International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International marketing - Essay Example The Arab cuisine ay emphasis on the following items such as lamb and chicken preparation in the meat products, dairy products mainly consist of butter, yoghurt, white cheese and cream, herbs and spices that are mainly used are a mixture of mint and thyme known as za’atar, other spices include saffron, sesame, cumin, garlic, cinnamon, sumac, lentils comprise of chickpeas and favabeans, and most popular dressings of such cuisines comprise of olive oil, parsley, mint, etc. The company that is planning for its product launch in the international market is Al Qasr that is one of the famous names in Arabic cuisines and the restaurant chain is known for its Arabian delicacies, wide range of deserts and appetizers, and Lebanese cuisine. Al Qasr has been operating in Arabic regions for many years and meets the consumer tastes and preferences through its innovative dishes with traditional flavors. United States as the target market for the company offers great opportunity as the political conditions are stable of the country and even the consumer market has high disposable income and living standards. The demand is high in this market for Arabic cuisines because of its flavors and variety. Many companies have invested in this market because of its stable environmental factors and availability of raw materials, capital and labor. The target market for the Arabic cuisines to be launched by the company would be upper middle income and higher income group who prefer to dine at restaurants mostly in weekends. The other demographic factors comprise of age and for this specific cuisine the age group would be above 25 years who prefers to try out different cuisines apart from the fast food which are generally more preferred by the young generation under 20 years. Competition is very tough in the US market as it a hub for many companies serving different cuisines such as European

Human Capital Management Essay Example for Free

Human Capital Management Essay â€Å"It is important for HR Management in managing the knowledge capital of an organization and aligning it with organization’s strategic plan†. Critically assess the strategic role of HCM and challenges of managing the knowledge capital in an organization that you are familiar. The organization that I would like to choose is Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri Terengganu (JPNT). JPNT consists of more than 400 workforce and this agency is responsible for administrative and policy executioner of Ministry of Education in the whole Terengganu. In JPNT, there is a small unit of Human Resource Department and this department has 20 staffs. However, until the last day of my service there, the HR department did not establish any single policy about human capital management. Therefore I will attempt to answer this question while recommending what should be done by JPNT to succeed in maximizing their human capital. Before we discuss further the strategic role of HCM and challenges that had to be overcome by HCM specialist, let us look at the technical definition of this question. Knowledge capital is defined by Business Dictionary as the â€Å"know how† that results from the experience, information, knowledge, learning, and skills of the employees of an organization. Of all the factors of production, knowledge capital creates the longest lasting competitive advantage. It may consist entirely of technical information or may reside in the actual experience or skills acquired by the individuals (BusinessDictionary. com 2012) . Knowledge capital is an essential component of human capital. Human Capital is defined by (Baron and Armstrong 2007) as the knowledge, skills, abilities and capacity to develop and innovate possessed by people in the organization. This is one of the attributes of the intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is defined by the same author as the stocks and flows of knowledge available to an organization. It is categorized into three categories namely human capital, social capital and organizational capital. These capitals are usually combined with the physical resources which are the financial and physical assets for the purpose of value creation to the firm. As cited by (Sveiby 1998)Tom Stewart who in his June 1991 article Brain Power How Intellectual Capital Is Becoming Americas Most Valuable Asset, proposed the importance of intellectual capital to the management agenda. He defined intellectual capital in his article as: the sum of everything everybody in your company knows that gives you a competitive edge in the market place. Knowledge Management consists of managerial activities that focus on the development and control of knowledge in an organization to fulfill organizational objectives. (Sveiby 1998) Therefore it means that the integration of all management activities that focus on development and control of knowledge is what we call as knowledge management. Challenges of managing knowledge capital in JPNT will be diffused together as I explained about the role of HCM in the organization. Knowledge management is defined as the process of storing and sharing the wisdom, understanding and expertise accumulated in an organization about its processes, techniques and operations (Baron and Armstrong 2007). Therefore, the data that should be synthesized and acquired should explain the organization’s activity for instance the achievement of the employees in knowledge sharing among them and ensure that the knowledge is maximized in terms of its usage. Everybody must share their skill, knowledge and experience without any malicious intentions for the purpose of maximizing the performance of JPNT. However, it brings challenges to HR specialist in JPNT as it is not a culture of sharing. Some of the staffs afraid to share their know how because they thought that by doing so, it might jeopardized their career envelopment in the future. HR specialist overcomes this by implementing a fair assessment indicator to measure their performance without favoritism, nepotism and biasness. In my opinion, the most important attributes that distinguish Human Resource (HR) with Human Capital Management is the element of the workers as assets. As discussed by (Baron and Armstrong 2007) human capital theory emphasized on regarding people as assets of the organization, and investment in people will generate long run return. Scarborough and Elias noted that human capital theory is similar to physical capital theory but they differ in terms of the reference for human capital theory is made to people and skills while in physical capital theory reference is made to plant and equipments. Both emphasized on value creations to firm. Thus by applying this theory, JPNT needs to redefine the cost associated with training and development and career progression as the investment that will create value for the agency. Staff that undergoes training must be ensured that the new skills matched with their job description and the staff is using that new knowledge in order to effectively execute their job. For instance, the weekly training is not supposed to be done by the JPNT if on the purpose of fulfilling the quotas of training hours. Remuneration is not under JPNT’s jurisdictions however JPNT can recommend the salary of their staff to PSD (Public Service Department). Accepting staff as the asset of the organization will be mutually benefit to both parties