CRISPR-Cas9 History and Engineering

CRISPR-Cas9 History and Engineering A modular platform using engineered single short guide RNA to allow programming of CRISPR specificity, permitting high efficacy gene induction for analysis of gene function. The ability to control gene expression has been the key method in elucidating their respective functions, pathways, and regulatory elements; paving a way for future therapeutic applications. The two main approaches of determining gene function involve the analysis of loss-of-function (LOF) and gain-of-function (GOF) mutations. LOF involves a mutation in an allele where partial or full loss in genetic function occurs. GOF involves the introduction of a mutation which generates a new allele associated with a new function. The problem with GOF screening approaches is that theyre hindered by a requirement for large comprehensive cDNA library overexpression systems which rarely encompass the full spectrum of isoform variation. Viral expression vectors are not large enough to allow these to be cloned. LOF screening is the predominant way of analysing gene function, using techniques such as Transcription-activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) RNA interference and Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs). However, these are difficult to construct on a genome wide scale, unlike CRISPR-Cas9. A brief history of CRISPR-Cas9 In 1987, Ishino et al observed the presence of CRISPR repeats within bacterial genomes, but it wasnt until 2006 that Makarova proposed for its use as an adaptive immune system. Cas9 or CRISPR associated protein 9 is an endonuclease, guided by RNA and associated with CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). The system functions by interrogating and cleaving foreign DNA from bacteriophages by unwinding the foreign DNA and checking its complementation to a 20 base pair spacer region on the guide RNA. If the DNA substrate is complementary to the guide RNA, cleavage of the DNA occurs (Heler R, 2015). (Jinek M, 2012) discovered that by inactivating Cas9s two catalytic domains, its DNA cleavage ability is disrupted thereby creating catalytically dead or dCas9. This provides a platform for an RNA-guided transcript activator (dCas9-activator) using a single short guided RNA (sgRNA). Engineering CRISPR-Cas9 In their article: Genome-scale transcriptional activation by an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 complex, Konermann et al develop a system using programmable DNA binding proteins for engineering synthetic transcription factors for the modulation of endogenous gene expression. This allowed GOF screening and was successful in turning on tens of thousands of individual genes in parallel. To allow rational engineering of the CRISPR-Cas9 system, the structure of the Cas9-sg-RBA-target DNA tertiary complex had to be elucidated. To do this, crystallographic studies were performed. Optimal anchoring positions were determined for the activation domains. The team settled on the addition of protein interacting RNA aptamers to the tetraloop and stemloop 2 to facilitate the recruitment of effector domains to the Cas9, as illustrated in figure 1. Fusion of the dCas9 to transcriptional activation domains converts the Cas9 nuclease into an dCas9-activator. Linking the dCas9 to domains of proteins involved in transcriptional activation and allowing CRISPR to target promotor sequences regulating transcription of particular genes provides a means of modulating natural gene expression. The efficacy of this system is low causing at most a fivefold increase in activation. Tiling the promoter region with several sgRNAs can produce a substantial transcriptional activation. Konermann et al overcame this low efficiency by turning CRISPR sgRNA into a modular platform which assembles multiple different transcriptional activators. The addition of the protein interacting RNA aptamers attracts RNA binding proteins. The complex can be used to target the transcription activation domains of different transcription factors, creating a system termed the synergistic activator mediator (SAM) by its authors. Astonishingly, this complex can induce more than 100-fold activation of genes. Parallels can be drawn with the cells natural mechanisms of gene regulation; enhancers can turn on gene expression by generating long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which act as modular scaffolds, recruiting cellular machinery similarly to CRISPR. Konnermanns findings appear to mimic the lncRNAs by orchestrating the use of multiple proteins to have them work in cohesion. Current Applications The authors displayed the applications of this response by creating a library of sgRNAs, thereby allowing individual activation of over 23,000 genes. Their experiments were centred around melanoma cancer cells. PLX-4720 is a common drug treatment, capable of killing these cancerous cells. The experiment involved activation of individual genes to establish which ones would provide resistance to the killing effects of the PLX-4720 treatment. Drug resistance was determined by calculating the relative frequency of sgRNAs in melanoma cells post drug treatment. sgRNAs were correspondent to the genes involved in known drug-resistance pathways.   This verified that the SAM technique could identify biologically significant outcomes of varied gene expression. It was determined that 13 genes whose altered gene expression produced a state of drug resistance. Potential applications The significance of the findings of Konnermann et al are a new and improved programmable targeting system for DNA by which RNA sequences can be engineered to determine specificity. Through this, single sgRNA-mediated gene upregulation can be performed.This next generation of CRISPR expands the Cas9 toolbox, further engineering may take advantage of the modular nature of this system. The scaffolding allows variation in the use of aptamers, for recruitment of specific effectors It has been proposed to replace the MS2 stem loops with PP7 elements to recruit repressive elements as opposed to activators, thereby opening the possibility of bidirectional transcript control. Further research is required to determine off target effects of CRISPR and validate experiments to confirm effects of altered gene expression. This will require a detailed understanding of regulatory elements and further experiments with gene sub libraries. Future applications will involve positive and negative selectio n screens to determine genetic elements in cells.

