s under a lot of stress. With a temperature of 39.2 she is experiencing a fever. During damp cold weather she feels arthritic pain in her knees. Lastly due to these symptoms and her hospital stay she has peripheral muscle wasting and muscle weakness. A key concept within Roy’s model is the idea of health and illness coexisting in the human life. For Mrs. Crane she has experienced a massive drain of energy due to this illness and is unable to participate in her daily activities. This is a major priority as it impedes on her quality of life, and limits the r ate at which she feels better. According to Roy, illness is natural and we must learn to coexist with it. For Mrs. Crane, she has no energy because her body is using it on other needs such as combating infection, or keeping up oxygen levels. To free up energy, a goal she can make is to prioritize her energy spending, as well as making a greater effort to engage in daily activities. By doing this, she can improve her quality of life as well as her psyche, which will improve her healing process. Adaptive behaviors are those that promote the goals of survival and adapting to the environment. However, Mrs. Crane is coughing leading to a lack of sleep. This adaption is negative to her health, and an ineffective behavior. Roy explains in her model that ineffective behaviors need to be recognized and purposely stopped. In order to stop this cough, she needs to take the proper medicines and alternative therapy, which will lead to a better sleep. This in turn will promote the goals of surv ival and healing. When faced with the stress of her illness, Mrs. Crane experiences the regulator subsystem of coping which responds with biological means. The body has a natural response to stimuli such as hormones, in this case cortisol. However she has been a great amount of stress for an extended amount of time, leading to negative effects due to the cortisol release. High amounts of cortisol decreases immunity, and breaks down muscle bone and connective tissue. A goal for Mrs. Crane would be to lower her stress levels in order to better her health.

Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Critique - Essay Example However, just like any other business, the JC Penny Department Store is one that has also gone through its demoralizing moments (Zmuda, 1). The store has been indicted not to have good deals for its clients, an aspect that makes most of the clients move to other stores for a cheaper price. Pricing strategies are indeed vital for the success of any store of JC Penny’s kind. As a departmental store, the store has endeavored to impose low prices on its goods and services, which at times would reduce the store to retail store. I would in this case argue that JC Penny Company is one that needs a lot of rebranding if it has to claim a prestigious place in America. A transformation in the company’s operation especially in reinstating the client’s confidence would be of great benefit to the management. Zmuda, Natalie. ‘JC Penney Reinvents Department-Store Retailing. Unveils Sweeping Shifts to Pricing, Promotion, Presentation, Product.’ Advertising Age. January 25, 2012. Web. Available at:

Near Eastern and Egyptian Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Near Eastern and Egyptian Art - Essay Example The focus of the essay "Near Eastern and Egyptian Art" is on Eastern and Egyptian art and culture. It can be observed that in most of the world’s civilizations, there is a certain kind of interaction involving a deity, a holy person and the people of a nation. Such interactions are exemplified by passages from the Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible like in Numbers 21:4-9 and 27:1-11, and Leviticus 8:1-9 as given from the readings. In all three readings, it is written that God speaks to His people, the Israelites through his prophet, Moses. He does not speak directly to the people, and He does not show Himself to them, but only to Moses. The people, on the other hand speak to God only through Moses, as they are not allowed to even set foot on holy ground. Moses is seen as an intermediary between God and His people, and he can speak to God directly and tell Him the pleas of the people, and he can tell the people the words of God. Based on this situation, there is a certain distance between the deity and the people through a mediator chosen by the deity as his representative to the people. Such similarities in religious customs can also be seen in the polytheism of ancient Egyptians. Much like in the early Israelites, the deities of ancient Egypt also do not speak to the people directly, but through medium such as the high priests in their holy temples, or through pharaohs that were given the same status as the gods. Such division can be seen in the layout of the temple of Amun-Re.

Accounting Career Problem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accounting Career Problem - Research Paper Example However, the thing is that having a career in accounting does not only come with advantages. The career also has some challenges. One of the most common challenges faced by accountants in their careers is the challenge of coping with pressure from organizations’ management to create balance sheets and financial statements that can cope with the current high rate of competition in various industries and anger for success. This paper aims at discussing pressure from management as a challenge commonly faced by accountants. Being an accountant, there are always many ethical issues that are always surrounding everything that you do. Many business managers are usually willing to do anything so that they might emerge as successful. As a result, there are always some stress and pressure that is placed on accountings when it comes to their responsibilities of creation of financial statements and balance sheets. Accountants are always expected to give a true and clear report on an organization’s profit, liabilities and assets. It is always a challenge in making sure that that record on a company’s profit, assets, and liabilities even in situations that the true records might not be very good in terms of the success of the business organization (Woolf & Hindson, 2013). The situation is always further amplified if the mangers involved insist that the records should be altered so that they can serve the interests of the business organization. In such a situation an accountant will find themselves having the dilemma to choose between following the ethical standards expected of them as accountants and altering the records in order to please their employers. If they choose to alter the records they might end up losing their credibility if in any case it is realized that they had involved in unethical conducts. On the other side if they decide to go against the will of the managers and deal with the right

Why have the use of illcit substances become more common place amoung Essay

Why have the use of illcit substances become more common place amoung the youth in society - Essay Example Issues like the drug and other illicit substance abuse among youth! So sensitive is this issue that any misgiving can lead to catastrophe. In this research we try to identify and determine that is drug abuse really a threat or an episode of the aforementioned phenomenon. The purpose for selecting the topic is to define how illicit substances and their uses are common among the youth. Media is very popular now days. It occupies a big chunk of teenagers time and at the same time the failure to follow age restrictions are allowing teenagers to use illicit substances. And this curse is growing rapidly and is actually leaving negative effects on youth. The available work done related to this topic. In this project we explore how this influence of illicit substances has become stronger with a passage of time. Considering the amount youth spend using media facilities, this should be taken into account and also to understand the relationship of illicit substances used by youth and the role played by media (McArthur, 1999).. Our youth are considered the considered the most sensitive and receptive during their early years and this is the time in the modern era that exposure to media is at its height. The problem is how the use of illicit substances among youth really leads to believe or its just exaggeration and influence of the media. There is no yardstick to measure this phenomenon so it goes unchecked as it brings revenue to the media industry. This is the growing age of the youth and the involvement of media plays an important role. They tend to forget that there will be repercussions for their actions. It has been scientifically concluded that television as a source of media has a causal relationship. But this does not mean that it creates influence among the youth to use illicit substances. The developers of media were blamed for so me of the more extreme cases of the use of illicit substances. On the contrary many are disturbing in the sense of