involved. On the employee’s part, they will be feeling more motivated, appreciated thus will contribute better in their performances. As for the organization, it will boost the overall organization’s performance, decrease turnover rate, absenteeism and other negative behavior of the staffs. However this theory is not agreed by some scholar for instance Davenport(1999). Davenport argued that worker must not be treated as assets because of three main reasons. The first reason is workers cannot be brought, sold and replaced by their owner. Secondly, the principle of this theory is unacceptable and inappropriate in practice is because workers cannot be owned by the firm as the firm owned plants and machines. Lastly, there is not absolute way of calculating human value-no convincing method of attaching financial value to human resources. Therefore, treating workers sorely based on assets can create drawback to the organization. The interpretation of this concept should be made carefully and it should match with the objective of the organization. It is also not an easy task to convince the top management since the culture of bureaucracy is very strong in JPNT. The next part, I will discuss about the strategic role of HCM. HCM’s role as stated in the book Human Capital Management by Baron and Armstrong, HCM acts as business partner of the firm. Secondly, they are also responsible in developing, analyzing and using business data. Thirdly, they are also responsible for enhancing job engagement and commitment, fourthly, they are responsible to build ‘Business Case’ and lastly, they are also responsible for engaging with the other function of the organization. (Baron and Armstrong 2007)These points will be elaborated one by one in below. For the first one HCM acts as the business partner with the top management of the organization. This concept was introduced by Ulrich in 1998 where the author proposed that HR specialist should be share responsibility with management people to run the business. They must have the ability to understand and exploit opportunities and HR specialist themselves must understand how their role could help in achieving the objective of the organizations. Ulrich suggested that in order for the organization to create value, HR professionals must carry out their responsibility as strategic partners, administrative experts, employees’ advocates and as driver of changes. This can be done through strategy execution, improved planning by thorough discussion on how the firm should be organized to carry out the strategies. HR engagement with operating and marketing function is essentials in ensuring that all of their initiatives will become successful by answering the following issues- whether the initiatives is best aligned with strategy implementations, they make selection based on priority, and lastly the evaluations of the initiatives should be indicate positive linkage to business result. HR specialist must act as employee advocate, human capital developer, functional expert, strategic partner and lastly as leader in terms of HR function. However, the premise â€Å"HCM act as business partner† did not agreed by all practitioners. Tim Miller and Alex Wilson reported by Smethurst(2005) and Pickard(2005) are the examples of the top management who disagree with this premise. Convincing the top management will not going to be easy. Still HCM emphasized on the importance of evaluation of what had been happen within the organization and it also provides basis for value adding strategist. Therefore, according to this theory, HCM in this case the HR specialist in the human resource department should work together with the top management of JPNT in ensuring the creation of value to the firm. The value that we meant here is creating competitive human capital that at the end of the day this human capital will be able to serve successfully to their customers thus deliver excellence business service for the organizations. Secondly, HR is responsible to develop, analyze and use human capital data. The measurements that must be developed by HR should be able to measure issues relating to workforce, capable of measuring the levels and trends in performance achieved by both individual and business, can measure the impact of HR policies and practices on business performance or what Mercer HR Consulting called as â€Å"Business Impact Modeling†. It is also expected that HR should be able in building an effective measurement to measure the effectiveness of line manager in applying HR policies and the measurement tools should be able to measure the effectiveness of HR function (Baron and Armstrong 2007). The workforce matrix should provide data which allows the business to measure the key characteristics of the people it employs. Understanding the relationship between workforce matrix and people management is very important because the workforce matrix focus on the influences business performance and show the business of what need to be done to improved the added value from human capital resources. Therefore, HR cannot simply gain data without proper implementations of specific procedures and standards because gaining accurate data will never be easy. The data accuracy will show the current situation and trends of human capital within the organizations. In JPNT, the typical tool to measure the human capital is Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in human resource department reflect the organizational goal. They matched the number of training and types of training according to the need of the staff. Therefore KPI’s adopt by Human Resource department is quantifiable; they are defined in terms of the feedback that they gain through exit training survey. This KPI however is not emphasized on skills retention that the staff gained on the training. They are not focus workers as the assets of an organization; therefore, I think there are a lot of improvement needs to be carried out to improve this measurement method. Next, is on the aspect of measuring the overall performance. Human Resource department use Balance Score Card that is developed by Beatty et. Al (2005) to measure them. Balance Score Card highlighted four important aspects which are customer perspectives, internal perspectives, innovations and learning perspectives and lastly the financial perspectives. This scorecard focuses on balanced representation and analysis of data. In HR, four dimensions are being highlighted which are HR competencies, its practices, systems and deliverables. On the aspect of financial performance, the HR department always runs cost benefit analysis to choose the best trainer to train their staff or just simply using the internal sources that they have. Productivity is measure when the training course that undergo by the staff is beneficial and the new knowledge are continuously used by the staff. The operational impact or effectiveness is measure for instance creation of successful training course to the staff and when the staff perceived such programs contribute to their career developments. Lastly, is in terms of customer service. Through continuous training programs, the staffs become more skillful in treating the customers thus more of them will be delighted. Measuring the impact of HR policies and practices are one of the toughest roles of HR specialist. This is because it is hard to determine â€Å"causation†-what actions or factors that are specially cause the performance (Baron and Armstrong 2007). Genome II is