Business report on the ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation (KFC) Essay

In evaluating how well a company’s present strategy is working, a proper understanding of the company’s resource capabilities and deficiencies, its market opportunities, and the external threats to its future is essential. The really valuable part of SWOT analysis is understanding and evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and drawing conclusions whether a firm’s business position is fundamentally healthy or unhealthy. In a nutshell, SWOT analysis is a basis for action. KFC, being one of the world’s most recognizable brands, has its own internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats, which are identified and analyzed below. ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation (KFC) was the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain and the third largest fast-food chain in 2000’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-203). The statement suggests that the brand-name image or the company reputation of KFC is very strong. Such buyer goodwill can be classified into valuable intangible assets, which is an internal strength itself giving KFC enhanced competitiveness. Also, KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to go international in the late 1950’s and was one of the world’s most recognizable brands. This means that KFC had a high degree of organizational agility in gaining wide geographic coverage and had a strong global distribution capability. Such competitive capability can be identified as KFC’s internal strength. KFC’s international strategy was to grow its company and franchise restaurant base through several high-growth markets. This suggests that the company was able to evaluate the right market opportunities available of serving additional customer groups or expanding into new geographic markets and market openings to extend the company’s brand name or reputation to new geographic areas. ‘According to the National Restaurant Association, food-service sales increased by 5.4 percent, to $358 billion, in 1999’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-207). This was a result of a number of  demographic and social trends, which influenced the demand for food eaten outside of the home. The full-service and fast-food segments were expected to make up about 65 percent of total food-service industry sales in 2000. This could be identified as KFC’s external market opportunity since it could use its ability, internal strengths and resource capabilities to grow rapidly because of sharply rising demand in the fast-food industry. However, such a boom in the fast-food industry could also be identified as a potential external threat to KFC’s well-being since increasing intensity of competition among industry rivals may cause squeeze on profit margins. According to the National Restaurant Association, other food items that were growing in popularity since 1990s through 2000 included chicken, which offered and external market opportunity for KFC to expand. ‘During 1999, KFC continued to dominate the chicken segment, with sales of $4.4 billion’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-210). This is because KFC’s customer base remained loyal to the KFC brand because of its unique taste. This could be identified as KFC’s distinctive competence, since KFC did the fried-chicken well in comparison to its competitors. Such uniqueness provided KFC with a competitively valuable capability, which proved to be a corner stone of every strategy. Despite its dominance, KFC was losing market share as other chicken chains such as Chick-fil-A and Boston Market increased sales at a faster rate. Such mounting competition from potent new competitors could be identified as a potential external threat to KFC’s market position. However, KFC’s leadership in the U.S. market was so extensive that it had fewer opportunities to expand its U.S. restaurant base, which again was an external threat to KFC’s future profitability and competitive well-being. The greatest concern for fast-food operators was the shortage of employees in the 16-to-24 age category since many high school and college graduates enjoyed a healthy job market. This was a result of low unemployment, since U.S. economy began to expand during early 1980s through 2000. Such environment is again an external threat for KFC’s profitability. Also, the labor costs made up about 30 percent of a fast-food chain’s total costs. Mounting competition made it difficult to increase prices, since consumers  made decisions about where to eat primarily based on price. Such labor costs and increasing intensity of competition among industry rivals which squeezed profit margins posed external threat to KFC’s profitability. However, the demographic trends offered KFC with a potential opportunity by which costs could be lowered and operations made more efficient by increasing the use of technology. ‘According to the National Restaurant Association, most restaurant operators viewed computers as their number one tool for improving efficiency’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-213). Hence, computers which could improve labor scheduling, accounting and payroll can be identified as KFC’s external market opportunity which is a big factor in shaping the company’s strategy. However, higher costs and poor availability of prime real estate was one of the adverse demographic change that negatively affected profitability of such fast-food chains and hence posed an external threat. International operations carried by fast-food chains like KFC carried risks not present in domestic-only operations. Long distances posed several problems such as quality, transportation, servicing and support problems. Moreover time, culture and language differences increased operational problems. Such problems could be identified as potential threats to KFC’s international strategy, which was focused on several high growth international markets. However, rising per capita incomes worldwide and the development of the Internet, which was quickly breaking down communication and language barriers were wildly attractive market opportunities for food-chains such as KFC seeking to quickly develop global brands and a worldwide consumer base. KFC had trouble breaking into the German market during the 1970s and 1980s, however McDonald’s had a greater success penetrating the German market, because it made a number of changes to its menu and operating procedures to appeal to German tastes. This could be identified as KFC’s internal weakness since there was a lack of competitively important skills or expertise to attract new customers as rapidly as McDonald’s did. Moreover, many of KFC’s problems during the 1980s and 1990s surrounded its limited menu and inability to quickly bring new products to market, which could be identified  as KFC’s potential weakness, since it was behind its rivals such as McDonald’s in putting capabilities and strategies in place. An example of this is when KFC suffered one of its more serious setbacks on experimenting with the chicken sandwich concept when McDonald’s test-marketed its McChicken sandwich in the Louisville market. As per the circumstances, Latin America could be identified as KFC’s wildly attractive market opportunity because of the size of its markets, its common language and culture, and its geographical proximity to the United States. KFC could well evaluate the market opportunities available from Latin America and identified its own resource capabilities required to capture it, the result of which was KFC’s Latin America Strategy, which represented a classic internationalization strategy. KFC’s early entry into Latin America gave it a leadership position over McDonald’s in Mexico and the Caribbean with 438 restaurants in 2000. Mexico, in Latin America could be identified as highly attractive market opportunity for KFC because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which went into effect in 1994 and created a free-trade zone between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Other fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s were rapidly expanding into other countries in Latin America such as Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Such mounting competition from potent new competitors was an external threat for KFC’s competitive well-being. Another threat came from Habib’s, Brazil’s second largest fast-food chain, which opened its first restaurant in Mexico in 2000. Another potential external threat to KFC’s well-being was the long-term value of the peso, which has depreciated at an average annual rate of 23 percent against the U.S. dollar since NAFTA went into effect. This translation risk lowered Tricon Global’s reported profits and damaged its stock price, subsequently affecting KFC’s profitability and market position. Industry and Competition Analysis An industry’s competitive conditions and overall attractiveness are big strategy determining factors. In other words, good industry and competitive  analysis is a prerequisite to good strategy making. Hence, it is very essential for a firm to evaluate whether the industry environment it is in is either attractive or unattractive to protect its future profitability. Porter’s Five Forces – A MODEL FOR INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The industry and competitive analysis used to evaluate an industry’s environment involves a process to discover what the main sources of competitive pressure are and how strong each competitive force is. Porter’s five-forces model is a powerful tool for identifying the principal competitive pressures in a market and assessing how strong and important each one is. Michael Porter provided a framework that models an industry as being influenced by five forces, which are discussed below in context to the FAST-FOOD INDUSTRY and KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN CORPORATION. ?a Rivalry: – If rivalry among firms in an industry is low, the industry is considered to be â€Å"attractive†, however the competitive structure of an industry is clearly â€Å"unattractive† from a profit-making standpoint if rivalry among the firms is very strong. Looking at the fast-food industry there was increasing intensity of competition among rivals. In the chicken segment, KFC was losing market share as other chicken chains such as Chick-fil-A and Boston Market increased sales at a faster rate. Many industry analysts predicted that Boston Market would challenge KFC for market leadership. Popeyes and Church’s were potent new competitors, trying to compete head-on with fried-chicken chains. McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s were rapidly expanding into other countries, which subsequently posed a threat. However, even when the rivalry among firms in the fast-food industry is very strong, the industry can be competitively attractive for KFC whose market position provides a good enough defense against competitive pressures. Moreover, to formulate a better strategy and pursue an advantage over its rivals, KFC could lower prices to gain a temporary advantage, improve product differentiation, creatively use channels of distribution, and exploit relationships with suppliers. ?a Barriers to Entry / Threat of Entry: – The competitive structure of any  industry would be identified as â€Å"unattractive† from a profit-making standpoint if low entry barriers are allowing new rivals to gain a market foothold. ‘According to the National Restaurant Association, food-service sales increased by 5.4 percent, to $358 billion, in 1999. More than 800,000 restaurants and food outlets made up the U.S. restaurant industry, which employed 11 million people’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-207). Also as the U.S. market matured, many restaurants expanded into international markets as a strategy for growing sales. After McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, at least 35 chains had expanded into foreign countries by 2000. This suggests that the fast-food industry had relatively low entry barriers, allowing new rivals to gain a market foothold. Such low entry barriers could possibly result from common technology, easy access to distribution channels, little brand franchise, and low scale threshold. Hence, as per the above discussion, fast-food industry is clearly â€Å"unattractive†. However, it depends on the incumbent firms such as KFC to offer only passive resistance against a new entrant or aggressively defend their market positions using price cuts, increased advertising, and product improvements to give them a hard time. ?a Threat of Substitutes: – The competitive structure of an industry remains â€Å"unattractive† if competition from substitutes is strong. As a rule, ‘the lower the price of substitutes, the higher their quality and performance, and the lower the user’s switching costs, more intense is the competitive pressures posed by substitute products’ (Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. 