Module 11 text questions-Creative photography Essay

1. What makes someone a professional photographer? What qualities do you think a professional photographer should have? – If they do the same thing, only get the majority of their income from it. 2. What are three different types of photography? Which type do you think you’d most like to focus on? Why? – Commercial photography, Forensic photography, and scientific photography. I’d probably like commercial photography the most because I like photographing my friends modeling and I would want my work to be shown in magazines and advertisements. 3. What do you think would be the best and worst aspect of being a professional photographer? Why? – Worst- Having low pay, or barely any jobs. – Best- Traveling and experiencing different types of photography. 4. What tasks or responsibilities would photographers have if they owned their own business? – Marketing their business, editing their photos, and selling their work. 5. What is the job outlook for photographers? What factors are influencing the job outlook? – In 2008, there were over 150,000 professional photographers in the U. S. And the average photographer earned almost $30,000 per year. 6. What are the educational or training requirements for becoming a professional photographer? What options exist for individuals? -There is no specific education needed. It usually depends on the type of photography you want to do. All photographers would want to have training in the subject they want to work in. 7. What are the steps to becoming a professional photographer? -Have an interest in photography -Receive a university degree or other training – Develop a strong portfolio 8. What is stock photography? Do you think you’d like to take stock photographs? -Stock photographs are photographs that are made for specific commercial purposes. I think it would be fun o take them, so yes. 9. What do you think is the biggest challenge for professional photographers? – Probably finding a good job in photography. There are not many, and I wouldn’t want to just work as an assistant. 10. How do the careers of freelance and salaried photographers differ? Which one do you think you’d prefer? Why? – Being a freelance photographer has more freedom involved and you don’t have a boss, unlike salaried photographers. I think I’d rather be a salaried photographer because I’m not very independent and I like having a set job, not making it up for myself.

Lord of the Flies differences

In Lord of the Flies there are some differences between the â€Å"Castle Rock† at the end of chapter six the Beast from the Air with the beach as it has been described throughout the book so far. The differences are the beach is used for the littluns to play and build sand castles. While the Castle Rock has just been discovered and Jack said, â€Å"What a place for a fort! † meaning that he is thinking about something and will use it as a protection or safe place. Lastly the beach has more resources to offer than the Castle Rock. The Castle Rock is more like a hiding place for them and while the beach is a place for them to stay and occupy. To commence, the Castle Rock and the beach are a place on the island, but the Castle Rock is a place up on the mountain top as Ralph, â€Å"led the way over the rocks inspected a sort of half-cave that held nothing more terrible than a clutch of rotten eggs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  While the beach is where the water pool is and the shelters. The shelters are beside the beach where the boys sleep built by Simon and Ralph and with others that helped out. As William Golding describes the Castle Rock as a place that has â€Å"rotten eggs† meaning things that are not useful and the beach has boys that some stay there not being useful by not helping out the others boys. Furthermore, the beach is where the littluns play and build their sand castles whereas the Rock Castle is just observed and walked by Ralph, Jack and the hunters and this place they are not familiar with. The littluns construct castles and use their imagination, â€Å"round the castle was a complex of marks, tracks, walls, railway lines†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Golding tells the reader that the littluns miss their home so they build these castles to keep their hopes up that there will be a day they will be back home. The Rock Castle is a place that Jack said would be for a fort but Ralph does not like the idea while Jack is so excited and building up ideas as he is at the Rock Castle. The beach is where the boys are comfortable and feel safe but in the Castle Rock they still do not have that comfort level because, â€Å"some of the boys wanted to go back to the beach. Some wanted to roll more rocks. †On the other hand the beach there is fruit that the littluns can reach and eat; they have water, the pool that is supposed to be used as a lavatory, and space where they can play around. But in the Castle Rock like Ralph said â€Å"there’s no food here, and no shelter, not much fresh water,† there are more advantages in the beach than in the Castle Rock because there are more resources for them to use in the beach than on the mountain top. As Golding describes the scene of the Castle Rock is like a very small place and not enough room for things or people to hide, â€Å"because you can see. Nothing goes in or out. † And â€Å"there was nowhere to hide, even if one did not have to go on. † Castle Rock is different than the beach because this is where they believe that the â€Å"beast† has landed. Simon felt a flicker of incredulity, â€Å"a beast that scratched, that sat on a mountain-top, that left no tracks and yet was not fast enough to catch Samneric. † This is what Simon believes a beast would be at, but never thinks it could be at the beach. But is this beast they are talking illusions of human beings acting like the â€Å"beast† or is it really a creature? Because the â€Å"beast could represent themselves but now some of them are getting scared of each other that they think this is the â€Å"beast†. Maybe Jack later on will want the Castle Rock and go live over there because â€Å"Jack was excited! when they had reached Castle Rock therefore given an inference that Jack will want to occupy this place and abandon the beach where mostly the majority has stayed. Last of all, in the island where the boys had been stranded the beach is only there real shelter, water, and fruit for the littluns, the pool for lavatory, for littluns to play, build sand castle, and for the biguns to relax and let the sun tan there skin. Whereas in the Castle Rock it is a place half-cave with â€Å"rotten eggs† as I refer to things that are not useful around just like some of the boys at the beach that are not useful and do not cooperate with the others. The Castle Rock is limited to few things that the beach offers, it has less space, not too much water, and it is more of an area to be a fort. Jack is so excited about this place that he wants to stay there to build a fort, but Ralph does not like the idea because he is a person that thinks long term meaning will or is there enough food, water, and shelter, where Jack is a person that just goes for his needs and thinks only for himself.

Mathematics Web-Based Learning for Malaysian Secondary Schools in Geometry

MASTER RESEARCH PROPOSAL Prepared by Yeo Lian Ming 1. Title : Mathematics Web-Based Learning For Malaysian Secondary Schools In Geometry 2. Chapter 1 Introduction Background Of The Problem Learning of geometry is formally introduced in the Malaysian primary mathematics curriculum. The emphasis in geometry increases as students progress to secondary education, where about forty percent of the sixty topics in the five-year secondary mathematics curriculum comprises geometry content (Malaysian Ministry of Education, 1998).It is paramount that students at the beginning level of secondary education are provided with logical reasoning skills to build on subsequently more rigorous experiences of formal geometry. The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM,2000), and other important literature in the area of mathematics education call for emphasis in geometry at all levels. Geometry is a unifying theme to the entire mathematics curriculum and as such is a rich source of visualization for arithmetical, algebraic , and statistical concepts.For example, geometric regions and shapes are useful for development work with the meaning of fractional numbers, equivalent fractions, ordering of fractions, and computing of fractions (Sanders, 1998, p. 20). However, geometric concepts are often neglected in elementary and middle level schools in favour of teaching computational skills ( Huetinck & Munshin, 2004 ; Noraini Idris, 2006 ).Various reasons related to mathematical system itself, curricular materials, instructional practice, and cognitive development have been proposed to explain students’ the difficulties with geometry. In many Malaysian schools, the teaching and learning of mathematics has been reported to be too teacher centred and that the students are not given enough opportunities to develop their own thinking (Malaysian Ministry of Education, 2001). This situation invariably results in students becoming passive receivers of information , which in many cases do not results in conceptual understanding.Many students are not able to comprehend what their mathematics teachers teach especially on the topic of geometry because mathematics content is taught with the intention of finishing the syllabus and preparing for examinations. Little regard is given to how well the students understand geometrical concepts. On the topic of geometry, students encounter difficulties in applying what they have learnt due to spatial inability and visualization problems. In secondary school, mathematics teacher’s biggest challenge is to find a way how to get students’ interest to learn geometry.Through web-based learning, teacher can give students a new and stimulating way to learn and practice mathematics when and where it is suitable for them. The use of computers in education can be utilized as a new technological support for the visualization of abstract concepts through computer-generated virtual representations, allowi ng for the generation of mental model of the geometrical concepts. Moreover, the use of the World Wide Web as an educational delivery medium has pushed the limits of instructional design.It is becoming commonplace for students to register for programs, access course materials, communicate and submit assignments, and retrieve grades electronically. Classrooms and conference facilities in schools around the world are web-friendly, with many offering video-conferencing or full virtual classroom facilities. But the real question is this: does web-technology help or hinder learning? The best answer seems to be that it depends on the situation. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it hinders.On the plus side, the Internet has moved management education ahead by enabling rapid, easy access to education and information, shared workspace tools for collaboration, instant communication and messaging, and online help. On the negative side, the quality of learning, more often than not, fails to meet ex pectations. Statement Of The Problem Teaching and learning process in mathematics particularly in the topic of geometry is not an easy task. Students tend to fail in developing an adequate understanding of the concepts, reasoning, and problem solving skills.The lack of understanding in learning geometry often cause discouragement among the students, which invariably will leads to poor performance in public examination. A number of factors have been put forward to explain why learning geometry is difficult due to geometry language, visualization abilities, and ineffective instruction. Poor reasoning skills are also another area of concern among secondary school students. Many are unable to extract necessary information from given data and many more are unable to interpret answers and make conclusions.Traditional approaches in learning geometry emphasized more on how much the students can remember and less on how well the students can perform the process of problem solving that includ es higher order mathematical thinking skills and reasoning. Thus learning becomes forced and creates anxiety among students and seldom brings satisfaction to the students. Objectives Of The Study This study will explore the ICT ability such as the web-based instructional objects as learning visual aids for the teaching and learning process in Geometry.This skill will enhance the teaching and learning process in delivering the topics in Geometry. The study will address some of the primary issues that should be included in the curriculum design process to develop a more interesting learning experience that truly engages the students from a cognitive perspective, while encouraging or fostering a greater accomplishment in the student's learning development particularly the visualization ability and problem solving skills.Scope Of The Study This study focuses on the curriculum design of web-based instructional objects for the teaching-learning process that involves hands-on ability with emphasis on experiential model. From the experiential perspective, the goal is to provide an opportunity or event that will engage or involve the student in the active process of learning. Experiential web-based learning can occur when the following conditions are met during the design phase: a )the appropriate level of cognitive and/or affective domain is reached, causing the student to do much more than simply receive the learning or knowledge, ( b )the relationship between the type of knowledge establishes an implied level of student involvement, ( c )the outcomes are evaluated with respect to the domain (cognitive and/or affective) in terms of the type of knowledge. Once these steps are included during the design process, rather than as an afterthought, web based learning will become richer, and provide the student an authentic learning event.Significance Of The Study In designing instructional objects, emphasis should be placed on designs that are conducive to meaningful learni ng rather than designs that aim merely at presentation of objects. This study will examine the integration of technology, content, pedagogy and online delivery as it affects the student learning experience. The process and model for creating interactive-rich learning environments is presented to improve their course development practices and online classroom quality. . Chapter 2 Literature Review The application of instructional objects in the teaching and learning of mathematics helped the students to understand the subject matter more clearly through novel presentation; making the learning of mathematics interesting and fun as well as easier to understand (Clarke ; Gronn, 2004). The wise use of web-based technology can help to break the boundaries between classroom and workplace, between theory and practice, and between the roles of instructor and learner.A second generation approach carefully designed and extended, can lead to many win-win solutions that can promote meaningful ac tion-based learning that combines the best in technical and soft skills education in both classroom and workplace settings (Morgan, G. ; Adams, J. , 2009). However, there was a significant interaction effect between delivery model and prior web experience. This indicates that for some learners, certain delivery models may be more ffective for web-based environments (Ahern, T. ; Martindale, T. , 2001). The results of the recent study showed that the learners who used the hybrid web based learning model displayed a better understanding of the necessary concepts and were able to apply their learning experiences to real life contexts better than the learners who were exposed to the traditional teaching method only (Naidoo, N. ; Naidoo, R. , 2006).With the current bodies of research and knowledge on development both of the learner, and the instructor, there is a need now more than ever to re-examine and develop a new model for instructional design. It may be necessary then, to abandon, o r perhaps significantly modify, the traditional instructional design models that were grounded in behavioral terms in favor of a model that is more experiential (Kolb, 1984). 4. Chapter 3 Research Methodology Research Design ; ProcedureThrough the use of programs that can be downloaded from the internet such as Moodle an Open Source Course Management System (CMS), an interactive course materials containing online activities such as self assessments, animations, and simulations on the topics in geometry can be produced to develop an e-learning websites to encourage self-learning and ability to seek for knowledge from various sources. These can improve learning and are often more enjoyable , flexible learning time and meaningful for students. Operational FrameworkThis study will adopt quasi-experimental design which consists of two groups of students. One treatment group will undergo the lessons of geometry using web-based learning while the other control group will be taught by tradi tional approach. I will conduct interviews, surveys and questionnaires to obtain empirical information on this research. Please refer to the attached Gantt chart. Assumptions ; Limitations This study will only use one instructional module entitled Geometry as the treatment period, and an expanded study should encompass the entire Mathematics subject.There are many other delivery models to examine in terms of effectiveness for web-based learning. Studies should be conducted using these models in combination. It would also be interesting to examine participant variables (age, gender, prior experience, etc. ) and the effectiveness of various delivery models. Research Planning ; Schedule Preparation Phase : Study the content of geometry. A literature review of the web-based learning by previous research endeavours will be conducted to complete and narrow down the orientation I will take for the following steps of my research.Analysis Phase : Observe a group of students to identify probl ems in teaching-learning the topic of geometry and analyze the types of instructional object activities in the web-based learning. Design Phase : Select a few subtopics of geometry as the research target. Employ experiential model to produce interactive course materials for geometry which containing online activities by using Moodle an Open Source Course Management System. Application Phase : Test the instructional objects on the sample group to collect data in terms of web-based learning quality, analyze the results and draw conclusions.Evaluation Phase : Refining and enhancing the interactive course material of geometry in the web-based learning. 5. Chapter 4 Expected Findings and Summary The rapid expansion of web-based learning necessitates examining its effectiveness because instruction is more than simply displaying information. Instruction requires an integrated fit that considers the content, the current state of the student and the delivery model to achieve success.The most important long-term outcome of web-based learning may be the students's increased capabilities to learn more easily and effectively in the future, both because of the knowledge and skill they have acquired and because they have mastered learning processes. That implies that a major role in teaching is to create powerful learners. In conclusion, I hope that the students can apply their knowledge of geometry to solve the mathematical problems as well as everyday problems they face in daily life through this web-based learning.

