Friday, October 25, 2019

Different Sides of Embryonic Stem Cell Research :: Stem Cell Biology

The field of stem cell research remains highly controversial because of its ethical and moral values. â€Å"Despite the news in 2006 that researchers had found a way to harvest human embryonic stem cells without having to destroy embryos, controversy still surrounds potentially life-saving stem cell research.† (Gruen, 2007). Due to the strong emotional responses to some of the subject matter by the pro-lifers and certain religions and politics in general, I will attempt to explain different sides of embryonic stem cell research (ESC). This study describes what viable embryos are and the issues connected with them. Are stem cells viable embryos? Can they ever be a human being? Stem cells are no more than a precursor for some type of cell. They are not tiny embryos nor can they ever become embryos. Are human embryonic stem cells embryos? Although stem cells of themselves are not embryos, they are pluripotent; they can develop into any cell or tissue of the body. They are not ca pable of forming a new individual, as a fertilized egg or single cell taken from a four-cell embryo might if cultured in vitro and placed in a uterus. Stem cell research has become a subject of political discussion in recent years because of its social and ethical implications, but what is the big controversy with stem cell research? Most diseases are caused by the death of healthy cells in a particular organ. Parkinson’s disease is caused by the death of brain cells that produce a chemical call dopamine and diabetes is caused by the death of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. None of these organs can replace the cells that die. With stem cell therapy, these cells can be replaced. Researchers and scientists study stem cells to get a basic understanding of the process in cell development and disease. â€Å"The opposition of research on human embryos usually start and finish their argument with the claim that the human embryo is, from the moment of conception,a living , innocent human being. But the morality of using a being for research should depend on what the being is like, not on the species to which it belongs.† (Singer, 2001) This being of 64 cells has no brain and has never been conscious and can feel no pain. Take for instance researchers who do research on rats, the rats are not capable of preferring not to be in situations that are painful and frightening to them.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Site visit report

Visiting theatre is always exciting and interesting. It gives a lot of new information and new expressions. In order to be organized well enough any cultural site must be created as well-developed, complex structure with its each branch accomplishing its own functions.The Royal Court Theatre is one of the most famous theatres all over the world. The newest high quality performances take place in this theatre. These plays are always interesting and exciting and always refer to the eternal problems of humanity.This theatre is famous by its actual works using the works of writers not only from UK but from all over the world. â€Å"Nee York Times† referred this theatre as â€Å"the most important theatre in Europe†.   But it would be helpful not to forget that besides being the place of art it is also a public place. So, what Royal Court Theatre is and what its facilities are?First of all it is necessary to pay special attention to the Web-site of the Royal Court Theatre. It’s a great web-place which differs from thousands of other cultural places’ web-pages by its original design and convenient guide system.   Would like to distinguish such sub-page of this site as â€Å"Visiting†. Very useful and in-time information is given there. The complete theatre address is given. The potential visitor can get here the detailed information regarding how to get to the theatre. The authorities have taken into consideration all the particularities and details.For example, such announcement as (Royal Court Theatre web-site, 2006): â€Å"Please note that the station itself is not accessible for wheelchair users† (n. p.) – it testifies the high level of the theatre services. The detailed information about parking all around theatre’s territory is given. For example it is submitted that the theatre has no car park but the information about the nearest parking is given. It is said that â€Å"there is on street parking aft er 6.30pm.† Each can also get the most convenient route how to get to the theatre. All the bus and subway routes are presented by the web-site.The history of the theatre in its not too long but very interesting version is also present on the web-site. From this information one can understand easily the very concept of the theatre performances and then to choose a play for visiting (their announcement is given on the main page).The other interesting thing: â€Å"Bar† – a special sub-page in which the visitor can get known about the eating facilities of the theatre(Royal Court Theatre web-site, 2006): â€Å"The Royal Court's BAR AND FOOD facilities occupy the nineteenth century auditorium ‘pit', the original vaults under the pavement and a completely new spacious hall built underneath Sloane Square† (n. p.). The schedule of coffee intervals is given. In the very bottom of the page it is pointed out: â€Å"Service is not included†. So, a visitor gets full information till the visiting theatre- that’s a very strong point in favour of the theatre.Special page for students is also created on this