Problem Solving for Elementary School Math Teachers Essay

In every teaching discipline, a strategy is usually employed in working out a problem, and in mathematics, the problem-solving process is employed. Problem solving process is a series that is used to solve a problem instead of solving the problem through intuition or memory but by phases of analysis and at the same employs thinking and logic. In a mathematical perspective, there are four steps: understanding the problem, devising a plan, executing the plan and reflecting on the issue (Alfred, 2007, pp. 46). Usually the first step is looking for clues that form the basis of understanding the problem. Basics of the question are digested and the clue terms are analyzed and understood. This is through obtaining the facts that can help in solving the problem and previous knowledge on the question can be brought into use. The next step is devising a plan that will be employed in working out the solution to the problem. The game plan should be defined and trying to flash back whether such a problem as ever occurred. Strategies are developed that will help in solving the question and strategies like employing formulas and simplification are analyzed. At this, time the order and appropriate formulas that will be employed are checked. Strategies that have been developed are used to solve the problem. Each step is dealt with depending on the conditions of that question. In solving the problem, operators, number sentence and structure are employed. This is the third step that indicates how the mathematical problem is solved. The final part is checking the process or reflecting whether the right question is answered and the right style is employed. At this phase questions such as how the problem was solved, what strategy was employed and whether the right steps were followed comes into play. Solving any mathematical problem, there are certain numbers and operands / functions that can be applied. Natural numbers is common during counting and includes the countable numbers: 1, 2, 3 †¦ which leads to whole numbers when 0 is included: 0, 1, 2, 3. They then gives birth to integers that combine natural and whole numbers: -2, -1, 0, 1, 2. Rational numbers in most cases are the fractions that results due to dividing of integers (Kamala, 2004, pp. 18). Integer division results into decimal numbers that may be either repeating or terminating. Those numbers that are non-terminating decimals, non-repetitive are irrational and examples are the pi and sqrt 2. However, when numbers are expressed as a fraction of number in relation with 100 is termed as percentage. The percent sign (%) is usually employed. The combination of irrational numbers and integer numbers results in real numbers. This is real numbers because there are the complex numbers that are formed by imaginary numbers. To bring the different numbers together to solve a problem operands are employed. Some of the common operands are add, subtract, multiply and divide (James, 2003, pp. 124). Number theory deals with properties of integers and methods that are used to manipulate them. On the other hand, sets are used to define those distinct objects. When the sets are arranged in symbolic form and with the help of mathematical notation yields the number system. A mathematical teacher has to know the difference between numbers so that the teacher can easily manipulate any computation requirements. Differentiating between integers and complex numbers because of the introduction of function i in imaginary numbers will enable the understanding of space designs and structures. Teachers’ ability in understanding the different number system and the methods that can be used in solving the problems at the required phases: problem solving steps is important in developing the student logic and thinking capability. The aspect of mathematical operation ability and different number system has expanded personal knowledge in knowing that there are many and different numbers that can be worked on (James, 2003, pp. 124). The relation between this numbers is small e. g. , the difference between whole numbers and natural numbers is the introduction of zero. Additionally, the use of problem solving steps makes it easy to solve a problem and develop the logic that the students will have to apply in different mathematical computations. Mathematics is an important discipline that is usually employed in different fields. Its application to one field is the same to some extent when employed to another discipline. Problem solving understating is important so that the concept that is behind the computation should stay in the brain for a longer time. The four phases that is used in mathematical computation develops the logic and thinking. References Alfred, W. (2007). An Introduction to Mathematics. New York: Kessinger Publishing C. , pp. pp. 45 – 49 James, L. (2003). World Mathematical Operations. London: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123 – 127 Kamala, M. (2004). Introduction to Computational Mathematics. New York: Prentice Hall Publishing, pp. 16 – 19

