Four Stages of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Four Stages of Leadership - Essay Example Teamwork is also essential for any success of a leader (Stagish, 2006). This is because when a leader does not work with the employees, but instead issues orders, the employees can fail to work effectively. Through teamwork, the satisfaction of the employees will increase. There will be the creation of good ideas that will come out of the association between the leaders and employees (Kramer, 2002). For people to trust the leaders in a company, the leader has to portray some behaviors deemed ethical by the society. The leader should be honest in all the work that he does in the organization (Porter-O’Grady, 2010). He should be sincere when dealing with all employees and not exhibit double standard while issuing orders. The leaders should also have integrity. This means that, in all the decisions that he has to make, he should have the same stand. He should be able to show competence in his dealings. This means that the basis of his decisions should not rely on his emotions or his desires. The leader should also depict intelligence to their juniors. The employees will thus trust the leader’s opinion, since his intellect can be trusted. Vital behaviors are necessary for a leader to adapt and ensure that he achieves teamwork in all his dealings. The leader has to ensure he understands the benefits of teamwork. He should know that, through teamwork, creative ideas could crop up (Shockley-Zalabak, 2010). The leader should thus aim to encourage all employees to participate actively in meetings and jobs that they do. This will lead to the employees helping each other the moment they get a problem. The result will be a better time management as less time is wasted. Second level The organization should adapt the synergic approach. I believe that leaders of an organization can work well with the employees to make certain that they realize the objectives of the organization as well as benefit the society. This can be a milestone in increasing the growth of t he company (Holmes, 2005). The company needs to ensure the employees understand the need to please the society and achieve the goals of the company. The leader of the company should share and find ways of achieving the goals of the company through teamwork. The employees will then learn to help each other in the company, especially when they are in the same field in the organization. This is because when the employees work together, they learn to come up with an idea that works very well in a situation. The leader can analyze the effect of the change in the active participation of employees in the team (Salas, 2001). This way, they will appreciate teamwork, internalize it and use it in all the activities they do in the company. The leaders should also build their trust in the employees. They can do this by sharing with them and showing them that they can be trusted. Leaders should understand the imperativeness of earning the trust of the employees. Their consistency and competence a re what the employees will use to judge and trust them. A leader can openly tell the employees that he can be trusted, and act in ways that make the employees believe him. Third Level The purpose of the company should be to offer the best services for the clients of the organization. They should be very kind and respectful to them regardless of the attitude of the clients. This means that they should be very tolerant will all the clients. The employees should also be able to make

Critical Thinking - Model 3 - SLP - Deductive and Inductive Argumens Coursework

Critical Thinking - Model 3 - SLP - Deductive and Inductive Argumens - Coursework Example 172). As such, a premise must be able to support it conclusion for it to be ascertained to be deductive. Additionally, the truth and acceptability of the conclusion depends on the premise for any deductive argument to be valid. On the other hand, inductive argument is an inferential claim of probability that detaches conclusion to the premise. In essence, the truth or logical flow of the conclusion is totally independent of the premise (Lavery & Hughes, 2008, p. 172). Therefore, a premise can be true or acceptable but do not play any role in defining the truth and acceptability of the conclusion. In my view, deductive arguments have a direct and dependent conclusion on the premise. The truth and acceptability of the latter, therefore, depend of the premise. subsequently, the logical flow in inductive argument has no connection or certainty of conclusion with regards to premise. In conclusion, the difference between inductive and deductive arguments lies on the ability of the premise to succinctly explain its conclusion. Furthermore, the difference also prevails through acceptability and

Evaluate the idea that gender and sexuality are socially constructed Essay Example for Free

