Running head: The significance of character

The strength of establishment as well as the efficient creation of the character as a literary element was significant in how the text creates an impact on its readers. In this paper, three literary texts would be discussed according to the excellent manner by which the characters were devised in the two short stories and the poem.Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† provided characters of good and evil manifesting in an individual. Ambrose Pierce wrote from two perspectives that reveal the personalities of the main character and the narrator in â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.† Finally, there was impeccable characterization that was exhibited in T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.The two stories showed different pictures of death because of the characters that killed and were killed; one was that of evil and the other of an attempt to exemplify patriotism.â€Å"Prufrock,† on the other hand, presented a character that was like a dead man walking, he was alive in the poem, unlike the fate of the other two main characters in the stories, but he might as well be dead because of the despair and his struggle to find a place in the world. All of these three texts largely depended on the success of the characterization in order to produce a significant impact from the readers.They were works that held a place in literature because their characters were remembered to be unique and had stood from how the authors had carefully taken the time to exhibit their complexities and personalities.The CharacterThe character in literature could be a person, an animal or an object in a story, play or another other literary genre. There could many classifications for a character. In stories, some would be classified to be main characters, while others would be supporting characters and others miscellaneous ones.Those that were considered to be main characters were those that were directly involved in th e story. The story revolved around them or they make the story revolve.Authors could choose to develop their characters or reveal who their characters were in different ways. The writer could directly say at the beginning what the character was like in one time manner.   While in other time, it could be on an installment approach wherein the character’s personality would be revealed gradually as the story unfolds. Sometimes, the characters were revealed through the speech of the character.The characters could reveal their own characteristics. It could also be possible through the thoughts and feelings of the character. The author could also show this through the actions of the characters. The reaction of other people towards the characters also describes the personality or reveals the characterization.The goal of the writer of a text would be for the readers to see the characters to be believable and worth caring about (Card, 1988). Even if in some stories, characters were not real people, the writer must still develop the characters to be relatable or to be representative of people in society that would come close to the reader’s heart or recognition.Since literature was about significant human experiences, the character served as the connection between the story and the readers. They played the role of providing for the readers a better understanding of the diversity of human nature and human behavior.According to Card (1988), â€Å"people become, in our minds, what we seem them do†Ã‚   (p. 4).This was considered to be the strongest form of characterization. However, while in some stories this form of characterization was enough, the best form of characterization could not be based on what we instantly see.It was something that was formed from tying up the character’s motive, background, recognizing stereotypes, network or relationships, habits and patterns, talents and abilities, tastes and preferences, attitude and so on (Card , 1988).The character could be considered to be responsible for the thoughts and actions within a literary text. They must be seen to have one of the highest priorities in analysis when it came to literary elements because they served as mediums by which the reader truly gets the connection with the text.Without this connection, the text could not serve is purpose sufficiently. The characterization greatly influences the other elements in a literary work such as the theme, setting and tone.The lack of effectiveness in character development could confuse the writer’s intention for the plot and conflict, it could block the reader’s understanding for the them, it could basically ruin the entire experience that the writer would have want the reader to get from the literary text.When characterization was well developed, it would serve as the foundation for the formation of the plot and conflict, it would support the revelation to them, it would complement the setting and th e conflict, and thus it would make the text work.