a model that was developed by National Building Society proved statistically that the more committed the employee, the happier the customer will. Genome project had focus on recruitment and retention, deeper understanding of the commitment of the employees, reward system that is more transparent and flexible, increase the effectiveness of the execution on the first line management, promotes recognitions, and develop a culture where both managers and their subordinates demonstrate right behaviors. Focus area of GenomeII could act as a benchmark to be applied in JPNT. Effectiveness of the line manager could be improved with the intervention HCM (Bohlander and Snell 2010). Guidance, help and further training is available in case where they need them. With this, it was hoped that line managers can carry out their people management responsibilities effectively. For instance if the line manager of JPNT encounter any unsolved problem or the problem is not routine, they can always refers to HCM specialist to guide them. Human resource should be measure to indicate whether they are executing their role and meet the target of their department. Tsui and Gomez-Mejia (1998) cited in (Baron and Armstrong 2007) had clarified the distinction between process criteria- how well things are done and output criteria- the effectiveness of the end result. To distinguish them, ‘utility approach’ by Boudreau(1998) can be applied. Beside this approach, HR performances can also be measured using points suggested by Likierman (2005) that the budget allocation is in line with HR objectives- means HR has a say in changes in implementing the strategy, analyze and interpret the reason behind it, comparing internal and external benchmarking, enhance the usage face to face discussion to gain the feedback, and lastly the measurement should not expect to measure something that is impossible, and they should be noted that many problems just being mitigated, instead of being solved, and this is harmful to the JPNT. Another important role of HCM is in the terms of promoting job engagement and commitment. Job engagement happens when people are willing to commit to their work and willing to perform excellently in their job. Hay Group defined engage performance as a result that is stimulated by employee’s enthusiasm for their work and direct it to the success of the organizations. On the other hand, organizational commitment is defined as the recognition of goals and values of the organization, a sense of belonging to the organization and willingness to contribute effort for the organization (Baron and Armstrong 2007). Organization commitment and job engagement can be created by JPNT if JPNT set a great place to work, HR people promotes positive discretionary behavior, create excellence total reward policy and constantly measure job engagement and commitments. JPNT should provide conductive working environment- comfortable in nature, ergonomics, make sure that the job prospect is parallel with training, appraisal, and the superior staff should take care of the welfare of their subordinates. JPNT can adopt the criteria suggested by The Sunday Times in identifying the best 100 companies which are leadership of senior management level, good relation with their superiors, have the opportunities of personal growth and developments, balanced work-life issues, cooperativeness between colleagues, my company- the way JPNT treats its staff and lastly the fair deal- pay and benefits are provided to all, without nepotism and biasness. The superior should also act in discretion manner; it means that not everything must be solved black and white. For instance, if one of the subordinates absent for their work with a concrete reason, the superior should not punish he or her. Reward is categorized into two which are transactional reward (tangible reward-the pay and benefits) and relational reward (intangible reward-learning and development and work environment). That is the responsibility of HR to create the best reward model that can motivate their employees in the future. The tangible reward is easily to be copied by the competitors as everyone have the capability to pay and gives benefit for instance dental plan, but the intangible reward it harder to be imitated thus increase the chances of sustaining the firm’s competitive advantages. Next, another role for HR professionals is as strategist. Strategist here means HR professional should be able to address long term issues related to management and development of people and the employment relationships. This role is clearly demonstrated when HR professional are being regarded as business partner- they have the persuasion power to influence the top managers to develop business strategies that are maximizing the potential of human capital. (Baron and Armstrong 2007) As we discussed earlier, people are the assets of the organizations, thus they are one of the resource to achieve and sustain competitive advantage of JPNT HCM is also responsible to develop a good business case. Baron and Armstrong 2007) As I discussed previously, HR specialist should be able to persuade top management, a good business case can act as one of the convincing evidences on why the top management should agree to HR specialist’s proposals. The case should show how the purposed course will add value in terms of income will exceed the cost or by executing the proposal, it will yield positive return on investments (Bohlander and Snell 2010). The business case should present on how the available human capital data will impact on key areas of organization’s operation, show how it will the proposal will increase the business competitive edge, or presenting a successful pilot projects to be implemented to the entire organization, the proposal can be implemented without much hassles, it will also able to enhance the employer’s brand by promoting JPNT as the best place to work and lastly the points, data are presented in neat manner, simple and easy to understand. Challenges for managing knowledge are knowledge acquisition, knowledge modeling, knowledge retrieval, knowledge reuse and knowledge maintenance. In JPNT it is hard to get the information needed and turn the information to become useable. For instance, it is hard to transform the tacit knowledge to become explicit knowledge, to identify the gaps in knowledge, and difficult to acquire and integrate the knowledge that is cross departmental and different expertise. Therefore, it is important for the HR specialist in JPNT to be able to create an approach that is able to integrate all knowledge in the organization so that it can be benefited to all. On the top of that, knowledge modeling is also can be another obstacle for HR specialist in managing knowledge capital in the organization. The challenge that is faced by JPNT HR specialist is how to use the knowledge available in solving problems because knowledge possessed by staffs are varies from one another (Bhojaraju 2005). To overcome this, HR departments had introduce mentor and protege program. As a conclusion, the roles that are played by HCM are indeed complex and requires HR specialists to be able to multitasking, possessed multidisciplinary of knowledge and wide range of skills to execute their roles perfectly thus enable them to overcome the challenges of managing knowledge capital in JPNT. Top managements should also give full cooperation in favor of HCM so that the utilization of knowledge capital in JPNT could be maximized.

Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis

Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis Plants occur around the world in a wide variety of environments. Plants are able to adapt to their surroundings because of photosynthesis. What affects the rate of photosynthesis? First, one must be able to identify what photosynthesis is. Photosynthesis is processing light. The formula for photosynthesis is 6H2O + 6CO2 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   C6 H12O 6 + 6O 2. This ultimately means that water and carbon dioxide produce sugar as the plants energy, then the plant releases oxygen and water stays in the roots of the plant. Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast and chlorophyll will not absorb green light, therefore, while all the colors like violet, indigo, blue, yellow, orange, and red are being absorbed by the tree, green is being reflected that being the reason why plants are green. Proposed Explanation Different shades of light affect the rate of photosynthesis. The dependent variable for this hypothesis was the plants that we used. The independent variable was the different shades of light which were green, blue, and yellow. We placed each plant under each shade of light to get more accurate results. The control was just the normal experiment where we placed each plant under the light without any shade of light. We chose this experiment because plants do not absorb green light, they reflect it. So we figured different shades of light would have a direct affect on the rate of photosynthesis. Fertilizer has a direct effect on the rate of photosynthesis. The dependent variable for this hypothesis were different plants from experiment one. The independent variables were the different amounts of fertilizer we added to each plant. The control for this experiment was testing each plant without any fertilizer. After we tested the control, we added 100mL, then 105mL, then 110mL to each pla nt after each test. We chose to test the affects has fertilizer on photosynthesis, because fertilizer helps plants grow, therefore we believe photosynthesis would take place at a faster pace. Baking soda has an effect on the rate of photosynthesis. The dependent variable for this experiment was three different plants than the ones used in experiment two. The independent variables were the amounts of baking soda added to each plant. The control for this experiment was testing each plant without any baking soda. Then we put one pinch in each plant then tested it, then we added another pinch to each plant and tested it, then we added another pinch to each plant for a total of three pinches to complete our experiment. We chose to test the affects baking soda has on photosynthesis because if we add baking soda it will make carbon dioxide which ultimately allows the rate of photosynthesis to increase. Predicted Results The majority of our experiments that we were going to conduct we felt we would have a pretty common sense idea of the outcomes. Here since we are testing the amount of oxygen produced in our three different hypothesis, we will first try the different shades of light, different amounts of fertilizers, and if the amount of baking soda has anything to do with the plants photosynthesis. Our first hypothesis was the different shades of light would affect the amount of oxygen produced by the plants submerged in the water. First we would do our controlled experiment of no light shade. Here we would predict that the plant would absorb some of the colors which in return would produce an average amount of oxygen. We predicted that if the shade of light shined on the plant was green then the outcome of the oxygen produced would be fairly low since plants tend to reflect green light away from them. After we would test the green light we would move onto the yellow light. Here we predicted that the plant would produce a nice amount of oxygen since the plant absorbs multiple colors besides green and relatively absorbs yellow more since the majority of light given off the sun is yellow. Next we would try the blue light. We felt that since the light was going to be blue that the oxygen produced would be fairly low because the light absorbed from the plants tends to be higher in the yellow and orange areas. The next set of predicted results would be if the amount of fertilizer added to the plants would affect the amount of oxygen given off. Since fertilizers are used to help plants grow and photosynthesize we felt that maybe fertilizer will also increase the amount of oxygen created. We felt that the more fertilizer that was added then the more oxygen would be produced. First we will do our control of no fertilizer added. Here again we feel that the plant would just give off a normal or average amount of oxygen off. If we added 100 ml of fertilizers to the plants we predicted that a low amount of oxygen would be given off. Only because we predicted that a higher amount of fertilizer would increase the amount of oxygen. Next we would give an extra 50 ml of fertilizer to the plants. Since more fertilizer was added again we predicted that an increase of oxygen would occur. Finally an additional 50 ml of fertilizer was added. Here since that is 200 ml we predicted that the amount of oxygen given off would at least be doubled from the 100 ml that was added earlier meaning that this should be a higher amount of oxygen produce overall. Lastly we would predict the baking soda amounts and the oxygen produced. The reason we chose to test the baking soda is because if introduced to the water near the plant this would increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed from the plant. The more carbon dioxide absorbed, the more bubbles created by the plant. This would be our weakest hypothesis because we feel that the amount of carbon dioxide received would not really reflect the amount of oxygen produced because our original instinct was that it would have to do with light absorption. First we would test the controlled experiment of having no baking soda added at all. Once again our predicted result would be that an average or normal amount of oxygen would be produced. Next we would try adding a pinch of the baking soda to the water where the plant is. Here we would predict that little or no change would occur to the plant oxygen production. Actual Results After completing our multiple tests, we found that the majority of our predicted results were actually correct. After doing the control experiment, we realized without having anything enhance the plants that there was an average of 11 to 13 bubbles produced within a minutes span. Our first hypothesis, different shades of light, was what we really felt strong about and also was the one we felt would prevail to be the best supported. And that is was. Since plants have a higher preference to absorb yellow light we predicted that it would produce the most oxygen under the yellow film. That it did, the yellow produced the most oxygen bubbles out of all the different shades of light. The different films in general produced the most oxygen bubbles. Our third trial that we did seemed to produce an unusual amount compared to the rest. Underneath the yellow film in one minute it produced 79 oxygen bubbles. This was inconsistent with the rest of our results. Next we did the second hypothesis wh ich was fertilizer effected the amount of oxygen produced. Earlier explained, fertilizer is used to increase the rate at which plants photosynthesize by providing the nutrients