Global HIV Prevention Essay Example for Free

Global HIV Prevention Essay HIV has moved from being an ordinary disease to a pandemic that is affecting people world wide. Strategies have been developed and are still being formulated on the way forward to combat this menace and preventing further spread of the disease. Unfortunately Africa is the hardest hit producing the first twenty countries with the highest prevalence rates. More than 60% of the adult population is living positively with the virus. In the US the story is different with decline of prevalence rate going down drastically but the incidence rate is ever increasing. There are the traditional ways that so far have been used to combat HIV/AIDS which include: Abstaining from sexual acts until at least one is married, being faithful to one partner without switching partners now and then and if the two methods do not work, one can result to using prevention (condom) especially among the youth. The main goal of this paper (study) is to bring down the prevalence rate of HIV nationwide and worldwide by seeking to address some myths and beliefs that are associated with HIV stigmatization. Disparities in race are some of the main areas of address. The other goals that are in some ways encompassed in this main objective are to minimize the number of people at high risks of transmitting or being effected by the virus. The other aim of this report is to address the issue of getting people to know their HIV status especially those that do not know and are living positively with the virus. The third goal of this report is formation of a network of people living with HIV/AIDS which will be like a social group for getting moral and financial support. These networks will act as the connection between organizations that want to monitor HIV progress and people living positively (CDC, 2007). For achievement of these goals, a lot of inter agency cooperation and non governmental organizations (non profit organization) input would be required not withstanding some strategies that have to drafted and enforced for total success. Success of these strategies will depend on the area where they are being applied. For instance address of poverty is a strategy that can be applied in Africa but not in the developed countries like Europe and US. This will be trying to empower people economically so that they will not have to exploit their sexuality for upkeep which spreads the HIV disease even more. A second strategy that would be effective is monitoring the morbidity and mortality arising from HIV so that utilization of funds for HIV program may be planned and allocated accordingly. This goes a long way in preventing the embezzlement of funds intended for this program. Another strategy that can work well is putting in place preventive programs and counseling centers. This is best undertaken through campaigns and organizing for workshops that are aimed at educating the masses on the HIV pandemic. The best tool here to employ is the media both electronic (internet TV and radio) and printed. This is the best overall idea and would work best for Africa which has the highest prevalence rates and also the poorest continent (CDC 2007). Program assessment and policy formulation is a further tactic that can be effective in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This will entail a lot of research and data collection that will employ a lot of disciplines to be effective. The data to be collected will be from the affected people therefore the statistics collected will be based on real numbers and not estimates. This will necessitate the usage of questionnaires and testing of the population to come up with data. This strategy will closely work with another that aims at building a database that will be for coordinating the function of all the organizations that are involved in various aspects of monitoring HIV globally. This database will be in form of a link that will be a collection of the various programs that have been developed since the pandemic started. Many of the organization here will be divided into various groups like those that offer counseling services and education to the public, those that offer financial help to people affected in order to secure retro viral drugs or for general upkeep (CDC, 2007). On top of all these strategies, a lot of finance is required to support the various activities that are needed to keep the machines of preventive strategies working. The money can be allocated to different activities related to HIV researches like invention of the elusive vaccine. Counseling activities also require much financing and preventive counseling is preferred since when the public has been educated about the dangers and ways through which one gets HIV, it will prevent many unprecedented cases that happen by chance and ignorance. As we seek ways to deal with HIV, other related sexually transmitted diseases should not be forgotten because they occur concurrently and they can be used as indicators of places with high incidence of HIV especially when the actual statistics are unavailable (CDC 2007). In order for successful HIV prevention and drastic reduction of its prevalence rate, many non governmental organizations from countries across the globe and governmental cooperation is required. This will foster strengthening and innovation of the existing strategies and if need be new tactics be formulated. The strategies lined above will be implemented in different parts of the globe which therefore calls for many enforcing agents in those countries which will be guided by the social norms there. The pandemic is affecting everyone directly or indirectly therefore the effects in Africa will eventually be felt in Europe and America. Reference CDC. (2007) Interpretation and Discussion of Findings. Retrieved 24 April 2009 from http://www. cdc. gov/hiv/topics/testing/resource/reports/hivprevalence/interpretation. htm .