88). There are no such substitutes in any other industry to stand in competition with the firms in fast-food industry, which is very unique. However, there are various segments in the fast-food sector of the restaurant industry, which may be identified as substitutes for each other. These segments are sandwich chains, pizza chains, family restaurants, grill buffet chains, dinner houses, chicken chains, nondinner concepts, and other chains. Usually, such chains have price cuts and improved quality and performance as a part of their strategy and since the buyers can switch to any segment of the fast-food industry easily, there are comparatively high competitive pressures among such segments. Hence, for KFC (chicken chain), the fast-food industry is not an attractive one to be in, since sandwich  chains made up the largest segment of the fast-food market and dinner houses made up the second largest and fastest-growing fast-food segment in 1999. ?a Buyer Power: – The power of buyers is the impact that customers have on a producing industry. Looking at the fast-food industry, it is more likely that the buyers (customers) can exercise considerable bargaining leverage, which again makes the competitive structure of the industry â€Å"unattractive†. This is because buyers’ costs of switching to competing brands or substitutes are relatively low in the fast-food industry. Moreover, the mushrooming availability of information on the Internet is giving added bargaining power to individuals. It is relatively easy for buyers to use the Internet to compare the different prices offered by various fast-food outlets in the industry. In a nutshell, the more information buyers have, the better bargaining position they are in. Also, the prospect of losing a brand loyal customer not easily replaced often makes a seller more willing to grant concessions of one kind or another. ?a Supplier Power: – A producing industry requires raw materials – labor, components, and other supplies, which are received from suppliers. Suppliers, if powerful, can exert an influence on the producing industry, such as selling raw materials at a high price to capture some of the industry’s profits. However, in the fast-food industry, the suppliers possibly have little or no bargaining power or leverage over rivals since the items they provide are commodities available on the open market from numerous suppliers. In fast-food industry it is relatively simple for rivals to obtain whatever is needed from any of several capable suppliers. Hence, the suppliers being able to exercise little or no bargaining power or leverage over rivals’ makes the competitive structure of the fast-food industry clearly â€Å"attractive†. As a conclusion, the collective impact of competitive forces in the fast-food industry is relatively stronger, which subsequently lowers the combined profitability of participant firms. However, even when the five competitive forces are strong, an industry can be competitively â€Å"attractive† or â€Å"favorable† to firms such as KFC whose market position and strategy provides  a good enough defense against the competitive pressures to earn above-average profits. Key Industry Success Factors Key industry success factors (KISFs) by their very nature are so important that all firms in the industry must pay close attention to them. In other words, KISFs are the prerequisites for industry success and are the rules that shape whether a company will be financially and competitively successful. Looking at the fast-food industry, there are various KISFs necessary to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Manufacturing-related KISFs for the fast-food industry would be low-cost production efficiency (to permit attractive retail pricing and ample profit margins), quality of manufacture (to provide customers with better taste in comparison to the rivals), high-labor productivity (to reduce cost since labor costs are about 30 percent of a fast-food chain’s total costs). Distribution-related KISFs would be short delivery times and having company-owned retail outlets. From the marketing point of view, clever advertising (to induce customers to buy a particular brand repeatedly), courteous customer service and attractive styling of packaging would be identified as important KISFs for fast-food industry. Skills-related KISFs would be quality control know-how and an ability to develop innovative recipes. In apparel organizing, the KISFs would be an ability to respond quickly to shifting market conditions, superior ability to use Internet and other latest technology to conduct business and managerial experience. Some other important KISFs are favorable image or reputation with buyers, convenient locations of the stores (important for food-outlets), and access to financial capital (important in newly emerging industries). Hence, the above stated key industrial success factors for the fast-food industry are cornerstones for a firm’s strategy formulation and trying to gain sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals. Company Analysis Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation (KFC) is one of the successful fast-food chains, which was the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain and the third largest fast-food chain in 2000. KFC dominated the chicken segment, with sales of $4.4 billion in 1999 through 2000. KFC was in the lead position in the U.S. market, however had fewer opportunities to expand its U.S. restaurant base due to the entry of new rivals such as Chick-fil-A and Boston Market. Despite gains by Boston Market and Chick-fil-A, KFC’s customer base remained loyal to the KFC brand because of its unique taste, which could be identified as one of the most important resource strengths of KFC. However, KFC faced several internal problems under its various owners, which adversely affected its financial performance and competitive strength. Heublein, Inc., which was in business of producing alcoholic beverages and had a little experience in the restaurant business, acquired KFC in late 1970s. Conflicts quickly erupted between Colonel Sanders and Heublein management since the quality-control and restaurant cleanliness badly deteriorated under Heublein, Inc. By 1977, the restaurant openings had slowed down, since service quality declined under Heublein management. However, KFC did fairly well under the management of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc., which had little more experience in the restaurant business than Heublein. PepsiCo introduced several changes after the acquisition of KFC. Staff at KFC was reduced in order to cut costs and many KFC managers were replaced with PepsiCo managers. ‘KFC’s culture was built largely on Colonel Sander’s laid-back approach to management’ (Krug 2001, cited in Thompson and Strickland 2003, p. C-206). Employees enjoyed good job security and stability. However, PepsiCo’s culture was characterized by a much stronger emphasis on performance, which reinforced the feelings of KFC managers that they had few opportunities for promotion. As a result, a strong loyalty created among KFC employees over the years was lost. The Original Recipe Chicken allowed KFC to expand through the 1980s without significant competition from other chicken chains and thus new product  introductions was not a part of KFC’s marketing and overall business strategy. Such limited menu and inability to quickly bring new products to market made KFC face several problems during the 1980s and 1990s. However, KFC’s current strategy has been refocused. The cornerstone of its new strategy was to increase sales in individual KFC restaurants by introducing a variety of new products and menu items that appealed to a greater number of customers. Also, from the marketing point of view, KFC introduced a three-pronged distribution strategy that increased sales to a considerable level. The strategy firstly focused on building smaller restaurants in non-traditional outlets such as airports, chopping malls, universities, and hospitals. Secondly, it continued to experiment with home delivery. Third, KFC established â€Å"2-in-1† units that sold both KFC and Taco Bell (KFC/Taco Bell Express) or KFC and Pizza hut (KFC/Pizza Hut Express) products. KFC’s early entry into Latin America gave it a leadership position over several other food-chains in Mexico and the Caribbean. KFC’s Latin America Strategy was an example of a classic internationalization strategy. KFC firstly expanded into Mexico and Puerto Rico because of several external opportunities such as geographical proximity and other political and economic relations with United States. As KFC’s experience in Latin America grew, it expanded its franchise system throughout the Caribbean. Only after sustaining a leadership position in Mexico and the Caribbean did it venture into South America. However, KFC faced difficult decisions in regards to the formulation of an effective Latin American Strategy over the next 20 years, since limited resources and cash flow limited KFC’s ability to aggressively expand in all countries at the same time. Statement of alternative options Looking at the fast-food industry and the highly intensive competition prevailing, a better possible option for KFC would be to merge with other growing chicken chains such as Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Boston Market, Church’s, and El Pollo Loco. Such merger would possibly create one of the largest chicken chains in the fast-food industry. Merging with another company would dramatically strengthen KFC’s market position and open new  opportunities for competitive advantage. In the fast-food industry, such mergers enable the companies to have much stronger technological skills, more or better competitive capabilities, a more attractive lineup of services, wider geographic coverage and greater financial resources to expand into new areas. However, it would still be essential for KFC to tailor a strategy that fits its particular strengths and weaknesses so as to hold a lead position in Latin America by operating several company-owned restaurants in the targeted countries. Recommendations Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation, the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain and the third largest fast-food chain, has several internal weaknesses and resource deficiencies which needs to be identified and improve to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. Moreover, today’s fast-food industry offers several external opportunities and poses potential threats to the rivals’ well-being and market position. It would be essential for the managers of KFC to identify firm’s resource strengths and weaknesses and its external opportunities and threats, which would provide a good overview of whether a firm’s business position is fundamentally healthy or unhealthy. This would further complement in formulating strategies so as to expand firm’s business activities over a wider geographic coverage. Latin America is an attractive location for investment because of the size of its markets, its common language and culture, and its geographical proximity to the United States. However, it would be difficult for KFC to penetrate the market successfully as a result of mounting competition from several competitors. It would be a wise recommendation for KFC to merge with other growing chicken chains, which would possibly fill the resource gaps and allow the new companies to do things, which KFC could not do alone. Such a merger would allow KFC to operate several franchised and company owned restaurants in the targeted countries of Latin America, which is more effective in building a significant market share in individual countries. This is because market leadership often requires a country subsidiary that actively manages both franchised and company owned restaurants. Such  strategy would also enable KFC to better control quality, service and restaurant cleanliness. REFERENCES Aaker, DA 1992, Developing business strategies, 3rd edn, Wiley, New York. Faculty of Business and Law 2003, Guide for students, 4th edn.   Perry, C 1992, Strategic management processes, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.   Thompson, AA & Strickland, AJ 2003, Strategic management, 13th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Portfolio Essay

