Two Personalities, One Stripper

For the past two and a half years I have been living with my best friend, â€Å"Bailey†, who is like a sister to me in a lot of ways. This is especially true in regards to the way in which we are able to openly confide in each other about everything and anything, just like some sisters do. In fact, our relationship is so strong Bailey even feels safe enough to trust me with the intimate, detailed stories she brings home with her every weekend after working at Shot Gun Willie’s. If you haven’t guessed by now, my roommate moonlights as a stripper, and has been working as such for the past year. I chose to write about Bailey because of the various ways in which I have witnessed her having to mentally, and physically transform herself in order to cope with the trials and tribulations that come from working at a strip club. As well as the damaging repercussions this type of occupation has had on her overall perceptions of self, the world, and her relation to/in the world. It is also because of Bailey’s repeated exposure to the lustful, perverted, and greedy sides of people that the need to develop a completely new and separate persona arose, and Bailey’s alter ego â€Å"Kimber† was created. Throughout this semester, we have learned about many different theorists and their philosophies on the different, complex environments and experiences that help to contribute to the development of the human personality. For this paper I chose to use the concepts and ideas of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Melanie Klein, and Donald Winnicott. Soon after learning about the diverse beliefs each of these theorists attributed to the creation, enhancement, and hindrance of an individual’s personality, I started to see a correlation between them and the weekly conversations/stories my roommate and I had about her experiences working at Willie’s, and the psychological effects that were beginning to develop from constantly being in this type of environment. When looking at Bailey’s situation from a few of Freud’s perspectives we can see the development of defenses starting to take root. By this I mean that Bailey begins to unconsciously employ a number of â€Å"psychological means to help keep anxiety-provoking material out of her awareness in order to reduce or avoid anxiety† (Beneath the Mask, pg. 43). One of the ways in which Bailey does this is through what Freud conceptualized as being a type of neuroses he referred to as Defense Neuroses. To Freud, this type of defense originally arose from the ego’s attempt to protect our consciousness against threatening sexual thoughts. To e, this kind of neuroses is depicted in the formation of Bailey’s new belief that all men are lying, scummy perverts as a way of protecting herself against the idea that she is somehow dirty and perverted herself for being a stripper, and secretly liking to dance naked in front of strangers. This form of defense neuroses can also be seen through the way in which Bailey tries to keep her stripper life completely separate, and hidden from the rest of her life and the world by denying and suppressing any involvement in it, because of the fact that she feels guilty about finding some enjoyment in taking her clothes off for money. Bailey also uses another one of Freud’s neuroses techniques in order to avoid experiencing anxiety, called Obsessional Neuroses, which is a disorder that involves individuals engaging in ritualistic acts to help keep them from feeling anxiety. This can be seen through the way in which Bailey routinely comes home from work, and before doing anything else (i. e. taking off her makeup, wig, or stripper clothes) she must immediately sit down, and smoke one to two bowls of weed in order to forget, as well as dull the experiences of that night’s events. While still being a little high, Bailey must take two showers so that she can thoroughly clean her entire body with exfoliating soap and a scrub brush before going to bed. She referrers to these showers as her way of escaping from the people, mindset, and feelings work puts her in by watching all her problems being washed away and sucked down the drain. If Bailey does not perform one or both of these rituals she is unable to unwind from work, which in turn makes her become highly agitated, and overwhelmed with a sense of anxiety about being a bad person because of how she chooses to financially support herself. Bailey’s urge to incessantly scrub her body multiple times, represents her unconscious need to compulsively clean the outside of her body in order to no longer feel emotionally dirty or unclean on the inside. Another way in which Bailey uses obsessional neuroses to cope with being a stripper, and avoid the emotional anxieties that come with this occupation, is through her ritualistic preparation for work. As in, the way in which she routinely transforms herself from Bailey into the completely separate Kimber. The metamorphosis from Bailey to Kimber begins with a head to toe makeover so extreme Bailey becomes nearly unrecognizable. This detailed process involves such things as, the application of face makeup that is a few shades too dark for Bailey’s natural complexion, in turn making her look like she is tanner than she really is, followed by thick amounts of pink blush, heavy eye makeup, and fake eye lashes. Bailey then organizes an outfit for Kimber that contains such essential items as vibrantly colored fishnet stockings, eight inch silver platform stiletto high-heels, two G-strings, and last but not least a top and bottom set that barely leave anything to the imagination. The ritualistic transmutation into Kimber is finally complete when Bailey puts on her long platinum blonde wig, and modifies her voice to sound higher for the rest of the night until she removes the wig. Bailey routinely performs these practices in order to try and repress all the anxieties that arise from working in such an atmosphere, as well as maintain a level of disconnect from the kind of anxiety-provoking experiences that take place in the stripper world. If for some reason Bailey does not have the opportunity to change into her Kimber self, then she is almost instantaneously plagued with a sense of worry about not being able to make money because she is too much like herself, as well as the fear that someone will recognize her as Bailey, which to her signifies the end of her life and her world as she knows it. Through Freud’s perspective, both of these types of compulsive behaviors can be seen as a form of avoidance by means of distraction, as well as a type of self-imposed penance for â€Å"having engaged in behaviors that were pleasurable but deemed as being ‘bad’ † (Beneath the Mask, pg. 43). To me Bailey’s creation of â€Å"Kimber† represents a lot of different components to Carl Jung’s theories on personality, and its development. The first is Jung’s concept of the Persona Archetype, which is the â€Å"front we present to others, because social living makes demands for certain kinds of behavior† (Beneath the Mask, pg. 65). Society does this by establishing â€Å"certain expectations and certain roles around which we must hide our ‘private’ selves† (Beneath the Mask, pg. 165). It is in this way that Kimber has become one of Bailey’s more predominant personas, in that Kimber is the mask Bailey wears in order to hide her private self from the people she encounters while working in the strip club. At first, the construction of the Kimber persona seemed like a good buffer between the people at the club and Bailey’s private self, however this persona soon began to envelope Baily’s psyche. This happened because the Kimber persona was given the opportunity to take over the psyche through becoming too attached to certain aspects of the created persona, which was due to the need for its continual and constant use. It is in this way that Kimber’s experiences have altered Bailey’s views on life and the world. As a result of this, Bailey now perceives all of her interactions and experiences in the real world outside of the strip club too narrowly in relation to men, and their specific social role and function in the world. For example, Bailey cannot help but only see men in one of two ways. To her they are either a form of testosterone driven, easily accessible capitol, that takes little to no effort to manipulate and acquire, or they are cheap, dirt-bag assholes just looking to score with anything that walks. This type of black and white thinking is directly connected to the way in which Kimber categorizes, and views men at the club in order to make her nights there as lucrative as possible. This alteration to Bailey’s opinions of men represents just how strong and successful the persona of Kimber has become in taking over Bailey’s psyche. These changes in Bailey’s way of thinking have also coincidently led to a break in her Continuity of Self, which is the way she has perceived herself as being throughout her life up until this point. Meaning that because of the modifications to Bailey’s psyche that have developed out of the creation of her Kimber persona, Bailey now perceives her role within the world and society differently, due to repetitive personal and situational experiences in the club. For instance, Bailey now sees herself as having more personal power over men and people in general, because of the ways in which she has learned to use her sexuality as a manipulative tool. Conversely she now also has a lower sense of her overall self-worth, due to the fact that because she makes money solely off of her looks and nothing else, Bailey has begun to believe that this is all that she is with nothing more to offer the world. In turn this type of mindset has helped to create many diverse types of complexes ranging from the formation of different archetypal related complexes, as well as other male related issues. hen can also be seen in the reverse way Bailey has begun to see the role of women within the world, which is that they are either judgmental prudes or excepting sexual beings, in that they are either secure or not with their own sexuality enough to except or reject the fact that strippers are real people too, and that they shouldn’t be judged simply on the basis of occupational choices. terms of what her specific social role, and purpose is within society in relation to men, and their use in the world.

