Life Science Reflections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Life Science Reflections - Essay Example It is different when we understand the science of life. Through it, we see the relationship of life within and without them and all needing each other to support and sustain life. By studying life science, I understood that all lives are interrelated. This relationship is not limited to lives other species but also to the internal mechanism within the body of each living organism. Within it, there is a universe of functions that make an organism breathe, move, fly, walk and any other function associated with life. Life science also makes me appreciate nature more. By understanding how the birds fly and how the fish able to stay underwater makes me wonder about the life mechanism that makes them do these things. I also understand that the forest is not just a bunch of trees but a collection of life that needs each other to live and thrive. I also learn that they are better off on their own as nature have its own way of taking care of its own. I also realized that we humans are in fact the biggest threat to lives other than ourselves. Corollary to this, I fully understood what ecosystem is really all about. I realized that it is not just the interrelationship of lives in nature that needs each other survive. It is a principle of creating the ideal environment that sustains life and activity. It tells us human beings not to disrupt them because each creature, each life is important for the entire cycle of life to exist. This principle can even be applied to our lives of not disrupting the ecosystem that makes us thrive. Through the understanding of life science, I also learn how to become more respectful of life and how take care of life more. I saw their strength and their weakness as well. They can be fragile when abused but can quite be resilient when left on their own. I also learned that nature has its own way of healing itself. I also learned that

Employment Law for Managers ( See Assignment Criteria ) Essay

Employment Law for Managers ( See Assignment Criteria ) - Essay Example For one to be eligible to the claim that employee must have completed the qualifying or probationary period if the employer is small business type or six months in case the employer is a large enterprise (FWA, 2009). Claims are normally made to the Fair Work Australia and this should be within 14 days of being dismissed is the dismissal is unfair. This matter is then put to review by the conciliation conference where most of the issues that are involved in the case are normally resolved between the two feuding parties. If not solved at this level, then the applicant reserves the right to request for a proceeding of the case to a further full hearing (Elizabeth, 2009, pp.1-4). Unfair dismissal occurs if the FWA is convinced that the worker has actually been dismissed; it was harsh or unreasonable; was inconsistent with Small Business Fair Dismissal Code; and that it was not genuine redundancy case. Dismissal is simply the termination of one’s employment at the will of the employer and this does not include demotion. It also does not include a reduction from the person’s salary or duties in a significant manner and the person still is employed by the employer that did effect the demotion. In accordance with the current provisions various matters would be considered while addressing the issues of whether a given dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. These considerations do include taking into account the reason for dismissal and whether this was valid or not for that dismissal that is duly related to the capacity of a given person or his/her conduct; in case that person being dismissed was actually given notice of the reasons that pertain to his or her dismissal; whether such a dismissed person was given a reasonable chance or opportunity to lodge a response to any of the reasons put forward that are related to the conduct or capacity of the person; if there are any unreasonable refusal by the person’s

