Culture and custom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture and custom - Essay Example As far as American traits are regarded in comparison to the German traits, we can find some similarities and some contrasts. All the people living in this world adopt certain habits and characteristics on the basis of social setup of their own land. Americans like Germans also adopt certain features such as they are also fond of eating like Germans, they are also friendly but they are somewhat arrogant on the basis of their standing in this world. In today’s world, America is regarded as the top most nation with maximum opportunities to gain success, therefore, the people also carry this opinion and consider themselves unique due to which, arrogance can be noticed in their routine attitudes. However, all people cannot be categorized as the same. Americans also speak good English but English is their native language and speaking it nicely is their compulsion. Americans and Germans carry some characteristics that are similar such as eating fondness, speaking good English while their good humor and good nature is not considered as their

Human Resources Management. Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Human Resources Management. Diversity - Essay Example Diversity is not only in terms of caste, religion but also in other demographic factors such as age, education, gender etc. Here our focus and main concern is age and gender diversity and we strive to find out to what extent are they beneficial or a source of conflict among the organizations. Previously women were not a major part of the workforce, but now the trends have been changing, more and more women are entering the workforce. Acceptance of women is becoming the norm and myths such as women value family more than careers is also fast eroding. Similarly, young graduates are also entering the workforce thus sometimes replacing and at others working under the more experienced person, a myth about these younger people is that they lack commitment. In Australia the facts suggest the same; the population trends are changing and studies also show that the population is ageing and it is predicted that by 2051 around 25% of Australia's population will be aged 65 year or older; and also the number of women in the workforce has increased from 40% in 1979 to 53% in 2004.1 For companies to prosper and create a positive cultural climate they need to strike a balance between young and mature and also the male and female counterparts in the organization. To manage gender differences firstly, the acceptability levels of the women in workforce should be enhanced, besides policies in the organizations should be supportive of women and in their favor; some steps that are taken and should be taken by the companies is that women should be provided equal opportunity as men, there should be laws against bullying, unlawful harassment, career leave and parental leaves for women in times of dire need. Career development programs like men should also include women to develop and focus themselves on the path to progression and move up the organizational ladder. When managing the age diversity i.e. attaining a balance between younger and mature employees, one major factor is giving and taking respect. It should be realized that younger generation takes the organization forward, by providing new and latest views of changing trends and brings young ideas that are more creative; but on the other hand older employees also have their experiences that are far more important in running the organization and is important in keeping the strong cultural bond developed over the years in the organization intact. Older employees should not be replaced by younger employees but should be provided with opportunity in terms of flexibility to serve the organization as it fits with their changing lifestyle which is a requirement for their old age. Besides, they should also always be available to mentor and share their experiences with their juniors. Some Australian companies were observed to be working on areas such as embedding diversity into key employment policies and programs to advance equitable outcomes for women. They are striving to achieve a 95% agreement rate from their female survey respondents that their immediate supervisor genuinely supports equal opportunity by random sampling. The companies have already. Achieving similar rates of promotion for men and women at all levels. And

Quenn Elizabeth I Essay Example for Free

Quenn Elizabeth I Essay During her time as the queen of England, Elizabeth Tudor had to make many decisions on matters both political and personal, such as new religious policies, whether she would marry, whom she would name her heir and also how much power and privilege to delegate to her parliament. The House of Commons and the House of Lords made up Elizabeth’s parliament; the Commons consisted of citizens elected by their constituency, and in the Lords there were around 100 hereditary peers and bishops. At the time, the reigning monarch got a lot more input as to what laws could be passed, and so when decisions had to be made Elizabeth was often very involved in the process. However, this occasionally led to disputes between her and her parliament, as they did not always agree on every matter. Overall, most of the disputes between the queen and her parliament were easily solved – mostly, when such an issue occurred, the queen exercised her prerogative powers to overrule the parliament, and through various methods such as banning topics of discussion, arresting any opposition and occasionally using her power of veto, she prevented any major parliamentary disagreements throughout her reign. In reality, she exercised her power of veto only a few times, and this shows that for the most part she managed to get her parliament to cooperate with her during her reign. When Elizabeth first came to the throne in 1558 she was faced with the difficult task of establishing a new common religion in a country fraught with religious tensions. The first parliament called under Elizabeth convened on 25th January 1559, and its chief business was forming the new religious settlement. The general hatred of the burning of heretics under Mary, the rapid return of exiled Protestants to England, and Elizabeth’s known Protestant sympathies were all factors that led to a distinctly Protestant House of Commons. The Reformation Bill that was drafted by the Commons was recognisably biased against Catholicism; it defined the Communion in terms of Protestant theology (disagreeing with the transubstantiation of the Catholic mass), ordered that ministers should not wear vestments, banned images from churches and included abuse of the Pope in the litany. Naturally, this was met with much resistance in the House of Lords, as there were many Marian Catholic bishops who opposed the anti-Catholic ideas. The Lords reworked much of the Bill, bringing back allowances for the belief in transubstantiation, the wearing of vestments and also refusing to give Elizabeth the title of Supreme Head of the Church. Elizabeth managed to move past the issues between the Commons and the Lords, opting to let the Catholic Lords keep many of their amendments in the Bill. Although she was known to be Protestant, she felt less strongly than many of the members in the Commons that Catholicism should be dealt with harshly. The historian Sir John Neale believes that a so-called ‘Puritan Choir’ worked to make the reforms more radically Protestant, but MPs forced Elizabeth to accept a more radical religious settlement than she wanted. However this is generally disputed nowadays; the queen’s priority was finding a compromise between the two factions and