How did the ‘Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appeal to the collective consciousness of Victorian Society Essay

In the Victorian Era many people were indeed superstitious of various issues that were classified by class, for example, becoming drunk would not be considered as normal, or as proper, with people from the upper classes; whereas with people from lower or working class this would have been deemed a standard activity and most likely occurred on a daily basis. In Robert Louis- Stevenson’s novel of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde just about every aspect to do with the fear of a typical upper class Victorian is explored by the life of the unfortunate Doctor. The face of Hyde is described as a criminal from everyone’s view and one of the memorable first sightings of Hyde, met by a distant cousin of Mr. Utterson, namely Mr. Enfield, claimed ‘he gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running.’ It’s a human reaction on first sightings of someone never before seen to be very stereotypical, as was the case with many upper class Victorians. If someone from a lower class did not look ordinary than they would most likely be considered a criminal. As such, the reaction from the majority of accusers was as follows: ‘I had a loathing to my gentlemen at first sight. So had the child’s family, which was only natural.’ If this was the case, than there was little the accused could do for himself, because the lower classes were never given the benefit of the doubt when there was an important or rich family involved. ‘I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with the desire to kill him.’ Even the doctor had been so taken aback by the ferocity and ugliness of this so-called human, despite doctor’s professionalism not to be judgemental in times when their attention is needed. This only shows the type of opinions that Victorians held from a range of a backgrounds. This appealed to the Victorians in a sense that, by introducing the new police force, they had succeeded with trying to bring in a law abiding country and ridding it of these criminal faces. In the early Victorian years, Charles Darwin produced a theory that claimed we had not been created by God and had instead evolved from nature. He omitted to mention which animal we had evolved from, but many ideas were developed. One such idea was the primitive ancestor reflected the troglodytic actions performed by Mr. Hyde at certain occasions. On one of these occasions Hyde murders Sir Danvers Carew. In killing Carew, Hyde ‘clubbed him to the earth’, similar to a caveman, along with ‘ape-like’ fury, and eventually ‘trampling his victim underfoot’. This idea of Darwin’s had induced a new fear in the hearts of Victorian people, that they and others around them could, perhaps, at any time, lose control of themselves or something akin to the actions of Hyde. A brief point could be made about alcohol. In the tale there are many references to the upper class doctors and lawyers; for example Mr. Utterson, who drank alone and only in small amounts for fear of the alcohol giving him cause to lose himself. He could not be seen to embarrass himself, by drinking too much and losing his social standing. This would have rendered him unacceptable to his fellow gentry. This is very similar to the life of Dr. Jekyll as drinking too much would have lead to the exposure of Hyde and his evil deeds. The way in which Victorian London has been described could have intimidated many into behaviour which avoided prejudice, at all costs, from across the classes. The two characters in the novel divided by good and evil both live in completely different conditions in London. As Hyde is a criminal and as he lives in the ‘dismal quarter of Soho, with it’s muddy ways and slatternly passengers’ then it must have caused some relief to the upper classes when they were living in clean conditions and considered to be acceptable places to reside, in turn taking the criminal far away from them. This though, brought around the new danger of these criminals escaping from their filthy conditions and creeping around the streets and labyrinths of those thought to be safe; therefore having access to their private lives and secrets. Also, Hyde’s flat is illustrated as untidy and disorganized, very similar to the life of a criminal, where they would have only a single night perhaps to lay at rest before they had to be on the move. Secrecy played an important part in Victorian lives and Stephenson’s novel explores this. ‘†¦within there was another enclosure, like wise sealed and marked upon the cover as† Not to be opened until the death or disappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and ‘All my drugs were in the cabinet – a long journey down the two pairs of stairs, through the back passage, across the open courtyard and through the anatomical theatre’. In the case of the letter, Jekyll would rather have his secrets unveiled after he has died. This is due to the good doctor trying to save himself from the embarrassment and mockery he would receive had someone discovered what he got up to when he was alone. This was also a problem with many among the upper classes, as their many ‘distractions’ in life, like alcohol, were not considered acceptable, so they would have had to be done in secret. In the second quote, it is a surprise to find a doctor with drugs and medicines hidden away in the most secluded part of this house. This links back to the same point of revealing his habits and what could happen to him, living in shame for the rest of his life. Intolerable to Victorians was shame. This relates back to many Victorians regarding their class as imperatively important, not something to lose in the agony of public humiliation, should their private activities be revealed in the public domain.