The History Of The Device Drivers Information Technology Essay

The History Of The Device Drivers Information Technology Essay In the Windows operating system, device drivers are fairly easy to understand and operate. The feature of Windows update makes installing device drivers simple and very user friendly. By default, Windows has a wide range of drivers already stored in the kernel that holds the foundation for device drivers. This list of drivers gets updated with every operating system release (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows ) and with every service pack Windows puts out along with them (Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 2). Device drivers can work in two different modes in the Windows platform, kernel-mode and user-mode. Both have their advantages and disadvantages between the different modes. The biggest difference between the modes is the stability and performance speed. In kernel mode, there are no restrictions in access to the hardware and run faster than in user mode. This is because the driver communicates with the hardware directly in kernel mode rather than accessing the hardware using its corresponding API (Application Programming Interface) like in user mode. The downfall to kernel mode is when the device driver crashes; the computer will immediately crash as well. In user mode, the drivers do not have direct access to the hardware; instead, they rely on the devices API to delegate hardware access. While user mode device drivers operate at slower speeds than kernel mode drivers, a major advantage to user mode device drivers is that it is very crash tolerant. When the device driver crashes in u ser mode, it is always recoverable. Most modern device drivers operate in user mode except for video card drivers (most of the code needs to be kernel mode for top performance). The top two video card manufacturers in the industry right now are Nvidia and ATI. Both require separate drivers from their corresponding manufacturers. In a typical installation of an Nvidia video card driver, the driver come with mostly kernel mode code and a small amount of user mode code as well. The Nvidia Control Panel (after an Nvidia driver installation) is an example of the user mode code that Nvidia incorporates into their drivers. These drivers from the manufacturer are called, official drivers. There are other drivers out there for these manufacturers called, unofficial drivers. The most commonly known unofficial driver creator is known as Omega Drivers which, as described by their site, add more options to the drivers such as added resolutions. These drivers are marked as unofficial because they have not been approved by the manufacturers and it is recommended to use them at the users own risk. Sound drivers are required to provide the output of sound from your computer. Like video cards, there are two locations that a sound card can be. One place is called onboard sound, which is provided by the motherboard. This is most common location of sounds cards for laptops. The other location may be found on a PCI card slot, which is typically found on the back of a desktop computer. Popular onboard sound drivers and manufacturers are Realtek and SigmaTel. Popular PCI slot sound drivers and manufacturers are Creative Sound Blaster, Turtle Beach and ASUS. Unofficial drivers are also available online for these audio drivers. Network drivers are required for any kind of wireless or wired (Ethernet connected) device. For laptops, a wireless card typically comes standard. For desktops, a wireless PCI slot card or a wireless USB is required to get wireless connectivity. Most modern motherboards for laptops and desktops provide wired connectivity by manufacturers standards. Both the wireless and wired cards use completely separate drivers. In most cases, the wireless and wired cards are made by completely different manufacturers. For example, my Dell laptop wireless card is made by Dell and my wired card is made by Marvell Yukon. One of the biggest advantages to Windows 7 is the wide range of bare bone network drivers implemented into the kernel to enable the wireless or wired card to function. In previous Windows versions, such as Windows XP, you could not connect to the internet and get wireless/wired drivers unless you installed them via CD, USB or floppy disk. This problem was a constant annoyance for users upon which Windows 7 fixed. An important aspect of the motherboard that is important to have updated drivers for is the motherboards BIOS as it controls every