Excelsior Dating Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Excelsior Dating Service - Essay Example First f all I don't think that they are good for everyone to use. There are certainly a lot f precautions you must take when dating but that applies to all dating. You need to use common sense and do not be nave when it come to meeting new people. Also I think that the best kind f dating service is the internet type. The news papers and professional dating services seem to be a little "cheap" if you ask me. I would never want to try to post my profile next to one that says 300 lb. man looking for gay lover. It just doesn't seem right. Not that I'm against that sort f thing but it just sounds too cheap. Also, professional services tend to introduce you for dates as soon as possible. (Browne 1-7) It seems too fast for me. Are the men are expecting a little too much after they purchase that steak and lobster dinner But back to the subject at hand, yes I would participate in the internet dating service type program. Actually, I have been a member f a few on-line services and never dated any f the gentle men I've met but I have made a few good friends to chat with anonymously. There are over 1.5 million sites on the internet and I must say I was shocked to see that most services are free to join but there is a catch, you must pay if you want to contact or answer an inquiry, oh- these guys are smart! Some f the pros f the internet type dating services are as follows in the next few paragraphs. The large volume f ads or personality profiles to look through, are great. You would not believe how long it takes just to get through the ones that meet your criteria! This is not something you can do with such anonymity at a night club, don't you agree Anonymity in placing your profile under a screen name, and a great way to meet the honest character is to leave out the photograph. The ability to get to know someone by chatting for hours before you meet them is a great pro f the dating services. Not only will you not judge a book by its cover but the personality click is very important to a woman. Well for myself more than sex appeal I think. You also get the opportunity to meet people from all around the country or even the world and the kicker is most guys write "will relocate for the right woman" sounds like a job ad, silly but effective. The cons or bad points f these services can be dangerous if the wrong type f people use a service such as this. Just recently a girl, age 19, was kidnapped and barely escaped with her life. Now why is a young girl using this service I think they should limit people to age 25 years and up. However, some folks lie about themselves on-line! You must be very careful. People lie about who and what they are including their ages and their intentions. There are many predatory people that use the internet to find naive people to use. Just recently there was an arrest f a man who has meet and stolen millions f dollars from lonely women using a service! There is really no way to check up on the truth behind the chat and what someone is saying they are, IE: married or not There are however some safely use the internet dating services such as following

THE bcci, bank of credit comerce, white collar crime Essay

THE bcci, bank of credit comerce, white collar crime - Essay Example But, success was not the only step for BCCI’s fate. Price Waterhouse was asked to carry inquiry in March, 1991. It was 24th June, 1991 when they submitted the Sandstorm Report to Bank of England stating that BCCI had engaged in fraud case. Main capital base to BCCI were virtual oil-rich Arab leaders who acted to be the investor but, in reality they were working as nominees. Bank since its beginning attracted people to deposit their funds by pretending that they have more capital which in reality was not true. It used to use the deposits in order to meet the expenses. Even it forced its own shareholders to participate in this drama. Major actions that resulted into frauds by BCCI were enlisted by New York District Attorney. According to them the important points are: Middle East personalities included their names and funds to BCCI as an investor which in effect turned to be flaw because their funding was based on guaranteed no-risk return instead of actual sponsor at risk. After getting the request from Bank of England, Price Waterhouse presented its report on BCCI known as Sandstorm Report. As per the report, BCCI committed several mistakes and did many unofficial activities that are out of one company’s ethics. Price Waterhouse persons collected records from banks of various countries, reviewed them and interviewed in some cases, finally formed one draft keeping all key points there. During their scrutiny they found that BCCI did not record $600 million of BCCI’s deposit. It first knocked the Price Waterhouse audit persons. Among the other types of frauds described by audit include: manipulation of their account at the time of non-performing loan, fabricated profit, hidden losses, setting up of untrue loans for repurchasing shares, cheating of deposits, unreal transactions and charges, showing nominees as capitalists, illegal repurchasing platform for shareholders, bad investment,

