The Host Chapter 53: Condemned

The Seeker's host body was named Lacey; a dainty, soft, feminine name. Lacey. As inappropriate as the size, in my opinion. Like naming a pit bull Fluffy. Lacey was just as loud as the Seeker-and still a complainer. â€Å"You'll have to forgive me for going on and on,† she insisted, allowing us no other options. â€Å"I've been shouting away in there for years and never getting to speak for myself. I've got a lot to say all stored up.† How lucky for us. I could almost make myself glad that I was leaving. In answer to my earlier question to myself, no, the face was not less repugnant with a different awareness behind it. Because the awareness was not so very different, in the end. â€Å"That's why we don't like you,† she told me that first night, making no change from the present tense or the plural pronoun. â€Å"When she realized that you were hearing Melanie just the way she was hearing me, it made her frightened. She thought you might guess. I was her deep, dark secret.† A grating laugh. â€Å"She couldn't make me shut up. That's why she became a Seeker, because she was hoping to figure out some way to better deal with resistant hosts. And then she requested being assigned to you, so she could watch how you did it. She was jealous of you; isn't that pathetic? She wanted to be strong like you. It gave us a real kick when we thought Melanie had won. I guess that didn't happen, though. I guess you did. So why did you come here? Why are you helping the rebels?† I explained, unwillingly, that Melanie and I were friends. She didn't like that. â€Å"Why?† she demanded. â€Å"She's a good person.† â€Å"But why does she like you?† Same reason. â€Å"She says, for the same reason.† Lacey snorted. â€Å"Got her brainwashed, huh?† Wow, she's worse than the first one. Yes, I agreed. I can see why the Seeker was so obnoxious. Can you imagine having that in your head all the time? I wasn't the only thing Lacey objected to. â€Å"Do you have anywhere better to live than these caves? It's so dirty here. Isn't there a house somewhere, maybe? What do you mean we have to share rooms? Chore schedule? I don't understand. I have to work? I don't think you understand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jeb had given her the usual tour the next day, trying to explain, through clenched teeth, the way we all lived here. When they'd passed me-eating in the kitchen with Ian and Jamie-he threw me a look that clearly asked why I hadn't let Aaron shoot her while that was still an option. The tour was more crowded than mine. Everyone wanted to see the miracle for themselves. It didn't even seem to matter to most of them that she was†¦ difficult. She was welcome. More than welcome. Again, I felt a little of that bitter jealousy. But that was silly. She was human. She represented hope. She belonged here. She would be here long after I was gone. Lucky you, Mel whispered sarcastically. Talking to Ian and Jamie about what had happened was not as difficult and painful as I'd imagined. This was because they were, for different reasons, entirely clueless. Neither grasped that this new knowledge meant I would be leaving. With Jamie, I understood why. More than anyone else, he had accepted me and Mel as the package deal we were. He was able, with his young, open mind, to grasp the reality of our dual personalities. He treated us like two people rather than one. Mel was so real, so present to him. The same way she was to me. He didn't miss her, because he had her. He didn't see the necessity of our separation. I wasn't sure why Ian didn't understand. Was he too caught up in the potential? The changes this would mean for the human society here? They were all boggled by the idea that getting caught-the end-was no longer a finality. There was a way to come back. It seemed natural to him that I had acted to save the Seeker; it was consistent with his idea of my personality. Maybe that was as far as he'd considered it. Or maybe Ian just didn't have a chance to think it all through, to see the glaring eventuality, before he was distracted. Distracted and enraged. â€Å"I should have killed him years ago,† Ian ranted as we packed what we needed for our raid. My final raid; I tried not to dwell on that. â€Å"No, our mother should have drowned him at birth!† â€Å"He's your brother.† â€Å"I don't know why you keep saying that. Are you trying to make me feel worse?† Everyone was furious with Kyle. Jared's lips were welded into a tight line of rage, and Jeb stroked his gun more than usual. Jeb had been excited, planning to join us on this landmark raid, his first since I'd come to live here. He was particularly keen to see the shuttle field up close. But now, with Kyle putting us all in danger, he felt he had to stay behind just in case. Not getting his way put Jeb in a foul mood. â€Å"Stuck behind with that creature,† he muttered to himself, rubbing the rifle barrel again-he wasn't getting any happier about the new member of his community. â€Å"Missin' all the fun.† He spit on the floor. We all knew where Kyle was. As soon as he'd grasped how the Seeker-worm had magically transformed into the Lacey-human in the night, he'd slipped out the back. I'd been expecting him to lead the party demanding the Seeker's death (I kept the cryotank always cradled in my arms; I slept lightly, my hand touching its smooth surface), but he was nowhere to be found, and Jeb had quashed the resistance easily in his absence. Jared was the one to realize the jeep was gone. And Ian had been the one to link the two absences. â€Å"He's gone after Jodi,† Ian had groaned. â€Å"What else?† Hope and despair. I had given them one, Kyle the other. Would he betray them all before they could even make use of the hope? Jared and Jeb wanted to put off the raid until we knew if Kyle was successful-it would take him three days under the best circumstances, if his Jodi still lived in Oregon. If he could find her there. There was another place, another cave we could evacuate to. A much smaller place, with no water, so we couldn't hide there long. They'd debated whether they should move everyone now or wait. But I was in a hurry. I'd seen the way the others eyed the silver tank in my arms. I'd heard the whispers. The longer I kept the Seeker here, the better chance that someone would kill her. Having met Lacey, I'd begun to pity the Seeker. She deserved a mild, pleasant new life with the Flowers. Ironically enough, Ian was the one who took my side and helped hurry the raid along. He still didn't see where this would lead. But I was grateful that he helped me convince Jared there was time to make the raid and get back before a decision was made about Kyle. Grateful also that he was back to playing bodyguard. I knew I could trust Ian with the shiny cryotank more than anyone else. He was the only one I would let hold it when I needed my arms. He was the only one who could see, in the shape of that small container, a life to be protected. He could think of that shape as a friend, something that could be loved. He was the best ally of all. I was so grateful for Ian, and so grateful for the obliviousness that saved him, for the moment, from pain. We had to be fast, in case Kyle ruined everything. We went to Phoenix again, to one of the many communities that spun out from the hub. There was a big shuttle field to the southeast, in a town called Mesa, with several Healing facilities nearby. That was what I wanted-I would give them as much as I could before I left. If we took a Healer, then we might be able to preserve the Healer's memory in the host body. Someone who understood all the medicines and their uses. Someone who knew the best ways to get to unattended stashes. Doc would love that. I could imagine all the questions he'd be dying to ask. First the shuttle field. I was sad that Jeb was missing this, but he'd have so many other chances in the future. Though it was dark, a long line of small snub-nosed shuttles drifted in to land while others took flight in an endless stream. I drove the old van while the others rode in the back-Ian in charge of the tank, of course. I circled the field, staying clear of the busy local terminal. It was easy to spot the vast, sleek white vessels that left the planet. They did not depart with the frequency of the smaller ships. All I saw were docked, none preparing to leave immediately. â€Å"Everything's labeled,† I reported to the others, invisible in the dark back. â€Å"Now, this is important. Avoid ships to the Bats, and especially the See Weeds. The See Weeds are just one system over-it takes only a decade to make the round trip. That's much too short. The Flowers are the farthest, and the Dolphins, Bears, and Spiders all take at least a century to go one way. Only send tanks to those.† I drove slowly, close to the crafts. â€Å"This will be easy. They've got all kinds of delivery vehicles out here, and we blend in. Oh! I can see a tank truck-it's just like the one we saw them unloading at the hospital, Jared. There's a man looking over the stacks†¦ He's putting them onto a hover cart. He's going to load them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I drove even slower, trying to get a good look. â€Å"Yes, onto this ship. Right into the open hatch. I'll circle back and make my move when he's in the ship.