Diversity of Fungal Endophytes in Cymbopogon Caesius

Diversity of Fungal Endophytes in Cymbopogon Caesius Diversity of Fungal Endophytes in Cymbopogon caesius (Hook. Arn.) Stapf. of Kemmannugundi Regions of Karnataka, India Avinash K.S. and Y.L. Krishnamurthy* Abstract: Cymbopogon grass produces many bioactive compounds and used for many medicinal purposes. In this study healthy leaf, stem and root segments were cultured on media like Potato dextrose agar and Malt extract agar medium and pure cultured. Endophytic fungi were isolated from 1200 samples of Cymbopogon caesius grass collected from Kemmannugundi regions of Karnataka. Overall 56% of colonisation rate from surface sterilised tissues were recorded. About 30 different fungal species were isolated and 12 were identified and 18 were grouped as morph taxa. Less isolates were recovered from leaf segments and more isolates were recovered from root segments. Curvularia sp. and Fusarium sp. were frequently isolated endophytes with the high colonisation rate. Key Words: Endophytes, Cymbopogon caesius, Grass, Curvularia, Fusarium. 1. Introduction Endophytes are microorganisms which live inside the host without causing any negative effect by their presence. The plant and endophytic fungi show symbiotic association. Plant protects and feeds the endophyte which in return produces bioactive secondary metabolites to enhance the growth and competitiveness of the host in nature (Carrol, 1988 and Hong Lu et al., 2000). Endophytes are widely investigated for their bioactive metabolites and have proven to produce potential compounds which are applicable in medicine (Clovis and Ewald, 2012). The compounds usually isolated from medicinal plants may not be plant metabolites they may be from fungal endophytes which reside in the host plant. Endophytes of tropical plants are among the groups of fungi that have been studied to arrive at the predicted figure of 1.5 million (Hawksworth, 1991; Subramanian et al 2003) Cymbopogon species are traditional medicinal grasses well recognised for its aromatic oil. Cymbopogon caesius grass was wide spread in areas of Kemmannugundi of Chikmagalur Dist, Karnataka. Despite the wide distribution of Cymbopogon grass along the central Western Ghats of Karnataka only limited work has been done for their association with fungal endophytes. Even though the oil extracted from the grass has been used in medicine currently there is no enough information regarding the diversity of the fungal endophytes with the species. We have selected Cymbopogon caesius (Hook. Arn.) Stapf for the study of diversity of the fungal endophytes. Fungi were isolated from leaves, stem and root followed by the surface sterilisation process. The objectives of the study were to isolate and identify the fungal endophytes from different parts of Cymbopogon caeceous grass of Kemmannugundi regions of Karnataka. 2. Meterials and Methods 2.1 Sampling: C. caeseus (root, stem and leaf samples) was collected from Kemmannugundi (13 º2826 N 75 º4450 E 4275ft) Chikmagalur District. Roots were collected with a ball of soil so that to avoid damage to the roots. Twenty healthy looking culms of grass were collected and transported in a clean polythene bag in closed condition and processed within 24 hour of collection. 2.2 Isolation of fungi The collected samples were washed thoroughly by running tap water to clean soil from roots and were cut into small pieces. The cut segments were surface sterilised using 70% ethanol followed by immersion in 3% Sodium hypochlorite for 4 minutes and again washed twice with distilled water (Maheshwari and Rajagopal, 2013). The efficacy of the surface sterilisation was confirmed by pressing the sterilised segments onto the surface of the medium, the surface sterilised small pieces were cut into .03-.05cm segments (Chuyang et al., 2001). Four hundred segments were inoculated into potato dextrose agar medium which is supplemented with 100mg of Amoxillin to inhibit the growth of bacteria. The inoculated petri plates were wrapped with petriseal and incubated at 27  ±1 degree centigrade. The plates were observed daily after 3 days of inoculation up to one month the emerged fungal endophytes were transferred to new petri plates containing PDA Medium. 2.3 Identification of Endophytic fungi For the identification of endophytic fungi, slides were prepared from pure cultures and were stained with Lacto phenol cotton blue stain and observed under Karl Zeiss Primo star microscope. Morphological Characteristics such as growth pattern colour of colony, mycelium texture, spore production type and characters of the spore (Barnet Hunter, Ellis, Subramanian). 3. Statistical analysis The colonisation rate (CR) was determined by total number of segments yielding endophytes divided by the total number of segments inoculated (Petrini et al., 1982). Number of segments yielding endophytes Total number of segments inoculated 4. Results A total of 959 isolates of endophytes were recovered out of 1200 segments inoculated. Total 400 segments each of root, stem and leaf segments were inoculated for the isolation of endophytes. Most frequently found endophytes were Fusarium oxysporum (11.46%), Aspergillus clavatus (8.7%), and Curvularia spp. (7.78%) (Table 1). Table 1: Colonisation Frequency of fungal endophytes of C. caesius. Sl. No. Endophyte Name Colonisation frequency (%) Root Stem Leaf Total Alternaria alternata 4.1 1.09 1.73 Aspergillus clavatus 15.3 6.0 4.8 8.7 Bipolaris Sp. 2.00 0.66 Cephalosporium sp. 0.8 1.9 0.9 Cladosporium sp. 0.6 0.2 0.26 Curvularia andropogonis 16.0 5.2 1.7 7.63 Curvularia lunata 12.2 7.9 3.7 7.93 Fusarium oxysporum 16.1 11.9 6.4 11.46 Hansfordia ovalispora 0.9 0.3 Oidiodendron sp. 1.6 0.9 0.83 Trichoderma sp. 0.4 1.3 0.56 Wardomyces anomala 0.6 0.2 Unidentified Morphotypes 16.4 14.3 14.6 15.1 Table 2: Infection frequency and isolation rate of fungal endophytes of C. caesius. C. caesius plant tissues Leaves Stem Root Total Number of Samples 400 400 400 1200 Number of isolates recovered 126 198 348 672 Colonisation rate 31.5% 49.5% 87% 56% Number of Morph taxa 4 5 9 18 More isolates of endophytes (87%) were recovered from the root segments of the Cymbopogon grass compared to stem (49.49%) and leaf segments (56%). 