Marco and Mirco Economic Affecting the Performance of Aon Corporation Essay

Marco and Mirco Economic Affecting the Performance of Aon Corporation Shares - Essay Example This paper will seek to analyze macro and microeconomic factors of this company affecting its daily performance in thte sale of its shares in the stock exchange market. Although the company has been receiving different awards in different categories in its services provision arena, there are other factors influencing its performance of its major product, shares, in the stock exchange market. Aon has relevant demand and supply factors that influence its sales of shares and the volume of accrued profits at the end of its fiscal year. For instance, there are global factors that affect its reinsurance brokerage supply chain such as record reinsurer capital. Documented evidence shows that, due to reinsurance supply of reinsurer capital, the level of reinsurer capital increased by 17 percent, during the first nine months of 2010, surpassing its peak capital level of 2007. Surprisingly, reinsurer capital of Aon is still in excess of demand for capacity up to date and because of this demand, the level of traded shares increased drastically. According to Aon Benfield, the demand for its shares has been a fundamental and overwhelming factor for the majority of its services. This is because; insurers are facing downward pricing pressure forcing them to release more of their redundancies hence increasing their demand for reinsurance (Baumol & Blinder, 2008:84). This is practically vital for Aon Corporation since increased demand for reinsurance means more profits as stock exchange market participation rises in order to raise adequate funds for the extra demand and supply. The market structure of Aon Corporation with response to trading of shares in the stock exchange market is a wide one, figured to deliver the best and effective services to its active stock exchange market share buyers and sellers worldwide through sub branches, online, or phone (eTrade) (Wapler, 2003:46). Due to its need to have a structured market globally, it established Global Business Units that help to integrate its corporate culture of work within as well as across borders. What connects all these units is the Company’s shared purpose and vision, which has uniform standards together with a state of the art technology. This global network of companies provides the most effective structure of market suitable for its share trading and active participation in the stock exchange market. There are few things that Aon Corporation should do in order to, either continue making profits in this market structure or move towards more profit generating market structure. To begin with, Aon has an organic market structure that depends primarily on its existing demand for risks, need for insurance, human resource consulting services and hugely on share trading. Secondly, its structural market also targets corporations, government arms, insurance companies and so many other organizations with potent ability to actively-participate in the stock exchange market. With such a broad market s tructure, the company continues to record a great deal of profits from its sell of shares. Despite accruing profits from sell of its shares at this structural market, the company experiences cyclical economic swings owing to stock exchange market fluctuations that impose more pressure on the active participation in the stock exchange market of the company. As a result, there is need for maintenance and creation of a more reputable market structure

Organizational Behavior Forces Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Behavior Forces - Term Paper Example These factors either independently or collectively possess a huge potential in building an organizations standing in the market. An Organization is a body comprised of several identities and particular structure assembled together under a single roof for the achievement of a particular goal or a set of identified objectives. As stated by Carter McNamara (2007), an organization is basically a group of people that are intentionally structured to achieve a complete and a common target of aims. These organizations can consist of either two to millions of people. This firm structure called as an organization possesses a great deal of factors that can affect it directly and indirectly as well. Similarly, an organization includes internal and external factors that can lay down several impacts and effects upon it. The internal factors possess the capability to inspire the organizational activities internally. Contrarily, the external factors can influence the organizational acts externally. The internal forces of an organization include the organizational mission, the structure and strategy of the organization, the organizational design, the organizational culture, the administration and the top team of the organization and many others. The organizational mission enables the basic standing of the organization. If the mission of a firm is strong and stable, the entire organizational team is focused towards achieving and accomplishing the goal. Contrarily, if the organizational goal is unidentified and unclear, the team shows no motivation and encouragement towards the goal accomplishment. The organizational structure and strategy are the essential forces that lay down the basis for the organizational development and progress (Burke, 1982). Through the strategy of an organization, all the team members can be bonded and united and can be motivated towards the attainment of the organizational goal. The

