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Identification of Gram negative bacteria using biochemical tests, including API The WritePass Journal

Identification of Gram negative bacteria using biochemical tests, including API Abstract Identification of Gram negative bacteria using biochemical tests, including API AbstractIntroductionMethodConclusionReferencesRelated Abstract Four pure, unidentified cultures of (gram positive cocci) bacteria, labelled A-D were cultured on various agar media. Also an API test was simulated to identify another unidentified bacterium. Identification of bacteria is important when choosing an effective treatment for a microbial-causing illness. This experiment focused on the cultural and biochemical characteristics of bacteria in aid of identification. Under aseptic conditions, each of the four unidentified bacterium were cultured using the bile aesculin, manitol salt and the blood agar plates provided. These were then incubated for over a week and then observed. A catalase and Voges-proskauer were also carried out to verify the identity of the 4 strains of bacteria. Bacteria that produced air bubbles in the catalase test (as oxygen is one of the products formed, in the presence of the enzyme catalase) and a red colour change for the Voges-proskauer (bacteria is able to produce a compound called acetylmethylcarbinol), both ind icative of a positive result. For simplicity, the end cultures were compared with a table of results provided in the experiment to confirm the identity of Enterococcus faecalis, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria. The first culture easily identified as Streptococcus pyogenes   produced a visible ÃŽ ²-haemolysis on blood agar; with an obvious clear zone around the colonies and was also unable to grow on manitol salt agar. The other strains were then determined from the various biochemical tests, as all bacterium possess particular characteristics that distinguish them from other genera. The bacterium used in the API was identified as Staphlyococcus. aureus, by use of an identification table, provided by the manufacturer of the API. However in a normal setting various other tests would have to be conducted to conclude the genus and species of the bacteria. Introduction Gram positive and gram negative bacteria have a rigid cell wall called peptidoglycan and this can be used to distinguish between the two groups. Gram positive bacteria have a very thick outer layer of peptidoglycan. They also have the lipopolysaccharide layer absent. (Madigan et al., 2009) Gram positive bacteria usually appear purple and gram negative bacteria can be red to pink in colour with the use of gram staining. (Madigan et al., 2009) Once established the fact that the bacterium belong to gram positive group, the Dichotomous Key of Gram Positive bacteria can be used to differentiate bacteria by use of various biochemical tests. (Willey et al. 2008) The isolation and identification of bacteria is an essential diagnostic tool in microbiology, especially investigating pathogenic bacteria that cause infectious diseases. The clinician and microbiologist work together in this identification process. (Willey et al. 2008) Samples from the suspected infected area of a patient can be extracted and grown aseptically on agar medium to avoid contamination; these mixed cultures are then separated to produce single colonies of a genus bacterium. The shape of the bacteria can be determined by microscopy (using gram staining or other staining techniques for acid-fast bacteria), and culturing of the bacteria on various media – selective, differential and certain characteristic (metabolic) media. (Willey et al. 2008) Selective media only allow certain bacteria to grow, whilst differential media are used to distinguish bacteria from others, in the presence of some form of dye or indicator. (Madigan et al., 2009)   It is also important to note the conditions bacteria are able to grow in, as some may tolerate the presence of oxygen (aerobes) whilst others will not (anaerobes). The presence of specific enzymes enables aerobic bacteria to grow, whilst anaerobic bacteria cannot. (Madigan et al., 2009)   Voges-Proskauer tests distinguish bacteria that are able to produce fermentation, especially when they cannot respire aerobically. (Willey et al. 2008) When microscopy and culturing methods alone are not adequate enough to identify a species, specific biochemical tests are carried out. These tests are used to eliminate the number of possible pathogens causing the illness in question; by comparing the unidentified pathogen with the known metabolic characteristics stored on computer databases. (Madigan et al., 2009) These may include testing for products the bacterium may produce (due to a presence of specific enzyme/s) or even their ability to grow on either selective or differential media or a combination of the two. However some require further investigative tests to identify the bacteria. (Madigan et al., 2009)  Ã‚   An example is the coagulase test, which differentiates S.aureus from S.epidermidis, coagulase has the ability to clot plasma. (Willey et al. 2008)   Once the bacteria have been identified, antibiotic sensitivity tests (susceptibility tests) may be performed in order to determine which antibiotic/s would be most ef fective in treating the illness related to the microorganism. (Willey et al. 2008) The ability of bacteria to produce catalase is an important biochemical characteristic, aerobic bacteria are able to secrete specific enzymes this characteristic can be manipulated in identification. (Madigan et al., 2009)   Aerobic bacteria are able to neutralise hydrogen peroxide (that would otherwise be toxic to it) by converting it to water and oxygen. Bubble formation would indicate a positive result of this reaction taking place. (Greenwood et al., 2007) This test helps to identify streptococcus from staphylococcus. (Willey et al. 2008) Further more some bacteria may have the ability of secreting other enzymes like superoxide dismutase and peroxidise. This depends on the growth conditions the bacteria require, to neutralise free (unpaired) oxygen radicals that would otherwise destroy the normal functioning of bacterial cells. These radicals are the result of oxygen being reduced in the electron transport chain.   (Willey et al., 2008) Indicator medium of blood agar (usually containing horse blood) is used for the haemolysis test to indicate if the bacterium produces a specific toxin (haemolysin) this is a common virulence factor that pathogenic bacteria possess. A positive result indicates the bacterium possesses this toxin. (Willey et al. 2008)   The toxin is able to lyse erythrocytes by forming pores in the cell surface, releasing its contents – haemoglobin and other ions. (Willey et al., 2008) This can be observed on blood-agar as a clear halo with no distinct colour around the colonies, called ÃŽ ²-haemolysis. Partial (ÃŽ ±) haemolysis leaves a slight green discolouration, as hydrogen peroxide oxidises haemoglobin to methaemoglobin. (Greenwood et al., 2007) Bile aesculin agar is selective and differential, black formation on the culture plate would indicate the ability of the bacterium to hydrolyse aesculin and mix with ferric citrate. (Mahon and Manuselis, 2000) The manitol salt agar is an example of selective media that only allows growth of specific bacteria to grow, thus it can be used in biochemical tests. This is due to the high concentration of salt within this medium, which inhibits most bacteria from growing. (Mahon and Manuselis, 2000) Rapid identification of a microorganism can be determined by the use of an API (Analytical Profile Index) or manual ‘kit’ (Willey et al. 2008)  Ã‚   that contains 20 microtubules with dehydrated substrates, once inoculated with bacteria and left to incubate; the various wells produce colour changes when reagents are added. These colour changes are related to the metabolic characteristics of specific bacteria that can be matched to an identification table. The use of current technology enables one to study the genomic and antigenic structure of microorganisms and is thus useful in identification. The use of PCR and electrophoresis can be used in Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) and genomic fingerprinting. (Willey et al. 2008)  Ã‚   Also the various surface proteins especially antigens can be identified for its interaction with particular antibodies by immunofluorescence or agglutination technique. This technique may yield rapid results and streptococci associated with sore throats can be identified this way; however these tests are not as accurate as the culturing techniques. (Champoux et al., 2004) New and more accurate technologies are being studied such as the use of Biosensors. (Willey et al., 2008) Staphylococci have a round shape (from the Greek word ‘kokkos’ meaning a berry.) these bacteria form clusters like grapes (derived from the Greek word ‘staphule’) Staphylococci also have a slime layer, and are mainly found on the surface of skin.(Heritage et al., 1999) These aerotolerant anaerobe are able to grow in either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Although Staphylococcus aureus is harmless living on the surface of the skin, it is able to cause serious illness like septicaemia when it enters open wounds. (Mandal et al., 1996) This bacterium can also become an opportunistic pathogen, responsible for epidemics like MRSA due to resistance of the antibiotic methicillin and emerging resistance to vancomycin. (Willey et al., 2008) A quick biochemical test called Staphaurex can also be used. (Willey et al., 2008) Streptococci are facultative anaerobes and do not form any gas products, as they produce lactic acid fermentation and will therefore catalase negative. (Willey et al., 2008)   The streptococcus genera cover an extensive group of bacteria – the cocci that are spherical in shape and thus placed into 3 groups: pyogenic, oral and other (colon) streptococci. (Greenwood et al., 2007)   Virulence factors produced by the pathogenic bacteria (pyogenic) like the presence of streptolysin, have the ability to lyse erythrocytes and can inhibit the host’s immune response as it kills leukocytes. Haemolysis is a key step to identify pyogenic (harmful) streptococci from other streptococci. (Willey et al., 2008) The species E. faecalis can be found in the intestinal tract, it has the ability to cause opportunistic infections like urinary tract infections (UTI) and also is able to grow in 6.5% sodium chloride, and can resist certain antibiotics. (Willey et al., 2008)   The enterococcus group are closely related to the streptococcus group, but are associated more within the intestinal area. (Champoux et al., 2004) The species M.luteus are obligate aerobes in that they rely completely on oxygen to survive and so can be found on one’s own microbiota, the surface of skin. (Madigan et al., 2009) Method A week before identification, 4 unidentified pure strains labelled (A-D) were each cultured on blood, bile aesculin and manitol salt agar that corresponded to each letter. The streak-plate technique was applied, a loop used to transfer the bacteria to the agar plates was sterilised under an open flame and left to cool, before each set of streaks. After a week, the agar plates were all examined and the type of results they produced was recorded. A single colony (seen by naked eye) was removed from the original (ordinary) agar plates. Each of these was inoculated over a few days and used for the Voges-Proskauer test. The reagents alpha napthol and 40% KOH were added, the tubes were then observed for colour changes. Also a catalase test was carried out, an inoculated loop was used to transfer a small amount from