18 unidentified fungi were numbered and stored as morph taxa. 5. Discussion The Cymbopogon grass is the very popular for its aromatic oil. The purpose of the study was to document endophytic diversity of Cymbopogon grass of the study area which was widely distributed in the area. The endophytic fungi were cultivated on artificial medium (PDA) as pure culture. Some of the fungi exhibited characteristic colony characters and microscopic characters which were helpful in identifying them whereas some of the fungus was produced good mycelia but did not show any sporulation were kept as morph types. All the isolated endophytes belonging to 11 different genera. The endophytes were more resided in root. The endophytes may not show any host specificity as they were recovered from different groups of plants (Petrini 1986). In the present investigation leaves, stems and roots of C. caesius were used for isolation of endophytic fungi. The fungal colonisation was higher in roots as compare to stem and leaves. Higher colonisation of endophytes in leaf and stem tissues, as compared to roots, was reported by Siegel and Latch (1991) and Clay and Schardle (2002) Ajay et al (2012) in grasses and in the study of medicinal plant species leaves colonised greater number of endophytes compared to stem and bark (Raviraja 2005). About 11 genera of fungal species were isolated which indicates the various fungal populations in the grass. The variation in the colonisation rate depends on the host habitat, Soil environment (Shankar Naik et al, 2014). In the study the CR is varied in different parts of the plant. The more number of fungal endophytes isolated from root which similar to the results of Sita et, al., 2011 where thy obtained almost three times more endophytes in roots compared to shoot tissues. Fungi have been widely investigated as a source of bioactive compounds. An excellent example of this is the anticancer drug, taxol, which had been previously supposed to occur only in the plants (Strobel Daisy, 2003) in this aspect present study is very relevant to explore more useful fungal endophytes. 6. Acknowledgement The authors are gratefully thankful to Kuvempu University Shankaraghatta Shimoga for constant support throughout the study and Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi for Financial assistance. 7. References [1] Chunying Zhang, Lijuan Yin, Silan Dai, Diversity of root-associated fungal endophytes in Rhododendron fortune in subtropical forests of China, Mycorrhiza. 19(2009) 417-423. [2] Carroll, G. C, Fungal endophytes in stems and leaves: From latent pathogen to mutualistic symbiont, Ecology. 692 (1988) -9. [3] Hawksworth,D. L, The fungal dimension of biodiversity :magnitude, significance, and conservation, Mycol. Res. 95(1991) 641-655. [4] Petrini, 0. Stone, j. Carroll, F. Endophytic fungi in evergreen shrubs in western Oregon: a preliminary study, Canadian Journal of Botany. 60(1982) 789-796. [5] Petrini, O, Taxonomy of endophytic fungi of aerial plant tissues. In Microbiology of the Phyllosphere (ed. N. j. Fokkema ). van den Heuvel), 1986, pp. 175-187. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. [6] Pramuan Saithong, Wanchai Panthavee, Siriporn Stonsaovapak and Li Congfa, Isolation and primary identification of endophytic fungi from Cephalotaxus mannii trees, Maejo International journal of Science and Technology. 4(03) (2010) 446-453. [7] Raviraja N S, Fungal endophytes in five medicinal plant species from Kudremukh Range, Western Ghats of India, Journal of Basic Microbiology. 45(3) (2005) 230-235. [8] Shankar Naik B, Krishnappa M, Krishnamurthy Y L. Endophytic assemblage in Strychnous nuxvomica L. and antagonistic activities in vitro, Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection. 2014. [9] Sita R Ghimire, Nikki D Charlton, Jeremey D Bell, Yelugere L Krishnamurthy and Kelly D Craven, Biodiversity of fungal endophyte communities inhabiting switch grass (Panicum virgatum L.) growing in the native tall grass prairie of northern Oklahoma, Fungal Diversity. 47(2011)19-27. [10] Suryanarayanan T S and Kumaresan V, Endophytic fungi of some halophytes from an estuarine mangrove forest, Mycological Research. 104(12) (2000) 1465-1467. [11] Hong Lu, Wen Xin Zou, Jun Cai Meng, Jun Hu, Ren Xiang Tan, New bioactive metabolites produced by Colletotrichum sp., an endophytic fungus in Artemisia annua, Plant Science 151 (2000) 67–73. [12] Clovis Douanla-Meli,Ewald Langer, Diversity and molecular phylogeny of fungal endophytes associated with Diospyros crassiflora, Mycology 3(3) (2012):175-187. [13] Maheswari, S., and Rajagopal, K, Biodiversity of endophytic fungi in Kigelia pinnata during two different seasons, Curr. Sci. 104(2013): 515-518. [14] Barnett, H.L., and Hunter, B.B., 1972.Illustrated genera of imperfect fungi, 3rd ed. Burgess publishing company, USA.pp. 218. [15] Ellis M B, More Dematiaceous Hypomycetes, Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Suirrey, England, 1976. [16] Siegel MR, Latch GCM., Expression of antifungal activity in agar culture by isolates of grass endophytes, Mycologia, 83(1991) 529–537. [17] Clay K, Schardle CL., Evolutionary origin and ecological consequences of endophyte symbiosis with grasses, Am Nat, 160(2002) S99–S127. [18] Ajay Kumar Gautam , Mona Kant Yogita Thakur., Isolation of endophytic fungi from Cannabis sativa and study their antifungal potential, Archives Of Phytopathology And Plant Protection, Vol. 46 (2013), No. 6, 627–635. [19] Gary Strobel and  Bryn Daisy, Bioprospecting for Microbial Endophytes and Their Natural Products, Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 67(4)2003: 491–502.