Impact of Stock Split on Stock Return

Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 THE IMPACT OF STOCK SPLIT ANNOUNCEMENTS ON STOCK PRICE: A TEST OF MARKET EFFICIENCY Garcia de Andoain, Carlos Longwood University carlos. [email  protected] longwood. edu Bacon, Frank W. Longwood University 2O1 High Street Farmville, VA 23909 [email  protected] edu Phone: 434-395-2131 Fax: 434-395-2203 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to test whether the investor can make an above normal return by relying on public information impounded in a stock split announcement. Using risk adjusted event study methodology, this study tests â€Å"how† and â€Å"when† public announcements of forward and reverse stock splits affect stock price. Stock split announcement samples include 38 two for one, 39 three for two, and 10 reverse splits. A total of 36,714 observations for the announcement samples and the corresponding S&P 500 stock index were analyzed using standard risk adjusted event study methodology. Results suggest that the firms’ public stock split announcements did not affect stock price on the announcement day. Rather, for the two for one and three for two forward split samples, stock price exhibited a significant positive reaction up to 27 days prior to the announcement. For the reverse split sample, stock price exhibited a significant negative reaction up to 30 days prior to the announcement. Results support the semi- strong form efficient market hypothesis since stock prices adjust so fast to public information that no investor can earn an above normal return by trading on the announcement day. Investors greet forward stock split announcement with a positive sign, whereas they view reverse splits as bad news. Management may be using stock splits to adjust stock price to a more marketable range, downward with forward and upward for reverse splits. Evidence here suggests signs of insider trading activity up to twenty-seven days prior to the announcement of the stock split. INTRODUCTION Stock split announcements have always been very common phenomena among firms and continue to be one of the least understood topics in finance. A stock split announcement increases the number of shares of a company while decreasing the price per share. The two for one split is most common, for example a company with 500 shares at $10 per share will issue 500 additional shares bringing the total to 1000 shares theoretically dropping the stock price to $5 per share. A stock split usually takes place after an increase in the price of the stock, and it carries a positive stock price reaction. (Asquith) This phenomenon has not yet been fully understood, regardless the numerous studies in the field. ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 BACKGROUND Barker (1956) presented one of the most popular theories to explain stock split behavior. Barker findings failed to consider the split action itself. Barker’s study concluded that price changes occurred because of the increase in cash dividends and not from the split action. (Johnson). According to the â€Å"signaling hypothesis†, managers use stock split announcements to convey positive information about the firm (Ikenberry, Rankine, Strice). Investors see a stock split announcement as a positive thing, whereas a reverse split does not convey favorable information. Fama (1969) suggests that the stock market is â€Å"efficient†, meaning that stock prices adjust very fast to new information. The theory of market efficiency is concerned with whether prices reflect all the public available information or not (Fama 1970). Efficiency implies that it is impossible for the investor to earn an above normal return from public information. PURPOSE The purpose of this event study is to test market efficiency theory by analyzing the impact of three samples of stock split announcements on the firm’s stock price. Stock split announcement samples include 38 two for one, 39 three for two, and 10 reverse splits. Specifically, how fast does the market price of the firms’ stock react to the samples of regular and reverse stock split announcements examined? The study tests whether the investor can make an above normal return by relying on public information imbedded in a stock split announcement, as well as if stock price is affected by a stock split announcement. This study investigates if acting on public information is enough to have an unusual return, or if there must be an illegal action such as inside trading to be able to â€Å"outperform† the stock market. Which form efficiency is the market? Research shows that the market is semi-strong form efficient. An above normal return can only be gained from inside information, and not when acting in public information. LITERATURE REVIEW Fama defined market efficiency in terms of how quick the stock market reacts to the information and suggested three kinds of market efficiency: Weak form, semi-strong and strong form efficiency. If market is weak for efficient, then stock price reacts so fast to all past information that no investor can earn an above normal return (higher than the market or the return on the S&P 500 index). This study shows how investors will not earn a high return from acting on public information (stock split announcement), while investors having access to inside information will make an abnormal return. A second kind of market efficiency is semi-strong. It states that stock price reacts so fast to all public information that no investor can earn an above normal return (higher than the market or the return on the S&P 500 index) by acting on this type of information. (Fama 1970). Splits usually result in high market valuations, but study done by Fama (1970), Dodd, Patell and Wolfson, found that there is no evidence of abnormal return after the release of public information. They concluded that the market assimilates and takes into consideration public information very fast, within 5 to 15 minutes after the disclosure (Malkiel). This supports the idea that an investor acting on public information will not earn an above normal return. When this happens the market is said to be semi-strong form efficient. If the market is strong form efficient, then stock price reacts so fast to all information (both public and private), that no investor can earn an above normal return (higher than the market or the return on the S&P 500 index) by acting on this kind of information. Studies made by Friend, Brown concluded that profit can only be gained by having access to private or inside information, which is illegal. Fama ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 presents evidence supporting that efficiency is not met in the strong form and that the semi-strong form is more accurate. This study agrees that stock split announcement are affected in a company stock price according to the semi strong form efficiency which states that stock prices reacts so fast to all public information that no investor can earn an above normal return after the announcement is made. An example would be information concerning a merger. If an investor would buy shares on the announcement day of the merger, the semi strong market efficiency believes that the investor would never be able to earn an above normal return, because adjustments had already been done in the stock price. The market has already been adjusted, so therefore the only way to outperform the market in this case would be by using inside information. METHODOLOGY: This study includes samples of companies that announced a two for one, three for two or reverse stock split announcement. These companies trade their stock in either the NYSE or NASDAQ. The Data for this study was collected from http://finance. yahoo. com/. The announcement date (Day 0) is the day that the stock splits are announced. Every stock return from the companies and from the S&P 500 index was also collected. The Event Study proceeds as following: 1. Historical prices for both the firms and the S&P 500 were collected from day -180 to day +30, being the event period -30 to +30 and Day 0 the announcement day. 2. Holding Period Return was calculated for all the companies as well as for the S&P 500 on the event period days (-180 to +30). HPR was obtained from the following formula: Current Daily Return = (current day close price – previous day close price) / prev. Day close price 3. A regression analysis was performed, being the current firm return the dependent variable and the S&P return the independent variable. The data that was used was the one belonging to the pre-event period (from day -181 to -30). The alpha and the beta were obtained from the regressions. 4. The expected return for each firm as well as for the S&P 500 was calculated: Expected Return = (Alpha + Beta) x S&P actual return 5. Excess Return was obtained from the difference between Actual and Expected Return. Excess Return = Actual Return – Expected Return 6. Average Excess Return (for the Event period) was calculated as: Average Excess Return (AER) = Total Excess Return / n (number of firms in the sample) 7. Cumulative Average Excess Return for the event period (Day -30 to Day +30) was calculated by adding the AER for each day in the event period. 8. A correlation test was done with AER and CAER. The graphs represent AER and CAER plotted against Time. ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 Table 1 describes 38 companies that split their stock on a two for one basis between December 1, 2006 and May 14, 2007, along with their respective alphas and betas. TABLE 1: TICKER AFAM ACLI COMPANY NAME Almost Family Inc. American Commercial Lines Inc Selective Insurance Group Inc. ZOLL Medical Corp Trimble Navigation Ltd. Albemarle Corp Guess? Inc. Cooper Industries Ltd Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc GameStop Corp Sealed Air Corp. Carlisle Companies Inc CarMax Inc. Harsco Corp. Amphenol Corp Cabot Oil & Gas Corp Nike Inc Cummins Inc Greif Inc DATE ANNOUNCED Dec 11 Feb 06 TRADED INDEX NASDAQ NASDAQ ALPHA 0. 01665915 -0. 000394377 BETA 0. 08530878 2. 602491516 SIGI ZOLL TRMB ALB GES CBE JEC GME SEE CSL KMX HSC APH COG NKE CMI GEF Jan 30 Jan 25 Jan 25 Feb 07 Feb 14 Feb 14 Jan 26 Feb 12 Feb 16 Feb 08 Feb 22 Jan 23 Jan 17 Feb 26 Feb 15 Mar 08 Feb 26 NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE -0. 000319706 0. 004077614 -0. 000187534 0. 0022 37728 0. 001589658 0. 000761731 0. 001074342 0. 000477979 0. 00085897 -0. 001167829 0. 003087277 -0. 001056001 0. 000467862 0. 000826123 0. 001079523 -0. 000720045 0. 02203648 1. 38328513 1. 207411999 1. 321541131 1. 327988752 2. 246784079 1. 308635864 1. 946533548 1. 721660362 1. 172042857 1. 346601558 1. 240366727 1. 658082593 1. 86971211 1. 568927816 0. 553921446 1. 980439113 1. 880200397 ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS VLGEA AZZ ATR TSO GEO TSBK VSEC MRO GIL NRG CROX AGN PMFG MIDD SJR PVA GILD PBR STR Village Super Market Inc AZZ incorporated AptarGroup Inc Tesoro Corporation Geo Group Inc Timberland Bancorp Inc. VSE Corp Marathon Oil Corp. Gildan Activewear NRG Energy Inc. Crocs, Inc Allergan Inc PMFG Inc Middleby Corp Shaw Comm CL Penn Virginia CP Gilead Sciences Petroleo Brasileiro Questar CP Mar 21 Apr 09 Apr 18 May 01 May 01 Apr 25 May 01 Apr 25 May 03 May 02 May 03 May 02 May 04 May 04 May 10 May 08 May 08 May 11 May 14 NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NYSE Volume 16 Number 1 0. 00054113 0. 002118906 0. 00174286 0. 00160687 0. 002825174 0. 000615586 0. 001278324 0. 000144992 0. 003089016 0. 00241574 0. 00282982 -0. 000453038 0. 002024817 0. 02028334 0. 001186211 -0. 00050926 . 000009116 -0. 00064373 -. 000142796 1. 351096108 0. 681656728 0. 033542167 0. 973844695 1. 578867077 0. 107464578 2. 457597999 0. 986395517 0. 000111517 0. 316285515 1. 783171812 0. 952984111 0. 039990601 1. 964415725 0. 938731083 1. 1695925 1. 517629839 1. 817825121 . 706466451 Table 2 describes 39 companies that split their stock on a three for two bases between August 23, 2006 and May 15, 2007, along w ith their respective alphas and betas. TABLE 2: ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS TICKER NGA EPIQ BAM WMS VIVO IEX ATLS VSEA BWS WCN RSG JCTCF MDCI PFBC CMCSA SWS BKE VOL SSI FMD CRVL GBCI AFG SPAR COMPANY NAME North AM Gav Epiq Systems Inc Brookfield Asset MGT V M S Industries Inc Meridian Bioscience IDEX Cop Atlas America Inc Varian Semicond Brown shoe corp Waste connections Republic SVCS Jewett Cameron Inc Medical Action IND Preferred Bank LA Comcast Cp A SWS Group Inc Buckle Inc Volt Info Science Inc Stage Stores Inc First Marblehead Corp Corvel CP Glacier Bancorp American Financial Group Spartan Motors Inc DATE ANNOUNCED May 15 May 10 May 02 May 07 April 19 April 04 April 27 April 24 March 08 Feb 12 Feb 01 March 13 Jan 09 Jan 25 Feb 01 Nov 30 Dec 12 Dec 20 Jan 09 Nov 10 Nov 13 Nov 29 Nov 15 Nov 02 TRADED INDEX NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ Volume 16 Number 1 ALPHA -0. 