Manage Continous Organisational Improvement Essay

Abstract The sector of healthcare is vital for living that no one may deny. The advancement of technology has been a blessing in disguise for human health. Times are gone when people used to wait in long queues to get attention from the doctors and paramedical staff. The governments of the world were also responsible to not properly utilising the healthcare setup. In many parts of the world, it was still deemed as forbidden until the advent of 21st Century. Manage Continuous Organisational Improvement INTRODUCTION The sector of healthcare is vital for living that no one may deny. The advancement of technology has been a blessing in disguise for human health. Times are gone when people used to wait in long queues to get attention from  the doctors and paramedical staff. The governments of the world were also responsible to not properly utilising the healthcare setup. In many parts of the world, it was still deemed as forbidden until the advent of 21st Century (Alison; 2012). DISCUSSION Change management is something everyone thrives upon be it a business or medical science. For effective progress in any field of study, what matters the most is a well laid out and proper action plan. For example in business arena, gaining momentum is important in terms of financial aspects. For it one who is interested in business must be familiar with implementing a business plan to the suitable effect. The first and the foremost aspect is how much investment would be required for the project to be undertaken. Every country encourages ideas and the best way to be known for this purpose is to bring out something creative. In any aspect of profession, planning plays a vital role as well as management. In all most all the line of work, there is need for budgeting, staffing along with other strategizing options. In the context of globalization and global economy, change management becomes evident when we find that companies are overlooking the global parameters of a business where change is constant. In the context of this change, outsourcing is global strategic alliance that fosters a winning international strategy. The implementation of the policy of health is a complex topic that incorporates conceptual models. It is all about the guiding principles, rules, and regulations that lead to operational strategies. There are several one must be familiar with in order to accomplish explicit healthcare policy. To understand it, the cognition with health policy or governmental law is important. These also comprise of process of funding along with decisions taken at decentralised or national level. These widely effect upon how to deliver such services (Alison; 2012). The contemporary healthcare concept incorporates people from various fields related to medical technology including surgical equipment and medications. Access to evidence from medical and health research as well as latest information is also included within. The area of healthcare is notably one of the few areas which is blessed by heavy spending of the governments and the individuals alike. Alternatively the individual with less income is forced to pay a higher co pay and deductible for a lesser amount of coverage (Alison; 2012). SCENARIO You have recently taken on the role of change manager in an organisation. The organisation has decided to introduce the concept of continuous organisational improvement and you have been asked to lead this development. Before embarking on this work you decide that it is necessary for you to complete some detailed thinking in a number of key areas. In carrying out this assignment you should either use an organisation you have or currently work for. You must know this organisation well at a strategic level. Alternatively you should use the case study material provided. Firstly you need to give careful consideration of how a culture of continuous organisational improvement will be created. The process of change is inevitable in every organisation and NHS is no different. Mr. Regal has been appointed as a new Change Manager for NHS and is a dedicated individual who knows how to run things for the benefit of the organisation. He has been working in many prestigious organisations and thus he is also familiar with psychology of team working alongside him. Mr. Regal knows that all employees of NHS will need his active support to get the job done. For this purpose, involvement of staff and planning at early stage are a key to sure success to bring the process of change. It must also be noted that the policies to bring change must not oppose organisational policies such as redundancy, reorganisation and redeployment (Elizabeth; 2012). Before progressing any further, it is important that people within NHS must have idea of what change is all about. There are many types of changes including the ones instigated from ideas within NHS whereas some come from beyond the organisation. Other ideas include temporary and permanent ones all working for benefit of the organisation (Elizabeth; 2012). Since NHS is a complicated organisation thus many changes within are not clearly defined. In a typical organisational change model, new ways of working, unfamiliar team structures, processes and procedure are encompassed. Speaking individually, changes made at staff level can bring out pessimism, optimism, motivation, energy, enthusiasm and excitement to fear, anxiety, challenge, resistance, ambiguity and dread on various  instances. The fear within the staff is due to the concerns over new management and workload as well as job security and pensions. Thus various emotions can come into play and leads to distraction from development and provision of service. The staffs of NHS are ready to deal with anxiety which may be due to anticipating change. Surely, it will take Mr. Regal to get to know about the employees and the old standards that have been the hall mark of success for NHS. However, these techniques of the past won’t last long and thus change in the system is mandatory. Thus it is important to introduce such techniques that are part and parcel of modern day mechanism (Gallouj & Djellal; 2011). Mr. Regal knows what is the main reason of downfall of organizations i.e. those who are not willing to manage or identify change in human components. He has been performing his services as a freelance consultant for last 10 years. He suggests that the involvement of the individuals working within the organisation is necessary so that the way of thinking and behaviour may be altered. Now this may seem to be easier said than done as it requires thorough practice, time and motivation. The change in behaviour may not be easily measurable or achievable since the elements of humans are unable to get attention they require. As a line manager, it is the duty of Mr. Regal to lead from the front to identify and manage such human elements. NHS must also bear in mind that the change of initiatives must not go beyond the desired capacity. If it happens, the key resources required may turn uncontrollable. The extra workload must be shared by senior support and managers according to the resources and plan of action (Gallouj & Djellal; 2011). Before starting anything, what matters the most is planning same is with organisational change. It is never easy for people to accept what comes within that change process. They find it difficult to adjust or absorb to change and also for the management, it is not an easy task. They may have to face various reactions to it including temporary reductions in performance measurements and activity. For this purpose, a proper timetable must be provided which may give the employees enough time to get ready. This may also produce the impact desired by Mr. Regal and the new management of NHS (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). CLARIFICATION/RATIONALE The second step is to what the outcomes of it may be the Clarification/Rationale. For this, it is important that the management is familiar with measurable outcomes. Mr. Regal and his team managing all must have a comprehensive vision that may lead NHS to new developments. The staff may get affected by the change being implemented. COMMUNICATION & INVOLVEMENT Mr. Regal knows that in order to have proper implementation of plans, the doctors, nurses as well as other workers in NHS must have confidence. For this purpose, it is necessary that they must have recognition of benefits and responsibilities, acceptance, understanding, will, interest, and  awareness. This could only be achieved if proper strategy regarding effective communication and involvement is drawn (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). It is important that all the stake holders of NHS must be taken in confidence before the implementation of policy. The communication between the both parties is vital to reach a break through. Ineffective communication may result in difference of opinion. Thus by implementing proper communication skills, effective involvement can be ensured. RISK ASSESSMENT Mr. Regal suggests that implementing the process of change within NHS may be easier said than done provided that proper planning is implemented. Nevertheless with a process of change also comes the feeling of fear from within such as negative reactions, doubt, change in working and location. This is something that must be assessed at the earliest and must be done by a competent team. They are the individual who look to safeguard the interests of working groups specially the vulnerable people who may get impacted by the change. For this purpose, an implementation plan must be designed according to the time frame of change (Karen, Jean & Gretl; 2012). MONITORING Monitoring within the organisation is necessary to know about the activities the employees are engaged in. This also depends on what type of change is being implemented within the organisation. In many organisations the best way to get feedback is to make use of various perspectives. The best form of monitoring can be done on the basis of complaints, facts, reports, opinion, outputs, behaviour and levels of error. It is not necessary for techniques of monitoring to be elaborate but they must be appropriate and timely. Despite of its effectiveness, it may be considered as violation of privacy matters of the employees. Many organisations make use of various tools including the audio monitors and cameras. The employees too may enjoy various benefits of monitoring  including the safety measures. Many organisations including the hospitals and banks make use of close circuit television systems (CCTV) to monitor for safety. ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING Mr. Regal is of opinion that NHS must implement organisational learning which facilitates room for improvement. He explains that only those organisations that are willing to learn from their mistakes and ready to transform succeed. This phase of learning may not necessarily be a beneficial one. There might be a possibility that any individual within NHS may learn but not share with his team mates. Similarly, the subordinates in NHS may not be share the information learnt due to its policies. In order for NHS to become a learning organisation, it is important that it is ready to change, learn and adapt. In today’s competitive marketplace, an organisation maintaining its position in rapid changing environment is a tough ask. Everyday constant developments are being made thus providing corporations to transform into learning organisation. Mr. Regal believes that NHS has a capability to provide platform for learning. This may be stored in the minds of the people as well as the organisational memory in form of written documents, policies and procedures. If NHS successfully transforms itself as a learning organisation, it may widen the prospects by creating practices (Neil, & Jo; 2013). In order for NHS to prosper according to the modern phenomenon of change, it is important that it must learn from experience directly as well as others. The organisation may directly learn from experience by working on procedures of incremental refinement. Mr. Regal explains that it is natural for an organisation like NHS to be faced with number of obstacles including the lack of learning orientation. This is one of the most important of all the barriers in any organisation. These may be further classified into three types environmental, individual/group and organisational. In order for NHS to progress, the  people within the working group must have an