The Obesity Epidemic Essay -- Obesity in America

In 1990, obese adults made up less than 15 percent of the population in most U.S. states. By 2010, 36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher, and 12 of those had obesity rates of 30 percent or higher. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015) Even more alarming, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the rise, and youth are becoming overweight and obese at earlier ages. One out of six children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese and one out of three are overweight or obese. (Ogden, 2012) This essay looks at the question of what are the main causes of obesity and what steps the school system can take to assist in the reduction of childhood obesity. While childhood obesity has been increasing, the school system continues to struggle with what exactly their role is in the fight against this epidemic. With these rising concerns from not only the parents, but also the government, our school system has now placed important emphasis on physical fitness and offering children a physical education program that will not only reduce the childhood obesity rate here in America, but also increase the child’s academic skill levels through motivation and exercise. While the school system is offering this physical education to the children, the need for educators to be equipped with the educational knowledge base to offer the children is a subject of great concern. Many teachers today lack the education themselves to properly instruct children within the physical education classroom and there for need to acquire additional edification themselves. The demand for superior physical education at the basic levels of education is extremely vit al as research has shown that there is a relati... ...or Physical Education. In Dynamic Physical Education For Elementary School Children (pp. 1-19). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Benjamin Cummings. Tinning, R. (1990). Chapter 1Physical education, curriculum, and culture:Physical Activity and knowledge. In D. Kirk (Ed.), Physical Education, Curriculum And Culture: Critical Issues In The Contemporary Crisis (pp. 1-18). doi: ISBN 1-85000-674-1 Wall, S., Rudisill, M., Goodway, J., & Parish, L. (2004). A comparison of three movement settings on the development of fundamental motor skills in young children. [Supplemental material]. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 26(S194.). Wong, A. K., & Chueng, S. (2010). Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Measurement in Physical Education & Exercise Science, 14(3), 202-209. doi: 10.1080/10913671003726968

Tess of the dUrbervilles- summary of part I :: essays research papers

Tess of the d’Urbervilles Chapter I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The scene begins with a middle-aged peddler, named John Durbeyfield. Making his way home, the man encounters Parson Tringham, who claims to have studied history. The Parson tells Durbeyfield that he is of noble lineage, the d’Urberville family, and his family has prospered for many generations until recently. Tringham tells his him however that this heritage comes from such a long period of time ago that it is worthless. At this the seemingly drunk man sits near a road and beckons a young boy to fetch him a horse and carriage to take him home in his newly liberated state. Chapter II   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tess, the eldest daughter of the Durbeyfield family, has accompanied the other women in the village, young and old, to celebrate May Day. All of the women are clothed in white, but not the same shade of white, as noticed by the narrator. They all hold white flowers in one hand and a white wand made from oak in the other. This celebration commemorates the coming of spring, and all the women enjoy it, as it seems, because it allows them to forget their insignificant role in society. In the middle of the procession, John Durbeyfield rides along in his carriage, making quite a spectacle. Tess is embarrassed, and three very attractive (and obviously rich) brothers walk in. Only one of them, the youngest stays to dance, while his brothers continue their journey. All the women are anxious to be picked to dance by him, for all dream of a better life as the wife of a gentleman. Tess is chosen to dance with the young man, and before they can even exchange their names, the b oy runs off to catch up with his siblings. Chapter III   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon Tess’ arrival home after the festivities, her mother, Joan confronts her with two important pieces of news. She relates that their family has been found to be of noble blood, and that John has been diagnosed with a heart condition. Tess sees the Compleat Fortune-Teller, a book full of superstitions that her mother follows for guidance. Mr. Durbeyfield is not home, but rather at Rolliver’s, the local inn and drinking hole, celebrating the news of his new â€Å"wealth†. Obviously, the man spends a many hours there, and it is no surprise that he has not returned home. Joan, leaving Tess to tend her 5 siblings, leaves to fetch her husband.

Blocking & Filtering Essay -- essays research papers

"Any content-based regulation of the Internet, no matter how benign the purpose, could burn the global village to roast the pig." U.S. Supreme Court majority decision, Reno v. ACLU (June 26, 1997) Blocking and filtering software for the Internet is one of the most hotly debated topics regarding free speech and the Internet. Many have criticized blocking software for being both under and over inclusive, and others have argued that blocking software should not be used at all in public institutions such as libraries and schools. On the other side, supporters of blocking software claim that is a legitimate method to regulate access to "inappropriate" material on the Internet, especially access for minors. But, before we begin to look at these debates directly, we have to examine how the different types of blocking software available work. Nearly all blocking software contains several features that enable the user to customize it for their particular preferences. Users can set the particular levels and/or categories they want the software to screen. So, for example, a user could instruct his browser to block all nudity and sex acts, but still allow sex education and intolerance, while another users could do the opposite. Another common feature is the ability to unblock particular web sites when they are blocked. So, if a user was attempting to access the CNN web site, and it was blocked because it contained, for example, the Starr report, the user could unblock it. A final common feature of most blocking software is that it can be turned on and off for particular users on a particular machine, so that parents can turn the software on when their children are using the computer, but allow themselves unlimited access. Blocking software works in several major ways: blocking by word, blocking particular sites, blocking all sites except those on a "white list," and blocking by preset ratings. Most of the first blocking software worked by blocking words; the software would scan web sites for certain, unacceptable words such as "breast" or "sex." This type of software was often ridiculed, because it is ridiculously over broad, for example blocking sites on breast cancer or news sites about the President. In addition, this type of blocking has the disadvantage of not being able to scan pictures for unacceptable m... ...ts computers. Representative Bob Franks of New Jersey introduced a similar bill in the House, dubbed the "Safe Schools Internet Act of 1999". In addition, the constitutionality of library filters has been, and continues to be, litigated in several cases. All cases decided to this point have declared mandatory filters on all library computers to be unconstitutional. Many argue that the PICS system is the best way to provide for parental empowerment in order to manage their children's internet use. These people point out that, at least for now, the PICS system is voluntary and that third parties can rate sites. The rating systems used in conjunction with PICS establish a uniform standard that parents can rely on, instead of the opinions of software companies' list makers. The purpose behind Internet filters is to provide parents, educators and other with an effective tool to protect minors from harmful material through their computers. At first blush they appear to be a simple technological fix to the problem of indecency on the Internet. However, this simple solution has touched off a firestorm of controversy, which show no signs of cooling off in the near future.