001032797 0. 001183339 0. 000859066 0. 002219704 0. 0011736 22 0. 000243421 0. 000488161 0. 001788461 0. 000592124 -0. 000187979 -0. 000441765 0. 000124622 0. 001559912 0. 000301413 0. 001381697 0. 000530857 -. 000641295 0. 001338437 0. 000540995 0. 004563185 0. 003763906 0. 000329484 0. 000736169 0. 003450361 BETA 1. 997738247 1. 038735222 1. 251257403 1. 094503791 1. 550013068 1. 509306631 0. 38871871 2. 207840195 2. 599167684 0. 92152423 0. 761431985 -0. 512126102 1. 004029551 0. 867741293 0. 927831638 2. 477624454 1. 602298009 2. 358292804 1. 756904894 0. 830932855 2. 113368174 1. 743070573 0. 936337426 0. 519840545 ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS SBIB AEO CTBK IRM PERY EAT AME WGNB ACAP UBSH EML MCBI CASS CCFH Sterlin Bancshares American Eagle Outfitters Inc Trico Bankshares Iron Mountain Inc Perry Ellis International Brinker International Inc Ametek Inc WGNB Corp American Physicians Cap Union Bankshares Corp Eastern Co Metrocorp Bancshares Cass Information Systems CCF Holding Co Oct 31 Nov 14 Nov 08 Dec 07 Nov 21 Nov 02 Oct 25 Sep 18 Sep 26 Sep 07 Sep 28 Aug 04 Jul 24 Aug 23 NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NYSE NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ AMEX NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ Volume 16 Number 1 0. 001127642 0. 003616084 0. 001058586 -0. 0000284 0. 002794647 -0. 000020642 0. 00005895 0. 00024115 0. 000317657 -0. 00058103 0. 000419721 0. 000941528 0. 003356848 0. 002118726 1. 165421403 1. 593723526 1. 432917191 0. 627633001 0. 919648907 0. 886164833 1. 31003146 -0. 00226624 0. 066171033 1. 663620313 0. 22686963 0. 121493122 0. 113211419 -0. 08732041 Table 3 describes 10 samples of companies that split their stock on a reverse basis between August 27, 2003 and September 15, 2008, along with their respective alphas and betas. TABLE 3: TICKER OPWV ERIC IWOV SIG COMPANY NAME Openwage Systems LM Ericcson Telephone Co Interwoven Inc Signet Jewelers LTD DATE ANNOUNCED Oct 09 Oct 18 Aug 27 Sept 11 TRADED INDEX NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NYSE ALPHA 0. 00680888 -0. 006696905 0. 001398048 -0. 000938713 BETA 2. 51286756 1. 949328188 1. 469236928 0. 891488791 ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS BFLY REV CNXT IACI TMTA ERIC Bluefly Inc Revlon Inc Conexant Systems Inc. IAC/ InterActiveCorp Transmeta Corporation LM Ericcson Telephone Co April 3 Sep 15 June 2 June 09 Aug 15 April 09 NASDAQ NYSE NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ NASDAQ Volume 16 Number 1 -0. 00449535 0. 000925943 -0. 004900502 -0. 001442165 -0. 002052045 -0. 004006643 0. 070525685 0. 902722337 1. 73193906 0. 982384488 1. 265168622 -0. 16807384 To test for semi-strong market efficiency the following null and alternative hypotheses are used for the three stock split samples: H10: The risk adjusted return of the stock price of the sample of firms announcing stock splits is not significantly affected by this type of information on the announcement date. H11: The risk adjusted return of the stock price of the sample of firms announcing stock splits is significantly positively affected by this type of information on the announcement date. H20: The risk adjusted return of the stock price of the sample of firms announcing stock splits is not significantly affected by this type of information around the announcement date as defined by the event period. H21: The risk adjusted return of the stock price of the sample of firms announcing stock splits is significantly positively or negatively affected around the announcement date as defined by the event period. QUANTITATIVETESTS AND RESULTS: Did the market react to the announcements of regular two for one, the regular three for two, and the reverse stock splits? Was the information surrounding the event significant? A’priori, one would expect there to be a significant difference in the Actual Average Daily Returns (Day -30 to Day +30) and the Expected Average Daily Returns (Day -30 to Day +30) if the information surrounding the event impounds new, significant information on the market price of the firms' stock. If a significant risk adjusted difference is observed, then we support our hypothesis that this type of information did in fact significantly either increase or decrease stock price. To statistically test for a difference in the Actual Daily Average Returns and the Expected Daily Average Returns over the event period day -30 to day +30, we conducted a paired sample t-test for the three samples and found a significant difference at the 5% level between actual average daily returns and the risk adjusted expected average daily returns. Average Excess Return (AER) graphs are shown below. Results here support the alternate hypothesis H21: The risk adjusted return of the stock price of the sample of firms announcing stock splits is significantly affected around the announcement date as defined by the event period. This finding supports the significance of the information around the event since the market’s reaction was observed. ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 Is it possible to isolate and observe the samples’ daily response to the announcement from day -30 to day +30? If so, at what level of efficiency did the market respond to the information and what are the implications for market efficiency? Another purpose of this analysis was to test the efficiency of the market in reacting to the three samples of stock split announcements. Specifically, do we observe weak, semi-strong, or strong form market efficiency as defined by Fama, 1970, in the efficient market hypothesis? The key in the analysis is to determine if the AER and CAER are significantly different from zero or that there is a visible graphical or statistical relationship between time and either AER or CAER. T-tests of AER and CAER both tested different from zero at the 5% level of significance. Likewise, observation of the following CAER Charts (graphs of CAER from day –30 to day +30 for each sample) confirm the significant positive reaction of the risk adjusted returns for the two forward split samples up to 27 pre-announcement and a significant negative reaction for the reverse split sample up to 30 days prior to the stock split announcement. Two for one stock split announcements: ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 Three for two split announcement: ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 Reverse split announcement: ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 There are three forms of market efficiency as defined by Fama, which are strong, semi-strong and weak form efficiency. Observation of the CAER graphs against time for two for one and three for two stock split announcements shows a positive reaction twenty seven days prior to the announcement date. Reverse splits are normally done in order make the stock more appealing for investors with an unusual low market price. (Lawson) Also, reverse splits might be used in order to reduce the number of shareholders of the company. As an example if a 1-10 reverse stock split is made effective, the investor will have ten times less shares than before, but at ten times the price. In the reverse split case, the CAER graph suggests that return falls from day -30 until day -15, while then increasing until day 10. After day 10 the stock starts to level off. CAER graphs for two for one and three for two stock splits show how excess return rises up to 27 days prior to the announcement day. From Day 0 until Day 30 stock returns start to level off. This evidence supports Hypothesis H10, which states that stock price is not affected by this type of information on the announcement date. The stock return has already been adjusted before the stock split announcement is made. The investor cannot outperform the market by using public information. The price has already been affected by the announcement of two for one and three for two stock split announcement. After the announcement day, from days 6 to 16 the return goes up, which is caused by investors that react favorably to the announcement by buying more shares. After this small increase, stock price decreases and levels off. The CAER graphs support the idea that the market is semi- strong form efficient. For the samples analyzed, public information does not affect stock price on the announcement day. Reaction is observed up to 27 days prior to the announcement date which suggests that to be able to â€Å"outperform† the market you must be aware of inside information. CONCLUSION: The purpose of this study was to test whether the investor can make an above normal return by relying on public information impounded in a stock split announcement. Using risk adjusted event study methodology, this study tests â€Å"how† and â€Å"when† public announcements of forward and reverse stock splits affect stock price. Stock split announcement samples include 38 two for one, 39 three for two, and ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS Volume 16 Number 1 10 reverse splits. A total of 36,714 observations for the announcement samples and the corresponding S 500 stock index were analyzed using standard risk adjusted event study methodology. Results suggest that the firms’ public stock split announcements did not affect stock price on the announcement day. Rather, for the two for one and three for two forward split samples, stock price exhibited a significant positive reaction up to 27 days prior to the announcement. For the reverse split sample, stock price exhibited a significant negative reaction up to 30 days prior to the announcement. Results support the semi- strong form efficient market hypothesis since stock prices adjust so fast to public information that no investor can earn an above normal return by trading on the announcement day. Investors greet forward stock split announcement with a positive sign, whereas they view reverse splits as bad news. Management may be using stock splits to adjust stock price to a more marketable range, downward with forward and upward for reverse splits. Evidence here suggests signs of insider trading activity up to twenty-seven days prior to the announcement of the stock split. ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009 Proceedings of ASBBS REFERENCES: Volume 16 Number 1 Asquith, Paul, Paul Healy, and Krishna Palepu. â€Å"Earnings and Stock Splits. † The Accounting Review 64 (1989): 387-403. Barker, C. A. , â€Å"Effective Stock Splits,† Havard Business Review, XXXIV (January-February, 1956), pp. 101-106 Easely, David, Maureen O'hara, and Gideon Saar. â€Å"How Stock Splits Affect Trading: a Microstructure Approach. † The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 36 (2001): 25-51. Fama, Eugene F. Efficient Capital Markets: a Review of Theory and Empirical Work. † The Journal of Finance, 25 (1970): 383-417. 9 Dec. 2007 . Fama, Eugene F. , Lawrence Fisher, Michael C. Jensen, and Richard Roll. â€Å"The Adjustment of Stock Prices to New Information. † International Economic Review 10 (1969) : 1-21. 9 Dec. 2007 . Ikenberry, David L. , Graeme Rankine, and Earl K. Stice. â€Å"What do stock splits really signal?. † Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 31. n3 (Sept 1996): 357(19). General OneFile. Gale. Longwood University. 9 Dec. 2007 . Johnson, Keith B. â€Å"Stock Splits and Price Change. † The Journal of Finance 21 (1966): 675-686. 9 Dec. 2007 . Lakonishok, Josef, and Baruch Lev. â€Å"Stock Splits and Stock Dividends: Why, Who, and When. † The Journal of Finance 42 (1987): 913-932. Lamoureux, Christopher G. , and Percy Poon. â€Å"The market reaction to stock splits. † Journal of Finance 42. n5 (Dec 1987): 1347(24). General OneFile. Gale. Longwood University. 9 Dec. 2007 . Lawson, Michael J. â€Å"Reverse Stock splits: The Fiduciary's obligations under State LAw. † California Law Review 63 (1975): 1226-249. Malkiel, Burton G. â€Å"Is the stock market efficient?. † Science 243. n4896 (March 10, 1989): 1313(6). General OneFile. Gale. Longwood University. 9 Dec. 2007 . ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas February 2009