establishing a stable religion in her country. She knew she would have to compromise with the Catholic bishops and take some of their demands into account in order to avoid angering the Catholics throughout the country. However, despite her lenience towards Catholicism in the Bill, she went on to replace many of the Catholic bishops in the House of Lords, showing them that although she let them amend the settlement, she had the ultimate power and could use it to overcome any opposition. The next time Elizabeth called parliament to session, several Privy councillors and bishops (led by Thomas Norton) tried to bring about further reforms in the Church. However, these attempts failed when Elizabeth effectively banned the topic of religion; she never allowed parliament to interfere with her ecclesiastical privileges. In 1571, William Strickland called for Elizabeth to make amendments to the Prayer Book – she had him arrested, showing once and for all that decisions regarding religion were her responsibility and nobody else’s. Therefore, Elizabeth effectively made sure that parliament would cooperate with her over matters of religion. She made allowances during the first session of 1559 since drawing up a new Bill required input from both Protestant and Catholics in order to create a religion that would satisfy most of England. However, once this was established, Elizabeth used her powers to ensure that there were no further issues regarding religion; she did so effectively, and despite a few small problems such as Strickland’s arrest in 1571, the parliament understood that she did not want religion discussed, and for the most part they did cooperate with her desires on this matter. Another issue that challenged the parliament’s ability to cooperate with Elizabeth was t hat of marriage and succession. In the parliaments of 1563 and 1566, the parliament urged the queen to marry, and later on in the sessions of 1572 and 1586 the queen was pressed to name a successor. In 1562, Elizabeth almost died after a bout of smallpox, being unmarried and childless, this made her subjects worry about the situation they would be left in if she did not survive; facing a potential war over who would succeed to the throne. Not long after, in the parliamentary session of 1563, the Commons drew up an official petition, asking Elizabeth to choose a suitor to marry and name a successor her response was to tell them it was none of their business. However, she was up against a large group of influential opposition; the committee that drafted the petition included all eight Privy Councillors sitting in the Commons. This meant that she couldn’t go to her Council for advice as to how to respond – instead she had to rely on her own strength of mind and character to show the Commons that she did not approve of their pressuring her to make decisions. Elizabeth had established herself as a capable queen from the start of her reign, and the main way she avoided being influenced on the matters of marriage and succession was her strong-mindedness and her ability to command her parliament. When it came to the topic of marriage, she was quoted as having said ‘I would rather be a beggar and single, than a queen and married’ – making several such statements during her time as queen, she had made it clear by the latter years of her reign that she would not marry. Whether she planned from the start to remain single, or whether this was the approach she adopted once she had grown too old, she always remained adamant that she would not let her parliament influence her. However, throughout her reign, MPs and members of her Council continued to try, and so marriage was one issue that they were clearly more reluctant to cooperate on, despite Elizabeth’s ability to control how far they took their disagreements. When it came to the issue of succession, once again the parliament wouldn’t cooperate as much as it would on other issues, for example that of religion. From the first parliamentary session, Elizabeth was asked to name a successor, and it was a constant source of tension in the parliament when she refused to do so. Mary Queen of Scots, the next legitimate heir to the throne, married to the French king, and a Catholic, was seen as a threat to Elizabeth’s security, and Elizabeth was always faced with pressure from her parliament to do something about this. In 1572, the parliament tries to have Mary excluded from the succession, accusing her of treason as an excuse. However, Elizabeth refused to sign any bill accusing Mary of treason, thus meaning she would not be ruled out of the succession, and so in 1586 the parliament took this one step further, demanding Mary’s execution. Although Mary was a potential threat to Elizabeth’s throne, Elizabeth respected her as her cousin and as the monarch of Scotland, and so parliament was prorogued for several months while Elizabeth tried to get out of signing her death warrant. However, this is one of the few cases where parliaments refusal to cooperate with Elizabeth’s wishes led to the queen being influenced, and eventually she signed a bill calling for Mary’s execution. This caused many issues between the queen and parliament, as she clearly regretted being influenced by the parliamentary pressure, trying to distance herself from the incident afterwards and using several men, such as the Scottish diplomat William Davison, as scapegoats for the event. It is clear to see that the issues of marriage and succession were not ones that Elizabeth’s parliament wanted to cooperate on – they felt strongly that, should Elizabeth die, she should not leave them without an established successor, and they were willing to defy the queen’s wishes in order to push her on these issues. As a result of this refusal to cooperate, the queen lost her willpower – one of only a few times in her reign. Therefore marriage and succession are significant issues faced by Elizabeth and the parliament where they could not agree on what to do. All members of parliament were entitled to their parliamentary privileges; mainly freedom of speech and freedom from arrest. However, for some MPs this was not enough, and at times during Elizabeth’s reign certain members of parliament tried to increase their privileges, clearly acting against the queen’s wishes. For example, in 1576, Peter Wentworth of the House of Commons made a speech publicly saying that the queen should not be allowed to dictate conversation topics. During Elizabeth’s reign she did exercise her royal prerogative and her power as monarch to forbid certain topics she didn’t want discussed behind her back, such as religion – and as a result the parliamentary privilege of freedom of speech was reduced during her reign. Wentworth demanded that all MPs should be able to use their privilege of freedom of speech. This seems like an example of parliament refusing to cooperate once more with Elizabeth, however Wentworth was only one man, making such statements unsupported by most of parliament. Despite their occasional disagreements, parliament and Elizabeth were on the same side and so by standing up and speaking against the queen, Wentworth had effectively made a speech against his fellow parliamentarians as well. John Neale believes that Wentworth made his speech on behalf of the ‘Puritan Choir’, in support of a large portion of the Commons – however the Revisionist theory sees Wentworth as a rogue radical, an exception amongst the MPs. The events that followed suggest that the Revisionist theory is correct in this case; shortly following this speech, the House of Commons had Wentworth arrested and put in the Tower, thereby proving his point that certain topics could not be discussed without the threat of arrest. However, in arresting