active mind. The barriers of learning within an organisation include management practices and corporate culture. Besides that concern from external stake holder, industries, and public policy results in external barriers. EMBEDDING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Mr. Regal suggests that NHS must act according to the standards of modern day organisation. Like others, it must introduce initiatives of change regularly perhaps on multiple levels too. Mr. Regal emphasises that proper process of research needs to be implemented on total quality management. This in turn will build cultures of compliance and health. As an organisation NHS has always worked on phenomenon of high quality care for all. Today, many leading organisations throughout the world are focusing on system of the organisation and system health at the same time. These are linked with a promise that quality work today may pave way for tomorrow’s high-quality work. The hallmark of a healthy organisation is that they embed culture promoting engagement, trust and openness. They achieve it on the basis of learning and improvement process. In almost all the organisations, there are often contradictory aspects hidden. In NHS, the priority is the measurement of higher outcomes such as population health. The founding principle of NHS has always been high quality care for all (HQCfA). The main point of focus is how this may be achieved emphatically. For this purpose the priority of work is done is patient and population which is deemed as weakest link. WHAT IS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT? Quality improvement is something that every organisation must thrive upon. There are various approaches and definitions and may be more fruitful than the other one. In medical practice, the purpose of quality improvement is to look for ways to provide better services and care. Mr. Regal says that change management may only be effective if the team performs as a single  unit. Quality Improvement is a team process at its core. When the circumstances are right the team perform according to different perspectives, knowledge, skills and experience. This helps in bringing out improvements that last long and is beneficial for the entire team as one unit. In order for the program to be successful, it is important that the top leadership as well as the employee support the process of change. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed for the process of Quality Improvement. This helps for improvement of safety, effectiveness and efficiency. NHS has always thrived on leadership and engagement for improvement. Every organisation has a room for improvement in one way or another. Same is with NHS as assessed by Mr. Regal along with his management team. As a matter of fact changes needed in NHS include changes made on a drastic level. Change management is a process of transition from current to new mode. It is important for the individuals to be ready for the change. The first and the foremost step, is focusing on the ability of leadership. Mr. Regal must act as a role model for other employees within NHS to follow. He must set an example that becomes cornerstone of the organisation. He must implement rules and regulations that maybe followed in the long run. As a leader, he must avoid using thought process that creates separation in form of perks. Mr. Regal knows that talking to people working in the organisation on policy matter will restore their trust on him. Also he may be able to know about the problems faced by the employees and solve them individually. Two other aspects that matters the most are passion and genuineness. IDENTIFIES AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT In order to bring change within NHS, each working group must know what role they need to play. They must realise importance of their role in the process and consider it as a historical one. As a supreme command, it is the duty of Mr. Regal to communicate with each and everyone involved in the process. Those who have concerns regarding the change need to be addressed at the earliest. In order to bring down frustration, Mr. Regal must keep in mind the six phases that reflect the reaction of the people affected by the change. IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES ANTICIPATION: Many of the employees are anxious what the change may be and how will have an impact on them. Such employees are unable to know what it has for or against them and don’t know what to expect. CONFRONTATION: This is the stage where people discover that something good or bad is going to happen. Many times they are able to figure out that the plan of change has already been initiated. REALIZATION: The third phase is of realisation where the impact of the change is in front of the people. The results will always be different as realised by the people. DEPRESSION: Besides being intellectual people begin to know the outcome of the change that makes them emotional. They begin to mourn on the past but can’t do anything about it leading to stress and depression. ACCEPTANCE: In this phase, people begin to acknowledge the process of change both emotionally and intellectually. In any organisational setup, people at first have some reservation but seeing the benefits may change their opinion. Nevertheless, there is no reassurance to it. ENLIGHTENMENT: In this last phase, people begin to wonder how they were able to manage the old ways while this change has turned out to be more fruitful to them. EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES Bringing change management and to make it work effectively is not a piece of cake for anyone. A consultant like Mr. Regal too will require time to convince employees working within NHS. For this purpose, it is important that why to bring out the best service from the organisation the world has ever seen. It is important that the management and the staff both support one another for the accomplishment of the goals desired. As a unit both of the organisation stake holders need to understand the importance of the decision. The plan is to make NHS sustainable and best value organisation for the benefit of the people. This model of Change in NHS vows for the improvement collectively in terms of experience and knowledge. This process may also take into account former employees of NHS who had a history of quality services within the organisation. Since its birth, the organisation of NHS has worked for the benefit of humanity. Today it stands tall as the largest organisation of Europe dedicated to provide detailed healthcare services at minimal or low rate. Mr. Regal hopes with his new change policy, the organisation may become the largest healthcare organisation in the entire world. However, for that purpose, proper mechanism of work needs to be planned. The day when NHS was born, it comprised of more or less 14 regional hospital boards. Today it is also known to be the extensive employer of the nation (Nigel; 2011). CHANGES REQUIRED INTRODUCING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES NHS may benefit a lot from change process by introducing improvements to the activities of the organisation. In aiming for continuous improvement, NHS must market what they work for i.e. healthcare services. Mr. Regal emphasises that proper planning leads all the way to success for organisations initiating change. Despite this change process being beneficial to the organisation like NHS,  but there are certain things that may turn against if the management isn’t prepared. These challenges may be because of not creating ample room for improvements, slower adoption, work surroundings, resistance and ultimately not creating the necessary improvements for the organization. If in future NHS further aims to make itself better by bringing in new concepts, they must know how to manage and operate it effectively (Nigel; 2011). To begin with changes need to be done must be planned first but implemented gradually. This may help in bringing helpful change to one and all. The employees must be taken into confidence for the implementation of policy and thus building awareness is important. Inform the employees, inviting them to be the part of change process. Make an announcement and publish it via intranet besides informing the employees by meeting them. It is also important to mention the date and time of the process to take effect. Involve in all the employees of the company so that documentation; scheduling or minutes of meeting can be carried out (Nigel; 2011). It is important to satisfy the employees that the change that is going to happen is for betterment of the organisation. Those who have questions or concerns related to it need to be satisfied. The employees are mainly concerned with how the policy change may affect them. For this purpose, it is important for Mr. Regal to remain calm and patient and address the situation effectively. In order for the assistance of the employees, he must provide documentation for the changes going to happen within NHS. Write step by step instructions things required for the completion of expected process. To help out the employees of NHS, he must offer practice and training programs so that they may learn about the new procedures. It is not necessary to implement changes overnight; it may require slow but progressive steps towards the change. The best way is to make changes one at a time. It may help the employees to learn about new procedures before moving to next step. Feedback from the staff involved is also important as comments, suggestions, ideas or concerns may help to move to the next  milestone. This may also help the employees getting closer to Mr. Regal and they may understand process in far better way. Also it is his responsibility what employees have to say about the possible changes in the procedure. Do appreciate where credit is due when any employee comes up with suitable alternative or suggestion. Mr. Regal must be open to all the employees of NHS and thus answer any questions that emerge in their minds. In case of success motivate employees by giving them appreciation through barbecues or pizza parties. This helps to bridge the gap between the management and the employees. The engagement of variety of people such as user groups, as clinicians, administrative staff and patients is also helpful for the improvement of the services. This way conflicts within an organisation may also be avoided. AGREE AND COMMUNICATE THE PROPOSED CHANGES WITH STAKEHOLDERS Before approaching the stake holders Mr. Regal and team has to go through thorough research. The best way of it is to accompany with the group of experts having good networks. Their role will be to conduct brain storming sessions to the people and groups associated. Make a list of the changes associated with NHS and record it on laptop or flipchart. On finalising the names in the list, then the stakeholders must be arranged according to affect, power and influence. There are 9Cs in healthcare service are Competitors, Commissioners, Customers, Collaborators, Contributors, Channels, Commentators, Consumers, and Champions. CONCLUSION Change management is essential part of business and so do healthcare industry. Both of them rely upon the use of technology, organisational structure, management systems and processes. A hierarchy of organisation includes the bureaucratic processes and chain of command. For this purpose approval with the management is considered mandatory. Thus the roles of employees and leaders are well defined one has to obey the order while the  other has to command. References Alison, Hann; (2012); Health Policy and Politics; Ashgate Publishing, Ltd; ISBN: 140949120X, 9781409491200; pp 150-151. Elizabeth, McCormick; (2012); Change for the Better: Self-Help through Practical Psychotherapy; SAGE; ISBN: 144626808X, 9781446268087; pp 300-301. Gallouj & Djellal; (2011); The Handbook of Innovation and Services: A Multi-disciplinary Perspective; Elgar Original Reference Series; Edward Elgar Publishing; ISBN: 1849803307, 9781849803304; 750-751. Karen, Luker, Jean, Orr & Gretl, A. McHugh; (2012); Health Visiting: A Rediscovery; John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 1444335812, 9781444335811; pp 230-231. Neil, Gopee & Jo, Galloway; (2013); Leadership and Management in Healthcare; SAGE; ISBN: 1446294862, 9781446294864; pp 250-251. Nigel, Crisp; (2011); 24 Hours to Save the NHS: The Chief Executive’s Account of Reform 2000 to 2006; Oxford University Press; ISBN: 0199639957, 9780199639953; pp 200-201.