Evaluate the idea that gender and sexuality are socially constructed Essay In recent years sociologists have been studying the great extent to which gender roles are learned. Many behaviors that have traditionally been thought to be genetically determined male or female behaviors turn out to be learned behaviors and therefore subject to change in future generations. In a summary of gender role socialization studies, David Shaffer (1979) points out that by the age of two, children have generally learned to recognize â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness† on the basis of clothing and hair styles. By the age of three, children usually have learned to prefer sex-typed toys and recognize that girls become â€Å"mommies† and boys become â€Å"daddies†. By school-age, children realized that they are expected to engage in appropriate gender behavior and if they do not, they will meet with disapproval from other children and adults. Many sociologists have personally questioned the value of such early gender-role learning and raised questions about how this learning can inhibit later opportunities in terms of education and career selection (Howe, 1979). To understand how gender and sexuality are socially constructed we must look at the adaptive and functional nature of socialization. One can look at the content of socialization as adaptive for the individual and functional for the society. As adaptive for the individual, the content of socialization involves knowledge necessary for individual to adapt to the changing situation of their daily lives, while, as a function for society, the content of socialization involves the knowledge necessary for its members to maintain a society as an ongoing entity. Knowledge of social rules, appropriate emotional behavior, social situations, technical knowledge, one’s self-identity, and communicative abilities give individuals an ability to adjust their behaviors to one another in the different groups and situations in which they encounter each other. Such adjustments are necessary for the ongoing existence of a society. Only people know how to adjust their behaviors to each other can the group activities and relationships which make up a society be maintained. Only with a socialized adult population can anything such as a society be said to exist. The particular content of socialization becomes highly important in terms of the make-up of the society that one is observing. If the content of socialization were to change, people’s activities and motivations would change, and clearly the society would change. So, on a sociological quest the content of socialization is something to which the sociologist should and must pay attention (O’Brien, 2001). Charles H. Cooley (1964), a pioneer of American socialization studies, referred to an individual’s self-concept as a â€Å"looking-glass self†. Cooley implied that our self-conceptions reflect our interpretation of the relations to our behavior of those around us with whom we interact. According to Cooley, we not how others respond to our actions, which produces in us a feeling about ourselves, which influences how we perceive ourselves. For instance a person who drops something and overhears another’s remark about how clumsy he is, may come to think of himself as a clumsy individual. We come to think of ourselves in terms of our understanding of how others think about us. It is through interaction that we come to apply to ourselves such labels as â€Å"kind† or â€Å"mean†, â€Å"awkward† or â€Å"graceful†. To see oneself as beautiful is to interact with persons who see you as meeting the criteria of beauty. Whether one sees oneself as an ugly duckling or a beautiful swan depends upon the flock with which one swims. As a naturalistic and empirical quest for understanding the various aspects of social reality is that everyone both influences and is influenced by society, sociology is ultimately a quest for self understanding. Humans beings are not isolated entities; we are not hermits who live apart uninfluenced by one another. Rather, we are social beings who can only be fully understood when the social context of our actions are taken into account and carefully studied. In order to carry out the quest for sociological knowledge it is necessary to have an understanding of the types, uses and limitations of the various sociological tools or methods. The sociological quest can be the appropriate sociological map or theory (Shaffer, 1979). Now I want to look at social life as a process and structure in the social construction of gender and sexuality. Social life involves processes of socialization, culture, and deviance. Learning how to act in society via socialization, developing and sharing of orientations toward social life via culture, and the negative sanctioning of inappropriate behaviors via the labeling process of deviance are universal processes, which are necessary to social life, and found in all societies. Although their particular make-up will vary from society to society, these three processes exist in all human societies. But, in addition to these processes, there also exists in all societies some relatively permanent patterns of organized social life that sociologists refer to as social structures. It is within and through social structures that the processes of socialization, culture and deviance take place. Just as the processes of human life take place in the structure of the human body so, too, the processes of society take place within and are influenced by social structures (Macionis, 1997). The most basic social structure around and through which social life takes place are groups; groups range in size from relatively small informal groups such as families, to large bureaucracies and formal organizations such as businesses and governmental agencies. All groups are composed of members who have met certain criteria for membership, who play certain understood roles in the group, and who have a sense of group belonging, which is sometimes termed a â€Å"we-feeling† or a â€Å"consciousness-of –kind†. Groups, related to one another in terms of their performing similar social activities, together from the social structures called social institutions. For example all the groups primarily involved in educational activities together form a society’s educational institution. It is through and in groups, and the institutions that they compose that the basic social processes of a society take place. It is in social groups