Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis

Plant Pigments and Photosynthesis Analysis 1. The solubility and the intermolecular bonds formed between the solute and the solvent are involved in the separation of pigments as it moves through a filter paper. 2. The Rf values would be different if a different solvent was used because the solvent would have different characteristics which affects the capillary action (because the Rf value is distance pigment migrated (mm) / distance solvent front migrated (mm), the capillary action would have a large impact on the Rf value), attraction of solvent molecules to one another, and each pigment will not be equally soluble to the original solvent. 3. The reaction center of photosynthesis contains chlorophyll a. Other chlorophyll a molecules, chlorophyll b, carotenes and xanthophylls capture light energy and transfer it to the chlorophyll a located in the reaction center. Carotenoids also protect the photosynthesis system from damaging ultraviolet rays. Part B Purpose Condition of Chloroplast vs. Rate of Photosynthesis: The purpose of this lab is to observe and measure the effect of boiled and unboiled chloroplast on the rate of photosynthesis of a chloroplast suspension made from spinach leaves. Presence of Light vs. Rate of Photosynthesis: The purpose of this lab is to observe and measure the effect of the presence of light on the rate of photosynthesis of a chloroplast suspension made from spinach leaves. Variables Condition of Chloroplast vs. Rate of Photosynthesis  · Independent Variable: Condition of chloroplast  · Dependent Variable: Rate of Photosynthesis; this will be measured by determining the percent transmittance of each chloroplast suspension.  · Controlled Variables: Amount of DPIP (mL), Temperature ( °C), and Amount of Phosphate Buffer (mL) Presence of Light vs. Rate of Photosynthesis  · Independent Variable: Presence of Light  · Dependent Variable: Rate of Photosynthesis; his will be measured by determining the percent transmittance of each chloroplast suspension.  · Controlled Variables: Amount of DPIP (mL), Temperature ( °C), and Amount of Phosphate Buffer (mL) Hypothesis If the condition of the chloroplast in the suspension was unboiled, and there was light present, then there will be photosynthesis occurring in the cuvette. Photosynthesis the process by which the chloroplast within the leaf cells of green plants use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. In order for photosynthesis to occur, the chloroplast needs to be functioning, and light needs to be present to excite electrons for NADP to bind with. Because unboiled chloroplast and light are both present in cuvette 3, photosynthesis occurred rapidly. But if boiled chloroplast and light were present, photosynthesis would not occur. Boiling the chloroplast would rupture and destroy the chloroplast, therefore ceasing the process of photosynthesis. If unboiled chloroplast was in the cuvette, but light was absent, photosynthesis would not occur. Light is important in the process of photosynthesis. Light striking photosystem II is the cause of the excited electrons that bind to th e NADP, but in this experiment, the compound, DPIP, will be used as a substitute to determine percent transmittance. Therefore, without properly functioning chloroplast and light present, photosynthesis in the cuvette will not occur. Procedure First set up an incubation area that includes a light and a heat sink. Use a 100 mL beaker or flask filled with water to be placed between the light source and the cuvettes. Then, because you need to keep the chloroplast suspension cool, fill a bucket three quarters full with ice. Prepare the cuvettes by wiping all sides clean. Remember to handle them by touching the sides with the ridges. All solutions should be free of bubbles. Place cuvette position with the clear side facing the light source in the colorimeter. Label the caps of the cuvettes with numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Then make a foil container and a cap for cuvette 2 and make sure it can be easily removed so you it can be placed into the colorimeter for percent transmittance readings. This will keep the light out of cuvette 2 because it is a control. Remember to replace the foil between readings. Label the provided pipettes â€Å"B† for boiled chloroplast and â€Å"U† for unboiled chloroplast. Obtain the boile d and unboiled chloroplasts. Fill the bulb of each pipette to about one-third its total size. Invert the pipettes and place them in your ice bath. Be sure to keep both chloroplasts on ice at all times. When you are dispensing the chloroplasts into the cuvette, gently shake the pipette to resuspend the chloroplasts. To cuvette 1 add 1 mL of phosphate buffer, 2.5 mL of distilled water, and 3 drops of unboiled chloroplasts; cuvette 2 add 1 mL of phosphate buffer, 1.5 mL of distilled water, 1 mL of DPIP, and 3 drops of unboiled chloroplasts; cuvette 3 add 1 mL of phosphate buffer, 1.5 mL of distilled water, 1 mL of DPIP, and 3 drops of unboiled chloroplasts; cuvette 4 add 1 mL of phosphate buffer, 1.5 mL of distilled water, 1 mL of DPIP, and 3 drops of boiled chloroplasts; cuvette 5 add 1 mL of phosphate buffer, 1.5 mL + 3 drops of distilled water, and 1 mL of DPIP. Link the computer to the colorimeter, and prepare Logger Pro. Add three drops of unboiled chloroplasts to the water and ph osphate buffer as indicated in the table. Cap the cuvette, place it into the colorimeter and use it to calibrate the colorimeter. Finally, add three drops of unboiled chloroplasts to cuvette 2, immediately start your stopwatch, and record the time and transmittance in the data table. Return the cuvette to its foil container and place it behind the heat sink. Add three drops of unboiled chloroplasts to cuvette 3, immediately record the transmittance and time. Add three drops of boiled chloroplast to cuvette 4, and record the time and transmittance. Check and record the transmittance of cuvette 5, which is the control. Record time and transmittance. Remember to check the transmittance of each cuvette at five-minute intervals from when the chloroplasts were added up to 15 minutes. Conclusion Functioning chloroplasts and the availability of light are two important factors for the rate of photosynthesis. Light is needed to excite the electrons from the water molecule. Then the excited electron binds with NADP, or in this case, DPIP. When the DPIP accepts the electron, the compound begins to degrade. A greater concentration of DPIP is easily seen inside a cuvette because of the dark blue dye associated with the DPIP. As DPIP degrades, the color of the chloroplast solution begins to get lighter. A solution without DPIP would be clear. Percent transmittance would be greater if more light passes through the solution in the colorimeter. If a cuvette had functioning chloroplasts and was exposed to light, the DPIP would be breaking down at a faster rate in the controlled time, which would mean there are less DPIP compounds