web-site with full description of full students events and so on. At first glance, the design and structure if the web-site is very simple but each sub-page contains other pages with very detailed information on each of them. For example, students’ page has such sub-pages as â€Å"Student events†, â€Å"Join hype†, â€Å"Bar and food†.It can be said that the Royal Court Theatre is a bright example of a well developed cultural structure. In order to analyze its functions efficiently it will be helpful to do that step by step. First among those is the advertising of the place. Once we got out from the bus in London we already saw a rather big billboard with the Royal Court Theatre advertising. So, from the very beginning of our visit to London we already knew that such theatre can be visited by us in t his city. That’s a very big point in favor of this establishment.While traveling all over the city other advertisings of the theatre have been noted by us as well. And in Sloane Square the booklets with the theatre’s advertising were distributed. In those leaflets the short information about theatre’s history and actual exhibitions was submitted. All these additional means of advertising were arranged professionally. Besides, there always exists some other kind of advertising – it is so called verbal advertising –from the parts pf people who have already visited the theatre. In other cultural sites which we visited in London many people gave us good calls on the Royal Court Theatre.So, if to estimate the advertising activities of the theatre by the scale of 10, it can be estimated as 10 points and that’s completely justified.The second point to be estimated is the visitor management. This activities start to be estimated when a visitor is in the theatre already. The staff of the theatre is composed by professional people and that can be noted as soon as one gets inside.   Both external and internal design of the theatre can compete with the most beautiful theatres of the world. When getting inside a beautiful hall arranged in somewhat old fashion with high walls and spacious upper side involves visitors into the atmosphere of theatre mystic.Marvellous French windows enhance even more beauty to the theatre premise.   Special premises for coffee brakes, toilets are situated in such manner that they do not distract visitors’ attention from the principle theatre attributes.Regarding the interpretation of the performances it can said that the author’s presentation never can be correct for all visitors as each of them has his own opinion. Nevertheless, the performance of the two plays I was present on impressed me and I was agree with the author’s vision. What’s more, I even have changed my se eing of certain problems after seeing plays. This fact testifies the high professional level of the theatre plays.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Every AP Human Geography Practice Test Available

Every AP Human Geography Practice Test Available SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Practice tests are the best way to get acclimated to the timing and question formats that you'll encounter on the AP Human Geography exam. They'll also help you figure out where you need to put in additional study time to improve your scores. In this article, I'll link to all the practice tests available for AP Human Geography, including full official tests, full unofficial tests, and mini unofficial quizzes that test specific parts of the curriculum. Official AP Human Geography Practice Tests Official practice tests are the best materials to use in preparation for any standardized test, including AP Human Geography. You can be confident that the difficulty level of the questions is on par with what you'll see on the real test, which means you'll be able to estimate your score pretty accurately. This is in contrast to many unofficial practice materials, which can be hit or miss regarding their predictive value for the real test. Practice tests that weren't created by the College Board may have questions that are phrased and formatted differently or are either too easy or too challenging. Many past free-response questions for this exam are posted on the College Board site, and the course description has a set of sample multiple-choice questions.If nothing else, you can refer to them as benchmarks to make comparisons with the unofficial tests you take.They should give you a better idea of how difficult unofficial test questions are relative to those you'll see on the real exam. Unfortunately, there is only one official released AP Human Geography exam that I can link to in this article. However, that’s not to say other more shady individuals haven’t violated these terms and posted sample tests. Google is your friend (wink wink). Without further ado, here are the three resources I could find for official AP Human Geography questions: College Board AP Human Geography Exam Practice Luckily, the College Board exam practice has lots of great tools and materials for you! Not only can you look at sample questions, you can also: Practice free response questions See the scoring guidelines Read past student responses to exam questions Get College Board approved study tips While this site doesn't offer a full examination, there's still plenty of free material to help you prepare for your test. AP Human Geography Course Description 2015 The latest course description includes 23 sample multiple-choice questions and six sample free-response questions. Free-response answer guidelines are not included, but multiple-choice solutions are. Authenti City is a great place. The people are so honest, and their practice tests are the best you can get anywhere. Wouldn't recommend it as a vacation destination, though. You will not be able to escape from reality. Unofficial AP Human Geography Practice Tests There are many more unofficial AP Human Geography practice tests and quizzes available to you in various forms. These materials are useful, but you should avoid taking them completely at face value. I’ll list full practice test resources first, and then I’ll get into sites that provide short quizzes on specific topics. 