† I pulled past, examining the scene in my mirrors. There was a lit sign beside the tube that connected the head of the ship to the terminal. I smiled as I read the words backward. This ship was going to the Flowers. It was meant to be. I made a slow turn as the man disappeared into the hull of the ship. â€Å"Get ready,† I whispered as I pulled into the shadow made by the cylindrical wing of the next enormous ship over. I was only three or four yards from the tank truck. There were a few technicians working near the front of the Flower-bound vessel and others, farther away, out on the old runway. I would be just another figure in the night. I cut the engine and hopped down from the driver's seat, trying to look casual, like I was only doing my job. I went around to the back of the van and opened the door a crack. The tank was right at the edge, the light on top glowing dull red, signifying that it was occupied. I lifted it carefully and closed the door. I kept up an easy rolling pace as I walked to the open end of the truck. But my breathing sped up. This felt more dangerous than the hospital, and that worried me. Could I expect my humans to risk their lives this way? I'll be there. I'll do it myself, just like you would. On the off chance you get your way, that is. Thanks, Mel. I had to force myself not to keep glancing over my shoulder at the open hatch where the man had disappeared. I placed the tank gently atop the closest column in the truck. The addition, one among hundreds, was not noticeable. â€Å"Goodbye,† I whispered. â€Å"Better luck with your next host.† I walked back to the van as slowly as I could stand to. It was silent in the van as I reversed out from under the big ship. I started back the way we'd come, my heart hammering too fast. In my mirrors, the hatch remained empty. I didn't see the man emerge before the ship was out of sight. Ian climbed into the passenger seat. â€Å"Doesn't look too hard.† â€Å"It was very good luck with the timing. You might have to wait longer for an opportunity next time.† Ian reached over to take my hand. â€Å"You're the good-luck charm.† I didn't answer. â€Å"Do you feel better now that she's safe?† â€Å"Yes.† I saw his head turn sharply as he heard the unexpected sound of a lie in my voice. I didn't meet his gaze. â€Å"Let's go catch some Healers,† I muttered. Ian was silent and thoughtful as we drove the short distance to the small Healing facility. I'd thought the second task would be the challenge, the danger. The plan was that I would-if the conditions and numbers were right-try to lead a Healer or two out of the facility under the pretext that I had an injured friend in my van. An old trick, but one that would work only too well on the unsuspecting, trusting Healers. As it turned out, I didn't even have to go in. I pulled into the lot just as two middle-aged Healers, a man and a woman wearing purple scrubs, were getting into a car. Their shift over, they were heading home. The car was around the corner from the entrance. No one else was in sight. Ian nodded tensely. I stopped the van right behind their car. They looked up, surprised. I opened my door and slid out. My voice was thick with tears, my face twisted with remorse, and that helped to fool them. â€Å"My friend is in the back-I don't know what's wrong with him.† They responded with the instant concern I knew they would show. I hurried to open the back doors for them, and they followed right behind. Ian went around the other side. Jared was ready with the chloroform. I didn't watch. It took just seconds. Jared hauled the unconscious bodies into the back, and Ian slammed the doors shut. Ian stared at my tear-swollen eyes for just a second, then took the driver's seat. I rode shotgun. He held my hand again. â€Å"Sorry, Wanda. I know this is hard for you.† â€Å"Yes.† He had no idea how hard, and for how many different reasons. He squeezed my fingers. â€Å"But that went well, at least. You make an excellent charm.† Too well. Both missions had gone too perfectly, too fast. Fate was rushing me. He drove back toward the freeway. After a few minutes, I saw a bright, familiar sign in the distance. I took a deep breath and wiped my eyes clear. â€Å"Ian, could you do me a favor?† â€Å"Anything you want.† â€Å"I want fast food.† He laughed. â€Å"No problem.† We switched seats in the parking lot, and I drove up to the ordering box. â€Å"What do you want?† I asked Ian. â€Å"Nothing. I'm getting a kick out of watching you do something for yourself. This has to be a first.† I didn't smile at his joke. To me, this was sort of a last meal-the final gift to the condemned. I wouldn't leave the caves again. â€Å"Jared, how about you?† â€Å"Two of whatever you're having.† So I ordered three cheeseburgers, three bags of fries, and three strawberry shakes. After I got my food, Ian and I switched again so I could eat while he drove. â€Å"Eew,† he said, watching me dip a french fry into the shake. â€Å"You should try it. It's good.† I offered him a well-coated fry. He shrugged and took it. He popped it into his mouth and chewed. â€Å"Interesting.† I laughed. â€Å"Melanie thinks it's gross, too.† That's why I'd cultivated the habit in the beginning. It was funny now to think how I'd gone out of my way to annoy her. I wasn't really hungry. I'd just wanted some of the flavors I particularly remembered, one more time. Ian finished off half my burger when I was full. We made it home without incident. We saw no sign of the Seekers' surveillance. Perhaps they'd accepted the coincidence. Maybe they thought it inevitable-wander the desert alone long enough, and something bad would happen to you. We'd had a saying like that on the Mists Planet: Cross too many ice fields alone, and wind up a claw beast's meal. That was a rough translation. It sounded better in Bear. There was a large reception waiting for us. I smiled halfheartedly at my friends: Trudy, Geoffrey, Heath, and Heidi. My true friends were dwindling. No Walter, no Wes. I didn't know where Lily was. This made me sad. Maybe I didn't want to live on this sad planet with so much death. Maybe nothingness was better. It also made me sad, petty as it was, to see Lucina standing beside Lacey, with Reid and Violetta on the other side. They were talking animatedly, asking questions, it looked like. Lacey was holding Freedom on her hip. He didn't look especially thrilled about this, but he was happy enough being part of the adults' conversation that he didn't squirm down. I'd never been allowed near the child, but Lacey was already one of them. Trusted. We went straight to the south tunnel, Jared and Ian laboring under the weight of the Healers. Ian had the heavier one, the man, and sweat ran down his fair face. Jeb shooed the others back at the tunnel entrance and then followed us. Doc was waiting for us in the hospital, rubbing his hands together absently, as if washing them. Time continued to speed up. The brighter lamp was lit. The Healers were given No Pain and laid out facedown on the cots. Jared showed Ian how to activate the tanks. They held them ready, Ian wincing at the stunning cold. Doc stood over the female, scalpel in hand and medicines laid out in a row. â€Å"Wanda?† he asked. My heart squeezed inward painfully. â€Å"Do you swear, Doc? All of my terms? Do you promise me on your own life?† â€Å"I do. I will meet all of your terms, Wanda. I swear it.† â€Å"Jared?† â€Å"Yes. Absolutely no killing, ever.† â€Å"Ian?† â€Å"I'll protect them with my own life, Wanda.† â€Å"Jeb?† â€Å"It's my house. Anyone who can't abide by this agreement will have to get out.† I nodded, tears in my eyes. â€Å"Okay, then. Let's get it over with.† Doc, excited again, cut into the Healer until he could see the silver gleam. He set the scalpel quickly aside. â€Å"Now what?† I put my hand on his. â€Å"Trace up the back ridge. Can you feel that? Feel the shape of the segments. They get smaller toward the anterior section. Okay, at the end you should feel three small†¦ stubby things. Do you feel what I'm talking about?† â€Å"Yes,† he breathed. â€Å"Good. Those are the anterior antennae. Start there. Now, very gently, roll your finger under the body. Find the line of attachments. They'll feel tight, like wires.† He nodded. I guided him a third of the way down, told him how to count if he wasn't sure. We didn't have time for counting with all the blood flowing free. I was sure the Healer's body, if she came around, would be able to help us-there must be something for that. I helped him find the biggest nodule. â€Å"Now, rub softly in toward the body. Knead it lightly.† Doc's voice went up in pitch, turned a little panicky. â€Å"It's moving.† â€Å"That's good-it means you're doing it right. Give it time to retract. Wait till it rolls up a bit, then take it into your hand.† â€Å"Okay.† His voice shook. I reached toward Ian. â€Å"Give me your hand.† I felt Ian's hand wind around mine. I turned it over, curled his hand into a cup, and pulled it close to Doc's operation site. â€Å"Give the soul to Ian-gently, please.† Ian would be the perfect assistant. When I was gone, who else would take such care with my little relatives? Doc passed the soul into Ian's waiting hand, then turned at once to heal the human body. Ian stared at the silver ribbon in his hand, his face full of wonder rather than revulsion. It felt warmer inside my chest while I watched his reaction. â€Å"It's pretty,† he whispered, surprised. No matter how he felt about me, he'd been conditioned to expect a parasite, a centipede, a monster. Cleaning up severed bodies had not prepared him for the beauty here. â€Å"I think so, too. Let it slide into your tank.† Ian held the soul cupped in his hand for one more second, as if memorizing the sight and feel. Then, with delicate care, he let it glide into the cold. Jared showed him how to latch the lid. A weight fell off my shoulders. It was done. It was too late to change my mind. This didn't feel as horrible as I'd anticipated, because I felt sure these four humans would care for the souls just as I would. When I was gone. â€Å"Look out!† Jeb suddenly shouted. The gun came up in his hands, pointed past us. We whirled toward the danger, and Jared's tank fell to the floor as he jumped toward the male Healer, who was on his knees on the cot, staring at us in shock. Ian had the presence of mind to hold on to his tank. â€Å"Chloroform,† Jared shouted as he tackled the Healer, pinning him back down to the cot. But it was too late. The Healer stared straight at me, his face childlike in his bewilderment. I knew why his eyes were on me-the lantern's rays danced off both his eyes and mine, making diamond patterns on the wall. â€Å"Why?† he asked me. Then his face went blank, and his body slumped, unresisting, to the cot. Two trails of blood flowed from his nostrils. â€Å"No!† I screamed, lurching to his inert form, knowing it was far too late. â€Å"No!†