in the cuvette, resulting in a lighter colored suspension; the amount of DPIP is directly related to the shade of the solution. The percent transmittance is de termined from the shade of the suspension; the lighter the solution, the smaller the amount of DPIP remaining. Therefore, the decrease of DPIP in the given time would indicate that photosynthesis is indeed occurring in the cuvette. Our hypothesis is supported by the data because we hypothesized that fully functioning chloroplast with the presence of light would result in the occurrence of photosynthesis. In this experiment, we tested and observed the effect of the condition of chloroplast and the presence of light on the rate of photosynthesis. In cuvette 2, we added unboiled chloroplast and did not allow light to penetrate the cuvette. So we used aluminum foil to block out the light from the light source behind the heat sink. At 0 minutes, the light transmittance was at 17.5%. But 10 minutes later the percent transmittance was at 19.9%. The data indicates that where was a small amount of DPIP reduced. When we removed the cuvettes foil shell to measure transmittance, light was introduced to the suspension. This indicates that the very little photosynthesis that occurred was the result of the light that excited electrons for DPIP to accept during the seconds between the removing and the replacing of the aluminum cuvette castings. In cuvette 3, there was unboiled chloroplast and light introduced to the mixture of distilled water, phosphate buffer, and DPIP. As you can see from the provided data table and graph, at 0 minutes, the transmittance was 18.09%. But 10 minutes later, the percent transmittance rose to 96.26%. Light struck the functioning chloroplast, excited electrons, and caused DPIP to break down as it accepted the electrons. This is evidence of photosynthesis occurring at a very fast rate inside cuvette 3. But 15 minutes later, the transmittance of cuvette 3 was to 96.83%. This shows that the rate of photosynthesis slows down, but this was the cause of the scarce amount of DPIP. The rate of photosynthesis was so fast that it used up almost all of the available DPIP in 10-15 minutes. In cuvette 4, there was boiled chloroplast in the suspension, and light was present. At the initial time, 0 minutes, percent transmittance was at 24.32%. 10 minutes later, the solution had a 28.47% tr ansmittance. There is a slight increase in transmittance, but exposure to light can cause DPIP to break down. If photosynthesis had occurred, it would have occurred at a much faster rate. The data would be similar to cuvette 3s data, but because of the slight increase of transmittance, photosynthesis did not occur. This proves out hypothesis that for photosynthesis to occur, light and functional chloroplast must be present. When the chloroplast was boiled, this destroyed the chloroplast. Therefore, without functioning chloroplast, photosynthesis will not occur. Cuvette 5 was the control; chloroplast was not added to the solution. At 0 minutes cuvette 5 had a transmittance of 25.22%. 10 minutes later cuvette 5s transmittance was 22.60%. This decrease is due to experimental error. Without light, functional chloroplast would be no use. In order for photosynthesis to occur, light must be present to excite the electrons. Because of the absence of light, DPIP will not degrade due to accepting excited electrons, for instance, cuvette 2s data. Without fully functional chloroplast, there will not be any electrons in photosystem II to excite, and the DPIP will not degrade because there arent any excited electrons to bond to, for example, cuvette 4. This data proves that for photosynthesis to occur, fully functional chloroplast and light must be present. Analysis The DPIP will be used to substitute the NADP electron acceptor. When light strikes the chloroplasts, the electrons are boosted to a higher energy level, which will reduce the DPIP, turning it from blue to colorless. The DPIP replaces the NADP molecule. Electrons used to reduce DPIP are obtained when a water molecule is split. The colorimeter in this experiment measures the amount of light received at the sensor across from the light source in the colorimeter. If the chloroplast suspension, which is placed in between the light sensor and the light source, is darker in color, then we can imply that the DPIP in the solution has not yet broken down, which confirms that photosynthesis is not occurring. Darkness inhibits the reduction of DPIP; because the light waves are not exciting the electrons in the chloroplast, the DPIP is not breaking down. Therefore, the DPIP remains in great numbers in the chloroplast suspension. The more DPIP, the darker the solution. Boiling chloroplasts does not affect the reduction of DPIP. When the chloroplast is boiled, it is nonfunctional. Because the chloroplast is nonfunctional, the photosystem II is unable to receive the light and excite the electron. Because the electrons are not excited, the DPIP is not reduced. Chloroplasts that were incubated in the light are able to harness the energy from the light to excite electrons that is then accepted by DPIP. This causes a reduction of DPIP, which makes the originally blue chloroplast suspension to lighten in color. The lighter the solution, the greater the percent transmittance, because more light can pass through the solution in the colorimeter. Chloroplasts that were kept in the dark do not receive light and cannot excite electrons. The DPIP compounds are not broken down, which results in a darker blue suspension. When this is placed into the colorimeter to measure percent transmittance, less light will be able to travel through the suspension due to the dark-blue color of the suspension. Cuvette 1: was used to calibrate the colorimeter. This cuvette did not contain DPIP, which would resemble 100% transmittance because of the lack of dye in the solution. Cuvette 2: contained unboiled chloroplast and was kept in the dark. This was used to confirm that both functional chloroplast and light are needed for photosynthesis to occur because the combination of unboiled chloroplast and the absence of light did not produce a significance increase in percent transmittance. Cuvette 3: contained functional chloroplast and was placed in the light. The significant increase of percent transmittance proves that both functional chloroplast and significant light are necessary for photosynthesis to occur. Cuvette 4: contained boiled chloroplast and was placed in the light. The function of this cuvette was to prove that functional chloroplast and light are needed for photosynthesis to occur, but the small increase in percent transmittance may have been the result due to the light breaking down DPIP. Cuvette 5: did not contain any chloroplast or light. This cuvette was used as a control. It would be used as the â€Å"baseline† when analyzing data because it can reveal any effects that is experienced by the cuvette that did not result from the presence of chloroplast or light.

