Saturday, August 31, 2019

Is an invitation to treat an offer? Discuss? Essay

Answer: Section 2(a), Contracts Act 1950 provides that ‘when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal’. Case: M N Guha Majumder v R E Donough [1974] 2 MLJ 114 Facts: Property owned by the defendant was advertised for sale, and written offers to purchase were invited. The plaintiff viewed the property on two occasions. During the interval between the two occasions the plaintiff was in communication with the defendant’s agent, and it was alleged that the defendant had accepted the plaintiff’s offer to purchase the property for RM70,000. There had been on the occasion of the second visit to the property some discussion on the mode of payment. There was also no clear agreement on the sale of orchid plants which the defendant wished to sell separately, although the matter was discussed between the parties. The defendant denied that he had decided to go on with the sale. The defendant was anxious, however, to effect a quick sale as he was desirous of leaving Kuching permanently for Johor bharu. Issue: Whether there was a contract inexistence between the plaintiff and the defendant at the material time. Held: 1. The law does not impute an intention to enter   into such a legal relationship as that of vendor and purchaser where the circumstances and the conduct of the parties negative any intention of the kind. 2. The evidence indicated that the parties did not intend to be immediately bound. They had not the necessary animus contrahendi (means intention to contract). What passed was only a negotiation from beginning to end. Whether an advertisement is an offer or an invitation to treat depends on the intention of the parties in each case. The courts have held that  advertisements of bilateral contracts are not offers whereas advertisements of unilateral contracts are construed to be offers. In the case of Majumder v Attorney-General of Sarawak, the Federal Court held that an advertisement in the newspaper for the post of a doctor was an invitation to treat. When an auctioneer invites bids, he is merely making an ‘invitation to treat’, and when a bidder makes a bid, he is making an offer. The contract, i.e. the sale, is only made when the auctioneer announces its completion by the fall of the hammer. Similarly, a display of goods in a shop is an invitation to treat. An offer to buy is made when the customer puts the articles in a basket provided by the shop or takes the item off the shelf. The contract is only made at the cashier’s desk when the customer pays for the items. However, if it is clear in the circumstances that a party intends their words or conduct to constitute an offer, then the courts will be prepare to construe it as such. For example, in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Ltd [1893] 1 QB 256, the advertisement of a unilateral contract was held to be an offer. Case: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Ltd [1893] 1 QB 256 Facts: Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Ltd. Advertised that they would offer  £1,000 to anyone who still succumbed to influenza after using a certain remedy for a fixed period. The plaintiff duly used it but, nevertheless, contracted influenza. The plaintiff then sued for the money. Held: The plaintiff was entitled to the  £1,000 as she had accepted the offer made to the world at large. To summarize, an invitation to treat is not an offer, but rather is an offer to consider offers. Instances which are generally regarded as invitations to treat include: -Auctions; -Advertisement of tenders; -Catalogues; -Price lists; and -Goods displayed in shop windows and shelves.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Twilight 19. GOODBYES