Clyne’s Revision of Grice’s Maxims Essay

Grice’s Maxims have been criticised for being too Anglo-centric. Michael Clyne proposes revisions to the four maxims in his 1994 book Intercultural Communication at Work. Do Clyne’s revisions of this model go far enough in universally accounting for intercultural conversation? Why or why not? Grice’s General Cooperative Principle has been under continuous debate for the past three decades. It is mainly through the maxims that Grice’s paradigm has been challenged as highly ethnocentric, however such readings may tend to take the maxims too literally rather than as â€Å"reference points for language interchange† (Allan as cited in Clyne, 1994, p. 11). There is some agreement in this, but as suggested by Mey (1994, p. 74), the principle and maxims are â€Å"always defined relative to a particular culture†. It is this idea of cultural values underlying communication that has caused the contention of Grice’s cooperative principle and its subordinate maxims. Many linguists (Keenan, 1976; Wierzbicka, 1985; Clyne, 1994; Bowe & Martin, 2007) have criticised Grice’s Maxims for being too ethnocentric – claiming that its assumptions are based on Anglo-Saxon norms and culture. This Anglo-centric nature is problematic for intercultural communication as the maxims are inapplicable to many cultural values systems; namely European and Southeast Asian cultures where harmony, respect and restraint play a key role (Clyne, 1994, p. 192). In an attempt to better reflect intercultural conversation, Clyne (1994) has proposed a set of revised ‘maxims’ to make Grice’s principles more universal. His revision of Grice’s model certainly accounts for a wider variety of contexts and cultures, however it cannot be said to universally account for intercultural conversation. As conversation is unique to its context and participants, in reality no single theory could universally embody real life language use. Although people of all backgrounds generally do attempt to facilitate successful communication (if it doesn’t conflict with their purpose or cultural values), factors unique to each participant can affect any given conversation. Thus, it c an be said that while individuals are conditioned by their culture and environment, discourse patterns will always be influenced by personality factors (Watts, 1991) and pragmatic and intercultural competence. On the surface, Grice’s cooperative principle seems to provide little  difficulty for intercultural analysis; its degree of uncertainty is certainly appropriate for discussions of cultural diversity. Making a contribution â€Å"such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged† (Grice, 1975, p. 45) seems to allow for the acceptance of different purposes and requirements in different contexts, and does not exclude the influence of norms associated with a variety of different speech communities. Although intercultural analysis was not Grice’s main concern, he has defined the discourse of his cooperative principle as â€Å"concerted enterprises† that allow â€Å"a high degree of diversity in the motivations underlying quite meagre common objectives† (1989: 369). Grice himself makes no explicit claims of universality, using characteristically modest language to refe r to a â€Å"first approximation of a general principle† (1989: 26). He is extremely careful not to overstate the case for ‘cooperation’; suggesting that â€Å"each participant recognizes in them (talk exchanges), to some extent, a common purpose, or at least a mutually accepted direction† (1989, p. 26). It should be pointed out however, that Grice’s maxims depict an idealised and simplified language use, whereas reality is much more complex and multi-dimensional. In everyday conversations, telling the entire truth might be seen as impolite or inappropriate in certain cultures. There also tend to be intercultural differences that do not always follow a universal principle. Some cultures and languages (i.e. Chinese) often dictate that their speakers use indirect speech in conversation, which means they are unable to follow Grice’s maxims of quantity and manner. In such cases, there is a clash between Grice’s maxims and the pragmatic rules of conversation, which are culturally sensitive. For example, when being offered a drink, a typical Chinese person would automatically say no the first time, while expecting the offer to be made at least two or three times more. This resembles a kind of phatic language communication; saying no, but not really meaning no. In this sort of situation, if someone doesn’t adhere to the cultural norm – choosing to follow Grice’s maxims instead, then they would sound odd and out of place. The above example demonstrates that Grice’s maxims aren’t relevant in all contexts as they clash with certain cultural values systems. Many linguists  (Clyne, 1994; Hymes, 1986; Loveday, 1983; Walsh, 2009) have picked up on this discrepancy between theory and data, claiming that the maxims are only relevant to the English speaking Western world. In particular, Clyne (1994) has pointed out that they have limited relevance to cultures where content and knowledge are core values. For example, speakers of Malagasy, â€Å"whose form of co-operation seems to consist in making their contributions as opaque, convoluted and non-perspicuous as possible† (Keenan as cited in Mey, 1994, p. 74) could be seen as flouting the Maxim of Quantity. This is because information, especially ‘new’ information gives the holder a certain amount of prestige, thus Malagasy people tend to use indirect, evasive language. It is obvious then, that environmental factors, social interaction and cultural norms need to be considered when interpreting conversational implicature. This is reinforced by Hymes (1986), who notes that Grice was correct in assuming that any culture will have some sort of orientation towards telling the truth (quality), being informative (quantity), staying on topic (relation), and being clear (manner), but that this orientation and how it is articulated cannot be assumed to be the same in all cultures. It is necessary then to recognize that each language and/or culture will have its own settings for each of the maxims (Bowe & Martin, 2007). In an attempt to reduce the cultural bias of Grice’s maxims, Clyne (1994) has proposed revisions to the four maxims (quantity, quality, relation, manner) by considering different cultural norms and expectations. An example of this is the modification of the maxim of quality so that it reads ‘do not say what you believe to be in opposition to your cultural norms of truth, harmony, charity, and/or respect.’ This revision accounts for situations in which the hearer may not want to respond truthfully in order to preserve face or harmony (Lakoff, 1973). This cultural value of harmony is especially prevalent in Chinese and Vietnamese cultures. Nguyen (1991) claims that communalism and collectivism has enforced harmony as a central cultural value in the Vietnamese people. Because of this emphasis on harmonious relations, Vietnamese frequently utilise ambiguous communication behaviours in order to avoid conflict. Although this language use could flout one or more of Grice ’s maxims, by introducing cultural parameters such as truth, harmony and face, Clyne’s (1994) revisions can better account for  intercultural conversation. Clyne’s (1994) revised maxims for intercultural analysis certainly have more regard for the communicative patterns of non-English cultures; however, they don’t altogether meet the needs of intercultural communication. In intercultural communication a high level of pragmatic competence is central to an interlocutors performance. As Thomas (1984) points out, it is commonly the differences in pragmatic competence that are problematic in intercultural conversation. Furthermore, it is possible to have achieved a very high level of linguistic proficiency, while having a relatively low level of socio-pragmatic proficiency. This can result in speakers using a language, which for some reason is deemed inappropriate, incomprehensible or even offensive (Thomas, 1984). This will be demonstrated by the following example: An Australian manager has been reassigned to the Athens office of his organization and is assigned a Greek secretary. On a daily basis, he assigns work to her by using conventional indirect requests such as ‘Could you type this letter?’ One day, she complains to a colleague, ‘I wish he would just tell me what to do instead of asking me. After all, he’s the boss and I’m here to do what he wants.’ In the above example, we have a mixture of assumptions about the rights and obligations of two parties in a relationship characterized by asymmetrical distribution of power, and the way this power will be exercised and acknowledged. The Australian boss attends to the face wants of his secretary by attempting to minimize the power distance between the two. This is done by the use of politeness strategies that seemingly give the subordinate the option not to perform a requested act – ‘Could you type this letter?’ Thomas (1995, p. 161) observes that ‘allowing options (or giving the appearance of allowing options) is absolutely central to Western notions of politeness’. An Australian secretary would presumably know that a direct, on-record refusal of this request would be face threatening to her boss – as well as threatening to her own job. She could potentially employ indirect refusal strategies (i.e. hints), which would avoid on record refusal and  sustain the appearance of harmony. As Green (cited in Thomas, 1995, p. 147) points out â€Å"the speaker is really only going through the motions of offering options or showing respect for the addressee’s feelings. The offer may be a facade, the options nonviable, and the respect a sham. It is the fact that an effort was made to go through the motions at all that makes the act an act of politeness.† It is clear that in this example the two parties have not yet negotiated a shared set of norms. The secretary acknowledges and accepts the power difference between herself and her boss. She is dependent on him for work, and she accepts that he has the right to tell her to carry out various secretarial duties. To her, the Australian boss seems insincere when he requests her to do something for him, because as far as she is concerned, the power relationship admits no options. That is; she does not interpret the deference that her boss displays towards her as an act of politeness. There are obviously socio-pragmatic differences between the two parties. The Australian boss has carried his socio-pragmatic norms into the Greek setting, where they violate the expectations of his Greek subordinate. Each party is defining and acting within the situation differently. Despite this, their encounters are not entirely unsuccessful: the boss makes requests for work that the secretary completes. However, the Greek secretary feels dissatisfied with her boss’s politeness strategies. It can be said that neither party is completely interculturally competent. That is; communicating in a culturally competent way requires interlocutors to learn about the ways culture influences communicative utterances of individuals concerned. After all, if the secretary constantly doubts the sincerity of her boss, the relationship is threatened. And if the boss is unaware of the effects of this, he may experience a rude awakening in the near future. Based on what has been discussed, it can be concluded that Grice’s maxims cannot be taken as absolute rules; this would be neither right nor practicable. Language is not as clear-cut as mathematical formulas; it frequently integrates with culture and society. Thus cultural and pragmatic considerations are vital to successful intercultural communication. Moreover, linguistic competency may not always cause a breakdown in  communication; very often when language form and cultural norm clash, culture supersedes language form. Clyne’s (1994) revisions of the conversational maxims better reflect cultural variation, however they do not universally account for intercultural communication. The examples aforementioned demonstrate that factors such as pragmatic and intercultural competence also play a key role. Intercultural communication then becomes something that is negotiated at local level by participants, involving mutual adaptation. Difficulties may arise, of course, in the process of negotiation through limitations in the socio-pragmatic and strategic competence of some or all participants. After all, there are individual differences in these competencies, and as Agar (1994) points out, we have to remember that in any intercultural conversation, ‘it’s persons not cultures that are in contact’. References: Agar, M. (1994). The intercultural frame. In International Journal of Intercultural Relations 18/2:221-237. Bowe, H. J. & Martin, K. (2007). Communication across cultures: Mutual understanding in a global world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clyne, M. (1994). Inter-cultural Communication at Work: Cultural Values in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and Conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press. Grice, P. (1989). Studies in the Way of Words. London: Harvard University Press. Hymes, D. H. (1986). Discourse: Scope without depth. In International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 57, 49-89. Keenan, E. O. (1976). On the universality of conversational implicatures. Language in Society 5.67-80. Lakoff, R. (1973). The logic of politeness, or minding your p’s and q’s. In Papers from the Ninth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society. 292-305. Loveday, L. (1983). Rhetoric patterns in conflict: The sociocultural relativity of discourse organizing processes. In Journal of Pragmatics, 7, 169-90. Mey, J. (1994). Pragmatics. An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. Thomas, J. (1984) Cross-cultural discourse as â€Å"unequal encounter†: Toward a pragmatic analysis. In Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 226-235. Thomas, J. (1995). Meaning in Interaction. An Introduction to Pragmatics. Harlow /Munich: Longman. Walsh, M. (2009). Some neo-Gricean maxims for aboriginal Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/docs/alw/Walsh09.pdf (accessed 22/10/2013) Watts, R. J. (1991). Power in family discourse. Berlin: Mouton. Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Cross-Cultural Pragmatics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter Wierzbicka, A. (1985). Different cultures, different languages, different speech acts. In Journal of Pragmatics 9.145-78.