Music, Radio and Teens Essay -- Hip Hop Rap Essays Music Musical Essay

Music, Radio and Teens The first thing that teenagers will do when they get into their car is to turn on the radio. They flip through the channels hoping to find that latest hit that all the stations are playing. Whether it's the newest pop rock song, or that catchy country tune, everyone wants to hear it. This is an example of how powerful the radio can be in influencing what teens listen to. Here is a closer look at the specific genres and how these styles are affecting today's teens through the radio. Hip Hop Hip-Hop is one of fastest growing music genres in the United States as its trend has made hip-hop explode everywhere. Hip-Hop comes from the streets using street slang incorporated in the music. Hip-Hop music is rebellious and frightens parents due to the explicit lyrics that it uses. As any type of new generation beat that is rebellious is going to scare a parent. Parents are frightened that if their kids listen to this music it will promote violence, sex, and drugs. Parents need to know that the vibe that teens get from Hip-Hop is just like the vibe our parents got from rock and roll. As teens are influenced by the Hip-Hop culture by the way teens dress themselves wearing brand names like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, or Polo to represent the hip-hop culture; getting away from the preppy clothes like for example Abercrombie and Fitch. Hip-Hop music has no color barrier so anybody can listen to the music. Hip-Hop has even reached magazine shelves attracting more teens to read a bout hip-hop magazines like The Source, Jive, and XXL are devoted to just Hip-Hop music. Hip-Hop has influenced a lot of teens and will continue to grow as the new generation of music the so-called ?feels good music? that teens lo... ...the car. HIP-HOP. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.csupomona.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML Taylor, Chuck, Stark, Phyllis, Hay, Carla. Country Teens go Multimedia. Billboard Vol. 113, Issue 9. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier On the World Wide Web: http://web6.epnet.com/search Signs of New Life for Country Format, Recent Sales Successes. Billboard Retrieved from Academic Search Premier on the World Wide Web: http://web6.epnet.com/search SoulMusic (2002). Retrieved from the World Wide Web:www.davidnathan.com. All Music Guide (1992). Retrieved from the World Wide Web:www.allmusic.com. Samuels, Allison (2002). Newsweek. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.msnbc.com/news Strauss, Neil (2001, December 26). A New Look at Eminem. New York Times [Newspaper]. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:www.nytimes.com/

A Mother Critical Analysis Essay -- essays research papers fc

A Mother’ ‘A Mother’ is one of the short stories that is part of James Joyce’s literary masterpiece Dubliners. The themes that run through this short story, and indeed the book itself, are: Simony, Gnomon and Paralysis. ‘A Mother’ is written in third person omniscient narration and focuses mainly on the point of view of Mrs Kearney. Who is, as I will try to justify further on, a serial simoniac and a victim of social convention. The first example of Mrs Kearney’s simony is her marriage to Mr Kearney, a bootmaker, who is far older than her. She married, not for love, but in order to keep her status in society respectable: â€Å"her friends began to loosen their tongues about her she silenced them by marrying† (pg 153) Another example of Mrs Kearney’s simony is when she manipulates Mr Holohan into signing into a contract with her daughter. She plies him with alcohol and lends a friendly hand in drawing up the terms of the contract. I believe that when Mrs Kearney is being said to have â€Å"slipped the doubtful items in between the old favourites† (pg 155) as she and Mr Holohan are placing the performers in order for the concert, that Joyce is also hinting that this is what Mrs Kearney had done with the contract. She has confused Holohan with drink so that she can secure a high price for her daughter’s part in the concert. This story is full of the theme of the gnomon also. In the beginning we learn that Mr and Mrs Kearney have two daughters, yet we never learn the younger daughter’...