As readers we feel confused by the events of the first chapter

From the outset, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ creates an air of mystery in both the characters and setting that contributes to the confusion felt by the reader. Many of the ideas and symbols used in the first chapter of the book epitomise the technique utilised by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ throughout the novel. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† has been described as a ‘Chaotic novel'1and many believe that it is intended to confuse and bewilder the reader. After reading the first chapter, the reader is confused about the situation and questions are left unanswered. We are unsure about many of the facts. We know the date is 1801 and that Lockwood is a tenant of Heathcliff's at Thrushcross Grange, but we are unaware of any of the characters' significance in the novel. We are introduced to the servant, Joseph, and briefly encounter Zillah, although we are not told her name. The reader is not informed of the relationships between any of the characters. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ purposefully keeps the facts ambiguous, which emphasises the feelings of confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s tone and style is mysterious and foreboding from the beginning. In particular, the use of descriptions such as ‘gaunt', ‘defended', ‘jutting', ‘crumbling' and ‘grotesque' add to the grim feel of the novel from the start and the seemingly impenetrable facade of the characters. As readers, we are intended to feel an affinity with Lockwood, who is portrayed as completely alien to the situation. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses many symbols which continue throughout the novel to suggest this. When Lockwood first arrives at the Heights, the atmosphere is unwelcoming, ‘a perfect misanthropists Heaven.' His entrance to Wuthering Heights is made difficult and uncomfortable, ‘he did pull out his hand to unchain it, and then sullenly proceeded me up the causeway' and the greeting is morose from Joseph, ‘looking meantime in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner'. Heathcliff's abrupt attitude towards Lockwood, ‘appeared to demand (his) speedy entrance or complete departure'. The doorway into â€Å"the house† is then guarded by ‘grotesque carvings' that reiterates that Lockwood is unwelcome. The famous essay, ‘The Window Image in Wuthering Heights' by Dorothy Van Ghent puts across the point that doors and windows are used symbolically in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Characters are unable, or find it difficult, to enter or leave Wuthering Heights. In the first chapter, we see a glimpse of this reality in Lockwoods uncomfortable entrance into Wuthering Heights. Phrases such as, ‘gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun' give the impression of people being trapped, an idea expressed by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in the novel as a whole. Wuthering heights at first appears to be a place trapped in time, almost, ‘completely removed from the stir of society.' The building, dated â€Å"1500† is 300 years old, which suggests a history to the building. Later in the novel, the perception that Wuthering Heights and its characters are trapped is extended. The idea is epitomised by the ghost of Catherine that appears to Lockwood. The repeated use of doubles throughout the book also adds to this effect. â€Å"Hareton Earnshaw† is inscribed on the entrance to Wuthering Heights and is also a character currently living at the Heights when Lockwood visits. The two Cathy's in the novel notably add to the confusion and mystery created in the book. This heightens the effect of Wuthering Heights as a place which seems to defy time. There are many more examples of this in the novel. Frank Kermode has pointed out that the names on the windowsill when read left to rights show the elder Catherine's life, but left to right, the younger's. This gives an example of how the characters lives are confusingly entwined during the course of the novel and adds to bewilderment in the reader. In the first chapter, we are introduced by Lockwood to the vast importance of weather in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†: ‘†Wuthering† being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather' Here, Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ prefaces one of the most major symbols used in â€Å"Wuthering Heights†. Depiction of the novel, from modern films to old paintings inevitably includes the imagery of the moors and ‘tumultuous sky and wild landscape.'2Even in the opening paragraphs, the connotations suggested by words such as ‘wilderness' and ‘jutting' suggest a feeling of defencelessness to the reader. The landscape and weather is portrayed as all-present, frequently reoccurring in metaphors and in the characters themselves, such as the ‘stormy'3Catherine. The reader feels overpowered and confused by the depth of thought in the novel as a whole and the vagueness of the first chapter. ‘Tumult', ‘gaunt', ‘crumbling' and ‘craving' when used to describe the surroundings at Wuthering Heights, also, simultaneously describes the feeling