Portfolio Reflection Essay The beginning of high school I was a seed in English class. I was not particularly good at English and had doubts on whether I should ask the teacher to move me down to the college prep class. Just like a seed, I was a plain little student sitting in an honors class. Maybe from last year’s English class, I was fully aware my writing was not anything special. That was what I thought because I compared myself to my friends, but for sure, one thing I was positive was that writing was my strength in English rather than vocabulary and reading comprehension.With a portfolio with all my past essays in front of me on my desk, I flipped through it. I noticed that my essays were not well-organized, and I had trouble with structuring my essays. However, at the same time, I saw that I had a variety of transitions, and clear topic sentences. The topic sentences were not creative because it was in a basic format, but I knew she could work on that the upcoming year .Thanks to the portfolio that my teacher handed out at the start of the school year, I was able to realize that my writing can change and believed that if I put time and effort through the year, my writing may become a flower one day and bloom beautifully. I sat down in that classroom, day after day, learning new ways to improve. Eventually, almost a year of 9th grade passed. Now that almost a year has gone by and I compare my current self to myself in the beginning of the school year, I definitely see an improvement.I started the year off well, with many A’s in my timed writing and my annotations. But as the year progressed, my grades were dropping. At first, I thought it was because I was putting less effort or my English teacher was grading hard on me. Although my grades did not show improvement, I feel my grades are unimportant. What really matters to me is that I grew and improved mentally through the year despite what my low grades. Of course, if I improved then my grad es would rise, but compared to the beginning of the school year, I feel that I am able to write more fluently.Response to literature essays seem more familiar to me, and I do not struggle with concrete details anymore. Due to the timed constant timed writings I had to take, I can brainstorm essays faster and finish essays within the given time limit. Paying attention to details was a major problem for me in the beginning of the school year, but now I know that I should read the text more than once and constantly write notes in the book with post-its so that I do not forget what happened.In addition, just like I wanted to improve on my topic sentences, I was able to learn to make a variety of topic sentences instead of the basic topic sentence formats. Discussions, homework, lectures, and tests, were not the most interesting things, but through these, I was able to change. Throughout the year, I was given many on-demand writings reflecting upon each book that I read in class. I alway s had trouble with brainstorming because I took too much time on it. I was not able to organize my paragraphs well with pressure of time.The results of this were shown through my basic formatted paragraphs because I could not think of varieties of sentences. However, as time passed, my brainstorming time got faster and I was able to have enough time to edit my essay afterwards. As I looked through my portfolio toward the end of the year, I saw all the on-demand writings I took over the course of the year. My favorite one turned out to be the Fahrenheit 451 in class essay. The essay was well written according to the comments from the teacher.It had an interesting opening sentence, organized thesis, and clear topic sentences. I am proud that I showed changes in my TS especially since I wrote the Fahrenheit 451 ICE toward the beginning of the school year. I would probably say that this essay is far the best on-demand writing I have ever written. In addition, I wrote a couple other ICEs on Oedipus Rex and Romeo and Juliet. From these two essays, I learned that I need to work on my commentaries and my introduction paragraph. I look forward to seeing new growth in myself next year. Process essays were my worst essays.It took up lots of time to brainstorm and research, especially since they are worth a lot of points and important. However, I found that the fact that we had only a limited amount of sentences for commentary was invaluable. I should have the freedom to write as much as I want in the commentary especially since that part is one the most important parts to each body paragraph. A couple essays I wrote were a persuasive essay and a career report. Typically, people would favor the essay that received a higher grade, but I prefer my persuasive essay. It had an attractive hook, but needed work on unity and depth.Persuasive essays are my worst type of essay especially because I have to do research and I am terrible at looking up concrete details for these essay s. I usually tend to blow off my commentaries because I do not have enough detail. But while flipping through my last year’s essay, I found a persuasive essay, and it brought a smile to my face. There was a huge improvement with the flow of the essay. My other essay, the career report, was definitely better than my persuasive because it had a good introduction and integrations, but the improvement touched me more than just a grade.I never knew an essay with the worst grade I ever received could make me smile. At the moment, I am a seed with a small, barely noticeable sprout. I feel that I am still not a great writer, but I learned many valuable lessons this school year. Through those lessons and small improvements I noticed, I hope my writing will grow and bloom like flowers in the spring. Next year, I wish to create stronger commentaries, introductions, and conclusion paragraphs. My weaknesses will become my strengths to improve throughout my high school years.