Utilitarianism Essay Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Essay Essay John Stuart Mill, a philosopher and political economist, is known today as one of the most influential sponsors for Utilitarianism. His moral theory tends to go along with a â€Å"Utilitarian rubric† (Fitzpatrick, 2006) and thus holds that the theory is based on how to define right and wrong in terms of happiness. For Mill, â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness† (J. S Mill, 1861, pg. 9). If happiness, for Mill at least, is pleasure, then it is also the absence of pain. Although this can be seen as a hedonistic approach, Mill supports the idea of different levels for pleasure. In his essay Utilitarianism, Mill draws a comparison for human and swine pleasure; he argues that if the pleasures were to be the same, then â€Å"the rule of life which is good enough for one would be good enough for the other. † Clearly man is more advanced than pigs and therefore, in Mill’s opinion, we must conduct ourselves in such a way that reflects how we rank happiness; as more advanced beings, Mill believes that we must place a higher importance on â€Å"mental over bodily pleasures† (J. S. Mill, 1861). Utilitarianism Like any philosophical approach to ethics, Utilitarianism is simply attempting to explain where the boundaries of â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† lie. The name utilitarianism is stemmed from the idea of utility and usefulness; in terms of utilitarianism, an act is good or morally right if it brings about a desired result, which deems it useful for the greater good (Wilkens 2011). If happiness is good, then the â€Å"desired result† should be happiness because, by definition, happiness is good in itself. This can easily be seen as a circular argument, but a Utilitarian, such as Mill, phrases this 2 Utilitarianism Essay 3 idea as â€Å"we ought to because we do. † Humans naturally want to attain or be in a state of happiness, which is taken as proof that the pursuit of happiness must not be evil. Utilitarianism is also distinguished by impartiality and agent-neutrality. Everyones happiness counts the same, which means that we are obliged to think of the well being of everyone who would be impacted by any decisions made (Wilkens, 2011). When one maximizes the good, it is the good objectively considered; if happiness will be rewarded to the majority of a population, then it is good to give it to them even if it causes pain to the individual. Quantitative and Qualitative Jeremy Bentham, fellow philosopher of Mill, aimed to make a way to quantify the results of any ethical decision. He coined the method of â€Å"hedonistic calculus† in which he tried to measure objectively how much happiness could be produced from an ethical decision (Wilkens, 2011). In his process, Bentham divides happiness into several categories and adds up how much happiness is created from within each of the categories; the category with the highest ranking would be the ethical choice. John Stuart Mill focused his version of utilitarianism to stress the qualitative characteristics of happiness rather than the amount of it as Bentham did. Mill’s main objection was that there are different levels of desire – of happiness – that hold different levels of importance, and must therefore be weighed according to that level. He argued that it was not possible to measure happiness or the quality of it, hence deeming Bentham’s calculus of felicity a problem. Though the two differ on many aspects, Bentham and Mill agree that pleasure for the greater good is better than pleasure for only an individual, making happiness fundamentally good (Shaw, 2008). All utilitarian thought has been based on past experience and learning from the consequences of those decisions. 3 Utilitarianism Essay 3 Mill’s Approach: A Critique The utilitarian view has attracted so many supporters because of its ability to link happiness to good; it would be next to impossible to argue that happiness is bad for humanity. Unfortunately, utilitarianism creates an â€Å"ethical limbo† in a sense that we can never know the results of a decision to be good or bad because consequences can only be seen in the future (Wilkens, 2011). It would be impossible to make a standard of judgment based on consequences with Mill’s approach to utilitarianism because we would never truly know the full extent of the consequences of any given action. In Theory Cancer in its various forms has taken the lives of millions all over the world already, and it is unknown how many more will also die prematurely from this disease. Let’s pretend that in the future, doctors discover a genetic mutation only present in an unborn baby (that is, still in the womb) that has the potential to cure cancer. The doctors also know that this baby will be born with many physical mutations that would hinder him in life, causing him unavoidable unhappiness. If the doctors harvest the baby’s DNA, they would need to kill the baby before it is born. But, if the baby is left to live his life, he will later go on and find the cure for HIV, AIDS, and other terminal illness; which would be the ethical choice? For a utilitarian, the choice would be simple: the happiness of the majority (which would be those currently suffering from cancer) outweighs that of the baby, his family, and those suffering from terminal illnesses in the future. One death now is better, or happier, than millions 4 Utilitarianism Essay 3 of deaths in the future. This situation critiques utilitarianism in its inability to fully comprehend the consequences of a decision; it should be deemed unethical to kill a baby, yet to a utilitarian it would be acceptable if it served a purpose even before its birth. 5 Utilitarianism Essay 3 References Mill, J. S. (1861). Utilitarianism. Raleigh, N. C. : Alex Catalogue. Fitzpatrick, J. R. (2006). John Stuart Mills Political Philosophy: Balancing Freedom and the Collective Good. London, GBR: Continuum International Publishing. Retrieved from http://www. ebrary. com from http://site. ebrary. com. library. gcu. edu:2048/lib/grandcanyon/reader. action? ppg=10docID=10224803tm=1414980113298 Wilkens, Steve. (2011). Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics: An Introduction to Theories of Right and Wrong. Downers Grove, IL. Shaw, W. H. (2008). Utilitarianism. In R. W. Kolb (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society (Vol. 5, pp. 2158-2162). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com. library. gcu. edu:2048/ps/i. do? id=GALE %7CCX2660400848v=2. 1u=canyonunivit=rp=GVRLsw=wasid=83325aac55 e64da1ad4e917fe0af0cbb.