Banking Essay

For the term â€Å"the business of banking†, the statute definition is inadequately, even some statute laws can help with the understanding about â€Å"the business of banking† but the definitions they are provided still not adequate (Waldeck & Giardina). Moreover, it become more difficult for defining â€Å"the business of baking† today as the fact that over the years and bank services are more diversified (Waldeck & Giardina). The case law Australian Independent Distributors Ltd v Winter (1965) 122 CLR 443 the Adelaide Cooperative Society accepted the money deposits from their members and recorded it on the passbook (Tyree 2008). The court held that the society had not carrying on the â€Å"business of banking† due to the society lacked of the power to lend money – the one of the ‘essential characteristic’ (Tyree 2008). However, there was a later reinforced in the judgement for the case Commercial Banking Co of Sydney Ltd v RH Brown & Co[1] and the ‘High Court held that the main business of bank should be that of the lending of money (Waldeck & Giardina). The s 5(1) of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) shows the precise definition of â€Å"the business of banking† and the part (b)(i) said ‘a business that is carried on by a corporation to which paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution applies and that consists, to any extent, of both taking money on deposit (otherwise than s part-payment for identified goods or services) and making advance of money’ which the definition was adapted straightforwardly by the High Court in Commissioners of the State Savings Bank of Victoria v Permewan Wright & Co Ltd (1914) 19 CLR 457 (Tyree 2008). However, the Victorian Court for the case R v Jost [2002] VSCA 198] held the Act merely restated the previous definition that developed by the courts (Tyree 2008). Furthermore, whether the characteristics are considered as essential or as usual, there are some doubts for the institution authorised to carry on the business of banking under the Banking Act would be considered a bank for all purposes (Tyree 2008). In Commercial Banking Co v Hartigan (1952) 86 ILT 109, the organisation was held to be a bank even they failed the Kirkwood test due to they compliance with the Irish Central Bank Act 1942 and was licensed under the Act. However, in PP Consultants Pty Ltd v Fiance Sector Union [2000] HCA 59, the High Court found that the pharmacist acting as an ‘agency’ bank and not carrying on the business of banking and held that carry on the business of a banking agent (Tyree 2008). In conclusion, statute definition, Banking Act definition and some case law are interpreting the term â€Å"the business of banking† but no one could be identified adequately. Due to the fact that over years, the definition keeps improving and become more diversified which is the reason that difficult to identified and no definition could give the adequate definition. The MacMillan and Greenwood duties are imposed on customers. Briefly explain these duties and what if any other duties have been sought to be imposed on customers. In general, the MacMillan and Greenwood are two fundamental contractual obligations owed by customer and their name is comes from the name of the relevant case (Tyree 2008). The original case of MacMillan is London Joint Stock Bank Ltd v MacMillan and Arthur [1918] AC 777. In this case, the House of Lords had to decide whether the customer owed a duty of care to the bank in the drawing of cheques. In this case, the company sued the bank breach of contract because the mistake made by careless confidential clerk of the firm. The bank paid only 120 pounds whereas the 2 pounds original payment and the firm won the case at the end. However, House of Lords took the chance to clarify the contract between firm and bank, the bank held that the customer owed the bank a duty to exercise care in the drawing of cheques and that the alteration of the cheque was, in this situation, the result is customer has breach of that duties (Tyree 2008). The Greenwood duty which from the case Greenwood v Martin Bank Ltd [1933] AC 51 mention that the plaintiff’s wife had forged a series of cheques on his account. When he found the forgeries, he threaten notify the bank immediately. However, his wife explained she just uses those money to help her sister in legal action and in second time, he discovered that his wife still forged cheque from his account and he threatens to notify the bank. Then, his wife committed to suicide. He brought the action to prevent the bank from maintaining the debit to the account for the amount of the forged cheques, the court held that had been breach of duty by he failing to notify the bank about the forged event immediately. In conclusion, this case is notify bank of any forgeries on the account known to the customer (no require to seek out), there are also two extensions for any unauthorized transactions and withdrawals (Tyree 2008). Furthermore, some further duties have been sought to be imposed on customer in order to protecting the bank’s interests. The additional duties could be classified into three categories and those duties have been the subject of recent case law (Tyree 2008). â€Å"The passbook has been replaced by the bank statement which is sent at intervals to the customer and the current practice seems to favour the customer even more since there is no way for knowing whether the customer has even received the statement (Tyree 2008). † Kepitigalla was approved by the New Zealand Court of Appeal in National Bank of New Zealand Ltd v Walpole and Patterson Ltd [1975] 2 NZLR 7 and the Privy Council in Tai Hing Cotton Mill Ltd v Liu Chong Hing Bank Ltd [1986] AC 80 (Tyree 2008).

Action Plan for E-administration in Abu Dhabi Police Essay

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Insurgency International Context - Essay Example During the last two decades, the world community has been witnessing substantial rise in insurgency in different parts of the world that pose great challenges in terms of security and maintenance of political stability at global level. The outbreak and rise of insurgency is an important issue that has the potential to influence the dimensions of world politics. The reasons behind the rise of insurgency always remain an important point of concern for the social scientists and there have been many research studies conducted to identify the core reasons behind the evolution of insurgency. It is revealed that there are certain country characteristics that determine the possibilities of insurgencies within its boundaries. For instance, the poorer societies are found at high risk positions to encounter insurgency in form of civil war. Moreover, in the countries where there is political instability and abundance of rob able resources there are more chances to encounter the dilemma of insurgency1. It implies that the country characteristics encourage the insurgents to manage organized revolt against the existing authority. It is also revealed that insurgency is promoted through the external support being provided to the insurgents. Byman (2001) explain some important reasons behind the rise of insurgency and tells in some cases, the opponent of the state use to convince the ethnic minorities of the state to put on their struggle against the governments for their rights. The problems and discriminating acts of the government are over highlighted and over exposed to give the minorities an impression that have been massively exploited by the state and it is very crucial for them to raise voice against the established authorities. The minorities are strongly encouraged to resists against the governments in order to establish a system of their own choice where they could be assure of protection of their rights2. An important point within the debate of causes

Communicate with my old brother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communicate with my old brother - Essay Example In our culture, children are expected to love and respect their parents at all times. Children do not answer back whenever being punished, and they obey their parents’ will no matter what. In my case, my big brother and I both have learned to talk to one another when we have problems in the family. Specifically, big brother demonstrated to me, his little sister, what respect means by listening to me and giving me the freedom to speak up and say what I feel. As a family, we make time to listen to each other by gathering every night to discuss what happened to us during the day. My big big brother listens to my stories and gives me advice. By allowing me to talk freely, my big brother shows me how important it is to listen to others. After the family meeting, I spend time with my big brother whenever I have the time. He shows me what respect means by listening to me and looking into my eyes. My communication with my big brother is also filled with kindness. I have a feeling that he favors me over my other siblings. Thus, he is often kind and gentle to me than to my brothers and sisters. I feel this is unfair and should be changed so that my siblings will enjoy the same privileges I enjoy. But, I am happy to my big brother for showing me kindness each day. He has been very supportive of me since I was a child. We spend time doing a lot of things and telling stories. We enjoy each other’s company and often while away time with stories to tell. He is like a best friend to me whom I can count on in times of disappointments. However, unlike a friend who expects something in return, he does not expect anything back from me. This is so because I know what he wants for me and I usually do what I think would please him. I do not ever want to disappoint him because he is my role model. If I fail to be good, I know that he will be sad. So, to avoid disappointing him, I stud y hard and limit the time I spend with my friends. In return, he

Information and Energy Control Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Information and Energy Control Systems - Essay Example The essay endeavors to highlight the important aspects and components of the Computer networking .The main aim behind this essay is to investigate how the information is transferred through the system and what process the system to advance further. In this regard, the whole system components that collectively take part in this procedure would be discussed. Majority of the businesses run today, operate computers such that the computer department in the business organization is usually termed as the Data Processing Department. Data Processing generally means working upon raw facts and converting them into useful information. When this data processing is accomplished through Electronic Equipment, it is known as Electronic Data Processing .Basically, it comprises of three steps Input, Process and output. Input devices include keyboard, mouse etc which enables the user to enter the data to get processed into the computer. From Input devices, the data is transferred into process stage and after under going the process, the final result is released, which we generally called in computer term as, the output. The computer has its own language and understanding for the instructions. It works as it is directed by the user with its own language .Computer reads Binary digit codes which are either 0 or 1 i.e. either false or true. Bit is the smallest non-addressable unit of storage which a computer recognizes. Bit is an abbreviation of Binary digit. Once the data is entered by Input devices; these devices convert the information into a series of electric signals. Each signal is merely a presence or absence of voltage or current. The data is worked upon in the processing zone. Incase of Information transfer, the computer is attached to devices like modem. The Modem stands for Modulator and Demodulator. It converts computer output for transmitting along communication lines such as telephone lines. The