Changes in Soviet Values

Changes in Soviet Values Films in the Soviet Union during Stalin's rule were primarily made for propaganda purposes. Some of the most famous films at the time were â€Å"Chapaev,† â€Å"Circus,† and â€Å"Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears,† which were all were aimed at describing Soviet Values during and after Stalin's rule. The film â€Å"Chapaev† was produced in 1934 and was set during the Russian Civil War, and like â€Å"Circus,† which was produced two years later, they both reflected Soviet ideals of Stalin's rule. â€Å"Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears† was produced in 1980, and it showed the changes in Soviet values after Stalin's reign in the 1950's and 1970's. Even though each of these propaganda films is set in different time periods, each one illustrates the changing social values of that time. The movie â€Å"Chapaev† was directed by the Vasilyev brothers and was produced in 1934. The movie depicts the story of a soldier made commander named Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev, who led the Red Army to victory in the Russian Civil War. The main theme portrayed in â€Å"Chapaev† is the idea of â€Å"social realism,† and to show this the producers tell the story of the Soviet principals of equality within society, and the growth of the party. In one scene of the movie, Chapaev's men loot local farmers, and Chapaev's newly appointed commissar arrests the men involved and return the livestock. Initially, Chapaev was angry with his new commissar for arresting his men, as he feels he was undermining Chapaev's power, but he learned to agree with him because the peasants supported him upon the safe return of their livestock. Chapaev's new commissar explained to him that the entire war was being fought for the peasants, and by stealing from them it was hurting their image. This scene shows the equality within society that the Bolsheviks party was going for, and therefore the party gained more support. This scene in particular was propaganda because in war, armies do steal from farms, that's just a fact, but when they return the livestock it makes the Bolshevik party look patriotic and respectful. In this movie Chapaev is portrayed as a flawless example of what a Soviet man should be like. He is a man who believes in every man being equal and in order for a party to strive it has to be focused on the needs of the group not just the individual. In Soviet History Chapaev is considered a hero and rightly so, his stand against theft and sacrifice for the war effort makes him an ideal Soviet man. The movie â€Å"Circus† was directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and was produced in 1936. Similar to the movie â€Å"Chapaev,† the theme in â€Å"Circus† is focused on equality in the society and the growth of the party. The movie depicts the story of Orlova, an American circus artist who is forced to flee the racism in America after giving birth to a black baby. Orlova ends up in Russia and start her circus career there, and she becomes a huge star. In fear of being exposed, Orlova stays in the circus and works for her cruel German boss von Kneishitz. Von Kneishitz is the only person in Moscow who knows about her black baby, but he is also the only person in Russia who cares that her baby is black. The movie climaxes with the revealing of her baby to her beloved audience, but in contrary to what Kneishitz thought would happen, the audience shows the baby love by passing him around and singing a lullaby to him. When Marion asks the Ring Master to explain everyone’s reaction, he says, â€Å"In our country, we absolutely love children. You may have a child of any color here: black, white, red, or even striped like a zebra or polka-dotted. Whatever's your pleasure! † It cannot be denied that this movie is a propaganda film. It portrays that everyone is equal in the Soviet Union and that everyone is antiracist. In fact, in the 1930's Jews were highly discriminated against, as proof through public anti-Semitism. Therefore, we see the films impression of racial equality as false. The movie â€Å"Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears,† (â€Å"Moscow† for short) was directed by Vladimir Menshov and was produced in 1980. The movie begins in the 1950's and goes until the 1970's. Although this film accurately shows a change in Soviet ideals, it is important to note that â€Å"Moscow† does have some levels of propaganda. For example, Katerina's lover, Gosha, is seen as the ideal model citizen, especially when Katerina and Gosha talk about how Gosha is perfect and flawless. It need not be said that nobody is perfect, but the films portrays Gosha as the ideal citizen. This time period was significant in Soviet history because it showed a transition in Soviet values. This movie shows how traditional values in the Soviet Union became modernized as time progressed in the post Stalin era. During the 1970's, the Soviet Union became neo-traditionalist, in the sense that they held on to their old values while attaining new ones. For example, we get a clear understanding of how Russia was adjusting to time with the development of Tonya, Ludmilla, and Katerina's live styles. Of all the three main women in the play, Tonya is the best example of a traditional Soviet lifestyle. She marries at a young age and settles for a domestic life with a man that makes a respectable living. Katerina, on the other hand, marries at a much older age but to a man named Gosha who exhibits traditional Soviet values as well. For example, after Gosha gets in a fight, Katerina forbids him from ever fighting again, and Gosha agrees, but tells Katerina if she ever yells at him again he will leave her. Later in the same conversation, Gosha tells Katerina that it goes against his values that a woman makes more money than a man. This shows that there are still traces of traditional Soviet values in 1970 Russia. Tonya and Gosha both show that there are links to traditional soviet values even though its thirty years after Stalin's reign. In contrast to the way Tonya and Gosha live, the lives of Ludmilla and Katerina give us examples of how Soviet values changed and modernized over time. For example, in the beginning of the film, signs of change in Soviet values are apparent. Early in the film, Katerina and Ludmilla go to the French Film Festival to admire the rich and famous. Ludmilla admits to Katerina how she thinks one of the female actresses is beautiful, and how she would love to live the life of her. This shows how people, especially women, were being exposed to materialism in Russia, and it was socially acceptable to aspire to be rich and famous. Katerina also shows a change in Soviet values for women. She is the head of a corporation after a series of floor promotions, and she lives in a nice apartment providing for her family. This is a perfect example of Soviet values changing from the idea that women in the Soviet Union didn't have rights or power, to the modernized Soviet values where women were powerful. In conclusion, the movies â€Å"Chapaev,† â€Å"Circus,† and â€Å"Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears† are all largely applauded films that show the history and progression of changing Soviet values. â€Å"Chapaev† and â€Å"Circus† were both produced under Stalin’s reign, and they both contain some amount of Soviet propaganda as well as accurate references to Soviet values. They portray the traditional Soviet ideals of equality and unity of the Bolshevik party and how they were foremost in Soviet society. On a different note, â€Å"Moscow† takes place in a much later time, and proves that some Stalin era Soviet ideals were kept, but the attempt for modernization brought a necessary change in the ways people lived. As a result of the two sets of values portrayed through Gosha and Tonya, and Ludmilla and Katerina respectively, we see that Soviet ideals eventually became neo-traditionalistic. The shift in Soviet ideals occurred because Stalin's long and influential reign came to an end. After such a long time of repression, it can be argued that this change was inevitable.