Wentworth, the Commons were effectively acknowledging their reduction in freedom of speech and supporting the queen nonetheless, proving that at times parliament could cooperate with Elizabeth very well indeed. Towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign, an issue came about between the queen and parliament that became known as the ‘monopolies crisis’ – monopolies were a form of patronage granted to courtiers by Elizabeth, favoured by the queen because they cost her nothing and bought her support from people at court. However, monopolies over basic commodities (such as giving a courtier exclusive control over the salt trade) led prices to rocket and lined the courtier’s pocket at the expense of the whole country. As a result, monopolies were disliked greatly by members of parliament. Privy Council members benefitted too much from monopolies to support the MPs, however, and Robert Cecil’s resultant refusal to sympathise with parliament made the disagreement worse, until any subsidies requested by the government were unlikely to be supported by the Commons due to the tension. At this point, Elizabeth saw how much conflict was caused by the continuance of the giving of monopolies, and had to step in. She conceded to the Speaker’s request for her to suspend some monopolies, and the Commons were immediately satisfied. This movement signified the start of Elizabeth’s decline in power and status towards the end of her reign. Although she remained the same powerful queen that she had been in her earlier years, respected by her subjects and capable of handling situations, her willpower had seemingly declined and rather than fight a further battle with the Commons she decided to give them what they wanted. In 1601, the queen made ‘The Golden Speech’, where she significantly reduced the number of monopolies amongst the courtiers. Although her message showed that she was conceding to the demands of parliament, she made the speech so well that this U-turn in her policies was as dignified as it could have been. Despite the Commons pressuring her into reducing monopolies, the queen remained respected in her defeat. However, this was another example of an issue over which parliament didn’t manage to cooperate well with the queen. To conclude; there were several different issues throughout Elizabeth’s reign that led to disputes between her and parliament, and each time the two sides tackled the problems with varying levels of cooperation. The debate over parliamentary privileges is an example where the majority of the parliament in fact agreed with the queen, and the lack of cooperation in fact came from only a few individual members, for example Wentworth. The parliament also cooperated fairly well with Elizabeth on the matter of religion, as in 1559 they managed to draw up the new Religious Settlement having reached a fair compromise. The slight lack of cooperation experienced in further years, when members of parliament tried to bring up the topic of religion against the queen’s will (for example in the session of 1584-1585), again came from individual MPs, such as Strickland, rather than from parliament as a whole. The two examples where cooperation between Elizabeth and parliament was lacking are in the case of deciding whom Elizabeth should marry and name her heir, and also what to do about the issue of monopolies. In one instance – that of the debate over marriage and succession – Elizabeth remained strong and would not let the parliament pressure her into doing anything she didn’t want to. She remained in control throughout the decision making process, however it was an issue that continued to arise throughout her reign, in 1563, 1566 and 1586. The fact that the topic was raised by parliament so frequently shows that it was a matter on which they were never willing to cooperate. When it comes to the issue of monopolies, parliament only considered this a problem in the final session of 1601, and the queen conceded soon afterwards. Therefore we cannot tell if this was an issue on which the parliament would eventually have managed to compromise. Overall, parliament did manage to mostly cooperate with Elizabeth I throughout her reign. There were a couple of times when individual MPs stood up against the queen, but in every instance she managed to quash the opposition using her prerogative powers and strong willpower. Although the issue of marriage and succession seems like it was raised many times throughout her reign, it is worth remembering that in her 44 years as queen Elizabeth only summoned parliament 13 times, and so the parliament did not have many chances to disagree with the queen, let alone fall into serious disagreements. Therefore, despite the lack of cooperation over a few issues such as marriage, succession and monopolies, overall the queen managed to maintain control over both parliament and the amount of power the MPs held and as a result the two sides were mostly able to cooperate throughout her reign.

Are Eyewitness Identifications Reliable?

Are Eyewitness Identifications Reliable? Eyewitness identifications during identification procedures such as show ups, live line ups and photo line ups are reliable to an extent in the forensic discipline, but are mostly fallible when assisting police with their enquiries regarding suspects and offenders, due to the fact that the reliability is dependent on a variety of factors relating to the memory of the witness and situational context of the crime. There are three types of memories: sensory memory, (â€Å"very short duration for which sense-based information is held post exposure† (Lecture (2015)), short – term memory (â€Å"information that can be stored for approximately thirty second without rehearsal† (Lecture (2015)) and long-term memory (â€Å"the unlimited amount of information that can be stored over a lifetime of rehearsal† (Lecture (2015)). The computer memory model refers to the factors relating to the input of information, the passage of time for which the information is stored an d output of eyewitness information through different types of questioning. The input aspect of the computer memory model can be separated into witness and situation categories which include factors such as stress and age. Stress is a crucial factor when determining the reliability of eyewitness identification as it can diminish the accuracy of the memory and is largely dependent on whether the victim or witness has experienced a violent crime such as an armed robbery or aggravated assault. Research studies have been conducted in the area of stress/arousal, concluding that there is a correlation between high anxiety exposure and errors associated with eyewitness memory. Coinciding with this research finding is the correlation between trait anxiety and a significantly lower frequency in errors associated with eyewitness memory. A research study was conducted by the University of London, investigating the effects of high state anxiety on the participant’s abilities to identify and describe the antagonist from a horror labyrinth present in a line up. This was sparked due to the fact that 215 individuals were acquitted after being falsely imprisoned in the United State of America following the re-opening of cases using DNA from the crime scenes(Valentine and Mesout, (2009), page 151). This â€Å"mistaken eyewitness identification was a cause of the miscarriage of justice, of 75% of these cases† (Valentine and Mesout, (2009), page 151). The study consisted of two sample groups; the first sample group consisted of 20 employees from a retail store whose participation helped legitimize the state anxiety inventory. Each employee’s standard heart rate was monitored and recorded during a brisk seven minute walk prior to