Duchess of Malfi Essay Example for Free

Duchess of Malfi Essay The Duchess of Malfi written by John Webster was first performed around 1613. A dramatic tragedy, the play is about a forbidden marriage between the Duchess and Antonio her steward, and the wrath of her brothers which leads to many of their deaths. Webster focuses on the role of rank to detail the emotions between relationships in an aristocratic family in a time when class was all important. He uses many distinctive features to convey the substance of the play and its characters, and give the actors playing the roles cues for stage performance. This extract is part of the proposal and marriage scene, one of the biggest emotional dramatic scenes of the play. The duchess is marrying in secret against her brothers wishes; their fear is that she will demean the family’s honour by remarrying. It also forms the most positive aspect of the play, using one of the traditional stage conventions of love, defiance and disapproval (Pacheco and Johnson (2012) pg. 93). This serves to provide a ‘lift’ to an otherwise dark play, and compares the lighter side of the Duchess’ sexual desire to her brother Ferdinand’s. The extract is set at the second half of Act 1 scene 1, the first half being to set the backdrop for the audience and give them a good idea of each character and a good indication of things to come. Specifically, the extract is between the Duchess finding out how Antonio feels about marriage and their union itself; here, the Duchess is convincing Antonio that he is worthy of her, that she is woman enough despite her brothers, her rank and her status as a widow. This is achieved by the features of Webster’s distinctive language and the stage directions (both written and performed through reading). The Duchess uses double meaning in her dialogue, ‘So now the grounds broke/ you may discover what a wealthy mine/ I make you lord of.’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.432-33). She is referring to her own wealth and the value of his rank when they marry. This wordplay is also in the line ‘we are forced to woo because none dare woo us:’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.446) she is again referring to her rank and playing on the word ‘woo’ to mean ‘woe’ (and the irony being that she is wooing him). These are very persuasive lines for Antonio, who feels unworthy of the Duchess despite the traditional gender roles being swapped, and the dominance of the Duchess being prevalent. He realises this with the line ‘These words should be mine,’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.476). There is also wordplay in ‘All discord, without this circumference, / Is only to be pitied and not feared.’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.473). The Duchess is referring to the situation they are in (secret wedding and/or the room), the wedding ring she has given him and to the confinement her brothers wish for her. There could also be reference to how Antonio will be should they marry – a higher rank, but it will be a secret for some time. The duchess is trying to assuage the fear of it all by saying without it there is only pity (for her). The metre and rhythm of the speech in this extract is another distinctive feature. It is un-rhyming blank verse and follows the rules of iambic pentameter except where Webster wants a character to pause, for example, ‘You were ill to sell yourself’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.435) is only three feet of the full five feet line, leaving two for pause before the next line. This puts impact on that line but also on the ones following it. This technique is also echoed in the ‘woo’ line (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.446); the metre of the line is slightly too long, which shows the Duchess’ unwillingness to follow orders. Likewise, the line ‘You have left me heartless, mine is in your bosom’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.453) is too long, giving emphasis on the line and a cue for the actress playing the Duchess to use it for stage direction. The Duchess and Antonio’s dialogue overlaps through most of this extract; it makes them sound as if they are thinking together – giving the audience a feel for the emotional charge between the two characters. We have already seen from earlier in scene 1 that the Duchess is clearly defiant of her brothers, so it is little surprise to see that in response to Antonio’s fear of them she shrugs them off with the line ‘Do not think of them.’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.472). this confirms the audiences view of her as being strong and resilient but also somewhat naive, and also gives them a clue of what is to come, especially when she follows with the lines ‘Yet, should they know it, time will easily/ scatter the tempest.’ (Webster, (2010 [1623]) 1.1.476). This dramatic irony confirms what the audience knows but Antonio does not: that her brothers are unaware of their impending marriage. Indeed, with these lines Webster is inviting the audience to fear the brother’s reaction too after hearing their earlier death threat to the Duchess. (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.298-344) The depth of each character and difference of rank is shown in this extract by Webster’s use of figurative language. The Duchess continuously shows her determination and sprit, something which continues throughout the play – even to her death. And poor Antonio, who despite being honest and loyal, is overwhelmed at the turn of events and the metaphoric swapping of gender roles to the point where he is seeking solace in the Duchess’s words and is happy to be deluded ‘Would not have savoured flattery’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.478). He is painfully aware that he is not equal in rank but will be in marriage, and his fears exaggerate her strength ‘These words should be mine,/ And all of the parts you have spoke, if some part of it/ Would not have savoured flattery.’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.476-8) As for performance, the extract only provides one written key stage direction ‘(she kisses him)’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.468). However, there is plenty in the reading of the extract to relate to performance. This also leaves room for interpretation in relation to performance possibilities. The pace of the dialogue changes depending on which character is speaking, for example, lines 445-462 are full of short syllables which quicken the rhythm of the metre to make it energetic and erratic, ‘And fearfully equivocates,’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.448). It could serve to make the Duchess sound tense yet determined, and she could be sort of ranting in her attempts to convince Antonio. These lines also provide many words that can be used as stage direction, for example while she is speaking between lines 445 and 451 she could be pacing the stage and using her hands to emphasise her point ‘The misery of Thing it is not’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.445-52). Also in ‘Go, go brag,’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.452), she could point off stage as if inviting him to leave, either in an angry or defeated way. After, in ‘You have left me heartless’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.453), her hands could go to her heart, and then onto his with ‘mine is in your bosom’ and leave them there for ‘you do tremble (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.453-54). She could shake him at ‘awake, awake, man,’ (Webster, (2010[1623]) 1.1.459). The pace slows down again after Antonio has promised to protect her reputation; the syllables become longer and more even and written commas slow the dialogue to make it measured. This follows to the end of the extract so we can see that the Duchess is calmer and happy now that Antonio has accepted her proposal. This should reflect in the way that the person playing the Duchess should perform, especially when she is shrugging off the fear of her brothers, as it is almost nonchalant. The stage set up should have enough room for there to be complete focus on the characters and no superfluous scenery – perhaps only what is required to make it obvious what the room is, plus the table and chair for Antonio and the curtains for Cariola to hide behind. If the Duchess is pacing the stage while she rants there should be adequate room for this, and Antonio could follow behind her. Indeed, if he is seeking solace in her words, the actor may wish to appear meek (and therefore filling the gender and rank role) by following her blindly but also allowing her to turn to place her hands on him where necessary. In all, we can see how the distinctive features of Webster’s language have brought the play into being. The use of dramatic irony, metre and rhythm, imagery and figurative language to convey emotion, bring scenes to life and help the audiences perception. Webster also especially does this in his use of figurative language to create stage directions for the cast, which in turn helps them to set and convey the scene. With the play only having little written stage directions, Webster leaves the play open for the actor’s interpretation, and its possibilities onstage.