APN Interviews: Caring, Competency, and Compassion Essay

The healthcare system is ever changing and the need for advanced practice nurses will be in demand. I had an opportunity to interview two advanced practice nurses. Jolene and I met at her home in St. Charles, IL Jolene graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2005 with a master’s degree in nursing and was granted the title: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). She got married and accepted a position as a Primary Care Provider at VNA Health Care in Aurora, Ill. VNA Health Care is a federally qualified health center serving the uninsured. In the year 2000, Jolene’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a loving daughter, she supported her mother through a cancer free journey today. From this experience, Jolene came in contact with all kinds of nurses and because she loves people of all ages, she became inspired to be a family nurse practitioner. I met Linda at her office at Women First in Aurora, Il. In 1974, Linda graduated from Northern  Illinois Unive rsity with her BSN in nursing. Linda worked many years as a nurse in woman health, especially in the OB Department at Provena Mercy Center in Aurora, Il. In 1980, after her daughter entered grade school, Linda decided she wanted pursue a master’s degree in nursing. In 1983 she graduated from the University of Illinois with a master’s degree in nursing and earned the title: Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). Linda has worked in many in woman’s health practices with physicians and in 1997 established Woman First, Inc., which specializes in midwifery care and woman’s health from puberty to menopause. Linda entered nursing because with her mother being an RN she was exposed to nursing growing up. When she was working as a labor and delivery nurse at Provena Mercy Center and personally experienced midwifery care with her daughter’s birth, this inspired Linda to become a certified nurse midwife Jolene and Linda’s typical day in the clinic are similar because they see patients. In family practice, Jolene will see 40 patients a day, ranging from school physicals, to immunizations, to managing uncontrolled diabetic patients. At Woman First, their practice is different because of OB care. Along with providing routine health care to women, CNMs take an on-call schedule at the hospital to give labor support and help mothers deliver their babies. They also make hospital rounds with the practice’s inpatients and participate in committee meetings for woman health. Caring and Compassion ring through the practices of these two APNs. At the VNA Health Center, Jolene is happ y with her practice and the support she receives from the VNA family. She feels if she can educate diabetic patients, manage their care and listen to them, evidence from her practice shows the patients are more compliant. Jolene practices with in her role as a FNP meaning she takes a holistic approach: (mind, body, and spirit). Over 20 years Linda has pioneered midwifery care in the Aurora area. She was one of the first CNMs to deliver babies in the hospital setting using labor support and delivery of her patients. The hospital has supported midwifery are for more than 20 years. Linda loves being a CNM. She feels very fortunate to practice and give comprehensive healthcare to women and to empower them to make fully informed choices in their health care. Evidence has shown a decrease of cesarean sections and increases of healthy birth outcomes at Woman First. The APNs sit for certification exam based on knowledge and the need to practice safely in NP specialty area.  Jolene obtained certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Service (ANCS), a national certifying body. She received the title of Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). Linda became certified through the American College of Nurse Midwives Certification Council (ACNMCC), and granted the title of Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). Recertification for the FNP is every 5 years and for the CNM is every 8 years. Jolene and Linda have full prescriptive authority and may prescribe schedule II-V but require some degree of physician involvement. The medication schedule II-V involves controlled substances and non- controlled substances. Each practitioner has a DEA and NPI number. The DEA registration is required to prescribe controlled substances and NPI number is required on all non controlled substance prescriptions. Linda explained having full prescriptive authority gives her the freedom to practice midwifery care. Pregnant patients have the option to choose natural childbirth, a birth with some medication, or even epidural anesthesia. In order for APN’s to practice in certain situations in Illinois APNs need collaborative agreements. Jolene commented that she has a supervisory collaborative agreement with a family practice physician at the VNA health center.It is a legal document between the physician and FNP stating the relationship and similar unique practice skills of each individual. Linda has had a collaborative agreement with the same ob./gyn physician for the past 20 years. They have built a close professional and personal relationship to give woman excellent health care. The purpose of this agreem ent is having specific guides for CNM care, protocols and standing orders including prescriptive authority. Both women described their credentialing and privilege process within the VNA health center and at Proverna Mercy Center. Jolene went through an interview process with the human resource department and the medical director of the health center. She supplied them with her application, licensure, education, and documentation of experience and clinical competency. The process was different for Linda because clinical privileges at Provena Mercy Center involve a detailed processing. Credentialing is the first process; same as Jolene the credential and competency documents are supplied  through the HR department. The difference in Linda’s process, she received a recommendation from her sponsored physician and extensively interview with the medical review board. The result of the interview and information supplied is used to make a decision to grant privileges Both Jolene and Linda had a 90-day period of time focused on professional practice under their collaborative physicians. With ever-changing health care in APN practices active membership and participation is needed in professional’s organizations. Jolene expressed she is not a member of the American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) because of personal financial problems. Linda is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). The example Linda gave was the ACNM is moving toward integrating certified midwives (CMs) with certified nurse midwives (CNMs). She is very interest in the legislation on this issue. Along that discussion I asked about furthering ones education to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Jolene commented in the future she would like to pursue her DNP along with her becoming a nurse midwife. The DNP is necessary because the APN scope of practice will widen and more education is needed. Linda received her DNP in 2012 at the University of Illinois. Linda took the clinician expert track in the DNP program because, later in her career, she may want to teach in the clin ical setting. Jolene and Linda are both passionate about their practices—and proud of their contributions to patient recovery. Jolene feels she has helped the underserved and enjoys the variety of disease management. She had a Hispanic man with uncontrolled diabetes. She expressed that patients with chronic diseases tend to have a fatalistic attitude. Jolene, through persistence, convinced him to seek nutritional consults and diabetic education, which caused the man to commit to be compliant and have healthy lifestyle. With Jolene’s help, the man realized he was going to die if he did not take care of himself. Linda contribution to midwifery and woman care is many years of delivering babies, not all deliveries are happy. Some babies are stillborn or babies are born premature, and some with undiagnosed congenital anomalies. Part of  Linda’s spiritual belief is that all babies are gifts from God and all life is precious. An example she related to me was about a Hispanic patient screaming in the labor room. The woman already received some medication for pain. The nurses were getting frustrated at this patient because of the constant yelling. This patient was not a typical midwife patient. Linda was on call when this woman came into the hospital through the emergency room with no prenatal care. Linda came to see the woman and sat down at the bedside and held her hand gently and stroked it her hand. The woman never cried out, Linda did labor support and delivered her baby. After the baby was born, the woman told Linda in broken English that when she touched her the fear lifted from her . It was a pleasure to interview these 2 caring professional women from different APN career paths. Learning about their inspiration entering nursing, sharing day to day details, and the emotion expressed in their compassion for each area of practice. Gaining knowledge of the educational and credentialing process to insure competency in practice and patient safety. Lastly, hearing the personal accounts of their contributions and rewards for giving exceptional patient care.