Itt221 Week 1 Research Assignment Part 1

Research Assignment, Part One Brandon Kelly IT221 – E-2 Fall 2011 Instructor: Stephen Todd 12-17-2011 Question 1 – Why does Windows Server 2008 come in different versions? What is the significance of each version? Most editions of Windows Server 2008 are available in x86-64 and IA-32 versions. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems supports IA-64 processors. Microsoft has optimized the IA-64 version for high-workload scenarios like database servers and Line of Business (LOB) applications. As such it is not optimized for use as a file server or media server. Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2008 is the last 32-bit Windows server operating system. Windows Server 2008 is available in the editions listed below, similar to Windows Server 2003. †¢ Windows Server 2008 Standard (IA-32 and x86-64) Windows Server 2008 Standard is one of Microsoft's entry level server offerings (alongside Windows Web Server 2008) and is one of the least expensive of the various editions available. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available, and in terms of hardware Standard Edition supports up to 4GB of RAM and 4 processors. Windows Server 2008 is primarily targeted and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and is ideal for providing domain, web, DNS, remote access, print, file and application services. Support for clustering, however, is notably absent from this edition. An upgrade path to Windows Server 2008 Standard is available from Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition. †¢ Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (IA-32 and x86-64) Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition provides greater functionality and scalability than the Standard Edition. As with Standard Edition both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. Enhancements include support for as many as 8 processors and up to 64GB of RAM on 32-bit systems and 2TB of RAM on 64-bit systems. Additional features of the Enterprise edition include support for clusters of up to 8 nodes and Active Directory Federated Services (AD FS). Windows Server 2000, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition may all be upgraded to Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition. †¢ Windows Server 2008 Datacenter (IA-32 and x86-64) The Datacenter edition represents the top end of the Windows Server 2008 product range and is targeted at mission critical enterprises requiring stability and high uptime levels. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter edition is tied closely to the underlying hardware through the implementation of custom Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL). As such, it is currently only possible to obtain Datacenter edition as part of a hardware purchase. As with other versions, the Datacenter edition is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions and supports 64GB of RAM on 32-bit systems and up to 2TB of RAM on 64-bit systems. In addition, this edition supports a minimum of 8 processors up to a maximum of 64. Upgrade paths to Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition are available from the Datacenter editions of Windows 2000 and 2003. †¢ Windows HPC Server 2008 (Codenamed â€Å"Socrates†) (replacing Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003) Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, the Microsoft third-generation HPC solution, provides a comprehensive and cost-effective solution for harnessing the power of high-performance computing. Out-of-the-box, world-class performance, and scalability enable organizations of all sizes to rapidly deploy solutions ranging from personal HPC workstations to large clusters spanning thousands of nodes. Customers can lower both their operating and capital costs. Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 integrates easily with existing IT infrastructure to enable end users to access HPC resources using familiar Windows-based technologies. With a tightly integrated set of dedicated cluster and parallel development tools, anchored around Visual Studio 2010, developers can build robust and scalable HPC applications easily and quickly. Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 is complemented by a rich ecosystem of SI, ISV, and OEM partners to ensure that customers have access to the applications of their choice and the resources required to successfully run them. †¢ Windows Web Server 2008 (IA-32 and x86-64) Windows Web Server 2008 is essentially a version of Windows Server 2008 designed primarily for the purpose of providing web services. It includes Internet Information Services (IIS) 7. 0 along with associated services such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Telnet. It is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions and supports up to 4 processors. RAM is limited to 4GB and 32GB on 32-bit and 64-bit systems respectively. Windows Web Server 2008 lacks many of the features present in other editions such as clustering, BitLocker drive encryption, multipath I/O, Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), Removable Storage Management and SAN Management †¢ Windows Storage Server 2008 (Codenamed â€Å"Magni†) (IA-32 and x86-64) Minimal information found. †¢ Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Codenamed â€Å"Cougar†) (x86-64) for small businesses Minimal information found. Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems delivers an enterprise-class platform for deploying business-critical applications. Scale database, line-of-business, and custom applications to meet growing business needs. Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2 and the current 2010 line-up of our Developer Tools, plus associated . NET frameworks, will be the last iterations in each product line t o support the Intel Itanium processor and associated OEM server platforms. Windows Server 2008 Foundation (Codenamed â€Å"Lima†) Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation is a cost-effective, entry-level technology foundation targeted at small business owners and IT generalists supporting small businesses. Foundation is an inexpensive, easy-to-deploy, proven, and reliable technology that provides organizations with the foundation to run the most prevalent business applications as well as share information and resources. Server Core is available in the Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions. It is not available in the Itanium edition. Server Core is simply an alternate installation option supported by some of the editions, and not a separate edition by itself. Each architecture has a separate installation DVD. The 32-bit version of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition is available to verified students for free through Microsoft's DreamSpark program. Question 2 – What are the new features or enhancements made to Windows Server 2008? How is Windows Server 2008 different from Windows Server 2003? Core OS improvements †¢ Fully multi-componentized operating system. †¢ Improved hot patching, a feature that allows non-kernel patches to occur without the need for a reboot. Support for being booted from Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)-compliant firmware on x86-64 systems. †¢ Dynamic Hardware Partitioning o Support for the hot-addition or replacement of processors and memory, on capable hardware. Active Directory improvements †¢ Read-only domain controllers (RODCs) in Active Directory, intende d for use in branch office or other scenarios where a domain controller may reside in a low physical security environment. The RODC holds a non-writeable copy of Active Directory, and redirects all write attempts to a Full Domain Controller. It replicates all accounts except sensitive ones. citation needed][clarification needed] In RODC mode, credentials are not cached by default. Moreover, only the replication partner of the RODC needs to run Windows Server 2008. [clarification needed] Also, local administrators can log on to the machine to perform maintenance tasks without requiring administrative rights on the domain. †¢ Restartable Active Directory allows ADDS to be stopped and restarted from the Management Console or the command-line without rebooting the domain controller. This reduces downtime for offline operations and reduces overall DC servicing requirements with Server Core. ADDS is implemented as a Domain Controller Service in Windows Server 2008. Policy related improvements †¢ All of the Group Policy improvements from Windows Vista are included. Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is built-in. The Group Policy objects are indexed for search and can be commented on. †¢ Policy-based networking with Network Access Protection, improved branch management and enhanced end user collaboration. Policies can be created to ensure greater Quality of Service for certain applications or services that require prioritization of network bandwidth between client and server. Granular password settings within a single domain – ability to implement different password policies for administrative accounts on a â€Å"group† and â€Å"user† basis, instead of a single set of password settings to the whole domain. Disk management and file storage improvements †¢ The ability to resize hard disk partitions without stopping the server, even th e system partition. This applies only to simple and spanned volumes, not to striped volumes. †¢ Shadow Copy based block-level backup which supports optical media, network shares and Windows Recovery Environment. DFS enhancements – SYSVOL on DFS-R, Read-only Folder Replication Member. There is also support for domain-based DFS namespaces that exceed the previous size recommendation of 5,000 folders with targets in a namespace. †¢ Several improvements to Failover Clustering (High-availability clusters). †¢ Internet Storage Naming Server (iSNS) enables central registration, deregistration and queries for iSCSI hard drives. Protocol and cryptography improvements †¢ Support for 128- and 256-bit AES encryption for the Kerberos authentication protocol. New cryptography (CNG) API which supports elliptic curve cryptography and improved certificate management. †¢ Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol, a new Microsoft proprietary VPN protocol. †¢ AuthIP, a Micro soft proprietary extension of the IKE cryptographic protocol used in IPsec VPN networks. †¢ Server Message Block 2. 0 protocol in the new TCP/IP stack provides a number of communication enhancements, including greater performance when connecting to file shares over high-latency links and better security through the use of mutual authentication and message signing. Miscellaneous improvements Windows Deployment Services replacing Automated Deployment Services and Remote Installation Services. Windows Deployment Services (WDS) support an enhanced multicast feature when deploying operating system images. †¢ Internet Information Services 7 – Increased security, Robocopy deployment, improved diagnostic tools, delegated administration. †¢ Windows Internal Database, a variant of SQL Server Express 2005, which serves as a common storage back-end for several other components such as Windows System Resource Manager, Windows SharePoint Services and Windows Server Update Se rvices. It is not intended to be used by third-party applications. †¢ An optional â€Å"Desktop Experience† component provides the same Windows Aero user interface as Windows Vista, both for local users, as well as remote users connecting through Remote Desktop. Question 3 – Why is 64-bit architecture an advantage? Advantages of 64-bit hardware and software Memory addressability Physical memory A 32-bit system architecture can directly address only a 4-GB address space. A 64-bit system architecture that is running a 64-bit edition of Windows Server can support up to 1,024 GB of both physical and addressable memory. Virtual memory The 64-bit editions of Windows Server can address 16 terabytes of virtual memory by using a flat addressing model. Virtual memory is divided equally between virtual address space for applications and the operating system. Even 32-bit applications can benefit from increased virtual memory address space when they are running in a 64-bit environment. For example, although a 32-bit application is still restricted to 4 GB of virtual memory, it no longer has to share that memory space with the operating system. As a result, it receives an effective increase in available virtual memory. Continuous memory Poor performance in 32-bit systems is often not the result of a lack of available memory, but the unavailability of large enough blocks of continuous memory. In a typical Windows SharePoint Services 3. 0 deployment, Windows, Internet Information Services (IIS), common language runtime (CLR), ASP. NET, SharePoint Products and Technologies, SSPs, and MDACs can all claim a portion of a server’s available virtual memory and can leave a 32-bit address space quite fragmented. When the CLR or SharePoint services request new memory blocks, it can be difficult to find a 64-MB segment in the crowded 32-bit address space. A 64-bit system offers practically unlimited address space for user mode processes. Better parallel processing A server that is using 32-bit architecture is limited to 32 CPUs. Improvements in parallel processing and bus architectures enable 64-bit environments to support as many as 64 processors and provide almost linear scalability with each additional processor. Faster bus architecture A 64-bit architecture provides more and wider general-purpose registers, which contribute to greater overall application speed. When there are more registers, there is less need to write persistent data to memory and then have to read it back just a few instructions later. Function calls are also faster in a 64-bit environment because as many as four arguments at a time can be passed in registers to a function. More secure The 64-bit editions of Windows Server offer the following enhanced security features: Buffer overflow protection A buffer overflow occurs when a data buffer is congested with more data than it is designed to handle. In 64-bit editions of Windows Server, the first parameters of a procedure call are passed in registers. As a result, it is less likely that the buffer will overflow, because the correct values have to be set up in registers and the variables and addresses have to be aligned on the stack. Data execution protection The 64-bit processors made by AMD and Intel include hardware support for data execution prevention (DEP). Windows Server uses DEP to prevent malicious code from being able to execute, even when a buffer overrun occurs. Even without a processor that supports DEP, Windows Server can detect code that is running in memory locations where it should not be. Patch Guard Microsoft Patch Guard technology prevents non-Microsoft programs from patching the Windows kernel. This technology prevents kernel mode drivers from extending or replacing kernel services, including system service dispatch tables, the interrupt descriptor table (IDT), and the global descriptor table (GDT). Third-party software is also prevented from allocating kernel stacks or patching any part of the kernel. Better scalability In a 64-bit environment, not only can database servers gain nearly unlimited virtual memory address space, but they also gain support for more physical memory. It is possible for a 64-bit server that is running 64-bit editions of Windows Server and SQL Server to get very large working data sets entirely into RAM, thereby improving performance and scalability. In addition, the number of application servers that are required to support a given user base can be substantially reduced because a 64-bit environment does not require worker processes to cycle as often. This reduced cycling results in fewer lost connections, improved I/O handling, and a better user experience. Lower total cost of ownership All the benefits of 64-bit operation that are listed in the previous sections enable you to do more with less. A 64-bit environment allows you to manage more data, serve more users, and run more applications while using less hardware. By reducing hardware, you are also able to reduce license, operations, and infrastructure costs. It takes up less floor space in your data center and costs less to maintain. Finally, because a Windows SharePoint Services 3. 0 farm that uses 64-bit hardware and software provides more room for growth, you can spend less over time on equipment because the life cycle of your equipment is likely to be longer. Question 4 – Explain the new features of Windows Server 2008, such as Server Core, Virtualization, and PowerShell. What is the role of these features and how will they improve efficiency in administering Windows? Server Core Windows Server 2008 includes a variation of installation called Server Core. Server Core is a significantly scaled-back installation where no Windows Explorer shell is installed. All configuration and maintenance is done entirely through command line interface windows, or by connecting to the machine remotely using Microsoft Management Console. However, Notepad and some control panel applets, such as Regional Settings, are available. Server Core does not include the . NET Framework, Internet Explorer, Windows PowerShell or many other features not related to core server features. A Server Core machine can be configured for several basic roles: Domain controller/Active Directory Domain Services, ADLDS (ADAM), DNS Server, DHCP Server, file server, print server, Windows Media Server, IIS 7 Web server and Hyper-V virtual server. Server Core can also be used to create a cluster with high availability using failover clustering or network load balancing. Andrew Mason, a program manager on the Windows Server team, noted that a primary motivation for producing a Server Core variant of Windows Server 2008 was to reduce the attack surface of the operating system, and that about 70% of the security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows from the prior five years would not have affected Server Core. Hyper-V Hyper-V is hypervisor-based virtualization software, forming a core part of Microsoft's virtualization strategy. It virtualizes servers on an operating system's kernel layer. It can be thought of as partitioning a single physical server into multiple small computational partitions. Hyper-V includes the ability to act as a Xen virtualization hypervisor host allowing Xen-enabled guest operating systems to run virtualized. A beta version of Hyper-V shipped with certain x86-64 editions of Windows Server 2008, prior to Microsoft's release of the final version of Hyper-V on 26 June 2008 as a free download. Also, a standalone version of Hyper-V exists; this version only supports the x86-64 architecture. While the IA-32 editions of Windows Server 2008 cannot run or install Hyper-V, they can run the MMC snap-in for managing Hyper-V. Server Manager Server Manager is a new roles-based management tool for Windows Server 2008. It is a combination of Manage Your Server and Security Configuration Wizard from Windows Server 2003. Server Manager is an improvement of the Configure my server dialog that launches by default on Windows Server 2003 machines. However, rather than serve only as a starting point to configuring new roles, Server Manager gathers together all of the operations users would want to conduct on the server, such as, getting a remote deployment method set up, adding more server roles etc. , and provides a consolidated, portal-like view about the status of each role. Windows Powershell Windows PowerShell is Microsoft's task automation framework, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on top of, and integrated with the . NET Framework. PowerShell provides full access to COM and WMI, enabling administrators to perform administrative tasks on both local and remote Windows systems. Question 5 – What is a Read Only Domain Controller (RODC) and what are its advantages? What are the security and administrative issues addressed by a RODC? A read-only domain controller (RODC) is a new type of domain controller in the Windows  Server  2008 operating system. With an RODC, organizations can easily deploy a domain controller in locations where physical security cannot be guaranteed. An RODC hosts read-only partitions of the Active  Directory  Domain  Services (AD  DS) database. Before the release of Windows Server  2008, if users had to authenticate with a domain controller over a wide area network (WAN), there was no real alternative. In many cases, this was not an efficient solution. Branch offices often cannot provide the adequate physical security that is required for a writable domain controller. Furthermore, branch offices often have poor network bandwidth when they are connected to a hub site. This can increase the amount of time that is required to log on. It can also hamper access to network resources. Beginning with Windows Server  2008, an organization can deploy an RODC to address these problems. As a result, users in this situation can receive the following benefits: †¢ Improved security †¢ Faster logon times †¢ More efficient access to resources on the network Inadequate physical security is the most common reason to consider deploying an RODC. An RODC provides a way to deploy a domain controller more securely in locations that require fast and reliable authentication services but cannot ensure physical security for a writable domain controller. However, your organization may also choose to deploy an RODC for special administrative requirements. For example, a line-of-business (LOB) application may run successfully only if it is installed on a domain controller. Or, the domain controller might be the only server in the branch office, and it may have to host server applications. In such cases, the LOB application owner must often log on to the domain controller interactively or use Terminal Services to configure and manage the application. This situation creates a security risk that may be unacceptable on a writable domain controller. An RODC provides a more secure mechanism for deploying a domain controller in this scenario. You can grant a non-administrative domain user the right to log on to an RODC while minimizing the security risk to the Active  Directory forest. You might also deploy an RODC in other scenarios where local storage of all domain user passwords is a primary threat, for example, in an extranet or application-facing role. References – Works Cited â€Å"AD DS: Read-Only Domain Controllers. † Microsoft TechNet: Resources for IT Professionals. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. â€Å"Windows Server 2008. † Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 12 Dec. 2011. Ward10/08/2007, Keith. â€Å"Top 10 Overlooked Windows Server 2008 Features, Part 2 — Redmond Developer News. † Powering the Windows Software Revolution — Redmond Developer News. Web. 03 Jan. 2012 â€Å"Windows Server 2008 Editions and System Requirements – Techotopia. † Main Page – Techotopia. We b. 05 Jan. 2012. â€Å"Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Editions. † Web. 03 Jan. 2012. â€Å"Windows PowerShell. † Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 01 Jan. 2012.