entering the labyrinth, once entered the participants encountered a frighteni ng individual before continuing on with the exhibit and completing the state anxiety inventory questionnaire forty five minutes later. This sample proved that there was an increase in heart rate which was caused by psychological arousal when entering the London Dungeon. The eyewitness study group consisted of 56 participants and also encountered the scary person in the labyrinth; similarly they completed the state anxiety questionnaire forty five minutes later and a trait anxiety questionnaire followed by a â€Å"written free call description of the scary person† and a â€Å"cue recall† before rating their confidence after completing an impartial photo line-up consisting of nine individuals. The results of the research study concluded that â€Å"participants who reported lower state anxiety recalled more correct descriptors† (Valentine and Mesout, 2009, page 157), which would obviously indicate that â€Å"people who reported higher state anxiety recalled fewer correct details† (Valentine and Mesout,2009, page 157) of the antagonist. Furthermore, â€Å"participants who reported high state anxiety were less likely to correctly identify the [scary person]† (Valentine and Mesout, 2009, page 158), which is statistically shown as â€Å"only 17% of eyewitness[es] correctly identified the person from a nine-person culprit-present photograph line-up† (Valentine and Mesout, 2009, page 159). Additionally, there is a link between sex and state anxiety suggesting that male eyewitnesses are more accurate in their identification in comparison to their female counter-parts, which could be due to the fact the females experienced higher anxiety levels than males in London Dungeon (Valentine and Mesout, 2009, page 158, 159). However, regardless of the different results between sexes and state anxiety, overall the results clearly indicate that psychological arousal experienced during exposure to high stress situations for both genders, si gnificantly affects the ability of eyewitnesses to recall information and recognize culprits during identification procedures, which diminishes their reliability. Similarly, a field study was also conducted during U.S Army survival school training, which was imperative for gaining optimal research results rather than research studies conducted in laboratories. The investigation was conducted on â€Å"five hundred and nine†¦ active –personnel enrolled in military survival school training† (Morgan et al., 2004, page 3). The participants were separated into four different studies, each focusing on a specific identification procedure when attempting to recognize instructors during simulated high and low stress interrogations during the prisoner of war camp phase of training. Of the 228 participants in the first study group which focused on the live line-up method of identification, 188 participants were interrogated by two instructors while 40 participants were interrogated by one instructor (Morgan et al., 2004). The second study group consisted of 114 subjects which focused on the photo line-up method of identification (Morgan et al., 2004). The third group comprised of 167 participants who focused on the photo line-up method while under high stress and lastly the fourth group focused on the photo line-up identification method while under low stress (Morgan et al., 2004). Following the interrogations and according to the identification method their study group focused on, each participant was required to identify the instructors present in the questioning. The results confirmed the general point of view that by exposing individuals to high stress situations, the subject’s ability to recognize the target person was impaired due to the overwhelming influx of emotions the participant experienced at the time. The data collated suggests that the criminal justice system would benefit substantially in reducing the number of cases of innocently imprisoned individuals, if law enforcement agencies shifted their attention towards the sequential method of eyewitness identification. Statistics indicate that th e sequential photo method is considerably accurate than the live line-up and photo –spread method (Morgan et al., 2004). This is due to that fact that study group 3 and 4 scored the lowest in high stress situations; â€Å"49%†(Morgan et al., 2004, page 8) in their ability to â€Å"correctly identified their interrogator† (Morgan et al., 2004, page 7) , â€Å"100%†(Morgan et al., 2004, page 8 ) in their ability to â€Å"correctly identified that their interrogator was not present in the †¦ sequential presentation of photos† (Morgan et al., 2004, page 7), and recorded fewer errors â€Å"(51%)†(Morgan et al., 2004) in their ability to â€Å"not pick their true interrogator â€Å"(Morgan et al., 2004, page 7), in comparison to study group 1 and 2, who were focusing on alternative identification methods. Furthermore, evidence suggests that eyewitness identifications can be increasingly reliable during high stress situations with the aid of cued photographs (49%)(Morgan et al., 2004, page 9) than without (â€Å"66%†)(Morgan et al., 2004, page 9 ). Nevertheless, regardless of different identification procedures, the reliability of eyewitnesses to recall and recognize the target person under high anxiety is steadily lower compared to low anxiety situations. Like stress, the ability of eyewitnesses to correctly identify the target person during procedures of recognition, is dependent on the age of the witness therefore only reliable to an extent. Most research studies conducted conclude with findings indicating that the ability to accurately identify the culprit is higher among teenagers and young adults, in comparison to middle aged and older adults, as the common conception is that with age comes reduced facial recognition due to impaired memory. However, most of these research studies include young assailants therefore failing to recognise that eyewitness identifications of older adults are reliable to an extent, if the trigger person is of the same age. A research study group conducted two experiments in London, experiment 1 consisted of â€Å"113† [random]†¦Caucasian male† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645) participants, who were inexperienced in identification procedures and were selected from either their â€Å"workplace leisure area or around the university† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645). The subjects were then divided in two sample groups depending on their age, â€Å"between 18 and 25† or†¦ 35 and 55 years old† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645). Both sample groups comprised of approximately half young adults and half middle aged adults, and were assigned to either a â€Å"1-day or [a] â€Å"1-week condition† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645). Participants were required to independently view four videos for which â€Å"two showed a car being stolen [(by one young culprit in the first video and one adult culprit in the second video)] and two showed a television being stolen [(by one young culprit and one adult culprit)]† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645). Volunteers were then required to accurately identify the trigger person in a culprit present photo line-up consisting of â€Å"six fillers and one culprit† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 645), a day or week later. Results collated indicate that middle aged adults assigned to the one day condition find it notably difficult in identifying young offenders, scoring only 24% in the ability to positively identify the younger culprit (Wright Stroud, 2002). Results continued to decline for middle aged adults assigned to the one