Literature During the Early Period (1900-1930) Essay

The twentieth century ushered in the development of Filipino literature in English. Weeks after the capitulation of Manila, the U.S. Military Government was set up and, almost seven schools were re-opened as a necessary strategy to promote the pacification of the Philippines and the dissemination of common culture. English was first taught merely as a subject because the Spanish system of education then existing in the Philippines was allowed to continue. In April 1900, by virtue of President McKinley’s directives of the Philippine Commission, English became the official medium of instruction in the public schools. In order to accelerate the pacification drive, schools were established in all parts of the Philippines. The early teachers were taken in directly from the army. To augment the small number of American teachers, the Philippine Normal School, now Philippine Normal University, was founded in 1902 to train Filipinos in the art of teaching and eventually take charge of elementary education. In the same year, the Army transport, Thomas, brought six hundred American teachers to the Philippines who replaced the soldiers as teachers. They introduced to the Filipinos English and American literature in the form of works written by Irving, Chaucer, Milton, Donne, Shakespeare, Emerson, Hawthorn, Poe, Longfellow, Bryant, Keats, Shelley, Coleridge, Lamb, Joyce, Tennyson, Macaulay, and other famous writers. These were the writers w ho became the models of the early Filipino writers in English. At first, Filipino writing in English was quite formal and imitative, thus, the common reference to this period was known as Apprentice period. Influences from the Spanish language could be seen in the use of Spanish expressions and in ornate style. Grammatical expression were at times awkward and there was difficulty in the use of prepositions and pronouns. The first thirty years of Philippine literature in English produced little in the fields of drama and novel. Drama was hardly written, because vernacular plays and zarzuela still dominated the stage. The plays produced  were highly emotional, not intellectual experiences. The short stories produced during this period were either romantic tales of the past with legendary figures or were imitations of plots or themes taken from American and other sources. The most significant short story produced during the period was â€Å"Dead Stars† by Paz Marquez Benitez. Poetry was dominated by naà ¯ve sentimental love lyrics written in a loose rhetoric without much intellectual significance and overblown to achieve intensity. Verbal exuberance made the poems bombastic, artificial and insincere. The essay took a form similar to that utilized by British and American writers, but because the essay is a free form of composition, it soon developed its own personality. The Philippine essay in English is less inhibited by requirements inherent in other literary genres. It matured earlier in the favourable milieu and successfully projected Philippine customs and traditions. However, most critics agree that the early literary output in English can be considered definitely commendable. It can be favourably compared to the Colonial Period of American Literature in relation to English literature of those times. Footnote to Youth Jose Garcia Villa Dodong, who is 17 years old wanted to marry Teang. He wanted to go home so that he could tell his father and ask for his permission. At first, he was hesitant of saying it, but he wanted him to know. For Dodong, he is a well-grown man and can handle things like marriage. When he told his father about it, a long silence surrounded the house. His father asked him if he must marry because he was still young. But Dodong resented his father’s question, and finally was being permitted to get married. After 9 months, Teang gave birth to their first son named Blas. All of a sudden, Dodong felt guilty and ashamed to his mother because of becoming a father at a very young age. But when he saw his child, he could not control the happiness in him. Dodong did not want any more children, but he could not help them from coming. For six consecutive years, a new child came along. There were seven children in all. Teang did not complain even though she secretly regretted being married at an early age. She was very thin and shapeless now because of bearing many children and the hard work of taking care of them as well as the household. Sometimes, she wondered if she would have the same life if Lucio, her other suitor who was nine years older than Dodong, was the one she married. But she loved Dodong. Lucio got married after Teang’s marriage to Dodong, but he was childless until now. When Blas turns 18, he told his father, Dodong, that he wants to marry Tona. Dodong did not want his son to marry yet because he was young and Dodong already knew what comes next to it. Dodong did not object, but tried to make his son think twice before rushing to marriage. He does not want Blas to end up like him.

Reflective Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflective Paper - Assignment Example Personnel manement also dealt with labor relations. Employees were only treated as machines and were only used to get work done. Towards the end of 1940, people working in organizations realised that their feelings were affected by their working conditions and also effected their productivity. During this time personnel management approach was discarded and human relations approach was adopted. The human relations approach focussed more on the social and psychological factors such as: Working conditions Relationship between the workers and their managers Support and style of leadership of the mangers workers involvement in the decision making process The human relations approach helped to change the attitude of the managers towards the workers, they started treating the workers like human being and not just machines for the production of goods. However with the emergence of HRM people of the organization were recognized as a source of competitive advantage. HRM can therefore be terme d as a system of policies, practices, programmes, philosophies,and decisions that affect the bahavior, performance, attitude of the people of the organization so that they are satisfied, perform and contribute in achieving the objective of the organization. Human Resource Management includes practices like human resource planning, job profiling, job design, job analysis, recruitment, selection, orientation, training and development, compensation, performance management, grievance management and maintaining labor relations. Functions of HRM Figure 1: Multiple Role Of HR Functions (Amos,Ristow,Pearse, & Ristow, 2009, 10) From figure 1 we can say that an effective HR function fulfills multiple roles such as alligning its own strategies with the overall business strategies and assisting the business in organizing itself for the execution of all its strategies. It becomes very apparent from the figure that HRM plays a continuous role both in strategy formulation as well as in the impleme ntation process. The function of HR can be classified in three broad heading (Pravin, 2010,6) These are: 1. Managerial Functions 2. Operative Function 3. Strategic Function The Managerial function of HRM involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Planning- It is an effective tool for determining the personnel programmes that are neccesary to achieve the organizational goals. Accurate forecasting is the is vital for the success of any plan. Planning involves establishing the goals and objectives that are to be achieved, developing the rules and procedure and determining plans and forecasting techniques. Organizing- After formulation of the plans, the organization of men and materials are done for accomplishment of the plans. Through organizing, a firm establishes its structure or hierarchy and determines the authority, accountability and responsibility of the employees in regards to the job. Organizing involves giving each member specific tasks, establishing divisions and departments, delegating and establishing channels of authority and communication and creating a system to coordinate the works of the members. Staffing- It involves the creation and maintainance of human resources through employment, training and development, benefits and industrial relations measure. It involves