Digital Technology and Business Operating Systems

It is often noted that two major worldwide events are responsible for changes not only to the lives of ordinary people who make up the target markets of business organizations, but also to the operations of the said business themselves. These events are namely: The advent of globalized trade and recent technological advances. Globalization of human activities including trade has meant that business are constantly being exposed to new environments, new markets with unique and often discerning preferences and on the loop-side, the ever present threat of competition vying for a similar market slice as the said businesses (Kehal & Singh, 2008).It is not surprising therefore, when the need to gain a competitive advantage over rivals has been the dominating theme in the board rooms of a majority of companies; with technology increasingly being seen as key to achieving success in this task (Kehal & Singh, 2008). Dependent on the industry, technology could imply many different things.For com panies in the manufacturing sector, technology could mean the acquisition of a new machine that eases the manufacturing task at hand; while for others like those in horticulture industry, technology could mean adoption of a new way to inter-crop plants in order to eradicate disease thus improve on yields. However, digital technologies have found a place in a multitude of businesses as they offer various advantages that cut across the board such as fastening communication and the retrieval of data (Kehal & Singh, 2008).Digital technologies refers to what is conventionally refereed to as Information communication technology (Watkins, 2010). This encompasses computers and related internet based media such as email and social networking platforms (Watkins, 2010). Digital technologies also includes any form of networks in an organization including those restricted to operate within the organization, the intranet, and connections between a company and outside affiliated organizations such as suppliers and distributors termedDigital Technology in Business 2 as the extrenet (Watkins, 2010). To define the operations of a company: These refer to the set systems, procedures and the information that guides them, that enable an organization to integrate, organize and normalize its primary processes in order to achieve its set goals (Daft & Marcic, 2008). For integration to be considered optimum, data in the company's domain should be accessible to all involved in both a timely and eased manner (Weil, 2010).On the other hand, normalization in this context involves the standardization of an organization's business processes by getting rid of variations in business procedures among employees and departments (Weil, 2010). Different organizations have different operating systems, with each system suited to the organization in question (Weil, 2010). For instance, Cisco, a network solutions provider has made it possible for small businesses to acquire information communication te chnology based solutions by developing them and making them available through their partners worldwide.Procter & Gamble on the other hand, has established local marketing arms which are allowed the leeway to strategize on how best they would exploit their immediate markets with other core services like human resource management and informational technology services centralized and standardized by the parent company (Weil, 2010). Though these models differ, that is of importance is not their apparent schism, but whether the chosen operating model has a chance at achieving success in the organization ( Watkins, 2010).The success of an operating system, is dependent on the organization's staff and management's uptake of the operating system, their willingness to follow it through and whether they are well equipped to make it work for the organization (Watkins, 2010). However, as noted above, the motivation for any operating business is to achieve success in the midst of competing inter ests and changing business environment ( Kehal & Singh, 2008). This need by organizations has lead to wide scale adaptation of new organization forms Digital Technology in Business 3 heavily influenced by digital technologies (Kehal & Singh, 2008).This is because mounting evidence suggests that digital technologies enable the core activities in any business operating model, integration and normalization, to take place more smoothly when compared to any other strategy (Weil, 2010). This paper by use of examples drawn from various industries, elaborates on these points, taking special note of how digital technologies have shaped the operating models of companies, influenced the workings of the human resource aspect of a business, including both the benefits and challenges of digital technologies in organizations (Malecki & Moriset, 2008).Starting with the a look at the processes involved in the sensitive service industry such as the airline industry quite often the supports to an airl ine, namely those involved with maintainance, overhaul and repair of aircraft required to fill in detailed reports of the process such as the tools involved and the spare parts used during maintenance for the airline's documentation purposes( SITA, 2008).This process may turn out to be tideious and riddled with inefficiencies as it may involve filling in of similar details like the type of aircraft and the organization owning repeatedly (SITA, 2008). Such tasks can be eased by adoption of digital technologies such as the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) hand held readers that would capture information from RFID enabled aircraft parts and simultaneously share them with interested parties along the supply chain (SITA, 2008).The automation described above confers the airline company with several competitive advantages such as improvement of relations with suppliers by facilitating their work therefore improving on its business operations (SITA, 2008). Through this automated system, it becomes easier for the company to trace the parts used on their planes thus giving them the advantage of authenticating their reliability