Research Paper on William Butler Yeats

The Irish Rebellion of 1641, his mother reading Irish folktales to him as a child, and William Blake’s use of fiction influenced William Butler Yeats to write â€Å"The Curse of the Fire and the Shadows†. Yeats is a huge part of 20th century English and Irish literature and one of the most important writers that started the â€Å"Irish Literary Revival† and was responsible for starting a his own literary club called â€Å"The Rhymers Club†. In addition to being a great poet Yeats was always prominent in writing short stories and plays. One of Yeats’ individual characteristics is his split sense of certain situations. He was very spiritual and yet managed to cling to a skeptical sense of artistic detachment. His beliefs were deeply torn between his interest in mysticism and the inner workings of the universe to his faith in god and his spiritual being. Yeats was a man deeply seeded in the people around him. This being a lot of the subjects in all of his writing, Yeats also wrote about love, the mind, spirituality, mysticism, fiction, reality, war, and even sometimes flirted with idea of fascism. Being born and raised in Ireland Yeats identified with the people and their struggles against England but he didn’t agree with their passiveness and throughout life he had attempted to improve the situation by political means. Although a lot of the conflict had been settled through war, like the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The Irish Rebellion was fought between the catholic Irish rebels and the English and Scottish Protestants that controlled the area. The conflict arose when some Irish Catholics attempted a coup to overthrow the English administration. Their goal was to force them to allow the Catholics their basic religious rights. Although their coup failed it was the spark that started the Irish Rebellion of 1641 also known as the Irish confederate wars. A war that lasted from 1641 to 1649 and was fought in Ireland itself. The Irish fought with only about 5,000 soldiers against England’s army of 19,000. Despite the obvious advantage the English held, the Irish had managed to kill some 3,000 English and Scottish soldiers in the first battle of the war. Although the mainly Puritan English parliament had used yellow journalism to deceive the people of England and said that hundreds of thousands were murdered by the Irish catholic scum. Though this was just a political tactic employed by parliament to steal power away from King Charles I and sully his reputation as the king of England. Parliament distrusted him so much that they feared he would use the Irish against the Puritans in the English Civil war that begun in 1642. In the midst of all the political scandal parliament had begun to recruit more soldiers for the war from both England and Scotland. Although it had already been too late because the Irish had already gained control of the area and formed their own provisional government in Kilkenny. At first Charles I had ordered James Butler who was the duke of Oromonde and lord lieutenant of Ireland to negotiate a treaty to end the war. Except that the parliament in London and the new parliament in Dublin had both refused the terms of this agreement. By 1645 Charles I had been captured by Cromwell. Also Ormonde was named the head of the confederacy that was the agreed upon union between the Royalists and the Puritans in Ireland. Although not everyone had agreed to be led by Ormonde. Murrough O'Brien of Inchiquin an Irish Protestant that had been posted in the town of Munster. Rather than just rejecting the new estabblishment he had burned Munster to the ground on orders from Parliament, earning him the nickname Murrough of the burnings. Murrough wasn't alone in the opposition of Ormonde, a lot of the people who refused the new leaders were Irish catholic rebels that did not like the idea of working together with their old enemies. The war had reached its climax when Colonel Michael Jones had attacked and removed Ormonde from his position at the battle of Rathmines on August 2, 1649. On August 13, 1649 Oliver Cromwell had set sail to decimate the remaining rebel stronghold. Scotland native Sir Fredrick Hamilton who was somewhat of a celebrity in Ireland and England was given land in Leitrim, northwest of Ireland in 1622. Over the next 20 years he had built his castle to 18,000 acres. Manorhamilton had constantly come under attack during the Irish rebellion of 1641 and the castles defenses had managed to survive the onslaught. In 1642 in retaliation for the O'Rourke clans cattle raids Hamilton had attacked the nearby buildings; even Sligo Abbey didn't survive the attack. After which Hamilton and his men had returned to manorhamilton although on the way it as said that Hamilton's men had become lost and were offered help from from a guide on a white horse and instead he led them off a cliff. This legend ended up being the subject for the short story â€Å"The Curse of the Fire and the Shadows† by William B. Yeats. The work of William Butler Yeats is a direct reflection of his life, his inspiration, and his families influence. Yeats was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His father, John Butler Yeats, was a barrister who came from a long lineage of land owners tracing all the way back to the 18th century. His mother, Susan Pollexfen had come from a fairly wealthy merchant family. His father was a supporter of nationalism and the nationalist movement in the country. Initially wanting to be lawyer, John Butler was studying law at the time of his marriage but abandoned the study and moved to England in 1876 when Yeats was only 2 so he could become a painter. Yeats was brought up in an extremely aristocratic family and this had a big impact on his life and his writing. Yeats’ childhood was marked by events like the momentum of nationalism and a lot of societies shift from Catholicism to Puritanism. His father also decided to renounce their family’s Christian faith and instead of reading and following rationalists like John Stuart; he read the works of William Blake and Walt Whitman. This was one of the first times Yeats had been exposed to English poetry as a child. On January 26 1876, William Yeats was sent to the Godolphin primary school where he studied for the next four years and unexpectedly performed poorly in both math and english. In 1880 due to financial problems, the family returned to Dublin and Yeats enrolled into Erasmus Smith High School. Then in 1883 he attended the Metropolitan School of Art. While attending college Yeats published his first two works that later appeared in the Dublin University Review. It was later in his college career that Yeats had made the decision to move on from his artistic career and further his abilities as an author. Since then he started writing poems on various themes and plays. His initial works were deeply influenced with the creations of great poet Percy B. Shelley, and later shifted towards pre-Raphaelite verse and Irish myth and traditions. In his maturing years, Yeats came to appreciate the writing of William Blake. A year later his family decided to make the move back to London. Yeats openly opposed the age of science and often concentrated more on the view astronomy. Yeats' interest in mysticism, spiritualism, astrology and occultism drew criticism from his colleagues who dismissed it as a lack of intellectuality. His first serious work, â€Å"The Isle of Statutes†, was a fantasy poem and was published in Dublin University Review. In 1886, he published a pamphlet Mosada: A Dramatic Poem followed by â€Å"The Wanderings of Orisin† and Other Poems, published in 1889. By 1890 Yeats was already an important part of the literary and artistic scenes in London. He even founded his own club called â€Å"The Rhymers Club†. Its members nicknamed â€Å"the tragic generation† included writers Lionel Johnson, Ernest Dawson, John Davidson, and Arthur Simmons. It was ar. Like every other English poet of the time Yeats had experienced unrequited love. Her name was Maud Gonne, she was a poet and strong feminist who like Yeats, was very involved with the ideal of nationalism. Yeats had proposed to her and was rejected because of his lack participation in nationalist activism. Yeats' obsession with Maud Gonne had almost been unnatural, Ross quotes from Yeats' memoirs â€Å"I had never thought to see in a living woman so great beauty. It belonged to famous pictures, to poetry, to some legendary past. A complexion like the blossom of apples, and yet face and body had the beauty of lineaments which Blake calls the highest beauty because it changes least from youth to age, and a stature so great that she seemed of a divine race† (3). Yeats was madly in love and extremely obsessed. He had believed in Blakes standards so strongly that they become his own and in his eyes Maud Gonne had met them all. For this reason she was the subject of his affection and his art and she knew this well. This being yet another reason she had denied Yeats' marriage proposals over and over again. She knew herself to be his muse and nothing more, she was his living inspiration. From 1902 to 1908 Yeats had become involved with the theater, as a result he had written less poetry during this time. During this period he also began to remake himself. This process would last for the next 37 years after which Yeats wrote â€Å"Myself I Must Remake†. A poem about his 37 year long experience of his own revival what it meant to him. In 1917 Yeats married Georgie Hyde-Lees and released The Swans at Coole, a collection of his poetry. Yeats and his wife had two children, Ann Butler Yeats and William Michael Yeats. As successful a poet and writer Yeats had become at this time he had yet to achieve any political success. Politics being an interest of his and combining his fame and artistic abilities as a writer together would have made him very popular with the public. Yet it wasn't until 1922 when the Irish Free State was established that he had been elected as a senator, and re-elected for a second term in 1925. Soon after he had been elected a debate arose on divorce that Yeats had viewed as a confrontation between Catholics and Puritans. When the catholics had flat out refused divorce all together and decided to outlaw divorce Yeats had released a series of speeches attacking the goverment and the clergy. Yeats stated that for Puritans marriage isn't a religious sacrement but the proof of the love a man and a woman have for eachother and that it would seem sacrilegious if the church were to force two people who hate eachother to live together. The debate has described as one of Yeats' greatest public moments and marked his movement from pluralism to direct religious confrontation. One of the most important writers to Yeats was a man named William Blake. Encouraged by his father Yeats had begun to read the works of Blake around age 15. In 1889, Yeats had studied and learned so much about Blake that he got together with his fathers friend and poet, Edwin Ellis in editing the 3 works of Blake, Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical. In the revised edition they had also included a 172 page memoir of Blake's life, an explanation of his symbolic system, and their interpretations of the poems. Ross also writes â€Å"Yeats recollects that early in their acquaintance Ellis handed him ‘a scrap of notepaper' on which he had written an interpretation of ‘To the Jews,' the preface to the second chapter of Jerusalem. The four quarters of London represented Blake's four great mythological personages, the Zoas, and also the four elements'†(3). Yeats believed that these lines were the key to understanding and interpreting Blake's philosophy and makes the connection between his system and that of Swedenborg or of Boehme. So it was with this proof that Yeats bad determined Ellis' interpretation was real and that was all they needed to begin their work on the prophetic works of Blake. Ross writes on the relationship between Yeats and William Blake â€Å"No writer meant more to Yeats, early, middle, and late. Blake provided Yeats with nothing less that a sacred literature in which he could renew himself and in relationship to which he could orient himself as a poet and thinker† (2). Yeats considered Blake to be the only protect he knew and in his opinion his writing grew more interesting and also more obscure with each passing year. Also there was no writer that Yeats quoted more, not even Percy Shelley. In addition, while criticizing a lecture by Yeats, Ross states â€Å"Yeats' devotion to Blake never waned, even as he shed other habiliments of the 1890's, including, to some extent, Shelley† (2). As this crucial an influence as Shelley is known to be this quote further cements the idea of how important Blake was to Yeats through his entire career, from beginning to end. Toward the end of Yeats life mainly after the Wall Street crash and the great depression had begun. Critics began to arise and ask questions about whether or not a democratic society could survive a great economic depression. It was during this time that Yeats had begun to associate with fascist ideals and even expressed admiration for Benito Mussolini. Yeats had begun to think that in the aftermath of the depression Europe would be reconstructed through totalitarian rule. Then in 1933 at the age of 68 Yeats had grown very sick and had to receive a Steinbach rejuvenation surgery a year later. Even after this he had continued writing and released four verse plays, a poetry book called A Full Moon in March, and the final revision of A Vision. His last poems were published after his death in 1939 but arrangements couldn't be made for his funeral until after World War II, at which point his body was taken to Sligo, where he was buried.

The Study of the Relationship between Illegality and International Research Proposal

The Study of the Relationship between Illegality and International Commercial Arbitration with a Focus on China - Research Proposal Example The focus in this paper is on arbitration, a specially established mechanism for the final and binding determination of disputes concerning a contractual or or other relationship by independent arbitrators in accordance with procedures, structures and substantive legal or non-legal standards chosen directly in indirectly by the parties. The purpose of Arbitration is to obtain a final and binding ruling in a given case. This means that Arbitration involves the situation where two people agree to either consciously or unconsciously to use Arbitration as a method of resolving disputes that would crop up between them in a legal relationship. In other words, Arbitration involves a form of consensus that allows two parties to present their cases to an Arbitration Tribunal as and when the need comes up. Thus, it can be inferred that Arbitration is generally a situation of choice rather than an obligation. This means that Arbitration is a voluntary option rather than a compulsory one. In com parison to the default position, disagreements between parties in a legal relationship are often referred to the court and handled by the legal jurisdiction of the area in question. However, an Arbitration clause effectively excludes the courts from the resolution of conflicts in the legal relationship. In this context, the ruling of an Arbitration tribunal is of the same value as the courts of the land. Arbitration is a popular means of settling disputes in international business. (Buhring-Uhle, 2006). Arbitration is often a preferred way of resolving disputes in the international context because of the lack of a definite unified legal jurisdiction for parties with different origins (Park, 2006). This therefore means that Arbitration is used as a system of best practices in a situation where there is no clearcut legal method to solve disputes across borders. Chinese businesses rely heavily on Arbitration around the world. This is attributed to the global expansion drive of the Chin ese government which is done through various trading agglomerations in different parts of the world (Tao, 2008). China also maintains a thriving system of Arbitration which runs parallel with the legal system and supports the huge global trading structures in China today (Association of International Arbitration, 2009). 1.1 Legal Scope of Arbitration Arbitration is often viewed as an alternative dispute resolution system (Fox 2009). This is because decisions by Arbitration tribunals are immune from court interference. Fox however identifies that the courts interact with the decisions of Arbitrators in a very complex manner around the world (2009). He states four main situations in which the court could intervene with Arbitration around the globe: 1. A breach of a ruling of the court of Arbitration could be referred to a traditional court for redress. 2. The court could be called in to compel the other side of the case to engage in arbitration if they refuse to do so. 3. The court co uld force the losing party to abide by the ruling of the court of Arbitration. 4. The traditional courts can pronounce injunctions and other statutes that will become binding in Arbitration cases. The first three pointers indicate that Arbitration systems around the world form a component of the larger justice system. This means that Arbitration systems are fairly independent of the traditional courts and have a unique system that forms a part of the broader legal context. This implies that the Arbitration system is an essential part of the legal system that parties elect to utilise instead of civil or criminal courts. Thus, the Arbitration courts are independent and of an equal standing as some other courts and legal authorities. However, the fourth point indicates that the Arbitr

CASES IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CASES IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Competition, including McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King, has been opening business in South American countries of Chile, Argentina and Brazil, while KFC intends to focus on Mexico (De Wit & Meyer 916). A major issue in the expansion of franchising is the disconnection between the management and the franchisees: the latter feels that the management does not understand the chicken business and is not aware of the way fast food restaurants are run. In the past, this has impacted sales as well as customers. Case in point is the strategy of the company to distance itself from its Southern deep fried legacy in favor of healthier cooking options such as grilling. Helm (2010) writes that this strategy is actually hurting the brand and the traditional customers. However, there is an increasing number of people in the US and in countries where the company operates who are opting for healthier options, mostly refraining from deep fried fast foods. This creates a big dilemma for the company as it does not have anything to offer this growing group of consumers. Another issue is the management of franchise cost of KFC, which is currently quite high, taking into account the increased food items prices and inflationary pressures in potential markets. The company needs to open doors in more locations after detailed research and testing. This testing should include culture testing to establish better pricing strategies in conjunction with local franchisees; besides, the company must be more locally entrenched. Traditionally, KFC has opted for a standard franchising strategy wherein standard menus and services have been offered to consumers irrespective of country or region. Competition such as McDonalds, however, has made effort to rework on its tactics to make them more culturally entrenched and local. This means that the policy of standardization must not be used extensively, except for standards of