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example Through the use of good argument construction her position on the energy and environmental needs in America is made clear and consistent with her formal platform stance. Warren’s campaign position where energy and the environment are concerned is based on five different perspectives. Those five perspectives are to improve the economy, to keep families healthy, to protect national security, to address climate change, and to protect and preserve the environment for our children. These arguments are first based upon the emotional aspects of how they relate to the issues of environment and energy. She uses imagery of family, children, and the future to support her beliefs in an attempt to sway her readers about her commitment to family and safety. The ethos that she addresses is the concept of family values in American society as it relates to the issues. Warren has a specific stance on the working class and in her capacity as an advocate for the working class she uses the concept of family values to support her positions on various topics. ... n is for the seat of the Senate that is designated for the state of Massachusetts, it is important to not only address American citizens, but to address the people of the state in which she is running for Senate. Each of her argument points are not only to the American people but also to those in Massachusetts in order to ensure that their specific needs are connected to the greater landscape of the American public. Her role as a Senator will be two-fold as it will be to represent the concerns of the whole nation as well as those of her direct constituency. Creating this connection and speaking to her beliefs as they relate to both entities provides for a convincing argument as to why her beliefs will be beneficial within the context of her role as Senator. The logos that is used in order to create a logic of the discussion is through using examples to prove the claim. Each of the aspects of the reasoning that is used is developed through examples of how her position supports a bette r future in regard to problems that are currently being faced. As an example, she lists under her position of finding clean renewable energy and protecting the environment for the purpose of improving the economy as a means to efficiency, to create jobs, and to protect resources so that they will be sustainable. In addition, she mentions those natural resources that are related to Massachusetts and how her stance supports those resources for the people of the state. A position that supports both the ethos and the logos of her argument in relationship to current expectations in regard to theme, she relates her position on oil production and the need for clean energy to terrorism. Although she does not directly address terrorism, she discusses the issues in relationship to the war in Iraq and

A Problem in My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Problem in My Life - Essay Example The initial stages of work had been challenging yet fulfilling until one of the members started taking unusual control of the group by seemingly imposing uneven delegation of assignments claiming that the majority of the pupils requested more of his service than those of others in our roster. I had thought all along that my own performance was capable of radiating motivation in such a way as to get everyone in the team to operate with a sense of interdependence. Then I figured that some people desired the same amount of recognition I was receiving so that the spirit of teamwork would be best acknowledged. Another cause that might have led to indifference and the urge to manipulate was my failure to interact properly, being accustomed to the individualistic approach toward personal growth at the expense of quality relations. Apparently, I occurred to have overlooked the equivalent significance of the contributions made by the rest of the members. By such failure to promote the welfare of others especially their worth in the collective effort, some had narrowed to thinking that I was conceited.

Conflict Scenario Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conflict Scenario - Assignment Example If one analyses these Myers-Briggs type differences in tandem with the differences in the age, experience and the qualification of these two people, it gets really easy to understand the dynamics of this conflict (Eilerman 1). Jane being more experienced and extrovert seems to be really interested in the technical expertise of Brandon. Brandon on the contrary being introvert and perceiving, seems to be misinterpreting Jane's overtures as being nosy and prying. Both the people do not harbor any serious malice towards each other. The conflict has originated simply because of the differences in their personality types. 3. While Brandon and Jane are resorting to a combination of the controlling and avoiding mode of conflict handling, they can make the things much better by resorting to a compromising mode that is expected to gradually evolve to a collaborating mode, considering the fact that both of them are talented and skilled people. 4. My plan of action is that first I would arrange separate meetings with Jane and Brandon. Listening is the most important skill that could be used in such a scenario. I will seriously listen to the views of Jane and Brandon and will try to identify their underlying concerns and issues.

Class discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Class discussions - Assignment Example Redundancies are sometimes relayed through emails. This often lead to confusion amongst staff members not knowing the reasons for these actions and whether they are likely to be next in being fired. Personally I believe that there are ways in which communication in an organization can be effectively relayed and avoid misinterpretation and misinformation. Being a senior staff in an organization, I would engage my colleagues in face-to-face discussions. In an organization, this means that staff meetings are important and allow staff members of various levels in the organization to freely express thoughts and ideas on how to improve the organization. Listening Listening is defined as the act of making an effort to hear something. Recently I discovered a weakness in my listening ability, which really cost me. My boss called me into his office and requested me to re-submit a report based on an earlier fieldwork that I had undertaken, but since I did not take the time to listen I thought t hat he referred to a report based on a previously finished project. Since I had not yet finished writing the report and did not want to appear lazy, I rushed on my desk and quickly typed the rest of the latest report without proper usage of words and emailed the report to the boss. He later called me and told me that he wanted a previously done report and that since I had gone an extra mile to submit the latest report, he would go through it. I went back to my desk and resubmitted what he had asked for. The following day he summoned me to his office and told me that the latest report was shoddy and that was unlike me. You can imagine how it tarnished my good records. Electronic messages Electronic messages are messages relayed through electronic means. Emails are example of electronic messages. Recently an internal memo was sent to every employee in the organization indicating that the management had decided to scrap the evening office tea in order to cost cut on the organizations s pending budget. I jokingly typed an email with the intention of sending it to my colleague who is also a friend. The email read [the next cost cutting strategy would be for us to take turns in guarding the gate]. I accidentally entered the [send to all] button and the message reached the senior management. After twenty minutes, I received an email from the human resource warning me against inciting staff members. You can imagine how it felt. Personalization of systems System personalization is designed to suit a user’s preference and function. windows 7 has recently come up with the latest versions with improved capabilities. For example, previously it was only possible to use one wallpaper on the desktop. Users who wanted a rotation of wallpapers would require installing a software program that would swap wallpapers in regular intervals. Windows 7 now comes with an option to use multiple wallpapers that rotate automatically depending on a user’s mood. Personalization based on language preference can be instrumental in enabling users speaking different languages to translate and understand information being relayed (Panek, W and Wentworth, T, 2010). Some of the common features present in all the three windows 7 editions include improved desktop navigation and home group. The new desktop features include a retooled taskbar that is redesigned to help the user work smarter and cut clutter. It also

Technology management Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology management Blog - Essay Example Money has a time value. This means the holder of the money has to make timely considerations when making financial decisions. This is used in our information technology sector. The information technology sector is a business and has to take into considerations the importance of making investment decisions. The time value of money is the fundamental mathematics that revolves around investing and it forms the basis of the financial calculations. Most significantly, it expounds on the concept of compound returns, which is the basic driving force of the investments growth overtime. There are several indicators of the time value of money. They include, net present value, present value, and future value. The present value is the current worth of future sum of money or cash inflows that are attained at a specific rate of return. Future cash flows are discounted at a certain discount rate. This means that the higher the discount rate, the lower the net present value of the future cash flows. The present value of an annuity is the sequence of equivalent payments that are paid at equal time intervals. An example of this is the lease and the rental payments made to house owners. Thirdly, there is the present value of perpetuity. This is an endless and a constant stream of identical cash flows. The last feature of time value of money is the future value. This is the future value of an asset or cash at a specified date that is to occur in the future that should be equal to the value of money at a specified sum now. This includes the future value of an annuity. This is the future value of a sequence of payments known as annuities that assumes the payments are invested at a given rate of interest (ROI). The importance of time value of money is that they provide an insight on the information on the risk of an investment. This helps the investor in being able to assess his business risks that faces him. Secondly, it provides a crude