Video Game Ethical Issues

Kuan-Yu Lin Brenda Varda HMN-101-01 10/28/2012 Ethical Issue Essay: Final Draft Video games have always been an important part of the entertainment industry since its appearance in 1970’s. They have been played worldwide and effect many people. While the children are already playing the games, the number of women gamers, as well as the age level of gamers in general is increasing.As technology advances, video games with more diversity and real-life experience are slowly creeping into parts of our life and gaining its momentum in the society. Due to its quick development, many ethical issues associated with video games have been brought to our attention. Therefore, we should understand how video games are ethically influencing people within its realm. The four major ethical issues which will be discussed are issues of violence, education, stereotyping and addiction. Video games are enjoying fast-growing popularity, becoming a major component of young people's social lives and leisure activities.First of all, a major concern which has been discussed continuously regarding video games is violence. Violence in video games is considered as the visual presentation of characters fighting, gun shooting, physical injury or death to characters. Recently, more and more video games involving violent behavior are taking over the game selection on the shelves. Comparing to games made in the 70’s, 80’s, recent games feature tougher, more aggressive heroines and more games are made specifically for adults.Research consistently declares that most top-selling video games involve violence. In order to prevent the potential harm to children, youth and society of this negative influence, lots of research has focused on the consequence of violent video games. Video game research indicates that playing violent video games increases aggression, hostility, and aggressive thoughts. (Anderson, Buckley, & Gentile, 2007; Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Anderson, Carnagey, F lanagan, Benjamin, Eubanks & Valentine, 2004;Anderson & Dill, 2000).In their research, they conclude that engaging games which have content related to violence may possibly increase a person’s aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in real life. Some other studies focusing on college student playing video games also point out that students playing violent games are also engaging in more aggressive behavior. It has been claimed by many critics of the media industry that the incident at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999 was caused by the influence of violent video games.It was shown on BBC news that both students shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, had played and enjoy violent video games. â€Å"Relatives of people killed in the Columbine massacre are seeking damages from computer game makers, claiming their products helped bring about the killings. † Although video games can help players relieving stress, they can also affect gamer s in a harmful way. It is both the players’ and the game makers’ responsibility to be aware of the negative effects of video gaming. Games with harmful content might be leading negative effects; they still have values considered being beneficial in certain aspect.Games are popular in the community of youth and have many qualities that make them wonderful teaching tools. Through the educational perspective, both adults and children learn many things by playing video games. Games with positive content show positive effects. For example, playing a dancing video game can help children lose weight (Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution, 2007; O’Hannon, 2007; Epstein, Beecher, Graf & Roemmich, 2007). As mentioned before, videogames could be an excellent tool for learning. In particular, players are learning in an active way with practice and feedback.Because they are fun, children are highly motivated with video gaming, when people are motivated, they usually perform better, thus lead in to a better result. Also, games usually have clear objectives with adaptable difficulty levels. Games with increasing difficulty across levels allow player to apply past learning. Lastly, games allow children to apply to what they learn in different problems and contexts. Some believe that video games help improve life skill such as logic and problem solving. They also can improve hand-eye coordination and leadership skills, which can be useful for military training purposes.Having realized the efficiency and the joyful quality of learning experience in gaming, educators are able to take advantage of the positive learning characteristics of games by using the well-designed software in order to teach children more effectively. While the issues associated with violence in video games have caused huge concern among children, gender, and racial stereotypes in video games are also causing problems which require more attention. There is an unbalanced proportion betwe en male and female game players and developers. According to a recent study the average gamer age was in the mid to late 20's with 60% men playing and 40% women. †2 The whole gaming industry is overwhelmed by the male population. Most of the games on the market are targeted to only male players. Dietz’s, one of the earliest studies to examine stereotypical portrayals in video games, analyzed the depiction of women in a sample of 33 most popular Nintendo and Sega Genesis video games. The study categorized the female characters in those games into four possible stereotypes based on their appearances and behaviors. Females as sex objects or prizes, females as victims, females in feminine roles, and females as heroes or action characters. Not surprisingly, Dietz (1998) found that 41% of the games were devoid of female characters. Only 15% (5 out of 33) portrayed women as heroes or action characters, while 21% (7 out of 33) portrayed women as victims or as so called ‘d amsel in distress’. At the same time, in 28% of these games, women were portrayed as sex objects based upon physical appearance or sexually-oriented actions. Following the discussion of female character as indicator of sexuality, most of the female characters in video games have clothing that exposed more skin than the male characters. The research also found out that the female characters appearing in gaming most likely wear low-cut clothing. About half of the female characters have bare arms and legs with big busted figure. * In essence, these female characters in video games were portrayed in a stereotypical way in which they were exaggerated by sexy attire. That leads to the exclusion of female players in video game industry.Although the number of game designed for female gamers is increasing slowly, it is crucial for both consumers and game makers to make the video games more engaging for both sexes either by changing the content of the game or by expanding the choice of games. They should be designed in a way that they are attractive for both male and female players. Finally, the last ethical issue I want to talk about is the addiction of engaging video games. Some people spent immense amount of time playing video games and caused them to lose valuable time participating in activities which are more beneficial for them.However, video games could be considered as one of social activities because friends, siblings, and other relatives can play with it. Bibliography (not yet in proper MLA format, I will work on in for the final paper) http://evvy09. hubpages. com/hub/Video-Games-Have-Changed-the-World http://www. ethicapublishing. com/ethical/3CH12. pdf https://www. msu. edu/~pengwei/Mou%26Peng_gender%20and%20racial%20stereotype. pdf http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/science/nature/1295920. stm