19. GOODBYES Charlie was waiting up for me. All the house lights were on. My mind was blank as I tried to think of a way to make him let me go. This wasn't going to be pleasant. Edward pulled up slowly, staying well back from my truck. All three of them were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the wood, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. The engine cut off, and I sat, motionless, as they continued to listen. â€Å"He's not here,† Edward said tensely. â€Å"Let's go.† Emmett reached over to help me get out of the harness. â€Å"Don't worry, Bella,† he said in a low but cheerful voice, â€Å"we'll take care of things here quickly.† I felt moisture filling up my eyes as I looked at Emmett. I barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when I would see him again after tonight was anguishing. I knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill. â€Å"Alice, Emmett.† Edward's voice was a command. They slithered soundlessly into the darkness, instantly disappearing. Edward opened my door and took my hand, then drew me into the protecting enclosure of his arm. He walked me swiftly toward the house, eyes always roving through the night. â€Å"Fifteen minutes,† he warned under his breath. â€Å"I can do this.† I sniffled. My tears had given me an inspiration. I stopped on the porch and took hold of his face in my hands. I looked fiercely into his eyes. â€Å"I love you,† I said in a low, intense voice. â€Å"I will always love you, no matter what happens now.† â€Å"Nothing is going to happen to you, Bella,† he said just as fiercely. â€Å"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep Charlie safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later.† â€Å"Get inside, Bella. We have to hurry.† His voice was urgent. â€Å"One more thing,† I whispered passionately. â€Å"Don't listen to another word I say tonight!† He was leaning in, and so all I had to do was stretch up on my toes to kiss his surprised, frozen lips with as much force as I was capable of. Then I turned and kicked the door open. â€Å"Go away, Edward!† I yelled at him, running inside and slamming the door shut in his still-shocked face. â€Å"Bella?† Charlie had been hovering in the living room, and he was already on his feet. â€Å"Leave me alone!† I screamed at him through my tears, which were flowing relentlessly now. I ran up the stairs to my room, throwing the door shut and locking it. I ran to my bed, flinging myself on the floor to retrieve my duffel bag. I reached swiftly between the mattress and box spring to grab the knotted old sock that contained my secret cash hoard. Charlie was pounding on my door. â€Å"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?† His voice was frightened. â€Å"I'm going borne,† I shouted, my voice breaking in the perfect spot. â€Å"Did he hurt you?† His tone edged toward anger. â€Å"No!† I shrieked a few octaves higher. I turned to my dresser, and Edward was already there, silently yanking out armfuls of random clothes, which he proceeded to throw to me. â€Å"Did he break up with you?† Charlie was perplexed. â€Å"No!† I yelled, slightly more breathless as I shoved everything into the bag. Edward threw another drawer's contents at me. The bag was pretty much full now. â€Å"What happened, Bella?† Charlie shouted through the door, pounding again. â€Å"I broke up with him!† I shouted back, jerking on the zipper of my bag. Edward's capable hands pushed mine away and zipped it smoothly. He put the strap carefully over my arm. â€Å"I'll be in the truck – go!† he whispered, and pushed me toward the door. He vanished out the window. I unlocked the door and pushed past Charlie roughly, struggling with my heavy bag as I ran down the stairs. â€Å"What happened?† he yelled. He was right behind me. â€Å"I thought you liked him.† He caught my elbow in the kitchen. Though he was still bewildered, his grip was firm. He spun me around to look at him, and I could see in his face that he had no intention of letting me leave. I could think of only one way to escape, and it involved hurting him so much that I hated myself for even considering it. But I had no time, and I had to keep him safe. I glared up at my father, fresh tears in my eyes for what I was about to do. â€Å"I do like him – that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it – I can't stay here another minute!† His hand dropped from my arm like I'd electrocuted him. I turned away from his shocked, wounded face and headed for the door. â€Å"Bells, you can't leave now. It's nighttime,† he whispered behind me. I didn't turn around. â€Å"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired.† â€Å"Just wait another week,† he pled, still shell-shocked. â€Å"Ren? ¦e will be back by then.† This completely derailed me. â€Å"What?† Charlie continued eagerly, almost babbling with relief as I hesitated. â€Å"She called while you were out. Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop.† I shook my head, trying to reassemble my now-confused thoughts. Every passing second put Charlie in more danger. â€Å"I have a key,† I muttered, turning the knob. He was too close, one hand extended toward me, his face dazed. I couldn't lose any more time arguing with him. I was going to have to hurt him further. â€Å"Just let me go, Charlie.† I repeated my mother's last words as she'd walked out this same door so many years ago. I said them as angrily as I could manage, and I threw the door open. â€Å"It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!† My cruel words did their job – Charlie stayed frozen on the doorstep, stunned, while I ran into the night. I was hideously frightened of the empty yard. I ran wildly for the truck, visualizing a dark shadow behind me. I threw my bag in the bed and wrenched the door open. The key was waiting in the ignition. â€Å"I'll call you tomorrow!† I yelled, wishing more than anything that I could explain everything to him right then, knowing I would never be able to. I gunned the engine and peeled out. Edward reached for my hand. â€Å"Pull over,† he said as the house, and Charlie, disappeared behind us. â€Å"I can drive,† I said through the tears pouring down my cheeks. His long hands unexpectedly gripped my waist, and his foot pushed mine off the gas pedal. He pulled me across his lap, wrenching my hands free of the wheel, and suddenly he was in the driver's seat. The truck didn't swerve an inch. â€Å"You wouldn't be able to find the house,† he explained. Lights flared suddenly behind us. I stared out the back window, eyes wide with horror. â€Å"It's just Alice,† he reassured me. He took my hand again. My mind was filled with the image of Charlie in the doorway. â€Å"The tracker?† â€Å"He heard the end of your performance,† Edward said grimly. â€Å"Charlie?† I asked in dread. â€Å"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now.† My body went cold. â€Å"Can we outrun him?† â€Å"No.† But he sped up as he spoke. The truck's engine whined in protest. My plan suddenly didn't feel so brilliant anymore. I was staring back at Alice's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window. My bloodcurdling scream lasted a fraction of a second before Edward's hand clamped down on my mouth. â€Å"It's Emmett!† He released my mouth, and wound his arm around my waist. â€Å"It's okay, Bella,† he promised. â€Å"You're going to be safe.† We raced through the quiet town toward the north highway. â€Å"I didn't realize you were still so bored with small-town life,† he said conversationally, and I knew he was trying to distract me. â€Å"It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well – especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you.† â€Å"I wasn't being nice,† I confessed, ignoring his attempt at diversion, looking down at my knees. â€Å"That was the same thing my mom said when she left him. You could say I was hitting below the belt.† â€Å"Don't worry. He'll forgive you.† He smiled a little, though it didn't touch his eyes. I stared at him desperately, and he saw the naked panic in my eyes. â€Å"Bella, it's going to be all right.† â€Å"But it won't be all right when I'm not with you,† I whispered. â€Å"We'll be together again in a few days,† he said, tightening his arm around me. â€Å"Don't forget that this was your idea.† â€Å"It was the best idea – of course it was mine.† His answering smile was bleak and disappeared immediately. â€Å"Why did this happen?† I asked, my voice catching. â€Å"Why me?† He stared blackly at the road ahead. â€Å"It's my fault – I was a fool to expose you like that.† The rage in his voice was directed internally. â€Å"That's not what I meant,† I insisted. â€Å"I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this James decide to kill met There're people all over the place, why me?† He hesitated, thinking before he answered. â€Å"I got a good look at his mind tonight,† he began in a low voice. â€Å"I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault.† His voice was wry. â€Å"If you didn't smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you†¦ well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge – a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever.† His tone was full of disgust. He paused a moment. â€Å"But if I had stood by, he would have killed you right then,† he said with hopeless frustration. â€Å"I thought†¦ I didn't smell the same to the others†¦ as I do to you,† I said hesitantly. â€Å"You don't. But that doesn't mean that you aren't still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker – or any of them – the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there.† I shuddered. â€Å"I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now,† he muttered. â€Å"Carlisle won't like it.† I could hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close. I had to ask him now. â€Å"How can you kill a vampire?† He glanced at me with unreadable eyes and his voice was suddenly harsh. â€Å"The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces.† â€Å"And the other two will fight with him?† â€Å"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond – he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But James and the woman – they'll try to kill you?† I asked, my voice raw. â€Å"Bella, don't you dare waste time worrying about me. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and – please, please – trying not to be reckless.† â€Å"Is he still following?† â€Å"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight.† He turned off onto the invisible drive, with Alice following behind. We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Emmett had my door open before the truck was stopped; he pulled me out of the seat, tucked me like a football into his vast chest, and ran me through the door. We burst into the large white room, Edward and Alice at our sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of our approach. Laurent stood in their midst. I could hear low growls rumble deep in Emmett's throat as he set me down next to Edward. â€Å"He's tracking us,† Edward announced, glaring balefully at Laurent. Laurent's face was unhappy. â€Å"I was afraid of that.† Alice danced to Jasper's side and whispered in his ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. They flew up the stairs together. Rosalie watched them, and then moved quickly to Emmett's side. Her beautiful eyes were intense and – when they flickered unwillingly to my face – furious. â€Å"What will he do?† Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones. â€Å"I'm sorry,† he answered. â€Å"I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off.† â€Å"Can you stop him?† Laurent shook his head. â€Å"Nothing stops James when he gets started.† â€Å"We'll stop him,† Emmett promised. There was no doubt what he meant. â€Å"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven.† His coven, I thought, of course. The show of leadership in the clearing was merely that, a show. Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at me, perplexed, and back to Carlisle. â€Å"Are you sure it's worth it?† Edward's enraged roar filled the room; Laurent cringed back. Carlisle looked gravely at Laurent. â€Å"I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice.† Laurent understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room. â€Å"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north – to that clan in Denali.† He hesitated. â€Å"Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on†¦ I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry.† He bowed his head, but I saw him flicker another puzzled look at me. â€Å"Go in peace,† was Carlisle's formal answer. Laurent took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door. The silence lasted less than a second. â€Å"How close?† Carlisle looked to Edward. Esme was already moving; her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. I gaped. â€Å"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female.† â€Å"What's the plan?† â€Å"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run her south.† â€Å"And then?† Edward's tone was deadly. â€Å"As soon as Bella is clear, we hunt him.† â€Å"I guess there's no other choice,† Carlisle agreed, his face grim. Edward turned to Rosalie. â€Å"Get her upstairs and trade clothes,† Edward commanded. She stared back at him with livid disbelief. â€Å"Why should I?† she hissed. â€Å"What is she to me? Except a menace – a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us.† I flinched back from the venom in her voice. â€Å"Rose†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off. But I was watching Edward carefully, knowing his temper, worried about his reaction. He surprised me. He looked away from Rosalie as if she hadn't spoken, as if she didn't exist. â€Å"Esme?† he asked calmly. â€Å"Of course,† Esme murmured. Esme was at my side in half a heartbeat, swinging me up easily into her arms, and dashing up the stairs before I could gasp in shock. â€Å"What are we doing?† I asked breathlessly as she set me down in a dark room somewhere off the second-story hall. â€Å"Trying to confuse the smell. It won't work for long, but it might help get you out.† I could hear her clothes falling to the floor. â€Å"I don't think I'll fit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, but her hands were abruptly pulling my shirt over my head. I quickly stripped my jeans off myself. She handed me something, it felt like a shirt. I struggled to get my arms through the right holes. As soon as I was done she handed me her slacks. I yanked them on, but I couldn't get my feet out; they were too long. She deftly rolled the hems a few times so I could stand. Somehow she was already in my clothes. She pulled me back to the stairs, where Alice stood, a small leather bag in one hand. They each grabbed one of my elbows and half-carried me as they flew down the stairs. It appeared that everything had been settled downstairs in our absence. Edward and Emmett were ready to leave, Emmett carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle was handing something small to Esme. He turned and handed Alice the same thing – it was a tiny silver cell phone. â€Å"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella,† he told me as he passed. I nodded, glancing warily at Rosalie. She was glowering at Carlisle with a resentful expression. â€Å"Alice, Jasper – take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south.† They nodded as well. â€Å"We're taking the Jeep.† I was surprised to see that Carlisle intended to go with Edward. I realized suddenly, with a stab of fear, that they made up the hunting party. â€Å"Alice,† Carlisle asked, â€Å"will they take the bait?† Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still. Finally her eyes opened. â€Å"He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that.† Her voice was certain. â€Å"Let's go.† Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen. But Edward was at my side at once. He caught me up in his iron grip, crushing me to him. He seemed unaware of his watching family as he pulled my face to his, lifting my feet off the floor. For the shortest second, his lips were icy and hard against mine. Then it was over. He set me down, still holding my face, his glorious eyes burning into mine. His eyes went blank, curiously dead, as he turned away. And they were gone. We stood there, the others looking away from me as the tears streaked noiselessly down my face. The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear. â€Å"Now,† she said. Rosalie stalked out the front door without another glance in my direction, but Esme touched my cheek as she passed. â€Å"Be safe.† Her whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. I heard my truck start thunderously, and then fade away. Jasper and Alice waited. Alice's phone seemed to be at her ear before it buzzed. â€Å"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car.† She vanished into the shadows the way Edward had gone. Jasper and I looked at each other. He stood across the length of the entryway from me†¦ being careful. â€Å"You're wrong, you know,† he said quietly. â€Å"What?† I gasped. â€Å"I can feel what you're feeling now – and you are worth it.† â€Å"I'm not,† I mumbled. â€Å"If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing.† â€Å"You're wrong,† he repeated, smiling kindly at me. I heard nothing, but then Alice stepped through the front door and came toward me with her arms held out. â€Å"May I?† she asked. â€Å"You're the first one to ask permission.† I smiled wryly. She lifted me in her slender arms as easily as Emmett had, shielding me protectively, and then we flew out the door, leaving the lights bright behind us.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Chapter 12 The Patronus

Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop him from being angry with her. He had been the owner of the best broom in the world for a few short hours, and now, because of her interference, he didn't know whether he would ever see it again. He was positive that there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been subjected to all sorts of anti-jinx tests? Ron was furious with Hermione too. As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room. Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn't try to persuade her to come back. All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started. â€Å"Had a good Christmas?† he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, â€Å"I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one†¦I mean†¦we can't afford you to — well –â€Å" Wood broke off, looking awkward. â€Å"I'm working on it,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas.† â€Å"Ah,† said Wood, his expression clearing. â€Å"Well, in that case — I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"What! You'd better get a move on, you know — you can't ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!† â€Å"He got a Firebolt for Christmas,† said Ron. â€Å"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A — a real Firebolt?† â€Å"Don't get excited, Oliver,† said Harry gloomily. â€Å"I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated.† And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes. â€Å"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?† â€Å"Sirius Black,† Harry said wearily. â€Å"He's supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it.† Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, â€Å"But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?† â€Å"I know,† said Harry, â€Å"but McGonagall still wants to strip it down –â€Å" Wood went pale. â€Å"I'll go and talk to her, Harry,† he promised. â€Å"I'll make her see reason†¦A Firebolt†¦a real Firebolt, on our team †¦She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do†¦I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt†¦.† Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to; after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get started on his anti-Dementor lessons as soon as possible. â€Å"Ah yes,† said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class. â€Å"Let me see†¦how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough†¦I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this†¦We can't bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on†¦.† â€Å"Still looks ill, doesn't he?† said Ron as they walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. â€Å"What d'you reckon's the matter with him?† There was a loud and impatient â€Å"tuh† from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close. â€Å"And what are you tutting at us for?† said Ron irritably. â€Å"Nothing,† said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder. â€Å"Yes, you were,† said Ron. â€Å"I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin, and you –â€Å" â€Å"Well, isn't it obvious?† said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority. â€Å"If you don't want to tell us, don't,† snapped Ron. â€Å"Fine,† said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off. â€Å"She doesn't know,† said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. â€Å"She's just trying to get us to talk to her again.† At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk. â€Å"What's that?† said Harry. â€Å"Another Boggart,† said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. â€Å"I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like.† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real Dementor. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. â€Å"The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry — well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.† â€Å"How does it work?† said Harry nervously. â€Å"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus,† said Lupin, â€Å"which is a kind of anti-Dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.† Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, â€Å"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.† â€Å"What does a Patronus look like?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.† â€Å"And how do you conjure it?† â€Å"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.† Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick. â€Å"Right,† he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach. â€Å"The incantation is this –† Lupin cleared his throat. â€Å"Expecto patronum!† â€Å"Expecto patronum,† Harry repeated under his breath, â€Å"expecto patronum.† â€Å"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?† â€Å"Oh — yeah –† said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. â€Å"Expecto patrono — no, patronum — sorry — expecto patronum, expecto patronum† Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. â€Å"Did you see that?† said Harry excitedly. â€Å"Something happened!† â€Å"Very good,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Right, then — ready to try it on a Dementor?† â€Å"Yes,† Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding†¦Any second now, he might hear his mother again†¦but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to†¦or did he? Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled. A Dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The Dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto –â€Å" But the classroom and the Dementor were dissolving†¦Harry was falling again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head — â€Å"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything –â€Å" â€Å"Stand aside — stand aside, girl –â€Å" â€Å"Harry!† Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn't have to ask what had happened. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses. â€Å"Are you all right?† said Lupin. â€Å"Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it. â€Å"Here –† Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. â€Å"Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had.† â€Å"It's getting worse,† Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. â€Å"I could hear her louder that time — and him — Voldemort –â€Å" Lupin looked paler than usual. â€Å"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand –â€Å" â€Å"I do!† said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. â€Å"I've got to! What if the Dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!† â€Å"All right then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Lupin. â€Å"You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on†¦That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry thought hard and decided his feelings when Gryffindor had won the House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, gripping the box lid. â€Å"Ready,† said Harry; trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened. â€Å"Go!† said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The Dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry — â€Å"Expecto patronum!† Harry yelled. â€Å"Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat –â€Å" White fog obscured his senses†¦big, blurred shapes were moving around him†¦then came a new voice, a man's voice, shouting, panicking — â€Å"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off –â€Å" The sounds of someone stumbling from a room — a door bursting open — a cackle of high- pitched laughter — â€Å"Harry! Harry†¦wake up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor. â€Å"I heard my dad,† Harry mumbled. â€Å"That's the first time I've ever heard him — he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see. â€Å"You heard James?† said Lupin in a strange voice. â€Å"Yeah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Face dry, Harry looked up. â€Å"Why — you didn't know my dad, did you?† â€Å"I — I did, as a matter of fact,† said Lupin. â€Å"We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry — perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced†¦I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No!† said Harry. He got up again. â€Å"I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is†¦hang on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory†¦one that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus†¦. The moment when he'd first found out he was a wizard, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn't a happy memory, he didn't know what was†¦Concentrating very hard on how he had felt when he'd realized he'd be leaving Privet Drive, Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more. â€Å"Ready?† said Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his better judgment. â€Å"Concentrating hard? All right — go!† He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the Dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark — â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM!† Harry bellowed. â€Å"EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!† The screaming inside Harry's head had started again — except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio — softer and louder and softer again†¦and he could still see the Dementor†¦it had halted†¦and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, to hover between him and the Dementor, and though Harry's legs felt like water, he was still on his feet — though for how much longer, he wasn't sure†¦ â€Å"Riddikulus!† roared Lupin, springing forward. There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the Dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the Boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again. â€Å"Excellent!† Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. â€Å"Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!† â€Å"Can we have another go? Just one more go?† â€Å"Not now,† said Lupin firmly. â€Å"You've had enough for one night. Here –â€Å" He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate. â€Å"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?† â€Å"Okay,† said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the Dementor. A thought had just occurred to him. â€Å"Professor Lupin?† he said. â€Å"If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well.† Lupin turned very quickly. â€Å"What gives you that idea?† he said sharply. â€Å"Nothing — I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin's face relaxed. â€Å"Yes, I knew him,† he said shortly. â€Å"Or I thought I did. You'd better be off, Harry, it's getting late.† Harry left the classroom, walking along the corridor and around a corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armor and sank down on its plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn't mentioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. Then Harry's thoughts wandered back to his mother and father †¦ He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear his parents' last moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again †¦ â€Å"They're dead,† he told himself sternly. â€Å"They're dead and listening to echoes of them won't bring them back. You'd better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup.† He stood up, crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week. This meant that with Lupin's anti-Dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so, he was not showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted. â€Å"How's she doing it?† Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books. â€Å"Doing what?† â€Å"Getting to all her classes!† Ron said. â€Å"I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't've been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!† Harry didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape's essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood. â€Å"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She — er — got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first.† Wood shook his head in disbelief. â€Å"Honestly, the way she was yelling at me†¦you'd think I'd said something terrible. Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's severe voice. â€Å"As long as necessary, Wood†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There's an order form at the back of Which Broomstick†¦you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy's got.† â€Å"I'm not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good,† said Harry flatly. January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted. â€Å"No, Potter, you can't have it back yet,† Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened his mouth. â€Å"We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me.† To make matters even worse, Harry's anti-Dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the Boggart-Dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the Dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents' voices again. â€Å"You're expecting too much of yourself,† said Professor Lupin, sternly in their fourth week of practice. â€Å"For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?† â€Å"I thought a Patronus would — charge the Dementors down or something,† said Harry dispiritedly. â€Å"Make them disappear –â€Å" â€Å"The true Patronus does do that,† said Lupin. â€Å"But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, You will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground.† â€Å"You said it's harder if there are loads of them,† said Harry. â€Å"I have complete confidence in you,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Here — you've earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before –â€Å" He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase. â€Å"Butterbeer!† said Harry, without thinking. â€Å"Yeah, I like that stuff!† Lupin raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh — Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade,† Harry lied quickly. â€Å"I see,† said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. â€Å"Well — let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he added hastily. They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while. â€Å"What's under a Dementor's hood?† Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. â€Å"Hmmm †¦ well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon.† â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"They call it the Dementor's Kiss,† said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. â€Å"It's what Dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and — and suck out his soul.† Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer. â€Å"What — they kill –?† â€Å"Oh no,† said Lupin. â€Å"Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no†¦anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever†¦lost.† Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, â€Å"It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if they find him.† Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black. â€Å"He deserves it,† he said suddenly. â€Å"You think so?† said Lupin lightly. â€Å"Do you really think anyone deserves that?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry defiantly. â€Å"For†¦for some things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he'd overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he'd gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn't be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom. Harry half wished that he hadn't asked what was under a Dementor's hood, the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs. â€Å"Do watch where you're going, Potter!† â€Å"Sorry, Professor –â€Å" â€Å"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room, Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all — you've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry's jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever. â€Å"I can have it back?† Harry said weakly. â€Å"Seriously?† â€Å"Seriously,† said Professor McGonagall, and she was actually smiling. â€Å"I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And Potter — do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning from ear to ear. â€Å"She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?† â€Å"Yeah†¦anything†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. â€Å"You know what — we should make up with Hermione†¦She was only trying to help†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah, all right,† said Ron. â€Å"She's in the common room now working — for a change.† They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance. â€Å"I wrote them down!† Neville was saying tearfully. â€Å"But I must've dropped them somewhere!† â€Å"A likely tale!† roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: â€Å"Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!† â€Å"Oh, shut up,† said Ron as he and Harry drew level with Neville. â€Å"I've lost the passwords!† Neville told them miserably. â€Å"I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!† â€Å"Oddsbodkins,† said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt. â€Å"Where'd you get it, Harry?† â€Å"Will you let me have a go?† â€Å"Have you ridden it yet, Harry?† â€Å"Ravenclaw'll have no chance, they're all on Cleansweep Sevens!† â€Å"Can I just hold it, Harry?† After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was Passed around and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn't rushed over to them, bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron approached her table and at last, she looked up. â€Å"I got it back,† said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt. â€Å"See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!† said Ron. â€Å"Well — there might have been!† said Hermione. â€Å"I mean, at least you know now that it's safe!† â€Å"Yeah, I suppose so,† said Harry. â€Å"I'd better put it upstairs.† â€Å"I'll take it!† said Ron eagerly. â€Å"I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic.† He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass, carried it away up the boys' staircase. â€Å"Can I sit down, then?† Harry asked Hermione. â€Å"I suppose so,† said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair. Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay (‘Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity') and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over. â€Å"How are you getting through all this stuff?† Harry asked her. â€Å"Oh, well — you know — working hard,† said Hermione. Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin. â€Å"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?† Harry asked, watching her lifting books as she searched for her rune dictionary. â€Å"I couldn't do that!† said Hermione, looking scandalized. â€Å"Arithmancy looks terrible,† said Harry, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart. â€Å"Oh no, it's wonderful!† said Hermione earnestly. â€Å"It's my favorite subject! It's –â€Å" But exactly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never found out. At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder — and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet. â€Å"LOOK!† he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table. â€Å"LOOK!† he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face. â€Å"Ron, what –?† â€Å"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!† Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like — â€Å"BLOOD!† Ron yelled into the stunned silence. â€Å"HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?† â€Å"N — no,† said Hermione in a trembling voice. Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Microsoft PLC Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microsoft PLC Report - Essay Example After the initial success of the MS-DOS, the company released its Windows line of operating systems. The company’s products have all accomplished near-ubiquity in the market for desktop computers. Apart from this, it has been noted that Microsoft has footholds in other markets, possessing assets such as the MSN Internet portal, MSNBC cable television network, as well as the Microsoft Encarta, which is essentially a multimedia encyclopedia. The company also sells both computer hardware merchandises like that of the Microsoft mouse and even home recreational products like that of the Xbox. The company published an initial public offering (IPO) in the stock market, which, particularly because of the resultant increase of the stock price, has resulted to four billionaires and a projected 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Tracing Microsoft’s history, the company has been the up against a lot of criticism, particularly accusations of having a monopolistic business practices and even anti-competitive business methods which involves the company’s rejection to deal and tying. The U.S. Justice Department together with the European Commission has charged Microsoft for a range of antitrust infringements (US Department of Justice, 2007). Recognized for what is in general defined as a developer-centric business nature, the company has in history provided customer support over Usenet newsgroups and the World Wide Web. Even though, the company has been well acknowledge for leading the industry they are currently in, the company is also faced a with a number of economic burdens particularly in their economic position. Financial statements of the company have also revealed details determining the company’s economic position. The company has been faced with many ups and downs through the years although in some cases it was still able to manage the total return towards the end of the year. During the year 2006, the company’s