single piece of hardware on a computer. Having the most recently updated BIOS for your motherboard is very beneficial because it fixes a lot of compatibility issues between the computers hardware devices. While the basic Windows update drivers may be good enough for basic level computer users, the more advanced users like to update to the latest drivers by the manufacturer to provide maximum compatibility and performance out of their devices. Sometimes when installing/updating these device drivers there are problems that can happen. One of the biggest common problems with updating drivers is that most users do not implement a full driver installation. There can be some compatibility problems when updating versions of drivers without properly uninstalling the driver fully and then installing the most updated driver. The reason full driver installation is important is because its less error prone than just to update a driver without uninstalling first. Another common problem is users installing device drivers from the wrong operating system architecture (x86, x64). If a user installs the drivers with the wrong architecture, typically, the installation screen will tell you that it is not compatible. If the installation screen doesnt inform a user, the user will definitely know because their device will no longer work. Therefore it is important to identify what kind of computer architecture your computer is because device drivers run differently on different architectures. Like hot fixes and patches, device drivers also secure your computers privacy by fixing security holes upon with hackers can take control and even disable various devices on a computer system. The security of device drivers and the security of the operating system come hand-in-hand meaning both play an equal role in the security of a computer system. The most security involved device that most computer users are worried about is the network device. Users should recognize that updating network device drivers is just as important as updating a routers firmware.

Putting a Face on Freedom :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Putting a Face on Freedom What is Freedom? Freedom in and of itself defies definition since its very essence and parameters can be shown only with its constraints and limitations. If one state of being is unable to stand on its own merits and must rely on another to have structure, can it never truly be â€Å"free.† Therein lies the irony: freedom is forever encapsulated by its limitations, regardless of its range. Without evident barriers, it could not exist. If it is within barriers, can it truly exist? This paper will discuss the existence of freedom and several of its forms. Although much sought after, gaining freedom usually involves strife and war. With the splitting of the Catholic Church in the Reformation, many restraints on science, religion and education vanish, causing a rebirth of knowledge and philosophical thought. Although fragmented, the Catholic Church is by no means vanquished, so inevitable conflicts arise. The conflicts are not confined to the battlefield, though, they occur more often than not in the form of books and documents. With wars, famine and social upheaval accompanying the Reformation, men sometimes lament the passing of the former system (a unified Church) which, though imperfect, at least provides some stability. Thomas More, a critic of King Henry VIII, cleverly disguises his criticisms in his literature. He writes about a tightly regulated society, Utopia, where there are no social strata and people of all religious persuasions can live harmoniously with one another, to freely practice their religions without fear of reproach. Though there seems to be an abundance of freedom, including religious, there are a few hitches—such as having to obtain permission from your father and wife before exploring the countryside, wearing the same clothing as everyone else, having no possibility for social advancement and compulsory theism (your choice of deities, however): â€Å"†¦he (Utopus) made a solemn and severe law against such as should†¦think that our souls died with our bodies, o r that the world was governed by chance, without a wise overruling Providence† (More, p. 747). More’s Utopia offers freedoms some might cherish, but others would find it unbearably restrictive. Even those of a religious bent might have looked askance at Utopia’s forced theism policy. Is it freedom? Some might think so if they believed freedom of religion didn’t include freedom from religion.