Victoria Secret in Turkey

The Middle East consists of several countries in West Asia. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, and Gaza, are all the 19 countries that are categorized as the Middle East. The term Middle East is considered to be a Eurocentric term and is used as a synonym for the Near East. Since the Middle East extends over so many countries, there are major economic, cultural, and religious differences.Some of the countries in the Middle East are extremely wealthy oil nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, that generate large amount of revenue and are on the top list of the world’s wealthiest nations based on income per capita. And then there are some really poor nations, like Gaza and Yemen, which are characterized by unrest and war. The Middle East also varies a lot when it comes to culture and religion. Islam is the biggest religion i n the Middle East and many of the countries have really strict religious rules, with little freedom for women.But there are also countries where Judaism and Christianity are represented, and women have equal or almost equal rights as men. Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977, in San Francisco by Roy Raymond. It started with three stores and a mail-order catalog. In 1982, after only five years of operations, Raymond sold the company to Leslie Wexner for $4 million. During the 80’s Victoria’s Secret rapidly expanded into U. S malls. By the early 90’s Victoria’s Secret had become the largest American lingerie retailer, topping one billion dollars.There are approximately 1,000 Victoria’s secret lingerie stores and 100 independent Victoria’s Secret Beauty stores in the U. S. We sell a range of brassieres, panties, hosiery, cosmetics, sleepwear, and other products. In 1995 Victoria’s Secret had their first fashion show, which today has become a huge hit. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Miranda Kerr. Because of the huge differences in economy, culture, and religion, we at Victoria’s Secret decided to focus on one country at a time.We decided that it would be the best opportunity to open our store in Turkey. Turkey has the largest economy in the Middle East based on nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and the cultural and religious barriers are not as dominant as in some of the other Middle Eastern countries. Turkey also has a huge market for tourism. Market Turkey has a large population with 71 million people. They have generally a young population, with 61% of the people being younger than the age of 35. Turkey’s average gross national product (GNP) per capita is $7,500.About 71% of the population lives in the urban areas. Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city with about 12 million peo ple, and Ankara, the capital, has about 5 million people. Turkey is located in Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Turkey’s location gives them an excellent base for economic activities throughout the region. Turkey has a budget revenue of $176. 8 billion and a budget expenditure of $189. 2 billion. Turkey is running a budget deficit of 1. 6% of real GDP.This budget deficit, together with uncertainty related to the monetary policy-making, and political disorder in Turkey’s neighbor countries, makes the Turkish economy vulnerable to destabilization shifts in investors’ confidence. Turkey has a young and well-educated population, but 10. 3% of the Turkish population is unemployed. The labor force is 27. 43 millions, where 25. 5% works within the agricultural sector, 26. 2% works in industries, and 48. 4% works within the service sector. Young people between the age of 15 and 24, 25% are unemployed. Women are still an untapped labor force in Turkey.Researchers say that about half of all Turkish women enter the labor market at some point in their lives, but most end up quitting because of family obligations or poor working conditions. We feel that this is a great opportunity for our company, because our target market is women. We will strive to create ideal working conditions for all of our employees so they feel that they want to keep working for Victoria’s Secret. Economic and Political Climate We at Victoria’s Secret have been attracted to the Turkish market by the country’s rapidly expanding economy, political and economic stability, and the possibility of European Union membership.Since Turkey is an associated member of the EU, it had to adopt many directives, regulations, and laws that are required by the EU. Turkey is going through changes, to strengthen its democracy and integrate its economy into the global market. The changes that Turkey is going through are goin g to be beneficial to us, because it will make Turkey an easier market to enter and to do business in. It is also crucial for us that Turkey’s government are become a more stable government. It would be hard for Victoria’s Secret to thrive when the government is unstable and there are rapid and drastic policy changes.For a business to survive in a foreign country, it is crucial that there is a government that can maintain itself in power and whose fiscal, monetary, and political policy are predictable. Turkey has an open market economy, with a blend of both modern and traditional industries. Turkey’s industry and service sector are becoming the major drivers of the Turkish economy. Their private sector is becoming increasingly important, as state involvement is reducing. The traditional textiles and clothing sectors, still account for one-third of industrial employment in Turkey.During 2011, the United Sates exported to Turkey for $15 billion, this is 34% increa se from 2010. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has in the recent years been attracted to Turkey because of their market reforms, strong growth and economic and political stability. The U. S. has officially invested about $6-7 billion in Turkey, a number that is understated because U. S. companies have invested through third countries. There are no restrictions over the export of goods from Turkey. Exports are exempt from the value added tax (VAT), duties and transaction taxes. Goods manufactured in Turkey have a duty free access to the EU.There are also no import restrictions over goods imported to Turkey, with the exclusion of some restraints of very minor character. For imports that are imported to Turkey from countries other than European Union, customs duties and charges are applicable in agreement with the requirements of the customs union. Regardless of origin of goods, whether from the EU or a non-EU country, VAT is at a rate 18% (1% or 8% for certain basic goods). Good and se rvices imported into the country, industrial, commercial, agricultural goods and services, and deliveries of goods and services caused by other activities, are all subject to VAT.The guidelines involving to the remittance of foreign capital and dividends out of the country are set out in Law No. 1567. According to these regulations, foreign investors have the same privileges and responsibilities as Turkish investors. The regulations also guarantee the transfer of profits, fees, and royalties and the repatriation of capital in the case of a liquidation or sale. For foreign businesses to enter into Turkey there is no longer a minimum amount of capital requirement, due to Turkey’s new Foreign Direct Investment Law. â€Å"It is no longer obligatory to bring a minimum of $50,000 in share capital. As long as the form of company is included in the Turkish Commercial Code, it is your own choice on what company you want to establish. â€Å"It is no longer obligatory to establish eit her a limited liability company or joint stock company. † In 2006, Turkey cut its corporate income tax rate from 30% to 20% making it one of the most competitive rates in the OECD. These corporate income tax rates, has mad Turkey an attractive business environment that presents advantages and potential opportunities for business wishing to enter the market. Culture and InfluencesCulture is defined as â€Å"the sum of the total of the beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations. † Societies are composed of its people and their culture; it is therefore difficult to talk about one aspect without referring to the other. Sociocultural has become the term that is used among businesspeople when talking about cultures and societies. For Victoria’s Secret to be successful in opening a store in Turkey it is crucial for us to realize that there are a culture differences from that of our own, as well as learning the characteris tics of the culture so that we can adapt to them.Since culture is so broad, a listing of its components may ease the analysis of the sociocultural viewpoint. These components include: aesthetics, attitudes and beliefs, religion, material culture, language, societal organization, education, legal characteristics, and political structures. The component that apply for Victoria’s Secret launch in Turkey is in particular religion, but aesthetics, and societal organization can also have an impact.Religion is an important component of culture and holds responsibility for many attitudes and beliefs the people have. In Turkey, the people practices the religion Islam and the population consist of 99. 8% Muslims, mostly Sunni. The Muslims follows the Koran, which is the collection of Allah’s revelations to Muhammad, and is said to be the messenger of God. Following the Koran means freedom, and it is said to bring happiness for the Muslim to follow Gods word. For all Muslims the basic spiritual duties consist of the ive pillars of faith: accepting the confession of faith; making the five daily prayers while facing Mecca; giving charity; fasting during the daylight hours of Ramadan, a 29- or 30-day month in Islam’s lunar calendar; making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a person’s lifetime. The Turkish state is becoming more and more modernized, and so is also its religion. Turkey seeks to modernize Islam because they believe that it might hinder their development in becoming a more globalized and modern country. We believe that Turkey is a good place to open our next store in the Middle East because they are open for this kind of new businesses.Aesthetics refers to a culture’s sense of beauty and good taste. As the Turkish people are getting more modernized, they will also get more influenced by the rest of the world. We believe that the fashion trends that are popular in the U. S. will become popular in Turkey as well, and that V ictoria’s Secret lingerie can become part of the Turkish women’s daily life. Societal organization â€Å"is the patterned arrangement of relationships defining and regulation the manner by which its members interface with one another. The women in Turkey don’t have the same status as women in the U. S. , and the men and women’s roles may vary a lot. This might cause a problem when launching Victoria’s Secret in Turkey, nevertheless, we believe that the Turkish women, as they get more influence by the fashion trends in rest of the world, they will create a desire to buy our products. Victoria’s Secret is facing some sociocultural challenges when launching our business in Turkey, and we will have to give our customers some time to adapt to our products.However, when considering Turkey is development toward a more modern and global nation we have a bright outlook for the future, and believe those challenges will be exciting to tackle. Competit ion â€Å"International strategy is concerned with the way firms make fundamental choices about developing scare resources internationally. † It is going to be crucial for Victoria’s Secret to implement an international strategy because it involves decisions that deal with what products or services to offer, which markets to enter, and how to compete.It also deals with all the various functions in the organization, such as marketing and production. The goal with an international strategy is to create competitive advantage, which means that the business has achieved and maintained a unique and valuable position both globally and within a nation. To create sustainable competitive advantage it is important that a product or service creates value for consumers and for which customers are willing to pay for, are rare, are difficult to imitate or substitute, and are organized in a way that allows the company to fully exploit and capture the value of the product or service.Th ere are numerous lingerie companies in Turkey that can act as competitors when launching Victoria’s Secret in the country. The Turkish economy is growing and the local companies are developing great skills when it comes to adapt to customers demand, which results in companies that are becoming stronger when competing in the global market. However, the main reason why Victoria’s Secret has become so successful is because we have been able to create products and services that meet the criteria for a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore we believe that we will be able to successfully compete against the Turkish lingerie companies.Turkish is the predominant language in Turkey, spoken by 90% of the population. Minority languages include Kurdish, which is spoken by 6% of the population, although this isn't recognized as an official language. 