Michael Porters Five Forces Analysis Coursework

Michael Porters Five Forces Analysis - Coursework Example The five forces are threat of new entrants, bargaining power of the purchasers, bargaining power of the suppliers, threat of the substitute products or services and the rivalry among the existing competitors (Porter 6 – 10). The following diagram shows the five forces. Foremost, the bargaining power of the suppliers is driven by the number of suppliers for every essential input, the uniqueness of the inputs or services, the size, and strength of the supplier and the cost involved in switching from one supplier to another. This force includes assessment of the probability of the suppliers to increase their prices. Secondly, the bargaining power of the buyer includes assessing of the probability that the buyers will bring down prices of commodities and services. The assessment is controlled by the number of purchasers available in the market, the significance of every individual buyer to the firm and the cost likely to occur if the buyer switches from buying in one firm or the other. When a business has a few of powerful buyers, the firm is in a position to dictate the terms to the buyers. Thirdly, competitive rivalry is driven by the capability of the competitors in the market and their number. When a big number of competitors offer undifferentiated services or products, they reduce the attractiveness of the market. Substitution threat applies in that, when there are close substitute products, the likelihood of increased switching of customers to the alternatives occurs responding to the increase in prices. In such a scenario, the market attractiveness and the suppliers’ power reduce. Threat of new entries implies that a profitable market attracts new entrants in the business and erodes profitability of a firm. Not unless incumbents have durable and strong barriers to entry, the profitability goes down to a competitive rate. The barriers to entry in the market include

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Witting a letter - Assignment Example The link between the quality of nursing care and patient comfort is a well-established fact. Owing to shortage in nursing staff, the patients are often made to suffer. For every patient added to the routine work load of staff nurses, the risk of death emerging out of common medical procedures increases by 7%, and when a staff registered nurse has eight (or so) patients more than foreseen by his/her working capacity, the risk of death is found to increase by 30%. Studies have proven that when there are more staff registered nurses in a health care unit, the rate of mortality is reduced, the patients are able to quit hospital early, and the health care costs and medical complications are much lowered. As a nurse is the closest link of a patient to healing, the role of a nurse can be crucial and decisive in a life and death situation. It is the unbearable workload that compels a nurse to leave the bedside of a

Theory of Motivation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory of Motivation - Term Paper Example This paper is an attempt to understand theory of motivations. The evolution of the various theories of motivation is addressed. A specific theory is chosen and explained in detail along with explaining how a manager could use the theory in the workplace to improve the performance. Overview of Theory of Motivation Theories of motivation have evolved over the years initially only focusing on physiological needs (scientific management school of thought) to the most recent ones which focus on cognitive needs (human relations and neo human relations approach). The evolution of the theories of motivation can be best understood by analysing the thought process behind the individual theories of motivation. Scientific Management School of Thought The main idea or thought process behind the very first theories of motivation was that humans are â€Å"rational beings† motivated by physiological needs (mainly by materialistic gains). Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theory is one of the m ajor theories from this school of thought and like many other theories of its time, Taylor’s theory also assumed that employees work to satisfy economic needs, and hence money is the only motivator. This theory did not focus on emotional needs but only limited employee motivation to pay. Human Relations School of Thought Next step in the evolution of theories of motivation was the shift in focus to social needs. ... that fulfilled social needs, than money. Neo Human Relations School of Thought The neo-human relations school of thought was introduced by Abraham Maslow along with Frederick Herzberg wherein the focus now shifted to the employee’s psychological needs. Maslow in his hierarchy of needs theory proposed that employees are motivated to fulfil specific needs and these needs can be hierarchically classified into 5 groups: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, ego and esteem needs, and self-actualization. He argued that the needs must be satisfied as per the hierarchical order. An employee will move to higher order needs only after fulfilling the lower order need. Herzberg, on the other hand, proposed a two factor theory that said that there were factors which presence would motivate the employees, and factors which absence would de-motivate the employees. This theory will be discussed in detail in the next section. Herzberg's Two Factor Theory Herzberg in his two factor t heory argued that there were two certain sets of factors that would affect the employee’s performance. He called one as the motivators which would have a direct positive impact on motivation and would result in hard work from the employees. The second one were the hygiene factors which presence would not have any impact on motivation but their absence would de-motivate the employees and result in poor performance. Some of the motivators that Herzberg listed were advancement, responsibility, recognition, achievement and work. Some of the hygiene factors that Herzberg mentioned are salary, working conditions, company policies, relationship with co-workers, etc. According to this theory, motivated and de-motivated are entirely two different concepts and not the