that the learning of socialization takes place that cultural roles are shared and acted upon, and that deviance is ascertained and punished. People know how to perform roles in groups because they have knowledge of how to act which they developed in the process of socialization, because they share cultural understandings with other group members with whom they interact, because they have an understanding of what is considered deviant and unacceptable behavior in the various groups to which they belong (O’Brien, 2001). When we consider how females and males differ, the first thing that usually comes to mind is sex, the biological characteristics that distinguish males and females. Primary sex characteristics consist of a vagina or a penis and other organs related to reproduction, secondary sex characteristics are the physical distinctions between males and females that are not directly connected with reproduction. Secondary sex characteristics become clearly evident at puberty, when males develop more muscles, a lower voice, and more hair and height while females form more fatty tissue, broader hips, and larger breasts. Gender is a social and not a biological characteristic. Gender consists of whatever traits a group considers proper for its males and females. This is what makes gender vary from one society to another. Sex refers to male or female, gender refers to masculinity or femininity, so sex you inherit and you learn your gender as you are socialized into specific behaviors and attitudes (Gilmore, 1990). The sociological significance of gender is that it is a device by which society controls its members. Gender sorts us on the basis of sex, into different life experiences. It open and closes doors to power, property, and even prestige. Like social class, gender is a structural feature of society. Biology plays a significant role in our lives. Each of us begins as a fertilized egg. The egg, or ovum, is contributed by our mother, the sperm that fertilizes the egg by our father. At the very moment the egg is fertilized, our sex is determined. Each of us receives twenty-three pairs of chromosomes from the ovum and twenty-three from the sperm. The egg has an X chromosome. If the sperm that fertilized the egg also has an X chromosome, we become female. If the sperm has a Y chromosome we become male. That’s the biology. Now the sociological question is, does this biological difference control our behavior? Does it make females more nurturing and submissive and males more aggressive and domineering? (Macionis, 1997) Almost all sociologists take the side of â€Å"nurture† in this â€Å"nature vs. nurture† controversy. The dominant sociological position is represented by the symbolic interactionists. They stress that the visible differences of sex do not come with meanings built into them. Rather each human group determines what these physical differences mean for them and on that basis assigns males and females to separate groups. It is here that people learn what is expected of them and are given different access to their society’s privileges. Most sociologists find compelling argument that if biology were the principal factor in human behavior all around the world we would find women to be one sort of person and men another. In fact, ideals of gender vary greatly from one culture to another and as a result, so do male-female behaviors. For example the Tahitians in the South Pacific show a remarkable contrast to our usual expectations of gender. They don’t give their children names that are identifiable as male or female, and they don’t divide their labor on the basis of gender. They expect both men and women to be passive, yielding and to ignore slights. Neither male nor females are competitive in trying to attain material possessions (Gilmore, 1990). Society also channels our behavior through gender socialization. By expecting different attitudes and behaviors from us because we are male or female, the human group nudges boys and girls in separate directions in life. This foundation of contrasting attitudes and behaviors is so thorough that, as adults most of us think, act and even feel according to our culture’s guidelines of what is appropriate for our sex. Our parents are the first significant others who teaches us our part in this symbolic division of the world. Their own gender orientations are so firmly established that they do much of this teaching without even being aware of what they are doing. This is illustrated by a classic study done by psychologists Susan Goldberg and Michael Lewis (1969). They asked mothers to bring their 6 month old infants into their laboratory to supposedly observe the infant’s development. Secretly these researchers also observed the mothers. They found that the mothers kept their daughters closer to them. They also touch and spoke more to their daughters. By the time the children were 13 months old, the girls stayed closer to their mothers during play, and they returned to them sooner and more often than did the boys. When they set up barriers to separate the children from their mothers, who were hiding toys, the girls were more likely to cry and motion for help, the boys ere likely to try to climb over the barrier. Goldberg and Lewis (1969) were able to conclude that in our society mothers unconsciously reward their daughters for being passive and dependent, their sons for being active and independent. These lessons continue throughout childhood. On the basis of their sex, children are given different kinds of toys. Preschool boys are allowed to roam farther from home than their preschool sisters, and they are subtly encouraged to participate in more rough and tumble play. Even get dirtier