Traditional telecom and cellular industry in Developed World Essay

Traditional telecom and cellular industry in Developed World - Essay Example While the traditional telecom industry has revolutionised the whole concept of communication and shorten distance between the continents, the invention of cellular services has totally changed the ways of information and communication. Telecommunications rollout boosts economic growth and enhances consumer well-being in the global trade and information scenario. As wireless technologies require much lower cost to roll out over large areas than fixed line systems, mobiles can potentially play a vital role in economic development. Mobile communications have contributed significantly towards enhancing income and improving quality of life in the developed world. Cellular phones have played a vital role in enhancing social capital and thereby significantly improve competitiveness of business and reducing cost in many developed world. Today about 100 percent of American citizens between the age of 20- 50 uses cellular phones. The technology in this sector has witnessed a dramatic change with the introduction of many digital based solutions. Every day cellular companies are incorporating new services to woo more customers. Today cellular phones have attained a new role as a total solution provider at a finger touch. The celluar phones are also work as a personal computer and provide all the services of a personal computer. According to eT Forecasts's report, Cellular Subscriber Forecast By Country, the total number of cellular subscribers world wide was only 11 million in 1990 and among them 49 percent were in USA. From 1990-2005, cellular subscriber number grew by 187 fold to 2,065 million. But in this period share of US in the total number of subscribers fell below 10 percent. It is estimated that the subscriber base in USA would be increased from 202 million in 2005 to 293 million by 2010.The traditional teleco m sector in USA has also increased considerably during 1990-2005. It was 132 million traditional telecom lines in 1990 but it has increased to 177 million in 2005. According to eTForecastes, there are a number of reasons for major drive of cellular industry in developed world. It says that network expansion, text messaging, multiple SIM cards, camera phones, family plans and expansion of 3G network where instrumental in strong growth of cellular industry up to the year 2005. But it will be Multi-function handsets, 3G & 3.5G network expansion, un-metered data pricing, multiple SIM cards and machine to machine, MMS and video services and internet access and new content will be the driving force from 2006- 2010. The report also cautions that the subscriber growth in developed countries would be limited as the market has already reached at a saturation level. So machine-to-machine (M2M) communication where embedded wireless modems are used for data transmission is termed as one of the potential area of growth. In the next decade the cellular industry will witness a dramatic change in its look and content. The mobile handsets may get new utilities and will be a communication tool for voice, data, pictures and video content. The handsets will work as a personal computer, which can use for all type of computing and data storage for business and personal contents. It can be also used as a personal identification device for financial

Select one of the locations of the assigned multinational corporation( Essay

Select one of the locations of the assigned multinational corporation( NOKIA) and discuss it in terms of the form of its interna - Essay Example The main aim of the company is to maintain the position in the world in spite of huge competition from both Google as well as Microsoft. They have a strong brand with which they may have great future plans. The company is offering excellent service and comprehensible software to the billions of customers along with operators in the world (Nokia, n.d.). The new strategies have been developed by the company which are related to the transformation of operational structure along with leadership in order to facilitate the company to accelerate in competitive environment. Their main strategies include developing a new wining ecosystem of mobile they have intended to make a strategic partnership along with Microsoft. They have developed the strategy to make investment in the disruptive technologies of subsequent generations. To make a good focus on result, accountability as well as speed, they build an effective organisational structure along with efficient leadership team (Nokia Connecting People, 2011). The company is concerned with developing, manufacturing as well as designing of communication devices. They offer internet service in order to facilitate various facilities such as video, music, and games to the users. The company operates in three reportable segments which include ‘Devices and Services’, ‘Nokia Siemens Networks’ and ‘NAVTEQ’. Devices and Services consist of Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Mobile Phones. Under NAVTEQ, it provides services and digital maps related information along with location based content (Docstoc, 2010). In 1985, Nokia first started its operation in Australia with a view to build the telecommunication network of the country. Nokia Mobile phones were first used by Australian customers in the year 1993. In 2000, Nokia Internet Communications began its operations with the purpose of providing products for internet security along with solutions for ventures. In Australia, the company has ga ined wonderful success with its developed brand and became the market leader with its mobile technology, network infrastructure as well as services and products of the enterprise. The company also achieved ‘National Best Employer’ of â€Å"Best Employer to Work for in Australia Awards† in 2002. The new technologies with its Future Lab facility are also developed in Sydney. The Future Lab is a mutual project between Nokia and Optus which has been designed in order to develop mobile technologies, applications and services and then delivery to the market. Besides these Nokia Australia participates enthusiastically in the community with a view of supporting numerous charities. They are also involved in participating in Land Care; as well as Coast Care initiatives in Australia (Nokia Connecting People, 2011). In Australia, Nokia Australia Pty Limited is recognised as a ‘foreign owned private company’. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nokia Corporati ons. It’s headquarter is located in Pyrmont in New South Wales. Nokia Australia Pty Limited offers various products as well as services. The mobile devices which include phones along with accessories are sold and marketed to both domestic as well as

Law of Evidence. write of silence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law of Evidence. write of silence - Essay Example However, as observed in R v Beckles, such inferences cannot be used to establish guilt. The House of Lords in R v Webber of 2004 that pursuant to Section 34 facts may include any fact that is an issue at the trial and tendered by the defendant in his or her defence. Moreover, facts will include any explanation or fact that the defendant would have logically raised at an earlier stage of the criminal proceedings. According to the ruling in R v Ali, the only recourse a defendant may have is to either deny culpability at the police station or to prepare a statement setting out his or her defence so as to preserve the right to raise the defence at trial. The right to a fair trial guaranteed by Article 6 of the ECHR demands however, that prosecutors bear the burden of proof. It was ruled in R v Condron that directions to the jury must be given with caution emphasizing the right to silence. The Judicial Studies Board established 6 points intended to ensure that adverse inferences contained in section 34 do not contradict Article 6. The 6 points correspond with the 6 requirements for adverse inferences as laid doing in R v Argent and are: There must be proceedings. Failure to mention a fact must predate the charge or when being charged. The omission must have occurred while being questioned under caution. The questions must have related to determining who committed the offence. The omitted fact must be one subsequently used in defence at the trial. The omitted fact must be one that accused was logically expected to mention. The courts have tried to set limits to what amounts as a new fact and to preserve the defendant’s right to remain silent. For example in R v McGarry, the defendant was charged with causing grievous bodily harm. In a written statement taken by the police, the defendant claimed that he acted in self-defence and did not answer police questions. At his trial, the defendant testified to facts substantiating and building on his claim of self-defen ce. The trial judge said that he was not inviting the jury to draw an adverse inference since D had not raised a new fact but did state that it was up to the jury to determine whether or not they wished to draw an adverse inference. The defendant was convicted and appealed. The appeal was allowed because the trial judge had a duty to direct the jury that they were not at liberty to hold the defendant’s failure to answer police questions since he did not rely on a new fact. R v B (MT) partially deals with circumstances in which a defendant may not be aware that a new fact may provide him or her with a defence. In this case the defendant was accused of sexual raping his stepdaughter, a minor and another girl under the age of 16. When questioned by the police, the defendant could not identify a motive for the girls to lie. However, at trial, his stepdaughter testified that she resented the defendant and did not want him to live with her mother. The defendant used this informatio n in his defence. The trial judge directed the jury that they could draw an adverse inference from this if they felt that it was reasonable for the defendant to raise the issue of motive while being questioned by police. The defendant was convicted and upon appeal, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal on the grounds that the fact relied on was not a fact that the defendant could have known when questioned by the police. Likewise in Murray v UK before the European Court of Human Rights it was held