Millennium System Theories and Transcendence Research Paper

Millennium System Theories and Transcendence - Research Paper Example A primary reference will be Revelation 20: 1-6, but the discussion will draw from both Old Testament and New Testament scripture. Theories of the end times fall among various major classifications. Theoretical classifications include Historical Premillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Postmillennialism, Preterism, and No Millennialism, which are considered in turn before the final conclusion is reached. 2. THESIS STATEMENT In the midst of all the complex Millennium theories, each of which can help us to reflect on the mysteries of the end times that will surely come one day, the best approach is a transcendent one, which leaves the details to God’s Spirit and trusts in the revelation that is made to each believer in his or her direct relationship with God. 3. DISCUSSION In the literal interpretations, there are four events that figure into the chronology of the end times: the Millennium, the Tribulation, Armageddon, and the Rapture. The Millennium ref ers to a peaceful 1000 year reign of Christ. The Tribulation refers to a dreadful seven-year reign of the Antichrist. Armageddon refers to a terrible war, initiated by the Antichrist. The Rapture refers to the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, born-again Christians, and the ascension of all born again Christians, to meet Christ1. Historical Premillennialists believe that the Antichrist and Tribulation come first, followed by the return of Christ. Christ and his Church return, to rule for 1000 years, living in spiritual bodies, in the New Jerusalem, which is a cube which descended to earth. Evil has been conquered. After that, all people are judged. This perspective was held by a lot of Christians, during the first three centuries of the Christian era2. Dispensational Premillennialists believe that the Rapture (I Thessalonians 4:17) occurs before the Tribulation and Armageddon (Daniel 11), which means that Christians escape the horrors of the Tribulation. This is then followed by the millennial reign of Christ and the Final Judgment. The greatest distinction between Historic and Dispensational Premillennialism is that the former group makes no distinction in function or grace for Israel, while the latter group believes that Israel, as God’s original chosen people, will rule over the earth physically, in fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham, while the Gentile Christians will rule spiritually, in spiritual bodies, in the New Jerusalem3. Also, Israel goes through the Tribulation and then accepts Christ, in this view4. This millennial theory system is generally accepted by Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians, particularly beginning in 1909, with the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible5. According to Revelation 20:1-6, an angel locks up Satan, sealing him in a bottomless pit for a thousand years, during which time Christian martyrs, who were beheaded because they evangelized for Christ and would not worship or c ooperate with the Antichrist, will reign with Christ as priests. This indicates that the Tribulation comes before the Millennium.

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand Research Paper

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand - Research Paper Example It was evident as he would go hunting for Kangaroos and emus in New Zealand and Australia. This paper discusses the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand as not justifiable as it was not the correct thing to solve the problem that was there by then. Franz Ferdinand had a military background. He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age like the most males during the Habsburg ruling. He underwent various promotions from lieutenant at the age of fourteen to a major general when he was thirty-one years old. It was evident that he had a great influence in the armed forces even when he was not a key command in the military chancery. In the year 1913, Franz was appointed inspector general of all the armed forces of Austria-Hungary. Franz had moral earnestness and intellectual gifts though he was impatient, suspicious and had a hysterical temperament (Eye Witness to History, 2). One of the Franz project while on the throne was to consolidate the structure of the state and the popularity of the crown. This would be done only by abolishing the dominance of the German Austrians, but he opted to maintain them for military reasons. Before his death, he regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty and often became angry when the 9th Hussars Regime officers spoke Hungarian in his presence. He also advocated a strategic approach towards Serbia that if harsh treatment in Serbia continued it would lead top Austria-Hungary conflict with Russia (Hayes, 106). In June 1914, Archduke Ferdinand was to visit Sarajevo in Bosnia. It was the south-east of the Austrian empire and it was evident that the Black Hand Gang in the region wanted to be independent from Austria and set up their state which could run itself. This was due to the expectations from the less radical Serbians that when Franz Ferdinand came to power he would ease the position of Serbs and the slaves in the empire through the

Question Answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Question Answers - Essay Example His vision asserts that his team should control the things it can while striving to achieve goals in an efficient manner. Answer: The three important leadership roles Todman emphasizes include: (1) Leader as a team builder: Todman ensured that team worked on a collaborative platform where all the members could meet each other more often than before, such as once a month rather than once every two months. (2) Leader as a problem-solver: Todman made sure that right decisions were made at the right time to ensure business success, just like a Whirlpool executive stated about Todman that he was able to solve problems by making the team an interconnected unit. (3) Leader as a strategic planner: Todman revamped the new Maytag product line; closed the expensive plants; and, planned on educating the whole staff. This expresses his proficiency as a strategic planner. Answer: Louie’s financial management strategies are okay as people have been appreciating him in this regard, but his interpersonal relationships at the workplace are not satisfactory. For example, Emma, the human resources manager of the company, came across some customer feedback cards that complaint about Louie’s unsuitable remarks which were too personal. Louie’s has not been appropriately responsive toward the customers. He is not very tolerant about cultural diversity at the workplace. He has also been acting too frankly with the co-workers at times, for example, giving a high-five or a fist bump. These gestures have been making him unpopular at the workplace. Answer: Louie needs some serious training regarding tolerance about cultural diversity at the workplace. He needs to understand that all individuals are equally worthy of respect regardless of their cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. He needs to show tolerance toward all kinds of people with varying sexual orientation. He also needs to understand his limitations at the workplace, such as how he should behave

Today's Youth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Today's Youth - Essay Example This includes the following: connectivity, interactivity and access (Sipe & Pantaleo, 2008). Interactivity pertains â€Å"to the dynamic, user-controlled, nonlinear, non-sequential, complex information behavior and representation in or† associated to print materials and other media (Sipe & Pantaleo, 2008, p.41). Connectivity on the other hand â€Å"refers to the sense of community or construction of social worlds† which develops from changing ideas (Sipe & Pantaleo, 2008, p.41). Access refers to the disintegrating of long-standing information barriers which creates an entrance â€Å"to a wide diversity of formerly inaccessible† opportunity and opinion (Sipe & Pantaleo, 2008, p.41). In this context, when the theory is applied to explain the behavior of the digital age youth, the following changes could be made clear: (1) changes in their perceptions (2) changes in how they analyze and learn (3) changes in the information and ideas to which they have access. Two Te xt Based Today’s youths are described to be fearless. They are not afraid in voicing out their ideas and concerns; they speak their mind (Anon., 2001). They are never tired asking questions (Anon., 2001). Stated otherwise, the youths of today are very courageous and idealistic. They are not afraid of public scrutiny. It seems that what is important for them is that they are able to express their idea and be heard by everyone. It is contended that the digital age has triggered this kind of attitude. The youths have mastered the use of many types of digital equipment which could show and relay their beliefs and ideas. Nonetheless, their being too vocal has a known disadvantage. Some would perceive their boldness as being disrespectful (Anon., 2001). The adults believe that there are topics which are ought to be discussed privately and not publicly. Nevertheless, they have not admonished the youths regarding this matter. According to Momma Hawks, the adults are afraid of the eff ects of such action (Anon., 2001). They are specifically afraid of the sanctions that the government would impose against them (Anon., 2001). To note, when the parents admonish their son or daughter, there is a possibility that their child will report such action in a negative way to a government agency. According to Connor and Crane (2008, p.155), the younger generation of today has been raised to adhere to the idea on individualism. They have been thought to think of themselves first before anything else. In this sense, they learn to disregard even the advices of the people surrounding them. Sometimes, they even defy the authority. This attitude has led some of them to be an activist. One Web-based Nigel Davies has expressed his amazement on how the youths of today adopt to new technologies. He observed that the youths use the technologies with speed and ease (Davies, 2010). Some of the youths could even â€Å"type their names long before they could write† (Davies, 2010). I t seems that they find it easy to learn the basic functions of these technologies especially computers. This is due to the fact that these new technologies are usually user-friendly. Being user-friendly means that a technology could easily be used by anyone. This presupposes that the use of such technology is founded on simple and understandable instructions. Relevance to Gramsci’s Notion on Hegemony Gramsci actually believes that hegemony is an organising principle, one that is permeated by socialisation process into every aspect of daily life