A Passage to India by Forster Essay Example for Free

A Passage to India by Forster Essay By close analysis of the structure and language of chapter one discuss how Forster expresses his overall concerns within the novel as a whole via this initial description of the Indian landscape. Through chapter one of A Passage to India Forster does far more than introduce the small town of Chandrapore. In this initial section of the novel the construction of the text reflects the tiered Indian society that becomes the basis for Forsters deeper exploration of mankind and human behaviour. In addition, the ominous significance of the Marabar Caves within the novel is prefigured via the mysterious imagery used to describe them. This is contrasted by the more optimistic language which is used to describe the overarching sky that unifies all men and points towards a hope for the future of peaceful co-existence. At the beginning of the chapter the reader is first introduced to the Muslim aspect of Chandrapore, the lowest tier of the Indian society but perhaps the most resilient. Here what Adela will later refer to as the Real India is depicted. Through vivid imagery the area appears akin to a wasteland devoid of any significance. Even the holy river Ganges is described as Trailing for a couple of milesscarcely distinguishable from the rubbish it deposits so freely. It is negative language such as this that creates a compounding sense of desolation about the Real India. This of course is entirely necessary in order for Forster to create and convey the contrast between the Indian and English cultures which he believes to be incompatible in this context. Graphic and harsh language permeates the whole of this first section of the chapter creating a highly effective image of the squalor in which the Mohammedan Indians are condemned to live by their English rulers. The streets are Mean the Temples ineffective and the Filth of alleyways deters all but the invited guest. By describing their quarter in such a way Forster makes the Muslim Indian seem almost sub-human to his readers, this of course, is how they are viewed by the English. They are remarked upon as Low but also as Indestructible. Despite their apparent lack of sophistication, the way in which, The general outline of the town persists comes to reflect the similar way in which the Muslim culture, although suppressed by the English, is based upon strong foundations of religious devotion and an inextinguishable spirit. Forster describes them as Swelling hereshrinking there and by doing so creates a very evocative image which captures perfectly the way in which the Indian race move en-mass and in harmony, united in their angst to recapture their homeland. As Forster remarks, Inland the prospect alters and the Eurasian, Anglo-India described in the second section of the passage could not present a more stark contrast to that of Islamic Chandrapore. Here the houses belonging to the Eurasians Stand on high ground an important symbol which reflects the way in which the English believe themselves to be above the Indian race both morally and intellectually. It is this attitude of ignorance and racial superiority which will be developed and scathingly criticised by Forster as the novel progresses. Indeed it could be argued that humanitys unwillingness to understand one another is the underlying theme behind the whole text and that in reality Adela and Mrs. Moores passage to India is in fact a deeper analogy for a more complex passage of mankind towards understanding itself. On a second rise of land lies the Little civil station. As the focal point for Eurasian society it is remarked that, From hereChandrapore appears to be a totally different place. This observation encapsulates the way in which the station and its social club both seem to be isolated from the rest of India. Immersed in a fantasy world of British high society the station itself is described as, Provoking no emotion and Sensibly planned. This epitomises the logical mindset of the English, which deeply contrasts that of the spiritual Indian and highlights how even at a simple level of human understanding harmony is not possible between the two cultures creating the Muddle which is colonial India. Britains attitude of imposing herself upon other nations, typical of this time period before partition, is something heavily attacked by Forster. Throughout the text he is seen to criticise England replicated in India because to him this is unnatural and false. During the entirety of this second section of the passage Forster adopts a tone of negativity towards the English. Their section of Chandrapore is described as, Sharing nothing with the rest of the city except the overarching sky conveying the way in which they consciously isolate themselves from the Indians. In the overall context of the novel this image becomes very important. As gradually relations between the two races come to deteriorate the sky comes to be the only unifying element between Indian and Englishman. Further more, the way in which the image is echoed throughout the text seems to suggest the existence of a more powerful presence beyond man both physically and in terms of significance within the universe. It is Forsters belief that ultimately the petty quarrels of man are meaningless in such a vast entity. The final section of the chapter is used by Forster to expand on the concept of the overarching sky. It is described as having a Persistent blue core the stars Hanging like lamps from the immense vault which is the sky and it is elevated imagery such as this which comes to symbolise a hope for the future of mankind. In contrast to the muddle and misunderstanding which covers India and the rest of the earth, the sky instead represents an element which unifies all men. Its persistence represents a hope that one day all the problems of man explored within the novel will pale into insignificance. It could be argued the description of the sky evokes an atmosphere akin to that of the Hindu religion. Forster remarks, The sky settles everything and indeed to Godbole and his fellow Hindus this is to a certain degree true. The unanswerable questions, the answers to which are sought by both Muslim and Christian are left to be pondered by Godbole. He seeks to answer questions about his own spiritual existence and the natural world around him. As a result his passage within the novel becomes one of progression as opposed one to of retreat as is experienced by Aziz and Fielding. The Chapter ends with a final short image of the mysterious Marabar caves. All around League after league the earth lies flat, yet in the south, A group of fists and fingers are thrust up through the soil. These fingers are the Marabar hills and seem to point mysteriously towards the heavens above. The way in which they seem to separate themselves from their earthly surroundings suggests an equally unearthly presence about them. This of course will be proved true by the supernatural and inexplicable violation which Adela experiences within their walls. Dark and devoid of humanity they represent an aspect of India that the logical English will never be able to conquer. Therefore it is possible to conclude that the first Chapter of A Passage to India can be regarded as a template for the novel as a whole. Almost all of Forsters overall concerns are indicated by its content and it is clear that the varied description of the Indian landscape comes to symbolise differences between those who inhabit the land. This disjointed construction of society will only increase as the novel progresses ultimately leading to the personal retreat of the novels two main characters, Aziz and Fielding whom are unable to stand out as individuals and trapped within the confines of their own cultures. It will be only the deeply spiritual Godbole who is shown to have made any real progress via his own Passage to India and of course Mrs. Moore, who despite her death becomes a symbol for hope by the way in which she is revered as a Hindu Goddess. Bibliography A Passage to India E.M. Forster Classic notes www.classicnotes.com

Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli

Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production has caused an intensive study in this area during the last years. However, it is well known that there are a number of issues associated with the high expression of a recombinant protein. E. coli is one of the most used organisms for this purpose. In this organism, the most common and challenging problem is the formation of inclusion bodies. Probably, an incorrect folding process provokes that the recombinant protein forms those structures. When the protein forms inclusion bodies, it is insoluble and usually useless. In order to find a proper protocol for the high production of the protein S, we have assessed the expression system which use the BL21*DE3 strain as host and the pCV05 plasmid which contains the protein S sequence fused with the His tag sequence. Growth rate, plasmid loss and recombinant expression level were assessed. We obtained a reasonable production of target protein in the insoluble fraction. Further research is needed to know whether the processing of the His tag is able to make soluble the protein from the inclusion bodies as is described by other researchers. Introduction The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production (RPP), due to the number of applications it can provide, has caused an intensive study in this area in order to improve its protocols. Thus, an improvement would make possible an increment in the target protein yield and the quality production as well as to establish more efficient host and plasmid for each target protein . The most common hosts utilized in RPP are bacteria because of the capacity that they have to express almost any gen and the relative facility to modify and use their plasmids in order to produce the target protein . However, it is widely known the number of problems that these hosts have when they produce a high amount of recombinant protein. Firstly, a frequent problem is the appearance of inclusion bodies which hinder a correct recovery of the target protein produced . Secondly, the host lysis event is the other common problem in RPP in bacteria. This undesirable happening in the production of recombinant proteins can be produced for several reasons. One of them is the high level synthesis of the mRNA and the target protein . Other reasons described are the accumulation of fragments of the recombinant protein because of the proteolysis . Finally, the main cause of the problems related to RPP is the accumulation of incorrectly folded intermediates of the recombinant protein. In E. coli this fact implies general stress responses . In order to find a proper protocol for the protein S (PS) production in E. coli and know more about the RPP process, we conducted an experiment testing post-induction bacteria growth, production of target protein and plasmid retention. In this experiment the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 was used to express the PS fused with a C-terminal His tag (6xHis). Materials and Methods The E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 (a derivative of pET21a plasmid) was utilized to conduct the experiment. This plasmid carries in its sequence the gene of PS fused with a C-terminal extra sequence which encodes a His tag (predicted molecular weight 60 KDa). A flask with 25 mL LB (10 g L-1 tryptone, 5 g L-1 yeast extract, 5 g L-1 NaCl) supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin was inoculated with a single colony of E. coli. Subsequently, this flask was incubated during 7 hours (25 °C). The next step was to inoculate the 2.5-L fermenter (ΑG CH-4103 Bottmingen ®), which contained 2 L LB supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) glucose and 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin, with 25 mL from the flask previously inoculated and incubated during 8 hours (25 °C). Immediately before inoculate the fermenter, a sample was taken in order to use it as a blank to measure the OD650nm of the following samples. The culture was grown at 25 °C until an OD650 nm of nearly 0.6 when it was added the inducer of recombinant protein expression (IPTG). The culture was supplemented with 100  µM IPTG. After this step, the culture was grown at 25 °C during 8 hours. The pH was controlled at 7 adding 5% (v/v) HCl and 1 M NH3, and 0.03% (v/v) final concentration of silicone antifoam was added in the fermenter due to prevent foaming during the last hours of the fermentation. During that period of 8 hours, the culture was fed and samples were taken at various times. One sample was picked just before the induction (0h) and the other samples were collected at 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h and 7h after the induction in order to check the bacteria growth. Besides, a pellet of bacteria was obtained from those samples collected to check the amount of target protein by a 15% SDS-PAGE gel subsequently stained with 0.2% (w/v) Coomassie Blue using the NEB Prestained Protein Marker, Broad Range (7-175 KDa) ® as a marker. In addition, BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent ® protocol was cond ucted for additional 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h samples due to separate the insoluble and the soluble protein fractions from the bacteria and assess them by SDS-PAGE as described above. On the other hand, 0h, 3h and 7h samples were plated onto non selective nutrient agar (NA) and later replicated onto NA supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin in order to assess the plasmid retention of the bacteria. Results Inducer effect in Bacteria growth It was conducted a measurement of OD650 nm of the culture during the 8h-period of growth. In order to conduct that assessment, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h, 7h after the induction with IPTG. After the IPTG induction the culture grew slowly until time 3h. After that time, the growth rate was increased significantly until time 5h. However, at this time the culture presented a decrease in growth until time 7h. The growth dropped specially between time 5h and 6h (Fig. 1). Plasmid retention To assess how the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 retains the pCV05 plasmid after the IPTG induction, samples from the fermenter were collected at time 0h, 3h and 7h post-induction. Serial dilutions of these samples were plated onto non selective NA and subsequently replicated onto NA supplemented with carbenicillin. The relation between the colonies grown on NA plates and the colonies grown in NA supplemented with carbenicillin give the % of plasmid retention. The plasmid retention was hardly altered during the period of 7 hours post-induction assessed. Unexpectedly, according to the results obtained, the plasmid retention 3 hours after the induction is higher than the rate at time 0h. Regarding the time 7h, the plasmid retention percentage is much lower than in time 0h and 3h (Fig. 2). Target protein yield In order to compare the target protein yield during the growth of the culture, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and different times post-induction (1h, 2h, 3h, 4h and 5h). In addition, insoluble and soluble fractions for time 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h were obtained in order to know if the target protein was correctly folded (protein in soluble fraction) or incorrectly folded (insoluble fraction). These samples were assessed in a SDS-PAGE gel. According to the SDS-PAGE profiles, although the PS::His band should be around 60 KDa, in this experiment the target band seems to be below the expected weight (Fig. 3). Regarding the total protein assessment, this band shows a gradual increase in its intensity from time 3h to time 5h post-induction. However, at time 0h, 1h, 2h after induction there was not significant production of the recombinant protein (Fig. 3a). As for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples, the SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a higher intensity of the target protein band in the insoluble fraction than in the soluble fraction of the times 8h, 4h and 3h. At those times, the intensity of the recombinant protein band for insoluble fraction samples is almost impossible to appreciate. The same occurs for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples at time 0h (Fig. 3b). Overall, according to the results of the SDS-PAGE profiles, there was a significant recombinant protein production since the time 3h after the induction with IPTG. On the other hand, it seems to be that there was not a proper target protein folding because the recombinant protein could be found in the insoluble fraction rather than in the soluble fraction. Discussion The main cause of an incorrect folding of the recombinant protein when a high yield is conducted is well known. The accumulation of misfolded protein intermediates causes considerable stress in the host cell . A wide range of different strategies have been conducted in order to solve this problem . It has been described that the use of IPTG-inducible T7 RNA polymerase system in the BL21 strain to produce high concentrations of recombinant protein usually implies a high level of post-induction stress . The solution proposed by some researchers is select mutants which have lower expression rates of the recombinant protein . Other researchers have opted for limiting the concentration of inducer used . Nowadays, the establishment of general protocols and host for the different target proteins is still a challenge. In this experiment, we have assessed the capacity of the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 to produce a high amount of PS fused with a C-terminal His tag as well as the bacteria growth during the process and the plasmid retention. According to the first part of the results, the bacteria growth rate changed during the 7 hours of fermentation. It is described that the high amount of recombinant protein in the cell causes stress response. This stress response implies that the growth rate of the culture turned into a negative rate (the number of cells in the culture decreases) . The data collected from other groups conducting the same experiment shows that this event has happened in 2 groups but the other 3 groups have a different growth pattern (Fig. 4). Technical issues may explain this incongruity between the different results obtained. Regarding the plasmid retention, the data obtained in this experiment suggest that because of the stress suffered by the cells when the recombinant protein levels are higher, the cells tend to have a lower rate of plasmid retention. An explanation may be that the bacteria with the plasmid suffer a higher stress due to the induction by the IPTG, and thus, they have less chance to survive than the bacteria which accidentally do not have the plasmid. Therefore, the bacteria suffer a selective pressure which results in a plasmid loss and it is more obvious after several hours of growth. Analyzing the data obtained by other colleagues, it is supported that there is a relation between the time after the induction and the plasmid retention rates (Table 1). As for the PS::His yield, the data shows that in the BL21*DE3 strain using pCV05 as a plasmid and with the conditions described before, this expression system needs 3 hours to start expressing the recombinant protein. After that time, it seems that the most part of the target protein is in the insoluble fraction. Regarding the total protein samples assessment, the relative amount of target protein produced by the cultures of the all groups was the same (Table 2). However, the recombinant protein is still in the insoluble fraction after the BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent protocol. Probably, some of the proteins from the insoluble fraction were forming inclusion bodies . It is described that after the expression of the protein removing the His tag makes the recombinant protein more soluble and thus, it is possible to dissolve the inclusion bodies and recover a functional recombinant protein . Furthermore, the His tag allows an easier purification of the protein due to the affinit y of this polypeptide for metal ions . In order to confirm those statements for PS, it would be necessary to conduct purification and a proteolysis process of the His tag in order to assess whether the efficiency of this expression system is cost-effective and the amount of protein obtained is enough. The conclusion of these data is that this expression system for the PS yield could be a good and profitable system whether the His tag added finally allows to recover the recombinant protein from the inclusion bodies. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr Claire Vine, Dr Ian Cadby and Dr Jeff Cole for the excellent support given as well as the rest of the groups which conducted the same experiment because they have contributed to the experiment with very valuable data.