Does specialization must lead to an evolutionary dead end Term Paper

Does specialization must lead to an evolutionary dead end - Term Paper Example The term ‘specialist’ refers to organisms that are adapted to a narrow range of environmental conditions and thus occupy one extreme of the adaptation band. On the other end are ‘generalists’, which are able to utilize a wider range of environmental conditions. Factors such as â€Å"jack of all, master of none† and freedom from natural enemies, have been used to justify the prevalence of specialists, however; it has also been postulated that in spite of these advantages, specialization would gradually lead to loss of genetic variations, thus disabling capacity of adaptation to altered set of environmental conditions. These factors would eventually lead to extinction of a specialized organism, a theory first put forward by Cope IN 1896 and termed â€Å"law of the unspecialized† (Kelly and Farrel, 1998). Another implication of this concept is that the specialists are derived from generalists and the change is irreversible. This theory has been ch allenged by larger number of recent studies, and the evidences contradicting the implications of this theory are mounting. These evidences have proved that either no directionality exists in the evolution of specialists and generalists or that the generalists have evolved from specialist ancestors (Stireman III, 2005). In either case specialization definitely does not lead to an evolutionary dead end. That this trend is not an exception or restricted to a few taxa, is evidenced by the fact that such reports are available for organisms belonging to varied phyla including angiosperms, insects, fishes, mammals and microorganisms. This paper aims to prove that specialization does not definitely lead to an evolutionary dead end using evidences from relevant researches on floral plants, parasites, and mammals. As further evidence of this concept a plausible mechanism through which transition of specialist to generalist has been reported to occur will also be discussed. II. EVIDENCES FROM FLORAL PLANTS Floral plants depend on various species acting as pollen vectors for the completion of their reproductive cycle. Thus pollen biology is an integral part of study of evolution of floral plants. Darwin had stressed the importance of the role of pollen vectors in the reproduction of floral plants and its ecological and evolutionary significance (Harder and Aizen, 2010). Specialization of plants in context to their pollination apparatus and pollinators has major impact on the diversification of the species and is of paramount significance in its sympatric reproductive isolation, even leading to speciation (Gegear and Burns, 2007). Cope’s law has been traditionally applied to pollination biology as well and the hypothesis that specialized pollination systems have evolved from ancestral generalized systems has been accepted unchallenged. This has neither been established nor studied. However, among the recent reports challenging the universality of Cope’s law, some belong to highly specific dependence of floral plants and their pollination vectors. The genera Ruellia with approximately 300 species is characterized by diverse floral morphology and varied pollinators namely bees, hummingbirds, hawk moths, bats, butterflies etc.

Describe how you would motivate members of the organization to adapt Research Proposal

Describe how you would motivate members of the organization to adapt and accept continuous change - Research Proposal Example In order to unfreeze these prevailing norms, or the status quo, overcoming resistance among individuals and conformity among groups is crucial. In Lewin’s model, the shift to a desired state can be done by one of the three: lowering the restraining forces to change; increasing the driving forces to get into the desired state; or both. The change in leadership entails a new vision. And in order to carry out this vision, there are specific steps the new leadership lays out which will be the cause of individual resistances within the corporation. The first alternative is to increase the driving forces. Driving forces usually come in the form of incentive, for employees to accept and comply to change. It may assume other forms, but driving forces are the usual motivating forces behind the transition. Another alternative is to decrease the restraining forces to change. As change prompts uncertainty, people tend to protect their interests and resort into power struggles. By eliminating these sorts of restraining forces in the form of employee counseling, seminars and educational programs, forces that hinder change due to individual resistance can be neutralized. In the extreme cases where the resistance is high, status quo can be unfreezed by combining the two approaches: eliminating the restraining forces, and increasing the driving forces. In this way, the incentive to accept change plus measures to lower down the resistance among employees will work in order to unfreeze the status quo. When the status quo is unfreezed, and employees are set for the change that is to happen within the company, the new leadership can enact the changes. When new leadership entails new vision for the company, the changes that may come can include changes in the corporate objectives, thus there will be changes in corporate strategies. These changes in strategies usually require changes in organizational structure and a change in the