5 Full Practice Tests #1: Barron’s Free Online Practice Exam This is a full practice exam in the same format as the real AP test (multiple choice, free response, the whole package). You can choose to take it in practice mode or timed mode depending on which stage you're at in your studying. I’d recommend saving this practice test for when you get closer to the AP exam. It’s good for simulating real test conditions when you feel relatively prepared and want to assess your score level. (Note: Barron's also has a test preparation guide for the AP Human Geography exam, too!) #2: REA Full Practice Exam 1 This is also a full practice exam in the same format as the real test. It has answer explanations, and I think the questions are solid replicas of what you’ll see on the AP exam. #3: Full Practice Exam from an AP Teacher Once again, this exam is in the same format as the real test. It includes both free-response and multiple-choice questions, and you'll find answer explanations at the end of the document. #4: Varsity Tutors Diagnostic Tests This site offers four diagnostic tests for AP Human Geography with 75 questions each (multiple-choice only). The tests have automatic scoring, and each one is given a preliminary difficulty level rating. Varsity Tutors also has tons of mini practice quizzes listed by concept if you want to practice topic-specific questions, as well as flashcards that will help you learn all the terminology for this course. #5: Review Books Don’t forget about the practice tests that are available to you in AP Human Geography review books. Most review books offer at least two full practice tests. Read my article on the best review books for this class to get a sense of which ones fit your studying needs. Short Quizzes on Specific Concepts and Geographic Regions Albert.IO Practice Questions Albert.IO has questions on every topic covered by the course that are categorized by difficulty level. The site keeps a running tally of how many questions you’ve answered correctly in the easy, medium, and hard categories. 4Tests.com This site offers a 50 question practice examination that you can take for free. I'd use this as a checkpoint examonce you get about halfway through studying, taking this test would be a good way to gauge your progress. SoftSchools Practice Quizzes SoftSchools has a series of 10-question practice quizzes on each topic. They're good for brief review sessions! ProProfs Quiz Maker This short, 23 question quiz is user-generated, so we don't recommend using it as a metric for measuring your progress. But the ratings are good, so it's probably a safe way for exposing yourself to some new material. Chapter Quizzes for Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities (th Edition) Select a chapter on the left navigation bar, and you can scroll down to find a link to its corresponding multiple-choice quiz. These quizzes are helpful for review even if your class isn’t using this particular textbook. Sheppard Software Geography Practice You'll earn points for citing specific examples in your free-response answer, and many multiple-choice questions ask about particular areas of the world. This site provides fun exercises that will help you learn exactly where everything is. You can progress through tutorial, beginner and advanced levels in activities that test your knowledge of the political and geographic divisions that exist within each continent. Study.com Human Geography Prep Quiz Study.com is known for hiring experts in their fields, so it's a pretty reliable source. Luckily, they also offer a quick exam prep for the AP test! What's nice about this one is that it has a timer build into the webpage, so you'll be able to pace yourself as you move through the quiz. More of us need to take these geography quizzes so people stop coming out with depressing surveys concluding that 75 percent of Americans think Australia is in Europe. I made up that statistic, but it might as well be real. How to Use AP Human Geography Practice Tests Here's an overview of how you can use these practice tests for review at different stages in the school year as you get closer and closer to the AP test. First Semester: Practice Tests as Review for In-Class Assessments During your first semester, you won’t have gotten through enough of the curriculum to take full practice tests yet. What you can do is take shorter quizzes that are specific to the topics you’ve learned already. Make use of sites like Albert.IO, Varsity Tutors, and many of the other unofficial listings that divide questions by subject. You can also practice writing answers to free-response questions that pertain to the topics your class has already covered. Second Semester: Preparing for the AP Test When you're midway through your second semester, you can start preparing for the AP test more directly. Take a full practice test and score it so you can get a better sense of your knowledge and abilities. You can use one of the three full