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Journal article for Interprofessional practice beyond the health care

Journal for Interprofessional practice beyond the health care system - Article Example The authors aptly concluded by stating that â€Å"changing health practice should similarly be a joint responsibility† (Timmermans and Mauck, 2005, p. 26). as partners in education† and published in The Hearing Journal emphasized the importance for audiologists to work collaborately with teachers, parents and speech-language pathologists in the proposing interventions on children who are impaired with hearing problems. The author presented information relative to the children’s educational setting, daily classroom routine, students’ personality and academic performance, as well as the support services received in the school setting. Harrison’s findings indicate that â€Å"audiologists who actively engage in a productive relationship with their patients’ educators will find (teachers and speech-language pathologists) to be invaluable partners† (Harrison, 2001, p. 60). The lecture delivered on October 25, 2011 on Health Practitioner Practice 2 presented initially the definitions of inter-professional practice, inter-professional education and inter-professional learning; as well as expounded on other critical terms within this topic (uni- or intra-professional, multi-professional, multi-disciplinary, teamwork and trans-professional). The lecture likewise delved into the importance of studying inter-professional practices, as well the the benefits accorded by working together. The rationale for current interest in the subject was also explained due to changing demographics, among others. More importantly, the implications for students were highlighted to enhance inter-disciplinary experience through increased knowledge, skills and abilties in handling the delivery of health services across multi-disciplinary settings (HLTH1306: Health Practitioner Practice 2 2011). The readings and lecture notes have actually emphasized the importance of collaborating with other health care