Analysis of VP28 Gene in White Spot Syndrome Virus Infection

Analysis of VP28 Gene in White Spot Syndrome Virus Infection Temporal analysis of VP28 gene in White spot syndrome virus infected fresh water crabs Chiin Nei Chinga, Mansi Parihara, R. Sudhakaranb* aSchool of Bioscience and Technology, VIT University, Vellore – 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India. *bAssistant professor, SBST, VIT University, Vellore – 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India. ABSTRACT Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Disease emergence is a concern in wild fisheries due to environmental pressures, the direct impact of human activities and the risk of pathogens spread from aquaculture. Common viruses are Taura syndrome virus (TSV), white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), and the necrotizing hepato pancreatitis bacterium (NHP-B). The White Spot Syndrome Virus is the most economically devastating viral pathogen to global shrimp aquaculture production and has been proposed to be capable of infecting all decapod crustaceans. WSSV is an enveloped ellipsoid virus, which belongs to the genus Whispovirus of the family Nimaviridae. VP28 is one of its major envelope proteins, and plays a crucial role in viral infection. In this study, the proteins of the infected crab were purified using SDS page and then Western Blotting was performed to extract that particular protein. The VP28 protein will appear as specific bands in the blot. Keywords:Â  Aquaculture, White spot syndrome virus, VP28, SDS-Page, Western blotting. 1. INTRODUCTION White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is one of the major shrimp pathogen that causes a high mortality rate of 90-100% within 3-10 days of infection (Lightner, 1996). Natural WSSV infections have been found in captured and cultured specimens of the mud crab. WSSV is an enveloped ellipsoid virus, which belongs to the genus Whispovirus of the family Nimaviridae. In addition, WSSV can also infect a wide range of hosts including both decapod and non-decapod animals with more than hundred species described to date. So far, the genome from three different WSSV isolates has been sequenced. Sequence analysis showed that WSSV contains approximately 500 putative open reading frames (ORFs), most of which have no homology with any known genes or proteins in public databases. Till now, more than 50 structural and non-structural proteins were identified. Tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR, originally developed by Lo etal., have been widely used and recommended by the Office of International Epizootics (OIE) to be used as standard diagnostic methods for the detection of WSSV. Despite their excellence in specificity and sensitivity, these methods were not suited in some circumstances due to their complications, the requirement of thermal cycler, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Moreover, the classical agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide staining, following the visualization under the ultraviolet (UV) transilluminator required to analyze the result of PCR products. Western blotting identifies with specific antibodies proteins that have been separated from one another according to their size by gel electrophoresis. The blot is a membrane of nitrocellulose or PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride). The gel is placed next to the membrane and application of an electrical current induces the proteins in the gel to move to the membrane where they adhere. The membrane is then a replica of the gel’s protein pattern, and is subsequently stained with an antibody. Therefore, these features could be limited their applications, particularly in the resource-limited areas and non-laboratory environments such as at the pond or station sites. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Tissue homogenate preparation: Gills, muscle, hepato pancreas and Head soft tissue from the crab infected with WSSV were homogenized in 1:10 suspension with NTE Buffer. It was then freeze and thaw for three times then centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 5min. The supernatant were collected separately in a tube and stored at -20Â °C. This supernatant was used for protein analysis. 2.2. Protein estimation: Lowry’s method was performed for the estimation of protein in order to know its concentrations (Lowry et al., 1951). 2% sodium carbonate in 0.1N sodium hydroxide (Reagent A) 0.5% copper sulphate in 1% potassium sodium tartrate (Reagent B) Alkaline copper solution: Mixed 50 ml of solution A and 1 ml of B prior to use (reagent C) Folin Ciocalteau reagent (Reagent D) Protein standard stock: 50 mg of bovine serum albumin (fraction V) was weighed and dissolved in distilled water and made up to 50 ml (1 mg/ml) Working standard- diluted 1ml of stock solution to 5 ml with distilled water. (200 Â µg of protein/ml). 2.3. SDS-PAGE: SDS-PAGE is currently used to determine the molecular masses, and also to investigate the subunit composition and the domain structure of proteins. TAE Buffer (1X) was poured in tank which maintain the temperature and pH of the gel. Gel was prepared and protein sample is mixed with bromophenol blue which act as a tracking dye. Then it was loaded into the well and electric current of 50V is applied into the tank which is later on increase to 100V when the dye contacts the resolving gel. When the dye reach the end of the resolving gel it was taken out and stain with the help of Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (methanol-50 ml, distilled water 40 ml, glacial acetic acid 10 ml) for 1 hour and de-stain the gel by immersing in the de-staining solution (65 ml of distilled water, methanol 10 ml and 25 ml of glacial acetic acid). 2.4. Western blotting: Transferring of the protein into a membrane The membrane can be either nitrocellulose or PVDF. PVDF requires activation with methanol for one minute and is then rinsed with transfer buffer before preparing the stack. After stacking, the electro transfer is carried out for 90 minutes at a constant current of 150 mA set by maintaining the voltage at maximum. Transfer to the membrane and checked using Ponceau Red staining before the blocking step. (PVDF cannot be stained). After ponceau staining, wash the nitrocellulose membrane with TBST for 1 min at room temperature. Blocking and Antibody incubation Block the membrane for 1 hour at room temperature in blocking buffer (10 % milk in TBST). After blocking, incubate the membrane in primary antibody (1:1000 dilutions) in 2.5% milk in TBST overnight at 4Â °C. Wash the membrane for three washes using TBST for 5 minutes each. Incubate the membrane with secondary antibody (1:2000 dilutions) in 2.5% milk in TBST at room temperature for 1 hour. Wash the membrane in three washes of TBST, 5 minutes each. Add ECL reagent (Solution A and B in 1:1 ratio) on to the membrane and spread it thoroughly on to it using a pipette. Remove the excess reagent and place the membrane on to the x-ray cassette and expose to x ray film in the dark room. An initial 10 sec exposure should indicate the proper exposure time because due to the kinetics of the detection reaction, signal is most intense immediately following incubation and declines over the following 2 hrs. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. SDS-PAGE: Fig.1 SDS-PAGE which shows different bands under white light. Lane 1- Gill; Lane 2- HST; Lane 3- Muscle; Lane 4-Hepatopancreas. The polypeptides of purified virus were resolved by SDS-PAGE using discontinuous buffer system. In 12.5% acrylamide gel, the purified virus yielded different polypeptides base on their molecular mass in which lower molecular weight will elute faster as compared to those having higher molecular weight, which were Visualized on Coomassie brilliant blue R 250 staining. 3.2. Western blotting: Fig 2. Western blotting Viral polypeptides separated by SDS-PAGE were electrophoretically transferred to nitrocellulose membrane (0.22 ÃŽ ¼m) in transfer buffer (192 mM glycine, 25 mM Tris and 20% methanol, pH 8.3), at 0.8 mA/cm2for 1 h. it was later on view by using film to visualize the relative abundance of proteins Discussion By performing SDS-PAGE, (fig.1) we can determined the different molecular weight of polypeptide. The difference in the number of the polypeptide may be attributing due to the difference in concentration of the resolving and other physical conditions. The western blot analysis of proteins of semi-purified white spot syndrome virus separated on 12.5% gel (fig.2) showed different number of immunogenic proteins based on its molecular weight. Out of these, those proteins, which stained more intensely, were considered as major immunogenic proteins. However, further studies are needed to establish its immunogenic nature and feasibility for its use as vaccine. Because electrophoretic separation of proteins is always carried out under denaturing conditions, the problem of solublization, aggregation and co-precipitation of target proteins with adventitious proteins are eliminated. REFERENCES [1] Lowry, O. H., N. J. Rosebrough, A. L. Farr and R. J. Randall (1951): Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J. Biol. Chem., 193(1), 265-275. [2] van Hulten, M. C., J. Witteveldt, S. Peters, N. Kloosterboer, R. Tarchini, M. Fiers, H. Sandbrink, R. K. Lankhorst and J. M. Vlak (2001): The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence. Virology, 286(1), 7-22. [3] Seetang-Nun Y, Jaroenram W, Sriurairatana S, Suebsing R, Kiatpathomchai W (2013)Â ­: Visual detection of white spot syndrome virus using DNA-functionalized gold nanoparticles as probes combined with loop-mediated isothermal amplification. Mol Cell Probes, 27(2):71-9. [4] Maurice Pagano (1999): Application of electrophoresis and related methods, such as western blotting and zymography to the study of some proteins and enzymes. Analytica Chimica Acta, 83(1–2): 119–125. [4] Lightner, D. V. (1996): A Handbook of Shrimp Pathology and Diagnostic Procedures for Diseases of Cultured Penaeid Shrimp. World Aquaculture Society.