needed. The plants really were not affected at all from the fertilizer producing an average amount equal to the control. The average was at 13 bubbles a minute and was the same throughout all three trials. Our third hypothesis, carbon dioxide effects the amount of oxygen produced was also at a low average of 11 to 13 bubbles a minute. This experiment really held no inconsistencies as well. All together we felt that the different shades of light had to do a lot with the amount of oxygen produced and now we feel this hypothesis was supported through the amount of oxygen bubbles that were produced. Here we have a graph that shows the average amount of bubbles that were produced in each trial(s). Conclusion The first of our hypotheses we tested for was that different shades of light affect the rate of photosynthesis. Based on our experimental results our data supported our first hypothesis, because for all of the different light shades we used in our experiment each of the plants for the most part produced either more or less oxygen bubbles than the control, supporting that light shades do in fact effect the rate of photosynthesis. Our data showed that plants tend to photosynthesize at the fastest rate in yellow light than anything else as they produced the most amount of oxygen bubbles in the amount of time. The test results could easily be reproduced to produce the same results if the given materials were the same and more trials were to be done with more plants to make sure that the experiment was not a fluke. The first possible margin for error in these tests is the size, and condition of the plant. This causes a problem, as the plants could be larger possibly absorbing more carbon dioxide, which means more oxygen bubbles would be produced. The plant also could be less fresh possibly producing less oxygen. The second margin for error is the type of light, which in turn would affect possibly the heat of the water maybe having an effect on the photosynthesis rate. The last margin for error is miscalculating the time on either the preparation period, or the observed time allowing for more bubbles to be produced. The addition of fertilizer effects the rate of photosynthesis was our second hypothesis, this hypothesis was not supported by our hypothesis, because the results were so varied that it was nearly impossible to tell whether the addition of fertilizer affected the rate of photosynthesis in any way. The reason that we have came to this conclusion was because though at 100ml each of the plants produced a lower oxygen amount when we tested for the 110ml the results were near identical to the control, meaning that fertilizer did not affect the rate of photosynthesis. This is a simple experiment to conduct and could easily be repeated for the same results, given that our procedure was executed as it shouldve been. The results could also be because we added the fertilizer in a large amount then added only small 5ml amounts for the other two trials which might not have made much of a difference. A better way to conduct this wouldve been to start by adding 50ml of the fertilizer, then 100ml then 150ml, which have a greater difference between them than 5ml intervals, so if the fertilizer was to make a difference it would become more apparent at which level the fertilizer caused the plants to demonstrate that change in photosynthesis rate. Another could be possible incorrect measurement of the fertilizer into the plants, which would provide one or more, more or less fertilizer than the other plants, corrupting the experiment. This causes a problem because it would make it so that different levels of fertilizer concentrations were in each of the plants, giving each a different level of nutrients. The plants too may not have had enough time to fully absorb the fertilizer into their roots, making it s o that there would appear to be no change in the rate at which each plant photosynthesizes. The last hypothesis we tested for was that the addition of baking soda to the plants water would affect the rate of photosynthesis. This hypothesis was supported, because the plants produced more bubbles when carbon dioxide was added to the water than the control which contained none. Our research showed that adding baking soda in fact did increase the rate of photosynthesis, because through the control all of the plants did not produce more than 3 oxygen bubbles, but when baking soda was added the plants created more oxygen, thus supporting that adding baking soda to the plants would affect their photosynthesis rate. The experiment could be recreated for the same results, given that the person recreating it has a tool that measures in pinches. The margins for error for this experiment include: inaccurate measurements of baking soda per plant, possibly not enough time to let the baking soda absorb into the plant, and how well the baking soda was distributed within the water. Inaccurate measurements or baking soda would have produced different amounts of carbon dioxide amongst each of the plants producing different oxygen levels. The baking soda might not have received enough time to absorb into the plant on the tests with larger amounts, thus making it appear that the amount of baking soda is for the most part irrelevant, just so long as there is some in there. The distribution of the baking soda within the water could also have been a place for error, as there is a possibility that the baking soda did not get evenly distributed throughout the plant thus making the water have different levels of concentration of carbon dioxide, because there could be clumps of baking soda sitting their preventing a quick, complete diffusion of the carbon dioxide molecules. Effect of light intensity on photosynthesis Effect of light intensity on photosynthesis Plants which obtain energy from sunlight and carbon dioxide to make carbohydrates are the process called photosynthesis. Then plants will take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, add some water and use the energy of sunlight to form sugar.  The overall equation can be summarized as below: 6CO2 + 6H2O  Ã‚  Ã‚   C6H12O6 + 6O2 In biology, the requirements for photosynthesis are chlorophyll, carbon dioxide, light and water. In fact, most of photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast, Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight then converted to chemical energy during the process of photosynthesis.(Campbell 2008) There are two stages for photosynthesis. They are light reaction and dark reaction. Firstly, light energy splits water into oxygen and hydrogen during the light reaction. Then NADP and hydrogen add together and form NADPH2.After that, oxygen atoms join each other and form O2, at this time it released in the atmosphere.(Bailey 1997) Moreover, light energy generates ATP from ADP. The light reaction can also be summarized as below: 2H2O + NADP + ADP + P sunlight O2 + NADPH2+ ATP Chlorophyll Hydrogen is transferred into dark reaction. Then oxygen is released. It only occurs in the presence of light. Therefore, NADPH2, O2 and ATP are the products of light reaction. Secondly, carbon fixation occurs in the dark reaction has shown as below: ATP + NADPH2 + CO2 > ADP + P + NADP + glucose Enzyme use NADPH2 and ATP as the energy to convert to carbon dioxide. And carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere in dark reaction.