Impacts of the Mass Media on Enculturation

Impacts of the Mass Media on Enculturation Popular America CultureIntroduction Mass media and popular culture are quite interconnected. Mass media has a great influence on culture construction. This term paper discusses the impacts of mass media on enculturation. It will look at the relationships among media and the normative cultural values formation. Finally the paper will discuss the influence of the internet on culture and communication means. Real world examples are given to substantiate the paper. Part IImpact of the mass media on enculturation Enculturation can be viewed as the process through which persons learn the contents of a culture and assimilates them to their lives. Mass media has grown in popularity and has formed part of our daily enculturation. This is due to the huge impact of mass media on enculturation. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary (1997) defines enculturation as a process whereby persons learn group culture by experience, observation, and instruction. The society is accessing technology more easily with time. The mass media communication devices are quickly flooding every corner of the society making dissemination of information quite easily to all the ages of people. Media has been able to make some of the topics which were never discussed freely to be so discussed. This has impacted both negatively and positively on the people receiving the information. Age groups which were not in a position to access some information in the past can access it freely and to whatever level they desire. A lot of research has been conducted on the antisocial and prosocial impact of the media. According to Motion Picture Research Council movies have a potential of causing antisocial behaviors in children. It is claimed that many of the things which are learnt from movies have antisocial overtones. In the 1950s the comic books were also added to the list of the contributors to the antisocial behaviors (Wertham, 1954). The 1950s saw many experiments conducted on the TV shows. These included the Bandura experiments which implicated violent media with aggressive behaviors among children. The Media has also been associated with sex. Some media houses have got programs which exclusively talk about sex. Some TV shows have taught the teenagers and the public in general how to dress sexily and live what is commonly called a sex lifestyle. Walking around in any city it is very easy to meet sexual sentiments. Broadcasts have shaped sex to be a popular way of self expression (Bandura, 1977). The Sesame street program is an example of TV series which has shown much [positive impact among its views. According to Minton (1975) the program was able to prepare children in readiness for school (Minton 1975). According to CBS Broadcast Group (1974) Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was quite helpful in teaching prosocial lessons to children (CBS Broadcast Group 1974). Most action movies for instance Prison break shows how authorities can be successful fooled and any evidence of crime committed erased. This can possibly have a bad impact on some third world countries whose security system are still shaky and people criminals ca n easily imitate what they see in movies with much success. MTV is a good example of a modern influencer on popular culture. This is especially pronounced for the case of the youths who from the major part of viewers of MTV. Take for instance the Saturday Night Show. The program is designed with adverts cutting in e very other minute. Due to the popularity of the show the adverts made surely have the eyes and ears millions listeners. The teenagers who form the majority of the views of this show are prone to be influenced by the adverts. Everyday millions of impressionable teenagers watch a show called Saturday Night Live. Part II The relationship among the media, advertising and formation of normative cultural values In explaining how the media can influence the formation of normative cultural values, Van Evra (1990) proposes the script theory. He argues that since most views have little experience on life matters the media brings these matters to the views frequently. For instance if a person has never experience violence in life, the experience can be felt virtual when one is exposed to the violence in media frequently given pattern of violence is created. This pattern is dictated only by the media being the major source of knowledge of violence to the person watching (Van Evra, 1990). The media, being a major source of information on many issues in life, the views are inclined to adopt the culture portrayed by the media concerning the topic in question. Comstock and Paik (1991) try to shed some light on how the media can help in shaping up a culture among the fans. They argue that in most cases the media portrays life issues in unique, compelling and unusual manner which is likely to attract and arouse the attention of the fans. This makes the way life issues are handled in the media to be the most attractive way of adoption. They quote the social cognition theory which claims that patterns which are portrayed repetitively and redundantly are likely to prompt the fans to adopt the patterns unconsciously (Comstock Paik, 1991). Comstock and Paik (1991) also claims that the way characters are framed in the media makes their way of handling issues the only way of handling a real life issue in which some one has no experience on. It should also be noted that media stars like musicians are popularized by the media. Fans of such stars tend to imitate what these stars do. A good example is the popularity of soap operas especially among the youth. These are mostly based around love issues. Most youth have resolved to adapt to the way love issues are handled in the soaps. Another good example is how music is spreading dressing code among the youth. It is very conspicuous among the black American musicians to dress in a unique way. This is especially for the case rap and hip hop music which is very popular among the youth all over the world. Most youth have adapted to these musicians way of dress codes and way of life especially in the African countries (Comstock Paik, 1991). Part III The social impact of the internet The internet connection has contributed much to globalization. Globalization has much impact on blending different cultures and homogenizing them. Through the internet information flow is possible to all the corners of the earth. Research has shown the usage of internet is quickly replacing the other media especially TV watching. This is because the time traditional dedicated to watching TV is being used for internet surfing (Weaver, 1998). Basically the net is used for information, communication, entertainment and affiliation. The internet is so broad that it covers almost every part and issues of life aspects. The internet is likely to have a great influence than all the other forms of media because of its unique. The internet can actual substitute all the other forms of communication. Through the internet one to one communication is possible almost everywhere. Through the use of blackberry, one is able to get in touch with other people at any time. The internet has all the attractive features of all the media and thus easily influences its users very easily (Weaver, 1998). The internet is also quite addictive due to its unlimited potential of accessing information. A good example of how the internet has influenced its user is through the facebook. Facebook is able connect people who are any distance apart. Their easy to use make them popular and as a result make the dissemination of information faster. Through this features various cultural aspects are exchanges among the users of such sites. Through such sites cultural values are transferable to different parts of the world. Conclusion Media is quite influential in the formation and dissemination of cultural values. This is because media has taken the center stage of information source of any kind. Through the depiction of life issues in a unique way, the users of media are tempted to adapt the media way of doing things and as a result end up adapting a way of life which is depicted by the media probably from a different part of the globe. Through such culture values are spread to different parts of the earth. The internet has of late become the most popular way that information is passed around. References Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. CBS Broadcast Group. (1974). Fat Albert and the Cosby kids. New York, NY: Willey Sons. Comstock, G., Paik, H. (1991). Television and the American child. New York, NY: Academic Press. Van Evra, J. (1990). Television and child development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Weaver, A. (1998). Net worth Working Woman, 23(1), pp. 20. Wertham, F. (1954). The seduction of the innocent. New York, NY: Holt Publishers.

Forensic Science Essay -- essays research papers

Forensic Science has contributed to our world a great deal. People often misunderstand Forensic Science and believe it is much more capable than it really is. As a matter of fact what you see on T.V. is around 80% false or over exaggerated in some way. To Start of, Criminal Investigation is the largest and most known form of Forensic Science. Some of the more known areas include; Fingerprinting, Ballistics, DNA Identification, Fiber Samples, Computer Animation, Documentation analysis, etc. To get this out of the way in the beginning, what you saw on last night’s law and order is far from the truth. Things they do in a matter of hours take months at a time, and most of the time aren’t even plausible concepts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fingerprinting information varies in numerous ways. Each person’s fingerprints are different in someway (Unique). The technical term is actually â€Å"DNA fingerprinting† because us as a person obviously cant just take a look at a fingerprint and see the difference; we must analyze the actual DNA behind it. Sometimes a miss concept of most people is, that fingerprints stay perfectly fresh for extended periods of time. Partial fingerprints and even degraded full fingerprints can turn up to be useless sometimes. Fingerprints are not admissible if they are 99.9% sure, they must be 100% or a Forensics lab will not support them. DNA Fingerprinting, and the fingerprints that are at the tips of your actual fingers are two different things. The ones we a...

Malpractice Issues Essay -- Medicine

â€Å"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion†. Abraham Lincoln once said this and he said this in the sense that everyone is vulnerable to doing wrong by accident or on purpose. Doctor is considered as great people who are able to use their skills to care for patients; nonetheless, they can deviate from the good and become bad as well. In response to this malpractice, laws are there to protect patients from being harmed by the practice of a doctor. Giving the advantage of suing the doctor for malpractice creates a functioning barrier that affects the performance of a doctor. Malpractice laws create fear in the physician that it hinders them from performing in their maximum capacity. Although malpractice laws exist to protect the patient and perfect the medical practice of a doctor, it leads the doctors to practice defensive medicine. Malpractice laws are important for the protection of a patient. It is essential that these laws exist so that doctors are very cautious in their practice. Every day we hear many stories about doctors being sued for malpractice. Malpractice is â€Å"bad practice† performed by the doctor, which in some way or another, harms the patient. Malpractice is also known as negligence, which is when a doctor or health professional makes a mistake in their practice that, could have been prevented and this harms the patient who is receiving the care (Kieserman). In order for a malpractice to occur, there are five factors involved. First, an accident occurs due to the neglect of a doctor. Secondly, the incident was avoidable, but due to carelessness, it was not prevented. Thirdly, the physician violated their duty of care. For example, in a case where the patient was feeling sick,... ...ine 25.5 (2010): 470-473. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Kieserman, Robert. Class Lecture. Intro to Health Services. Arcadia University, Glenside, PA. 07- Feb. Manner, Paul A. "Practicing Defensive Medicine-Not Good for Patients or Physicians." Practicing Defensive Medicine - Not Good for Patients or Physicians. American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Jan.-Feb. 2007. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . Studdert DM, Mello MM, Sage WM, et al. Defensive medicine among high risk specialist Physicians in a volatile malpractice environment. JAMA. 2005;293(21):2609-2617. The National Bureau of Economic Research. Web. 02 Apr. 2012. . Watts, Geoff. "Bad Medicine." New Scientist 184.2470 (2004): 38-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

How Should Guilty People Be Punished? :: essays research papers

How should guilty people be punished? Thousands of crimes are committed throughout the year; robbery, fraud, rape etc†¦ The people who commit these crimes and are caught are sent to jail. The only thing is, Every person who committed a crime had a different reason for doing it. That is why the Court exists, to judge each case differently. There should be an individual punishment for every case, because every case is different, and the â€Å"criminals† have different motives. I would like to give examples: For instance in murder cases; if a woman murdered her husband because he would beat her and the only way she could survive was by killing him, this case should be judged differently next to a case for instance a woman killing her husband because she was jealous of him. Both of these woman who committed these crimes should get jail time, because it can set an example to other woman, but the woman from the first case should get in my opinion maximum 2 years of jail time and also community service. Even thow self defense is legal it is very hard to prove. In the cases of robbery; If a man robbed a place for survival, and another man robbed a bank for money, both of these cases should be judged differently, they definitely should get a punishment, but different ones. In the cases of â€Å"first offender† and â€Å"second offender; a first time offender might have done a stupid mistake therefore the penalty should be less severe then someone who has a police record with other convictions. In the cases of â€Å"juveniles† committing crimes; i find that it all depends on the crime, because in some case the â€Å"juvenile† committed the crime because he was under a certain peer pressure, or anything that made him commit the crime against his own will. But in cases of a juvenile committing an act of murder of some sort i think he should be judged as an Adult in court and receive the punishment he deserves. A juvenile who commits the crime usually knows the difference between right and wrong, therefore should get the same punishment as an adult who committed this crime.