each strain (from the ordinary agar plates) to a microscope slide and hydrogen peroxide was added. Those that bubbled were noted as positive. All results from the various bioche mical tests were compiled in table format the catalase; Voges-Proskauer; haemolysis (blood agar); ability to produce aesculetin (bile agar) and ability to grow (on manitol salt agar). The 4 strains of bacteria were thus identified. Separately, an API test was simulated of an ‘unidentified’ staphylococci bacterium. Each well of the incubation box for the API was filled with distilled water followed by an ampoule of the bacteria which was inoculated and prepared to the correct McFarland standard tube of 0.5. Mineral oil filled the outlined wells. The box was incubated for a few days; reagents were added to the corresponding wells and after 10 minutes observed for colour changes. Reagents VP1 and VP2 were added to the VP well; NIT1 and NIT2 to NIT well and lastly Zym A and Zym B to PAL well. The test colour result for each well was then noted (either positive or negative) on an API Staph strip and matched with the identification table of the various Staphylococcus species. The staphylococcus species was thus identified. Results The 4 unidentified strains (labelled A-D) were exposed to various biochemical tests, the results from these are given below. Table 1: Results from the gram positive strains Results from the API test: A bacterium was then identified by the use of API test, a colour indication table was also provided to determine if the results were positive or negative. These results were jotted down on a test strip and compared with a test table to identify the species of Staphyloccocus. Figure 1: Test strip Figure 2: Identification Table of Staphylococcus species   (Provided by API Manufacturer) Discussion  Ã‚   Observation of the colour and characteristics of the pathogen, with the use of various biochemical tests can identify the bacterium causing the infection. (Madigan et al., 2009) This can be applied in this experiment. Referring to Table 1: The ability to produce haemolysis is dependent on bacteria to secrete a toxic substance called haemolysin, which is able to lyse red bloods cells. Thus blood agar is used which is a differential medium. (Willey et al., 2008) The type of haemolysis bacteria produce can be observed by the naked eye, as clearing zones around the colonies. A ÃŽ ²-haemolysis results in distinct, colourless clear zones of colonies, as the erythrocytes (of the blood agar) have completely lysed. The species S. pyogenes has the ability to secrete exotoxins, depending incubation conditions it will either secrete Streptolysin-O (anaerobic) or Streptolysin-S (aerobic). The pyogenic bacteria are distinguished from other streptococci by producing ÃŽ ²- haemolysis. (Willey et al., 2008) Whilst ÃŽ ±-haemolysis is the partial destruction of erythrocytes with some clearing and slight green discolouration, it is not as distinct as ÃŽ ²-haemolysis. The green tinge is a result of haemoglobulin being oxidised. Conversely M luteus and E. Faecalis produce Æ”-haemolysis i.e. no colour change or clearing zone on the agar as the bacteria are unable to produce haemolysin. (Greenwood et al., 2007) Furthermore the Lancefield method together with haemolysis testing can be used to identify pathogenic streptococci from other less evasive streptococci. (Greenwood et al., 2007) The Lancefield method involves the agglutination of antibodies with the cell wall antigens (C polysaccharide) each serotype is classified A-T, depending on the sort of antigen-polysaccharide nature of this reaction. (Willey et al., 2008). Voges-proskauer is used to indicate if the bacteria in question produce fermentation, this would depend on their culture needs – especially anaerobic bacteria which are unable to respire without the electron transport chain. (Willey et al., 2008) The red colour produced is a test positive for the production of acetoin or acetylmethylcarbinol in glucose fermentation. (Champoux et al.,2004) Referring to Table 1, S. aureus tests positive as it’s a facultative anaerobe. (Willey et al., 2008) Whilst M. luteus and Str. pyogenes can grow in aerobic conditions and so do not require the principles of fermentation, they test negative. Conversely, unlike anaerobes ability to produce fermentation, most aerobes possess the enzyme catalase. A positive catalase test results in bubble formation when hydrogen peroxide is added to a bacterium. The enzyme catalase is able to form water and oxygen from hydrogen peroxide. (Madigan et al., 2009)   The Streptoccocus pyogenes produce no gas, and instead utilise lactic acid to break down sugars. (Willey et al., 2008)   They catalase negative as the enzyme catalase is not present; so cannot break down hydrogen peroxide to form water and oxygen. (Greenwood et al., 2007) Staphylococcus tests positive and can utilise glucose to form acidic products. (Madigan et al., 2009) It’s also an aerotolerant anaerobe, it may lack the enzyme superoxide dismutase which can break down superoxide radicals, but can make use of manganese ions instead. This may have been an adaptative mechanism when the very first forms of bacteria were exposed to oxygen. (Madigan et al., 2009)   This en zyme is common in most pathogenic bacteria, and increases their virulence by neutralising the otherwise toxic hydrogen peroxide and minimizing death by phagocytosis by host cells. (Champoux et al., 2004)   M. luteus grow in aerobic conditions and can only utilise glucose in these conditions, this would explain why it would catalase positive, to neutralise toxic hydrogen peroxide.   (Madigan et al., 2009) Bile aesculin agar is selective and differential, black formation on the culture plate would indicate the ability of the bacterium to hydrolyse aesculin and mix with ferric citrate. (Mahon and Manuselis, 2000) The presence of bile salts will inhibit some types of bacteria like S. pyogenes and M.luteus (as seen on Table 1) Manitol is a selective media, only allowing some bacteria to tolerate it, like S. aureus   and E. faecalis. They are both able to utilise manitol by fermenting it to produce acid, thus lowering the pH the agar changes from red to a yellow colour as a result.   Incubation of S. aureus is slightly longer, and so a coagulase test can also be implemented. (Mahon and Manuselis, 2000)   Whilst haemolysis identifies pathogenic streptococci like Str. pyogenes, the manitol agar identifies pathogenic staphylococci. Also Str. pyogenes cannot grow on this agar, and so no visible colonies are formed. (Willey et al., 2008) While M. luteus has the ability to grow on manitol salt agar (visible colonies), so one would assume that it cannot utilise manitol, as there is no colour change present as it cannot produce acid. As mentioned, there are various API tests available; this experiment used an API Staph Test which identified Staphylococcus, micrococcus and kocuria genera. (CITATION)   The test kit was compared with the colour change table of the various substrates (when reagents are added) and the API test strip was marked accordingly for a positive or negative result. The test strip (Figure 1) was then compared to the identification table (Figure 2) and the unknown bacterium was identified as S. aureus. The limitations of this test is that a pure culture of bacteria must be used and that API’s are specific for a particular genera of bacteria, various API tests are available (biotech.ug.edu.pl/odl/biochem/api.html) these include an API 20E to identify Enterobacteriaceae (Willey et al., 2008) Also any experimental error like not adding reagents correctly to specific well can also give false positives, thus not correctly identifying the species. Conclusion Identification of gram positive bacteria can be achieved by carrying out various biochemical tests.   Differential media like blood agar is useful in identifying the type of haemolysis and thus the pathogenicity of various bacteria (streptococci). Selective media like manitol salt agar inhibits growth of certain bacteria like streptococci, whilst also determining the presence of particular enzymes by the end products produced, this can be observed by colour changes. Various other biochemical tests are available and can produce rapid results – like the API. The simulation of identifying bacteria in this experiment, accentuated how vital these tests are in order to treat patients effectively. However it should be noted in realistic settings further biochemical tests and the use of modern technologies may be required to correctly identify microorganisms. References Greenwood, D.; Slack, R.; Peutherer, J., Barer, M. (2007) Medical Microbiology A Guide to Microbial Infections: Pathogenesis, Immunity, Laboratory Diagnosis and Control. 17th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Limited. Heritage, J., Evans, E.G.V., Killington, R.A. (1999). Introductory Microbiology. Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of The University of Cambridge Madigan, M., Martinko, J., Dunlap, P., Clark, D,. (2009). Brock Biology of Microorganisms. 12th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings Mahon, C.R., Manuselis, G. (2000) Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders An Imprint of Elsevier Mandal, B.K.; Wilkins, G.L.E.; Dunbar, E.M.; Mayon-White, R.T. (1996) Infectious Diseases. 5th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd. Champoux, J.J.,   Drew, W.L., Neidhardt, F.C., Plorde, J.J.(2004) Sherris Medical Microbiology. 4th ed. USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Willey, J.; Sherwood, L., Woolverton, C. (2008) Prescott, Harley, and Klein’s Microbiology. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Triangle Fire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Triangle Fire - Essay Example The scrap bin was accumulated with cuttings of around two months and a lighted cigarette or a match was possibly the starting point of the fire. On the other hand, some explain that the engines which supported the sewing machines may have caused the fire, whereas many historians believe that it was pre-planned by the owners of the factory. The owners, Blanck and Harris were present at the factory premises when the fire broke out along with their workers in the 10-storey building. When the fire broke out, the two owners saved themselves by running to the roof and jumping to the adjoining building, but their workers met a terrible fate and 146 of them were either burnt alive or jumped out of the building windows in horror to save themselves. When the workers used the Washington Place stairways to flee, they noticed it was locked which took from them the only hope of escaping the sight safely. The Washington Place Stairway was locked from the outside to prevent theft by the workers. The workers demanded for better working conditions because they were made to work for longer hours at very low wages and they were deprived of the basic amenities and facilities. Whereas on the other hand, the factory owners rejected these demands put forth by the workers of the factory, so that they could protect the industries from the effects of unionizations and regulations. Plus, the low profit margins coupled with the high costs prevented the owners from meeting the demands of the workers because the fulfillment was monetarily not feasible. Many female workers who worked at the factory were immigrants, from Europe and Italy, who had migrated in hope of a better life and future. The poor working conditions they faced and the grinding poverty made their lives even more difficult. The work conditions were horrific, with long working hours and low wages. Many of these workers, in protest of the poor working conditions joined unions and even went out on strikes.