of confusion and helplessness that the reader experiences at the beginning of the novel. The confusion and feeling of being trapped in the novel is likely to be directly linked to Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own confusion and withdrawal from the world. Many of the Gondal poems Emily wrote as an escape included situations in which characters were trapped, often in prisons from which they could only escape through the imagination. Scholars such as Mary Visack have noted a progression in Emily's work from the poems to the novel in this way. This poem by Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ shows uses of nature and weather, as well as very powerful language, ‘descending', ‘drear', ‘darkening', to describe the same feeling of loneliness and isolation depicted in Wuthering Heights. ‘The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow, And the storm is fast descending And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me; I will not, cannot go.' The reader feels not only an affinity with Lockwood and his own confusion and isolation, but also with Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own feelings at that time. Also, these feelings are symbolic of Cathy's loss of power and helplessness later in the book. The reader feels isolated at first from the events of the text and unaware of what it means. Lockwood does not inspire confidence as a narrator during the first chapter. He frequently misjudges things, leading the reader to mistrust his initial opinions and views, adding to the confoundment felt at the start of the novel. The ‘homely, northern farmer' that Lockwood would expect is deeply contrasted by the ‘rather morose' reality of Heathcliff. The contrasts themselves within Heathcliff are another cause for confusion. Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ frequently utilises Lockwood's judgements in this way to further cloud the readers mind. ‘He is a dark-skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman.' Heathcliff's description constantly contradicts itself. Lockwood then goes on to judge Heathcliff very quickly, ‘by instinct'. However, the overconfident manner in which he announces his opinions then dismisses them, ‘No, I'm running on to fast', puts the reader on guard. In his description of Wuthering Heights, Lockwoods view of what should be is opposed by the reality: ‘I observed no signs of roasting boiling or baking, about the huge fire-place.' Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ uses dark imagery in phrases such as ‘heavy black ones lurking in the shade', ‘swarm of squealing puppies' and ‘other dogs haunted other recesses' to re-emphasise the foreboding and unwelcoming feel to Wuthering Heights once again. The signs in Wuthering Heights appear to be unreadable. What Lockwood thought were ‘cats' were in fact dead rabbits. The dogs are ‘four-footed fiends'. The contrasting descriptions of Heathcliff are also perplexing and later Lockwood, and the reader, are unable to decipher relationships between the characters. We are unsure if Hareton is a servant or a master and we cannot understand Catherine's relationships with other characters. This is mirrored, later, when the reader is confused about the names on the windowsill. We are unsure whether the Catherines are the same person or not. Later still, the reader is confused again when the civilised Lockwood horrifically rubs the young girl's wrist against the broken glass 'till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes'. The eclectic mix of styles and qualities of the book in general add somewhat to it's confusion. There is a frequent use of ghosts and spirits, yet as Patsy Stoneman denotes, it has qualities of a ‘very down-to-earth book'4. In the first chapter we see a reflection of this mix in the grim descriptions, which contrast with both Lockwood and the ‘lusty dame'. The violence hinted at with the dogs contrasts again with these styles and is a direct precursor to events later in the book. â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is an extremely well-structured novel, in which Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is able to control the readers thoughts and emotions to add to the powerful effect of the novel as a whole. In the first chapter, she is able to create an air of mystery, confusion and intrigue which is enhanced and expanded as the story unfolds. Still many critics find â€Å"Wuthering Heights† ‘a preposterous text'5 that is ‘back to front'and refuses to make sense by ‘normal' standards. There are certainly many levels the book can be read and enjoyed on. However, I think the most profound message in the book's confusion is the affinity it creates between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the reader. This message is also mirrored later in the similarities between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own character and Heathcliff's and the parallels drawn between Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½'s own religious crisis and the character of Joseph. Essentially, â€Å"Wuthering Heights† is the only insight into the mysterious and reserved Emily Brontà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.