The Effect of Tsunamis on Marine Life Research Paper

The Effect of Tsunamis on Marine Life - Research Paper Example The most common cause of tsunami is the undersea earthquake. Such earthquakes may be too small to trigger a tsunami, but they may help in landslides, which may trigger Tsunami. On 26th December, 2005, early morning, northwest of Sumatra saw a huge tsunami. The earthquake generated a tsunami that was among the deadliest disasters in modern history, killing well over 200,000 people. The most surprising fact about this disaster is that the tsunami was not generated in Pacific Ocean, but in Indian Ocean. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue Island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonasia. The resulting tsunami devastated the shores of Indonasia, Srilanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 30m . The following picture shows the blow of tsunami to one of the sandy beaches in Srilanka. Caption: A devastated Sandy beach in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami in 2006. The tsunami of 2005 was just one example of this devastating natu ral disaster. There have been a number of incidences of tsunami across the world, that have produced enormous destructions in the affected nations. (Bryant pp. 3-7; Commonwealth Veterinary Association p. 1) General Impact of Tsunami on Marinelife The coastal ecosystem gets damaged due to tsunami. The mangroves, estuarine, sea grasses, mudflats and coral reefs are usually among the most affected ones. Most of these physical structures are damaged by the huge force, which the waves produce as shown in the following picture. Caption: Damages to the Physical structures in coastal region by the Tsunami in Chennai Physical removal of flora and fauna and increased sediment load kill sediment sensitive corals and sea grasses by smothering. The extent of this damage considerably varies on the basis of local topography and hydrology of the surrounding environment. Some of the general impacts of tsunami can be as follows: Saltwater intrusion is a chemical change that occurs in the Pacific Ocea n, which is now also being happening in the Indian Ocean. All these occur due to heavy run off from the sewage, even the decomposition formed by the flora as well as the fauna of that place. These also include un-recovered bodies as well. Exotic species which are used for aquaculture escape badly. The structure of the ecosystem biologically gets disrupted. Since the structure of the ecosystem alters due to tsunami, the whole ecosystem gets affected Since coral reefs are considered as the natural defense of the ecosystem and it is generally seen that the ecosystems of these areas are largely intact even after the hit by tsunamis. For example, the Surin Island, chain off Thailand’s west coast, may have survived better than areas where the coast has been modified by urban development, aquaculture and to the new formed ecosystem during the tsunami of 2005. Mangroves are generally considered to be very significant natural barricade as well as a source of high quality profitable ti mber. Tsunamis produce significant adverse effects on mangroves. For example, in the Tsunami of 2005 that hit the coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc., areas with highly dense mangroves areas suffered fewer human casualties and relatively less harm to physical properties compared to those areas that did not covered with mangroves. Tsunamis

Quiz 1 Spring 2014 for Escape from Camp 14 Essay - 1

Quiz 1 Spring 2014 for Escape from Camp 14 - Essay Example nce he constantly saw her as a threat to his survival in prison, especially during her childhood years in the prison, for example, since she beat him, and she was also a competitor for food to him (Harden, 3). The fact that the horrendous experiences in the prison that had taught him something different from what humanity is, he could not relate to what it means to be human, to have family, and to relate with others at a human level. His dark secret has now caused him agony, even after 7 years of freedom in USA, despite his attempts to reinvent himself through changing his name (Harden, 1). The memories of seeing his mother hanged and those of seeing his brother shot dead, especially coupled with the fact that Shin is the one who betrayed them is an experience that has completely incapacitated him, so much so that, after experiencing humane living condition and after relating with other people at a human level, he is unable to forgive himself for the betrayal. Shins behavior, like everyone elses in Camp 14, is completely different from that of people living in a free world, or at least those who were not born in a prison camp in North Korea, and his behavior is based on a radically different moral code. It is completely incomprehensible and even inconceivable in the mind of a person who has lived his whole life in a free world, for example, the fact that a son can actually feel glad and relieved by the death of his mother and his brother (Harden, 3). It is even more inconceivable why a person would like to betray his own family; his only family as far as he knows it, especially because Shin was born in a prison camp and therefore did not know any more family or relatives, other than the ones he had in prison. This is because love to him was a meaningless word, having viewed her mother as a threat from childhood, while viewing his brother as a stranger and his father as just any other visitor who cohabited with her mother five times a year (Harden, 3). Such are the

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How Leaders can maintain High Quality Performance - Term Paper Example mise the leader’s interest to promote integrity and performance, as a result of having the feeling that they are privileged such that they cannot lose their jobs and also to the extent of misusing their powers to serve their master’s interests (Morrisson, 2004). However, if this is conducted properly, the leader would be in a position to serve the sole interests of the organization, which are based on quality and sustainable performance and development in all the departments under him or her. This paper is a critical evaluation of ways through which an effective leader can improve performance in his or her place of work. A leader is a person who, to a greater extent, represents the true image of an organization. This means that he is supposed to be a person of high integrity and unquestionable character (Macarthur, 2004). This earns him respect throughout the corporate world such that he would be occasionally cited as a good role model to young people as well as those employees who are under him. For example, it would be wrong for a leader to have the habit of coming to work while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs as this would taken to mean that doing so is acceptable in the work place. Such a leader would set a bad example to his or her juniors, who may go to the extent of doing the same just because their boss is doing it. Similarly, it would be unprofessional for leaders to involve themselves in sexual relationships or harassment of their employees as this may promote indiscipline in the context that these employees may be motivated to do the same, which is unethical in a working env ironment. If anything, leaders should be the first people to observe all the rules and regulations of an organization, in an effort to maintain professionalism and concentration on service delivery. Otherwise, a lot of time would be constantly wasted trying to discipline those who go against the set standards thereby lowering the out put hence low performance. In

Employer's Duty of Care and Issues of Compensation Assignment - 1

Employer's Duty of Care and Issues of Compensation - Assignment Example If the instructions are not stated clearly, the employee may act in good faith to fulfill a particular duty of obedience. This should be done in a manner that is reasonable especially considering the existing circumstances at that particular moment. Jake has been employed on a contract basis as certified auto mechanic at the Rally motors. This therefore means that Jake may perform any job assigned to him by his employer provided the job is reasonable. Even as Jake performs the job assigned to him, he is aware of what is expected of him by the federal or state regulations. Basing on the movie, one can comfortably say that Jake’s actions are within his scope of employment. The current job of oil change is, most likely, not what Jake expected as he entered into an employment agreement with Herman. Instead it is a promotional offer invented by Herman to attract more customers as he says that as the customers’ cars are being serviced, the customers get a chance to check out the new car models. So Jake may argue that as far as what is expected of him in terms of standards is concerned, his actions are within his scope of employment (Goss, 2004). It may be argued that every employee has an obligation to perform his duties as directed by his employer. Such arguments may be as a result shortsightedness in terms of the potential impacts it may have on the business in the future. In this case, for example, customers expect a fully serviced vehicle from the service department especially if the service personnel like Jake are certified. So, it is Jake’s responsibility to do thorough service work on the customers’ vehicles and this includes checking and where possible servicing the tires, brakes and transmission as would be expected of a certified auto mechanic (Murolo & Chitty, 2001). This ensures that the vehicle is safe for driving by the customer. If a vehicle from the service centre gets involved in an accident and the resultant