practice tests listed in the unofficial test section for this step. I’d recommend saving the College Board practice materials until last so you can get the most accurate score predictions when you’re closest to the test. After you take the test, revisit all the questions where you made mistakes, and make note of their content. This will guide you in deciding which areas you need to study more and which you've already mastered. Once you've spent a couple of hours reviewing, take another practice test to reassess your score level. If you see some improvement, you can either repeat the process and aim higher or decide you’re satisfied with your current score level. If not, you should think about what went wrong in reviewing your mistakes. Did you only look them over haphazardly? Were you in a distracting environment? Change your approach if you’re not getting the results you want! Wait, What If Your Class Is Only One Semester? At some schools, AP Human Geography is only a semester-long class. If that's the case for you, much of the same preparation advice still applies, but it will take place on a slightly different timeline. If you take the class first semester, you'll have a significant chunk of time between the end of the course and the actual AP test. This can be a big advantage if you use your time wisely and avoid procrastinating (which you'll have to watch out for if you're very busy with your second-semester classes). You'll be able to start the second semester study process outlined above as soon as you finish the class. There will be plenty of time to take practice tests after your class has covered all the material, so it will be easier to get an accurate reading on your score level before the AP test. If you take this class second semester, the review process should be essentially the same as if it were a year-long class. The first-semester advice will apply to the first half of your second semester, and the second-semester advice will apply to the second half. You can afford to progress at a more leisurely pace in your studying if you take the class first semester because you have a few months that you can devote to preparing for the AP test. Conclusion Official practice testing materials for AP Human Geography are somewhat scarce. You should wait to use the one full official practice test until you're closer to the AP exam and are looking for highly accurate score predictions. You can use unofficial practice tests and quizzes at any time throughout the year to practice topic-specific questions for in-class assessments and prepare for the AP test as a whole. Be sure to reflect carefully on your answers to every practice test so you can assess where you went wrong and revisit relevant content. Practice tests should play a key role in your review for any AP test. If you treat them seriously and pay attention to what they tell you about your level of preparation, you're bound to do well on the exam! What's Next? Are you an intrepid AP pioneer navigating the treacherous waters of this course solo? Read our comprehensive seven-step guide to self-studying for AP tests! It's important to know when all your AP tests are happening this year so you can prepare appropriately. Check out the AP test dates for this year along with some tips for making it through the exam period with your sanity intact. If you're applying to very competitive colleges, you might be thinking about preparing for SAT Subject Tests in addition to AP tests. Find out how APs and SAT IIs differ from one another and which scores will make more of an impact on your admissions chances. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Monday, October 21, 2019

The 10 Trickiest Interview Questions and How To Field Them

The 10 Trickiest Interview Questions and How To Field Them Don’t get so stressed out about the interview that you forget to relax and show yourself in the best possible light. Look over this list of interview questions and be prepared for them. Then charge into your interview devoid of fear. Your biggest weaknessYou want to frame this one in a positive light, but you also want to make sure it doesn’t look like you’re too blasà © to admit your mistakes or failures. Find one weakness that isn’t too drastic, but isn’t a toss-off either, and then explain how you’re working constructively to make sure you’re a better employee because of recognizing it and moving past it.Former bad experiencesThey want to know how you dealt with a tough situation in the past. Don’t talk about getting yelled at by your boss, or suspended, or nearly fired. But do mention something that was a real stumbling block, and how you turned it into a positive by treating it as a valuable lesson, and learning from it.Em ployment gapsWhen the interviewer asks why you’ve been unemployed so long, the way you respond depends a little on the reason. If it’s personal and negative, be as vague as possible and focus on your bright future. If it’s for something professional, try emphasizing what you’ve accomplished in that time that makes you an infinitely more valuable employee.Corporate complaintsIf this is a corporate job and they want to know what you dislike most about that kind of environment, don’t sink to the occasion. Be sure to emphasize that you don’t find anything at all unsavory about the corporate world, but speak about one instance in which a particular corporation didn’t handle a matter the best way possible, and what you learned from it that you could apply to this new job, to make this corporation stronger.Your screw-upsYou’ll never