Formal Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Formal Report - Assignment Example Business Transportation Services Co. Ltd. has a proven track record of providing transportation methods that are both affordable and efficient. We have a huge fleet of cars which cater to our customer’s need as and when it is required. We provide the best solutions. We guarantee to meet or beat the price of any other carrier. Just show us your current contract and we’ll show you how we can do better. We are a Pacific Northwest regional carrier, so our drivers know the area and are not as fatigued as long-haul carriers. We have a variety of trailer sizes and types, so odds are good that we can always provide you with dedicated runs from pickup to delivery at your facility, instead of less-than-truckload (LTL) runs that must make stops for multiple customers. At Business Transportation Services, the client satisfaction sits on top of our lists. Our fleet of cars have been specifically numbered keeping in mind the large number of clients we cater to. Discussing of Findings : Business Transport Consultancy has a fleet of cars which can be sent at any time. We have done some interesting research and found out that quite often, companies have to go through the following problems: 1. Fuel Cost 2. Car Effeciency 3. Labour Charges Let’s deal with the first problem right now. As mentioned before over here the fuel is the most important issue. To tackle the fuel cost issues, we have further divided the proposal into 1. Cost Saving 2. Efficiency So, in the purview of dealing with the high rise fuel costs, the first step is to understand cost saving. How can we do cost saving? The answer lies in managing the fleet of cars only when their requirement happens to arise. We provide quick and fast solutions whenever our clients have to transport their goods from one place to another. At our company, we provide our clients with the best solutions catering to their time and need. In the field of fast moving business, one cannot rely on renting the transport, bu t we go much further than just providing for rental solutions. The way we operate is that we provide our customers with an option to run our vehicles at any given time. You can chose from a range of vehicles which we have to provide your suitable needs. However, it must be kept in mind that the vehicle you chose is efficient in managing its fuel consumption. For you, the best strategy at this time in order to avoid the fuel consumption issues would be to hire or rent for purchase depending upon the user ability of the vehicle. Since you had 10 SUVs earlier to manage you daily transport needs, we have got down that figure to five high capacity vans which have special cabins for housing the maximum amount of goods. The per ton capacity of this high capacity van far outreaches the number you would have attained with a normal SUV. The petrol efficiency arrived at is less than the SUV, but since you can carry more goods, the overall ratio has drastically improved. Now, when we looked at the date and compared the fuel efficiency, we found out that in engaging 10 SUVs you were spending close to 40 USD on a barrel. However, once you start using our high capacity vans which have been specifically designed and built for carrying lots of goods and in the most efficient way, you realise that the fuel consumption for every journey goes down to 20 USD a barrel. That’s a drop of half the price. This is a remarkable stat as it provides us with the correct way of dealing with t

Monday, August 26, 2019

You are an entrepreneur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

You are an entrepreneur - Essay Example r would consist of the customer contact staffs that would take care of the customers and would be involved in a variety of activities like the serving of the ice creams, billing of the products as well as the general activities that need to be undertaken to run an ice cream store. There would also be a set of back end staffs who would be engaged in preparation of the products in the freezer and for maintenance of the machines and equipments. The floor managers would be required for ensuring that the activities of the shop are undertaken in a proper manner (Blythe, 2001). There would be requirement of a marketing manager who would be responsible for the branding and promotion of Sweet Taste (Pinson and Jinnett, 2009). The company would cater to the fast food market and would see a rise in the sales especially during the period when the classes would be going on in the schools and colleges. This kind of business would be a popular one because especially during the summer months the sales would go up. The pastries and the cookies are expected to sell in the winter months. Since the business is a start up, it would prefer to focus on one particular outlet of the ice cream shop. There would be a number of products in the product line of the business. First of all, there would be a number of flavors in the ice cream section of the store, which includes chocolate, strawberry, mango, black current, butterscotch and many more. There would also be a low fat section in the product line which would be offered in a variety of flavors (Farris, 2006). Finally there would be pastries which would also be of different types to provide the customers with a variety to choose from. Chocà ³ chip cookies would also be sold in the shop. The assets of the company would be the freezer and the machines that would be used for running the business. These would form a part of the fixed assets of the business. The other tangible assets of the company would be the furniture and the cutlery

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Speech - Essay Example Despite the infinite challenges, namely, being a non- English speaker, he fought fiercely and accomplished his dreams. In essence, Pulitzer is a central figure who tremendously helped in refashioning both the American media and politics. Even though, there are other people who assisted him in bringing reforms, his contribution is much felt even at the present moment. The manner in which journalism is consumed today, the very concept of its purchasing, the writing technique used, and the style applied among others are some of the contributions that Pulitzer provided in changing American Media and politics. In a way, he seems unfit for the role he played, because, at first he was a non – English immigrant, and that was the reason he joined St. Louis to learn German, and later interested in Immigrant politics. This was during the 19th century when Journalism and Politics were two different things in America. Â  During this time, journalism and politics were two a spects that never converged. For this reason, Pulitzer acted as a reformer. He purposed to transform and reshape journalism and politics since he believed this were two concepts that really mattered in reshaping the entire American human race. He intended to give journalism a new style of writing, since he believed that this would assist in fighting corruption that had crept into the government and the society. He published information that he deemed was important and that could disclose any corrupt deals in the government. He regarded journalism as a way that could bring reforms into the American society. In addition, we also learn that, American politics was reshaped through journalism. Every dark recess in the political government was disclosed for the purpose of accountability and transparency. This was very swift and many people were fascinated and interested to read newspapers

Saturday, August 24, 2019

College Pressures and International Students Essay

College Pressures and International Students - Essay Example William Zinsser, in his the article â€Å"College Pressures†, offers a very convincing explanation of the various types of pressures brought on by a number of factors. Significantly, the various types of pressures of college life, as discussed by Zinsser, influence the personality development of international students and these pressures include economic pressures, parental pressures, peer pressures, and self-induced pressures. â€Å"I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains -- to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains, only victims.† (Zinsser) Due to any of these four types of pressures of college life, the personality of an international student is affected an d changed. Therefore, it is essential to realize that college pressures change international student personality, and this paper makes a reflective analysis of economic pressures, peer pressures, and self-induced pressures which influence international student personality. One of the fundamental college pressures influencing the personalities of international students in the US is, of course, economic pressure which makes life highly tensed for these students. In the current scenario, international students have to pay higher tuition than American student, which greatly add to the financial burden of these students. In comparison with their country, international students realize that the tuition in America is much more expensive. Similarly, it is greatly difficult international students to find job after college, due to the kind of economy in the US. The