1. 2% of the Turkish population speaks Arabic but most of those speakers are bilingual and speak Turkish as well. Because we wi ll compete at a local level we believe that it will be important to communicate in Turkish. We will make sure that we have employees that are fluent in Turkish to be a part of our marketing and business team in order to establish a local presence with our products.Because verbal communication is more dominant than written expression in business in Turkey we will focus much of our advertising through media such as radio and TV. Since most of population is Muslim we have to take this into consideration when creating our advertising campaigns. Something that could be a challenge for us is the variable prices many stores and competitors have. This cultural difference where everything is negotiable have to be considered when entering Turkey. A wide range of shops has no prices listed. Customers simply have to ask the price of everything and the sales person will have the right answer.Even luxury shops selling diamond jewelry are open to negotiation. We have chosen not to adjust to this c ultural difference. It does not go well with our business model and we believe that customers will be able to adjust to Victoria’s Secret stricter price listings. But, it is still something to be aware of when training our employees that will be working in our stores. Special offers and other sales or marketing tricks are common in the Turkish business environment. The â€Å"buy one, get one free† offer can be seen in most retail stores in Turkey. This is something that we will use and take advantage of.We will use the same strategies as we have in the US. Making special offers for customers if they buy more than one of selected items. Seasonal offers will also be implemented. Victoria’s Secret in the Middle East We want to make Victory Secret the most known lingerie brand in the world. By expanding with a third store in the Middle East, and more specific in Turkey, we are certain that we will be able to reach this goal. Works Cited https://www. cia. gov/library /publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu. html http://blog-en. icanlocalize. com/2008/09/marketing-challenges-turkey/ http://www. communicaid. om/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Turkey. pdf http://export. gov/turkey/doingbusinessinturkey/index. asp http://www. isik-ymm. com. tr/doingbusinessinturkey. pdf http://blog-en. icanlocalize. com/2008/09/marketing-challenges-turkey/ http://www. drpatrickcarter. com/blog/2010/09/marketing-in-turkey/ http://www. bbc. co. uk/languages/european_languages/countries/turkey. shtml https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu. html http://www. nytimes. com/2011/05/05/world/middleeast/05iht-M05-WORK-WOMEN. html https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu. html

How to play soccer Essay

How To Play Soccer?  Soccer is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball.  According to FIFA which is the international foundation of football association, soccer is  played by two hundred and fifty million players in over two hundred countries, making it the  world’s most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end.  The object of the game is to score by using any part of the body besides the arms and hands to  get the ball into the opposing goal. One way to learn how to play soccer is to know its skills,  field and equipment and the general rules. There are five fundamental skills that a beginner player should know before starting  playing soccer. The major skill is passing, knowing how to pass the ball to other teammates is a  major part of the game by using the inside part of the foot. In addition to passing, controlling  the ball is another necessary skill that any player should master. Also, dribbling an opponent  with or without the ball is a skill that needs some techniques, not every soccer player can  dribble. Moreover, kicking the ball is a major skill that allows players to score goals, to kick a  ball, a player should hit the ball in the center by using the front of the foot. Finally, stopping  the opponent or tackling is one of the duties that is assigned to defenders and midfielders, they  try as much as they can to recuperate the ball from the opponent team in order to rebuild an  attack. Passing, controlling, dribbling, kicking and tackling are the five major skills in soccer. Additionally, soccer is played in a rectangular field that is divided into two parts.  The length of the field is one hundred and thirty yards and the width is hundred yards.  In addition, there are eleven player in each side of the field, every player has a position that is  assigned by the coach who choose the best tactic to play, the most famous tactic is 4-4-2: one  goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and two attackers. Furthermore, we don’t need  much equipment to play soccer, all what we need is a spherical ball, a jersey, a short and shin  guards to protect players legs. The Field, players positions and the equipment are three vital  elements in playing soccer.  Moreover, like other sports, soccer has its own rules. There is four referees, the duty of  the official referee is to enforce the laws of the game and control the match in co-operation  with the two assistant referees and with the fourth official who organize substitutions. There are  two types of warnings in soccer, yellow and red card. The referee give one the cards basing on  the foul committed. For example, if a defender touches the ball by his hand voluntarily, the  referee give him a yellow card, if the player touches the ball inside the operating area the referee  gives him a red card which means an expulsion from the match. In addition, there are two kinds  of kicks in soccer, direct and indirect kick. In direct kick the player kicks the ball directly to  the net. In contrast, in the indirect kick, the player passes the ball to one of his teammate to  continue their attack operation. Having an idea about soccer rules, fouls and the different types  of kicks may help players to get familiar with the circumstances of matchs.  Finally, based on my experience, I believe that soccer is a wonderful sport to play  because it combines between tactical and physical skills. Also it needs few equipment and  requires to know about basic rules to ensure a better playing condition.