be able to sell an interviewer on the idea that you never once screwed up on the job. So don’t e ven try. Instead, admit to a mistake you made and what it taught you. Emphasize, of course, how you will never make the same mistake again.How you break bad newsThey’re looking for leadership qualities, and how you handle stressful situations and emotions. Show off your conflict resolution skills and diplomatic finesse.The job you really wantIf they ask if you’d be after their job one day, don’t be honest. Explain that you’re more than content with the job that’s currently on offer, and try to laugh it off.Your record of changing jobsDo everything you can to convince them you’re here to stay. That’s all they want to hear with questions about shifting from position to position. Emphasize how settled you are on exactly this position being exactly where you need to be now. And then throw in some details about how your varied experience will only make you more valuable to the company.Your last jobWhatever you do, don’t bad mouth yo ur past job or your former boss. Explain that you’re looking for bigger challenges and more rewarding work, and assure them that you’ve left no burning bridges in your wake.Being firedIf you were fired from your last job, they’ll want to know why. Make it clear that you won’t be a liability, and never badmouth the company to make yourself look better.Do your best to showcase your professionalism and grace under fire- no matter what the question- and you’ll do just fine.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Strategic Analysis Nike Essays

Strategic Analysis Nike Essays Strategic Analysis Nike Paper Strategic Analysis Nike Paper a part of the website allows a customer to customize his own shoes and buy it. The website is available in 14 languages and is different according to the country requirements. Manufacturing Strategy: Nike manufactures all of its footwear from outside United States. Nike has contract suppliers in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. These countries accounted for 36%, 36%, 22% and 6% of total NIKE brand footwear respectively. Nike also has manufacturing agreements with independent factories in Argentina, Brazil, India, and Mexico to manufacture footwear for sale primarily within these countries. Primary reason for this is that it is cheaper to manufacture in South East Asia and transport it to USA and Europe, regardless of the transportation and tariff costs involved. Organizational Strategy: With over 21,000 employees worldwide, the company was organized into departments by both geographic divisions and product categories, which created overlapping management responsibilities and a fluid leadership structure. For example, a footwear manager in Europe answered to both the Vice President of Footwear and the Vice President of Europe. However, there was no formal communication link between the regional vice presidents (those in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America) and the product vice presidents (footwear, apparel, equipment). Human Resources Management Strategy: The sweat shop debacle in late 1990s has led Nike to form a distinctive strategy to provide a good working environment for employees. They have several internal guidelines and compliance standards apart from state laws for ensuring proper working conditions for all workers in its contracted supplier factories. Due to the magnitude of Nike and their number of stores and manufacturing plants throughout the world, Nike has taken the time to recognize the importance of each individual and what they can contribute to the team. For this reason, Nike does not call its employees, ‘employees’ but rather ‘team members’ because each part of the team has something to add to the business. They have also admitted that they have a very large array of workers and this brings many diverse cultures and points of views together. According to one of its statement, diversity and inclusion is a crucial factor in Nike’s diplomacy in their many locations and globally. In identifying the differences they have set apart the opportunities to better understand how their teams will work together and what adversity they may face because of this. In order to strive to reach this mission they have put into action these strategies: * Cultivate diversity and inclusion to develop world-class, high-performing teams * Ignite change and inspire critical conversations around diversity, inclusion and innovation * Create venues and environments for open dialogue, diverse opinions and a multitude of perspectives All of the above will in future venture apply and assist them in working more efficiently and having more satisfied employees for longer periods of time. Technology and Innovation strategy: Nike fields some of the best in class technological practices and has a few patents to its credit. Nike emphasizes on these and has developed a lot of new products with use of high technology and sophistication. An example of that is the microprocessor shoe to give great experience and comfort to the customer. However, Adidas is also working on high tech innovations to provide high quality shoes. Lately, Adidas and Nike have been doing entertainment based marketing campaign by forming alliances with technology/entertainment companies. Nike had an alliance with Apple to sell Nike shoes with Apple iPods while Adidas tied up with Microsoft to sell Adidas goods with Microsoft Xbox gaming systems. So far the success of these alliances is yet to be quantified. Manufacturing strategy: Nike follows a 100% outsourcing strategy. Most competitors follow the outsourcing strategy. Exceptions to this are New Balance and other smaller players. New Balance claims that 75% of its production is from the US and other small companies produce in the US as well.