Pidgin and Creole Languages

Pidgin and Creole Languages Pidgin and Creole Languages Pidgin and Creole Languages By Maeve Maddox The word pidgin refers to a language used as a means of communication between people who do not share a common language. The word pidgin derives from a mispronunciation of the English word business. The term â€Å"Pidgin English† was first applied to the commercial lingua franca used in southern China and Melanesia, but now pidgin is a generic term that refers to any simplified language that has derived from two or more parent languages. When a pidgin develops into a more complex language and becomes the first language of a community, it is called a creole. Note: The word creole has racial applications, which are not addressed in this article. Creoles typically arise as the result of contact between the language of a dominant group and that of a subordinate group, as happened as the result of European trade and colonization. The earliest reference to a creole language is to a Portuguese-based creole spoken in Senegal. The vocabulary of a typical creole is supplied for the most part by the dominant language, while the grammar tends to be taken from the subordinate language. A pidgin is nobody’s natural language; a creole develops as a new generation grows up speaking the pidgin as its main language. The grammar of a creole usually remains simpler than that of the parent languages, but the new language begins to develop larger vocabularies to provide for a wider range of situations. Because of its distinctive use of verb tenses and other grammatical features, Black English is considered by many to be an English creole having British and American varieties. Haitian is a French creole. Unlike pidgins, creoles are complete natural languages that differ from standard dialects of the dominant parent language in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Some more examples of creole languages: French-based Louisiana Creole Mauritian Creole English-based Gullah (US Sea Islands) Jamaican Creole Guyanese Creole Hawaiian Creole More than one parent language Saramacca (SurinameEnglish and Portuguese) Sranan (SurinameEnglish and Dutch) Papiamentu (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaà §aoPortuguese and Spanish) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureConnotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleSentence Adverbs

The Scrum Methodology †Current Issues in Information Systems Essay

The Scrum Methodology – Current Issues in Information Systems Essay Free Online Research Papers The Scrum Methodology Current Issues in Information Systems Essay Scrum is a project management technique used primarily in software development. Scrum adopts its name from a rugby term where players huddle together to move the ball forward up the field while pushing against the other team in the same formation. This comparison is quite natural because the scrum style of management is very team centric as apposed to more traditional forms of management that rely on continuous approval and directions from a single team lead. Managers who engage a team with this type of project must be very hands off. This is to allow the team to delegate pieces of the projects internally as well as manage all other areas of the project as a single unit. Although Scrum is termed an agile method it differs in that agile typically refers to a programming methodology and not a management style. For example, XP, Extreme Programming is a good example of a typical agile method. Scrum is more a management style then it is a programming methodology because Scrum is less concerned with how the tasks get accomplished as it is with when the tasks get accomplished. This moves the spotlight more towards organization and the division of work to meet deadlines and away from other concerns like the language used for the project. Thus getting away from how the programmer chooses to meet that deadline and more on how the team accomplishes its own goal. Scrum teams typically consist of 7-8 members all with varying skills depending on the project. The theory behind Scrum suggests that because the team is small and does not require immediate management their production levels will elevate because they will feel more ownership to the product. This type of style also allows for those individuals who are more self motivated to work on areas of a project that are not considered their forte. This further supports the idea that a happy, contributing worker will generate more production then one who is simply highly paid. In an article by Robert L. Read entitled How to be a Programmer he argues that â€Å"It is a wonderful and surprising fact that programmers are highly motivated by the desire to create artifacts that are beautiful, useful, or nifty.† Read is touching on an ongoing discussion found in many programming forums and that is whether or not programming is a science or an art. If one leans more toward the art aspect it easy to see why Scrum would probably work best for that individual. The work loads in scrum are broken into time frames called Sprints. Sprints are typically allocated in one month periods. Sprints focus on a single deliverable thus making progress easy to see and give the client a regular monthly update. Within the Sprint the team has regular and meaningful project updates with one another on a daily basis. These meetings are also called Scrums because they are at the core of this style. During this meeting it is very important that a clear understanding of progress is given for management review but also it is equally important for the team to escalate any issues that require management’s intervention. Because the Sprint is only one month there is no time for getting lost in bureaucratic processes or red tape. In so many ways this would just defeat the entire purpose of the Scrum style of management. Scrum depends on reliable and self motivated team members with excellent communication skills. Managers are in place as enablers to problems and not as micromanagers. This concept is quite foreign to many teams that are new to this methodology and surely has caused many blank stares at initial meetings. However, Scrum is proving to be an excellent tool for motivating and maintaining employee moral. Research Papers on The Scrum Methodology - Current Issues in Information Systems EssayThe Project Managment Office SystemResearch Process Part OneThe Hockey GameBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfOpen Architechture a white paperIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThree Concepts of PsychodynamicDefinition of Export QuotasThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use

HUMAN AGENCY AND COMMUNITY IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD Term Paper