Strategy Assessment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Rhetorical analysis essay - Assignment Example In his commencement address to the graduating class of 2005 at the Stanford University, Steve Jobs strives to uphold his argument that one should pursue their dreams without allowing challenges to stop them (â€Å"Stanford University† 1). Steve Jobs tells three stories of his life to convince the students to focus on their dreams and disregard all challenges, which would stop them. He told the students to use such challenges as opportunities to achieve more. The address focuses on three stories that would have prevented Steve Jobs from achieving his dreams but instead he used them as stepping stones to learn and record huge success in technology. Steve Jobs derives various arguments in the three stories regarding the family challenges at his childhood, professional challenges at his workplace, and health challenges from his diagnosis with cancer (â€Å"Stanford University† 1). In establishing his argument, Steve Jobs uses different rhetorical strategies and establishes his credibility to convince the target audience on the need to focus on one’s goals and use challenges as opportunities to succeed in life. For us to understand the intentions of Steve Jobs in developing an\d utilizing his argument on TED Talk during the commencement address at the Stanford University, we must analyze the target audience, apparent purpose of the argument, and the context where the argument occurred. Steve Jobs argues that challenges will always be there in our pursuit for success but we should always maximize the challenges and treat them as opportunities to achieving our dreams. The context of Steve Jobs’ argument emanates from his personal experiences where he faced many challenges before making immense contributions in modern technology. Moreover, various statistics showing how graduates lose their dreams after facing serious challenges in life developed the context of his argument. Moreover, the fact that Steve Jobs never graduated from college and the idea of

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Introduction to Business Law Individual Project 1 - Essay Example A trial Court only has the jurisdiction to intervene in a case involving two parties within a particular jurisdiction or in a case where a complaint is brought by a litigant against a local Government body. Similarly, the Supreme Court is generally likely to hear disputes involving two states or those involving constitutional rights and in this case, since the issue is the breach of contract by the U.S. Government of one party located within a particular Court of Appeals jurisdiction, the case may be likely to heard at the U.S. Court of Appeals for that particular jurisdiction. Another matter that may be taken up by the U.S. Court of Appeals is the appeal of the 5th U.S. District Court decision. However, in view of the visit of the Company senior directors, it appears likely that the issue that will be taken up would involve a business issue and in this case, the contractual dispute that involves the U.S. Government being cited as one of the parties in the suit appears to be the one that is likely to qualify. The function of the law is to ensure that the rules and regulations that are established by various Government and executive bodies are upheld and maintained by individuals, and it is the forum where any disputes arising out of the application of the law may be adjudicated. The two most important sources of law are statutes and judicial precedents. Statutes are the major sources of law and they may be constitutional ones, in which case they are framed at deferral and state levels, or they may be statutes that are framed at the federal and state levels. Laws may also be comprised of ordinances passed by other Government bodies, administrative agency rules or executive orders. Additionally judicial precedent may also become a source of law in some cases. While judicial decisions themselves do not become laws per se, important decisions made

Robert Frost Essay Example for Free

Robert Frost Essay Robert Frosts themes repeat themselves in many of his works. He frequently attributes mans relationship with the universe and alienation, nature, and death. Frost tended to use more than one of these themes in a single poem. Robert Frosts outlook on life and his own personal experiences greatly influenced his writings. This shows the dark shadow that he lived in after many family tragedies, the death of his father, wife, and first child, followed by the suicide of his son and the mental illnesses of his daughter and his sister, which they were later institutionalized for. Robert Frosts themes influenced many writers by his use of theme and emotion in his work. Frosts themes have changed the ways by influencing authors to write about their feelings, dreams, and what they see in a whole new way; even today many authors looks to Robert Frosts works for inspiration. Another theme of Frosts is nature. He describes the surroundings with vivid details, allowing the readers to imagine the scenes placed before them. In one of his most famous poems, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost greatly describes the experience so that the sensation presented is perceived accurately. A writer quotes, This poem illustrates many of the qualities most characteristic to Frost; including the attention to natural detail, the relationship between human and nature, and the strong theme suggested by individual lines(Napierkowski 1). Frost says, My little horse must think its queer to stop without a farmhouse near between the woods and frozen lake the darkest evening of the year(Frost 7). This line infers that its a cold night, but he still has time to stop in a secluded field to appreciate the beauty of the natural scene. In this poem he also says, †¦The only other sounds the sweep of easy wind and downy flake the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep.. (Frost 11). Here Frost is commenting on how peaceful it is in the field, but expressing how he has no desire to enter the woods, for he still has things he must do. Gerber comments saying, .. looks upon a traveler mesmerized by the black trees yet unwilling to enter. this time with promises to keep, the traveler has a ready rationalization for withstanding the bait(Gerber 10). There is a similar scene in, Desert Places, that talks of the mystery of the snow. Snow falling fast, oh, fast in a field I looked into going past, and the ground almost covered smooth in snow, but a few weeds and stubble showing last(Frost 1). Here the traveler exhibits that he has no time to stop in the field, but he notices the weeds that have yet to be completely covered. Frosts use of detail when describing theme theme of nature is very potent in his writing, it allows a clear scene to be viewed and he deserves ample credit for his impeccable creations.

Components Of A Computer System

Components Of A Computer System Computer is an electronic machine that can store, organize and search information, do calculation and control other machines. Computer has hardware and also software. Computer hardware means the physical component of a computer system, which has different functions to complete different tasks. Hardware is something we can touch. This hardware includes input devices, output devices, a system unit, storage devices, and communications devices. This could be a monitor, memory chip, hard drive, or CPU. Computer software is the collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions telling a computer what to do and how to do it. Software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. Software is intangible. Examples of software are application software and system software. Without software, hardware is useless.hero_06_software.jpg Computer Specification Each computer has own computer specification. The computer that Im going to discuss about its specification is HP ProBook 4420s. HP-ProBook-4420s-Notebook-PC_400x400.jpg Processor Intel Core i3-370M Processor (2.4 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache) Memory 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM Chipset Mobile Intel ® HM57 Express Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate Graphic card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 with 512 MB dedicated video memory Internal drive 320 GB 7200 rpm SATA II Optical disk drive DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe Display 14.0 diagonal LED-backlit HD anti-glare (1366 x 768) Integrated camera 2.0 MP webcam Weight and dimension- 2.27 kg, 33.60 x 23.24 x 2.70 cm Battery type and life 6-cell (47 WHr) Li-Ion, up to 4 hours and 30 minutes Processor: The processor of this laptop is Intel Core i3-370M. Processor is also called the central processing unit (CPU). It is the electronic component that interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer. Furthermore, it is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computers functions. The central processing unit carries out each instruction of the program in sequence, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. System clock: The processor relies on a small quartz crystal circuit called the system clock to control the timing of all computer operations. The pace of the system clock, called the clock speed, is measured by number of ticks per second. The clock speed for this processor of this laptop is 2.40GHz (Giga Hertz). The clock rate is the speed at which a microprocessor executes instructions. Every computer contains an internal clock that regulates the rate at which instructions are executed and synchronizes all the various computer components. The CPU requires a fixed number of clock ticks (or clock cycles) to execute each instruction. The faster the clock, the more instructions the CPU can execute per second. Cache: Most of todays computers improve their processing times with cache. Memory cache helps speed the processes of the computer because it stores frequently used instructions and data. This laptop is having L3 cache on the motherboard which is separate from the processor chip. Memory: Memory is the primary storage. It consists of electronic components that store instructions waiting to be executed by the processor, data needed by those instructions, and the results of processing the data which is information. Most Random access memory (RAM) is volatile, which means it loses its contents when the power is removed from the computer. The RAM of this laptop is 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM. SDRAM refers to Synchronous DRAM, which can synchronized to the system clock and it is much faster than DRAM. Chipset: Chipset of this laptop is Mobile Intel ® HM57 Express. A chipset refers to a group of integrated circuits, or chips, that are designed to work together. They are usually marketed as a single product. It is usually designed to work with a specific family of microprocessors. Because it controls communications between the processor and external devices, the chipset is used to determine the system performance. The mobile Intel ® HM57 Express Chipset is part of the mobile Intel ® 5 Series Chipsets, providing single chip architecture and delivering: Intel ® Anti-Theft Technology for PC protection that can disable a lost or stolen PC and reactivate it without compromise to the system or data Blue-ray* logo capable HD video playback, with native support for Blue-ray drives Intel ® Rapid Storage Technology for enhanced performance, power management, and data protection for the storage subsystem Operating System: An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software. Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux. The operating system that installed in this laptop is Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. Graphic Card: The graphic card included in this laptop is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 with 512 MB dedicated video memory. This graphic card has 512MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM (Video RAM), which means it has 512MB for storing data (not combining with computer RAM). The higher the memory of VRAM, the better the graphical item (such as picture, video, and game loading) can be presented and better loading time. Internal drive: The hard disk included in this laptop is 320 GB 7200 rpm SATA II. A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile, random access device for digital data. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read and written on the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the platters. SATA II is the second generation SATA interfaces running at 3.0 Gbit/s are shipping in high volume as of 2010[update], and prevalent in all SATA disk drives and the majority of PC and server chipsets. With a native transfer rate of 3.0 Gbit/s, and taking 8b/10b encoding into account, the maximum uncoded transfer rate is 2.4 Gbit/s (300 MB/s). Optical disc drive: The optical disc drive in this laptop is DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe . It is support for the Blu-ray DVD drive on configurations with integrated graphics requires Windows7 or Windows Vista. Optical disc drives are an integral part of stand-alone consumer appliances such as CD players, DVD players and DVD recorders. They are also very commonly used in computers to read software and consumer media distributed in disc form, and to record discs for archival and data exchange. Others: The display of this laptop is 14.0 diagonal LED-backlit HD anti-glare (1366 x 768). Furthermore, this laptop is only weighed 2.27 kg and has a dimension of 33.60 x 23.24 x 2.70 cm. This laptop of has a webcam which is 2.0MP. Meanwhile, this laptop use the battery of 6-cell (47 WHr) Li-Ion and it can last up to 4 hours and 30 minutes. Analysis of Overall Performance This laptop is using a processor of Intel Core i3-370M Processor.