Skin cancer Essay Example for Free

Skin cancer Essay Skin cancer is a disease that affects millions of people every year. While most forms of this cancer are caused by environmental factors, there are some forms that are caused by mutations in our genes that we have inherently developed. Those who are from a family that has been diagnosed with melanoma are up to three times more likely to develop the cancer in their lifetime. There are a few genes that are responsible for the development of melanoma and in this paper I will seek to explore the causes and factors involved in melanoma as well as our varying pigmentation. The genes and mutations responsible for melanoma are as follows. These genes are germ-line, which means they are passed from parent to child. CDKN2A: this gene is the most commonly mutated in genetically-inherited melanoma but still presents in those with those diagnosed with non-genetic melanoma. This mutation causes misshapen and dark moles and is often diagnosed early in life. MC1R: this gene is the one responsible for determining a person’s sensitivity to light. It also plays a key role in determining red hair color, fair skin and ability to tan. Those with darker skin have more than one of these genes and tend to develop skin cancer more frequently. MDM2: more prevalent mutations in women diagnosed with cancer, this gene determines how many copies are made within a cell and is exaggerated by a predisposition to UV sensitivity. BRF, P16, EGF and Fas are genes that are mutated by environmental factors and are predominately forced into mutation by exposure to UV light. In addition to genes, we also have melanin that is present in our bodies that is a determining factor in the color of our hair, skin and eyes. While everyone has melanin in their cells, the amount from person to person is not equal. The more melanin present in your skin, the darker your complexion will be. The different types of melanin present in the iris produce pigmentation there, and these factors are largely dependent on the coloration of your biological parents. For someone who has a predisposition to UV sensitivity, I would highly recommend that they avoid prolonged UV exposure. If they do decide to go out in the sun I would suggest that they use a high powered sun block to avoid burning, as those who have a blistering burn up their chances of developing melanoma hugely. Lastly I would suggest that they completely avoid tanning beds and lying out, and make sure to maintain a skin regimen that protects their already vulnerable cells to the mutations that cause this common cancer. Bibliography DeChiara, T. (2009, May 04). An Introduction to Cancer Genetics and Melanoma. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from About.com: http://skincancer.about.com/od/riskfactors/a/melanoma_genes.htm Genetic Control On and Off Genes. (2000, January 1). Retrieved January 18, 2013, from Biology Online: http://www.biology-online.org/3/1_genetic_control.htm