Kevin Carter pulitzer prize winning image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Kevin Carter pulitzer prize winning image - Essay Example ide area of the land which has the lighter colors, is the Black child on his four limbs with his head to the ground, seemingly being supported by his right hand. Just a few inches behind him is a vulture on its feet, positioned in a way that makes it appear that it is imitating the child’s raised shoulders. The sizes of the two images are not greatly different and this makes the balance in the photo. The child, being near the photographer, appears to be bigger than the bird but one might just assume the difference in their sizes. Nevertheless, their size and color make the two as the dominant figures. The two focal images have dark hues which contrast their environment. Coincidentally, the child has a white necklace and bracelet that is comparable to the color of the vulture’s feet and beak. The feathers of the bird and the skin of the child are smooth, in contrast to the rough texture of the ground with the dry soil, pebbles and stones scattered around and the dried gr asses. Such elements of photography, aside from the sensitive social issue, make the photograph a real

Reflective Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reflective Analysis - Essay Example They are faced with anxiety and remain under pressure to keep up with the changes. Classroom lectures are insufficient and lack interaction. Learning should be an active process with active participation of both the student and the mentor alike. The mentor has to, at all times, urge and motivate the learner to participate in the process of education; to make the learner responsible for their own learning. Knowles defines contract learning thus: "Contract learning is, in essence, an alternative way of structuring a learning experience: It replaces a content plan with a process plan." Malcolm S Knowles (1991, p.39). While the learner faces a challenge to remain updated with the latest skills the mentor faces the challenge to provide an environment that provides active learning. In today’s situation unless the learner is actively involved he tends to withdraw. This has far reaching psychological impact on the overall learning process. Joseph R. Codde, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Michigan State University quotes Knowles in his abstract saying that â€Å"Contract learning is an alternative way of structuring a learning experience: It replaces a content plan with a process plan (Knowles, 1986). According to Knowles (1980), contract learning solves, or at least reduces, the problem of dealing with wide differences within any group of adult learners. Characteristically, in our field we get people with widely varying backgrounds, previous experience, interests, learning styles, life patterns, outside commitments, and learning speeds. Didactic teachers usually cope with this situation by "aiming at the middle," with the hope that those at the lower end will not get too far behind and that those at the upper end will not get too bored (Knowles, 1980). The solution is to help students structure their own learning. We can meet the needs of these widely varied students by the use of learning contracts†. Learning contracts when set up carefully offer benefits both

To Impeach or not to Impeach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

To Impeach or not to Impeach - Essay Example It is a legal proceeding founded against a government servant by a governing body. It is applicable for the President, Vice President, and other central officers in addition to judges in United States of Representatives. Impeachment is enacted on the basis of regular court reports. Impeachment is executed by the Senate in the United States. Impeachment can be voidable automatically a charged official is able to establish his/her innocence in front of the Senate. The Top most judicial organizations are resolute that they cannot review such proceedings. Impeachment may be conducted by a member of legislatures. The impeachment may be activated by non-member, when the conferences of judicial committee suggest that a federal judge liable to be impeached. Impeachment process generally is based upon a two-step approach (Shanks, 2002). The main objective of this study is to gather comprehension about the impeachment process with particular reference to the scenario prevailing in the United S tates. The study would facilitate to find out if impeachment of federal officials is a common occurrence in the United States. ... From the analysis of the history related to impeachment, it can be said that impeachment is a common occurrence for the federal officials. It is a very common occurrence for the federal officials not from now but from early history. In recent history, there have been frequent instances of federal officials being impeached in the United States. Since the initial impeachments in the year 1986-1989, a number of cases had been reported and executed impeachment of federal officials as well as judges. Consequently, many of these federal officials were forced to resign from the official position or they were punished under the court of law. In the year 2003, there had been 61 federal officers who were investigated due to their impeachment (Bazan, 2010). Who Was The Federal Official Who Was Most Recently Impeached? Gabriel Thomas Porteous, Jr. was the federal official who was most recently impeached after completing sixteen years of judgment in Federal court in United States. His impeachment was performed in 2010 and subsequently he was ejected from his position in the United States District Court (Memoli, 2010). Why Was He Impeached? On 8th December 2010, the Government of America found Judge Gabriel Thomas Porteous Jr. of Federal District Court to be guilty under at least one of the four related articles of impeachment and subsequently detached him from his position. Judge Porteous was the eight magistrate of federal court to be removed from his position under the charges of impeachment. He was impeached by the Senate in March 2010 on a charge of accepting money from business people along with assuming other favors from them. Moreover, he was charged on the grounds of intentionally deceiving the Senate as well as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Psychology - Essay Example Selye’s studies showed that the body responds in the same way to any stress, be it positive events (new job) or negative circumstances (failure, embarrassment, trouble at school, a stormy romance). ALARM STAGE: Alarm stage suggests that the body is in the generalized arousal state, wherein the body mobilizes its resources to cope with stressors. The pituitary gland signals the adrenal glands to produce and release stress hormones: adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. As these stress hormones are dumped into the bloodstream, some bodily processes are rushed others are slowed, allowing bodily resources to be applied where they are needed. We should all be thankful that our bodies automatically respond to emergencies. However, brilliant as this emergency system is, it can also cause problems. In the first phase of the alarm reaction, people have such symptoms as headache, fever, fatigue, sore muscles, shortness of breath, diarrhea, upset stomach, loss of appetite, and lack of energy. Notice that these are also the symptoms of stressful travel, of high-altitude sickness, of anxiety, of pressure in the courtroom interrogation, or final exams week, and possibly of falling in love! RESISTANCE STAGE: During the resistance stage, the body continues to resist the stressors. As the body’s defenses come into balance, symptoms of the alarm reaction disappear. Outwardly, everything seems normal. However, this appearance of normality comes at a high cost. The body is better able to cope with the original stressor, example, animals placed in extreme cold become more resistant to the cold, but more susceptible to infection. It is during the stage of resistance that the first signs of psychosomatic disorders begin to appear. EXHAUSTION STAGE: Continued stress leads to the stage of exhaustion in which the body’s resources are drained and stress hormones are depleted. The body is susceptible to disease and even death in this stage. Unless you found a way of

Ethics and Morality Essay Example for Free

Ethics and Morality Essay Facing ethical conflicts and moral dilemmas are an everyday reality in nursing profession. Examples of ethical conflicts and moral dilemmas in health care are euthanasia confidentiality. These bioethical dilemmas are affecting health care professionals, specifically the nurses. The term Euthanasia is from a Greek word for â€Å"good death† and in English it means an â€Å"easy death† or the â€Å"painless inducement of quick death†. Easy death is divided into two categories; passive euthanasia, which involves doing nothing to preserve life and active euthanasia, which requires actions that speed the process of dying. Dilemmas on euthanasia are terribly hunting the nurses as a profession. Ending a patient’s life by way of active or passive euthanasia is an issue relating the patient’s autonomy in choosing what’s best for himself. For the individuals has the dignity that attaches to personhood by reason of the freedom to take one’s own life. Euthanasia is such a difficult task of decision making with regards to the nursing profession. For the major purpose of nursing care delivery is the pursuit of health, with the prevention of death and alleviation of sufferings as a secondary goal. The American Hospital Associations Patients Bill of Rights rules 5 and 6 outline the individual’s right to privacy in health care. 5. The patient has the right to every consideration of his privacy concerning his own medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly. Those not directly involved in his care must have permission of the patient to be present. 6. The patient has the right to expect that all communications and records pertaining to his care should be treated as confidential. Confidentiality is an important health care ethics of trust that patients place on nurses. A great barrier between nursing practitioners and patient would exist if the patient felt that information in regard to his or her body condition was the subject of release to publications. Fear of disclosure has in the past led minors with sexually transmitted diseases to suffer without care rather than to seek aid, knowing that the system required by the health care system is to notify their parents. But before nurses will engage or participate in decision making concerning bioethical dilemmas, they should be competent enough in clinical ethics. For without clinical ethics competence, nurses will not be viewed as participants in clinical ethics and discussion and will not be valued by patient’s families and other health care professionals when discussing ethical discussion. That’s why they should be more knowledgeable about the interaction of ethical and moral issues that affect the institution and public policy decisions. A sense of powerlessness and moral distress in nursing often leads to inaction rather than the leadership necessary to meet the patient’s needs for nursing and health care. Nurses have an ethical and legal obligation to be competent practitioners. Moral thinking and ethical awareness are aspects of competent nursing practice. Thus, if nurses are to be excellent nurses and participants in decision making, it is important that nurses should gain ethics and laws.