Frankensteins Cat Essay

In China, the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, a new industry is taking shape: the mass production of mutant mice. Peek into the 45,000 mouse cages at Shanghai’s Fudan University and you’ll see a growing collection of misfits. By randomly disabling the rodents’ genes, the scientists here are churning out hundreds of odd animals, assembly-line style. They have created mice studded with skin tumors and mice that grow tusks. There’s a mouse with male-pattern baldness, hair everywhere save for a lonely bare spot on its head. Some of the mice have strange behavioral quirks—they endlessly bury marbles, for instance, or make only left turns. One strain ages at warp speed. Another can’t feel pain. While some of the rodents have obvious abnormalities, others reveal their secrets over time. One variety appears normal on the outside, with thick white fur and healthy pink ears and noses. But the animals are klutzes. They are clumsy and spectacularly uncoordinated. They fail miserably when researchers put them through their paces at a special rodent boot camp. In one test, the mice are tasked with standing on top of a rotating rod for as long as they can manage, the rodent equivalent of a logrolling challenge. It’s not an easy undertaking, but normal mice eventually find their footing. The mutant mice never do. They also have trouble balancing on a narrow wooden beam and keeping their grip when suspended, upside down, from a wire screen. And they have strange gaits—taking abnormally wide steps and holding their tails at odd angles, curved up toward the ceiling, instead of letting them simply drag along the floor behind them, as mice usually do. Even stranger, perhaps, are the Lonely Hearts Club mice. The males of this strain look like regular rodents, but the females consistently refuse to mate with them. The poor guys, lacking some certain je ne sais quoi, simply have no sex appeal, and they are rejected time and time again. These mice are just a small sample of the more than 500 different kinds of mutants the Fudan team has created. Ultimately, the researchers hope to create 100,000 strains of modified mice, each eccentric in its own way. It would be enough to fill a carnival sideshow thousands of times over. * * * As long as we’re dreaming up animal sideshows, we needn’t stop with peculiar mice. Science has given us a whole new toolbox for tinkering with life, and we have the power to modify animals in profound new ways. We are editing their genetic codes, rebuilding their broken bodies, and supplementing their natural senses. Headlines frequently herald the birth of strange new creatures: Bionic beetles! Glowing cats! Spider goats! Roborats! The breakthroughs are simultaneously astounding and puzzling. What are these creatures exactly? What do they look like? Who’s creating them, and why? And are these animals really so novel? Indeed, we have a long history of refashioning animal bodies. Take the varied members of the species Canis lupus familiaris—the modern dog—which are products of millennia of life with humans and bear little resemblance to their ancestors, gray wolves. Exactly how this dog domestication began is a subject of intense debate. Some scientists suggest that we deliberately set out to acquire canine companions, adopting wild wolf pups. Others hypothesize that hungry wolves, attracted to the bones, trash, and scraps produced by early humans, approached our camps on their own terms, and that our tolerance of the least threatening interlopers gave rise to future generations of human-friendly canines. Either way, as wolves became part of human society, moving from cold ground to warm hearth, they lost many of the traits they needed to survive in the wild. Their bodies and heads shrank, their faces and jaws grew more compact, and their teeth decreased in size. As our relationship with canines developed, we began to breed them more carefully, molding dogs that excelled at specific tasks. We created the bulky, barrel-chested mastiff to guard our homes, and the dachshund, a wiggly salami of a dog, to shimmy into badger burrows. The diversity among modern dogs is so astounding that the thirty thousand dogs that strut their canine stuff at Crufts, the largest dog show in the world, don’t even look like members of the same species. One year, the â€Å"Best in Show† contenders included King, a hound with a deer’s build, all legs and lean muscle, and Ricky, a tiny black-and-white fluff ball who could stand easily underneath King’s smooth brown belly. They shared the ring with Donny—a standard poodle whose shaved gray haunches were set off by a thick white mane—and Cruella, an Old English sheepdog whose long, shaggy hair obscured all but the black dot that presumably served as her nose. Today, thanks to us, dogs are the most physically diverse species on Earth. We’ve reshaped other species, too, turning scrawny chickens into plump broiler birds and bristlyhaired wild sheep into producers of soft wool. The list goes on and on. We learned to breed animals that suited our every need, creating hunters, herders, guardians, food sources, and companions. Over the course of generations, the members of many species diverged from their wild ancestors and took their place in a human world. But selective breeding was a blunt instrument, one that required us to transform animals using educated guesswork, breeding desirable hounds together, over and over again, until a puppy we liked squirmed into the world. It took thousands of years to turn wolves into dogs. Now we can create novel organisms in years, months, even days. Today, the tools of molecular biology allow us to target one specific gene, to instantly turn it on or off, to silence or amplify its effects. For instance, the researchers at Fudan University are creating their stunning array of strange mice simply by knocking out a single gene at a time. To do so, they’re relying on a special genetic tool called a transposon or a â€Å"jumping gene,† a segment of DNA capable of hopping around the genome. When the scientists inject a transposon into a mouse embryo, this foreign piece of DNA inserts itself into a random place in the rodent’s genome, disabling whatever gene it finds there. But the real beauty of the system is that when this mouse grows up and mates, the transposon jumps to a different location in the genome of its pups, sabotaging a new gene. With each mating, researchers have no idea where the transposon will end up, what gene it will disrupt, or what the ultimate effects will be. It’s like throwing darts at a genetic dartboard. Blindfolded. Only when the pups are born, and start exhibiting various abnormalities, do the scientists learn what part of the genome has gone haywire. The approach is allowing the researchers to create cages upon cages of novel mutants, simply by playing matchmaker between their amorous rodents. In some cases, the scientists are making furry freaks faster than they can figure out what’s wrong with them. We can also recombine genes in ways that nature never would—just consider a very curious cat skulking about New Orleans. With downy orange fur and a soft pink nose, the feline looks like your average tabby. But flick on a black light, and the cat becomes Mr. Green Genes, his nose turning from soft pink to electric lime, due to a bit of jellyfish DNA tucked into each of his cells. The insides of his ears and the whites of his eyes glow brightly, his face emerging from the dark like a modern-day Cheshire cat. (His son, Kermit, also glows green. ) Meanwhile, nearly two thousand miles away, a barn in Logan, Utah, is home to a strange herd of goats. Thanks to a pair of genes borrowed from a spider, each female goat produces milk that’s chockfull of silk proteins. When the milk is processed in the lab, scientists can extract the spider proteins and spin them into silk. Genetics isn’t the only field providing us with the power to reengineer other species. Advances in electronics and computing make it possible to merge animal bodies with machines, to use tiny electrodes to hijack a rat’s brain and guide the rodent, like a remote-controlled toy, through a complicated obstacle course. Breakthroughs in materials science and veterinary surgery are helping us build bionic limbs for injured animals, and we can train monkeys to control robotic arms with their thoughts. Today, our grandest science fiction fantasies are becoming reality. * * * Some of us may find our growing control over living, breathing beings to be unsettling. After all, biotechnology is the stuff of dystopian nightmares, and many an apocalyptic scenario has been constructed around crazy chimeras or world-conquering cyborgs. Ethicists and activists worry about whether we should be altering other species when we can’t possibly get their consent. Some say that manipulating the planet’s wild things—whether we’re inserting genes or electrodes—is profoundly unnatural, causes animal suffering, and turns other life-forms into commodities. Critics worry that our effort to remake the world’s fauna is the worst example of human hubris, the expression of an arrogant desire to play God. It’s true that remaking other species according to our own wants and needs doesn’t necessarily put animal welfare first. Selective breeding hasn’t always turned out well for animals—we’ve saddled dog breeds with all sorts of hereditary diseases and created turkeys with such gigantic breasts that they can barely walk. And of course, biotechnology gives us new ways to do damage. The Fudan University scientists have created mouse embryos with defects so severe that they die in the womb. Some of their mutant mice are prone to tumors, or kidney disease, or neurological problems. One strain, unable to absorb nutrients from food, essentially starves to death. In fact, a whole industry has sprung up to sell diseased lab animals to scientists, with numerous biotech companies hawking their unique creations. In October 2011, many of these companies converged on St. Pete Beach, Florida, for an international meeting of scientists who work with genetically modified organisms. Representatives from various biotech firms held court from booths ringing a hotel ballroom, advertising animals that had been engineered to suffer from all sorts of medical afflictions. One company was selling pigs with cystic fibrosis and cancer; a brochure from another outlined eleven available strains of rodents, from