week condition as they were only 20% accurate in positively identifying the younger culprit in comparison to younger adults, scoring 47% in their accuracy after one day and 29% after one week (Wright Stroud, 2002). However, results indicate that although middle aged adults struggled to accurately identify the young assailant in the one day condition, their ability to positively identify there same age culprit scored 47% in accuracy. Experiment 2 was conducted similarly, although it explored if age biases were present during culprit absent photo line-ups. The study consisted of an additional â€Å"180† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 649) subjects which were divided again into two separate age groups ranging from â€Å"18 and 33 or between 40 and 55 years old† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 649). Researchers also removed the one week condition from the experiment as â€Å"effect size was largest for the 1-day delay† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 649) in the first experiment. Participants viewed the four crime videos again and were then required to accurately identify the trigger person in a culprit present or culprit absent photo line-up. Among both age groups, the accuracy of subjects increased by 10% when the assailant and filler were of the same age of the participant’s during the culprit present line-up (Wright Stroud, 2002) , which was also evident in first experiment. However, during culprit absent photo line-up, the statistics indicated that â€Å"own age biases† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 652) exist only with culprit present photo line-ups due to the fact that middle aged adults won’t â€Å"be more likely than younger participants to identify an innocent young suspect, but they will be more likely to fail to identify a guilty young culprit† (Wright Stroud, 2002, page 652). Similarly, a research study was conducted with broader younger and older age groups, ranging from â€Å"16-33 years and †¦ 60- 82 year[s] [old]† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 44). The study consisted of â€Å"172† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 44) volunteers for which younger participants were selected from their respective â€Å"local colleges† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 44) ,while older participants were selected based on their reply to local flyers in â€Å"local centres, clubs, and societies† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 44). Participants were required to participate in a â€Å"face-source recollection task† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 45) prior to watching two videos for which there was a young offender or older offender engaging in a criminal activity. Subjects were then â€Å"assigned to the delay or immediate test condition [session]† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 46) and took part in â€Å"two line-ups with the perpetrator [either] present or †¦.absent† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 46). They were then subsequently made to repeat the facial recollection task for which participants needed to identify â€Å"old (seen in session 1) or new (not seen in session 1)† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 46) faces. The median statistics of younger versus older adults indicate the same results as of experiment 1 and 2 of the previous article, that overall, younger participants were able to correctly identify the culprit (â€Å".86†) (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 46) regardless of time delay in comparison to older participants (â€Å".49†) (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003,page 46). However, the most notably important relationship of the statistics, is the correlation between the accurate recognition of culprits among both age groups and the â€Å"measure of source recollection derived from a separate face-recognition task† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 43). Results reveal that older adults recorded noticeably poorer on the task thus indicating that â€Å"source-recollection deficits are partially responsible for age-related differences in performance of the line-up task† (Memon, Bartlett, Rose Gray, 2003, page 43). Mistaken identification by eyewitnesses during show up, live line-up and photo line-up procedures, contribute significantly to the number of unjustly imprisoned individuals, some of which (340) have already been executed. Almost all research studies conclude with contradictory evidence to one another however there are clear patterns among results of factors, which influence the reliability of eyewitness recall and recognition. The situational factor of witness stress/psychological arousal, determines the extent for which eyewitness recall are dependable on during testimonies. Exposure to high stress situations, increase state anxiety, which diminishes the dependability of eyewitness memory recall across both genders. Variables such as gender differences also indicate that women in comparison to men are less accurate in their ability to identify and describe the trigger person. However, the assistance of cued photographs during sequential photo method identification procedures, have p roven to increase accuracy of descriptors and facial recognition of the perpetrator, which if implemented across the criminal justice system, would increase the reliability of eyewitness identifications along with reducing the number of innocently imprisoned citizens. Strict guidelines for unbiased questioning during eyewitnesses interviews, would also reduce suggestibility and implanted false memories. The most contradictory research evidence stems from the accuracy of younger and older eyewitnesses. Although studies generally show that younger adults are more accurate in either identifying or describing culprits, these studies fail to recognise that to an extent, that younger adults are only higher in their accuracy rates, due to the fact that young culprits are mostly used across all studies. Eyewitness reliability in terms of age was dependant on a variety of factors. Firstly, experiments conducted have shown that there is a correlation between higher accuracy results of older adults and their ability to identify same age (older) culprits in target present line-ups. Secondly, time also played a crucial factor as accuracy of both age groups were dependant on short or long delays in recognition, with older participants decreasing in accuracy with increasing time. However overall, younger participants were slightly more accurate regardless of age difference and time delay. This wou ld indicate that immediate questioning and identification procedures would increase the accuracy of identifications for older eyewitnesses. By Mathew Franczak References Wright, D., Stroud, J. (2002). Age differences in lineup identification accuracy: People are better with their own age. Law And Human Behavior, 26(6), 641-654. doi:10.1023/a:1020981501383 Valentine, T., Mesout, J. (2009). Eyewitness identification under stress in the London Dungeon. Appl. Cognit. Psychol., 23(2), 151. doi:10.1002/acp.1463 Morgan, C., Hazlett, G., Doran, A., Garrett, S., Hoyt, G., Thomas, P. et al. (2004). Accuracy of eyewitness memory for persons encountered during exposure to highly intense stress. International Journal Of Law And Psychiatry, 27(3), 265-279. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.03.004 Memon, A., Bartlett, J., Rose, R., Gray, C. (2003). The Aging Eyewitness: Effects of Age on Face, Delay, and Source-Memory Ability. The Journals Of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 58(6), P338-P345. doi:10.1093/geronb/58.6.p338 The Mitochondria: Structure, Functions and Reactions The Mitochondria: Structure, Functions and Reactions Mitochondria are rod-shaped structures that are enclosed within two membranes the outer membrane and the inner membrane. The membranes are made up of phospholipids and proteins. The space in between the two membranes is called the inter-membrane space. The structure of the various components of mitochondria are as follows: The outer membrane is a relatively simple phospholipid bilayer, containing protein structures called porins. Ions, nutrient molecules, ATP, ADP, etc. can pass through the outer membrane with ease. The inner membrane is freely permeable only to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water. Its structure is highly complex, including all of the complexes of the electron transport system, the ATP synthetase complex, and transport proteins. There are folds present which are organized into lamillae (layers), called the cristae. The cristae greatly increase the total surface area of the inner membrane which makes room for many more of the above-named structures than if the inner me mbrane were shaped like the outer membrane. The membranes create two compartments. The intermembrane space is the region between the inner and outer membranes. It has an important role in the primary function of mitochondria, which is oxidative phosphorylation. The matrix is a complex mixture of enzymes that are important for the synthesis of ATP molecules, special mitochondrial ribosomes, tRNAs and the mitochondrial DNA. Besides these, it has oxygen, carbon dioxide and other recyclable intermediates. In glycolysis, what type of reactions do hexokinase and phosphofructokinase catalyze? In general, what is the importance of these reactions or in other words what makes them unique in the glycolysis pathway? The first step in glycolysis is phosphorylation of glucose by a family of enzymes called hexokinases to form glucose 6-phosphate (G6P). This reaction consumes ATP, but it acts to keep the glucose concentration low, promoting continuous transport of glucose into the cell through the plasma membrane transporters. In addition, it blocks the glucose from leaking out because the cell lacks transporters for G6P. Phosphofructokinase (PFK) is a glycolytic enzyme that catalyzes the irreversible transfer of a phosphate from ATP to fructose-6-phosphate. Because this reaction is irreversible, PFK is the key regulatory enzyme for glycolysis. When ATP levels are high in the cell, the cell no longer needs metabolic energy production to occur. In this case, PFKs activity is inhibited by allosteric regulation by ATP itself, closing the valve on the flow of carbohydrates through glycolysis. In general, how are fats and proteins utilized during cellular metabolism? Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen , and sometimes other atoms. They form the cellular structural elements, are biochemical catalysts, and are important regulators of gene expression . Digestion breaks protein down to amino acids. If amino acids are in excess of the bodys biological requirements, they are metabolized to glycogen or fat and subsequently used for energy metabolism. If amino acids are to be used for energy their carbon skeletons are converted to acetyl CoA, which enters the Krebs cycle for oxidation, producing ATP. The final products of protein catabolism include carbon dioxide, water, ATP, urea, and ammonia. What two molecules combine in the TCA cycle to form Citrate? Where did each precursor molecule come from? The Citric Acid cycle begins with acetyl-CoA transferring its two-carbon acetyl group to the four-carbon acceptor compound called oxaloacetate to form a six-carbon compound called citrate. Acetly-CoA is created when from the reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase. Oxaloacetate is created from a combination of pyruvate carboxylase and Malate dehydrogenase. Would you expect to find the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in an anaerobic bacterium? Explain why or why not and explain what task this complex performs. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is a complex of three enzymes that transform pyruvate into acetyl-CoA by a process called pyruvate decarboxylation which involves the oxidation of pyruvate. Since anaerobic bacterium only exists in oxygen-free environments you would not expect them to contain this complex. What are high energy electrons and what is represented by an oxidation-reduction potential? Using this knowledge briefly explain the importance of Figure 5.14 and the role of the high energy electrons carried by NADH and FADH2 in the creation of ATP. Why are the electron transport chain complexes referred to as proton pumps? Electron transport chains are biochemical reactions that produce ATP. ATP is made by an enzyme called ATP synthase. ATP synthase is powered by a transmembrane proton gradient, which conduct protons from high to low concentration across the membrane. In essence working to pump protons through a proton channel which temporarily opens in the inner membrane How are NADH and FADH2 different when it comes to interacting with the ETC? NADH+H+ arrives from Stage II of carbohydrate metabolism or Stage III (TCA cycle) to the ETC and immediately oxidizes to NAD+ with its protons (hydrogen ions) going into the matrix and its electrons (e-) going to cytochrome complex 1. As the electrons arrive on cyctrochrome complex 1 the complex immediately goes through redox (reduction and oxidation). This reaction creates a proton pump within the cytochrome, pumping some protons from the matrix through the cytochrome into the intermembrane space. The electrons now transfer to mobile carrier Q and NAD+ returns to its original source. FADH2 arrives from the TCA cycle to the ETC and goes directly to cytochrome mobile carrier Q. FADH2 oxidizes to FAD with its protons going into the matrix and its electrons going to mobile carrier Q. Mobile carrier Q shuttles the electrons from FADH2 (and from cytochrome 1) to cytochrome complex 2. The electrons are transferred to cytochrome complex 2 and it immediately goes through redox (reduction and oxidation). This creates a proton pump, pumping protons from the matrix through cytochrome complex 2 directly into the intermembrane space of the mitochondrion. FAD returns to the TCA cycle. What does the proton-motive force represent (you dont need to explain the formula)? A proton-motive force represents the energy that is generated by the transfer of protons or electrons across an energy-transducing membrane. Describe the structure of ATP synthase and the binding change hypothesis of mitochondrial ATP production. ATP synthase is made up of two portions, F1 and F0. The FO portion is within the membrane of the mitochnodria and the F1 portion is above the membrane, inside the matrix of the mitochondria. The binding change mechanism involves the active site of a ÃŽÂ ² subunit cycling between three states. In the open state, ADP and phosphate enter the active site. The protein then closes up around the molecules and binds them loosely the loose state. The enzyme then undergoes another change in shape and forces these molecules together, with the active site in the resulting tight state binding the newly-produced ATP molecule with very high affinity. Finally, the active site cycles back to the open state, releasing ATP and binding more ADP and phosphate, ready for the next cycle of ATP production. Describe the structure of a chloroplast and give a brief summary of its evolutionary origin. The chloroplast is the organelle where photosynthesis occurs in photosynthetic eukaryotes. The organelle is surrounded by a double membrane. Inside the inner membrane is a complex mix of enzymes and water. This is called stroma and is important