Microbial Production Of Industrial Enzymes Biology Essay

Microbial Production Of Industrial Enzymes Biology Essay Enzymes are biocatalysts produced by living cells to bring about specific biochemical reactions generally forming parts of the metabolic processes of the cells. Enzymes are highly specific in their action on substrates and often many different enzymes are required to bring about, by concerted action, the sequence of metabolic reactions performed by the living cell. All enzymes which have been purified are protein in nature, and may or may not possess a nonprotein prosthetic group. The practical application and industrial use of enzymes to accomplish certain reactions apart from the cell dates back many centuries and was practiced long before the nature or function of enzymes was understood. Use of barley malt for starch conversion inbrewing, and of dung for bating of hides in leather making, are examples of ancient use of enzymes. It was not until nearly the turn of this century that the causative agents or enzymes responsible for bringing about such biochemical reactions became known. Then crude preparations from certain animal tissues such as pancreas and stomach mucosa, or from plant tissues such as malt and papaya fruit, were prepared which found technical applications in the textile, leather,brewing, and other industries. HISTORY:- Dr. Jokichi Takamine (1894, 1914) was the first person to realize the technical possibility of cultivated enzymes and to introduce them to industry. He was mainly concerned with fungal enzymes, whereas Boidin and Effront (1917) in France pioneered in the production of bacterial enzymes about 20 years later.Technological progress in this field during the last decades has been so great that, for many uses, micro-bial cultivated enzymes have replaced the animal or plant enzymes. Once the favorable results of employing such enzyme preparations were established, a search began for better, less expensive, and more readily available sources of such enzymes.It was found that certain microorganisms produce enzymes similar in action to the amylases of malt and pancreas, or to the proteases of the pancreas and papaya fruit. This led to the development of processes for producing such microbial enzymes on a commercial scale Example, in textile desizing, bacterial amylase has largely replaced malt or pancreatin. At present, only a relatively small number of microbial enzymes have found commercial application, but the number is increasing, and the field will undoubtedly be much expanded in the future. Enzyme classification:-Presently more than 3000 different enzymes have been isolated and classified. The enzymes are classified into six major categories based on the nature of the chemical reaction they catalyze: 1. Oxidoreductases :- Catalyze oxidation or reduction of their substrates. 2. Transferases :- Catalyze group transfer. 3. Hydrolases :- Catalyze bond breakage with the addition of water. 4. Lyases :- Remove groups from their substrates. 5. Isomerases :- Catalyze intramolecular rearrangements. 6. Ligases :- Catalyze the joining of two molecules at the expense of chemical energy. Only a limited number of all the known enzymes are commercially available . More than 75 % of industrial enzymes are hydrolases. Protein-degrading enzymes constitute about 40 % of all enzyme sales. More than fifty commercial industrial enzymes are available and their number is increasing steadily PRODUCTION OF MICROBIAL ENZYMES Enzymes occur in every living cell, hence in all microorganisms. Each single strain of organism produces a large number of enzymes, hydrolyzing, oxidizing or reducing, and metabolic in nature. But the absolute and relative amounts of the various individual enzymes produced vary markedly between species and even between strains of the same species. Hence, it is customary to select strains for the commercial production of specific enzymes which have the capacity for producing highest amounts of the particular enzymes desired. Commercial enzymes are produced from strains of molds, bacteria, and yeasts Up until less than 10 years ago, commercial fungal and bacterial enzymes were produced by surface culture methods. Within the past few years, however, submerged culture methods have come into extensive use. For fungal enzymes, the mold is cultivated on the surface of a solid substrate. Takamine used wheat bran and this has come to be recognized as the most satisfactory basic substrate although other fibrous materials can be employed. Other ingredients may be added, such as nutrient salts, acid or buffer to regulate the pH, soy bean meal or beet cosettes to stimulate enzyme production. In one modification of the bran process, the bran is steamed for sterilization, cooled, inoculated with the mold spores and are then spreaded .Incubation takes place in chambers where the temperature and humidity are controlled within limits by circulated air. It may be stated that instead of trays for incubation, Takamine, as well as other producers, at one time used slowly rotating drums. Generally tray incubation gives more rapid growth and enzyme production. Bacterial enzymes have been and are also produced by the bran process. .Incubation takes place in chambers where the temperature and humidity are controlled within limits by circulated air However, until recently the process originally invented by Boidin and Effront was most extensively employed In this process, the bacteria are cultivated in special culture vessels as a pel licle on the surface of thin layers of liquid medium, the composition of which is adjusted for maximum production of the desired enzyme. Different strains of Bacillus subtilis and different media are employed, depending on whether bacterial amylase or protease is desired. PRODUCTION PROCESS OF INDUSTRIAL ENZYMES USING MICROBES Solid State Fermentation Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is a method used for the production of enzymes. Solid-state fermentation involves the cultivation of microorganisms on a solid substrate, such as grains, rice and wheat bran. This method is an alternative to the production of enzymes in liquid by submerged fermentation. SSF has many advantages over submerged fermentation. These include, high volumetric productivity, relatively high concentration of product, less effluent generated and simple fermentation equipment.. SSF requires moisture to be present on the substrate, for the microorganisms to produce enzymes. As a consequence the water content of the substrate must also be optimized, as a higher or lower presence of water may adversely affect the microbial activity. Water also has implications for the physicochemical properties of the solid substrate. Enzymes of industrial importance have been produced by SSF. Some examples are, proteases, pectinases, glucoamylases andcellulases Microorganisms used for the production of enzymes in S.S.F. A large number of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and fungi produce different groups of enzymes.Selection of a particular strain, however, remains a tedious task, especially when commercially competent enzyme yields are to be achieved. The selection of a suitable strain for the required purpose depends upon a number of factors, in particular upon the nature of the substrate and environmental conditions. Generally, hydrolytic enzymes, e.g. cellulases, xylanases, pectinases, etc. are produced by fungal cultures, since such enzymes are used in nature by fungi for their growth. Trichoderma spp. and Aspergillus spp. have most widely been used for these enzymes. Amylolytic enzymes too are commonly produced by filamentous fungi and the preferred strains belong to the species of Aspergillus and Rhizopus. Although commercial production of amylases is carried out using both fungal and bacterial cultures, bacterial a -amylase is generally preferred for starch liquefaction due to its h igh temperature stability. In order to achieve high productivity with less production cost, apparently, genetically modified strains would hold the key to enzyme production. Substrates used for the production of enzymes in SSF systems Agro-industrial residues are generally considered the best substrates for the SSF processes, and use of SSF for the production of enzymes is no exception to that. A number of such substrates have been employed for the cultivation of microorganisms to produce host of enzymes .Some of the substrates that have been used included sugar cane bagasse, wheat bran, rice bran, maize bran, gram bran, wheat straw, rice straw, rice husk, soyhull, sago hampas, grapevine trimmings dust, saw dust, corncobs, coconut coir pith, banana waste, tea waste, cassava waste, palm oil mill waste, aspen pulp, sugar beet pulp, sweet sorghum pulp, apple pomace, peanut meal, rapeseed cake, coconut oil cake, mustard oil cake, cassava flour, wheat flour, corn flour, steamed rice, steam pre-treated willow, starch, etc.Wheat bran however holds the key, and has most commonly been used, in various processes. The selection of a substrate for enzyme production in a SSF process depends upon several factors, mainly related with cost and availability of the substrate, and thus may involve screening of several agro-industrial residues. In a SSF process, the solid substrate not only supplies the nutrients to the microbial culture growing in it but also serves as an anchorage for the cells. The substrate that provides all the needed nutrients to the microorganisms growing in it should be considered as the ideal substrate. However, some of the nutrients may be available in sub-optimal concentrations, or even absent in the substrates. In such cases, it would become necessary to supplement them externally with these. It has also been a practice to pre-treat (chemically or mechanically) some of the substrates before using in SSF processes (e.g. ligno-cellulose), thereby making them more easily accessible for microbial growth. Design of bioreactor in Solid State Fermentations Over the last decade, there has been a significant improvement in understanding of how to design, operate and scale up SSF bioreactors. The key to these advances has been the application of mathematical modelling techniques to describe various physicochemical and biochemical phenomena within the system . The basic principle of SSF is the à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"solid substrate bedà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ . This bed contains the moist solids and an inter particle voids phase. SSF has been conventionally more applicable for filamentous fungi, which grow on the surface of the particle and penetrate through the inter particle spaces into the depth of the bed. The process in most of the cases is aerobic in nature. The suitable bioreactor design to overcome the heat and mass transfer effects, and easy diffusion and extraction of metabolites has become the topic of hot pursuit. While tray and drum type fermenters have been studied and used since long, much focus has been paid in last f ew years on developing packed bed fermenters as they could provide better process economics and a great deal of handling ease . A tray bioreactor could have unmixed beds without forced aeration of (manually) mixed bed without forced aeration. However, there has been no significant advances in tray design. Packed beds could be unmixed beds with forced aeration and rotating drums could have intermittent agitation without forced aeration, operating on continuous or semi-continuous mode. The bed could be agitated intermittently or continuously with forced aeration. Factors affecting enzyme production in SSF The major factors that affect microbial synthesis of enzymes in a SSF system include: selection of a suitable substrate and microorganism; pre-treatment of the substrate; particle size (inter-particle space and surface area) of the substrate; water content and aw of the substrate; relative humidity; type and size of the inoculum; control of temperature of fermenting matter/removal of metabolic heat; period of cultivation; maintenance of uniformity in the environment of SSF system, and the gaseous atmos-phere, i.e. oxygen consumption rate and carbon dioxide evolution rate. Submerged Fermentation Submerged fermentation is the cultivation of microorganisms in liquid nutrient broth. Industrial enzymes can be produced using this process. This involves growing carefully selected micro organisms (bacteria and fungi) in closed vessels containing a rich broth of nutrients (the fermentation medium) and a high concentration of oxygen. As the microorganisms break down the nutrients, they release the desired enzymes into solution. Due to the development of large-scale fermentation technologies, the production of microbial enzymes accounts for a significant proportion of the biotechnology industry total output. Fermentation takes place in large vessels (fermenter) with volumes of up to 1,000 cubic metres. The fermentation media sterilises nutrients based on renewable raw materials like maize, sugars and soya. Most industrial enzymes are secreted by microorganisms into the fermentation medium in order to break down the carbon and nitrogen sources. Batch-fed and continuous fermentation processes are common. In the batch-fed process, sterilised nutrients are added to the fermenter during the growth of the biomass. In the continuous process, sterilised liquid nutrients are fed into the fermenter at the same flow rate as the fermentation broth leaving the system. This will achieve a steady-state production. Parameters like temperature, pH, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide formation are measured and controlled to optimize the fermentation process. Firstly, in harvesting enzymes from the fermentation medium one must remove insoluble products, e.g. microbial cells. This is normally done by centrifugation. As most industrial enzymes are extracellular (secreted by cells into the external environment), they remain in the fermented broth after the biomass has been removed. The biomass can be recycled as a fertiliser, but first it must be treated with lime to inactivate the microorganisms and stabilise it during storage. The enzymes in the remaining broth are then concentrated by evaporation, membrane filtration or crystallization depending on their intended application. If pure enzyme preparations are required, they are usually isolated by gel or ion exchange chromatography. Certain applications require solid enzyme products, so the crude powder enzymes are made into granules to make them more convenient to use. Sometimes liquid formulations are preferred because they are easier to handle and dose along with other liquid ingredients. Enzymes used in starch conversion to convert glucose into fructose are immobilised, typically on the surfaces of inert granules held in reaction columns or towers. This is carried out to prolong their working life as these enzymes normally go on working for over a year. Advantages of Submerged Technique Measure of process parameters is easier than with solid-state fermentation. Bacterial and yeast cells are evenly distributed throughout the medium. There is a high water content which is ideal for bacteria. Disadvantages: High costs due to the expensive media Large reactors are needed and the behaviour of the organism cannot be predicted There is also a risk of contamination. A TYPICAL LARGE SCALE MICROBIAL ENZYME PRODUCTION PROCESS Recovery of the enzyme It generally depends upon precipitation from an aqueous solution, although some enzymes may be marketed as stabilized solutions. In the bran process, the enzyme is extracted from the koj i (the name given to the mass of material permeated with the mold mycelium) into an aqueous solution by percolation. In the liquid processes, the microbial cells are filtered from the beer. The enzyme may be precipitated by addition of solvents, such as acetone or aliphatic alcohols, to the aqueous enzyme solution, either directly or after concentration by vacuum evaporation at low temperature. The precipitated enzyme may be filtered and dried at low temperature, for example in a vacuum shelf dryer. The dry enzyme powders may be sold as undiluted concentrates on a potency basis or, for most applications, may be diluted to an established standard potency with an acceptable diluent. Some common diluents are salt, sugar, starch, and wheat flour. Most commercial enzymes are quite stable in the dry form, but some require the presence of stabilizers and activators for maximum stability and efficiency in use. In theory, the fermentative production of microbial enzymes is a simple matter, requiring an appropriate organism grown on a medium of optimum composition under optimum conditions. The stocks in trade of microbial enzyme manufacturers are thus the selected cultures, the composition of media, and the cultural conditions, all of which are usually held confidential. In practice, enzyme manufacturers suffer the samedifficulties in fermentation, frequently in even greater degree, as antibiotics producers. Total loss of fermentation batches may result from contamination, culture variation, failure of cultural control, and other like causes. Furthermore, knowledge and careful application of the best methods for recovery and stabilization APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL ENZYMES IN INDUSTRIES Detergents were the first large scale application for microbial enzymes. Bacterial proteinases are still the most important detergent enzymes. Some products have been genetically engineered to be more stable in the hostile environment of washing machines with several different chemicals present. These hostile agents include anionic detergents, oxidising agents and high pH. Amylases are used in detergents to remove starch based stains. Amylases hydrolyse gelatinised starch, which tends to stick on textile fibres and bind other stain components. Cellulases have been part of detergents since early 90s. Cellulase is actually an enzyme complex capable of degrading crystalline cellulose to glucose. In textile washing cellulases remove cellulose microfibrils, which are formed during washing and the use of cotton based cloths. This can be seen as colour brightening and softening of the material. Alkaline cellulases are produced by Bacillus strains and neutral and acidic cellulases by Trichoderma and Humicola fungi. Starch hydrolysis and fructose production The use of starch degrading enzymes was the first large-scale application of microbial enzymes in food industry. Mainly two enzymes carry out conversion of starch to glucose: alpha-amylase cuts rapidly the large alpha-1,4-linked glucose polymers into shorter oligomers in high temperature. This phase is called liquefaction and is carried out by bacterial enzymes. In the next phase called saccharification, glucoamylase hydrolyses the oligomers into glucose. This is done by fungal enzymes, which operate in lower pH and temperature than alpha-amylase. Sometimes additional debranching enzymes like pullulanase are added to improve the glucose yield. Beta-amylase is commercially produced from barley grains and used for the production of the disaccharide maltose. An alternative method to produce fructose is shown in Figure 4. This method is used in Europe and uses sucrose as a starting material. Sucrose is split by invertase into glucose and fructose, fructose separated and crystallized and then the glucose circulated back to the process. Drinks And Brewing Industries Enzymes have many applications in drink industry. The use of chymosin in cheese making to coagulate milk protein was already discussed. Another enzyme used in milk industry is beta-galactosidase or lactase, which splits milk-sugar lactose into glucose and galactose. This process is used for milk products that are consumed by lactose intolerant consumers. Enzymes are used also in fruit juice manufacturing. Fruit cell wall needs to be broken down to improve juice liberation. Pectins are polymeric substances in fruit lamella and cell walls. They are closely related to polysaccharides. The cell wall contains also hemicelluloses and cellulose. Addition of pectinase, xylanase and cellulase improve the liberation of the juice from the pulp. Pectinases and amylases are used in juice clarification. Brewing is an enzymatic process. Malting is a process, which increases the enzyme levels in the grain. In the mashing process the enzymes are liberated and they hydrolyse the starch into soluble fermentable sugars like maltose, which is a glucose disaccharide. Additional enzymes can be used to help the starch hydrolysis (typically alpha-amylases), solve filtration problems caused by beta-glucans present in malt (beta-glucanases), hydrolyse proteins (neutral proteinase), and control haze during maturation, filtration and storage (papain, alpha-amylase and beta-glucanase). Textiles Industries:- The use of enzymes in textile industry is one of the most rapidly growing fields in industrial enzymology. Starch has for a long time been used as a protective glue of fibres in weaving of fabrics. This is called sizing. Enzymes are used to remove the starch in a process called desizing. Amylases are used in this process since they do not harm the textile fibres .The same effect can be obtained with cellulase enzymes. The effect is a result of alternating cycles of desizing and bleaching enzymes and chemicals in washing machines. Laccases are produced by white-rot fungi, which use them to degrade lignin the aromatic polymer found in all plant materials. Laccase is a copper-containing enzyme, which is oxidised by oxygen, and which in an oxidised state can oxidatively degrade many different types of molecules like dye pigments. Pulp And Paper Industry Intensive studies have been carried out during the last twenty years to apply many different enzymes in pulp and paper industry. The major application is the use of xylanases in pulp bleaching. Xylanases liberate lignin fragments by hydrolysing residual xylan. This reduces considerably the need for chlorine based bleaching chemicals. Other minor enzyme applications in pulp production include the use of enzymes to remove fine particles from pulp. This facilitates water removal. In the use of secondary (recycled) cellulose fibre the removal of ink is important. The fibre is diluted to 1% concentration with water, flocculating surfactants and ink solvents added and the mixture is aerated. The ink particles float to the surface. There are reports that this process is facilitated by addition of cellulase enzymes. In paper making enzymes are used especially in modification of starch, which is used as an important additive. Starch improves the strength, stiffness and erasability of paper. The starch suspension must have a certain viscosity, which is achieved by adding amylase enzymes in a controlled process. Pitch is a sticky substance present mainly in softwoods. It is composed of lipids. It is a special problem when mechanical pulps of red pine are used as a raw material. Pitch causes problems in paper machines and can be removed by lipases. This facilitates water removal. In the use of secondary (recycled) cellulose fibre the removal of ink is important in the process Baking Industry :- Similar fibre materials are used in baking than in animal feed. It is therefore conceivable that enzymes also affect the baking process. Alpha-amylases have been most widely studied in connection with improved bread quality and increased shelf life. Both fungal and bacterial amylases are used. Overdosage may lead to sticky dough so the added amount needs to be carefully controlled. One of the motivations to study the effect of enzymes on dough and bread qualities comes from the pressure to reduce other additives. In addition to starch, flour typically contains minor amounts of cellulose, glucans and hemicelluloses like arabinoxylan and arabinogalactan. There is evidence that the use of xylanases decreases the water absorption and thus reduces the amount of added water needed in baking. This leads to more stable dough. Especially xylanases are used in whole meal rye baking and dry crisps common in Scandinavia. Proteinases can be added to improve dough-handling properties; glucose oxidase has been used to replace chemical oxidants and lipases to strengthen gluten, which leads to more stable dough and better bread quality. Various Important Microbial Enzymes Carbohydrases Carbohydrases are enzymes which hydrolyze polysaccharides or oligosaccharides. Several carbohydrases have industrial importance, but the amylases have the greatest commercial application. The various starch-splitting enzymes are known as amylases, the actions of which may be expressed in greatly simplifiedform as follows: The terms liquefying and saccharifying amylases are general classifications denoting the principal types of amylase action. f-Amylase, which is not of microbial origin, is a true saccharifying enzyme, forming maltose directly from starch by cleaving disaccharide units from the open ends of chains. The a-amylases from different sources usually have good liquefying ability, but may vary widely in saccharifying ability and thermal stability. Bacterial amylase preparations generally remain operative at considerably higher temperature than do fungal amylases, and at elevated temperatures give rapid liquefaction of starch. A significant application of the bacterial enzyme is in the continuous process for desizing of textile fabrics Another is in preparing modified starch sizing for textiles and starch coatings for paper High temperature stability is also important in the brewing industry where microbial amylases have found use in supplementing low diastatic malt, and especially for initial liquefaction of adjuncts such as rice and corn grits Additional specific uses for bacterial amylase is in preparing cold water dispersible laundry starches and in removing wall paper. Fungal amylases possess relatively low thermal stability but act rapidly at lower temperatures and produce good saccharification. An enormous potential use for fungal amylase is as a saccharifying agent for grain alcohol fermentation mashes. At least two alcohol plants in this country regularly use fungal amylase for this purpose An extremely important use for fungal amylases isin conversion of partially acid hydrolyzed starch tosweet syrups Amylases find extensive use in baking. Use of fungal amylase by the baker to supplement the diastatic activity of flour is common practice. The fungal amylase has the advantage of low inactivation temperature. This permits use of high levels of the amylase to improve sugar production, which increases gas formation and improves crust color, without danger of excessive dextrinization of the starch during baking Other applications of microbial amylases where both fungal and bacterial enzymes are utilized are in processing cereal products for food dextrin and sugar mixtures and for breakfast foods, for preparation of chocolate and licorice syrups to keep them from congealing, and for recovering sugars from scrap candy of high starch content. Fungal amylases are also used for starch removal for flavoring extracts and for fruit extracts and juices, and in preparing clear, starch-free pectin. Microbial amylases are used for modifying starch in vegetable purees, and in treating vegetables for canning PROTEASES Industrially available proteolytic enzymes produced by microorganisms are usually mixtures of endopeptidases (proteinases) and exopeptidases. In addition to microbial proteases, the plant proteases bromelin, papain, and ficin, and the animal proteases, pepsin and trypsin, have extensive industrial application. Because of the complex structures and high molecular weights of proteins made up of some 20 different amino acids, enzymic proteolysis is extremely complicated. Most proteases are quite specific with regard to which peptide linkages they can split Hence, it is necessary to select the appropriate protease complex or combination of enzymes for specific applications. Usually this can only be determined by trial and error methods. By means of such experimentation, however, many and diverse uses have been found for the various proteases. With proper selection of enzymes, with appropriate conditions of time, temperature, and pH, either limited proteolysis or complete hydrolysis of most proteins to amino acids can be brought about. Microbial proteolytic enzymes from different fungi and bacteria are available. Most fungal proteases will tolerate and act effectively over a wide pH range (about 4 to 8), while with a few exceptions, bacterialproteases generally work best over a narrow range of about pH 7 to 8. Fungal protease has been used for centuries in the orient for the production of soy sauce, tamari sauce, and miso, a breakfast food After maximum enzyme production has taken place, the koji is covered with brine and enzymatic digestion allowed to take place. Limited use is made of this process for making soy sauce in this country also. In these uses, no attempt is made to separate the enzymes from the producing organisms. For most industrial applications, the microbial proteases are extracted from the growth medium as described in an earlier section of this paper. One of the largest uses for fungal protease is in baking bread The proper amount of protease action reduces mixing time and increases extensibility of doughs, and improves grain, texture, and loaf volume. However, excess of protease must be avoided, and the time for enzyme action and quantity of enzyme used must be carefully controlled by the baker or sticky, unmanageable doughs will result. Cereal foods are also treated with proteolytic enzymes to modify their proteins, resulting in better processing