Friday, August 23, 2019

Childhood eating disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childhood eating disorders - Essay Example The key points found within this research, in regards to this underlying problem, details other causative factors such as socialization, educational, depressive states, personality traits, and a myriad of other complex, and hidden causes perpetuating upon the main problem, which is the eating disorder itself. The point of this research was to try and bring more concise facts into the reasons this disorder has become a growing concern in the medical field today. The ways in which it could be prevented and controlled are all touched upon as well. The ultimate point that was clarified in concluding this research was the fact that more attention to the signs and characteristics of eating disorders among children needed to be focused on, in order to ensure youths have an emotionally balanced and productive life in the best way possible. Childhood Eating Disorders do not appear out of thin air. There is always an underlying cause for this type of disorder among children and it could be from any number of things. Many doctors believe that there are multideterminants to diagnosing an eating disorder among children. As has been mentioned, there are a number of causative factors that can be held responsible. One of these happens to be the occurrence of sexual abuse. Oddly enough, this type of traumatic episode can lead children to turning to food as an escape. The only thing this does is mask the much larger problem, as well as leading to health complications (Petrie, Tripp 2001). What has been pinpointed in the correlation between sexual abuse and the development of an eating disorder is the fact that when children are sexually abused they develop a self-perception that is filled with negativities. They perceive their body image as a negative thing, their self-esteem lowers, and more than anything else they become embarrassed and ashamed of their own bodies. Food is simply a comforting experience for them and they use it to conceal their other emotions away from their peers, family, and the doctors treating them. Periods of severe domestic violence harshly impact a child's chance at a normal life, especially in their control over their eating habits. As with sexual abuse, children who are beaten are statistically shown to use foods as a type of sheltering avoidance of their circumstances (Salisbury & Wichman 2004). Children between the ages of 6-12 struggle constantly with anxiety, mood swings, and eating disorders. They get headaches, stomachaches, can't co ncentrate, and develop a very passive characteristic about their life in general (Salisbury & Wichmann 2004). Food is their reprieve, their escape away from reality. Early intervention into situations such as these can prevent these occurrences from happening. Nevertheless, these are not the sole causal factors of the development and progression of an eating disorder among young people. Some of the other possibilities that lead to this particular disorder are, social, cultural, developmental, psychological, and physical/physiological causative reasoning (Petrie, Tripp 2001). In a social context the problem is centered basically around the concept of thin is beautiful, and this especially impacts young girls. They go on crazy diets, some to the point of starvation just to

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Business Structure Advice Essay Example for Free

Business Structure Advice Essay Owner- Congratulations for taking the first step in starting your own business. I am confident that I can provide you the necessary information that you need in order to help you make the best decisions for you and your new business venture. Developing a detailed business plan is key in starting a successful business. When forming a business you will first need to decide on the business structure. In your email you stated that you were on whether or not you wanted partners. You have the following options for business structures: sole proprietorship or partnership. A sole proprietorship is the basic type of business structure. It would consist as you being the owner only to run and operate the business. The advantages of this business structure is that it is easy to start-up, the start-up costs are low and the owner receives all profits from the business. Also, the owner can upgrade to a partnership or corporation easily in the future. A disadvantage to this business structure is the proprietor is responsible for debts and obligations. Business earnings for a sole proprietorship is taxed once, thus making filing taxes not complicated. Funding for a sole proprietorship is usually from personal finances and friends and families. This is due to limited financial opportunities from lending institutions and investors. A partnership involves you and at least one other person. There is two types of partnerships: general and limited. In a general partnership owners are equal and split responsibilities accordingly. In a limited partnership the limited partner have a limited role. The advantage of a general partnership is that the business is easy to start and profits and losses are divided among the partners. A disadvantage is that all partners are liable for debt. Another disadvantage is that all partners are bound to actions or decisions made by one partner. Last, this is not a good structure if the partnership wants large capital. For this type of business structure, each partner is taxed. A limited partnership is ideal for who has a preference of not having an active role in the company. Advantages include: minimum government regulations, limited partners not held responsible for debt and liabilities, and gener al partners have complete control. Disadvantages for a limited partnership are: more expensive to create compared to a general.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Basic Teleological Assumptions of Classical Design Theory Essay Example for Free