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Performance Evaluations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Performance Evaluations - Essay Example Plant engineer performance can be evaluated on criteria such as central services’ design, provision of technical support to maintain plant equipment and facilities, energy saving and production cost of energy (Amrine, Ritchey, Moodie, and Kmec, 2009). Similarly, specific criteria should be used to evaluate the performance of the employees according to their position. Secondly, the evaluation of an individual’s behavior is very essential for the provision of good outcomes, employees must have good behavior with each other; because collective decision making, work sharing, putting ideas for improvement and taking extra responsibility; helps in making organization productive. Therefore, behaviors of one employee with work and with peers should be evaluated. Behavioral evaluation is necessary for plant engineer because he has to work with others and if employees are not happy with him; they will not help him in making satisfactory outcomes. Third, the performance evaluation should be based on individual traits. This is the weakest criteria, but still it is widely used by organizations. Traits such as looking busy, having a good attitude, coming on work on time or before time and having experience are not significantly connected with optimistic results of tasks or may be connected (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Fourth, professional development is also an important criterion for performance evaluation. In such criteria, it is considered that either employee is continuing with his/her education, struggling for excellence, searching for opportunities in order to learn and grow and other such factors. By using different criteria, company and managers identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees. Performance evaluation criterion is an effective tool for the betterment of the organization. From analyzing the outcomes of the tasks, organization can assess

Friday, October 18, 2019

Depression Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Depression - Research Paper Example If there was one word that could be used as an umbrella term to cover all the feelings resulting from depression that would be â€Å"hopelessness†. Depression is a serious disorder but can be treated if adequate measures are taken in time without delay. Learning about the potential causes, signs and symptoms of depression is indeed, the very first step in the way towards its resolution, treatment and prevention. What is depression? Depression is essentially an illness which affects and takes control of an individual’s mood, thoughts and the whole body. Under the influence of depression, an individual becomes pessimistic in his/her approach towards himself/herself and his/her eating and sleeping habits are particularly affected. Many people suffering from depression take eating as a means to escape depression. In their attempt to relieve their tension, they seek refuge in the taste of food. The resulting overeating makes them gain weight and many end up becoming obese. W here food intake is increased, there is a significant decrease in the amount of sleep. People suffering from depression either can not sleep or have nightmares when they sleep. They are haunted by ferocious dreams which interrupt the sleep. It is not possible for an individual that has a depressive disease to â€Å"pull himself/herself together† and start feeling better. ... There are four major kinds of depression, namely major depression, atypical depression, dysthemia, and seasonal affective disorder. They are explained below: 1. Major depression Thus type of depression is largely characterized by an individual’s lack of tendency to feel pleasure in life. The lack of enjoyment is persistent and uninterrupted. This makes the depression aggravate with the passage of time. However, even if no treatment is taken, major depression usually occupies the patient for 6 months. Most of the people experience a single episode of depression in their whole life. The disorder is generally recurring but there are medicines and treatment to minimize the recurrence. In the West, major depression is the No. 1 psychological disorder in the contemporary age (clinical-depression.co.uk, 2011) which is increasing among all communities and age groups, particularly among the youth. It is estimated that by 2020, major depression will be the second most disabling disorder in addition to the heart disease. In order to fight major depression, most patients resort to the use of antidepressants. They are undoubtedly effective in providing an individual with immediate relief, though they do little to guarantee the individual depression free life. 2. Atypical depression It is essentially a subtype of the major depression. Atypical depression is characterized by a particular symptom pattern that is inclusive of a temporal shift in mood as a result of positive events. An individual suffering from atypical depression feels good when he/she hears good news or when he/she hangs out with peers or friends. Nonetheless, the temporary emotional boost is ephemeral. The potential symptoms of atypical depression include but are not limited to increase of