The True Measure of a Man :: Goodness Ethics Morals Essays

The True Measure of a Man Being a good person is something that everyone strives to do. For most, it is a subconscious thing we do. For others being a good person is a way of life, not just a superficial â€Å"look at me and what I do,† but a deep spiritual understanding that everything one does in their daily life is beneficial to others around that person. For starters, one must define the words good and bad. Dictionary.com’s definition of a good person is â€Å"a person who is good to other people.† Its definition for a bad person is â€Å"a person who does harm to others.† Both of these are vague so one must venture into the definitions of the words good and bad. The definition found at www.dictionary.com for the word good is, â€Å"Socially correct, proper, beneficial to others, valid or effectual under the law, characterized by honesty and fairness.† The definition of bad is, â€Å"Not achieving an adequate standard, evil, sinful, unfavorable, having undesirable or negative qualities.† It seems as if the public has determined the meaning of good and bad to be whatever they want it to mean. This paper is going to use good and bad in relation to people; where good is benefiting someone, and bad is hindering someone. In the story of Robin Hood, Robin begins his life as a law abiding citizen. After his father is killed, the sheriff of Nottingham denies him his father’s place as a ranger. He is coerced into killing a deer in front of a large group of lawmen, making him a criminal. From that point in the story Robin becomes a member of the Sherwood men. These men do not just live in Sherwood Forest; they take a toll from anyone who is passing through the forest. All of these men are deemed outlaws by the local sheriff, and his military. By being pronounced as outlaws, it makes them bad people who break the laws. From a different point of view, they might be outlaws but they chose that life because they were breaking unjust laws. They as a group agreed to break any law they thought was unjust and unfair to the people of England, while pledging full allegiance to the king of England. In a public view these people were bad men, but one who came to know then could see them as good men wh o wanted the best for England and all of its people.