Concrete to Prove Abstract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Concrete to Prove Abstract - Essay Example   One day he came to know about the situation through which John was going. John had no money with him and going to a restaurant was almost a fancy to him. Tom found him thoughtful on that day and after having a discussion with him came to know about his situation. His kind heart was deeply concerned. He had money to feed himself only yet he took John to the restaurant nullifying all the latter’s protests. Tom ordered for John’s favorite dishes and as they arrived, served them with his own hand to John. John’s eyes became wet with tears. Tom supervised but ate nothing while John had his meal. There were still a few dollars in Tom’s pocket and he gave them to John while returning. Tom did not even tell us anything about what he had done for his friend. My mother even scolded him for expending so much money but he remained silent. We came to know about all these from John’s mouth after three months when he visited our place with the good news that h e had got a good job. We were astonished to see the depth of kindness and love in Tom for his friend.  Tom’s kindness was not limited to human beings either. Here, I shall tell you another story of his life. This happened in his college days too. That day it was raining heavily and Tom had troubles while returning home from college. Reaching our door, he saw a dog sitting with one of its right legs bleeding from some injury. I was the person who opened the door and saw Tom picking up the dog and coming in. My mother was horrified and cried, â€Å"No Tom! This is too much. I ain’t gonna allow any dog here.† But Tom, who was occupied with his concern for the four-legged animal, hardly listened to what his mother said. He made the dog sleep under the couch in the drawing room. Then he ran towards his own room and before my mother could say or do anything more, he came back with a gauge of bandage and a small bottle of ointment which he uses for his football injur ies.  

Forensic Science and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Forensic Science and Law - Essay Example If there are no exceptional circumstances, the prosecution should not attempt to introduce such evidence. A judge would also consider whether there were any dissimilar characteristics between the print and that taken from the accused, and the size, quality and clarity of the print relied upon [R v Buckley1]. On the authority of an insp0ector, which can only be given where the officer has reasonable grounds for believing the suspect is involved in a criminal offence and the fingerprints will tend to confirm or disprove his involvement or facilitate the ascertainment of his identity. An authorization may only be given for the facilitating the ascertainment of the person’s identity where the person has either refused to identify themselves or the authorizing officer has reasonable grounds to suspect they are not who they claim to be. Fingerprints may also be taken from a person convicted of a reasonable offence or cautioned, warned or reprimanded in respect of such an offence. Subsection (2) replaces the existing provisions about the taking of fingerprints on the authority of an inspector with a wider power to take fingerprints from any person detained in consequence of his arrest for a reasonable offence. The existing requirements to give a person whose fingerprints are taken without consent reasons for doing so and for recording the reason as soon as practical applies to the new power. This amendment to Section 61 of PACE 1984 will prevent persons who come in to police custody and who may be wanted on a warrant or for questioning on other matters from avoiding detection by giving the police a false name and address. Using Livescan technology, which enables the police to take fingerprints electronically and which is linked to the national fingerprint database (NAFIS), the police will be able to confirm a person’s identity whilst he is still in police detention if his fingerprints have been taken previously.

The Indian Middle Class History Essay

The Indian Middle Class History Essay Is there something known as the Indian middle class? How does it manifest itself in everyday India? Illustrate through Santosh Desais Mother Pious Lady. It is very tough to explain the contours that define the Indian middle class. Being in the middle is not a easy thing always as there are two conflicting forces that keep on pulling this middle towards itself. One is the rich, upper class, the elites whose lifestyles symbolise the new dawn of the country. The other is the seemingly poor, lower class which is routinely dismissed as the underbelly. But in Indias case, there definitely exists a middle class which is thriving and is a growing force for every aspect of the country society, culture, politics, market and even cinema. Santosh Desai, through his book Mother Pious Lady, shares this sentiment as he reflects on how the middle class has been negotiating with the seemingly innocuous but defining changes in their culture, thinking and lifestyles. This essay, through some anecdotes from Santosh Desais book and insights of some other thinkers, aims to emphasize the fact that something like a middle class is very much a part of India s structure and manifests itself in every day India. For the current generation, the concept of a middle class seems to be a fairly recent one. But then probably, the middle class was always there in the Indian history in some way or the other. A proto-middle class existed in India much before the British period, consisting of petty officials, shopkeepers, master craftsmen, priests and scribes. But they were not a middle class in the modern sense. Soon, the ideas of Industrial Revolution found their way into British India as well. Social values were transformed by the efforts of reformers like Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. At the same time, the growing use of the English language provided access to technological, political and cultural innovations of the West. Thus, the Indian middle class was born.  [1]   After independence, started the process of formation of a new lifestyle and image for the middle class the existing middle class of before independence; gained more resources for themselves and moved into the position of the new elites of the new, independent India. With the growth of public sector jobs in the 50s and 60s, came about the growth of a new middle class. As Sanjeev Sanyal puts it, In turn, it created a whole generation of middle-class children who grew up together in housing colonies and with a shared experience Chitrahaar on Doordarshan, the Fiat or scooter that was replaced by the Maruti 800, and the unending sequence of exams. It also led to a culture of sharing with each other. Sociologist Shiv Visvanathan provides an insight, What made the middle- class of the time different was the way it wove together scarcity, memory and boredom. The public sector socialism of the time with its ritual of ration cards created a world of limits. One did not starve but one subsisted on little. The one thing socialism created was the world of boredom as a commons. One shared each others boredom. The 70s and 80s gave a shape to the faint contours of the middle class which had risen in the 60s. The culture of the middle class was now also more consumption based and provided the image of the middle class which we now seem to identify with. Santosh Desai describes these pangs of growing consumption through anecdotes on how sending a 2-word telegram was all it took to convey well-being, how stainless steel utensils acted identifiers of a certain modernity that was newly acquired. Raja Menon provides another insight, Families moved into quarters designated Type 2 A, 14B/43 of Phase 1. All appliances-a radio, BW TV, a stereo, refrigerator and mixie-were displayed in the drawing room and the whole neighbourhood dropped in to watch Chitrahaar.  [2]   The 90s are heralded as the era of the middle class which the marketers chased. Liberalisation opened up new avenues for the middle class. When India opened up in 1991, the big attraction for marketers both national and global was the big Indian middle class estimated to be anywhere between 300 to 400 million and growing.  [3]   Anuradha Goyal documents the pangs of transition for the moderate 80s to the ambitious 90s for the middle class, They (middle class) lived in their own world where they had enough for their basic needs but nothing for their desires. Then came the famous economic reforms of early 90s and it changed the Indian middle class forever. People in the upper echelons of the society probably always had everything, and for the people in the lower rung things have still not have changed much except probably a mobile phone in the hand. But the middle class suddenly had more resources than they were used to. They could now afford to buy houses at a much younger age, cars almost at the beginning of their work lives, clothes and shoes without waiting for a wedding to happen in the family. Psychologically, for people who grew up in 70s and early 80s, the change was tremendous, while their growing up was in the era of scarcity they landed up in the era of abundance without really making a proportionate effort. They embraced the change but also had to deal with their roots that lie in another age. As a class they also became the focus segment for many product and service offerings. They were not used to and had to learn to deal with this sudden attention. During the 90s and beyond, the level of middle class got a raise, a raise which was quite different from that of the upper or lower class. As Madhukar Sabnavis puts the query, In any society, people want to move up in life and there is continuous push for every group to move up. Simultaneously, the people on the top have the urge to do better to distance themselves from the rest. So, to define a middle class by income earned is always possible. And to affix a number to it is equally easy, once the arithmetic is done. But is this actually the middle class and whats special about this class? Why is this group so special to everyone sociologists, marketers and administrators? Economically, the 90s defined the middle class in terms of its earnings and the subsequent spending or to say differently, the consumption. This new middle class worked hard to rise from the bottom, bringing with it a nouveau-rich mentality that some Indians consider vulgar. Today, Indias middle class is one of the largest in the world, equal in some estimates to the population of the United States. The economic reforms started in the early 1990s have spurred an annual growth rate exceeding 7%, with especially rapid growth in the middle class. Projecting that growth rate into the future, Indias income will double every ten years. Within a generation almost 50% of Indias people could become middle class and poverty could diminish to 15%. In line with this growth, the Indian middle class is developing an appetite for telephones, cars, televisions, clothes, refrigerators and other consumer goods.  [4]   This economic rise of the middle class also gave a new direction to the cultural mores which have now come to define the middle class in India Sabnavis again gives an insight, Once unshackled, its not surprising that the Indian middle class felt liberated to enjoy and spend in the last two decades. Integrity is a relic of the Gandhian/scarcity era. Means justify the ends has always been the Indian principle of living Krishna and Chanakya are the cultural icons of this. Jugaad has always been part of our lives. No doubt, words like jugaad, fixing, contacts have invariably crept into the lingo of the average middle class guy. Another quite peculiar identifier of this new middle class culture has been the fixation with English. Puts Vikram V. Garg  [5]  ,Knowledge of English, together with mass media and the internet puts middle India in a very interesting position. It is in some sense, pre-western. The combination of comfort with English, combined with the relatively liberal political and media environment of India, is resulting in a huge American influence on this middle class. Also contributing are the increasingly strong people to people links between America and India. The middle class is thus developing aspirations that are in line with this psuedo-western mindset. It seems that for now these aspirations are mostly consumerish and professional, not political. But the most defining feature of this middle class has been the fact that despite moving up the ladder in the consumption chain, it has not lost view of its traditions which does appear contrasting but is the path chosen. Says Rowena Robinson, The modernity of the middle class does not enter the realm of the mind. Perpetuating patriarchal and hierarchical notions and reaffirming stereotypical gender roles are seen as commitment to tradition. Being liberal is epitomised as consumption and spending.  [6]   Santosh Desai also emphasizes on a related aspect in Mother Pious Lady. He analyses this through the term ritual reality The penchant for symbolic action finds its pinnacle when it comes to finding a method to punish inactionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the institution of the suspension is an inspired oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Most suspensions are liftedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and often with retrospective effectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Overall, it seems to reflect a lack of belief in the ability of any person to materially alter the world through individual actionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we place thinking on a higher pedestal over action, seeing the latter as a lower order activity compared to the former. Another way to see this middle class is through the silver screen. The depiction of middle class in films has kept pace with the changing aspirations of the middle class itself. As Alam Srinivas puts it, Nationalism is not just about geographies, politics and social upheavals. Its also about economics, in the context of the evolution of the middle class-the intellectual-ideological force behind the nation-building exercise. Over decades, as various pressures transformed it, the middle class forced the country to alter its socio-politico-economic vision. And Hindi cinema has, through the decades, tracked all these changes.  [7]   Madhava Prasad refers to a certain tendency in popular Hindi cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He says that this set of films à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was addressed to the subject, the individual in society, faced with the struggle for existence, the locus of desires, fears and hopes  [8]  . He refers to this as the middle class cinema. The cinema of 1970s 1980s reflected the middle class as a section of society in transition and in that transition, going against the system and leading to a resultant angst the angry young man image as a symbol for the same films like Zanjeer, Deewar, Laawaris, Shaktià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Films like Ardha Satya and Aakrosh showed the undirected middle-class anger, discontent and confusion during those days in the 1970s and 1980s. The rise of economically empowered middle class in the 1990s gave a new image to be projected by popular media. In an article World Cinema: Bollywood forced to go mainstream? Iain Ball says -The highly educated middle and upper classes in India, once embarrassed at being westernized and for speaking and thinking in English, are feeling confident in their sense of identity and their language for the first time. Theres a whole audience one can target that wasnt there 10 or 15 years ago. This is a new money class.  [9]   As Neha Chadha points out, This also explains the sudden emergence and dissemination of a certain set of images that not only repeatedly appear in Hindi cinema but also float all around us on television, newspapers, hoardings, posters, etc. and create a matrix, of which we have now become a part. All sorts of consumer items fill the frame cars, phones, television sets, microwave ovens, designed interiors and increasingly they became a part of the narrative and sometimes even became the very tools to carry the narrative forward. This larger trend of media images that surrounds us is an ever-expanding universe of merchandise, shopping malls and the new media, and each, in its own way, naturalizes this image culture.  [10]   Thus emerged a new romantic form which was definitely different from that of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was definitely not situated in the middle class. The romantic cinema of the late 1980s and early 1990s was about the urban youth who spend incessantly on food, clothes and entertainment, an image which continues to be projected even now. As Santosh Desai describes it, The Hero of today is changing, albeit slowly. His clothes are more normal and he woos his woman less roughly, but in many ways he is the same. As a society we still need our Heroes (sic) to do six impossible things before the first song in Switzerland. He must not appear ordinary, for we still have too much of that commodity going around in our own lives. As Chadha reasons, Even though the middle class exists in an enormous number as the principal consumers of these films, it is visually absent in them because it now begins to identify itself with a different class this identification occurs at the level of aspirations. Hence the paradox, the middle class can now not be associated with these images even though they could afford these objects or the lifestyle shown in these films. It is precisely this middle class that is the focus of Santosh Desais book, Mother Pious Lady. Desai dips into the world of media, Hindi films, relatives and jobs to paint a very accurate picture of India prior to liberalisation and in the early period after it. There are uncanny observations about the way Indian middle class has gone about living its life during this time.  [11]   For example, he offers an interesting insight about women travelling in DTC buses which some 20-22 years back, was the preferred mode of travel for the middle class The bus would wait for her arrival if needed to and the crowd would part to allow her to sit in the seat reserved for her. The relationship with the driver was never remotely improper; there was rarely any conversation or even an overt acknowledgement; it remained an unspoken pact between the driver and his muse. Desai offers his take on the changing aspirations of Indians, the dilemmas that come along with sweeping changes post liberalisation, and the historical baggage we carry. What we called middle class values were in reality nothing more than the whole protocol of actions we developed to deal with insufficiency with diginity and graceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ A comrade of our needs, an enemy of our desires, this tightness of hand was accompanied by a value system that sought to minimise the acknowledgement of the role that desire played in our lives. He documents the huge shift the middle class has seen from stainless steel to the postcard, the blue used to whiten our clothes, the all-important crease in the trouser, unannounced (now unthinkable) visitors, the Bajaj scooter, the thali, even the pickle. Money used to be hard to come by, but joy wasnt The Maruti, which has been a symbol of the middle class living for quite some time, has been described by Desai like this For most of us, who were born in the middle class only to die there, the car was a border we could not imagine crossing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the Maruti compressed the promise of consumerismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ flung the doors of aspiration wide openà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The auto rickshaw, which is also a symbol of middle class transport, has been very amply described The autos appeal comes from its ability to provide a real luxury; it offers us the power of individualised motorised transport. When one hires an auto one is placing a value on ones own time. Rather than wait for public transport, an auto is hailed and ones precise destination is reached. The autorickshaws implicit deal with us is that while it gives us this wonderful luxury, in return it strips everything else in the experience that could remotely reek of luxury à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is both deeply comforting and dissatisfying. It captures the variable and uneven nature of life in India that is not too poor to have no choices, yet not so affluent that it can take life for granted à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It reaffirms and gives substance to the Indian belief that life may be hard but there is always a way. The politics of speedbreaker are also a feature of his analysis, We may or may not build great roads, but we sure know how to build great speedbreakers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The speedbreaker exists to defeat the purpose of the road. Motorised traffic became possible because of the macadamisation of roads and the speedbreaker is tarmacs revenge on itself à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ But there is a larger need that drives us to put up so many of these speedbreakers. At some level we are afraid of speed and the distance that gets created between those speeding and the rest of us. The speedbreaker is the political front, the battle line that marks the tussle between those with the means to speed and the othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Desai on those ubiquitous badges carefully bestowed on organizers at puja mandals and Lions Club felicitations: The badge is a quasi-uniform converting disconnected people into a cadre. The badge converts a lower division clerk into an officer bristling with disappointmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and a housewife into a despot with untrammelled powers. Whats the way ahead for this thriving, captivating middle class? Desai discusses how the Indian middle class is emerging from the folds of its past, thereby requiring fresh analysis. This transition, is still ongoing the middle class will become a stronger social force five years from now, with a more nuanced worldview. Rajdeep Sardesai documents this insight, The middle class, especially the more affluent sections, have dramatically shifted their priorities and become more self-centred than ever before. A credit card induced, acquisitive culture has meant that tomorrow is dispensable, what matters is the here and now. As long as an endless cycle of consumption is not significantly altered, there seems little empathy for the daily wage labourer who is struggling to survive. Double digit inflation is just a statistic, not a overwhelming concern.  [12]   Finally Madhukar Sabnavis has this prediction for the middle class, As India evolves, it appears the middle class, as we have known it in the second half of the 20th century, is disappearing. Across India, people are looking to better their lives materially and moving up the acquisition chain demanding more, wanting better products and living richer lives. Indian cultural values, however, will not disappear as people move up. Desire and values can and will coexist and its important for sociologists to accept it and live with it rather than bemoan it.