and to me more defiant. Such experiences in socialization lie at the heart of the sociological explanation of male/female differences (O’Brien, 2001). In today’s society mass media plays a vital role in gender and sexuality roles. Sociologist stress how this sorting process that begins in the family is reinforced as the child is exposed to other aspects of society. Especially important today are the mass media, forms of communication that are directed to large audiences. Powerful images of both sexes on television, music and the internet reinforce society’s expectation of gender. Television reinforces stereotypes of the sexes. On prime time television, male characters outnumber female characters by two to one. They also are more likely to be portrayed in higher status positions. Viewers get the message, for the more television that people watch; the more they tend to have restrictive ideas about women’s role in society. The expectations to the stereotypes are notable and a sign of changing times. Video games have some youths spending countless hours playing games. Even college students, especially males, relieve stress by escaping into video games. But more studies into the affect of these games on the ideas of gender are needed. Because the games are the cutting edge of society, they sometimes also reflect cutting edge changes in sex roles (Macionis, 1997). As women change their roles in society, the mass media reflects those changes. Although media images of women are passive, subordinate, or as mere background objects remain and still predominate, a new image has broken through. Exaggerating changes in society, this new image nonetheless reflects a changing role of women, from passive to active in life outside the home, from acquiescent to dominate in social relations. Books, magazines, DVD’s and video games are made available to a mass audience. And with new digital advances they have crossed the line form what we traditionally think of as games to something that more closely resembles interactive movies. Sociologically, what is significant is that the content of video games socializes their users. Gamers are exposed not only to action, but also to ideas as they play. Especially significant are gender images that communicate powerful messages, just as they do in other forms of mass media (O’Brien, 2001). Lara Croft, an adventure seeking archeologist and star of Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2, is the essence of the new gender image. Lara is smart, strong, and able to utterly vanquish foes. With both guns blazing, she is the cowboy of the twenty-first century, the term cowboy being purposely chosen, as Lara breaks gender roles and assumes what previously was the domain of men. The old remains powerfully encapsulated in the new. Lara is a fantasy girl for young men of the digital generation. No matter her foe, no matter her predicament, Lara always is outfitted in form fitting outfits, which reflect the mental images of the men who created this digital character. Their efforts have been so successful that boys and young men have bombarded corporate headquarters with questions about Lara’s personal life. Lara had caught young men’s fancy to such an extent that more than 100 web sites are devoted to her. The final reward of the game is to see Lara in a nightie one can question that regardless of tough girl images just how far stereotypes have been left behind (Macionis, 1997). Gender stratification gives males and females unequal access to power and prestige and property on the basis of sex. It is closely associated with class and caste stratification and is a related phenomenon of gender stratification. Some but not all societies have men and women as unequal with the latter being more seen. Sexual in equality is characteristic of societies that are stratified in other ways as well. Women have historically occupied a position of inferiority to men in the class structured societies of the Western world. Sexual inequality may sometimes be seen in societies that are not otherwise stratified, in such instances men and women are always physically as well as conceptually separated from one another. The rise of gender stratification often seems to be associated with the development of strongly centralized states. Because social stratification of any kind tends to make life oppressive for large segments of a population, the lower classes are usually placated by means of religion, which promises them a better existence in the hereafter. Gender inequality is not some accident; instead it is the institutions of each society that work together to maintain the group’s particular forms of inequality. Customs throughout history both justify and maintain these arrangements. Although men have resisted sharing their privileged positions with women, change has come (O’Brien, 2001). By playing a fuller role in the decision making processes of our social institutions, women are going against the stereotypes and role models that lock males into exclusively male activities and push females into roles that re considered feminine. As structural barriers fall and more activities are engendered, both males and females will be free to pursue activities that are more compatible with their abilities and desires as individuals. As they develop a new consciousness of themselves and their own potential, relationships between females and males will change. Certainly distinctions between the sexes will not disappear. There is no reason for biological differences to be translated into social inequalities. The reasonable goal is appreciation of sexual differences coupled with equality of opportunity which may lead to a transformed society.