the NSE-p25 mouse, designed to display Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, to the 11BHSD2 mouse, which has a tendency to drop dead of heart failure. (And just in case nothing there caught your fancy, one company’s poster promised, â€Å"You design the experiment, we’ll design the mice. †) These companies aren’t making sickly animals purely to be cruel, of course; studying these creatures yields valuable insight into human disease. That’s good news for us, but little consolation for a tumor-riddled rodent. If there is peril here, there is also great promise. Biotechnology could do more for animals than it’s given credit for. Sure, we can make animals sick, but we can also choose to deploy our speciesshaping powers to help other species survive and thrive, to create healthier, happier, fitter critters, and some scientists are doing just that. With the sophisticated techniques at our fingertips, we may even be able to undo some of the damage we’ve done to other species, alleviating genetic disorders in dogs, for instance, or bringing wild animal populations back from the brink of extinction. Some forwardthinking philosophers are dreaming of more extreme interventions, such as boosting the brainpower of apes, and using genetic modification and electronic enhancement to help animals transcend the limits of their own bodies. Right now all the options are open. Though biotechnology’s strange new creatures are being created in the world’s labs, they don’t tend to stay there very long, and there are already cutting-edge animals living in fields, homes, and nature preserves across America. Before long, we may all be able to shop for animals the same way that scientists in Florida shopped for carefully engineered mice. Imagine a future in which we can each pick out the perfect animal from a catalogue of endless options. We could create something for everyone. Avid nighttime reader? How about your own Mr. Green Genes so you can stay up late, reading by the light of the cat? For the twelve-year-old who has everything, skip the toy cars and planes at Christmas and wrap up a remote-controlled rodent. Equestrians could order up a foal with the same genes as the winner of last year’s Kentucky Derby, while sprinters could get themselves a golden retriever whose artificial carbon-fiber legs would allow it to run as fast as a greyhound. The tools of biotechnology are becoming increasingly accessible to the public; future generations of animal lovers may be able to design their own creatures without fancy lab equipment or advanced scientific training. * * * In the pages that follow, we’ll go on a journey from petri dish to pet store, seeking out the revolutionary breeds of beasts that are taking their places in the world. We’ll venture from the rocky shores of California to the dusty fields of Texas, from the canine clones that live in Korean labs to the pets that sleep in our homes. We’ll delve into genes and brains, into work that seems frivolous and projects that are anything but. We’ll meet an engineer who is turning beetles into stunt planes and a biologist who believes cloning just might save endangered species. And, of course, we’ll come to know the animals themselves—from Jonathan, a sad sack of a seal with hundreds of online friends, to Artemis, a potentially life-saving goat whose descendants could one day take over Brazil. Along the way, we’ll puzzle through some larger questions. We’ll probe how our contemporary scientific techniques are different from what’s come before and whether they represent a fundamental change in our relationship with other species. We’ll consider the relationship we have with animals and the one we’d like to have. Most of us care deeply about some form of animal life, whether it’s the cat or dog curled up on the couch—60 percent of Americans share their homes with pets of one species or another—the chickens laying our eggs, or some exotic predator fighting to survive as its habitat disappears. Now that we can sculpt life into an endless parade of forms, what we choose to create reveals what it is we want from other species—and what we want for them. But even if you feel no special affection for the creatures with whom we share this planet, our reinvention of animals matters for us, too. It provides a peek into our own future, at the ways we may start to enhance and alter ourselves. Most of all, our grand experiments reveal how entangled the lives of human and nonhuman animals have become, how intertwined our fates are. Enterprising scientists, entrepreneurs, and philosophers are dreaming up all sorts of projects that could alter the course of our collective future. So what does biotechnology really mean for the world’s wild things? And what do our brave new beasts say about us? Our search for answers begins with a tank of glowing fish. 1. Go Fish To an aspiring animal owner, Petco presents an embarrassment of riches. Here, in the basement of a New York City store—where the air carries the sharp tang of hay and the dull musk of rodent dander —is a squeaking, squealing, almost endless menagerie of potential pets. There are the spindly-legged lizards scuttling across their sand-filled tanks; the preening cockatiels, a spray of golden feathers atop their heads; and, of course, the cages of pink-nosed white mice training for a wheel-running marathon. There are chinchillas and canaries, dwarf hamsters, tree frogs, bearded dragons, red-footed tortoises, red-bellied parrots, and African fat-tailed geckoes. But one of these animals is not like the others. The discerning pet owner in search of something new and different merely has to head to the aquatic display and keep walking past the speckled koi and fantail bettas, the crowds of goldfish and minnows. And there they are, cruising around a small tank hidden beneath the stairs: inch-long candy-colored fish in shades of cherry, lime, and tangerine. Technically, they are zebrafish ( Danio rerio), which are native to South Asian lakes and rivers and usually covered with black and white stripes. But these swimmers are adulterated with a smidgen of something extra. The Starfire Red fish contain a dash of DNA from the sea anemone; the Electric Green, Sunburst Orange, Cosmic Blue, and Galactic Purple strains all have a nip of sea coral. These borrowed genes turn the zebrafish fluorescent, so under black or blue lights they glow. These are GloFish, America’s first genetically engineered pets. Though we’ve meddled with many species through selective breeding, these fish mark the beginning of a new era, one in which we have the power to directly manipulate the biological codes of our animal friends. Our new molecular techniques change the game. They allow us to modify species quickly, rather than over the course of generations; doctor a single gene instead of worrying about the whole animal; and create beings that would never exist in nature, mixing and matching DNA from multiple species into one great living mash-up. We have long desired creature companions tailored to our exact specifications. Science is finally making that precision possible. * * * Though our ancestors knew enough about heredity to breed better working animals, our ability to tinker with genes directly is relatively new. After all, it wasn’t until 1944 that scientists identified DNA as the molecule of biological inheritance, and 1953 that Watson and Crick deduced DNA’s double helical structure. Further experiments through the ’50s and ’60s revealed how genes work inside a cell. For all its seeming mystery, DNA has a straightforward job: It tells the body to make proteins. A strand of DNA is composed of individual units called nucleotides, strung together like pearls on a necklace. There are four distinct types of nucleotides, each containing a different chemical base. Technically, the bases are called adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine, but they usually go by their initials: A, T, C, and G. What we call a â€Å"gene† is merely a long sequence of these As, Ts, Cs, and Gs. The order in which these letters appear tells the body which proteins to make—and where and when to make them. Change some of the letters and you can alter protein manufacturing and the ultimate characteristics of an organism. Once we cracked the genetic code, it wasn’t long before we figured out how to manipulate it. In the 1970s, scientists set out to determine whether it was possible to transfer genes from one species into another. They isolated small stretches of DNA from Staphylococcus—the bacteria that cause staph infections—and the African clawed frog. Then they inserted these bits of biological code into E. coli. The staph and frog genes were fully functional in their new cellular homes, making E. coli the world’s first genetically engineered organism. Mice were up next, and in the early 1980s, two labs reported that they’d created rodents carrying genes from viruses and rabbits. Animals such as these mice, which contain a foreign piece of DNA in their genomes, are known as transgenic, and the added genetic sequence is called a transgene. Encouraged and inspired by these successes, scientists started moving DNA all around the animal kingdom, swapping genes among all sorts of swimming, slithering, and scurrying creatures. Researchers embarking on these experiments had multiple goals in mind. For starters, they simply wanted to see what was possible. How far could they push these genetic exchanges? What could they do with these bits and pieces of DNA? There was also immense potential for basic research; taking a gene from one animal and putting it into another could help researchers learn more about how it worked and the role it played in development or disease. Finally, there were promising commercial applications, an opportunity to engineer animals whose bodies produced highly desired proteins or creatures with economically valuable traits. (In one early project, for instance, researchers set out to make a leaner, faster-growing pig. ) Along the way, geneticists developed some neat tricks, including figuring out how to engineer animals that glowed. They knew that some species, such as the crystal jellyfish, had evolved this talent on their own. One moment, the jellyfish is an unremarkable transparent blob; the next it’s a neon-green orb floating in a dark sea. The secret to this light show is a compound called green fluorescent protein (GFP), naturally produced by the