How to handle your finance after divorce Essay --

How to handle your finance after divorce Divorce is a complex and heartbreaking episode in anyone's lives. You would not want to add in to your burden with monetary issues.This turn out to be a greater disaster if you were always being dependent on your partner or have money crunch. You can no longer afford to rely on anyone else other than yourself. So, gear up and get your act straight. We know it is difficult and at the same time important to start handling financial responsibility. Here are a few steps to help you to take the first step. Who owns the home In case the home is owned by your ex-spouse sole name, then you might want to consider registering for a share using a 'matrimonial home rights notice' or a 'restriction' notice. Both of these notices will help you in guaranteeing that your ex-partner won't try to sell, transfer or mortgage the property without your knowledge or agreement. Clear your mortgage concerns Explain your stand clearly, talk to the lender and discuss how you plan to manage the mortgage repayments. This also applies in case you are staying in...

Analysis of Hip-Hop and Youth Culture Essay -- Papers

Analysis of Hip-Hop and Youth Culture Throughout the last twenty-five years, a new form of expression has continued to evolve. Hip-Hop, once limited to urban music and dance has become a widespread form of communication exhibited and enjoyed by young people throughout the world. Hip-Hop is no longer limited to rap music and break dancing; today it represents a multi-billion dollar industry that influences everything from fashion to prime- time television programming, professional sports, mass media marketing and advertising. Today Hip-Hop is becoming a way of life, a culture that is intricately woven into every aspect of young people's daily lives. We may not necessarily be consciously aware of it, but what we are saying, what we are wearing and our musical; cinematography choices can be subtly influenced by Hip-Hop culture This Hip-Hop emerging culture has similarities to other cultures that have emerged throughout history. Hip-Hop was initially born of the ability of those early practitioners of rap music, DJ wizardry and street-corner fashion creation to overcome their inability to gain acceptance and recognition by the established music, fashion and entertainment industries. Further galvanising the fledgling culture was the lack of acceptance by adult culture, which refused to recognise these newly emerging forms of expression as legitimate. This was particularly true where many parents were concerned. Needless to say, if parents and other authority figures didn't understand Hip-Hop, didn't like it and, in many instances, admonished young people for embracing it, young people were even more compelled to further immerse t... ...is view is indicative of the mindset of many in Hip-Hop culture. Whether subscribing to the ideology of being "gangsta" or simply being radical in their thinking and views of the world, the shared theme throughout Hip-Hop is being "real". It is perhaps in this "being real" that the culture finds its willingness to be arrogant and unapologetic in its brazen disregard for anyone that does not appreciate what Hip-Hop is. Therein also lies some of the confusion because there is as stated earlier no one consistent theme regarding what Hip-Hop are. From the "bling-bling" of such Hip-Hop artists as 50 Cent, to the cross-over influences of Black Eyed Peas and to the pimpish styling of Snoop Dogg, the themes are as broad and conflicted as the frequent disagreements and altercations that arise between various camps in Hip-Hop.

America: Myth Of Equality Essay -- essays research papers

America: Myth of Equality To many, the Unites States serves as the ideal model of democracy for the modern world. Yet, how truly worthy is America of this status? Although it has been said that, â€Å"Equality is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie,† one must be extremely critical when analyzing such a statement. By taking a historical perspective to the question of how â€Å"equal† American equality actually is, it is simple to recognize how problematic the â€Å"Land of the Free† mentality can be. The early America’s most prominent thinkers have been sensationalized and given credit for developing a free and equal system. However, one can recognize that their manner of thinking was far from this idea of â€Å"all men are created equal† by critical examination of their literature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When analyzing equality, a sociological and legal approach must be made. In the case of the United States, the sociological stratification, or division of power, of minority groups had adversely affected the development of the legal system. Especially in the 1600s and 1700s, legal and social equality of those not of the Caucasian persuasion, the less fortunate, and of the female gender was almost nonexistent. This inequality is a direct result of the early American society’s ranking system. Equality was not perceived in the minds of such individuals as John Winthrop, John Adams, and James Madison, and as a result, their significant accomplishments towards the development of the American system have tainted the institution itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the earliest American social groups was the 17th Century Puritans. This society had an extremely unique and strict manner of thinking that was entirely based on inequality. This is clearly represented by the writings of the Puritan leader John Winthrop. In â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity,† Winthrop outlines the societal rationale, and in turn, the disparity of equality in his society. The gist of the Puritan way of life is that, by the grace of God, certain individuals were empowered with the ability to be enlightened and the capability of achieving much within the society itself. However, by the same reasoning, some individuals were also destined to take the lesser roles in society, and as a result, had no power to move up within the ranks because of this inescapable predetermination. Thi... ...the initial American system. The factions that Madison concerns himself with were the population’s majority, otherwise known as the lesser classes. As a result, the establishment of division of power and checks and balances clauses would give the populace a lesser chance of gaining much authority over the already established aristocracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If this is the case, why is America perceived to be relatively fair and equal today? Fortunately the early American politicians did develop framework to allow the Constitution to evolve, and combined with the political movements in both minority and women’s rights of the end of this century, much of this unjust stigma has been eliminated from the system. Still, racial discrepancies in the courts occur more frequently then not, and the social makeup of American politicians continues to follow a predetermined â€Å"mold.† Is this a direct result of the discrepancies formed in the earlier stages of American history? It is hard for anyone to tell. What is indisputable is that the Declaration of Independence’s statement, â€Å"All men are created equal,† was far from the truth during early American history. Word Count: 1,323