Life Of Charles Dickens :: essays research papers

The Life of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was on of the literary geniuses of the 19th century. Dickens was the first main stream writer to reach out to the semiliterate class. He did much to make sure his writings were avaliable to the middle class. He published serial novels on a monthly bases. One shilling (one twentieth of a pount) would buy you the next installmenrt to your novell. In a time when novels were almost thirty times as much as one of these serial novels, it put reading within the reach of the middle class, thus highly popularizing charles dickens works. By the popularity of his work he was able to afford a humble middle class life, which was what he always desired. Charles Dickens did not begin his life as a humble middle class child. In fact it was quite the oppisite. He was born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. He was the second child of John and Elizabeth Dickens. John Dickens was a clerk in the Navy pay office, In 1817 Charlews got the first taste of the life he would so strongly desire latter in his life. His family moved to Chatham a small portown in England. Charles enjoyed all the comforts of a humble middle class life. Fresh country air, decent schooling, and books to read on sunny afternoons. It was a short idyll, John Dickens money supply was lacking. He was recalled to London and forced to put his family of 6 in a small, smelly, bleak house in the ugly suburb of Camden town. Then in 1824 a event that shaped Charles Dickens view’s on the world occurred. His family increasingly needing of money, sent there second born child to work in a Warren’s Blackening factory . He worked beside ragged urchins, where paserby’s could see him working through the window. The factory was a foul rat infested palace next to the Thames river. Charles was then abandoned by his parents, John Dickens was arrested for debt, and moved himself and his family into the Marshalsea prison, exceppt for charles who was forced to survive on his own on the streets of London. A place where only have the children raised on them would survive to adulthood. Charles proved to be quite adept at surving for a few months when his father was released thanks to an inheritance, but much to Charles dissappointment his mother forced him to remain at the blackening factory.

Activity Based Learning in Commerce Education Essay

Vocational education covers education and skill developed at all levels from post-primary to tertiary education both through formal and non-formal programme. Technical and Vocational Education, defined it as a â€Å"Comprehensive term embracing those aspects of the educational process involving, in addition to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in the various sectors of economic and social life. The main objectives of the vocational education are to fulfill the national goals of development and the removal of unemployment and poverty, to impart education relevant to increased production and productivity, economic development and individual prosperity, to meet the need for skilled and middle-level manpower for the growing sectors of economy, both organised and unorganized, to attract sizeable segment of population to varied vocational courses so as to reduce the rush to general education courses of universities and institutions for higher learning and to prepare students for self-reliance and gainful self-employment. The primary objective of Commerce education the preparation of people to enter upon a business career, or having entered upon such a career, to render more efficient service therein and to advance from their present levels of employment to higher levels. † During the post independence era, commerce education has emerged as one of the most potential pursuits in the wake of industrialization. Most of the Education Commissions have held that commerce education is primarily meant for providing the students in-depth knowledge of different functional areas of business so as to prepare people required by the community for the purposes of trade, commerce and industry. Commercial activity is present in almost every day-to-day activity that takes place in our environment. Formal courses at schools and colleges are only systematic, scholarly presentations/records of the experience. For teaching any subject effectively first of all teacher should be clear about its general as well as specific objectives of each topic/concepts because this will only help the teacher in selecting the appropriate approach and method of teaching according to the content. So for teaching commerce effectively teacher has to be thorough with the objectives of teaching commerce at all levels. Commerce is a subject which is very close to us, so for effective teaching of commerce it is all about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different. For this teacher should adopt Socratic instruction approach. It’s all about eliciting responses and developing the oral communication skills of the quiet students. It’s all about pushing students to excel, which is basic requirement of commerce teaching. Commerce is a subject where a teacher can use all the methods effectively such as lecture, discussion, role playing, seminar, supervised as well as independent study, project method, field trip, etc. A major concern however is that teacher should actually use these methods in classroom teaching. Activity method is quite suitable for teaching Commerce as a Vocational Subject. In the wards of Rousseau, â€Å"Instead of making the child stick to is books keep him busy in workshop where his hands will work to the profit of his mind. † Thus learning by doing, by activity and experience is the first and the most natured form of learning. One of the arguments against using these methods is that they consume more time but if we use different methods according to the needs of the content then it will help in achieving HOTS at the same time they are not at all time consuming. For example if you field trip as a method for teaching banking it will consume at the most two-three hours to take students to the nearby bank and observe the functions of the employees of the bank and then the teacher can just discuss about the observations of the students in the class room and with this the chapter will be over. This will also help in retention of knowledge for longer period. This is also one of the ways to facilitate learning i. e. relating the curriculum to the student’s lifestyles. Teaching of commerce can be made more effective by relating the subject/content with the daily life of the students and commerce is such a subject who can be related with the daily life of the students by giving examples, by adopting project based learning method. Right from the beginning we are saying that commerce is a practical subject as well as related to real life, so for teaching it effectively we should encourage students’ participation. For students participation teacher should provide opportunity to students to ask questions, answer questions in a meaningful way, offer challenging and thought provoking ideas, plan interactive activities, show approval for students’ ideas, incorporate student’s ideas into lessons, and ask students whether they have understood the concept before proceeding. Keeping in view the importance of activity method for commerce education we present this paper entitled â€Å"Activity Based Learning in Commerce Education – With Special Reference to Vocational Commerce Education†. The main objectives of this paper is to: †¢Describe the meaning and importance of activity-based education. †¢Apprise the Service Activities in commerce based vocational education. †¢Explain the Internship/On-the Job Training activities in commerce based vocational education. †¢Analyze the School/College based Enterprise Education – Production-cum Training activities in commerce based vocational education. †¢Examine Education and Business Partnership/Institute – Industry Linkages activity in commerce based vocational education. Meaning and Importance of Activity based Learning Activity-based instruction involves the activities. This is in opposite of pure lectures. It means hands-on approaches to instruction, using manipulative to engage multiple senses, as opposed to just listening to a lecture. For instance, the teacher used note cards in a lesson to teach complete subjects and predicates. On the note cards he wrote (from a prompt) complete subjects and complete predicates, separate from each other, and had the students find their match. As opposed to just listen the teacher tells them what the differences are, they see them, evaluate them, and synthesize them. Activity-bases instruction revolves around students learning though hands-on activities. This method can be great, especially for tactile learners. It breaks up the monotony of the basic teacher-led lecture; students listen and take notes system. Let’s face it, not all students learn from listening to their teacher drone on for 50-90 minutes a day. Activity-based allows students to demonstrate an understanding of the material and, usually, work with a partner or group, which leads to socialization Activity based learning, on the other hand, helps children connect their learning to real life and encourages them to innovative ideas. In the end, it is only creativity that leads to path breaking discoveries and inventions in the world. Activity based learning, therefore, holds the key to better and more relevant education. What is Hands-On Learning? Hands-on learning is learning by doing. Hands-on learning involves understanding things while doing and experiencing them which as we know are the highest form of understanding. This can be done through simple activities and toys based on elementary scientific principles which closely simulate real-life scenarios, give enough scope for innovation and challenge and make learning science fun and exciting. Vocational education has always understood that if you want someone to learn to repair an automobile, you need an automobile to repair. If you want to teach someone to cook, you put him or her in a kitchen. Did anyone hear of teaching someone to swim in a traditional classroom? Likewise, we do believe we are learning that in order to truly teach science, we must â€Å"do† science. Hands-on learning means many different things to different people. It has become a slogan and is often used to describe any activities in classrooms that use materials. Hands-on learning, however, is not simply manipulating things. It is engaging in in-depth investigations with objects, materials, phenomena, and ideas and drawing meaning and understanding from those experiences. Other terms for this are inquiry learning, hands-on, and minds-on learning. Learning by well-planned activities and experiences in a well-engineered program is a quality instructional approach. It causes students to rely on the evidence instead of upon authority (encyclopedia, minister, doctor, text, teacher, parent). Most students live in an authoritarian world with little or no opportunity to practice decision-making because nearly everyone tells students what to do and when to do it. We continually graduate students, who do not yet have the ability to set up a simple experiment with controlled variables, collect and interpret evidence, or make correct interpretations based upon that evidence provides students with a similar set of experiences so everyone can participate in discussions on a level playing field regardless of their socio-economic status. In this way, special benefits are not awarded to those who, by virtue of their wealth or background, have a greater number of experiences under their belts forces student thinking by requiring interpretation of the observed events, rather than memorization of correct responses. Activity based learning method is adopted in vocational commerce education in +2 level Vocational Education Programme and developed curricula & instructional material. For development of vocational commerce curricula we invite the experts from professional institutions, university departments, vocational commerce teachers and industrial experts for preparing in activity based. In this