Basic Teleological Assumptions of Classical Design Theory Essay The Old School of Intelligence Design presupposes the existence of an intellectual being behind the creation of the universe. Through inference, it often acts as a proof in support of a theistic God. The Design theory is usually supported on two major points – the complexity of the universe and the teleological nature of all natural organisms that constitute the universe. Traditionally, the old design theory resorts to an analogy of the machine, which is complex with an absolutely immaculate correspondence between the parts and the whole and has a ‘purpose’ or ‘telos’, thus teleological. Using Paley’s now legendary example of a mechanical watch that begins its ‘Natural Theology’, one can say that a watch in good condition comprises a number of devices that are intricately connected to each other in such a way, that if one part moves, it in turn set the other parts into movement, thus making the clock work. The watch is thus a ‘complex’ machine. At a second or higher level, there is a ‘purpose’ behind this entire operation, i. e. the ‘purpose’ of the watch – to tell what time of the day it is to its user. Thus, all parts contribute to the whole leading to a well defined ‘purpose’, thereby making the device ‘teleological’. Paley’s inference, which he extends to include all kinds of being and is developed into the central argument of the Old Design theory, is that ‘there must have existed, at some time, and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its use’. (Paley) Old Design theory, following Paley’s formulation, goes on to extend the analogy to include all natural beings to argue that the universe, being so well organized and infinitely more complex, thus presupposes the existence of a much higher intelligence, or a being with a much higher intelligence, who must have created this teleological universe. The general logic that establishes the thesis is: 1. Machines are produced by intelligent design 2. The universe resembles a machine Therefore, 1. Probably the universe was produced by intelligent design. (Rowe, p. 59) As a proof of this line of logical conclusion, we can look at anything of the natural world around us, both animate and inanimate, although the animate makes us understand the logic better. A tree, for example, is sustained by the nourishment that is produced by the leaf. The leaf works like a machine, with its every constituent carefully designed, arranged and contrived in such a manner so as to serve its exact purpose – carrying out photosynthesis and providing the tree, of which it is a part, with the necessary succor. It is thus a teleological unit within a bigger ‘machine’ – the tree. The tree, in its part, has all its constituent parts built and organized in such a way so as to make it serve its purpose – to exist and reproduce by creating more of its like. In order to understand this analogy, we can derive on the example of a car. A car, in itself, is a teleological unit serving the purpose of commuting people from one place to another. However, it is a combination of many smaller teleological units – the carburetor, for example, with parts to suit its express purpose – of providing the necessary combustion for the car to move. (Rowe, p. 57) Thus, a purposeful machine can be a combination of many constituent purposeful machines, which add up to carrying out the purpose of the whole. Any part of the human anatomy (like Paley’s example of the eye), and its relation to the human body in general can be counted as an example of teleological design in the natural world. Furthermore, Sartres existentialism can be taken as a normative school of thought elaborating on teleological renditions. As an existentialist belonging to atheistic principles, Sartre viewed subjectivity as the underlying source of inspiration behind creation. In other words, it is only the subjective understanding of things that he thought to be the fundamental purpose of beginning. The example of a paper-cutter can be aptly suited here to the context of explicating Sartre’s philosophical doctrine. The postulate that Existence precedes essence, as he came upon, can be justified by reasoning with the purpose behind the making of a paper-cutter. As is obvious, there are two sides to it. Firstly, the person who makes a paper-cutter knows what he is doing and what a paper-cutter is. So it directly involves the utility of a thing being made or created. Secondly, the process of making is also known to the maker. Hence, a logical inference can be drawn from these two interconnected preconditions that help assigning a teleological meaning to the whole. Needless to mention, it is unlikely that the person making the paper-cutter should be ignorant of its end-use (Sartre, p. 2) Arguments Old and New Till the end of the nineteenth century, the Design Theory, with certain qualifications, was thought to be adequate as an explanation behind creation and its unsurpassed complexity, through the presence of a super-intelligent being. However, right from the beginning of its existence and even before, serious questions and fallacies have been raised in the logical reasoning that draw correspondence between the mechanical and the natural world, leading to Intelligent Design theory. These criticisms are in fact older than even when the Old design was laid down as a philosophical foundation. Hume was one of the earliest critics, and Darwinism was one of the last and most potent criticisms of intelligent design – almost forcing the point of view to refashion and re-present itself into the New Design theory. The foremost accusation against the Design theory is that it is ultimately an analogy. Although Rowe proves in his article that analogy is necessary to reach the truth, yet he proves the significance of analogy only through another analogy, and thus laying the base of his logical inference weak. However, even if we take, for the sake of argument, Rowe’s formulation to be true and believe in analogy to be a way to reach the truth, there can be serious complaints raised against the way the analogy works itself out. One of the first problems to be thrown up by the machine analogy is that the creator of the watch is himself created by something external to his own self, and therefore the creator, an intelligent agency capable of action, needs to be created. Design theory often quite consciously avoids delving into the nature of the creator, just as it does about the ‘purpose’ behind the universal design. ‘Does intelligent-design theory provide explanatory power? ’ asks Young and Edis, ‘If so, it must provide information about the details of the design and, to this end, about the nature of the designer. ID theory, however, deliberately avoids the answers to this question’. (Young and Edis, p. 193) Even if we take into account the theological connotations of the theory that establishes the creator as a self-created, self-creating being, there are other problems that are foregrounded by Rowe. First, does a universe comprising teleological components itself become teleological? To prove that all natural objects that comprise the universe have a ‘purpose’ does not necessarily prove that the universe itself has a ‘purpose’. All that remains is transference that if the constituent objects have a purpose, then the world itself must have a ‘purpose’ where being constructed by a being that transcends ordinary intelligence, it is impossible to grasp that overarching ‘purpose’ behind creation. Such an argument runs into a danger of fallacy, because if ‘Design Theory’ is propounded to prove the presence of a God (or an intelligent being) behind creation, then we cannot take the presence of the being as a presumption. In that case we take to be proven what we are out to prove. Secondly, we can take into account Hume’s classical criticism of the Old Design theory, which says that it is presumptuous to take the teleology and the machine-like orderliness as the very pattern of the whole universe. Here we run into the danger of taking our argumentative basis as only that small section of the universe that is apparent to our sensory perception as the general model of the universe itself, something that we would never know. There may be, and probably are, other parts of the universe located outside the ken of our knowledge where chaos reigns. The greatest criticism of the Old Design theory comes in the form of Darwinian Theory of ‘Natural Selection’. Darwin started off as a believer in Paley’s theological model of Design theory, but as a result of his experience, defected and put forward his own theory of ‘Natural Selection’. It states that in order to be machine-like in teleology and perfect in construct, nature does not necessarily need a divine and intellectual being. Nature works in spite of such a presence or an absence in order to make its organisms best suited to the environment, whereby only the organisms that manage to suit themselves to the changing environment exist while the other perish. The survivors manage to make anatomical adjustments to survive in the environment, thus combining the part to the whole and carry on the acts of existence and procreation. Darwin’s locating the question of Intelligent Design within the question of the implicit ‘anthropomorphism’ of classical ID, is obvious when he talks about ‘Man’ and ‘Nature’ and their roles as agencies of creation: â€Å"As man can produce and certainly has produced a great result by his methodical and unconscious means of selection what may not Nature effect? Man can act only on external and visible character: Nature cares nothing for appearances, except in so far as they may be useful to any being. She can act on every internal organ, on every shade of constitutional difference, on the whole machinery of life†. (Darwin, p. 53) Till the beginning of the twentieth century, the Darwinian theory of Natural Selection reigned supreme in the field of scientific enquiry, while Design theory was more or less relegated to the recesses of religious and spiritual thought. However, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a resurgence of the Design theory, as Darwinian Evolution was made subject to questions and doubts. One of the most common attacks on Darwinism from the proponents of ID theorists has been from the lines of what is known as the mousetrap theory. The mousetrap is one of the most common and yet one of the most complex devices of our everyday life. However, if any of its component parts: the spring, the hammer or the platform is missing, it would fail to achieve its ‘purpose’, its ‘telos’: that is catching mice. Similarly, the immense complexity of even the most basic molecular organisms is so self sufficient and so ‘teleological’ that it cannot be explained by the theory of natural selection, since they do not appear as the result of any earlier form adapting to suit to the changing environment. It appears created out of an intelligent design. Michael J. Behe criticizes Darwin from precisely this position. New Design Theory: In Search for a Philosophic Co-existence However, Behe’s criticism that Darwinism does not account for the immense complexity of molecular organisms is not the same thing as to say that there is a supremely intelligent, benevolent and perfect being who has designed the universe. In fact, Natural selection can be made to account for the immense complexity of even molecular organisms. Neither does Dempski, who otherwise supports the ID theory, speak about the real nature of the intelligent being in question. Under such a situation where nothing could be proven conclusively, the design theory re-formulated itself in what is now known as the New Design Theory. One of the most significant positions of modern proponents of the intelligent design theorists is to dissociate and distance themselves from the earlier theological imports of the argument. As Manson states ‘the fact that modern ID theory is a minimalist argument for design itself, not an argument for the existence of God, relives it of much of the baggage that weighed down Paley’s argument’. (Manson, p. 277) Thus, much in response to earlier loopholes of ID arguments, a section of modern theorists is looking for a co-existence of Darwinism and ID, stating that they are not necessarily exclusive. The big-bang theory of creation is used very commonly as a point of departure. It states that the conditions conducive to life and existence required too many factors to act in too perfect a combination, and hence they do not look like an accident. Therefore, the presence of an intelligent being is needed in order to present the conditions from where nature could take its own course and get on with its act of existence and procreation. The presence of an intelligent being, whether in the form of a single theistic God or otherwise, is thus established, albeit through a new formulation. Religion, Meaninglessness and the Old Design Theory Questions of decaying morality and faith often encroach upon the spheres of religion. A man’s existence can grossly be measured on two parameters: his belief in the system of religion and other ethical means; and his actual loyalty to what he believes. If a man, out of compulsion or faith, remains loyal to what he regards as the most singular religious creed, he ought to have some degree of propensity to it. So he can be adjudged credible enough to be an individual who does not sway from his internal notions. But in reality, things turn out to be markedly different from the nature of our interaction with the world. Even the sternest believers are compelled to choose a life that hardly conforms to what he believes in and of itself about religion. Religion acts almost as an external element which is unplugged from the course of life and does not have anything to do with controlling man’s destiny (Tolstoy, p. 2). In relation to the Old Design Theory, it can be stated that God’s presence is rather nonessential with regards to the actual ordeal man has to live through in this life. As Rachels (293) argues, the ancient myth of Sisyphus is correspondent to conveying the ultimate meaninglessness of life. Contrary to the seep-seated Christian faiths of Tolstoy, this philosophy is more akin to Sartre’s doctrine of atheistic and nihilistic existence. Even if we go by the conjecture that there is in fact a supremely intelligent being at the heart of every phenomenon in the universe, the scope of redemption in mortal life is nearly impossible and therefore, the influence of a single entity, however powerful it is, is negated. References Manson, Neil A. (2003). God and Design. New York: Routledge. Young M. , and Edis, T. (2006). Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. Paley W. (1837). Natural theology: or Evidences of the existence and attributes of the Deity With additions notes. London: W. R. Chambers. Darwin, C. (2007). On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection Or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. New York: Cosimo, Inc. Rowe. The Design Argument: Old and New. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism Is a Humanism. Tolstoy, Leo N. A Confession. Grand Rapids: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Rachels, J. (2005). The Truth About the World: Basic Readings in Philosophy.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Properties And Uses Of Green Fluorescent Protein