Kath Walker’s We Are Gloing

Basically the theme of the poem is the Aboriginals oppression. The fact they have had to give up on their old way of life and let go of the world that used to be theirs. The Aboriginals knew â€Å"We belong here, we are of the old ways† but eventually through white civilisation and development this life is â€Å"Gone and scattered,† everything is gone and now they had to leave. In summary, the theme of this poem is the oppression experienced by the Indigenous population that resulted in a loss of culture and life for the Indigenous now â€Å"gone and scattered. One example of a technique in the poem includes repetition such as that of the word ‘gone. ‘ The word gone typifies the themes of loss and it's repetition enforces this concept. Other techniques include alliteration such as ‘silent and subdued,' similes such as â€Å"Where now the many white men hurry about like ants,† capitalisation of the word Thunder, six stanza structure, first perso n narration etc. Good luck! The obvious technique is slow deliberate repetition. This reinforces the ancient sigh of a people dispossessed. All that is sacred has been violated. A history is being expunged. Alliteration: subdued and silent ( we even faintly hear the shush) Simile: white men hurry about like ants There are metaphors used by the naive speaker in this poem. They are the land, the elements, the fauna, the flora and the history. The warning is all this heart will be gone if the white man has his way. Kath Walker was right. Her warning was not heard. And they are gone! 1. Explain why they are â€Å"silent and subdued†. 2. How are white men represented? Why? 3. What is a bora ring and explain why it is so central to this poem. 4. Explain their reaction in line 8. 5. Lines 9-17 begin a ‘litany’. What is the effect produced? 6. Comment on the significance of metaphors used in the poem. 7. Comment on the structure and form of this poem. 8. Why does Thunder have a capital letter? 9. Comment on the mood and atmosphere created here. 10. Combine comments on its theme, title and conclusion. Answers 1. They were silent and subdued because little remained of their tribe and many strangers were busy at work like ants. 2. The white men were represented as ants because they were busy at work and hurrying around. 3. A bora ring is where an initiation is performed and is hardened earth done by foot which is surrounded by raised embankments in a formation of a circle and it is central because the bora ring is not being respected as a sign says, â€Å"Rubbish maybe tipped here†. 4. Their reaction meant that to the white men they are strangers and are treated like they don’t belong in Australia but the Aboriginals feel that the white men are the strangers and are in their land. 5. It gives an effect of showing their side of really saying that they are the real natives of Australia and not the white men and that now that they are the past. 6. It compares and shows how the Aboriginals feel. 7. It has six stanzas and has no rhyming pattern. 8. The emphasis the word as thunder is really the loud terrifying sound as a result of lightning. 9. They are in the fresh air of Australia near the Bora Ring and the mood is of sadness and subduedness because of how the Bora Ring is being mistreated. 10. ‘We are going’ are the three words in the title, conclusion and theme and portrays how the life of the Aboriginals would be as the Aboriginals are not welcome to their own homeland therefore they are saying that they will leave their old ways and be cast upon a low unwanted class forever.

Digital Fortress Chapter 14

Becker gazed down at the cadaver. Even hours after death, the Asian's face radiated with a pinkish glow of a recent sunburn. The rest of him was a pale yellow-all except the small area of purplish bruising directly over his heart. Probably from the CPR, Becker mused. Too bad it didn't work. He went back to studying the cadaver's hands. They were like nothing Becker had ever seen. Each hand had only three digits, and they were twisted and askew. The disfigurement, however, was not what Becker was looking at. â€Å"Well, I'll be.† The lieutenant grunted from across the room. â€Å"He's Japanese, not Chinese.† Becker looked up. The officer was thumbing through the dead man's passport. â€Å"I'd rather you didn't look at that,† Becker requested. Touch nothing. Read nothing. â€Å"Ensei Tankado†¦ born January-â€Å" â€Å"Please,† Becker said politely. â€Å"Put it back.† The officer stared at the passport a moment longer and then tossed it back on the pile. â€Å"This guy's got a class-3 visa. He could have stayed here for years.† Becker poked at the victim's hand with a pen. â€Å"Maybe he lived here.† â€Å"Nope. Date of entry was last week.† â€Å"Maybe he was moving here,† Becker offered curtly. â€Å"Yeah, maybe. Crummy first week. Sunstroke and a heart attack. Poor bastard.† Becker ignored the officer and studied the hand. â€Å"You're positive he wasn't wearing any jewelry when he died?† The officer looked up, startled. â€Å"Jewelry?† â€Å"Yeah. Take a look at this.† The officer crossed the room. The skin on Tankado's left hand showed traces of sunburn, everywhere except a narrow band of flesh around the smallest finger. Becker pointed to the strip of pale flesh. â€Å"See how this isn't sunburned here? Looks like he was wearing a ring.† The officer seemed surprised. â€Å"A ring?† His voice sounded suddenly perplexed. He studied the corpse's finger. Then he flushed sheepishly. â€Å"My God.† He chuckled. â€Å"The story was true?† Becker had a sudden sinking feeling. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† The officer shook his head in disbelief. â€Å"I would have mentioned it before†¦ but I thought the guy was nuts.† Becker was not smiling. â€Å"What guy?† â€Å"The guy who phoned in the emergency. Some Canadian tourist. Kept talking about a ring. Babbling in the worst damn Spanish I ever heard.† â€Å"He said Mr. Tankado was wearing a ring?† The officer nodded. He pulled out a Ducado cigarette, eyed the no fumar sign, and lit up anyway. â€Å"Guess I should have said something, but the guy sounded totally loco.† Becker frowned. Strathmore's words echoed in his ears. I want everything Ensei Tankado had with him. Everything. Leave nothing. Not even a tiny scrap of paper. â€Å"Where is the ring now?† Becker asked. The officer took a puff. â€Å"Long story.† Something told Becker this was not good news. â€Å"Tell me anyway.†