Neo-Confucianism Essay -- Chinese Philosophy, Ming

Neo-Confucianism, with a goal of keeping unobscured the inborn luminous Virtue [true goodness] of all men throughout the empire[1] and thus establishing a social harmony, was a complex ethical political system governing the society in late Ming China. Adopting the philosophy as their ideological legitimacy, Choson kingdom and Tokugawa shogunate applied it in different settings due to their structure of government and cultural background. However, they both inherited the main elements of the philosophy: the notion of universal principle encouraging people to behave good, five virtues[2], self-cultivation and five hierarchical relationships of society[3]. By means of traditions, rituals, laws, publications, educational institutions and many more, the philosophy was imbibed in the lives of Choson court and Tokugawa samurai. Yet, as it was in Ming China, the governments of these two realms could not always â€Å"control the interests of its people†[4] and make them adhere to the i deology. Complex situations of life together with the fallibility of human nature making people unable to always lead intellectual, moral and aloof life[5] led to gaps between the philosophy and its experiences. The court of Choson kingdom, where the very state orthodoxy should be practiced in its highest level, was ironically also a haven for its conflicts. Extended royal family lived together in the court and exercised filial piety among each other: devotion between all family members including mourning for deceased ones and visits to the ancestral tombs. Lady Hyegyong, in her memoirs, noted many examples of genuine filial devotion in the royal family; that of King Yongjo himself preparing medicine for his ill stepmother, Queen Dowager Inwon[6], and the sa... ...eeping himself to learning and frugality as Mori Yoshiki did. In order to get what he wanted from others, he even could violate the principle of being true to oneself as he imitated committing hara-kiri. Yet, he then regretted the outcome of his easy life while pondering over in his old age and was also startled with the findings that throughout the history, there were many who acted like him and made mistakes. Human beings are mystery to themselves. Through law, through ideology, one can still be not governed. Neo-Confucianism, with its practical appeal, attracted the governments and was applied. Though, as it claims to be, the philosophy could not be practiced naturally as it should be. Some parts were accepted, some not. People were still free on their own. However, Neo-Confucianism could shape lives of people and contributed its share to human civilization.

Goodisons Absolute Essay example -- essays research papers

Goodison’s Absolute In For My Mother: May I Inherit Half Her Strength, Goodison publicizes the private issue of her parents’ less-than-perfect marriage, and, in turn, unfolds a powerful dialectic on female self-sacrifice and subjectivity. She wonders at the prolonged strength of her mother- a woman who, regardless of being the victim of an unfaithful marriage, neither confronts nor flees her fate. And at the core of Goodison’s poem is her own conflicted decision, as the female product of this union, to define her mother’s attitude as unwavering strength, worthy of reverence, or as passivity, masked by nonchalance. The title of this work illustrates this ambiguity: does the clause â€Å"may I inherit half her strength†, translate into â€Å"may I be permitted - by the same mysterious influence that affected my mother - to remain strong just like her† or â€Å"may I never allow myself to be quite as tolerant as she was.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first stanza, Goodison suggests that the â€Å"absolute,† â€Å"my mother loved my father,† had governed her perspective of her parents’ marriage for twenty-nine years. Its indisputability may have functioned as a motivation for her father’s on-going extra-marital affair(s). But even more explicitly, this absolute implied that despite the pain inflicted by her father, â€Å"whom all women loved†, Goodison’s mother’s love remained unshakably loyal, and that that was somehow all that really mattered. At least, up until Goodison wrote this poem. â€Å"In this my thirtieth year/ the year to discard absolutes† signals Goodison’s revolt against this belief that had relentlessly threatened to break her mother’s â€Å"straight-backed,† fronted dignity and that absolved the indifference of her father’s â€Å"always smile†. The lack of control of Goodison’s writing in the first stanza points to something deeper about her relationship to this absolute. Since absolutes are characteristically irrefutable and deemed factual, I had expected that Goodison’s writing would have illustrated the finiteness of this absolute by sealing it with a full stop. However, here, in the most transparently opinionated stanza of her entire poem, there is no punctuation whatsoever; each distinct thought simply spills into the next, and even farther into the following stanza where her topic diverges. It is difficult to say whether or not Goodison’s omission was deliberate; noneth... ..., â€Å"on her wedding day she wept† and at its setting. She endured â€Å"better† and â€Å"worse† and at last, â€Å"she fell down†¦to the realization that she did not have to be brave, just this once.† Her tears functioned to honor the sacrifices of â€Å"her body†¦ twenty years permanently fat,† of her sewing machine, the emblem of her livelihood, to pay her daughter’s â€Å"Senior Cambridge fees,† but also to purge â€Å"the pain she bore with the eyes of a queen.† Nevertheless, mingled with Goodison’s mother’s sorrows, are tears of love for the husband that betrayed her. For My Mother makes a complete revolution, in that it begins with the acknowledgement and criticism of Goodison’s mother’s love for her mother and ends with the reverence for this kind of love that, a seemingly astonished Goodison, cannot comprehend. Even after giving justifications of why her parents’ marriage was far from ideal, the absolute that she so wanted to discard in the first place looms over her unaffected and, of course, undisputed. In an alpha and omega fashion, this absolute in Goodison’s work proves its place amongst other absolutes as an unfathomable force that refuses to be contested and most assuredly, will not be discarded.