jellyfish, which takes in blue light and reemits it in a kiwi-colored hue. Hit the jelly with a beam of blue light, and a ring of green dots will suddenly appear around its bell-shaped body, not unlike a string of Christmas lights wrapped around a tree. When scientists discovered GFP, they began to wonder what would happen if they took this jellyfish gene and popped it into another animal. Researchers isolated and copied the jellyfish’s GFP gene in the lab in the 1990s, and then the real fun began. When they transferred the gene into roundworms, rats, and rabbits, these animals also started producing the protein, and if you blasted them with blue light, they also gave off a green glow. For that reason alone, GFP became a valuable tool for geneticists. Researchers testing a new method of genetic modification can practice with GFP, splicing the gene into an organism’s genome. If the animal lights up, it’s obvious that the procedure worked. GFP can also be coupled with another gene, allowing scientists to determine whether the gene in question is active. (A green glow means the paired gene is on. ) Scientists discovered other potential uses, too. Zhiyuan Gong, a biologist at the National University of Singapore, wanted to use GFP to turn fish into living pollution detectors, swimming canaries in underwater coal mines. He hoped to create transgenic fish that would blink on and off in the presence of toxins, turning bright green when they were swimming in contaminated water. The first step was simply to make fish that glowed. His team accomplished that feat in 1999 with the help of a common genetic procedure called microinjection. Using a tiny needle, he squirted the GFP gene directly into some zebrafish embryos. In some of the embryos, this foreign bit of biological code managed to sneak into the genome, and the fish gave off that telltale green light. In subsequent research, the biologists also made strains in red—thanks to a fluorescent protein from a relative of the sea anemone—and yellow, and experimented with adding these proteins in combination. One of their published papers showcases a neon rainbow of fish that would do Crayola proud. * To Richard Crockett, the co-founder of the company that sells GloFish, such creatures have more than mere scientific value—they have an obvious aesthetic beauty. Crockett vividly remembers learning about GFP in a biology class. He was captivated by an image of brain cells glowing green and red, thanks to the addition of the genes for GFP and a red fluorescent protein. Crockett was a premed student, but he was also an entrepreneur. In 1998, at the age of twenty-one, he and a childhood friend, Alan Blake, launched an online education company. By 2000, the company had become a casualty of the dot-com crash. As the two young men cast about for new business ideas, Crockett thought back to the luminescent brain cells and put a proposal to Blake: What if they brought the beauty of fluorescence genes to the public by selling glowing, genetically modified fish? At first, Blake, who had no background in science, thought his friend was joking. But when he discovered that Gong and other scientists were already fiddling with fish, he realized that the idea wasn’t far-fetched at all. Blake and Crockett wouldn’t even need to invent a new organism—they’d just need to take the shimmering schools of transgenic fish out of the lab and into our home tanks. The pair founded Yorktown Technologies to do just that, and Blake took the lead during the firm’s early years, setting up shop in Austin, Texas. He licensed the rights to produce the fish from Gong’s lab and hired two commercial fish farms to breed the pets. (Since the animals pass their fluorescence genes on to their offspring, all Blake needed to create an entire line of neon pets was a few starter adults. ) He and his partner dubbed them GloFish, though the animals aren’t technically glow-in-thedark—at least, not the same way that a set of solar system stickers in a child’s bedroom might be. Those stickers, and most other glow-in-the-dark toys, work through a scientific property known as phosphorescence. They absorb and store light, reemitting it gradually over time, as a soft glow that’s visible when you turn out all the lights. GloFish, on the other hand, are fluorescent, which means that they absorb light from the environment and beam it back out into the world immediately. The fish appear to glow in a dark room if they’re under a blue or black light, but they can’t store light for later —turn the artificial light off, and the fish stop shining. Blake was optimistic about their prospects. As he explains, â€Å"The ornamental fish industry is about new and different and exciting varieties of fish. † And if new, different, and exciting is what you’re after, what more could you ask for than an animal engineered to glow electric red, orange, green, blue, or purple thanks to a dab of foreign DNA? Pets are products, after all, subject to the same marketplace forces as toys or clothes. Whether it’s a puppy or a pair of heels, we’re constantly searching for the next big thing. Consider the recent enthusiasm for â€Å"teacup pigs†Ã¢â‚¬â€tiny swine cute enough to make you swear off pork chops forever. Harold Herzog, a psychologist at Western Carolina University who specializes in human-animal interactions, has studied the way our taste in animals changes over time. When Herzog consulted the registry of the American Kennel Club, he found that dog breed choices fade in and out of fashion the same way that baby names do. One minute, everyone is buying Irish setters, naming their daughters Heather, and listening to â€Å"Bennie and the Jets†Ã¢â‚¬â€welcome to 1974! —and then it’s on to the next great trend. Herzog discovered that between 1946 and 2003, eight breeds—Afghan hounds, chow chows, Dalmatians, Dobermans, Great Danes, Old English sheepdogs, rottweilers, and Irish setters—went through particularly pronounced boom and bust cycles. Registrations for these canines would skyrocket, and then, as soon as they reached a certain threshold of popularity, people would begin searching for the next fur-covered fad. Herzog identified a modern manifestation of our long-standing interest in new and unusual animals. In antiquity, explorers hunted for far-flung exotic species, which royal households often imported and displayed. Even the humble goldfish began as a luxury for the privileged classes. Native to Central and East Asia, the wild fish are usually covered in silvery gray scales. But ancient Chinese mariners had noticed the occasional yellow or orange variant wriggling in the water. Rich and powerful Chinese families collected these mutants in private ponds, and by the thirteenth century, fish keepers were breeding these dazzlers together. Goldfish domestication was born, and the once-peculiar golden fish gradually spread to the homes of less-fortunate Chinese families—and households elsewhere in Asia, Europe, and beyond. As goldfish grew in popularity, breeders stepped up their game, creating ever more unusual varieties. Using artificial selection, they created goldfish with freakish and fantastical features, and the world’s aquariums now contain the fantail, the veiltail, the butterfly tail, the lionhead, the goosehead, the golden helmet, the golden saddle, the bubble eye, the telescope eye, the seven stars, the stork’s pearl, the pearlscale, the black moor, the panda moor, the celestial, and the comet goldfish, among others. This explosion of types was driven by the desire for the exotic and exquisite—urges that we can now satisfy with genetically modified pets. We can also use genetic engineering to create animals that appeal to our aesthetic sensibilities, such as our preference for brightly colored creatures. For instance, a 2007 study revealed that we prefer penguin species that have a splash of yellow or red on their bodies to those that are simply black and white. We’ve bred canaries, which are naturally a dull yellow, to exhibit fifty different color patterns. And before GloFish were even a neon glint in Blake’s eye, pet stores were selling â€Å"painted† fish that had been injected with simple fluorescent dyes. With fluorescence genes, we can make a true rainbow of bright and beautiful pets. * Engineered pets also fit right into our era of personalization. We can have perfume, granola, and Nikes customized to our individual specifications—why not design our own pets? Consider the recent rise of designer dogs, which began with the Labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador retriever and a standard poodle. Though there’s no telling when the first Lab found himself fancying the wellgroomed poodle down the street, most accounts trace the origin of the modern Labradoodle to Wally Conron, the breeding director of the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia. In the 1980s, Conron heard from a blind woman in Hawaii, who wanted a guide dog that wouldn’t aggravate her husband’s allergies. Conron’s solution was to breed a Lab, a traditional seeing-eye dog, with a poodle, which has hypoallergenic hair. Other breeders followed Conron’s lead, arranging their own mixed-breed marriages. The dogs were advertised as providing families with the best of both worlds—the playful eagerness of a Lab with the smarts and hypoallergenic coat of the poodle. The rest, as they say, is history. The streets are now chock-full of newfangled canine concoctions: puggles (a pug-beagle cross), dorgis (dachshund plus corgi), and cockapoos (a cocker spaniel–miniature poodle mix). There’s even a mini Labradoodle for doodle lovers without lots of space. Tweaking the genomes of our companions allows us to create a pet that fulfills virtually any desire —some practical, some decidedly not. When I set out to get a dog, I thought I had settled on the Cavalier King Charles spaniel: small, soft, and bred for companionship. Then I discovered a breeder who was crossing Cavaliers with miniature poodles, yielding the so-called Cavapoo. I was sold. I loved the scruffier, shaggier hair of the Cavapoo, and given what I knew about biology, I figured that a hybrid was less likely to inherit one of the diseases that plague perilously inbred canines. A dog that didn’t shed would be an added bonus. Plus, poodles have a reputation for being brainy, and I’m an overachiever; if I was going to get a dog, I wanted to be damn sure he’d be the valedictorian of his puppy kindergarten class.