(Bailey 1997) And then CO2 is converted into carbohydrates such as glucose. The concentration of water, carbon dioxide, the temperature and the light intensity are the most common environmental factors to affect photosynthesis (Lincoln 2010). So the aim of this scientific experiment is to investigate the effects of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis. Methods_____________________________________________________________ Kept all the beakers and test tubes to be used on ice.Stalks are removed from leaves and leaves are ground in 200mL solution of buffer A.Buffer A was a mixture of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate 10mM,disodium hydrogen orthophosphate 10mM and magnesium chloride 5mM. Then the extract is poured through the two layers of muslin into a beaker and suspension is also poured through eight layers of muslin into other beaker. The centrifuge spun the suspension at full speed in one minute. Then suspension is poured off and green chhloroplast is produced in total of 15mL solution of buffer C and it stored in ice for use.Buffer C was a solution same to buffer A but without magnesium chloride. Used the different pipettes to perpare the solution of buffer B at 6.7mL and 0.2mL chloroplast solution into a test tube.Mixed each solution well.Zero the spectrophotometer using 1.0mL of mixture at absorbance wavelength of 590nm.The spectrophotometer is used to measure how much light that the mixture absorbed. Used the different pipettes to prepare the solution of buffer B at 6.7mL, 0.2mL of chloroplast solution and 0.1mL of the dye into another test tube. Mixed each solution well and put it into the cuvette.The cuvette was placed at 0.3m for 60s from the lamp and the optical density of 1.0mL of this solution was measured with the spectrophotometer. All readings noted in the table and the optical density of solution was measured again. Repeated the same process at 0.5m, 0.7m,0.9m,1.0m from the lamp and each distance had a new mixture. The chloropast solution should kept in ice in this experiment to make sure that the solutions did not have any reaction until they placed under the light. Recorded the optical density at 590nm in each different distance from the lamp. Results______________________________________________________________ Rate of dye reduction Distance from light intensity (m) The graph shows that the distance from light intensity are increased when the rate of dye reduction decrease between 0.3m to 1.1m. That mean the rate of photosynthesis also decreases in this graph. The maximum rate of dye reduction is 0.398 at 0.3m from the light and the minimum rate of dye reduction is 0.045 ate 1.1m from the light. According to the data of the above graph, Q1=0.065, Q3= 0.345 and IQR =0.28. The lowest rate of dye reduction is 0.065-1.5 x 0.28 = -0.355. In this case the lowest rate of dye reduction from the data lies above -0.355, so there is no outlier. On the other hand, the upper rate dye reduction is 0.345+1.5 x 0.28 = 0.765.Hence there is no outlier also. The data are positively skewed distribution because the data trend from the left to the right. Discussion____________________________________________________________ During the photosynthesis, the light intensity will increase when the rate of photosynthesis increase.(Pang 2006) In my result, the distances from light intensity are increased when the rate of photosynthesis decreases, which mean when the light intensity decrease, the rate of photosynthesis also decreases. In this case, my result is true. There are some experimental errors in this experiment. It is hard for us to make sure the chloroplast solution will not active until they were placed under the lamp because there were the other light from the surrounding in the room such as neighbour lamps. So the experiment should be done in a dark room that can reduce the effect of the light and the result will become more accurate .Also, more cuvette should be provided because it will effect the result if some of cuvette was not clean well. Moreover, there are some limitations in this experiment. Different solution should be used different pipette to prevent the other solution will add on the result.Also, meaured the volume of each solution that can help to reduce variations.Furthermore, placed the test tube of chloroplasts in the ice because this can ensures the temperature of the test tube is not affected by the heat realeased from the lamp. As temperature might affect the enzyme activity of the plant and hence the rate of photosynthesis. Light is needed for photosynthesis in plants. When chloroplasts in the leafs cell are facing to light,they form ATP from ADP. Oxygen is produced during the photosynthesis. (Campbell 2008) According to my result, light energy increases when more water molecules are split into oxygen. At this time, the light reaction occurs faster and more ATP and NADPH2 are produced.Therefore, it will have more sugar and oxygen formed in dark reaction.In this case thre rate of photosynthesis increases.

English Only Laws Essay -- Essays Papers

English Only Laws To start with, we may not live in England, but the language we speak is supposed to be English. So, one would think that a person would have no problem speaking this language at the workplace unless the job calls for a different language, This is not so. Countless people have challenged this policy of several different companies and this is what I will be discussing, in English. First, most of the workers speak English, maybe not as a primary language, but speak it to the best of their ability. This policy, to speak only English at the workplace, was completely and totally law-abiding since all the employees spoke English. Now, the employer did not say they could not speak Spanish during their break times. Only that while they were working, they were to speak English. This problem happens a lot in the Army because Hispanics' make up a considerable part of our Army. This problem should not come up though, because it is the United States Army. The US speaks English as its prima ry language. In the Army however, we can make a correction because if it is not directly related to the job, it should not be happening. It still does however, because it has become commonplace. Second, many employees speak Spanish and English, so these employees are bilingual. They could be saying one thing in English and switch to Spanish in the middle of a sentence. This can get very aggravating, for example, two employees are giving a demonstration to an important client, who only speaks English. The two employees get confused about something in the demonstration and automatically revert to the language they are most comfortable with, Spanish. The client meanwhile is getting very frustrated. While the two employees speak Spa... ...d give the briefing for that day and then turn around and start talking about the work crew. I seriously doubt the work crew would like that. The work crew would probably try to sue the employer under Title VII somehow. In closing , the business ultimately belongs to the owner, and he can keep almost any policy he wants, within reason. He employee should be thankful for the job. The employer should put this policy in writing in the application process. All of this just goes to show what some people will do to make people for something that the other person thinks they did wrong to them. All in all, I think the justice system works to the best of its capability, but there are always going to be those individuals that try to take advantage of the system. In the end, all a person can do is try to raise their children so they learn the right way to treat people.