Bahlawane discussion Essay

Conclusion Taking in account the scheme of galactoglucan synthesis regulation (Fig. 4. 1) and the scheme of motility regulation (Fig. 4. 2) proposed in this study, we may try to follow the effect of such regulation paths in the life – styles of the bacteria. The last one is named as free – living microorganism or as symbiont in the plant root. In the first case, the bacteria are exposed to dryness and nutrients starvation. At this stage, the biofilm production is a pre-requisite for survival. Therefore, the EPS’s biosynthesis has to be switched ON. As it is quite improbable that the cell density is high enough to activate the quorum sensing system, we can speculate that MucR plays a key role in activating the succinoglycan biosynthesis. Since the soil exhibits very low level of Pi, galactoglucan is, at this point produced through the activation via phoB and WggR. Upon biofilm formation, the cell density probably increases and could activate the quorum sensing system, allowing the bacteria to produce more galactoglucan and swarm towards better conditions. In such conformation, the cells present within the centre of the swarming population are non motile and synthesized EPS; thus the cells present at the migration front are highly motile but do not synthesized EPS. It would be interesting to clarify whether a cell differentiation, as proposed by Soto (Soto et al. , 2002), takes place at this stage. Finally, if the host is present in the next neighbourhood the chemotactic compounds, as well as the nutrients found in the rood exudates, will attract the bacteria. When approaching the root, the moisture increases, along with the nutrients availability; so that swarming motility will be replaced by swimming motility that decline progressively. Indeed, the bacteria attached to the root, increasing the cell density that may lead to the inhibition of flagella production via ExpR / QS. Instead, EPS are produced, allowing recognition between the plant and the microbe as well as the invasion of the new synthesized infection thread. Once within the root, the bacteria will differentiate to bacteroid and start fixing nitrogen. We tried to highlight in this thesis the relevance of exopolysaccharides and motility for an efficient symbiosis. Great advances have been made the last years, leading to the identification of the quorum sensing interaction with motility. We participate in inclusion of MucR, as new regulator of motility and ExpR as requisite for swarming. However, the full understanding of the influence of motility in symbiosis establishment will require finding out which signals are inducing mucR and exoR/ exoS. Moreover, some tests have to be implemented to investigate the symbiosis establishment in more realistic conditions. Indeed, the bacteria are usually directly inoculated to the root, so that motility, via swarming or swimming is not required. Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Alfred Puhler, Chair of the Genetics department, for allowing me use the very good infrastructure that promotes a very pleasant and conducive atmosphere during my research using performant techniques. I am especially grateful to Prof. Dr. Anke Becker, my supervisor, for giving me the chance to come back to research. Without her advices, ideas and resources, this work would not be possible and achieved. Thus, I thank her too for the freedom she gave me, as well as her support to test new ideas and her great help by conceiving and writing the manuscripts that become the pillars of this manuscript. Within the laboratory members, I would like to thank first Dr. Birgit Baumgarth who introduced me to the lab and to the investigated organism. Then, special thanks to Dr.Matthew McIntosh for the quorum sensing – related work and his help for preparing the derived publication. Furthermore, I would like to deeply thank Dr. Natasha Pobigaylo for her friendship, her helpful discussions and for giving me courage when I am about to lose it. I thank Manuela Mayer, too, for the assistance in microarray hybridizations as well as Dr. Lisa Krol, Javier Serrania and Thomas Montfort for the everyday help in the lab. Finally, I would like to thank all Exopol group members for the support and advices. Least, I would like to thank my family for their unending and heartwarming support in many ways. Special thanks to Rachida Bendaou, my mother-in-law, for her support in caring my children during my research. I would like to thank my children, Ines, Soraya and Jasmine, for filling up my life with love and happiness. I would like to apologize for the bad mood and stress situations that are unfortunately connected with such a thesis. My heartfelt gratitude to my understanding and loving husband, Naoufal, for his moral and financial support, for believing in me and for sharing the passion for science with me. Resume In order to enter symbiosis with its legume partner, Sinorhizobium meliloti has to face continual changing conditions. It has more ability to adapt quickly to the situation than the ability to face it efficiently that makes the difference in term of symbiosis efficiency. For the first interactions with its host, motility is required by S. meliloti to move towards the chemotactic compounds released by its host when exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are required later on, for the attachment to the root as well as for the invasion of the infection thread, leading to the formation of the root nodule. We focused in this study the regulatory networks leading to the coordination of motility and EPS’s production in the strain Rm2011. Depending on the phosphate concentration encountered in the environment Rm2011 synthesizes two different exopolysaccharides (EPS). Galactoglucan (EPS II) is produced under phosphate starvation but also in the presence of extra copies of the transcriptional regulator WggR (ExpG) or as a consequence of a mutation in mucR. The galactoglucan biosynthesis gene cluster contains the operons wga (expA), wge (expE), wgd (expD), and wggR (expG). Two promoters, differentially controlled by WggR, PhoB, and MucR, were identified upstream of each of these operons. The proximal promoters of the wga, wge, and wgd transcription units were constitutively active when separated from the upstream regulatory sequences. Promoter activity studies and the positions of predicted PhoB and WggR binding sites suggested that the proximal promoters are cooperatively induced by PhoB and WggR. MucR was shown to strongly inhibit the distal promoters and bound to the DNA in the vicinity of the distal transcription start sites. An additional inhibitory effect on the distal promoter of the structural galactoglucan biosynthesis genes was identified as a new feature of WggR in a mucR mutant. Motility is organized in S. meliloti in a hierarchical cascade, with Class Ia genes, encoding the major regulator of motility VisNR; controlling the expression of the class Ib gene, rem, which encodes a central regulator, activating the expression of the downstream Class II and class III genes. We could demonstrate that MucR binds a DNA sequence upstream of rem, following a different mechanism as previously observed upon binding upstream of the wg genes. By this way, MucR inhibits rem expression as well as the expression of the Rem-regulated genes such as flaF and flgG. Furthermore, we addressed a balance of the swimming and swarming abilities of several S. meliloti strains derivatives of Rm2011. We could show that all strains, able to build flagella, were swimming on low viscosity agar plates. However, swarming over high viscosity agar plates required all a functional expR / sin locus, the ability to build flagellum and the production of exopolysaccharides. Finally, we propose a model for the coordination of motility and EPSs synthesis in S. meliloti.