as the site of the dark reactions, more properly called the Calvin cycle. Within in the stroma is a network of stacked sacs. Each stack is called a granum and each of the flattened sacs which make up the granum is called a thylakoid. Each thylakoid has a series of photosystems and associated proteins. The photosystems contain chlorophyll and other pigments and all these associated structures in the thylakoid membrane are the site for the light reactions in which light energy is converted to chemical energy needed for the Calvin cycle in the dark reaction. Chloroplasts are believed to have arisen as free living bacteria that became endosymbiont with the ancestors of photosynthetic eukaryotes. An endosymbiont is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism. Briefly describe the experiment performed by Ruben and Kamen and describe what this experiment helped to prove. Ruben and Kamen bombarded graphite in the cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator,in hopes of producing a radioactive isotope of carbon that could be used as a tracer in investigating chemical reactions in photosynthesis. Their experiment resulted in production of carbon-14. What is the photosynthetic role of the light-harvesting antenna pigments? In photosynthetic systems a variable number of pigments act as light-harvesting antenna to absorb and direct solar energy to photochemical reaction centers. The effectiveness of the reaction centers depends on the efficient transfer of excitation energy from these antenna molecules. In plants, what are photosystems, what is the significance of the primary P680 and P700 pigments, and how do these fit into the Z scheme arrangement depicted in Figure 6.10 of your text? Photosystems are protein complexes that are found in the thylakoid membranes of plants. They are involved in photosynthesis as enzymes which use light to reduce molecules. There are two families of photosystems. Within photosystem type 1 is the P700 reaction center. Its absorption spectrum peaks at 700 nm. When photosystem I absorbs light, an electron is excited to a higher energy level in the P700 chlorophyll. These electrons are moved in pairs in an oxidation/reduction process from P700 to electron acceptors. Within photosystem type II is the P680 reaction center. Its absorption spectrum peaks at 680nm. What is photolysis and what is its significance during photosynthesis? Photolysis is defind as the splitting or decomposition of a chemical compound by means of light energy or photons. Photolysis is the part of photosynthesis that occurs in the granum of a chloroplast where light is absorbed by chlorophyll, turned into chemical energy, and used to split apart the oxygen and hydrogen in water. The oxygen is released as a byproduct while the reduced hydrogen acceptor makes its way to the second stage of photosynthesis, the Calvin cycle. What is photophosphorylation and how is this accomplished by PSII and PSI? Photophosphorylation is the production of ATP using the energy of sunlight. In photophosphorylation, light energy is used to create a high-energy electron donor and a lower-energy electron acceptor. Electrons then move spontaneously from donor to acceptor through an electron transport chain. When a special chlorophyll molecule of PSII absorbs a photon, an electron in this molecule attains a higher energy level. Because this state of an electron is very unstable, the electron is transferred from one to another molecule creating a chain of redox reactions, called an electron transport chain (ETC). The electron flow goes from PSII to cytochrome b6f to PSI. In PSI the electron gets the energy from another photon. The final electron acceptor is NADP. Cytochrome b6f and ATP synthase are working together to create ATP. This process is called photophosphorylation What is the function of Rubisco? In the Calvin Cycle of photosynthesis, the enzyme rubisco grabs CO2 and incorporates it into RuBP (commonly called carbon fixation). The cycle continues until one G3P is made; a precursor to glucose. What is the usefulness or function of the the 12 GAP molecules produced by the fixation of 6 CO2 molecules via the Calvin cycle? The function is for the manufacturing of carbohydrates What is the function of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and what advantage is given to plants that contain this enzyme? Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase is an enzyme in the family of carboxy-lyases that catalyzes the addition of CO2 to phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to form the four-carbon compound oxaloacetate. Carbon fixation via PEP carboxylase assimilates the available CO2 into a four-carbon compound (oxaloacetate, which is further converted to malate) that can be stored or shuttled between plant cells. This allows for a separation of initial CO2 fixation by contact with air and secondary CO2 fixation into sugars by RuBisCO during the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis. In succulent CAM plants adapted for growth in very dry conditions, PEP carboxylase fixes CO2 during the night when the plant opens its stomata to allow for gas exchange. During the day time, the plant closes the stomata to preserve water and releases CO2 inside the leaf from the storage compounds produced during the night. This allows the plants to thrive in dry climates by conducting photosynthesis without losing water through open stomata during the day.

Defintion Essay - Is it Possible to Define Art? -- Expository Definiti

Defintion Essay - Is it Possible to Define Art? Art is the intentional use of some medium to communicate emotions or ideas between minds. Some combination of the five senses is used to conduct information, so art may take the form of music, painting, sculpture, dance, and others. Art may be collaborative, as with the presentation of a symphony, which may involve a composer, a conductor, players, and a lighting crew all working to create the art of the presentation. Also, art occurs in at least one level of abstraction removed from reality, a representation of the real thing. There is no requirement of beauty in art. Indeed, some of the highest quality in art is attained by some of the ugliest things. An example is the film, Schindler's List. Its representation of oppression and violence is revolting at times, but its ability to convey a clear message is strong. Perhaps the most appropriate gauge of quality in art is its effectiveness in communication. There may be a tempting tendency to assume that effective communication necessitates that the artist and the audienc... Defintion Essay - Is it Possible to Define Art? -- Expository Definiti Defintion Essay - Is it Possible to Define Art? Art is the intentional use of some medium to communicate emotions or ideas between minds. Some combination of the five senses is used to conduct information, so art may take the form of music, painting, sculpture, dance, and others. Art may be collaborative, as with the presentation of a symphony, which may involve a composer, a conductor, players, and a lighting crew all working to create the art of the presentation. Also, art occurs in at least one level of abstraction removed from reality, a representation of the real thing. There is no requirement of beauty in art. Indeed, some of the highest quality in art is attained by some of the ugliest things. An example is the film, Schindler's List. Its representation of oppression and violence is revolting at times, but its ability to convey a clear message is strong. Perhaps the most appropriate gauge of quality in art is its effectiveness in communication. There may be a tempting tendency to assume that effective communication necessitates that the artist and the audienc...