Charles Dickens Essay

Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens, is one of the most popular classics of our time. Dickens novel was, some may say the work of a genius. The tale is of a boy who starts from humble beginnings and whom the story follows through to young adulthood each entering a new experience for the boy. Charles Dickens wrote the novel in 1860-61. He was born into a respected middle class family, in Charlton. He incorporated local features and happenings into his books when he could. His father went into debt and then prison after his finances collapsed. The rest of the family had to go to, so Charles spent time in prison. This is where Charles Dickens got some of his inspiration for his book. He eventually died at the age of fifty-eight from a stroke and was buried in his local churchyard. Chapter eight is an essential part of the book because it conveys a clear image of the characters personality and is a key part for the rest of the story. I will look in Chapter 8, where Pip goes to see Miss Havishams house for the first time, for a number of different techniques and devices which the writer uses to make us feel sympathy for Pip. Charles Dickens starts making the reader feel sorry for Pip when he and Mr Pumblechoke arrive at the gates, and Estella greets them. They completely over look Pip. This shows that Pip is unessential and insignificant. â€Å"This†, said Mrs Pumblechoke, â€Å"is Pip† â€Å"This is Pip, is it? † returned the young lady â€Å"come in† â€Å"Oh she says, â€Å"you wish to see Miss Havisham? † â€Å"If Miss Havisham wishes to se me. † Returned Mr Pumblechoke. As you can see, from this initial conversation, Pip does not have the opportunity to introduce himself. This shows that he is considered to be insignificant, even though it was he who Miss Havisham had sent to see. This makes the reader feel condolence for Pip because it is as if people don’t care about him. After the initial conversation, when Pip was marched inside with Estella, Estella starts to patronise Pip, which makes us feel sorry for him. â€Å"But don’t loiter, boy† Though she called me â€Å"boy† so often, and with a carelessness that was far from complimentary, she was about my own age. She seemed much older than, of course, being a girl, and a beautiful and self-possessed; and she was as scornful of me as if she had been one and twenty, and a queen† This paragraph shows us that Pip is already feeling downhearted about Estella constantly making him feel bad. Even though Estella was about the same age as Pip, she considers herself to be wiser, more mature and generally above Pips level. This is showed in the film by Estella being taller than Pip and looking down on him making her think herself bigger than him. This makes the reader feel sympathetic towards Pip because it is his first visit to Miss Havishams. He is evidently nervous and anxious, and having someone of his own age being scornful towards him, his self-confidence just breaks. The third time in chapter eight that the reader is made to feel sorry for Pip is when Pip was left in the hallway on his own with no light. â€Å"Scornfully walked away, and – what was worse – took the candle with her. This was very uncomfortable and I was half afraid† This makes the reader feel sympathetic for Pip because he is portrayed as being vulnerable. Estella leads Pip into the house and to a door, and was proclaimed by Estella to go in. Pip declines and returns with â€Å"after you miss†. Estella telling him not to be so stupid and scornfully walks off with the light. You would think that now Estella had gone, his situation would have improved but this is not the case. He is about to embark on his first meeting with Miss Havisham, making him hesitant and nervous. His confidence is not helped by standing outside the door in darkness, with no candle. Pip is now viewed as being vulnerable. Soon after Pip swallows his pride and opens the withered and wrecked door handle. â€Å"No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it. It was a dressing room, as I supposed from the furniture, though much of it was of forms and uses quite unknown of to me† Pip enters through the door and is met by a milky white room. Although well lit by candle. There is antiqued furniture, all of which added to the mood, as if nobody had lived there for quite some time. The clocks had also stopped at twenty minutes to nine. The reader then feels sympathetic towards Pip because of his already nervous state being placed in an eerie, scary atmosphere, which seems unnatural to the poor boy. The reader once again feels sorry for Pip when he is ordered to play cards with Estella, for Miss Havishams viewing. Estella once again starts to be obnoxious towards Pip.