curricula we not only provide the syllabus but also provide the activities like course introduction, job opportunities, job description, job analysis which includes knowledge, skills & personality traits, course objectives, scheme of studies & examination, on-the-job training site & syllabus, inputs for the course, agencies for procurement of inputs, suggested list of collaborating organizations, teaching staff and their qualifications, suggested list of reference books, career mobility, and list of experts involve for development of the curriculum. Simultaneously, we also developed activity based instructional material to involving the industrial experts. We also utilize the services of industrial experts for curricular transactions, skill/practical training, on-the-job training, apprenticeship training and evaluation of student’s performance and conducting campus interviews for placement of students. For implementing activity based learning in vocational commerce education the following activities are mainly adopted apart from the transaction of theory and practical activities: Service Learning Activities Service learning activity is a method of teaching whereby students learn and develop through active, unpaid, participation in organized academic and practical activities that are conducted in and designed to meet the needs of their communities. Service learning links activities to the school/college curriculum and provides students with a real-world context in which to apply their academic skills. Through service learning, students learn critical thinking, communication skills, teamwork, civic responsibility, mathematical reasoning, problem solving, public speaking, vocational skills, computer  skills, scientific method, research skills, and analysis. Service learning may take place in the school/college, the community at large, in non-profit community agencies, private businesses, or government agencies. This service is also a vehicle through which schools and colleges can teach the skills of democratic citizenship. By allowing students to venture out of the classroom to examine the world around them, and by providing them with opportunities to address the problems they see, service learning teaches young people that they have the power to change their communities and their world for the better. Equally important in any discussion regarding service learning is the connection of these types of activities to the academic programs experienced by all students. The following elements are essential to any service-learning program: †¢Integrated curricula wherein community service activities are a natural adjunct to classroom learning experiences. †¢Preparations whereby students identify and analyze a problem, select and plan a project, and receive training and orientation prior to the service. †¢Action, which is meaningful, appropriate for the ages and abilities of the students primarily, involved, is supervised, and provides for a feeling of ownership by the students during and at the conclusion of the project. †¢Reflection time consisting of structured discussions, readings, working on a project, etc. , all designed with the idea that students should be thinking critically and learning from their experiences as an individual or as a group. †¢Celebration of the achievements and accomplishments of the students to be shared with the students and the recipients of the services as well. Through service learning activities, students come into contact with decision makers in their communities (e. g. , business people, government officials, and other members of the community). Because of projects that address real needs, students must seek the assistance of community members and leaders, and the community is able to see its young people as problem solvers and full members of the community. The more students work in the community, and the more successes they experience, the more likely they are to continue to be involved after they leave schools and colleges. The following student service learning outcomes: Service Outcomes: †¢development of strong values and reasonable morals †¢a sense of personal worth and competence †¢positive self esteem †¢a willingness to explore new roles and interests †¢a willingness to take risks and an acceptance of fresh challenges †¢acceptance of the consequences of behavior †¢ability to take responsibility for problem solving †¢sense of the obligations of public life in a democratic republic Intellectual Development and Academic Outcomes: †¢increased basic academic skills such as reading, writing, calculating, speaking, and listening †¢enhanced ability for problem solving, reviewing choices, analytical criticism †¢learning-from-experience-skills, such as observation, questioning, knowledge †¢application, summarizing, testing and assessing results †¢motivation to learn and retain what has been learned. Social Growth and Development Outcomes: †¢concern for the welfare of others †¢social responsibility †¢political strategies †¢civic preparation †¢exploration of service-related career paths †¢sensitivity toward people from a wide range of backgrounds †¢development of character, judgment, insight, and sensitivity to underlying themes Internships/On-the-Job Training Activity Internship means unpaid work-based experiences where a student â€Å"samples† a particular industry or business for a period of time by working on a single project or a number of different projects. It defines â€Å"Internships† as highly structured workplace experiences taking place over a number of weeks during which a student completes a planned series of activities or a project(s) and achieves a set of learning objectives designed to give a broad understanding of a business or occupational area. On the Job Training (OJT) refers to that component of vocational curricula which takes place in a real job situation under the supervision of an expert in plant supervisor or master craftsman, aiming at the development of proficiency and self-confidence. On the Job Training (OJT) is an integral part of the vocational curricula, which enables the students to use theoretical knowledge in the real work situation. This helps the student to observe and understand the practical intricacies and make them well equipped, confident and motivated so that he will be able to take up any task with ease. As an initial step, it is proposed to train the students for 30 days in the concerned industrial firm during end of the academic year, which gives exposure to the latest technology, and equipment, which are not available in the schools and colleges. Thus the scheme will definitely improve the vocational skill, competency of the students and thereby the quality of Vocational Commerce Education. The on-the-job training provides the student a guarded exposure to the real world of work under the supervision of expert worker and teacher guide, before the individual fully/really enters the job on permanent basis as an employable worker. The research studies indicate that the on-the-job work experience makes a person suitable for taking up self-employment since this training develops motivation, self-confidence and proficiency in production. It is the only mode of instruction in vocational courses, which goes beyond the level of skill training and takes the persons into the domain of intricacies of the occupational field. The overall impact of on-the-job training is to train the student in the competency of work, to attain self-confidence and work habits and attitudes before these individuals enter the actual occupational field that is to prepare square pegs for the square holes. Internships/on-the-job training help students transcend from school/college  to the work place by offering â€Å"hands-on† learning in real work settings over a relatively long period of time. The experience is designed to give students a better sense of the jobs within a particular business or industry. Further, the internship provides students with information about all aspects of the business to aid them in understanding, through experience, how each part of a company aids the other in meeting the goals and objectives of a business or industry. Internships are designed to allow students to accomplish the following: †¢Apply basic skills to the workplace by observing the relationship between academic skills and knowledge and a particular job †¢Develop employability and problem-solving skills which can be transferred back to the classroom †¢Increase self-esteem by becoming a valuable and productive worker in an adult environment †¢Focus on a career interest through participating in an in-depth, day-to-day job experience †¢Recognize the connection between school/college and the workplace and how both are related and necessary to achieve personal and professional goals. Internships involve many more partners than just the participating students. At a minimum, the following individuals and organizations should be included in any internship program: †¢Students who will be working with a teacher and a business or a community organization as an intern †¢Parents/guardians who will be providing support to the student and/or soliciting cooperation from various businesses and industries in the community. †¢Educators who will be working with the students to define the internship activities; provide continuous instruction, advice and supervision; help the student integrate their workplace activities with the classroom; and, coordinate the logistics of the internship †¢Business and community organizations which will collaborate with the teacher and the student, provide opportunities for the students to complete their intern activities, instruct and evaluate the student and coordinate internship activities with the schools and colleges †¢Community partners (e. g., chamber of commerce, labor unions, service organizations, etc. ), which can provide internship, experiences for students and help to recruit other community organizations and businesses. As part of the internship/on-the-job experience, students will be expected to: †¢Discuss all assignments with both the teacher and the workplace supervisor. †¢Review and understand all of the performance criteria established for the internship assignment and understand what constitutes an acceptable level of performance. †¢Know the job site expectations, rules, culture, and the nature of the job to be performed. †¢Accept feedback and constructive criticism from the job supervisor. †¢Develop a regularly scheduled time for meetings with the job supervisor to review past performance and discuss future tasks and expectations. †¢Maintain communications with the teacher assigned to coordinate the internship program regarding both positive and negative feelings regarding the assignment. †¢Learn about the overall nature of the business or industry before the internship begins. †¢Become familiar with the specific work being done in the area assigned, the employees with whom you will be working, and the job tasks they perform. †¢Become knowledgeable about your particular assignment and how your tasks will fit into the overall operations of the business. †¢Determine the workplace expectations regarding dress and generally accepted business practices. †¢Know and understand the hours to be worked and the procedures to be followed if late or absent from the job. †¢Become knowledgeable with any machinery and the safety measures to be used when operating the equipment. †¢Learn the tasks to be completed and the person(s) other than the supervisor to whom one can turn to with questions or to help resolve problems. †¢Complete all forms, materials, and evaluation sheets required prior to and during the internship. School/College Based Enterprise/Production-cum Training Activities Small business is the lifeblood of our economy. Research, breakthrough thinking, idea generation, processes, and relationships are the elements entrepreneurs bring to the marketplace. Students need to learn and explore the challenges that are inherent in beginning a new business or maintaining an existing business. Entrepreneurs embody the marketing concepts in creating goods, services or ideas for consumers. Entrepreneurship begins with forming the attitudes and unique talents associated with that of a risk-taker. Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills, and the economic role of citizens are all part of the study of business, industry, labor, and agricultural organizations and their role in a local, state, national and international economy. General knowledge of business operations and economics is not only critical to a student’s ability to get a job, it is important to job success and to the vitality of employing businesses. Agencies working with small business development say lack of appropriate management and marketing skills are the most common factors in small business failures during the first year of operation. For many entrepreneurs, business success depends on the skills they gain in school/college. Work-based learning and marketing education bring knowledge of business operations and economic systems into the general and the vocational commerce curricula. All students, regardless of future career aspirations, need an understanding of marketing, business, and economics. Students involved in a marketing, school/college-based enterprise activity have the responsibility to: †¢Design a career development plan to achieve personal, educational and career goals. †¢Use a variety of communication technologies to effectively communicate with associates, customers, employers and suppliers. †¢Explain the nature of risk management. †¢Explaining and comparing types of unit inventory control systems. †¢Describe and explain the types of economic systems, factors which affect pricing and determine pricing strategies. †¢Prepare policies and procedures for extending credit and evaluating credit risks. †¢Prepare a cash flow and profit/loss statements. †¢Determine the factors related to lease or purchase of a facility. †¢Develop an organizational plan. †¢Write job descriptions, personnel policies, and establish standards for job performance. †¢Develop a business plan and establish objectives for the business. †¢Describe the factors entering into the selection of a business location. †¢Analyze various types of business ownership. †¢Describe and interpret major guidelines provided by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. †¢Distinguish between business ethics and social responsibility. †¢Identify a manager’s role in customer relations. †¢Recognize problems and implement plans of action to bring about change. †¢Explain the relationship between span of control and delegation. †¢Describe the role of management and employees in the achievement of quality. †¢Describe the customer focus of total quality management. †¢Interpret market research to identify target marketing. †¢Estimate market share for a particular product or service. †¢Choose a marketing plan and project the outcomes of the plan. †¢Develop a promotional plan for a business. †¢Develop a promotional plan and preparing a promotional budget. †¢Develop a sales promotional plan. †¢Explain the key factors in building a clientele and developing effective buyer/seller relationships. †¢Design a sales training program. Establishing Business and Education Partnerships/Institute Industry Linkage Activities. It is well known that schools alone cannot provide students with all of the necessary academic and technical skills necessary for them to be successful. What is needed is the support and cooperation of the community at large and the business and industry sector in particular. Through the formation of business and education partnerships, teachers and employers can create learning opportunities, which will expose students to the skills, experiences and attitudes necessary in today’s work place environments. Not only do these associations provide a real world context where students can apply what they have learned in the classroom but they also provide significant rewards to the employer as well. Features In Developing Linkages †¢Identification of vocational opportunities. †¢Development of curricula and instructional material †¢Utilization of facility/infrastructure in industry for specific skills training, specialized skill training, on-the-job training and apprenticeship training. †¢Utilization of professionals and technicians for curricular transaction and skill training †¢Evaluation of student progress and certification. †¢Placement in Industries and business organizations The following are some of the benefits to the business and industry sector as a result of establishing a partnership with the schools/colleges: †¢Developing employee satisfaction from sharing time and talents with the students †¢Enhancing the business image in the community. †¢Creating the prospect of identifying and attracting better future employees †¢Favorable publicity for all partners †¢Creating the opportunity to influence the course of education †¢Improving morale of the students, teachers, administrators, and staff †¢Giving students a better understanding of the free enterprise system †¢Communicating the community at large and the business and industry sector in particular the school/college goals and the obstacles faced in meeting those goals. †¢Increasing school/college pride with placement of students †¢Improving school attendance, punctuality and academic achievement For developing a plan for business/education partnerships, it is necessary to survey the community. In conducting this recruiting research, the following questions should be considered: †¢What businesses and industries are located in the district? How large are they? †¢Are the businesses and industries local, statewide, national, or international corporations? †¢Do the organizations have public service programs and/or a public relations staff who would be interested in furthering a business and education partnership? †¢What businesses currently employ parents of students or family members of teachers in the school district? †¢To what extent does the business or industry offer goods and/or services, which would, are of benefit to the students’ education? †¢Who is the ultimate decision maker in the business or industry being recruited? The School’s/Colleges Role in Establishing Business and Education Partnerships The following are some of the steps a school or college should take when attempting to establish a collaborative relationship with business and industry: †¢Create awareness within the school/college community of the concepts and the development of business and education partnerships. †¢Develop a business and education partnership task force to explore various partnership opportunities. †¢Develop a partnership plan that reflects the needs of the school/college community and the capabilities/offerings of the business/industry sector. †¢Seek a commitment from the school/college board, school/college administration, teaching staff and the senior management staff of the business or industry. †¢Ensure that the goals and objectives of the partnership are clearly understood by all parties involved in the program. †¢Incorporate the partnership into the school’s/colleges activities to the maximum extent possible. †¢Develop an ongoing support system for the partnership. †¢Ensure that the partnership is curriculum focused. †¢Establish evaluation criteria and a recurring evaluation timetable for the partnership. †¢Publicize partnership activities throughout the community and highlight the positive results achieved through the cooperative arrangements. †¢Create partnerships in critical academic areas where normal business and industry interests may not be available. †¢Designate specific program coordinators at both the school/college and the business/industry sites. †¢Provide overall coordination for the maintenance and support of the partnerships. †¢Maintain flexibility regarding the needs of the school/college and the business or industry. †¢Ensure that the relationship between the school/college and the business partners is reciprocal. The Role of Business and Industry in the Partnership As a partner in the education program, the cooperating businesses and industries will have the responsibility to: †¢Provide role models and mentors. †¢Exemplify the benefits and advantages of an education. †¢Enhance a student’s self image. †¢Encourage regular school/college attendance and punctuality. †¢Share employment readiness information with the student, the coordinating teacher and the parent/guardian. †¢Serve as advisors on partnership task forces and curriculum development committees. †¢Encourage parental involvement in all phases of the business and education experience. †¢Initiate special projects to increase student involvement and experience. †¢Serve as resources for teachers regarding current workplace skills; business operations; technological and operational changes to the business resulting from market place demands; and keeping current with the trends in labor market information Business and education partnerships have a positive effect on and increase the effectiveness of school coordinated, student work programs. Moreover, by working together, these collaborations have been shown to be a critical component of any successful program, which has established working alliances between schools/colleges, local businesses and industries, and the community. Through these partnership agreements, each partner can share important information, build a mutual collection of resources, and clearly focus the programs on the students. While the majority of partnerships exist in urban and suburban areas, they are also being successfully implemented in rural communities. They reduce the isolation and expand the resource base of small schools by getting businesses more directly involved in the education of youth and the professional development of teachers through the sharing of expertise, resources, and experiences. Be it an urban or rural, the increased communication between business and schools helps students make a smoother transition from the classroom to the workplace. Communities and businesses receive the benefit of better prepared workers, while schools become more efficient at promoting career development and planning, preparing students for further education and citizenship, enhancing student self-esteem, and reducing dropout rates. Conclusions and Suggestions Commerce based vocational education is totally service and practical activity based education.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare wrote the play, Macbeth. First published in 1603, the true elements of this plot give it more of an interesting theme. This play deals with the conflicts of power and fear. Macbeth is a story about the consequences of greed and success. At the beginning of the play, three witches give somewhat of a narration about the up coming events that are about to take place in the story. Macbeth has just come back from war and has been greeted by the king of Scotland, Donalbain. Due to his bravery while away at war, the king prepares a special welcoming in his honor. In scene three of act one, the witches again reveal themselves and try to scare Macbeth out of his plains of one-day gaining success over his country. After telling his wife about the prophecies from the witches, Lady Macbeth decides to take action into her own hands by killing off the person who has gained their trust and respect, Duncan. While in their home, Lady Macbeth plains out a scheme to pin the responsibility of the death of the king on his two servants. After all has happened, Macbeth is given the thrown just like the witches had prophesied. And this is the start of the beginning of a long power struggle to stay on top, witch eventually ends! up with the death of the once respected Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is truly a woman before her time. In act two of scene two she curses her own husband by saying Infirm of purpose, which was never heard of in this particular time era. Then by taking the fate of her own husbands life and hers, after Macbeths attempts to fail, and correcting it, shows her bravery in this relationship. Even though she is not mentioned that much in this play, her strength is evident through in her husbands actions and thoughts while king. If a person is looking for a strong fearless role of a woman, the part of Lady Macbeth is breath taking. Also another really good scene between two m...