Cloning :: essays research papers

I am an astronaut stranded on Mars whose spaceship has broken down beyond repair. In my disabled craft there is a Teleclone Mark IV teleporter that can swiftly and painlessly dismantle my body, producing a molecule-by-molecule blueprint to be beamed to Earth. There, a Teleclone receiver stocked with the requisite atoms will produce, from the beamed instructions me- composite with all my memories, thoughts, feelings, and opinions. If I activate the Teleclone Mark IV, I believe that I am the astronaut produced from a blueprint on Earth because the astronaut that was dismantled on Mars is now only a bunch of molecules instead of a living, breathing human being. Suppose further that an improved Teleclone Mark V is developed that can obtain its blueprint without destroying the original, thus â€Å"cloning† me. In that case, I believe that I am both astronauts at once, just with two different consciousnesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I activate the Teleclone Mark IV, the machine dismantles me into molecules and makes a blueprint of it to send to Earth. On Earth, I am reassembled into myself exactly as I was on Mars. I am now the astronaut that was reassembled because the astronaut that was disassembled on Mars no longer exists and is now a bunch of random molecules. It is the same concept as in â€Å"Star Trek† and â€Å"Power Rangers† when people get â€Å"beamed† to a certain place, except with the Teleclone Mark IV, you are being recreated to be exactly like your original form. There was an episode of â€Å"The Magic School Bus† where one of the students accidentally destroyed one of her classmate’s toy soldiers. She then went to a recycling factory, picked out the same material that made up the old toy soldier, and made him a new toy soldier. Even though it is made of the same material and looks exactly the same as the old toy soldier, it is not the same toy soldier because the old toy soldier was destroyed and it ceased to exist. When I was destroyed, I died and my soul went to heaven or hell. When I was reassembled on Earth, I was exactly like myself physically but I had no soul and my soul makes me who I am and separates me from everyone else. Suppose you are using a computer. It is the same thing as â€Å"cutting† something and pasting it to a new location.

How does George Orwell show this in the novel Essay

The pigs corrupt the animal’s minds and gain absolute power. How does George Orwell show this in the novel? In the novel ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, the pigs corrupt the animal’s minds and gain absolute power by using their wisdom and knowledge to exploit the uneducated and naive animals. They petrified the animals by using the dogs as their secret police; they made the animals believe that snowball was a traitor and that he had destroyed all their hard work, no matter what the pigs had to do to gain power they did even if it meant killing the animals because it would obviously still be to their benefits. They did not lose any opportunity to gain power; it was as if they were thirsty and hungry for power. Squealer is the pig which spreads Napoleon’s propaganda among the other animals. Squealer justifies the pigs’ exploitation of resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm’s success. In Animal Farm, the smooth-talking pig Squealer abuses language to justify Napoleon’s actions and policies to the working class by whatever means seem essential. By radically simplifying language—as when he teaches the sheep to bleat â€Å"Four legs good, two legs bad! (George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapter 2 page 24) he limits the terms of debate. By complicating language unnecessarily, he confuses and frightens the uneducated, as when he explains that â€Å"a bird’s wing †¦ is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation† (George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapter 2 page 24). In this latter strategy, he also practices nonsense (â€Å"tacti cs, tactics†) as well as the usage of false vocabulary and statistics, engendering in the other animals of both self-doubt and a sense of hopelessness about ever accessing the truth without the pigs’ mediation. Squealer’s lack of conscience and unwavering loyalty to his leader, alongside his rhetorical skills, making him the perfect propagandist for any tyranny. Squealer’s name also fits him well: squealing, of course, refers to a pig’s typical form of vocalization, and Squealer’s speech defines him. At the same time, to squeal also means to betray, keeping in remainder of Squealer’s behaviour with regard to his fellow animals. Squealer is the insincere and expressive propagandist. We are told that he can ‘’turn black to white’’ and that he has a ‘’shrill voice’’ and ‘’twinkling eyes’’, which are his assets that he manipulates for his propaganda. He and the general persuasiveness of his character are fundamental to Napoleon’s success. Napoleon petrifying the animals also makes them think otherwise. In the novel the pigs use dogs as their secret police and whoever approaches to a disagreement of the pigs decisions are slaughtered by the dogs, making the unprotected animals even more petrified. As the pigs took more control the animals could not even lift their crowns up and say a word because of the terror and detriment they could possibly get from the secret police. They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes† (George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapter 7 page 64). The use of the dogs begins the evil use of force which helps Napoleon maintain power. Later, the dogs do even more dastardly things when they are instructed to kill the animals labeled â€Å"disloyal†. Since the pigs are the brains in the farm, they exploit the animal’s minds and gain absolute power by identifying an enemy to back them up. The usage of snowball for all the bad that happened â€Å"If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it, and when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well. Curiously enough, they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal† (George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 7 page 57). The pigs made the animals believe that snowball was the traitor and in this case they could turn to Napoleon and consider him the most suitable. The pig’s management of all sources of information also achieves power. Since the animals are presented naive they cannot prevent themselves from being manipulated. â€Å"It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, ‘Under the guidance of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days’; or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim, ‘Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes! (George Orwell, Animal Farm, Chapter 8 page 67-68). It is clear that whatever it took the pigs to gain power, without doubts they would consider, since it was clearly a benefit for them. The pigs used their wisdom and knowledge to take power over the uneducated and naive animals. Their thirst for power was so great that they killed the animals to demonstrate that they were right and it was for their benefit to consider whatever the pigs commanded them to do. At the end the animals listen and carry out what the pigs would tell them to do, even if it meant petrifying them or killing them.