Freak Out: The 1960s Musical Avant-garde Revisited Essay -- Musicals

Freak Out: The 1960s Musical Avant-garde Revisited â€Å"This is my happening and it freaks me out!† Z-man Barzel in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) The title of this essay â€Å"Freak Out: The 1960s Musical Avant-garde Revisited† invites me to explore the explosion of new ideas that permeated many forms of western musical expression in the 1960s. When I was given a new course to teach at the University of Guelph called â€Å"The Musical Avant-garde† (2002) no one could quite tell me what they meant me to teach, except that it would cover all that â€Å"difficult music† of the second half of the 20th century. By this my colleagues meant serious European art music by gold-plate composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luigi Nono, Luciano Berio, and Gyorgy Ligeti. Shortly after the end of WWII, the â€Å"new music† coalesced around the Darmstadt summer courses in composition where these young European composers, cut off from each other during the war, rediscovered the music of early 20th century modernists such as Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and especially Anton von Webern, and were inspired by their radical ideas of creating new systems for composing music. Young European composers didn’t try to write music like Schoenberg and Webern, rather they took to heart these composers’ basic principles: the idea of pre-ordering musical elements (serialization) and the idea of treating each sound as a discrete event, independent of the sounds around it. From these two premises, all sorts of exciting new ground was opened up – from rigorous compositional control to the notion that one could choose to leave things wide open to chance - so that by the 1960s musical elements such as tone colour and texture took the place of tr aditional ha... ... our site but under no conditions are the texts and images to be copied and mounted onto another site server. Researchers using the site should accredit it following standard MLA guidelines on how to do so. Correct citation of information from the site is as follows: Waterman, Ellen. Sounds Provocative: Experimental Music Performance in Canada. University of Guelph. 2005. . This research has been approved by the Research Ethics Board at the University of Guelph who can be contacted at 519-824-4120 x 56606. The project is generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the College of Arts, and the School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph. Copyright  © 2005 Waterman, Ellen. Sounds Provocative: Experimental Music Performance in Canada. University of Guelph. All Rights Reserved

Free Essay: Restructuring Relationships Shakespeares King Lear :: King Lear essays

Restructuring Relationships in King Lear The play of "King Lear" is about a search for personal identity. In the historical period in which this play is set, the social structure was set in order of things closest to Heaven. Therefore, on Earth, the king was at the top, followed by his noblemen and going all the way down to the basest of objects such as rocks and dirt. This structure was set up by the people, and by going by the premise that anything that is man made is imperfect, this system cannot exist for long without conflict. Through tattered clothes small vices do appear; Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, And the strong lance of justice hurtles breaks; (IV, vi). The chaos that occurs in "King Lear" is due the reshaping of bonds within the society. Thus naturally, bonds must be broken, kept and most importantly, formed. This rearrangement of bonds is necessary to Lear understanding his personal identity. Bonds that are broken include those relations between King Lear and his two eldest daughters (Regan and Goneril), between Glouster and Edmund and also between Edmund and Edgar. Lear and Cordelia; Lear and Kent; Glouster and Edgar include those bonds that are existent at both the beginning and conclusion of the play. By the ending of the play, Lear is able to come to terms with himself and with nature. For the rearrangement of the bonds, it is necessary that those based on money, power, land, and deception be to abandoned. In the case of Lear and Goneril and Regan, his two daughters have deceived their father for their personal gain. Furthermore, they had not intended to keep the bond with their father once they had what they wanted. Goneril states "We must do something, and i' th' heat." (I, i, 355), meaning that they wish to take more power upon themselves while they can. By his two of his daughters betraying him, Lear was able to gain insight that he is not as respected as he perceives himself to be. The relationship broken between Edmund his half- bother, Edgar and father, Glouster is similarly deteriorated in the interest of material items. By the end of the play, Edgar has recognized who is brother really is and when he has confronted him says "the more th' hast wronged me...

The Warning of Fahrenheit 451 :: Fahrenheit 451 Essays

The Warning of Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a novel about a materialistic society that has forgotten social interaction with each other. This materialistic society is where Bradbury believed society today is headed<THE TENSES HERE ARE A LITTLE CONFUSING.>. The materialistic society in Fahrenheit 451 created through Bradbury's cynic views of society<THIS IS A FRAGMENT SENTANCE.> His views of society are over-exaggerated in contrast with today's events, especially in the areas of censorship and media mediocrity. The purpose of media is quite SIMPLY, "a warning signal--information--that alerts the citizens that something is wrong which needs attention and resolution. An aware and informed populace could then influence its leaders to act upon that information in an effort to solve that problem" (Jensen, Project Censored). But Media has often been criticized for promoting a mass mediocrity, because it only tells the public what it wants to hear. The idea of Media promoting mass mediocrity is a reoccurring image in Fahrenheit 451. Such is not the case in today's society. One of the most successful freedom fighting campaign has been the Tibetan Freedom Concert, a rock concert where artists and citizens converge, sharing their views for Tibetan freedom from Chinese oppression. Over the three years of its existence, the concert has generated so much publicity that it has forced President Bill Clinton to step in and try to hasten the negotiation between the Chinese government and the Dal ai Lama. In a Sonicnet Music News article, the Dalai Lama said, "'Through this live show, many, many Chinese will have gained a better awareness of President Clinton's feelings about Tibet, and also President Jiang's feelings, and I think that can be enormously helpful in the long run.'" (Media Inclusion 1) The Dalai Lama expresses the importance of publicity that has first been generated by the Tibetan Freedom Concert. Not only did it create awareness for the Chinese as the Dalai Lama suggested; it also created awareness around the world, especially in North America. Ask any North American teenager,"What they feel towards the idea of Tibetan oppression from the Chinese?", just ask him "Where Tibet is?" three years ago and he would probably look confused and answer by asking "Would you like fries with that?".<THIS MADE VERY LITTLE SENSE.> Ask that same teenager now, and he would likely give an educated response. The Tibetan Freedom Concert is just an example of how powerful modern media is if it can be used properly.

Housework Division Essay

1. Regardless of whether the family is a dual-income family or not marriage is about compromise. With compromise comes accommodation. One couple might have a partner who works longer hours or has a more strenuous job. To accommodate the partner, the other spouse might have to do more of the house work. One partner might have more responsibilities than another but in the end it should be equally shared. 2. Many years ago, when families would survive off of the land, both men and women were cooperative and worked along each others side. They both assumed laborious duties and shared tasks. Most would be divided by gender but the couple would actively participate both at home and work. Today, due to the dramatic increase in industrialization, a lot of the household tasks that mainly women did are no longer known as a â€Å"job†. With the female labor force increasing from 25% in 1940 to 61% in 2003, the term â€Å"housewife† and homemaker continue to be seldom used as a means of work. As female labor continues to rise each year, I believe that history will be repeating itself and therefore not only would sharing household responsibilities be the most viable option but a must. The text (Ch. 12 Pg.259) describes the â€Å"superwomen† as the dual-career wife who has unrealistic aspirations as she tries to manage being a wife, homemaker, and mother and balance her career on top of it all. She ends up feeling depressed and in the end is overwhelmed and reaches the point of exhaustion. Had she shared the responsibilities with her partner she might not have reach this point and this is why equity is important to marital satisfaction and the well being of the family. 3. Traditionally, in the past labor has always been divided by gender roles. The wives would cook, clean, wash dishes and the men would do most of the outside chores and repairs around the house. Today this continues to be how tasks are divided among most couples and will probably continue to be for the next few years. Mostly, because the inequality of task dividing is not defined as unfair by the wife and most of a labor they might enjoy doing or perhaps the husband might have a higher income and therefore feel as if they obligated to do more around the house. Whatever the reason being why inequality still persists in today’s society in regards to household work, one thing is for sure, there has been an enormous progress from earlier years in the sharing of household responsibilities which causes for greater potential in one day being closer to the ideal 50-50 in tasks sharing.

History of the Democratic Party Essay

The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. When this party makes political decisions, the Democratic Party followed a very liberal viewpoint. The Democratic Party is one of the oldest official political parties in the world and it is the oldest official political party in the United States. In 1792, Thomas Jefferson started the Democratic Party to oppose the Federalist Party to fight for the Bill of Rights. The Democratic Party was called the party of the common man. It was probably called this because it supported the normal citizens, like farmers and middle class people. Thomas Jefferson was elected as the first president from the Democratic Party in 1800. Jefferson served as president for two terms for the Democratic Party. Following this, in 1848, the Democratic National Committee was formed by the National Convention. The Democratic National Committee exists, making it the longest standing political organization ever. The Democratic Party is recognized with serving the lower and middle classes by funding government programs such as Welfare and free or low cost medical insurance. This is an opposite belief of the Republican Party who believes in that no one should face a tax increase, especially the rich. Democratic parties typically rule large states such as New York and California. Since these are two states with a high number of electoral votes, the Democratic Party has an advantage in presidential elections, although despite that support, there have still been many Republican presidents voted into office.