HUMAN AGENCY AND COMMUNITY IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD - Term Paper Example The human individual has to face different social events that are continuously influencing many aspects of his or her community. Humans, as agents of social modification and development, face the challenges of world events. Through the presence of globalization, people become more aware of different views and ways of life while being vulnerable to being engulfed by such new ideas. They are susceptible to incorporating new perspective in their practice. Thus, the human individual as social agent has a big role in restructuring or maintaining the norms and traditions of his or her society. In this paper, an exploration will be presented about how a human individual in a globalized world setting is acting upon the events and changes happening in his or her society. In light to the discussion, narratives from Ha Jin’s book will be studied focusing on the issues of changing societies and human individuality. Two instances of globalization from Ha Jin’s book will be discussed and will be examined using Amartya Sen’s and Kwame Anthony Appiah’s comments and discussions in connection with globalization and the status of human individual in the global community. ... One instance of globalization that is illustrated in the book is that of the situation of the narrator in the ‘An Entrepreneur Story’ where he experienced how money and capitalism influences many things in the world (Ha 116-126), if not all. In this example, capitalism as used by international community as political and economic strategy is being projected in the narrator’s thoughts and intention. Generally, capitalism becomes central to the theme of the story. The implicit and explicit conditions of people in a nearly capitalist community as influenced by world economic politics are depicted. Another event in the book where implications of globalization can be found is that of the story of a man in the title story. The story narrating about a man named Baowen, a husband, (Ha 91) arrested because of the ‘crimes’ of homosexuality is quite surprising. In the story, homosexuality is viewed to be like an illness that needs clinical cure. In here, we see h ow myths about the matter are being shown implying the deep-rooted political and social factors influencing it. This instance is also related to the outside phenomenon happening outside the setting’s local community. In the global society, certain views and modifications about the issue of gender and homosexuality have circulated and startled people from different parts of the world. This matter is just one of the prominent issues talked about in the international communities. Thus, it is apparent that the characters in the story, representing ‘the human individuals’ in the community, are affected by the circulating views and perspectives introduced by globalization. In reading Ha Jin’s stories, particularly those instances

Controlling Factor of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Controlling Factor of Management - Essay Example These factors include the need for accountability in organizations, the need to detect environmental changes that significantly affect organizations, the growing complexity of present day organizations and the need to identify operational errors in organizations to avoid incurring excessive costs. In addition to addressing the above mentioned factors, controlling plays an important role in helping managers detect irregularities, identify opportunities, handle complex situations, decentralize authority, minimize costs, and cope with uncertainty. Coping with Uncertainty - In today's turbulent business environment, all organizations must cope with change. When organization goals are established, they are based on the knowledge available at that point of time. However, by the time the goals are accomplished, many changes may have occurred in the organization or its environment. An improperly designed control system, however, may result in poor organizational performance. Detecting Irregularities - Control system help managers detect undesirable irregularities, such as product defects, cost overruns, or rising personnel turnover. Although small mistakes and errors may not seriously damage the financial health of an organization, they may accumulate and become very serious over time. Early detection of such irregularities can prevent minor problems from mushrooming into major ones and often save a great deal of time is money for the organization. Example: A large radar detector manufacturer in the US named Whistler Corporation once faced with such rapidly escalating demand that it stopped giving attention to quality. This led to a rise in the defect rate from 4% to 9% to 15 % and finally, to 25%. A manager observed that 100 out of 250 employees of the company were spending all their time fixing defective units and that an inventory worth $2 million was still awaiting repair. Had the company detected the defects and rectified them early, the problem would never have increased to such proportions. Problems such as missing important deadlines or selling faulty merchandise to customers are sometimes difficult to rectify. Identifying aberrations in the early stages helps organizations avoid such problems. Identifying Opportunities - Control also helps managers identify areas in which things are going better than expected, thereby alerting management to possible future opportunities. For example, division managers at the St. Louis-based May Department stores prepare and generate monthly reports that specify the items that have high demand and the amount of money those items are generating. On the basis of these reports, the chain develops successful merchandising strategies for all its stores like what to buy, which vendors to buy from, and how to display the merchandise etc. Handling Complex Situations - Another important factor contributing to the need for a control mechanism is that growing complexity of today's organizations. When a company requires only on kind of raw material, produces only one kind of product has a simple organization design, and enjoys constant demand for its products, it can afford to have a very basic and simple system of control. But, as organizations grow or engage in producing many products from a number of different raw materials, and operate in a large market area with many competitors, efficient and