The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations

Research Reports The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations Leaf Van Boven, Thomas Gilovich, and Victoria Husted Medvec The authors examined whether negotiators are prone to an â€Å"illusion of transparency,† or the belief that their private thoughts and feelings are more discernible to their negotiation partners than they actually are. In Study One, negotiators who were trying to conceal their preferences thought that their preferences had â€Å"leaked out† more than they actually did. In Study Two, experienced negotiators who were trying to convey information about some of their preferences overestimated their partners’ ability to discern them. The results of Study Three rule out the possibility that the findings are simply the result of the curse of knowledge, or the projection of one’s own knowledge onto others. Discussion explores how the illusion of transparency might impede negotiators’ success. I most cartoon depictions of negotiators in action (a tiny fraction of the cartoon universe, we admit), negotiators are shown with dialog bubbles depicting their overt comments and thought bubbles revealing their private thoughts. These conventions convey the different levels at which negotiators operate: Some of their wants, wishes, and worries are conveyed to the other side, but some are held back for strategic advantage. Because one task in negotiation is deciding how much information to hold back (Raiffa 1982), Leaf Van Boven is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Campus Box 345, Boulder, Colo. 80309. Email: [email  protected] edu. Thomas Gilovich is a Professor of Psychology at Cornell University, Department of Psychology, Ithaca, N. Y. 15850. Email: [email  protected] edu. Victoria Husted Medvec is the Adeline Barry Davee Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Ill. 60201. Email:[email  protected] orthwestern. edu. 0748-4526/03/0400-0117/0  © 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation Negotiation Journal April 2003 117 it follows that part of the phenomenology of negotiation is monitoring how well one has conveyed what one wants to convey and concealed what one wants to conceal. Do negotiators know how well they have conveyed or concealed their preferences? Typically, negotiators know what they have and have not said, of course, so they may g enerally have a good idea what their partners know about their preferences. But how well calibrated are negotiators’ assessments of what they have conveyed and concealed? We explored one source of potential miscalibration, namely, whether negotiators experience an illusion of transparency, overestimating the extent to which their internal states â€Å"leak out† and are known by others (Gilovich, Savitsky, and Medvec 1998). Most research on the illusion of transparency shows that people overestimate their ability to conceal private information. But there is also evidence that people experience the illusion when trying to convey private information. Individuals who were asked to convey emotions with facial expressions alone overestimated observers’ ability to discern the expressed emotion (Savitsky 1997). Likewise, participants who were videotaped while exposed to humorous material thought they had been more expressive than observers subsequently rated them as being (Barr and Kleck 1995). These findings suggest that, when trying either to conceal or convey information, negotiators may experience an illusion of transparency, overestimating what their partners know about their preferences. Whether they do so is important, because previous research has shown that the likelihood of (optimal) settlement is often contingent on accurate perceptions of what others know about one’s own preferences (Bazerman and Neale 1992; Raiffa 1982; Thompson 1991). We conducted three different studies to examine whether negotiators experience an illusion of transparency in negotiations. Studies One and Three examined whether novice negotiators trying to conceal their preferences tend to overestimate the likelihood that their negotiation partners would be able to identify those preferences. Study Two investigated whether experienced negotiators attempting to communicate some of their preferences also succumb to an illusion of transparency. Study Three was also designed to distinguish the illusion of transparency from the â€Å"curse of knowledge,† or the tendency to project one’s knowledge onto others (Camerer, Loewenstein, and Weber 1989; Keysar and Bly 1995; Keysar, Ginzel, and Bazerman 1995). Specifically, we examined whether observers who are â€Å"cursed† with the same knowledge as the negotiators exhibit the same biases as the negotiators themselves. Study One Method Twenty-four previously unacquainted Cornell University undergraduates participated in pairs in exchange for course credit. Participants learned that 118 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations they would complete a negotiation exercise in which they would each represent the provost at one of two campuses of a multi-campus university system. Because of budget constraints, all of the system’s eight social psychologists needed to be consolidated at the two provosts’ universities. The provosts were to negotiate the distribution of the social psychologists between the two campuses. Participants were informed that some social psychologists were more valuable than others, and that some were more valuable to one campus than the other. These differences were summarized in a report describing the strengths and weaknesses of each psychologist and assigning each a specific number of points. The eight psychologists were among the fifteen most frequently cited in social psychology textbooks (Gordon and Vicarii 1992). To familiarize participants with the psychologist and his or her expertise, each psychologist was depicted on a 2- by 4-inch laminated â€Å"trading card† that displayed a picture of the social psychologist, his or her name, and two of his or her better-known publications. Each negotiator’s most and least valuable psychologists were assigned +5 and –5 points, respectively, and the other psychologists were assigned intermediate values. The experimenter said that all psychologists must be employed at one of the two universities because all were tenured. The most and least valuable psychologists were not the same for the two negotiators; the correlation between how much each of the eight psychologists was worth to the two participants was . 79. Participants were told that they should conceal their report, which was somewhat different from the other participant’s report. Because pilot testing indicated that many participants were unsure how to negotiate, we showed them a five-minute videotape of a staged negotiation in which two confederates bartered over who would get (or be forced to acquire) each psychologist. Confederates were shown trading cards actively back and forth. Participants were given as much time as they needed to negotiate, usually about 30 minutes. They were told that several prizes would be awarded at the end of the academic term (e. g. , a $50 gift certificate to the Cornell book store, dinner for two at a local restaurant) and their chance of winning a prize corresponded to the number of points they earned in the negotiation. We asked participants both early in the negotiation (after approximately five minutes) and at the end to name their partner’s most valuable and least valuable psychologists. At both times, we also asked them to estimate the likelihood (expressed as a percentage) that their partner would correctly identify their most and least valuable psychologists. We pointed out that the probability of correct identification by chance alone was 12. 5 percent. Question order was counterbalanced, with no effect of order in any of our analyses. Negotiation Journal April 2003 119 Results and Discussion Our key analysis was a comparison of participants’ mean estimates to a null value derived from the overall accuracy rate. Participants can be said to exhibit an illusion of transparency if their estimates, on average, are higher than the actual accuracy rate. As predicted, negotiators overestimated their partners’ ability to detect their preferences, but only after the negotiation was complete (see Table One). Early in the negotiation, individuals slightly underestimated (by 2 percent) the likelihood that their partners would correctly identify their most valuable psychologist and slightly overestimated (by 8 percent) the likelihood that their partners would identify their least valuable psychologist. Neither of these differences was statistically reliable. 1 Following the negotiation, participants overestimated the probability that their partners would identify correctly their most and least valuable psychologists by 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Both of these differences were statistically reliable. That is, the probability that negotiators overestimated by pure chance how much their partners knew about their preferences is less than . 05 (the t statistics for these two comparisons are 3. 16 and 3. 30, respectively). Negotiators thus experienced an illusion of transparency at the end of the negotiation, overestimating their partners’ ability to discern their preferences. Table One Negotiators’ estimates of the likelihood that their partners would be able to identify their most and least valuable social psychologists, and the corresponding percentages actually able to do so. Estimated % Early negotiation Most valuable Least valuable Post negotiation Most valuable Least valuable 72%* 76%* 58% 63% 69% 58% 71% 50% Actual % Note: * indicates that the estimated percentage is reliably greater than the corresponding actual percentage, p < . 5 120 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations These findings extend earlier research on the illusion of transparency, showing that negotiators believe their inner thoughts and preferences â€Å"leak out† and are more discernible than they really are. This result was obtained only during the second assessment, but we do not wish to make too much of this finding. First, it is hardly surprising because, at the time of the initial assessment, most groups had yet to engage in much discussion of specific candidates, and thus there was little opportunity for participants’ references to have leaked out. Furthermore, it was only participants’ estimates of the detectibility of their least valuable psychologists that rose predictably (from 58 to 76 percent) from early in the negotiation to the end — an increase that was highly statistically reliable (t = 3. 78). Their estimates of the detectibility of their most valuable psychologists stayed largely the same across the course of the negotiation (from 69 to 72 percent) and it was only a decrease in identification accuracy (from 71 to 58 percent) over time that led to the difference in the magnitude of the illusion of transparency. These subsidiary findings may result from the usual dynamics of the negotiation process: Negotiators typically focus initially on the most important issues, postponing a discussion of less important issues or of what they are willing to give up to obtain what they want until later in the negotiation. This would explain why negotiators felt that they had already leaked information about their most important psychologists early in the negotiation, but that a similar feeling of leakage regarding their least important psychologists took longer to develop. This tendency might also explain why it may have been relatively easy for the negotiators to discern one another’s â€Å"top choices† early in the discussion. It may have been harder to do so later on, after the negotiators discussed all of the psychologists and the various tradeoffs between them. Study Two In Study One, participants experienced an illusion of transparency when they were instructed to conceal their preferences from their partners. In many negotiations outside the laboratory, however, negotiators often attempt to communicate rather than conceal their preferences. In fact, negotiation instructors often advise MBAs and other would-be negotiators to communicate information about their preferences. Do negotiators experience an illusion of transparency when they attempt to communicate rather than conceal their preferences? Past research has shown that people experience an illusion of transparency when trying (nonverbally) to convey thoughts and feelings in settings outside negotiations (Barr and Kleck 1995; Savitsky 1997). We therefore examined whether negotiators attempting to communicate some of their preferences, whose efforts at communication are not limited to nonverbal channels, would likewise experience an illusion of transparency. Negotiation Journal April 2003 121 As part of a classroom exercise, MBA students in negotiation courses completed a complex six-party negotiation simulation (Harborco, a teaching tool available from the Clearinghouse of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, www. pon. org). The course emphasized the importance of negotiators communicating some of their preferences to one another in negotiations. Prior to the Harborco negotiation, students had engaged in numerous other exercises in which their failure to convey information resulted in nonoptimal settlements. To verify that the Harborco negotiators were attempting to communicate information about their preferences, we asked 22 Cornell and Northwestern University MBA students (not included in following study) who had just completed the Harborco negotiation to indicate which strategy they engaged in more: an information-sharing strategy (attempting to communicate their preferences to others), or an information-hiding strategy (attempting to conceal their preferences from others). Everyone indicated that they used the information-sharing strategy more. We hypothesized that the same psychological processes that lead novice negotiators trying to conceal their preferences to experience an illusion of transparency would also lead experienced negotiators trying to communicate at least some of their preferences to experience a similar illusion. We thus predicted that participants would overestimate the number of other negotiators who could correctly identify their preferences. Method Two hundred and forty MBA students at Cornell and Northwestern completed the Harborco simulation, negotiating whether, and under what circumstances, a major new seaport would be built off the coast of a fictional city. There were six parties to the negotiation. The negotiator who represented Harborco (a consortium of investors) was most central. A second negotiator, representing the federal agency that oversees the development of such seaports, had to decide whether to subsidize a $3 billion loan Harborco had requested. The other negotiators represented the state governor, the labor unions from surrounding seaports, the owners of other ports that might be affected by a new seaport, and environmentalists concerned about the impact of a new seaport on the local ecology. The negotiation involved five issues, each with several options of varying importance to the six parties. For each negotiator, points were assigned to each option of each issue. Student performance was evaluated according to the number of points accumulated. For example, the most important issue to the Harborco representative was the approval of the subsidized loan (worth 35 points for approval of the full $3 billion, 29 points for approval of a $2 billion loan, etc. ); the second most important issue was the compensation to other ports for their expected losses due to the new seaport (worth 23 points for no compensation, 15 points for compensation of $150 million, 122 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations etc. ). The Harborco negotiator’s preference order for the five issues was somewhat different from the preference order of the other five negotiators. Participants were given approximately one and a half hours to reach an agreement. They were required to vote on a settlement proposed by the Harborco negotiator at three points during the negotiation: after 20 minutes, after one hour, and at the end. A successful agreement required the approval of at least five negotiators. Any agreement that included the subsidized loan required the approval of the federal agency representative. The Harborco negotiator could veto any proposal. The dependent measures, collected after the first and final rounds of voting, concerned the Harborco negotiator’s estimates of the other negotiators’ identification of his or her preference order. The Harborco negotiators estimated how many of the other five negotiators would identify the rank ordering (to the Harborco negotiator) of each issue — for example, how many would identify the approval of the loan as their most important issue? We made clear that one negotiator would guess the exact importance of each issue by chance alone. Meanwhile, each of the other negotiators estimated the issue that was most important to Harborco, second most important, and so on. Figure One Number able to identify each issue 5 4 3 2 1 0 Predicted Number Actual Number ird co nd rth co nd Th ird th Fo ur h Fi rs Fi rs Fi ft Fi rs Th Se Fo u First Round ISSUE IMPORTANCE Predicted and actual number of negotiators able to identify correctly the importance of each issue to the Harborco negotiator after the first and final rounds of voting. Results and Discussion The dashed lines in Figure One indicate that, as predicted, the Harborco negotiators’ estimate of the number of other negotiators who could identify the rank of each issue was greater than the actual number of negotiators able Negotiation Journal April 2003 123 Se Second Round Fi ft h t t t to do so (as indicated by the solid lines). Following the first round of voting, the Harborco negotiators overestimated the number of their fellow negotiators able to identify the importance — to them — of all mid-range issues. All these differences were statistically reliable (all ts > 2. 0). Negotiators did not overestimate the number of negotiators able to identify their most and least important issues. Following the final round of voting, Harborco representatives overestimated the number of negotiators able to identify their four most important issues. This overestimation was statistically reliable for the four most important issues (all t > 2. 