Literature Review for Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis

Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) is a robust process by which point mutation can be detected. It depends upon polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products which denature at different temperatures depending upon if they contain homoduplex or different products from both wild type and mutated genes or heteroduplex or combined strains of wild type and mutated DNA strains. Heteroduplex products contain a mismatch and therefore melt more quickly than heteroduplex products (Roelfsema and Peters, 2005, pp. 79).DGGE is used most effectively to identify point mutations in genomic DNA that cause genetic diseases, to identifiy previously unidentified mutations in recessive genes, analysis of DNA from cancer tumors, and by targeting RNA, assessing the number and type of bacteria species in soil, water, and the human body (ibid, pp. 84). The DGGE process has many complicated steps that entail trial and error starting with designing the proper Gradient Gel so that the PCR product will en ter one end as a double strand, quickly denature and then stop progressing and stick in place.First the PCR product must be designed using special software that analyses the melting curves of possible PCR products. In order to keep the DNA stuck in place once the denaturing has occurred, a GC clamp consisting of a string of 40-60 nucleotides must be attached to the PCR primer resulting in a high denaturing temperature at one end and not the other. In addition, the Gradient gel must be prepared properly with a 30% gradient and adjusted so that the DNA gets trapped directly in the middle (ibid, 80).Finally, in the most technically difficult step, a constant temperature of 60 degrees Celsius must be achieved in which to perform the electrophoresis. After this the gels are soaked in a 0. 5XTAE containing ethidium bromide to visualize the DNA. Once these steps are completed successfully, the results are very clear, and seen quickly. If large numbers of samples have to be screened, DGGE i s very reliable and cost effective(ibid, 85). The following is a summary of some of the recent uses of DGGE and findings of researchers who have been exploring new territory in their fields through the use of DGGE.This review aims to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of DGGE and its most effective applications. In a study led by J. Walter of the University of Stuttegart in Germany, 16S rhibosomal primers were also used to detect lactic acid bacteria in human faeces. Subjects were given the probiotic strain lactobacillus rhamnosus DR20 to drink, and while cultural methods only detected the strain in one of the subjects, DGGE detected it in both.In addition, the food associated samples did not appear in the rosa agar cultures, but were apparent in the DGGE profile (Walter, J et al, 2001). This shows the sensitivity and reliability of DGGE methods, and its applicability to human microbiology. Another study of faeces conducted by Maukonen et al. concluded that DGGE was an effective way to establish the stability of certain groups of gastrointestinal bacteria. They successfully established the stability and diversity of the Erecta group by using DGGE to study the bacteria from 12 subjects (Maukonen et al, 2002).Applications to the study of animal faeces uncovered that DGGE is effective in identifying complex systems such as Heliobacters which are difficult to culture (Al-Soud et al, 2003). At the University of Wales in Cardiff, a team of researchers led by Charlotte E. Davies compared bacterial microfloras of healing and nonhealing chronic venous leg ulcers using both cultural and 16S rhibosomal PCR-DGGE methods. PCR-DGGE analysis found a much higher load of pseudonomads in nonhealing wounds than was apparent in cultural analysis alone (Davies, C et al, 2003).This proves the applicability of DGGE to human microbiology and its usefulness in identifying causes of illness. Similar results were obtained in studying Hypophatasia at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Resear ch Institute. DGGE was used to identify mutations in severely affected patients and was found 100% effective in identifying recessive mutations. In addition it identified eight new mutations and one new polymorphism of hypophatasia confirming its genotypic variability (Mumm, S et al, 2002).DGGE can therefore be a powerful tool in diagnosing hypophatasia and other genetic diseases. Italian biologists used 16S rDNA PCR-DGGE and ISR-PCR methods as tools to differentiate between strains of staphyloccus isolated from fermented sausages. They obtained species specific profiles using DGGE and combining the two methods allowed them to identify 10 species and an additional 7 groups. They concluded that combining the two microbial techniques was what led to their success (Blaiotta, G et al, sep 2003).Corroborating this evidence of the need to use DGGE in combination with other techniques when studying food microbiology, a study of Cassava root fermentation in Brazzaville, Congo determined tha t the most effective method of isolating and identifying microbial communities in Cassava starch fermentation was to combine culture and DGGE methods. They found that DGGE failed to detect pure cultures recovered from enrichment and yet detected other species not apparent in any of the cultural methods used (Miambi, E, Guyote, JP and Ampe, F. , 2003).These results suggest that DGGE, while reliable and sensitive, is dependant upon other methods to complete a profile of the microbiological communities. Strides have been made to understand and identify the ecology of microbial communities, such as the work done at the University of Nottingham. Researchers used PCR-DGGE analysis focused on the V3 and V4-V5 regions of 16S genes to identify and lactobacillus and Staphlyococcus bacteria in stilton cheese. They then used Florescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) experiments to identify the spatial arrangement of microbial species in the dairy matrix.This allowed them to conclude that there a re specific ecological reasons for microbial growth in cheese, and that there are real applications of the combination of DGGE and FISH to optimize food fermentation and preservation of traditional products (Ercolini, Hill, Dodd, Jul 2001). DGGE also has applications to farm production as seen in de Olivera et al’s study of soil rhibosomes, which concluded that DGGE provides fingerprinting of rhibosomes useful in determining the effect of agricultural practices on soils.This can help in the proper amendment of soils and monitoring of pesticides (de Olivera et al, 2006). Recognizing the usefulness of DGGE in identifying and categorizing microbial communities, and the need for more effective identification of which DNA regions to study, Zhongtang Yu and Mark Morrison performed a test to compare DGGE profiles across hypervariable (V) regions taken from the same DNA regions, and identify the most useful V regions to study in gastrointestinal microbiomes.Their recommendation is th at amplification of the V3 or V1 regions of rrs genes gives the best result, but when doing a longer amplification, the V3 to V5 or V6 to V8 range should be targeted (Yu and Morrison, 2004). DGGE has been used successfully in oceanography to identify and isolate protists that are so small they lack taxonomic features and are too unstable to be studied by traditional means.Biologists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studied protistan assemblages from the Antarctic using DGGE and were able to determine that microenvironments significantly impact assemblages and that significant genetic diversity exists in each microenvironment (Gast, Dennett and Caron, 2004). Building on the sensitivity of DGGE in identifying genetic differences, biologists in Germany identified an entirely new phylogenic group of Eukariyotic bacteria in the deeper layers of tidal flats. Their technique included using primers targeted at the 18S rRNA gene.They were also able to establish distant relationshi ps between Eukaria and grazers and deposit feeders, proving DGGE’s applicability to taxonomy. Scientists at the University of Montana also recognized DGGE’s usefulness in identifying unculturable communities and developed a way to make these communities more visible by DGGE. They first put the communities through GC fractionalization to make the study size smaller which allowed previously undetectable or underrepresented bands from the full community analysis to be seen (Holbien et al, 2004).Seeking to improve the sensitivity and versatility of DGGE’s application to microbial ecology as well as provide a way to compare and standardize gradient gels, Neufeld and Mohn of the University of British Columbia tested the use of Fluorophore-Labled primers. They found that fluorophore greatly helped intralane normalization, was relatively cheap, and allows DGGE versatility including running RNA and DNA derived patterns in the same lane (Neufeld and Mohn, 2005). References Al-Soud, Waleed Abu; Bennedsen, Mads; On, Stephen L. W.; Ouis, Ibn-Sina; Vandamme, Peter; Nilsson, Hans-Olof; Ljungh, Asa; Wadstrà ¶m, Torkel Bimal D. M. Theophilus (May 2003) Assessment of PCR-DGGE for the identification of diverse Helicobacter species, and application to faecal samples from zoo animals to determine Helicobacter prevalence. PCR Mutation Detection Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology Volume 52, p.765-771. Blaiotta G, Pennacchia C, Ercolini D, Moschetti G, Villani F. (Sep 2003) Combining denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA V3 region and 16S-23S rDNA spacer region polymorphism analyses for the identification of staphylococci from Italian fermented sausages. Syst Appl Microbiol. 26(3):423-33 Davies, Charlotte, Katja E. Hill, Katja, Wilson, Melanie, Stephens, Phil, Hill, C. Michael, Harding, Keith and Thomas, David (Aug 2004) Use of 16S Ribosomal DNA PCR and Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis for Analysis of the Microfloras of Healing and Nonhealing Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Vol. 42, No. 8, p. 3549-3557 de Oliveira, Valà ©ria,   Manfio, Gilson, Heitor Luiz da Costa Coutinho, Heitor Keijzer-Wolters, Anneke and van Elsas, Jan. (Apr 2006)Ribosomal RNA gene intergenic spacer based PCR and DGGE fingerprinting method for the analysis of specific rhizobial communities in soil Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 72, No. 4 p. 2756-2764 Ercolini D, Hill PJ, Dodd CE. (Jun 2003) Bacterial community structure and location in Stilton cheese.   Appl Environ Microbiol.;69(6):3540-8. Gast, Rebecca J., Dennett, Mark and Caron, David (Apr 2004) Characterization of Protistan Assemblages in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 70, No. 4. p. 2028-2037 Holben, Willam,   Feris, Kevin, Kettunen, Anu and Apajalahti, Juha. (Apr 2004) GC Fractionation Enhances Microbial Community Diversity Assessment and Detection of Minority Populations of Bacteria by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol 70, No. 4 p. 2263-2270 Jeroen H. Roelfsema and Dorien J. M. Peters (2005), Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), Medical Biomethods Handbook, p.79-85 Maukonen, Johanna, Mà ¤ttà ¶, Jaana, Satokari, Reetta,   Sà ¶derlund, Hans, Mattila-Sandholm, Tiina and Saarela, Maria (2006) PCR DGGE and RT-PCR DGGE show diversity and short-term temporal stability in the Clostridium coccoides–Eubacterium rectale group in the human intestinal microbiota. FEMS Microbiology Ecology (Online early). Miambi E, Guyot JP, Ampe F. (Apr 2003) Identification, isolation and quantification of representative bacteria from fermented cassava dough using an integrated approach of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Int J Food Microbiol. 25;82(2):111-20. Mumm S, Jones J, Finnegan P, Henthorn PS, Podgornik MN, Whyte MP.   (Feb. 2002) Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of the tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme gene in hypophosphatasia. Mol Genet Metab. 75(2):143-53. Neufeld, Josh and Mohn, William. (Aug 2005) Fluorophore-Labeled Primers Improve the Sensitivity, Versatility, and Normalization of Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol.71, No. 8 p. 4893-4896 Walter J, Hertel C, Tannock GW, Lis CM, Munro K, Hammes WP. (Jun 2001) Detection of Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, and Weissella species in human feces by using group-specific PCR primers and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Jun;67(6):2578-85 Yu, Zhongtang and Morrison, Mark. (Aug 2004)Comparisons of Different Hypervariable Regions of rrs Genes for Use in Fingerprinting of Microbial Communities by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2004, p. 4800-4806, Vol. 70, No. 8