and quality; a factor that may go a long way in vouching for their Digital Technology in Business 4Â  safety record while at the same time, reducing on the operating costs of the airline (SITA, 2008).The centralized data received from the readers may help in streamlining of the procurement process of the airline leading to a decrease in resource wastefulness and also gives the airline stability in terms of delivery of their core services, air transport, by ensuring that flight cancellations due to delays in maintenance or unnecessary unscheduled maintenance problems do not disrupt operations leading to flight delays and cancellations ( SITA, 2008).However, such centralized systems of data collection may pose some challenges to those involved. For instance, the ownership of the data may turn out to be a point of friction among the part ies as the shared nature of collection and storage of the data may lead to challenges in the access and security of the data (SITA, 2008). In addition, for such a system to operate effectively, the participation of a wide group of corporations is necessary (SITA, 2008).This may be a challenge for the corporations as issues such as who will finance the initial part of the adoption of digital technology may arise while later on as alluded above, disputes over the ownership of this system may arise while during operation, the costs involved in maintaining the digital technology may be problematic in terms of who will bear the burden of the cost especially if the problem is arising from one end of the system leading to problems at the nether end (SITA, 2008). Digital technologies also offer ways in which employee productivity can be improved thus improving on the outcome of the corporation.Several areas in which digital technology can be of use in the development of internet based emplo yee induction platforms which will enable the company introduce new employees into the company operating culture in a more engaging and interactive manner (Murphy, 2003). The costs involved in such a venture also tend to be less costly in the ;long run as the initial resources, human resource and capital, needed to set up the program can be minimized and even eventually eliminated once the system had been set up Digital Technology in Business 5Â  without any losses in quality of the process (Murphy, 2003)Training process that is critical in human resource development and management in a corporation can also be aided by use of digital materials such as compact disks (CD). This not only provides a format of presenting the information in a easier to understand media forms such as videos and graphic illustrations, it also provides a reference library to the employee who in need and at will can reference back to aspects of the training program (Murphy, 2003).Use of such media such as CD and internet will allow training of employees who are based in areas other than where the actual training is occurring especially in corporations with branches in far flung markets as is the case I the globalized economy (Murphy, 2003). The employee also benefits from the opportunity of going through the training at their own pace and time , therefore improving on the likelihood of uptake of the information (Murphy, 2003). The other area where digital technologies offer advantages to corporations is in the area of employee incentives (Murphy, 2003).Through the platform of the internet, a company can offer employees opportunities of enrolling into affiliate programs earning them income, or they could be privy to discounts and offers from third party suppliers who deal with their employers (Murphy, 2003). for instance special mortgage rates may be offered to employees of a certain company via the mortgaging subsidiary of the bank that their employer's use to transact their business o perations (Murphy, 2003).These strategies may go along way mot only in motivating employees but also in enabling the company retain its talented and trained employees by ensuring their their loyally to the company thus reducing on a company's recruitment and training bill (Murphy, 2003). The benefits of digital technology enables a company reorganize its marketing strategy in order for exploit their niche as effectively as possible (Rust & Espinoza, 2006).This is made Digital Technology in Business 6Â  possible by the room afforded in matters of gauging customer preference, dislikes and other characteristics during the process of market segmentation (Rust & Espinoza, 2006). Through portals like social media and internet based survey's a company may gain useful insights about their consumers as these digital technologies offer a cost effective, non – intrusive and consumer friendly means of interaction; therefore bridging the gap between a company's management and its the cus tomers (Rust & Espinoza, 2006).These benefits spill over as they contribute to customer loyalty making the customer feel that their opinion is valued and by providing them with the rare opportunity of being involved in the development of their favorite product or service ( Rust & Espinoza, 2006). Quality control management is a critical part of a company's operations as it provides the means by which a company can keep the promises exhaulted by its brand to the market (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008).failure in the quality management system may lead to not only costly changes in the brand image, but also to enormous costs involved in product recalls and in brushes with regulatory authorities (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008). Many problems in the quality control management occur when there are variations in the execution of processes or in the material used in producing a good or service (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008).The use of digital technologies may shield a company from such eventualities by pe riodically and automatically surveying the production process for deviations in the norm and alerting the management of possible shortfalls in the system (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008). Digital technology based quality assurance systems are more reliable as they are not dependent on human schedules and shielded from human borne errors during production (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008). Internet based systems also allow fro the survey of the intricate details of different aspects of the production process even for companies that have outsourcedDigital Technology in Business 7 production either as a whole or in bits across geographically dispersed areas (Malecki, & Moriset, 2008). An example of this is in the manufacture of airplanes by the Boeing and airbus whose different parts are assembled in different regions of the world. The reporting is also made easier especially in the event of a breach in the quality of the product, with the source of error pinpointed and dealt with saving on costs a nd time ( Malecki, & Moriset, 2008). Recently, a new form of trade has arisen where transactions in both goods and services are carried out via the internet (Burgess, 2002).The producer of the good may be on