The Atomic Bomb and its Destructive Power Essay Example for Free

The Atomic Bomb and its Destructive Power Essay An Atomic Bomb is a very powerful explosive device that entails fission of enriched Uranium or Plutonium nuclei in a chain reaction. The power of the explosion is measured in terms of the number of tons of TNT that would have to be exploded to release the same amount of energy. This fission reaction cannot be sustained unless a specific amount of plutonium or uranium, known as the critical mass, is present. When this specific amount is present, then the number of neutrons being produced by the fission of the nuclei will exceed the number of neutrons that leave the surface of the material. This results in a chain reaction, which ultimately leads to an explosion (Atomic Bomb). The nuclear device or Atomic Bomb consists of several less than critical mass parts that are separated by lead walls. Moreover, all these portions of nuclear fuel together exceed the required critical mass. At the time of detonation, either a chemical or mechanical device is set off that causes the various sub critical mass portions of Uranium or Plutonium to combine. Subsequently, the emitted neutron density is sufficient to set off a nuclear fission reaction releases more neutrons, this process continues until the fissile material is exhausted or is dispersed (Atomic Bomb). Such a nuclear fission reaction gives rise to an enormous amount of energy, which is mainly in the form of extreme heat. In addition, this explosion generates a huge shock wave, flash burns, high winds and radiation consisting of neutrons and gamma rays or very short wavelength light. This radiation is fatal to living matter and makes the soil and water unusable (Atomic Bomb). The neutrons and gamma rays released during an atomic bomb explosion cause extreme harm to living tissue and constitute a prime cause for cancer. The surrounding area of a nuclear explosion becomes unusable due to contamination with radioactive fission products. A portion of these radioactive products reach the upper atmosphere either as dust or a gas and thereafter reach the site of explosion as radioactive fallout, which continues to decay over a period of time (Atomic Bomb). Amongst nuclear weapons, the Atomic bombs have the dubious distinction of being the first to be developed, tested and deployed. Towards the end of the 1930’s physicists belonging to Europe and the USA became convinced that it would be possible to create a truly powerful explosive device that was based on the fission of uranium. In August 1939 Albert Einstein wrote to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt a letter that gave particulars of this process and the danger that could be posed to the Allies if such an explosive device were to be created by the Axis Powers. The President took cognizance of this warning and initiated the Manhattan Project in 1942, in order to invent such an explosive device. The Manhattan Project team led by U. S. Army Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves was ably guided by J. Robert Oppenheimer in this endeavour. This team was successful in creating the first Atomic Bomb (Atomic Bomb). The first test atomic explosion was performed at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on the 16th of July, 1945. The energy released by this explosion was the same as would be released if 20,000 tons of TNT were to be exploded. On the 6th of August, 1945 the USA used the atomic bomb for the first time in history. This bombing, which took place almost at the end of World War II, was made on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This bomb attack was repeated on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on the 9th of August, 1945 (Glasstone). The casualties reported due to these nuclear explosions were enormous and the USA stated that around sixty to seventy thousand people had been killed in Hiroshima by the atomic bomb, which had earned the sobriquet of Little Boy. The same US sources placed the number of dead at forty thousand in Nagasaki, due to the explosion caused by the atomic bomb that had been dropped there, which had been nicknamed as the Fat Man. These two bombs effectively brought about the surrender of Japan to the Allies on the 14th of August 1945. These were the only occasions on which nuclear weapons had been used in warfare (Eubank. P87). The Hiroshima bomb was prepared using refined uranium – 235. The bomb was made by diffusion enrichment techniques, which utilized the minute differences in the mass of the two main isotopes of Uranium, namely U – 235 and U – 238. The difference of mass is similar to what UF6 has with only one percent between the molecules. Thus it became much simpler to concentrate the less common isotope. The atomic bomb that destroyed nearly ninety percent of the city of Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945 was prepared using approximately sixty kilograms of highly enriched uranium (Atomic Bomb). Three days later the second bomb was exploded over Nagasaki. This bomb contained approximately eight kilograms of plutonium – 239. Special types of nuclear reactors were utilized in the preparation of this bomb. The first human designed atomic reactor was constructed on the premises of the University of Chicago in the year 1942 during the last phase of the Second World War. In order to slow down the emergence of neutrons in fission, highly purified graphite was used in the reactor as a moderator of neutrons and to control the nuclear fission reaction. Subsequently more reactors were constructed based on the design of the Chicago reactor. They engaged simple chemical techniques to isolate plutonium – 239. There were no complexities involved in the separation of the isotopes. The first test explosion had taken place at Alamogordo in New Mexico on the16th of July 1945 using a plutonium explosive device (Glasstone). Initially the creation of the atomic bomb proceeded at a slow pace. However, the results of different research groups clearly indicated that its destructive power could be awesome and this led to a considerable hastening of the development process. Subsequently, the US Government became convinced of the fact that this world war was based on technology to a very great extent. Accordingly, it accepted the fact that there should be consensus between science, technology and the US Government (Eubank. P. 8). The destructive effects of both uranium and plutonium fuel nuclear fission bombs relied upon the energy released during the explosion caused by nuclear fission, which resulted in instantaneous fires, destructive blast pressures and maximum radiation exposures. The quantity of deposits of fission particles on the ground was very limited because these bombs had been exploded at a height of around six hundred metres above the ground. However, some traces of deposit of these particles were found in the surrounding areas of the cities in which these explosions took place and this was attributed to the rainfall that had occurred immediately after these explosions. Areas at a few kilometres distance to the east of Nagasaki and in west and north – west of Hiroshima had recorded these radioactive traces. Most of the radioactive fission particles got carried away by the heat emanated from the explosions into the outermost atmosphere (Atomic Bomb or A Bomb). The death toll was estimated at 45,000 of the civilian population out of a total of 250,000 in Hiroshima on the day the bomb went off and 19,000 resident civilians succumbed in the succeeding four months. The population of Nagasaki was 174,000 and out of these 22,000 died on the day of the explosion and another 17,000 died during the succeeding four months (Smith). A large number of malformations or deformations of fetuses was recorded among the civilians who had been exposed directly to the radioactivity. This resulted in deformities in children who were born subsequent to the explosion. Apart from these untoward incidents, no significant gene damages were found to have occurred in the children of the survivors (Smith). Gamma radiations and neutrons had emerged during and immediately after the fission. These were the major components of the radiation in those cities. There were other sources of exposure derived from the black rain which precipitated in some areas. The rain water contained radioactive materials that had emanated from within the rising cloud of fission products. However, there was little exposure to these depositions. Traces of radionuclide cesium – 137, which was a by – product of the fission were detected for a long period after the explosion in areas of Nishiyama district (Smith). Other category of nuclear bombs, fusion bombs, such as hydrogen or thermonuclear bombs have been developed and tested in the 1950s. However, these weapons have never been detonated in warfare. The modus operandi of a thermonuclear bomb is that a fission reaction takes place first to produce very high temperature. Hydrogen isotopes of deuterium and tritium combine because of the extreme heat and in the process give out a very large amount of thermonuclear energy. The primary source of energy depends on the fusion reaction. This process is similar to the process that gives the Sun its energy (Atomic Bomb). Nations that had developed atomic bombs test them in order to determine their efficiency and to study the effects caused by such explosions. These tests are usually conducted by exploding them in the atmosphere, under the earth and under the sea. The countries that have admitted to the possession of a nuclear warhead are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India and Pakistan. South Africa proclaimed that it had developed a number of such bombs and that later on it had dismantled them. Since the war came to an end due to the Atomic Bomb, a new era has begun, which makes a logical analysis of the basic concepts in respect of human life, technical innovations and society. In the social context, the deep sorrow caused by the destruction of the atomic bomb was immense. Its impact extended into the hearts of the nations of the world crossing the borders of Japan. In addition to the immense grief caused, the use of the atomic bomb made some of the people of the United States a target for criticism from the people of the world for having caused such a large number of deaths. Although the Americans wanted to depict the atomic bomb attacks on Japan, during the war, as a symbol of their hatred towards the Japanese who had attacked Pearl Harbor, these bombings were criticized as being unjust to the people of Japan. Any country with the required amount of technology could have used the atom bomb. However the United States had the benefit of possessing not only the money but also the technology to take up such a project. However, the fact remains that the atomic bomb, saved a million lives though it killed tens of thousands of people. The rules of war were changed forever by the atomic bomb. It not only exterminated the enemy but also ruined humanity itself. The inventors of this weapon had hoped that their invention would result in the end of war. This new weapon was so terrible that its architects were terrified of the idea that it could again be put to use. Works Cited Atomic Bomb. Microsoft Encarta Premium . Redmond, WA, 2006. Atomic Bomb. Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia. 2003. Atomic Bomb or A Bomb. The Columbia Encyclopaedia . 2004. Eubank, Keith. â€Å"The Bomb. † Kreiger Pub Co. Glasstone, Samuel. Nuclear Weapons. Microsoft Encarta 2006 [DVD]. Redmond, WA, 2005. Smith, Mikki. Hiroshima was no longer a city. International Socialist Review, Issue 13. August September 2000.