25), and was marginally reliable with a probability level of . 14 for the least important issue (t = 1. 5). These findings replicate and extend those of Study One and of previous research on the illusion of transparency. Experienced negotiators who were attempting to convey (rather than conceal) their preferences to other negotiators tended to overestimate the transparency of those preferences. Study Three We contend that negotiators’ overestimation of their partner’s ability to discern their preferences reflects an egocentric illusion whereby negotiators overestimate the transparency of their internal states. An alternative account is that negotiators experience a â€Å"curse of knowledge,† overestimating the knowability of whatever they themselves know (Camerer et al. 989; Keysar and Bly, 1995; Keysar et al. 1995). Negotiators may thus overestimate the discernibility of their preferences because they cannot undo the knowledge of their own preferences, not because they feel like their preferences â€Å"leaked out. † Studies One and Two provide some evidence against this alternative interpretation because participants did not significantly overestimate their partnersâ€⠄¢ ability to discern their preferences early in the negotiation — when they were â€Å"cursed† with the same knowledge, but had little opportunity for their preferences to leak out. To provide a more rigorous test of this alternative interpretation, Study Three employed a paradigm in which observers were yoked to each individual negotiator. The observers were informed of their counterpart’s preferences and thus were â€Å"cursed† with the same abstract knowledge, but not with the phenomenology of having — and possibly leaking — the negotiators’ preferences. After watching a videotaped negotiation between their yoked counterpart and another negotiator, observers estimated the likelihood that their counterpart’s negotiation partner would identify their counterpart’s preferences. We expected that observers’ estimates would be lower than actual negotiators’ estimates because observers would not have the experience of their preferences â€Å"leaking out. † 124 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations Method Twenty-four previously unacquainted Northwestern University undergraduates participated in pairs in exchange for the opportunity to earn between $4 and $13, based on their performance in the negotiation. Negotiators were taken to separate rooms and given instructions for the negotiation. The negotiation was similar to that used in Study One, except that it involved a buyer-seller framework, with which we felt our participants would be familiar. Participants learned that they would act as a provost of one of two campuses of a large university system. Because of budget cuts, the larger of the two campuses (the â€Å"seller†) needed to eliminate fifteen of its 35 psychology department faculty. Because the fifteen faculty were tenured, they could not be fired, but they could be transferred to the smaller of the two campuses (the â€Å"buyer†), which was trying to acquire faculty. Participants were to negotiate over the fifteen psychologists â€Å"in play†; any faculty not acquired by the buyer would remain at the seller’s campus. Participants were given a report that described each psychologist and his or her associated point value. Some of the psychologists had a positive value to buyers and a negative value to sellers, others had a positive value to both, and still others had a negative value to both. Participants were told that they should not show their confidential reports to the other negotiator. Participants earned 25 cents for every positive point and had to pay 25 cents for every negative point they accumulated. To give buyers and sellers an equal chance to make the same amount of money, we endowed sellers with an initial stake of $10 and buyers with an initial stake of $4. If buyers obtained all nine of the beneficial faculty and none of the four costly faculty (two were worth 0 points) they earned an additional $8, for $12 total. Similarly, if the sellers eliminated all eight costly faculty and retained all five beneficial faculty (two were worth 0 points) they earned $2, for $12 total. If no agreement was reached, sellers retained all faculty, losing $6, and buyers acquired no psychologists, leaving both with $4. As in Study One, we gave participants laminated trading cards with a picture of each psychologist and two of that psychologist’s better-known works on the back. The fifteen faculty members, although in reality all social psychologists, were arbitrarily divided into the three subdisciplines of social, clinical, and human-experimental psychology. We designed the payoffs so that the sychologist within each discipline who the buyer most wanted to obtain was not the psychologist the seller most wanted to eliminate. To encourage participants to obtain or retain psychologists across the three disciplines, sellers were offered an additional two points if they eliminated at least one faculty member from each discipline, and an additional four points if they eliminated at least two from each discipline. Similarly, buyers were offered an additional two points if they acquired at least one faculty Negotiation Journal April 2003 125 member from each discipline, and an additional four points if they acquired at least two from each discipline. Thus, maximum earnings for buyers and sellers were $13 (the $12 earned by accumulating all possible positive points, no negative points, plus the $1 bonus). After negotiators understood their task, they were brought together and given as long as they needed to negotiate a division of the fifteen psychologists, usually about 20 minutes. Afterward, buyers estimated the likelihood (expressed as a percentage) that the seller would correctly identify the psychologists from each subdiscipline who were the most and least important for the buyer to obtain; sellers estimated the likelihood that the buyer would correctly identify the psychologists from each subdiscipline who were the most and least important for the seller to eliminate. Participants were told that the chance accuracy rate was 20% percent. Buyers were also asked to identify the psychologists from each subdiscipline who were the most and least important for the seller to eliminate, and sellers were asked to make analogous judgments about the buyers’ incentive structure. Control Condition. Twelve pairs of previously unacquainted Northwestern undergraduates were paid $6 and â€Å"yoked† to one of the 12 pairs from the negotiation condition — one student matched to the buyer and one to the seller. Participants read the instructions given to t heir yoked counterpart (either the buyer or seller) in the actual negotiation before viewing their counterpart’s videotaped negotiation. Participants then made the same estimates as their counterparts in the negotiation condition, identifying the psychologists from each subdiscipline who were most and least important for their counterpart’s negotiation partner to acquire (or eliminate), and estimating the likelihood that their counterpart’s negotiation partner would be able to guess the psychologists in each subdiscipline who were most and least important for their counterpart to obtain (or eliminate). Results Negotiators. As anticipated, negotiators exhibited an illusion of transparency. As can be see in the left and right columns of Table Two, buyers and sellers overestimated their partners’ ability to identify their most important psychologists by 20 percent — both statistically reliable differences (ts= 3. 58 and 3. 45, respectively). Buyers and sellers also overestimated the likelihood that their partner would be able to identify their least important psychologists by 4 percent and 25 percent, respectively, with only the latter result statistically reliable (t = 4. 34). Control participants. Control participants displayed a â€Å"curse of knowledge,† overestimating the likelihood that their counterpart’s negotiation partner would correctly identify their counterpart’s preferences (compare the center and right columns of Table Two). This was particularly true for 126 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations those yoked to sellers: They reliably overestimated the likelihood that their yoked counterparts’ negotiation partners would identify their counterparts’ most and least important psychologists by 12 percent and 19 percent, respectively (ts = 2. 58 and 4. 9). Control participants who were yoked to buyers, in contrast, did not overestimate the likelihood that their yoked counterparts’ negotiation partners would overestimate their counterparts’ preferences. Table Two Participants’ estimates of the likelihood that their negotiators’ partners were able to identify the negotiat ors’ most and least important psychologists, and the corresponding percentages actually able to do so. Negotiators’ Estimates Control Estimates Actual Accuracy Most Important Buyers Sellers Least Important Buyers Sellers 62% 68%* 56% 63%* 58% 42% 70%* 59%* 53% 51%* 50% 39% Note: * indicates that the estimated percentage is reliably greater than the corresponding actual percentage, p < . 05 More important, in every case the control participants’ estimates (overall M = 56 percent) were lower than the actual negotiators’ estimates (overall M = 64 percent) — a statistically reliable difference (t = 2. 53). Thus, negotiators overestimated the transparency of their preferences more than yoked observers who were â€Å"cursed† with the same knowledge, but did not have the same subjective experience as negotiators themselves. Discussion The results of Study Three indicate that negotiators’ overestimation of their partners’ ability to discern their preferences stems from both a curse of knowledge and an illusion of transparency. Observers who were provided with the same abstract knowledge as the negotiators — those provided with Negotiation Journal April 2003 127 abstract information about sellers’ preferences at any rate — overestimated the likelihood that those preferences would be detected. However, this effect was not as strong as that found for actual negotiators’ estimates. Those participants, possessing more detailed knowledge about how it felt to want to obtain some psychologists and avoid others, apparently thought that some of those feelings had leaked out to their partners because they made significantly higher estimates of the likelihood of detection than the observers did. Negotiators experience an illusion of transparency over and above any curse of knowledge to which they are subject. What Does it All Mean? These three studies provide consistent support for an illusion of transparency in negotiations. Undergraduate students who were instructed to conceal their preferences thought that they had â€Å"tipped their hand† more than they actually had (Studies One and Three). Likewise, business students experienced in negotiation who were attempting to communicate information about some of their preferences overestimated how successfully they had done so (Study Three). These results are not due to an abstract â€Å"curse of knowledge† because observers who were cursed with the same knowledge as the negotiators did not overestimate the detectibility of the negotiators’ preferences to the same extent as the negotiators did (Study Three). The illusion of transparency is thus due to the sense that one’s specific actions and reactions that arise in the give-and-take of negotiation — a blush here, an averted gaze there — are more telling than they actually are. These results complement and extend findings by Vorauer and Claude (1998) who examined participants’ ability to estimate how well others could discern their general approach to a joint problem-solving exercise — i. e. , whether they were most interested in being assertive, being fair, being accommodating, and so on. They found that participants thought their goals would be more readily discerned than they actually were. Their findings, however, appear to reflect a curse of knowledge rather than an illusion of transparency because their participants’ estimates of the detectibility of their own goals were just the same as those made by observers who were simply informed of the participants’ goals. The Vorauer and Claude findings should not be surprising since their participants did not actually engage in face-to-face interaction. Instead, each participant exchanged notes with a â€Å"phantom† other, whose responses were crafted by the experimenters. Without interaction, it is difficult see how an illusory sense of transparency could emerge. Vorauer and Claude’s studies, along with the results of Study Three, suggest that the curse of knowledge can likewise lead to exaggerated estimates of how readily one’s negotiation partner can discern one’s own perspective on the negotiation (Keysar et al. 1995). 128 Van Boven, Gilovich, and Medvec The Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations It is important to note that both the illusion of transparency and the curse of knowledge reflect people’s difficulty in getting beyond their privileged information. In the curse of knowledge, this information is abstract knowledge of one’s beliefs, preferences, or goals; in the illusion of transparency, this information is more detailed, phenomenological knowledge of how one feels or how difficult it was to suppress a particular reaction. At one level, then, it may be fair to characterize the illusion of transparency as a special case of knowledge — more detailed and affect-laden — with which one is cursed. At another level, however, the differences between the two phenomena may be sufficiently pronounced that there is more to be gained by viewing them as distinct. Ultimately, a more complete understanding of the relationship between the curse of knowledge and illusion of transparency must await the outcome of further research. Future research might also further examine the underlying mechanism proposed for the illusion of transparency. Gilovich et al. (1998) attribute the phenomenon to a process much like Tversky and Kahneman’s (1974) anchoring and adjustment heuristic. When attempting to ascertain how apparent their internal states are to others, people are likely to begin the process of judgment from their own subjective experience. Because people know that others are not as privy to their internal states as they are themselves, they adjust from their own perspective to capture others’ perspective. Because such adjustments tend to be insufficient (Tversky and Kahneman 1974; Epley and Gilovich 2001), the net result is a residual effect of one’s own phenomenology, and the feeling that one is more transparent than is actually the case. This account suggests that the illusion of transparency should be particularly pronounced when the internal state being assessed is one that is strongly and clearly felt, such as when negotiating especially important issues. In addition, future research might examine the impact of the illusion of transparency on negotiation processes and outcomes. Thompson (1991) has shown that when negotiators have different priorities, negotiators who provide information about their priorities to their partners fare better than those who do not. The illusion of transparency may lead negotiators to hold back information about their priorities in the mistaken belief that one has conveyed too much information already. By leading negotiators to believe that their own preferences are more apparent than they really are, the illusion of transparency may give rise to the belief that the other side is being less open and cooperative than they are themselves — which may lead each negotiator to hold back even more. The process can thus spiral in the wrong direction toward greater secrecy. Negotiation Journal April 2003 129 It may be advantageous, then, for negotiators to be aware of the illusion of transparency. If negotiators know they tend to conceal less than they think they do, they may open up a bit more and increase their chances of reaching optimal agreements. In other words, knowing that one’s own â€Å"thought bubbles† are invisible to others can lead to more successful negotiations. NOTES This research was supported by Research Grant SBR9319558 from the National Science Foundation. We thank Tina Rackitt her help in collecting data and Dennis Regan for his comments on an earlier draft. 1. Because the data for each pair of negotiators are interdependent, all analyses in this and subsequent studies used the dyad (or group) as the unit of analysis. 2. A t statistic is a measure of how extreme a statistical estimate is. Specifically, a t is the ratio of the difference between a hypothesized value and an observed value, divided by the standard error of the sampled distribution. Consider negotiators’ estimates, following the negotiation, that their negotiation partner had a 72 percent chance of correctly identifying their most valuable psychologist. Because, in actuality, egotiators identified their partners’ most valuable psychologist only 58 percent of the time, the difference between the hypothesized value (58 percent) and the observed value (72 percent) is 14 percent. The standard error, in this case, is the standard deviation of the difference between a negotiators’ predicted likelihood and the actual likelihood (the average squared difference betw een these two scores), divided by the square root of the sample size. In general, t statistics more extreme than 1. 96 are statistically reliable — that is, the probability that the observed difference is due to chance alone is less than . 5. 3. We also asked negotiators to estimate which subdiscipline was most important to their partner, and to estimate the likelihood that their partner would discern correctly their own preference order vis-a-vis the three subdisciplines. During debriefing, however, participants said they found these questions confusing because they did not parse the 15 faculty according to their subdiscipline, but instead focused on the value of each individual faculty. These responses are therefore not discussed further. REFERENCES Barr, C. L. and R. E. Kleck. 1995. 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