one end of the world while the consumer may be at the other (Burgess, 2002). Digital technologies provide for ways in which the buyer and seller can meet irrespective of the distances and time zones involved (Burgess, 2002). The seller benefits by finding a market fir their goods while the buyer benefits by having the leeway to ‘window shop' through out the internet searching for their ideal product at the ideal price without the hustle of dealing with salesmen (Burgess, 2002).In addition the direct contact between the buyer and seller enables for customization of the process to suit either party (Burgess, 2002). This is especially advantageous for small businesses who lack the machinery, resource and human investment needed to carry out an effective marketing campaign as large corporations (Burgess, 2002). Quite effectively backed by a single personal computer connected onto the internet and a a ‘one-man-army' sales team an entrepreneur can achieve their business goals (Burgess, 2002).This trade termed as e-commerce, has enabled individuals like authors sell their services even without an established local network of suppliers and distributors (Burgess, 2002). Large corporations are also increasingly joining this bandwagon by providing portals like ‘e- shops' on their websites where special offers of their products can be viewed, purchased and ordered right to the customer's doorstep (Burgess, 2002).By use of sophisticated but easily accessible forms of Digital Technology in Business 8forms of digital technologies the process of market segmentation described above are at the reach of entrepreneurs who otherwise would not have been able to exploit such advantages (Burgess, 2002). The small business owner is able to make up for his lower e mployee base and human resource pool by automating a majority of their business processes such as the installation of electronic tax register teller machines may ease the process of filling for tax returns (Burgess, 2002).The operations of small businesses may also be expanded by collaboration with partners following research on the internet without the huge costs involved in expansion such as the hiring of additional staff, the payment for new business premises and the sometimes bureaucratic processes involved in meeting local regulatory standards and licensing issues (Burgess, 2002).Through digital technologies, owners of small businesses are offered tools by which they can advertise their businesses effectively but with minimal costs such as the use of promotional CD for a musician or a recording company, easy to use software that enable the design of eye catching and effective banners, posters and fliers and through the setting up of a website where additional information about the company's services is accessible to the market ( Burgess, 2002).Despite these advantages of the use of digital technologies in business operations, the process in usually fraught by many difficulties as alluded in some of the examples above. Some of the challenges are secondary to inadequate knowledge on the scope by which digital technologies can affect the operations of a company thus leading to the wrong choice made in the technology that would be of use to the organization ( Andriole, 2008).It should be remembered at this juncture that the key notion about operating systems is that they have to be well designed to suit the business they are intended for, thus borrowing examples from other companies is encouraged but it should not be done in a ‘cut- and- paste manner' ( Andriole, 2008). For instance, Digital Technology in Business 9 a server, which is a computer with high processing capability, would be more suitable fore a small company with few employees while a singl e personal computer may suffice for a single proprietorship.Conversely a larger organization with several departments and more employees, would benefit more from several interconnected severs ( Andriole, 2008). However other challenges to digital technology arise from the human aspect of the process (Andriole, 2008). Sometimes employees, through their unions, may resist the adoption of digital technology influenced operating systems due to fears arising about the likelihood of loss of employment and income via automation of processes (Daft & Marcic, 2008).In a large manufacturing plant, the quality of goods produced may be checked by a string of employees stationed along the conveyor belts, automation of this process by use of specialized robots run by sophisticated computers, may render a large group of people jobless. This may hinder the newly instituted operating system to problems (Daft,& Marcic, 2008).The challenges of operating in digital technology may arise from difficulties in operating in the new environment due to inadequacy in skills and expertise to utilize the the digital l technology (Murphy, 2003). This is a problem as the new technology instead of complimenting the employees and mangement, it serves to slow down the working of the organization as both groups may view digital technology as a stumbling block thus preferring to ignore or under utilize it by doing things the old way (Murphy, 2003).This scenario is more pronounced in situations where the technology being introduced has been imported and is new to the business environment of the company (Murphy, 2003). This is because of the lack of adequate local support to smoothen the process of adoption by providing technical support (Murphy, 2003). The main challenge with digital technologies, lies in the costs involved in setting up and maintaining them (Andriole, 2008). The machinery involved may be costly especially for smallDigital Technology in Business 10 businesses and very large corpora tions, software to run computer's is also costly and the maintenance of such systems often requires specialized manpower which may come at a premium (Andriole, 2008). When this is coupled with the rapid evolutionary tendency of digital technologies which render recently developed technologies as obsolete, it is easy to see why cost is frequently mentioned as a major stumbling block (Andriole, 2008).In some situations, there might be the need of hiring additional staff just to maintain the system, training staff to know how to use the system every time the system is upgraded and this may turn into a demoralizing process (Andriole, 2008) .. In conclusion, this essay has highlighted the influence of digital technologies on the operations of organizations be they be simple small businesses or large multinationals dealing in several products and services (Malecki & Moriset, 2008).The challenges though apparent can be overcome by understanding digital technologies and keeping the goals an d objectives of the organization in mind as the solution appears to lie in crafting an operating system that is in tandem with the organization's goals and vision (Daft & Marcic, 2008). The management of an organization should desists from taking a one-size-fits -all approach and should also consider the impact that their employees may have on the success of the digital technologies in thee organization's operations (Kehal & Singh, 2005).