SWOT Analysis: Case Study of Dell

SWOT Analysis: Case Study of Dell Introduction Dell is one of the largest manufacturer and distributor in the world. Dell was found in 1984 by Michael Dell, while he was a student of the University of Texas. In the beginning the Michael dell used to purchase the computer part of wholesale and collected in his house before they sell it to the customer in the cheaper price than the other retailer shops. In the beginning that he used to order them directly from the Internet and delivered to the customer. At that time, Dell has direct sales strategy favourable to the customer and Dell. This strategy helps to get information from the customer and create and maintain a good relationship between company and customer. Dell had become a biggest seller of the computer in the period 1980-to1990. In 2009, Dell has the third position in the world. Dell is known for selling good quality in cheaper price. This cost leadership strategy has been very successful and it really competitive advantage to compete with other PC companies such as IBM, Toshiba, Sony and Compaq. Dell is not limited with only one product the range of product as a data storage device, television, notebooks, etc.. The species also sells product is manufactured by others. Dell is today well known company in the world. SWOT analysis (S)trengths: Dell is worlds largest manufacturer of PC. Profit for the 3 months up to and including July 2005 were of more than $ 1 billion, a growth of around 28%. For the last few years has its position as the market leader (it took it is Hewlett-Packards rivals). The Dell brand is one of the most well known and reputable computer brands in the world. Dell cuts the retailer and delivers directly to the customers. It makes use of information technology and customer relationship Management (CRM) approaches to data-capture capabilities on its loyal users. So a customer a generic PC model, setting, and then items added and upgrades until the PC is kitted out from the specifications relating to the customer. Parts of suppliers, never through Dell. PCS are assembled with the help of relatively cheap labour. You can even keep track of your order by contact with the customer service team, based in India. The finished product than with the customer by courier. Dell offers full control of the supply chain (W)eaknesses: The company has such a huge range of products and components of many suppliers from a large number of countries, there is the occasional product recall that lead to some embarrassment to Dell. In 2004, Dell had to remember 4.4 million laptop adapters because of a fear that they could overheat, electric shock, or cause a fire. Dell is the author of a computer, not a computer manufacturer. The purchase of a number of manufacturers of concentrated high-tech components. This is a huge advantage in terms of business activities, as a result of which Dell to focus on marketing and logistics, the company depends on a number of major suppliers and, to a certain extent, is locked in for a period of time (i.e. not in a position to switch from the delivery costs, the lack of major suppliers in the world). (O)pportunities: Dell performs a diversification strategy by the introduction of many new products to its range. This has primarily aimed at good as peripherals such as printers and toner, but now also included LCD televisions and other non-computing goods. So Dell compete iPod and other consumer electronics brands. Dell is making and selling cheap cheap PC computers to retailers in the United States. The PCs are generic and not to be recognized as being from Dell when the consumer make a purchase. Rebranding and rebadging for the retail trade, although a departure for Dell, the company offers new market segments and attack with the marketing costs. (T)hreats: The biggest problem for Dell is the competitive rivalry, which in the PC market worldwide. As with all brands of cost effective, retaliation of competitors and new entrants to the market potential threats. Dell resources from the far East countries where labour costs are low, but there is nothing stopping competitors do the same thing-even sourcing the same or similar components of the same or similar suppliers. Please bear in mind that Dell a maker of PC, is not the manufacturer of the PC. Dell, global marketing and operations, is exposed to fluctuations in the currency markets of the world. Although it is a very lean organization, place orders some time ahead thanks to their size or the value. Changes in exchange rates could leave the company exposed to potentially lose in parts of the supply chain. Target group Dell the target group consists of major corporate accounts, medium and small businesses and consumers company. In order to comply with any other customer segment by the direct model adopted Dell. To be successful, Dell has to ensure that it produces the correct computers that meet the customers, and take advantage of the possibilities that are available. Accent has been placed on the industry-laptop, Dell wants to produce the next generation notebook platform that will continue its activities in the future, it should look on the current trends in the industry and how they could the next generation of laptop. Mobility is becoming more and more influence on the world and the markets that Dell will function. Therefore, the implication of this trend is associated with the laptop that Dell would produce to be lighter and smaller. The Internet is becoming a necessity in the daily lives of people. Due to this trend, and the impact of mobility at the same time would be Wi-Fi Internet access is a potential demand. Dell marketing objectives Accomplished by global marketing strategy Measurable and quantifiable Within a time limit The target group can be Realistic and achievable Sales, profit, market share Marketing strategy of dell Dells strategy collapse profit margins in the PC market, a serious development for the competitors who are not keeping pace. Dell is the pricing of the machines rather than as high-tech products, but more on airline tickets, and low-margin raw materials. DELL has a tight competence with other major computer vendors such as Compaq and HP. social factors also affect the business environment from Dell. Computer companies have to recognise that in the Chinese culture, people are still not sure about credit card sales because of the huge cost of computers in China. Companies, need to invest in activities from door to door or face to face to get consumer confidence and consumer confidence in the company and the product. Dell has also the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS). DELL is focused on product design, transport, and so on. As part of DELL of ISO 14001 EMS, the organisation objectives where the goal is to improve the performance of the internal business environment in a c ontinuous improvement processes that are used to successes in the entire company. Dell has its brand name than ordinary computer products expand by making use of its reputation as an e-commerce leader positioned. In the year 2000 Dell began to redefine itself if the company that you are familiar with the operation of e-business. It has the online sales expertise shared with a number of large customers as they have their own e-commerce capabilities. Dell is certain forces of competition in terms of information technology as the EDI tool provides a very effective possibilities in reducing the costs and the close link between Dell and Dell with its subcontractors with its customers. DELL started selling its own brand of portable computers, called the Axim, at discount price which may be regarded as a promising and CEO, Mr Michael Dell highlights how the Dell success lay in making it as easy as possible for someone to buy a computer. There are a number of applications that are currently being used by Dell and they are crucial for the core activities of business Dell and the DELL direct that its operational factors for success. Some applications that are currently being used by DELL that are valuable, but not for some critical success factors. Business scored card from Dell It is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in Business and industry, Government and non-profit organizations around the world to bring activities to the vision and strategy of the Organization, improve internal and external communication and monitoring the performance of the organisation of the strategic objectives. It is caused by Drs. Robert Kaplan (Harvard Business School) and David Norton performance measurement framework that strategic performance of non-financial measures added to the traditional financial metrics give managers and executives a more balanced view of organizational performance. While the company scorecard phrase was coined in the early 1990s, the roots of this approach are deep and the pioneering work of General Electric performance measurement reporting in the 1950s and the work of the French process engineers (which the Tableau de Bord literally, a dashboard of the performance counters) are included in the beginning of the 20th century. Business scorecard evolved from the early use as a simple performance measurement framework a complete strategic planning and management system. The new business scorecard transforms an organizations strategic plan of an attractive, but passive document is in marching orders for the Organization on a daily basis. It provides a framework that offers performance measurements, but helps planners identify what needs to be done and measured. It enables executives to really to carry out their strategies Role of Business Scorecard The scorecard is a system where the imposition of measures on the basis of the priorities of the strategic plan. Offers the most important business drivers and criteria to motivate managers to develop and implement processes that will contribute to success in the future instead of dwelling on historical performance. By requiring that the four perspectives, it offers a richer, more holistic vision of the organisation The benefits of the approach of the balanced scorecard measurement performance are: Gives the full picture of the employee if the organizational performance . It helps users to determine the critical success factors and performance indicators. Strategic review or analysis of the organizational capabilities and performance. On the other hand, refer to the entire organization on the some of the key things are needed to make the breakthrough performance. Integration and the performance and the efforts at the lowest level in the Organization to achieve outstanding performance. Implementation plan for dell The new business model includes the creation of three units worldwide: large enterprises, the public sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. Each group will apparently be entrusted with important leading global responsibility and industry. Function in the past two years, we have significantly improved our competitiveness, our supply chain, our expanded and Dell introduced to more people in more places than ever before, stated CEO Michael Dell. We have laid the foundations for the transition from a global company that regional level in order for companies are organized that is truly global. Dell also noted that the above amendments were influenced by customers who faster innovation and worldwide standardised products. Requirements of the customer are increasingly defined by the use of technology rather than where they use. That is why we are allowing ourselves to be limited by geographic boundaries to solve their needs, Dell added. Dell the so-called restructuring plan has led to large-scale redundancies in a number of locations, including Ireland, who expect to losses of more than 2,000 jobs in Limerick. The pending job losses will be prompted to enter the local TÃ ¡naiste and Minister of Defense communicate with Mr Michael Dell the significant benefits that the operation of the company, the Limerick City and the region brings. While Dell is likely to continue with the cuts, the company continued internal treatment of exactly what its new strategy to its operations in Limerick means and promised to share the details on staff and to the Government, as soon as it is in a position to do so