Different Temperatures On Degradation

Different Temperatures On Degradation Abstract: This experiment was planned to study how different temperatures can affect the loss of vitamin C in orange juice stored for a fixed period of time. Equal volume of freshly squeezed orange juices with known (initial) vitamin C concentration were stored at different temperatures i.e. 10oC, 20 oC, 30 oC, 40 oC, 50 oC and 60 oC for a constant duration of 5 days. After the storage period, the vitamin C concentration for each temperature was measured by DCPIP titration and the difference relative to the initial concentration was calculated to calculate the amount of vitamin C reduced. The result of this experiment showed that the amount of vitamin C lost increases with the increase in temperature and 10oC was the best temperature that gave the least reduction in vitamin C concentration. An analysis using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient has revealed a strong positive linear relationship between the two variables with the calculated r value exceeds the critical value at 5 % si gnificant level thus, supporting the experimental hypothesis. Keywords: vitamin C, ascorbic acid, DCPIP (dichlorophenolindophenol) Research and Rationale: Vitamin C is a remarkable compound derived from one of the ascorbic enantiomers, L-ascorbate. It is a water soluble vitamin that cannot be naturally synthesized in human body.1 Therefore, it is vital to have our diet balanced with adequate amount of it every day. There are two important roles played by vitamin C; antioxidant and collagen formation.2 These two features have placed vitamin C in a class of its own as a future potential in fostering better health. A previous research regarding relationship between vitamin C and human brain has shown that vitamin C could help drugs to pass the blood brain barrier.6 This would enable brain diseases such as Parkinson to be effectively treated as artificial dopamine can be delivered directly to the brain. At the same time, the biggest challenge in bone marrow treatment i.e. getting enough cells, could possibly be solved as a recent study by Dunagqing Pei13 on vitamin C, has found that it can boost the production and pluripotency of stem cells in human body. However, Vitamin C is also known to be very vulnerable towards heat. The precursor of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, has molecular of C6H8O6. The proximity of highly electronegative oxygen atoms on the hydroxyl (OH) groups makes the hydrogen atoms to become easily detached from the structure. Meanwhile, the presence of heat causes the hydroxyl bond to break the ascorbic acid is said to undergo destruction or oxidation by losing hydrogen atoms, forming dehydroascorbic acid. Therefore, it is suggested that the rate of ascorbic acid destruction is significantly greater at higher temperature.* Diagram 1. The structure of Ascorbic Acid.7 Diagram 2. Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid.8 Most of the studies on vitamin C degradation are principally based on the effect of storage condition and period, and very few were done on identifying the degradation trend within a specific range of temperature. Previous research3, on the effect of storage methods and conditions on vitamin C retention in human milk revealed that freezing reduces the least amount of vitamin C as compared to other storage methods, followed by refrigeration which is better than cold water. Another study at Ankara University4, has shown an inverse relationship between temperature and retention rate of vitamin C in citrus fruit concentrates, while orange fruit was found to have higher retention ability than the others. Therefore, this experiment was aimed to find a specific trend regarding the effect of temperature on the loss of vitamin C. Citrus fruits (orange) were used in this experiment due to appreciable amount of vitamin C that they have, thus, increasing the reliability of the results. The results from this study can be used to illustrate how certain temperatures can cause drastic change in vitamin C hence, increasing the awareness on appreciating the effort of preserving vitamin C content in food for optimum health benefit. For instance, in agricultural tropical regions that grow citrus fruits, it becomes very vital to preserve the fruits at low temperature if possible due to higher chance of vitamin C destruction than other regions. Experimental Hypothesis: The higher the temperature, the higher the degradation of vitamin C in freshly squeezed orange juice. Null Hypothesis: There is no significant relationship between the different temperature and the degradation of vitamin C in freshly squeezed orange juice. PLANNING Trial: 1) Choosing the best citrus fruits: 4.2 Five types of citrus fruits were randomly chosen, namel: lemon, lime, grapefruit, Clementine and orange. The fresh juice of each fruit was obtained through cutting and squeezing. The vitamin C content for each juice was determined by titration against 1 ml of 1 % DCPIP. The titration was repeated two times to get an average volume of the juice needed to decolourise DCPIP. The result: The least volume of orange was needed to decolourise DCPIP, indicating that it has the highest vitamin C content. Therefore, orange fruit was chosen as it would give significant response towards different temperatures. 3) Determining the best storage period: Several orange fruits were squeezed to obtain fresh orange juice that would be enough for its vitamin C content to be measured on daily basis. Firstly, the initial vitamin C content of the juice was measured and 4.8 ml was needed to decolourise 1 ml of DCPIP solution. Equal volume of the remaining juice was divided into two beakers and each was stored in an incubator of different temperatures (10 oC and 60 oC). Two distinctive temperatures were chosen to allow easy comparison of the trend in each temperature. The result: The result shows no more change in volume of juice required after 5 days for 60 oC. Therefore, storage period of five days were chosen for the main experiment. MAIN EXPERIMENT Variables: Manipulated variable: Different temperatures (oC) (6 incubators were set at different temperatures of 10 oC, 20 oC 0, 30 oC, 40 oC, 50 oC and 60 oC) Responding variable: Amount of vitamin C lost (By DCPIP titration, the difference between initial and final vitamin C concentration in each juice was calculated to determine the concentration of vitamin C reduced) Fixed variables : Storage period, volume and concentration of DCPIP, type of fruits (The storage period was five days. 1ml of 0.1% DCPIP Used for each titration) Apparatus: Beakers, knife, test tubes, syringes, Parafilm, aluminium paper, incubators, mortar and pestle, measuring cylinder. Materials: Orange fruits, 1% dichlorophenolinophenol (DCPIP) solution, distilled water, 500 mg vitamin C tablet. Real Experimental Procedures: Standardizing Vitamin C Concentration: 1) A tablet of 500 mg vitamin C tablet was crushed into fine powders using a mortar and a pestle. 2) The powdery form of vitamin C was then dissolved into 100 ml of distilled water in a beaker to form 5 mg/ml of ascorbic solution. 3) 1 ml of 1% DCPIP solution was measured and placed into a test tube by using a syringe. 4) 1 ml of 5 mg/ml of ascorbic acid solution was then taken using a syringe and added drop by drop into the measured DCPIP solution until decolourised. 5) The volume of ascorbic acid solution needed to decolourise the DCPIP solution was recorded. 6) The titration process was repeater three times to get an average volume. The result of titration is as follows: Volume of Juice Titrated / ml Hence, 2.5 ml of 5 mg/ml of ascorbic acid solution was needed to decolourise 1 ml of 1% DCPIP solution To find a formula to calculate vitamin C concentration in orange juice, Conc. of orange juice (mg/ml) Vol. of orange juice (mg/ml) = 5 mg/ml 2.5 ml Since the volume needed to decolourise is proportional to vitamin C concentration. So. Conc. of orange juice (ml) 2.5 ml = 5 mg/ml Vol. of orange juice (mg/ml) 2.5 ml Concentration of orange juice (mg/ml) = X 5 mg/ml Vol. of orange juice (ml) Therefore, this calculation would be used to calculate the vitamin C concentration. Determining vitamin C loss: 10 orange fruits were cut and squeezed to obtain fresh juice. 1 ml of 1% DCPIP solution was measured and placed into a test tube by using a syringe. 