Policy and Strategy in Global Competition Essay

Discussion Question 11.1: Why is it important for an organization to have alignment between its strategy and organizational structure? The relationship between an organization’s strategy and structure are extremely important because it â€Å"directly impacts a firm’s performance† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Also, as an organization grows, it should reevaluate the current strategy and structure to ensure that it remains the optimal choice for the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). The four types of organizational structures, listed in order of least to most complex according to Rothaermel (2013), are: (1) simple, (2) functional, (3) multidivisional, and (4) matrix. The simple structure is for small firms or organizations that are just starting out (Rothaermel, 2013). The decision-making structure is quite flat, as â€Å"the founders tend to make all the important strategic decisions† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Growth will often cause the higher-ups to feel o verwhelmed under this type of structure, requiring the organization to adopt a different, more complex structure (Rothaermel, 2013). A functional structure groups employees into teams, allowing for increased decision-making at lower levels of the managerial chain (Rothaermel, 2013). The opportunity for specialization allows for the functional structure to be employed with each of the business-level strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, or integration (Rothaermel, 2013). One of the hurdles to overcome would be the likely increase in difficulties which arise from departmentalization of the varying teams (Rothaermel, 2013). The best way to overcome such a hurdle is through cross-functional teams (Rothaermel, 2013). Whenever the organization seeks greater diversification, into varying product lines and service offerings, it will likely look into utilizing a multidivisional structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Under this structure, the organization is further compartmentalized  into strategic business units (â€Å"SBUs†) which are governed by their own profit-and-loss (â€Å"P&L†) responsibilities (Rothaermel, 2013). At this level, each of the SBUs is viewed as its own independent entity, pursuing its own profit-creating goals (Rothaermel, 2013). While organizations with a corporate-level strategy with a single or dominant business would be best served by a functional structure, organizations seeking related or unrelated diversification would be wise to utilize a multidivisional structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Lastly, the matrix structure is a combination of the functional and multidivisional structures (Rothaermel, 2013). It is most appropriate when an organization needs a structure which allows for both centralized and decentralized decision-making, and can be organized by geographic areas and product divisions (Rothaermel, 2013). While a global strategy does not automatically lend to a matrix structure, a transnational strategy which has the requirements above is better served through a matrix structure (Rothaermel, 2013). Discussion Question 11.3(a): What commonalities across the products would likely be enhanced by flexible cross-functional teams? Gore has product lines which include consumer products like guitar strings and vacuum filters, cables and cable assemblies, electronic and electrochemical materials, fabrics, fibers, filtration products, medical products, pharmaceutical processing, sealants, and venting products (Gore, 2015). Its product lines are used in industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to military and textiles (Gore, 2015). Gore utilizes cross-functional teams to help develop its many products within varying lines (Rothaermel, 2013). Cross-functional teams allow for individuals from differing functional areas within an organization to temporarily come together and work on a particular project (Rothaermel, 2013). These teams would allow for the differing products, though developed for a particular function, to be developed for use in more than one of the organization’s products (Rothaermel, 2013). As an example, the cables developed for aeronautics can likely be used in other electronic or automotive applications if developed by members from the appropriate cross-functional teams. Discussion Question 11.3(b): What would be your expectations of the type of norms found at W. L. Gore? Organizational norms â€Å"define appropriate employee attitudes and behaviors† (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 318). The norms which exist at Gore likely arise from founder imprinting,  which means that Bill Gore, the founder of W. L. Gore & Associates, has helped to establish and define the company’s culture (Rothaermel, 2013). The organization’s four core values, stated succinctly, are: (1) fairness, (2) freedom, (3) individual commitment, and (4) consultation and collaboration (Rothaermel, 2013). These values, coupled with the open nature of the organization’s structure, result in organizational norms which encourage the free exchange of ideas and collaboration up and down the organizational ladder (Rothaermel, 2013). Employees, associates as they are called at Gore, likely show great respect to one another and to the customers for whom their products are developed (Rothaermel, 2013). Chapter 12 Discussion Question 12.1: How can a firm lower the chances that key managers will pursue their own self-interest at the expense of the stockholders? At the expense of the employees? Corporate governance tools are utilized to help align the interests of principals and agents, or organizations and employees (Rothaermel, 2013). A board of directors is one such tool which helps to prevent key managers to avoid pursuing their own self-interest at the expense of the stockholders (Rothaermel, 2013). A board of directors is independent, made up of both inside and outside directors, and answers directly to the shareholders (Rothaermel, 2013). Another tool is executive compensation which links compensation to the performance of the company (Rothaermel, 2013). This means that the CEO would receive certain stock options in lieu of pay (Rothaermel, 2013). If the company’s stocks are doing well, likely showing that the company is successfully operating, then the CEO receives greater value in the stock options (Rothaermel, 2013). The concept of the market as a corporate control has the potential to protect both stockholders’ and employees’ interests through a key manager’s fear of being replaced if the company performs poorly (Rothaermel, 2013). If a company is not performing well, then the stock prices will begin to plummet, increasing the opportunity for an entity to purchase enough shares to exert significant control over the company (Rothaermel, 2013). Such control would likely result in the removal of current management, and possibly the dismantling of the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). This clearly injures the management, employees, and shareholders of the failing organization. As  such, managers are motivated by the external market to perform well, thereby protecting the interests of stockholders and employees alike (Rothaermel, 2013). Discussion Question 12.2: Why are these two roles typically separated? Is it a positive development for so many firms to have a combined CEO and board chair? The two roles of management and ownership are typically separated to ensure that the board of directors maintains its necessary independence (Rothaermel, 2013). Where a board of directors is   The decline stage differs from those above, as it introduces four strategic options for firms to pursue: (1) exit, (2) harvest, (3) maintain, and (4) consolidate (Rothaermel, 2013). The exit strategy is precisely as it says: it involves the firm choosing to leave the market to pursue other endeavors (Rothaermel, 2013). The harvest strategy means that the firm will still sell the product or service, but will reduce the level of investment in its maintenance and development (Rothaermel, 2013). The maintain strategy is also exactly what it sounds like: the firm continues offering the product or service at the same level as it has been, despite the declining demand (Rothaermel, 2013). The consolidate strategy involves the purchasing of rivals in an effort to shrink the industry, which provides firms employing this strategy to reach near-monopolistic status (Rothaermel, 2013). References Rothaermel, F. T. (2013). Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Walmart. Our story. Retrieved on January 25, 2015, from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/