Kanomycin Resistance Gene in Its Multiple Cloning Site

Kanomycin Resistance Gene in Its Multiple Cloning Site Abstract   The objective of the experiment was to engineer a pUC18 plasmid so that it contained a kanomycin resistance gene in its multiple cloning site and to transform it into cells. The kanomycin resistance gene was obtained from a pKAN plasmid. The desired plasmid was constructed by digesting pUC18 and pKAN with the same restriction enzymes, (BamHI and HindIII) and religating the products to give the engineered pUC18. The created plasmid was then transformed into E.coli strains DH5ÃŽ ±. The strains that contained the engineered plasmid were selected using two methods of selection. According to the indirect method of selection the percentage of competent cells transformed with the plasmids was 0.063% which is a low number. According to the direct method of selection on the other hand no cells were transformed. In conclusion even though some colonies with the engineered plasmids were obtained the percentage of cells transformed was very low. Also, the indirect method of selection gives better results for selection of desired strains. Introduction Bacteria can carry antibiotic resistance genes either in their chromosomes or extrachromosomally in phage or a plasmid (Hausner and de Jong 2010). B-galactosidase is an enzyme involved into the cleavage of lactose into glucose and galactose and is encoded by the lac Z gene of the lac operon. (Glick et al 2010) The lac operon is prevented from being transcribed through repression of the lac promoter. Activation of this promoter can be done by the addition of lactose or isopropyl-ÃŽ ²-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) to the medium. Lactose and IPTG simply prevent binding of the lac repressor (the product of the Lac I gene) to the promoter. (Glick et al 2010) In the following experiment plasmids pUC18 and pKAN are used to provide the genes to be transformed into bacteria. pUC18 is 2686 base pairs (bp) long and contains a bacterial origin of replication, an ampicillin resistance gene, a lacI gene, a segment of the lac Z gene encoding part of B-galactosidase (which breaks down X-gal) and a multiple cloning sequence (MCS) that is within the lac Z gene. (Glick et al 2010) The lac Z gene encoded by the plasmid is part of the B-galactosidase protein which complements a gene carried by the Escheria. coli chromosomally thus forming a functional B-galactosidase. (Glick et al 2010) If a DNA segment is cloned in the MCS then the lacZ gene will be interrupted and will not give rise to a functional protein. If that occurs then the Bacteria transformed with the plasmid will not break down5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ÃŽ ²-D-ÃŽ ²-galactosidase ( X-gal) present in the plates. When X-gal is broken down by ÃŽ ²-galactosidase it turns blue whereas when it is n ot broken down it stays white. This color differentiation is a way to tell if there has been any DNA incorporated in the MCS of pUC18. Finally in order for the ÃŽ ²-galactosidase in pUC18 to be transcribed, IPTG has to be present in the medium so that the lac operon can be induced. (Glick et al 2010) pKAN plasmids can serve as sources for the kanomycin resistance gene. In the following experiment the kanaomycin resistance gene will be inserted in the MCS of pUC18. pKAN contains an origin of replication, a kanomycin resistance gene and multiple restriction sites. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) More importantly it contains only one BamHI and HindIII recognition sites in the whole plasmid which flank the kanomycin resistance gene. (Hausner and de Jong) This allows researchers to cut out the antibiotic resistance gene by simply using BamHI and HindIII producing only two fragments of DNA: the gene and the rest of the plasmid. Once experimenters have inserted the pKAN gene into the MCS of pUC18 and transformed the E.coli strains they need a way to select for the desired plasmid. There are two methods to select for the desired those colonies: the direct method and the indirect method. The direct selection method involves spread plating transformed strains into plates containing both the antibiotic ampicillin and kanomycin. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Since the pUC18 plasmid confers amplicillin resistance (Glick et al 2010) and the kan gene confers kanomycin resistance (Hausner and de Jong 2010) then only the cells that contain Puc18 with the kanomycin resistance gene should be able to grow in these plates. The indirect method on the other hand is a two step selection process. In the first step the transformed strains are plated onto LB plates containing ampicillin and X-gal. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Only the cells that have up-taken pUC18 will grow since they will be resistant to ampicillin. Furthermore ce lls that contain pUC18 with inserted DNA in the MCS will produce white colonies since they cant produce a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase. Cells that give rise to blue colonies will have up-taken pUC18 without any DNA inserted in their MCS since they are able to break down X-Gal. (Glick et al 2010) To select the cells with pUC18 containing the kanomycin resistance gene the white colonies are plated in plates containing kanomycin. Only the cells that have the kanomycin resistance gene in their pUC18 will grow. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) The objectives of the following experiment include the construction of a pUC18 plasmid containing the kanomycin resistance gene in the MCS, the transformation of that plasmid into the E.coli DH5ÃŽ ± cells and the selection of the cells containing the engineered plasmid. If both pUC18 and pKAN plasmids are digested with BamHI and HindIII and the digests are ligated then a plasmid which contains both kanomycin and ampicillin resistance genes should be produced; consequently cells transformed with the engineered plasmid should be resistant to both antibiotics. Materials and Methods Plasmid extraction and plasmid engineering pUC18 and pKAN plasmids were extracted from the DH5ÃŽ ± and MM294 E.coli strains respectively using a DNA isolation kit as described by (Hausner and de Jong 2010). Confirmation for proper extraction was done through agarose gel electrophoresis by running the extracted DNA in a 0.7% gel at 100V for 1 hour. The gene containing kanomycin resistance from pKAN was cloned into pUC18. The restriction digests to do the cloning were prepared as described in Table 2 in (Hausner and de Jong 2010). After plasmid digestion the kanomycin resistance gene was inserted into the multiple cloning sequence of pUC18 in a ligation reaction using the enzyme ligase and the reaction was allowed to go to completion for 24 hours at room temperature. The ligation reactions were set up according to table 3 in (Hausner and de Jong 2010) E.coli transformation and strain selection E.coli strain DH5ÃŽ ± was sub-cultured for 1 hour at 37 °C. The cells were then made competent by washing them in 10mM CaCl. Next cells were transformed with three different combinations of plasmids. The set of cells in tube 1 was transformed with uncut pUC18 DNA. The set of cells in tube 2 was transformed with cut pUC18. Cells in tube 3 were transformed with pUC18 containing the cloned pKAN resistance and finally cells in tube 4 were transformed with just water as a negative control. The transformation procedure has been described in (Hausner and de Jong 2010). Transformed cells from all tubes were spread plated onto LB+carb+X-gal plates for indirect selection. Furthermore cells from tube 3 were plated onto LB+carb+ kan plates for direct selection of cells containing pUC18 with the insert from pKAN. To determine the density of competent cells cells dilutions of , and were prepared. The two highest dilutions were plated onto LB plates. All the plates were incubated at 37 °C and they were allowed to grow for ~24 hours. After the colonies had grown on plates plate they were counted and their numbers were recorded. White and blue colonies from the LB+carb+X-gal plates were then streaked onto LB + kan plates to obtain the colonies that had the kanomycin resistance gene incorporated in the MCS. For more information on the procedure refer to Experiments in Biotechnology Laboratory Manual (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Results Extraction of plasmids from E.coli strains Figure 1 contains the image of the 0.7% agarose gel in which the isolated plasmids Puc18 and pKAN were run to check for product. As it can be seen in lane 1 a lot of Puc18 was extracted from the DH5ÃŽ ± strain. Less plasmid DNA was collected for pKAN from the MM294 strain since the band in lane 2 is of much weaker intensity. There is more than one band in lane two. The additional bands represent additional plasmids isolated from the bacteria. Calculation of Competent cell density Table 1 shows the dilutions performed on the competent cells in order to calculate their cell density. It also shows the number of colonies on the plates that were spread plated with dilution 2 and dilution 3. The results for the dilution were not used for cell density calculation since less than 30 colonies grew on the plate. Dilution was used to calculate the cell density because the number of colonies was between 30 and 300. Indirect method of selection Cells plated from tubes 2 and 3 were used to calculate the % of transformed cells. Every colony represents a single transformed cell since it can be assumed the every colony has arisen from a single cell. Furthermore for tube 3 since five plates were spread plated the percentage of the transformed cells was obtained by using the average amount of colonies for all five plates. Calculation the percentage of transformed cells in tube 2: %of transformed cells= x 100 =0.0045% of cells transformed Calculation of transformed cells in tube 3 Average for blue colonies: = 58.6 ≈ 59 blue colonies Average for white colonies = 11.4 ≈ 11colonies Total number of colonies = 59 blue colonies + 11 blue colonies = 70 colonies in total Both blue and white colonies from tube 3 represent transformed cells since they both up-took plasmid DNA whether it was just pUC18 or pUC18+kanomycin resistance gene. Therefore since every colony came from a single cell there were 70 cells in total that were transformed from 100 µl of media spread plated in each plate. % of transformed cells in tube 3: %of transformed cells= x 100 =0.063% of cells transformed Direct selection of clones containing the kanomycin gene: No colonies grew on LB + carb + kan plates. That means that there were no cells that were transformed with the engineered plasmid. Furthermore an accurate number for % of transformed cell could not have been calculated even if cells had grown in these plates. That is because this selection method takes into account only the cells that were trasformend with pUC18 which contained the kanomycin resistance gene and not the cells that were transformed with only pUC18. Discussion Isolation of plasmids from cells The optimal results for the gel would have been to see one strong band at ~2.7 kb representing pUC18 and one strong band at 4.2 kb which represents pKAN. For the pKAN lane there is more than one band seen. Those bands represent different sized plasmids that were also isolated from the cell. Since there was no DNA ladder on the gel it cannot be concluded what plasmid the lanes represent but the only thing that can be concluded is that there was plasmid DNA isolated from both the DH5ÃŽ ± and the MM294 strains which most likely was pUC18 and pKAN. In order to conclude whether pUC18 and pKAN plasmids were isolated from the bacteria the students should be provided next time with a DNA ladder in order to determine the sizes of the lanes. Indirect selection method The cells from tube 1 were transformed with un-digested pUC18. The cells from this tube represented a positive control for transformation. The colonies in the plates were all blue and they were too many to count. The reason for the high number of colonies was that these cells were transformed with undigested plasmids which are all stable and all allow bacteria to carry information extrachromosomally, making the transformation percentage of competent cells very high. All the cells from tube 1 produce blue colonies. That is because they all had a functional B-galactisidase since no genes were cloned into the multiple cloning site located within the lacZ gene. The cells from tube 2 were transformed with digested pUC18 plasmid. The cells from this tube represented a negative control for kanomycin resistance gene cloning. Tube 2 gave rise to very few colonies in comparison to tube 1 because the cells in tube 2 were transformed with unstable DNA. pUC18 had been previously digested with HinDIII and BamHI and a lot of plasmid did not re-ligate and for that reason the DNA was unstable. Since the DNA was unstable it was not able to maintain the ampicillin resistance gene in bacteria and consequently the strains were not able to grow in carbonicillin plates. As a result the number of percent transformed cells was as low as 0.0045%. The cells from tube 4 were transformed with sterile water i.e no DNA. These cells represented the negative control for transformation. Because no DNA was inserted in them none of the cells contained the ampicillin resistance gene and as expected none grew in the plates containing carbomicillin. The cells from tube 3 were transformed using pUC18 that contained insertion on the MCS as well as pUC18 that didnt. All five plates that were spread plated with E.coli from tube 3 contained blue colonies as well as white ones. The reason for the color difference is that the blue colonies contained a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase whereas the white ones didnt. The functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase in the blue colonies was due to the fact that no DNA was inserted in the MCS to interrupt the lacZ gene. The white colonies on the other hand did not contain a functional ÃŽ ²-galactosidase since they had a DNA insertion in their multiple cloning site, which interrupted the lacZ gene. Consequently they could not break down X-gal. However just because they had a DNA insertion in their MCS it did not mean that they contained the kanomycin resistance gene. They might have contained the rest of the pKAN plasmid. As a result the white colonies needed to be streaked into plates that selected for kanomy cin resistance. If the cells then grew on LB + Kan plates and they also originated from white colonies on LB + Carb + X-gal plates then they contained a Puc19 plasmid with a kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the MCS. The percentage of transformed cells was also not very high: 0.063%. A way to improve this would be to maybe increase the molarity of the CaCl solution to make the cells more competent. Direct selection method According to the direct method of selection there were no cells that were transformed. This is contradictory to the results obtained from the indirect method of selection. This error could have been produced because of either improper spread plating of plates or because of improper transformation procedure. Also the conditions in the LB + carb + kan plates could have been too harsh (two antibiotics) for the bacteria to pick up growth even if they were resistant to both antibiotics. In following experiments it is better to use the indirect selection method since it seems more successful in selecting desired strains. Comparison of direct VS indirect selection methods The direct and indirect selection methods have both advantages as well as disadvantages. The main disadvantage of indirect selection is that it takes longer since it contains two steps and each step takes at least a day for completion. The main advantage is that if done correctly, the indirect selection methods gives very accurate selection for the desired cells. The reason for that is that first it selects for colonies that just have an insertion in the MCS and this tells the researcher that some type of cloning has occurred in plasmids. The second step then selects for the colonies that contain pUC18 with the kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the MCS. Thus the criterion of indirect selection is that cells have both pUC18 with an inserted DNA in MCS and also have kanomycin resistance. The colonies that grow in the second step fulfill both the criteria. The main advantage of the direct method is that it takes a shorter time to complete and it also uses up less equipment which can also save researchers some money. The main disadvantage with this selection is that it has a higher chance of giving false positives. Direct selection does not select for strains that have DNA inserted in the MCS of Puc18 but only selects for strains that have ampicillin and kanomycin resistance. Therefore the strains that grow in LB + carb + kan plates might have both pUC18 and pKAN plasmids but not the kanomycin resistance gene inserted in the pUC18 MCS. Those strains would still be able to grow since they still have both ampicillin and kanomycin resistance. However the genes would on different plasmids and not on the engineered one. Therefore even though the indirect selection method is longer it is more accurate in selecting the desired strains for this experiment. In conclusion, according to the indirect selection the desired plasmid was engineered by digesting both pUC18 and pKAN with HindIII and BamHI. Also when selecting for cells transformed with pUC18 it is better to employ the indirect method of selection because it gives more accurate results. Question 1: Although both lanes contain plasmid DNA, why doesnt the DNA appear to be in the same location in both lanes? The DNA does not appear in the same location in both lanes because pUC18 and pKAN are of different sizes. pUC18 is 2686 base pais long whereas pKAN is 4194 base pairs long. (Hausner and de Jong 2010) Because pUC18 is of smaller size it will travel farther from the wells than pKAN. Question 2: How would you verify that the transformed cells actually contain the carb/kan plasmid that was used for transformation? One accurate way would be to isolate the plasmid DNA from the transformad cells and run it on an agarose gel. If the kanomycin resistance gene was inserted into pUC18 then on the gel one will be able to see a band of the size 4548 base pairs which is different from both the pUC18 and the pKAN plasmids. The size of the created plasmid was calculated the following way by obtaining the information from (Hausner and de Jong 2010): To find the size of kanomycin resistance gene inserted in pUC18, the number of base pairs from the origin or replication of HindIII was subtracted to the number of base pairs from the origin of replication of BamHI. This was done because pKAN was digested with HindIII and BamHI to obtain the kanomycin resistance gene: 2095 233 = 1862 base pairs The size of the insert was then added to the size of Puc18: 2686 + 1862 = 4548 base pairs