Properties And Uses Of Green Fluorescent Protein ABSTRACT Green fluorescent protein has natural fluorescent properties which can be used in various applications. Mutagenesis of wild type GFP gives variants that are widely used as protein fusion tags, as biomarkers, used in studying protein interactions and localization of signals. GFP variants have led to technological advancement in biological studies such as FRET. In this review, we will study properties, uses, and variants of GFP developed in recent years. INTRODUCTION The green fluorescent protein was first observed by Shimomura et al in Aequoria victoria. He suggested 4-p-hydroxybenzylidine imidazoline-5 as its chromophore, which is involved in the fluorescence activity of GFP (Tsien 1998). The expression of this gene was later explained by Chalfie et al (1994). The chromophore which is made of 3 residues which are ser-tyr-gly (65-67) in the GFP protein makes the 4-p-hydroxybenzylidine imidazoline-5 structure later by post translation (Yang et al 1996). The structure of GFP as suggested by Tsien is ÃŽÂ ²-barrel with 11 stands. The chromophore lies in the centre of the ÃŽÂ ²- barrel and is attached via alpha helix. The number of amino acids which make up the GFP is 238 (Tsien 1998). PROPERTIES AND USES OF GFP The wild type GFP from Aequoria victoria has an excitation spectrum of 395nm and 475nm (absorbs blue light) with an emission peak of 508nm and 503nm (maximum) (emit green light) respectively (Tsien 1988). The GFP can be excited by UV lamps as well as fluorescein isothiocynate (FITC) filters due to its spectral range (Margolin 2000). The cloning and expression of GFP gene has given the important information of fluorophore synthesis in protein (Schwartz and Patterson 2006).The wild type GFP folds very slowly to attain active fluorescent state(mature chromophore) (Margolin 2000).The synthesis of fluorophore in GFP protein is an autocatalytic process. Mutagenesis of GFP tells that G67 is required for the fluorophore formation. The core fluorophore from Renilla reniformis is identical to A.victoria. It shows an excitation of 498nm (Yang et al 1996). With the help of Mutagenesis variants of GFP were created, one of the point mutation was S65T which increased the speed of fluorophore formation. The other mutations Ala206-lys206, leu221-lys221, phe223-arg223 helped to overcome GFP dimerization (Schwartz and Patterson 2006). There are 7 distinct classes of GFP variants based on chromophore component which acts on different absorbance and emission spectra (Tsien 1998).The Enhanced GFP (EGFP) variant has S65T mutation (improves fluorophore formation and brightness), phe64-leu64 (pacifies sensitivity to temperature), and codon optimization (expression in mammalian cells), which makes it a useful protein tag (Schwartz and Patterson 2006). Figure 1. The above graph shows the absorbance and emission peaks of wtGFP and EGFP. The blue circles depict the major minor absorbance peaks of wtGFP and green circles show the single emission peak of wtGFP. The blue and green squares show the absorbance and emission peak of EGFP respectively (Schwartz and Patterson 2006). There is a progress in the development of cyan and yellow shifted mutants (CFP and YFP) from A. victoria, which are pH sensitive and mature faster than wild type (Chudakov et al 2005). Cerulean is a bright CFP developed by Rizzo et al to use it in FRET based sensors for glucokinase activation (2004). GFP mutants can be used as fluorescent markers for time independent cell process. When mutants of GFPs are immobilized in aerated aqueous polymer gels and are excited at 488nm, they show repeated cycles of fluorescent emission (blinks several seconds). Hence, they are also used as molecular switches on optical storage elements (Dickson 1997). Elowitz et al (1997) found that photoactivation of GFP takes place in presence of low oxygen. Among several photoactivatable proteins, PA-GFP (thr203-his203) from A. victoria was the first which have 100-fold increase green fluorescence at 517nm. KFP1 is a recently developed variant obtained from Anemonia sulcate which can be irradiated in reversible as well as irreversible ways upon green light irradiation (Chudakov 2005). The plasmid vectors which are used to express proteins in bacteria use GFP fusion expression system. A number of proteins involved in cell division process in E. coli have been fused with GFP and expressed by lac promoter (Margolin 2000). GFP fused with Dictostelium myosin cells was used to study the myosin activity. The expression of GFP myosin fused protein proved that myosin is involved in cytokinesis and development of Dictostelium discoideum ( Moores et al 1995) GFP is protected from photobleaching by its rigid shell. Certain mutants are created by random combinations and directed mutagenesis (Kasprzak 2007). Major changes in fluorescence can be obtained by engineering the phosphorylation sites under defined conditions. FLIP (fluorescence loss in photobleaching) and FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) are fluorescence imaging techniques are use to study protein kinetics, which is performed by photobleaching (Baker et al 2010). GFP along with these techniques is use to study gap junctions channels in living cells. FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) is the most common technology used to create biochemically sensitive GFP variants. In this quantum mechanical phenomenon, the emission spectrums of two nearby fluorophores overlap the excitation spectrum of each other (one acts as a donor and the other as acceptor). It is also used to study the distance between protein residues and monitoring motor movements (actin or microtubules). The chromophores of GFP are labelled as donor and acceptor and are linked with motor proteins. There are 3 approaches namely, single pair molecule FRET (spFRET), Luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET), and transient FRET measurements (Kasprzak 2007). Figure 2. Image showing the use of GFP as fusion tag (middle), promoter activation (left) and protein interactions by using FRET (right). The florescent proteins used in FRET are shown by coloured barrels and target proteins as grey and black ovals (Chudakov 2005). Miyawaki et al (1997) constructed indicators, which they called cameleons, for monitoring Ca+ signals in organelles and cytosol. The cameleons were created by using blue/cyan emitting GFP mutants, calmodulin, calmodulin binding peptide and blue/green emitting GFP. They used the FRET method. Abad et al (2004) developed a chimera of GFP that is used as a probe for studying changes in mitochondrial matrix pH. CONCLUSION In summary, there are wide variants of GFP used in various applications. The variants allow multicolour labelling of cells for detection. It has given new perspective in fluorescent imaging techniques such as FRET, FLIP, and FRAP. Monitoring promoter activity and localization of signals have become simpler by the use of GFPs.

Immigration to the US Essay -- Immigration Naturalization

There are many Asian immigrants that come to the United States in hopes of living out their American dream of becoming United States citizens. My parents came here exactly for that same reason, so they can give my sisters and I the opportunity to live a better life. We were fortunate enough to have our relatives help us get here, making it a little less difficult for us compared to other families that took a different path to becoming citizens. However, it was not always this easy for an Asian immigrant family like ours to become naturalized citizens. It used to be near impossible for immigrants of Asian descent to become a United States citizen, but in recent years, there have been a spur of people with Asian ethnicity who are able to naturalize. From the time the Puritans touched the soil of this land to the creation of this country’s new government, America was always envisioned as a â€Å"homogeneous† nation of people of European decent. John Winthrop and his Puritan followers came to this new land with the â€Å"errand† of creating the â€Å"new† England, a colony of one racial identity (Takaki 15). It is surprising to learn that even the founding fathers of this country were against having people other than â€Å"whites† to settle in this land where according to them â€Å"..all men are created equally†. Ben Franklin, for example, shared the same belief in his 1751 essay Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind. â€Å"The English were the ‘principle Body of White people’, and Franklin wished there were more of them in America† (Tanaki 16). Thomas Jefferson also shared the same view in his Notes on the State of Virginia, expressing his fear o f possibly tainting the country with people of colored skin (Tanaki 16). With that i... ...yclopedia, Web. Takaki, Ronald. Strangers From a Different Shore: a History of Asian American. first. New York: Back Bay Books/ Little, Brown and Company, 1989. 14-420. Print. "United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Web. . United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, Certificate From The Circuit Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit., No. 202. Argued January 11, 12, 1923.—Decided February 19, 1923, United States Reports, v. 261, The Supreme Court, October Term, 1922, 204–215. Waldo R. Browne (ed.), "Japanese-American Passport Agreement," in What's What in the Labor Movement: A Dictionary of Labor Affairs and Labor Terminology. New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1921; pg. 261.