Daphnia Dissection

Effects of Drugs on Heart rate Michelle Dilgard Undergraduate Student Education Major Biology Concentration Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN 38505 December 3, 2006 Table of Contents Page Abstract 1 Key Words 2 Introduction3-6 Methods and Materials7-8 Expected Results and Benefits 9 Results 10-11 Discussion12 Conclusion13 Literature Cited 14-15 Abstract This experiment is designed to find out how drugs affect heart rate. This experiment will use Daphnia in order to monitor the effects certain drugs have on heart rates.I will observe the changes in heart rate of Daphnia when exposed to Caffeine, Ibuprofen, Alcohol, and Nicotine. I will have several separate samples of Daphnia in my study. Each community will be exposed to a different drug and observe how the heart rate of the Daphnia changes accordingly. I believe the Daphnia heart rate will increase when the Daphnia are exposed to Caffeine and Nicotine because both of these drugs are stimulants. I believe the Daphnia heart rate will decrease and slow down when the Daphnia are exposed to Ibuprofen and Alcohol.This experiment will show not only the effects of these drugs on Daphnia but also what they similarly do to the human body when it is exposed. Daphnia are used as a humane alternative to Humans when performing this type of experiment. The results on the Daphnia will be very similar to how the human heart would react if exposed to these drugs. Key Words Nicotine Alcohol Caffeine Ibuprofen Effects of Drugs Daphnia Magna Heart rate Drugs Heart Introduction My experiment deals with the affects of different drugs on the heart rate of daphnia. I will focus on the daphnia’s body itself first.Then I will give information pertaining to the drugs used: Caffeiene, Ibuprofen, Alcohol, and Nicotine. Daphnia are small crustaceans that live in the water. They are commonly called water fleas. Daphnia are freshwater zooplankton and consume phytoplankton and some other zooplankton as well. The daphniaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s bodies are transparent and their internal structures can easily be seen. The heart is the internal organ I focused on within the daphnia. The heart can be easily seen within the body cavity of the daphnia which made it easy to find and easy to count the heartbeat (Villegas-Navarro 2003).Caffeine is a very important drug to consider because 90% of American consumes caffeine on a daily basis. Half of all American consume more than 300 mg of caffeine a day which makes it America’s most consumed drug to date. Caffeine is found in coffee, soda, tea, chocolate, etc. Caffeine is known as trimethylxanthine in the medical community. Caffeine can be used as a cardiac stimulant and also as a mild diuretic. Cardiac stimulants increase the heart rate, and diuretics increase urine production. Caffeine is a very addictive drug and operates just like amphetamines such as cocaine and heroin (Nehlig 1992).Caffeine not only stimulates the heart of humans but also the heart of daphnia ( Foster 1997). Ibuprofen is commonly used to relieve pain, tenderness, swelling and stiffness caused by arthritis. It is also used to relieve mild to moderate pain in the body and reduce fever. Ibuprofen is called a NSAIDs. It works by stopping the body’s production of a substance that causes pain, fever, and inflammation. Ibuprofen is most often used to treat arthritis (Cluevers 2004). Alcohol is often used as a solvent in medical drugs, because of its low toxicity and ability to dissolve non-polar substances.Ethanol is often used as an antiseptic, to disinfect the skin before injections are given. When processed correctly Alcohol is drunk in recreation. Alcohol affects the body as a nervous system depressant (Wong 1997). Nicotine like caffeine is a stimulant. This stimulant is found in cigarettes. Cigarettes contain 8 to 20 milligrams of nicotine but when smoke only 1 mg of nicotine actually enters the body. Nicotine can have two effects on the body, it can relax a perso or it can stimulate a person, this is based on the amount and the regularity of smoking or nicotine intake.Nicotine works by causing a releas of adrenaline into the body. Statement of Problem How do certain drugs affect heart rate? Objective/Hypothesis Statement This experiment is designed to find out how drugs affect heart rate. This experiment will use Daphnia in order to monitor the effects certain drugs have on heart rates. I will observe the changes in heart rate of Daphnia when exposed to Caffeine, Ibuprofen, Alcohol, and Nicotine. I will have several separate samples of Daphnia in my study.Each community will be exposed to a different drug and observe how the heart rate of the Daphnia changes accordingly. i. e. Foster 1997 I hypothesize that the Daphnia heart rate will increase when the Daphnia are exposed to Caffeine and Nicotine because both of these drugs are stimulants. I hypothesize the Daphnia heart rate will decrease and slow down when the Daphnia are exposed to Ibuprofen and Alcohol. The null hypothesis to this is: I hypothesize that drugs will have no effect on the Daphnia’s heart rate. Methods and Materials Data Form |Resting Heart Rate |Heart Rate 1 |Heart Rate 2 |Heart Rate 3 | |Alcohol 1 | | | | | |Alcohol 2 | | | | | |Alcohol 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |Ibuprofen 1 | | | | |Ibuprofen 2 | | | | |Ibuprofen 3 | | | | | | | | | | |Caffeine 1 | | | | | |Caffeine 2 | | | | |Caffeine 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |Nicotine 1 | | | | | |Nicotine 2 | | | | | |Nicotine 3 | | | | | ProcedureI used a modified version of the experiment performed by Jasmine Kamai and Varner