1 ml syringe was filled with the orange juice and added drop by drop into the DCPIP solution until it decolourised. The volume of juice added was recorded. The titration was repeated five times to get an average volume and its vitamin C concentration was calculated using the derived formula. The juice was then divided into 6 equal volumes and each placed into 100 ml beaker. The top of each beaker was sealed with Parafilm and its surface was wrapped with aluminium paper and labelled with different temperatures. The beakers were placed in six incubators of different temperatures according to the label and left for five days. After five days, the beakers were sealed off. 1 ml of 1% DCPIP solution was measured and transferred into a test tube by using a syringe. The orange juice stored in 10 oC was taken by a syringe and added drop by drop into the DCPIP until it decolourised. The volume of juice added was recorded The titration was titrated three times to get an average volume and its vitamin C concentration was calculated using the formula: 2.5 ml Concentration of orange juice (mg/ml) = X 5 mg/ml Vol. of orange juice (ml) Steps 8-10 were repeated but this time using the orange juices stored in oC, 30 oC, 40 oC, 50 oC and 60 oC. The difference between the initial concentration and the final concentration of each juice was calculated to determine the amount of vitamin C lost. Risk Assessment: The process of cutting the orange fruits required the use of knife, so it was done carefully to avoid any injury. The fruits were then squeezed very gently to minimise heat production. The juice was only prepared right before the experiment was about to be carried out. DCPIP is a strong dye which is hard to be removed so lab coat was worn. During the titration of juice against DCPIP, the test tube was not shaken vigorously to avoid oxygen from dissolving. The juice was discarded immediately after the experiment. Results: The initial vitamin C concentration: Volume Needed to Decolourise DCPIP Solution (ml) Therefore, 4.6 ml of the fresh orange juice needed to decolourise DCPIP. So, 2.5 ml Initial vitamin C concentration = X 5 mg/ml 4.6 ml = 2.7174 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  2.72 mg/ml Hence, the vitamin C reduced: = 2.72 X * x is Vitamin C concentration left. Vitamin C concentration lost in different temperatures: Statistical Analysis: Based on the result from the table, it is known that there is an obvious trend and correlation between the temperature and vitamin C loss. Therefore, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PMCC) was chosen to measure the strength of this relationship. In this method, the value of correlation coefficient, r needs to be calculated which ranges from -1 to 1. The details of its values are as follow: 0 < r à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 1 = positive linear relationship -1 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ r < 0 = negative linear relationship à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (1750 X 3.68388) * Critical values for PMCC in appendix 1 Therefore, the value of correlation coefficient, r, using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient has shown a strong positive linear relationship between temperatures and loss of vitamin C. Hence, null hypothesis is rejected. Data Analysis: Table 4 shows the volume of the freshly-squeezed orange juice needed to decolourise 1ml of 1% DCPIP solution. The average volume was used to calculate the concentration of vitamin C present initially. Meanwhile, Table 5 shows the amount of vitamin C concentration reduced after being stored at different temperatures for five days. From the table, there is an inverse relationship between the vitamin C concentration left and the amount of vitamin C lost. There is also a huge difference in the amount of vitamin C left between the juice stored in 10 oC andt the one stored at 60 oC, which is 2.11 mg/ml. This represents 77.6% of the original concentration of vitamin C. The calculated statistical correlation coefficient, r of 0.9584 is absolutely a strong indicator to support this relationship. Graph 1 illustrates the trends and correlation between the two variables. From the graph, it can be concluded that generally, the higher the temperature, the higher the amount of vitamin C lost. 10 oC is the best temperature that gave the least reduction in vitamin C level with only 0.12 mg/ml (4.4%) decrease after five days. Meanwhile, 60 oC caused maximum drop in concentration after five days with 2.23 mg/ml (82%) of vitamin C had lost. The largest gap in vitamin C loss occurred between 40 oC and 50 oC with 1 mg/ml (37%) of increase recorded. Based on the graph, the amount of degradation at 20 oC and 30 oC opposed the general trends when 0.6 mg/ml vitamin C had lost at 10 oC which is greater than 0.56 mg/ml at 30 oC. However, the difference is so small which suggests that this anomaly might be due to several reasons: Higher rate of oxidation of ascorbic acid by oxygen in the atmosphere. False end-point titration Apart from that, the results obtained have also shown that there is only a little change in vitamin C concentration from 10 oC to 30 oC. However, drastic change in concentration started to occur after 40 oC. This suggests that orange fruits should be kept below 30 oC with better vitamin C retention at lower temperature. Evaluation: From the results of the experiment, the huge difference in vitamin C lost between 40 oC and 50oC could be explained by the presence of enzyme ascorbate oxidase in citrus fruits. The function of this enzyme is still not fully understood, but one best suggestion is that it might involve in controlling the oxidation process of ascorbic acid.12 Just like any other enzymes, when the optimum temperature is exceeded, the bonds holding the ascorbate oxidase together start to break and it is said to be denatured. Therefore, the destruction of ascorbic acid takes place without any control. Measurement of vitamin C in this experiment was done by titrating the juice against dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP). It is a strong oxidizing agent with distinctive blue colour and decolourised when being reduced by vitamin C.15 Therefore, the destruction of vitamin C by heat means that more is needed to decolourise DCPIP solution. Oxidation of DCPIP by oxygen in the atmosphere is one of the limitations of this experiment. Hence, the test tubes were not shaken vigorously during titration in order to minimise this limitation as vigorous moves can increase the rate of oxygen dissolving in a solution. The other limitation could be the side decomposition of vitamin C due to the presence of light and air. Just like temperature, ultraviolet ray from incidence light causes the hydroxyl bond in ascorbic acid to break, thus become oxidised. To reduce this limitation, the beakers containing orange juice to be stored at different temperatures were neatly wrapped with aluminium paper which is a good reflector of light and heat. The surfaced of the beakers were also sealed with Parafilm. This would prevent the entry of air and significantly reduce unnecessary oxidation of vitamin C in the juice. Several modifications can be made in the future to improve the accuracy and reliability of the results of this experiment. Iodine titration could be used as an alternative for DCPIP titration. Although this technique may require the use of more reagents, the result from the trial experiment has shown that the end point of titration is much easier to be identified. Besides, orange juice could be obtained by blending the peeled orange fruits instead of squeezing them. This ensures maximum amount of juice obtained from each fruit as well as preventing destruction of vitamin C by heat. Finally, percentage of vitamin C degraded can be used as the response variable instead of concentration. This would allow clearer illustration of the amount of vitamin C reduced for the readers and also make the comparison process easier. Conclusion: Based on the result of this experiment, it can be concluded that the higher the temperature, the greater the degradation of vitamin C in freshly squeezed orange juice. The statistically calculated r value using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, 0.9584, is significantly higher than the critical value at 5% significance level thus, providing a strong evidence to support the hypothesis. Appendices: Appendix 1 The table of significance values for PMCC Sources Evaluation: Several recourses were used in providing me important information in completing this assignment. Sources 1 and 2 are books that are specially made about fruit management and also detailed information about vitamin C as well as compelling research on it. Both books were published after year 2005, so the information available is mostly up to date. Besides, I have also accessed journals available online. Sources 3 and 4 come from two well known websites for food and nutrition based journals. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is a trustable website with over 3100 members, publishing up to dates research related to nutrition and human. Sources 7, 8 and 9 are chemistry based websites, serving enormous information on the structures and reaction of biological compounds. Chemwiki is a virtual online based chemistry textbook, accessed by millions of people searching for chemistry knowledge. Sources 10 and 11 are websites exclusively made for vitamin C. The Vitamin C Foundation, for instance, is recognised by Internal Revenue Service, IRS in protecting vast information about vitamin C for public reference. Source 12, Scientific American magazine is a popular scientific magazine established for nearly two centuries since 1845 with more than 3.5 million readers all over the world. Therefore, there would be no doubt in reliability of the content in this magazine.