Relationship Between Mosquito Breeding And Environment

Relationship Between Mosquito Breeding And Environment Mosquitoes are widely known throughout the world and mosquito using several water bodies for breeding (WHO, 1982). Larval species can be found in almost every type of non-flowing aquatic habitat from the marshy edges of large lakes, provided that fish or tadpoles are not present through swamps and marshes of all types and sizes along sections of rivers, streams, or ditches where the water is not flowing to small collections of water in rock crevices, tree or stump holes, leaves of pitcher-plants and artificial containers (Wood, Dang and Ellis, 1979). The climatic and environmental factors are influenced directly and indirectly to the distribution of mosquitoes (Mafiana et al., 1998). Mosquitoes prefer an environment with certain resources which are food, shelter, favourable temperature, rainfall, breeding site and suitable humidity in sufficient amount and at the appropriate time for survival and development for the eggs of female mosquito to hatch (Romoser Stoffolano, 1998). The breeding of various mosquito species is recently increase contributed of the recent increase in ecological and environmental modification due to agricultural activities and urbanization (Amusan et al., 2005). Temperature and the availability of appropriate aquatic breeding habitats are the two environmental variables that most impact the abundance of mosquitoes. Temperature impacts both the survivorship and developmental rate of mosquitoes; surface wetness, as mentioned above, limits the population size of sub-adult mosquitoes. These two parameters, temperature and surface wetness, will be used to force the model mosquito population (Kettle, 1995). Constant studies on biology and larval ecology of mosquitoes have been observed as important tools in mosquito control. Such studies will help to determine the existing and disappearing mosquito species and the extent of their distribution (Mafiana et al., 1998 Anyanwu et al., 1999). Mosquito can cause more human suffering than any other organisms. Mosquito bite cause severe skin irritation through an allergic reaction to the mosquitos saliva which can cause human skin red bump and itching. Mosquito also carry disease that afflict human such a s malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis and dengue virus which a mosquito bites infected the host, the virus will be transferred into it, and the transmission chain starts again (WHO, 1997). The life cycle of the mosquito is begins with the female mosquito will lay eggs at any surface water, which hatches as a larvae in the right conditions. The larvae then develop into several instar stages before entering pupation. After the pupation, the mosquito emerges as an adult which is also called as amigo. Adults generally mate within the first few hours of emergence, and then the adults will rests on the surface water for a short time to allow itself to dry and all its body parts to harden. Blood feeding does not occur for a couple of days after the adults emerge including the mating. Once fully developed, the female mosquito will proceed to find a protein source for their eggs which is blood. After biting, the female rests while take care of their eggs and repeat thegonotrophic cycle again. 1.3 Significances of study Environment plays an important role on life cycle of mosquito. So, in this study and research, it can show us the interactions between environment and life cycle of mosquito. In this research study, I would like to know the effects of environmental factors such as pH, rainfall and temperature of the site on mosquito abundance by using the larvae one. Mosquito abundance is actually relate with the amount of rainfall and contribute to increase the number of larval breeding sites, the spatial relationship between larval habitat availability and adult mosquito abundance is not clear. In these study also, I would know the disease that mosquito can bring which effect the human health. We can know that mosquitoes are a vector agent that carries disease causing viruses and parasites from person to person without catching the disease themselves. Furthermore, I will know the methods used for mosquito control that can reduce the disease that mosquito can bring to human. Depending on the situation, source reduction, biocontrol, insecticides to kill larvae and to be specific, the adults may be used to manage mosquito populations. In these research study also, we would like to know when the suitable breeding time for mosquito is actually. It is said that many species disappear almost completely during the dry season and it will be most productive towards the end or just after the wet season, when most species will have built up to a peak and the limits of the breeding sites have temporarily stabilized. 1.4 Problem Statement Mosquito had been known for a century which is they carry diseases which can cause human to death. These can be described as the mosquito can cause more human suffering than any other organism. Furthermore, mosquito bite can cause severe skin irritation through an allergic reaction to the mosquitos saliva which can cause humans skin itching and red bump. Mosquito carry several diseases which are malaria, filarial diseases (dog heart worm), viruse dengue, encephalitis and yellow fever. These diseases can suffer human being and can cause human being to death. Nowadays, mosquito distribution is increasing in Malaysia because of certain conditions that contribute to mosquito breeding. More than that, population in Malaysia also increases by year to year. So, this also will increase the number of cases that inflict the human by mosquito. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Environment In general, environment is actually referred to the surrounding of something or an object. The natural environment is contrast with the built environment which includes the areas and components that are strongly influenced by the human. An ecosystem is a kind of natural which include all of plants, animals and microorganisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment. There have been several studies that have focused on how environmental factors affect the mosquitoes breed (Yee 2008). The environmental factors and climatic are influenced the distribution of mosquitoes which in directly or not (Mafiana et al., 1998). Mosquitoes prefer an environment with certain condition that help their breeding which in appropriate amout and time for survival and development (Romoser Stoffolano, 1998). 2.2 Biodiversity 2.3 Mosquito Mosquitoes are insects belonging to the order Diptera, the True Flies. Like all True Flies, they have two wings, but unlike other flies, mosquito wings have scales. Female mosquitoes mouthparts form a long piercing-sucking proboscis. Males differ from females by having feathery antennae and mouthparts not suitable for piercing skin. A mosquitos principal food is nectar or similar sugar source. There are over 2500 different species of mosquitoes throughout the world; about 200 species occur in the United States with 77 species occurring in Florida (Darsie et al., 2002). 2.3.1 Life Cycle of Mosquito The mosquito is actually been through four separate and distinct stages of its life cycle which are egg, larva, pupa and adult. Eggs are laid one at a time or attached together to form rafts. They float on the surface of the water. Most eggs hatch into larvae within 48 hours, others might withstand subzero winters before hatching. Water is a necessary part of their habitat. The larva lives in the water and comes to the surface to breathe. Larvae shed their skins four times, growing larger after each shed. The larvae feed on microorganisms and organic matter in the water. During the fourth molt the larva changes into a pupa. The pupa stage is a resting time which is non-feeding stage of development but pupa are mobile, responding to the light changes and moving with a flip of their tails towards the bottom or protective areas. This is the time the mosquito changes into an adult. When development is complete, the pupa skin splits and the adult mosquito (imago) emerges. The newly emerged adult rests on the surface of the water for a short time to allow itself to dry and all its body parts to harden. The wings have to spread out and dry properly before it can fly. Blood feeding and mating does not occur for a couple of days after the adults emerge. 2.3.2 Transmission Virus transmission of mosquito will affect the human after being bitten and human is the reservoir of the virus. In mosquito, the virus will take for about 8 to 10 days to develop. A female mosquito may transmit the virus to its progeny through transovarian transmission, but it is not frequent. These virus or disease from mosquito will transmit into human circulation during the blood meal time. The virus will develop in the human circulation which the human incubation period takes about 3 to 14 days. If a mosquito bites, the virus will then transmit into the host and the transmission chain starts again (WHO, 1997). Vertical transmission of dengue virus is very rare. Nonetheless, 2 cases were reported in Malaysia in 1996 (Chye et al., 1997). 2.3.3 Factor Contribute to the Disease Outbreak The occurrence of mosquito disease is depends of several factors, including the density of mosquito vectors. For example the dengue virus which is carried by the Aedes aegypti that is needed to sustain dengue virus transmission epidemically or endemically has yet to be determined. Virus transmission increased by denser human population. Urbanization in tropical countries has resulted in both a proliferation of Aedes aegypti and an increase in the number of susceptible human hosts (WHO, 1997). According to McMichael and Woodruff (2008), mosquito borne infections tend to increase with warming and certain changes in rainfall pattern. Higher rainfall will heighten the disease transmission. Therefore, climate change will affect the potential, seasonal transmission and geographic range of various vector borne diseases. These diseases would include all water borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever (Haines et al., 2006). Climate change will affect the biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services that we rely to human health. Changes in temperature and rainfall effect the distribution of the diseases vectors, such as Aedes mosquitoes (Haines et al., 2006). Recent reviews suggest that dengues range and incidence may be changing as a result of climate change (Gubler, 2002). Most of the transmissions of mosquito borne diseases are sensitive to weather conditions for several reasons here, mosquito need standing water to breed, and a warmer temperature is critical to adult feeding behavior, the rate of larval development and speed of replicate of virus (Hales and Panhius, 2001). Haines et al., (2006) stated that changes in climate that can affect the transmission of vector borne infectious disease include temperature, rainfall changes, humidity, soil moisture and sea level rise and it will cause the variation of the overall incidence of the disease, where less, the geographical distribution of disease also change. 2.3.4 Breeding and Larval Habitat According to Queensland Government (2005), the mosquito is frequents backyards in search of containers holding water inside or outside the home. For example cans, buckets, jars, pot plants dishes, vases, birdbaths, boats, discarded with no rims tyres, roof gutters blocked by leaves, containers, tarpaulins and black plastic. It also can breed in natural containers like fallen palm fronds. Besides that, even in a drier condition it also breeds in water in subterranean sites such as wells, telecommunication pits, sump pits and gully traps. Furthermore, according to Queensland Government (2005) also stated that climate of tropical and subtropical regions are very suitable for mosquito breeding. This is because of high temperature and high appearance of quiescent water body. With this, it makes the climate in Malaysia is tropical and the temperature are within 20Â °C to 30Â °C throughout the year and with high average rainfall which is almost 2500mm in the Peninsular Malaysia and it is become the most suitable breeding conditions and habitat for mosquito. 2.2.5 Ecology of the Mosquito Breeding Site

The Second Red Scare Essay -- Politics McCarthyism McCarthy

The Second Red Scare The McCarthy era, which generally spanned from 1947 to 1957, brought to the forefront of American politics the question of civil rights. At issue were controversies about both First Amendment rights to assembly and free speech and Fifth Amendment rights to due process and freedom from self-incrimination. Anti-Communist actions often involved restrictions on these rights, and heading the anti-Communist movement was the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). This committee, which consisted of government officials from Congress, was formed to investigate the threat of Communism in America. In doing so, the committee brought in witnesses, usually individuals thought to have, or to have had, Communist affiliations. The overzealous tendencies of HUAC, however, resulted in the use of bullying and smear tactics in its quest to expose a supposed Communist conspiracy. Coming to the defense of individuals under attack by anti-Communists was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU’s aim was to champion civil rights, regardless of the ideologies of the groups it defended. Its activities have ranged, for example, from defending the rights of Nazis to protest during the seventies to espousing the abolition of segregated schools in the South during the fifties. In the McCarthy era, the ACLU had its hands full dealing with threats to civil rights that stemmed from anti-Communism. The ACLU, however, was not without its own anti-Communistic sentiments. Indeed, within the ACLU was a cadre of anti-Communist members that made it difficult at times for the ACLU to take a strong stance for the civil liberties of suspected Communists. This side of the ACLU often gets overlooked, as do the original intentio... ...arvard U.P., 1955. Kazan, Elia. â€Å"Executive Hearing.† Laws and Orders: Humanities and the Regulation of Society. Ed. Gail Hart. Boston. Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002: 402-408. Parnell, Thomas. â€Å"Transcripts from Hearing Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC).† Laws and Orders: Humanities and the Regulation of Society. Ed. Gail Hart. Boston. Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002: 398-401. Schrecker, Ellen W. â€Å"Archival Sources for the Study of McCarthyism.† The Journal of American History. 75.1 (June 1988): 197-208. JSTOR. California Digital Lib., U of California, Irvine. 11 May 2002 . Walker, Samuel. In Defense of American Liberties: a History of the ACLU. New York. Oxford U.P., 1990. JSTOR. California Digital Lib., U of California, Irvine. 13 May 2002 .

Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce Essay -- Business Management Studie

Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Electronic commerce industries that make â€Å"e-commerce† possible are growing at breakneck speed, altering not only how Americans, but also the global marketplace produces, markets, and acquires goods and services. In the e-commerce industry, it is generally agreed that Amazon.com provides one of the best business model â€Å"benchmarks† today. Amazon.com came online in the summer of 1995 with a mission to use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. According to their home page Amazon.com â€Å"since the summary of 1995 our customer base and product offerings have grown considerably, millions of people in more than 220 countries have made Amazon.com the leading online shopping site.† When you visit Amazon.com, you can buy books, music, videos, and more--by a click of the mouse. While the company has yet to turn a profit, they have revolutionized e-commerce by making customer interaction and feedback part of their brand image. Amazon’s method is to create a â€Å"community† of consumers. Much of their products speaks for themselves, so the customer feedback provides an objective measuring stick for the integrity of Amazon’s services. Individuals may express their opinions on all available products. Promoting such favorable business environment Amazon hopes to reinforce awareness and confidence in e-commerce customer population, as well as encouraging best practice among competitors. Amazon’s competitive threats come from other e-commerce, Web sites like: Walmart.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Ebay.com, etc. Amazon knows that customers are sensitive to product quality and price, and personal information security so at Amazon.com they can expect to benefit from all three offerings. Amazon.com has a world-class management team led by Mr. J effrey P. Bezos founder and company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He has exceptional knowledge of the industry. As stated in the home page new release â€Å"On a single Saturday in July, 100 airplanes and 9,000 trucks delivered more than 250,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" to customers,† providing the hottest kid’s book faster than local bookstores. This action clearly shows the powers of our suppliers and buyers. Amazon.com is committed to customer satisfaction despit... ...C. (2001). Amazon to cut product offerings, drop layoff clause. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_578031,00.html. Chait, M. (2001). Amazon releases preliminary q4 highlights. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_554311,00.html Cox, B. (2001). Amazon tops in online ad spending. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_534171,00.html Cox, B., Chait, M. (2001). 1,300 layoffs at Amazon. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_580621,00.html Stepankowsky, P. L.(1998). Cyberspace hits the real world. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bus.utexas.edu/~west/wwwboard/messages/90.html#followups http://www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/ http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/ecomcom.htm http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/index.html http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/research.html http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-8139066-0.html?tag=ltnc Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce Essay -- Business Management Studie Amazon.com - A Giant of E-commerce EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Electronic commerce industries that make â€Å"e-commerce† possible are growing at breakneck speed, altering not only how Americans, but also the global marketplace produces, markets, and acquires goods and services. In the e-commerce industry, it is generally agreed that Amazon.com provides one of the best business model â€Å"benchmarks† today. Amazon.com came online in the summer of 1995 with a mission to use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. According to their home page Amazon.com â€Å"since the summary of 1995 our customer base and product offerings have grown considerably, millions of people in more than 220 countries have made Amazon.com the leading online shopping site.† When you visit Amazon.com, you can buy books, music, videos, and more--by a click of the mouse. While the company has yet to turn a profit, they have revolutionized e-commerce by making customer interaction and feedback part of their brand image. Amazon’s method is to create a â€Å"community† of consumers. Much of their products speaks for themselves, so the customer feedback provides an objective measuring stick for the integrity of Amazon’s services. Individuals may express their opinions on all available products. Promoting such favorable business environment Amazon hopes to reinforce awareness and confidence in e-commerce customer population, as well as encouraging best practice among competitors. Amazon’s competitive threats come from other e-commerce, Web sites like: Walmart.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Ebay.com, etc. Amazon knows that customers are sensitive to product quality and price, and personal information security so at Amazon.com they can expect to benefit from all three offerings. Amazon.com has a world-class management team led by Mr. J effrey P. Bezos founder and company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. He has exceptional knowledge of the industry. As stated in the home page new release â€Å"On a single Saturday in July, 100 airplanes and 9,000 trucks delivered more than 250,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" to customers,† providing the hottest kid’s book faster than local bookstores. This action clearly shows the powers of our suppliers and buyers. Amazon.com is committed to customer satisfaction despit... ...C. (2001). Amazon to cut product offerings, drop layoff clause. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_578031,00.html. Chait, M. (2001). Amazon releases preliminary q4 highlights. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_554311,00.html Cox, B. (2001). Amazon tops in online ad spending. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_534171,00.html Cox, B., Chait, M. (2001). 1,300 layoffs at Amazon. Internet News. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_580621,00.html Stepankowsky, P. L.(1998). Cyberspace hits the real world. Retrieved April 1, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bus.utexas.edu/~west/wwwboard/messages/90.html#followups http://www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/ http://www.cordis.lu/esprit/src/ecomcom.htm http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/index.html http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/research.html http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-8139066-0.html?tag=ltnc

Apush Dbq 2

During the Washington, Adams, and Jefferson administrations (from 1776 to 1807) neutrality was America’s main foreign policy. In determining that neutrality was the overall focus of American diplomacy, one must assess the deviations from, as well as the success, of neutrality. Neutrality was originally implemented by George Washington in order to maintain the young country’s best interests. However, lapses in neutrality occurred when the government was forced to favor one foreign power, either Great Britain or France, through treaties. Furthermore, commercial interests ultimately drove America’s decisions and thus influenced the effectiveness of neutrality. Despite such lapses in success, America’s number one foreign policy remained neutrality. Political leaders found involvement in European affairs to be irrelevant and detrimental to the young nation, thus neutrality was the primary focus of America. George Washington was a strong supporter of neutrality despite his highly opinionated cabinet (Hamilton was pro-British and Jefferson pro-French). In 1793, in response to King Louis XVI’s beheading in the French Revolution, Washington issued the Proclamation of Neutrality which stated that America would â€Å"adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers†¦ † (D). Washington opted to remain neutral in order to avoid conflict with Britain and France, refusing to side with either one. Furthermore, Washington emphasized the necessity of neutrality in his farewell address in 1796. He explained that the â€Å"great rule of conduct for [Americans] in regard to foreign nations†¦ † was to have â€Å"†¦ s little political connection as possible† (J). Thus, Washington established the importance of neutrality which was also supported by John Adams. During the Revolutionary War (right after the Battle of Saratoga) the Americans formed the Franco-American alliance and gained French support from the king. However, John Adams wrote in his diary in 1775, â€Å"That We ought not to enter into any Alliance with her [France], which should entangle Us in any future Wars in Europe,† (A). Adams supported Washington’s push for neutrality and recognized the consequences of forming an alliance with France. Adams was right about the Franco-American Alliance, which later resulted in France seeking American aide against Britain after Louis XVI was beheaded. On the other hand, Adams approved Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain which upset the French who were at war with the British. Jay’s Treaty settled the return of confiscated goods and ships to the Americans and established that pre-Revolutionary War debts must be paid as stated in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Americans had avoided these debts even though the Treaty of Paris stated that â€Å"creditors on either side shall meet†¦ o the recovery of the full value in sterling money of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted,† (E). During the Jefferson administration, foreign tensions rose and eventually lead to the War of 1812. Jefferson also enforced neutrality, claiming in his Inaugural Address in 1801 that the nation will maintain â€Å"honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none†¦ à ¢â‚¬  (K). Such ideas were evident in his response to the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. In 1807, the British warship Leopard fired on an American warship, the Chesapeake, killing three Americans and impressing four others. Impressment was the act of forcing American sailors into the British navy as depicted in document M (M). Instead of declaring war as many American citizens wanted, Jefferson issued the Embargo Act, which cut off all American shipping to Europe in an attempt to cripple the British economy and prevent them from confiscating American goods and impressing their sailors. However, Jefferson’s attempt to maintain neutrality back-fired and crippled the American economy more than Europe’s. Conflicts between Great Britain and France often caused lapses in America’s focus on neutrality. Specifically, during the Washington’s administration and the French Revolution, â€Å"Citizen† Genet, the French minister to America, broke the typical rules of diplomacy by appealing directly to the American people. He called for American support of the French Revolution, pointing to the Franco-American Alliance which stated that the two nations shall â€Å"make all efforts in its Power, against their common enemy [Britain]†¦ † (C). Such support would directly violate America’s primary foreign policy, neutrality. Thus, Washington refused to support the French Revolution and make an enemy of Great Britain. This decision angered pro-French Americans who supported France’s aspiration to establish a republic. As a result, Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, resigned from his position of Secretary of State in disagreement with Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality. The ratification of Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain further infuriated French supporters, failed to solve the issue of British impressment, and even promised that Americans would pay pre-Revolutionary War debt to Britain (F). Moreover, it caused the French to be outraged with the Americans and started French seizure of American ships. Political tensions between the three nations continued during John Adams’ presidency with the XYZ Affair in 1798. Three French agents, known only as X, Y, and Z, demanded a high fee from American delegates to enter negotiations for a treaty regarding the French seizure of American ships. This tested the young nation’s focus on neutrality as outraged Americans called for war with France. As a result, neutrality was pushed aside as the Quasi War, which was never officially declared, broke out. The public anger caused by the war strengthened the Federalist party, who used the power to pass the Alien, Sedition, and Naturalization Acts. These Acts limited Democratic-Republican power by: increasing the number of years required for immigrants to become citizens (Naturalization Act), by authorizing the president to deport aliens deemed a threat to the nation (Alien Act), and by making it illegal for newspaper editors to criticize the president or Congress (Sedition Act). The Convention of 1800 concluded the Quasi War, however impressment continued into Jefferson’s presidency during the Napoleonic Wars, making it more difficult for the young nation to maintain neutrality. Thus, conflicts between Great Britain and France often involved America despite the American focus on neutrality. Commercial interests often times caused disruptions of neutrality and competed as a priority of the young nation. Because commerce was of high importance to the growing nation, neutrality, in order to maintain trade, was necessary. Thomas Paine even stated, â€Å"Our plan is commerce,† and emphasized the importance of neutrality to the American economy by saying â€Å"we ought to form no political connection with any part of it [Europe],† (B). For instance, Jay’s Treaty negatively affected American commerce and political relations with France. Additionally, James Madison criticized the treaty as being â€Å"ready to sacrifice†¦ the dearest interests of our commerce†¦ † (G). The treaty not only affected political diplomacy with France, but also affected relations with Spain and their North American colonies. Spain saw the treaty as a sign that the Americans were building an alliance with Britain and felt a need to strengthen their American territories. This lead to Pinckney’s Treaty, in 1795, which set the boundary line between the United States and the Spanish territories, as well as allowed the use of the Mississippi River and the Louisiana sea port to both the Americans and the Spanish (H). Pinckney’s Treaty protected American commerce along the Mississippi and resulted in peaceful relations with Spain. Later, during Adams’ presidency, the seizure of American merchant ships by France raised tensions that resulted in the Quasi War. The disruption of American commerce forced the nation to disregard neutrality in order to protect their trading rights. The Convention of 1800 concluded the war and promised that â€Å"Property captured†¦ shall be mutually restored†¦ † (I). The Convention revealed the evident commercial intentions of the Quasi War and set the American economy as a priority equal to that of neutrality. However, Great Britain continued to seize American ships and impress American sailors. Instead of engaging in war, Jefferson opted to pass the Embargo Act of 1807 in an attempt to sustain neutrality. The Act prevented trade with any European nation, attempting to damage Britain’s economy and preclude impressment. Unfortunately, the plan backfired and devastated the American economy. Thus, Americans felt a greater need to deviate from neutrality in order to better their commerce. Although America faced disruptions in neutrality, ultimately, it remained the nations overall primary foreign policy. From 1776 to 1807, neutrality kept the young nation out of unnecessary European conflicts and served to maintain the country’s best interests.