Allbrett when they studied the effects of Kava on the heart rate of Daphnia. My procedure is as follows: Before beginning my experiment I must mix the drug solutions to be used. First I will dissolve ibuprofen and caffeine tablets into a solution of water in two different containers, that I will later determine what strength to make each. I will also tear open cigarettes and mix the tobac co with water and let sit for 24 hours after which I will drain the water off into a container which will make up my nicotine solution. For alcohol I will just mix vodka and water to a desired strength in a 4th container. Next I will cipher out a daphnia and drop it onto a slide to be viewed under a microscope.I will record its normal heart rate. Next I will add a drop of the alcohol solution and over the next 5 minutes I will record the changes in heart rate after one minute of exposure, 3 minutes of exposure and then 5 minutes of exposure. After recording my results I will dispose of this Daphnia. I will do this same portion of the experiment with two more daphnia. I will then continue with this procedure while using the other three drugs. I plan to use the lab facilities in the Biology Building on Tennessee Tech’s Campus. Along with most of their lab equipment including: microscope, slides, vials, Petri dishes, droppers and other equipment. Materials Water Depression Slide sCover slips Droppers Daphnia Magna Microscope Watch Petri Dishes Daphnia Anatomy Chart Cigarettes 80 proof vodka No-dos Ibuprofen tablets Expected Results and Benefits After performing this experiment I expect to find that the Daphnia’s heart rates will increase with Nicotine and Caffeine because both of these drugs are stimulants and that the Daphnia’s heart rates will decrease with Alcohol and Ibuprofen solution. This experiment will show not only the effects of these drugs on Daphnia but also what they similarly do to the human body when it is exposed. Daphnia are used as a humane alternative to Humans when performing this type of experiment. Results Normal |w/Caffeine |w/Alcohol | |84 |100 |89 | |80 |102 |85 | |86 |105 |90 | |88 |109 |91 | |82 |109 |88 | |84 |103 |85 | |90 |110 |93 | |86 |106 |89 | |80 |90 |84 | |84 |88 |87 | Heart Rate of Daphnia when exposed to Caffeine and Alcohol Change in Heart Rate of Daphnia when exposed to Caffeine Change in Heart Rate of Daphnia when exposed to Alcohol Discussion After performing my experiment I found that Daphnia Magna heart rate greatly increases when exposed to Caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and should produce that affect (Nehlig 1992). Caffeine has similar affects on humans (Foster 1997).The heart rate increased anywhere from 10 to 20 beats per minute. As seen in my data table the heart beats sometimes jumped from a normal heartbeat in the 80s to a heartbeat in the 100s when exposed to caffeine. Gerald Adams also found the same result when he tested his hypothesis. I also found that Daphnia’s heart rate slightly increased with the exposure to Alcohol. The heart rate does not have as drastic a change when exposed to Alcohol as it did when exposed to Caffeine. The heart rates just increased by about 5 to 10 beats per minute. As seen in my data table the heart beats only jumped from a normal heartbeat in the 80s to a heartbeat in the 90s when exposed to Alcohol.This was disproved by sever al different experiments (Wong 1997). Wong found that the heart rate of daphnia decreased. Since alcohol is a depressant it should have lowered the heart rate of daphnia. I feel that the increase in stress on the Daphnia may have called this time of increase. When Daphnia is exposed to Nicotine and Ibuprofen, the heart rate of the daphnia could not be seen as any different. (Sollman 1999). Although Cluevers said that there should be a change in the heart rate (Cluevers 2004). Conclusion In conclusion I have determined that the heart rate of Daphnia can be affected by adding different drugs. Daphnia heart rate increased by ten to twenty beats per minute when exposed to Caffeine.Daphnia heart rate increased by five to ten beats per minute when exposed to Alcohol. Unfortunately the results for Ibuprofen and Nicotine could not be seen. There was not enough evidence to determine how the Heart rate changed when the Daphnia were exposed to Ibuprofen and Nicotine. By doing this experiment i t can be assumed that the some of the same reactions could be found if Humans are exposed to these Drugs. Literature Cited Cluevers, Michael. 2004. Mixture toxicity of the anti-inflammatory drugs diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetylsalicylic acid. Exotoxicology an Environmental Safety 59: 309-315. Foster, Rachel. 1997. A stroboscopic method to investigate the effect of caffeine on Daphnia hear rate.Journal of Biological Education 31: 253-255. Nehlig, A. , J. L. Daval, and G. Debry. 1992. Caffeine and the central nervous system: mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic and psychostimulant effects. PubMed. com. Villegas-Navarro, Arturo, Esperanza L. Ross, and Jose L. Reyes. 2003. The heart of Daphnia magna: effects of four cardioactive drugs. Comparative Biochemisty and Physiology Part C Toxicology and Pharmacology 136C: 127-134 Wong, Diana C. L. , Philip B. Dorn, and Eric Y. Chai. 1997. Acute toxicity and structure-activity relationships of nine alcohol ethoxylate surfacta nts to fathead minnow and Daphnia magna. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 16: 1970-1976. . Appendix Normal |w/Caffeine |w/Alcohol | |84 |100 |89 | |80 |102 |85 | |86 |105 |90 | |88 |109 |91 | |82 |109 |88 | |84 |103 |85 | |90 |110 |93 | |86 |106 |89 | |80 |90 |84 | |84 |88 |87 |