Genetic Engineering and the Law Essay

To understand the ethical implications of genetic engineering, we must first understand what genetic engineering is. Genes are units that code for specific characteristics. Such characteristics are hair and eye colour and we inherit these from our parents. It is chromosomes in the cell nuclei than enable your body to inherit features or, more specifically, it is the DNA that makes up the chromosomes that forms a unique genetic code for every human being (apart from identical twins). It is estimated that the human body has around 50,000 to 100,000 different genes contained inside, some of which have been linked to certain diseases. Scientists claim to have identified 4,000 conditions that are linked to just one fault or defect in a persons genetic makeup, which is where genetic engineering comes in. At present a project is taking place to identify the function of every gene in the human body. ‘The Human Genome Project’ aims to uncover the cause for many diseases and find a cure for them. One such way, is genetic engineering. Genetic engineering, as a cure for disease, is the removal of a defective gene sequence and the remodelling of it. But this isn’t the only definition given for genetic engineering. Compassion in World Farming describes it as ‘the taking of genes from one species of plant or animal and inserting them into a completely different species’. It is obvious, therefore, that genetic engineering is used for different things, in different situations. In this essay I will look at some of the varying uses genetic engineering has in today’s world and the ethical implications of such uses. Genetic Engineering and the Law At present human cloning is illegal in the UK, although there are many countries were such a law does not exist. And although, technically, it may be possible to clone humans in the way animals have been, the Act of Parliament strictly forbids ‘ever doing with human eggs what we have done with sheep eggs’ Dr Ron James Head of PPL Therapeutics. Nor are scientists allowed to mass produce human eggs for in-vitro fertilisation- something that many scientists have been pushing for for years. Genetically modified crops are also strictly controlled by the law. Such UK laws include: The Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 1992 and The Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 1992. These laws are in addition to the standard For Safety Act which specifies that food ‘must be fit for consumption’. Several government bodies have been set up to assess and regulate GM foods including ACNFP, COT, FAC and, the most important, The Department of Environment. The DOE requires tat anyone proposing a release must apply to them for consent first. It is then advised by the Advisory Committee on Release to the Environment on the granting of consents. At a European level, the Regulation on Novel Foods and Food Ingredients was introduced in May 1997 and covers labelling of foods ‘no longer equivalent’ to it’s conventional counterparts. But despite the introduction of laws, many people are still unhappy, and are pushing for further action. For example the CIWF believe GM meat should be clearly labelled, although they also say it should not be sold in the first place. They see the genetic engineering of farm animals for food as cruel and unnecessary. But the question remains: are they right? Few people know the implications of genetic engineering and what it really involves and many are ignorant of what to expect from GM. Genetic Engineering and Animals/ Humans Everyone knows the story of the first cloned animal. The Finn Dorset sheep, known as Dolly, was the first new-born mammal to be cloned from adult cells and is a miracle for scientists the world over. She had opened many new windows of opportunity for scientists who hope to soon be able to clone humans using the same technology. The possibilities really are endless. A single cell from an elite racehorse could be used to create hundreds of identical copies, each with the same elite genetic makeup. However pleasing this heady new discovery is, there is a widespread argument over whether or not cloning is right. Is it simply a wonderful new way to develop a generation of disease-free animals and humans or is it tampering with nature and playing God? Many people see it as the answer to all problems, that screening can reveal vital information about a person’s life span and health future. Genetic engineering could, in theory, identify genetic defects early on, giving time to replace the faulty gene and cure the sufferer. Predicting disease is a major use for genetic engineering and one that could change the way we live forever. At present scientist are working on a genetic test known as the GeneChip. They claim in a few years doctors will be able to take a simple mouth swab and, using the GeneChip, look through your DNA for disease prospects. Although they have come under fire from their critics, geneticists argue that anyone is entitled to know what their future holds for the health-wise. Indeed they say the information can be vital for planning out the rest of your life if, for example, you are a woman with a likelihood to develop breast cancer. Pre-natal diagnosis is also another option that could soon be open to the public. Parents could be made aware of any flaws there may be in their child’s DNA and could decide whether or not to carry on with the pregnancy. Genetic engineering could also be used to grow substances like human insulin and growth hormone on a huge level. Currently scientists are looking at introducing blood-clotting genes for haemophiliacs and purifying milk from GM sheep for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. They are also hoping to study presently incurable diseases in the hope they might be able to introduce a cure using genetic engineering. There are also high hopes for animals in genetic engineering. Transgenic animals (or those that have been given a gene from another animal) have many uses. They can produce more meat and milk, feeding the starving, and they can grow faster, with the possibility of less fatty meat. They can be bred to resist disease, but also develop disease so they might be tested on for further research. A biotechnology firm in Cambridge is working on a transgensic pig that could be bred to grow desperately needed organs for transplant into human beings. The technique can also be used to ‘knock out genes’, deleting proteins so that they might prevent BSE in cows. But it isn’t all good news for genetic engineering, in fact there is a lengthy and strong argument as to why it is dangerous to go to take it to these levels. Many have disagreed with the predicting of disease, saying that many people may not be able to cope with the knowledge that they may contract a terminal disease- it could ruin lives. Also there has been widespread outcry over the Association of Insurance Brokers’ announcement that it will not offer life insurance over i 100,100 to anyone who had taken a genetic test that had predicted fatal disease and since 1995 there has been pressure form MP’s to develop a code of practise concerning genetic screening. There are also fears of employers discriminating against potential employees who have the potential for life threatening illness in later life. Although scientists hope genetic engineering will provide many choices for parents, the BMA has voiced it’s concerns that the industry will cause ‘selective breeding’ or the choice to abort a baby because of undesirable characteristics such as physical traits. The BMA have also said people have been mislead about the power to screen for later abnormalities. It says ‘The number of abnormalities which can be detected in this way is limited and few of the tests are conclusive’. The problem many people have with genetic engineering is the risk of error that is involved. Screening is complex and it is difficult to be precise every time. Faulty diagnosis could put an end to job prospects or insurance benefits, not to mention the psychological problems arising from finding out you have the potential to contract a fatal disease.