The Russian Navy essays

The Russian Navy essays The White Sea and the Barents Sea have been of importance to the Russian merchant fleet ever since the 15th century. Because of this, Russias Navy has always been an important part of the Russian Military. The matter of access to ice free harbors in the north became even more important after Germany became a significant naval power in the Baltic Sea. Events during World War I increased the importance of the Kola Peninsula to Russia very much. The Kola Peninsula and the White sea played an vital role in the movement of military supplies to Russia. A naval force dedicated especially to the northern region was established shortly after the outbreak of World War I. This fleet is now know as The Northern Fleet. The Northern Fleet, formerly known as the Soviet Fleet of the Northern Seas, was officially established by Joseph Stalin during his visit to Polyarny during the summer of 1933. Prior to the outbreak of WWII, the fleet consisted of eight destroyers, 15 diesel-powered submarines, a formation of patrol boats, mine sweepers and some smaller vessels. During the time when Russia was involved in WWII(1941-1945), the harbors and ports in Kola were key to the Soviet Union. In the south, material from allied countries traveled by the railways, but in the north, many new ships were given to the northern fleet to protect the ships transporting goods. Although this increased the amount of ships in the fleet greatly, by the end of the Russian involvement, many of these ships had been destroyed. By the end of the war, the United States Navy had become considerably larger and more powerful than the Soviet Unions. In order to catch up with the Americans head start, the Soviet Union began to build a large naval force of its own. The building of the ships didnt end until the end of the 1950s. WWIIs use of submarines had shown the tactical and strategic possibilities of this weapon. However, the diesel subm...

Tromp Loeil &the Interior (Renaissance) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tromp Loeil &the Interior (Renaissance) - Essay Example Their creation was art and architecture whose sole motive was to deceive the eye on the reality of a painting. This was to be known as Trompe l’oeil, which in French is literally â€Å"to deceive the eye† (Damisch, 1984)1. This trompe l’oeil paintings and architecture have existed since then and are a crucial part of modern art and architecture. Trompe l’oeil is a style of art that was developed and popularized in the Renaissance era (Kristeller, 1965)2. The main technique used by these ancient artists was using perspective manipulations to achieve paintings that were self-reflective. The second crucial technique was in using art to develop deception through double wonderment (Damisch, 1984)3. The principle of double wonderment focused on two perspectives. The first perspective was to make the viewers of these images whether the paintings were real. Second wonder aroused by the painting was the question of just how the artist achieved such an effect The us e of oils was another prominent technique used in the renaissance paintings. Oils enhanced representation of distance using a gradation of tones. Light colored oils were used in the foreground picture flame. One of the main techniques of trompe l’oeil was linear perspective. This was a means of representing far away objects to scale with the close objects. Shading was also an indispensable technique for trompe l’oeil. ... Artists in the Renaissance era used techniques in painting that created a perception of depth. To achieve depth they had to employ a three dimensional perspective. One of the main techniques used by these artists was to overlap objects. When an object is drawn in front of another and overlapping it, the first object appears to be in front. In the Renaissance paintings, overlapping was the strongest indication of distance, and as objects are overridden continually, the perceived distance increases. Another technique used in the trompe l’oeil interiors of the renaissance era was use of diminishing scale. Objects were drawn into scale of size using this technique. Where two objects of the known same size are drawn one bigger than the other one, the bigger image is perceived to be closer. This was used extensively in the renaissance era especially with the Trompe l’oeil interiors (Tzonis, 1986)5. The artists in the renaissance era also used technique of diagonal lines to ac hieve diminishing scale. Where lines are drawn to narrow as they go further away, they create an illusion of depth. This is perhaps the most used technique in the Trompe l’oeil paintings. Diagonal lines were painted as they moved towards each other creating a perception of depth and diminishing scale. Another technique was the use of colors. A common assumption in art and architecture is that people see bright colors as being close. Such colors such as red and yellow are deemed to be close. The most commonly application of this technique in the renaissance was in drawing and painting of landscapes. For landscapes, to achieve depth, blue is used to haze far away objects giving an illusion of

Propaganda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Propaganda - Essay Example The first image which represents the Nazi propaganda under the leadership of Hitler strongly suggests that the medium used by Hitler in his propaganda has been very effective. Hitler was able to successfully win the trust and support of its people in Germany. In fact, â€Å"even the youngest want to take Hitler’s picture†6. The second image is similar with the first image in the sense that Obama also managed to use effective medium in his propaganda. This explains why Obama won in the presidential election in the United States. â€Å"Time† is all about being able to disseminate the message across the target audiences at the right moment of time7. Hitler’s and Obama’s timing was both made at the right moment. For instance, to win the support of the majority of the Americans for his presidential campaign back in 2008, Obama’s propaganda is to create more jobs and make healthcare accessible to all8, 9. The timing of Obama’s propaganda was just right since majority of the people has been badly affected by the economic recession in the United States. ... Hitler was known for being a totalitarian12. Therefore, to win the people’s trust, he publicly announced that one of his goals is to gather the German people together so as to establish a national body strong enough to â€Å"resist destruction†13. All types of propaganda are based on either the â€Å"truth† of what most people assume to be the truth14. For example, Hitler said that â€Å"if the negative forces of destruction are to be overcome, the positive forces of preservation must be enhanced†15. Without the application of critical thinking, it is true that strengthening the positive forces is necessary to counteract the negative forces that will trigger destruction in a society. But, if one is to analyze Hitler’s statement carefully, people who are against his political agenda are considered as â€Å"the negative forces of destruction†16. Therefore, â€Å"positive forces of preservation† is actually referring to the need to remove all people who are against his political agenda17. Unfortunately, there is a hidden truth in all propagandas. Because of Hitler’s personal desire to manipulate and control the social order throughout the entire Germany, millions of people who were against his propaganda suffered and died18. On top of those who died in the battlefields, almost 6 million Jews and other less dominant races were murdered under his leadership19. Even though the political propaganda of Barak Obama was based on â€Å"a good cause†, it is clear that there is a personal interest behind the â€Å"observable truth† which is to create and offer more jobs for the local people20. It is true that each person has the right to receive health care services. However, if