Tissue Types in the Human Body

Tissue Types in the Human Body A tissue is a large collection of cells that carry out a specific function together. Organisms are made up of groups of different tissues. There are four main types of tissues, these are: Epithelial tissue, Muscle tissue, Connective tissue and Nervous tissue. These four tissue types each have their own specific function vital the human body. Because of this, each type of tissue contain cells with specific organelles appropriate to the tissues function. The addition, removal, or adaption of cell features can impact greatly on a tissue, giving it the properties it needs in order to accomplish its role in the body. Epithelial tissue covers the whole of the bodys surface. Epithelial cells are packed closely together in one or more layers. Epithelial tissue specialises in covering the bodys external and internal surfaces. The epithelial tissue located in the bodys interior is known as endothelium. Epithelial tissue can be split into two groups depending on the number of layers its composed of. When the epithelial tissue is only one cell thick its known as simple epithelium. However if the epithelium tissues is two or more cells thick, such as the skin, its known as stratified epithelium.   The main purpose of the epithelial cell is to protect the surfaces it covers, in some cases however specialised epithelial tissues are able to take part in absorption, excretion, secretion, diffusion, and cleaning. Epithelial tissue has the ability to repair itself this is due to the basement membrane which is a selectively permeable membrane. The epithelial tissues ability to repair itself is very useful as it comes under constant wear and tear because of its protective function. The repair process requires a lot of protein to be produced, therefore a large rough endoplasmic reticulum is needed in order to synthesise large amounts of protein. The top layer of cells within the epithelial tissue is often keratinised, making it stronger and more resistant to damage. The nucleus within the epithelial tissue cells are able to change shape depending on the overall shape the cell structure will take on. The nucleus does this in order for the epithelial cells to fit closely together. Epithelial cells can also contain appendages known as cilia, depending on the tissues function. Cilia are often found in epithelial tissue located in areas such as the throat. Cilia waft the mucus with in the throat, reducing restriction and build up. Muscle tissue There are three types of muscle tissue: Smooth muscle tissue, skeletal muscle tissue and cardiac (heart) muscle tissue. The main function of muscle tissue is to create movement of, and in the body. A large of amount of energy is needed within the muscle tissue due to its function, movement. This energy comes from ATP which is made within the tissues cells. Because of this muscle cells contain a vast amount of mitochondria which is responsible for creating ATP. The large number of mitochondria means vast amounts of ATP can be produced and then converted into kinetic energy needed for the muscle movement. Muscle tissues need to be sturdy and resilient due to the amount and type of movement carried out by the cell. This is accomplished by the cell membranes of the muscle cells, known as the sarcolemma. Smooth muscle tissue controls slow, involuntary movements. Skeletal muscle tissue is responsible for the movement of the various bones of the skeleton. Cardiac muscle tissue is found only on the hearts walls, it shows characteristics of both smooth muscle tissue and skeletal muscle tissue. Cardiac muscle tissue is responsible for the contraction of the atria and vesicles of the hear t. Muscle tissue is strong due to its outer layer of collagen fibre, which covers the inner layer known as the plasma membrane. Muscle tissue needs to be able to contract to perform its function. To do this calcium is needed. The calcium needs to be stored within the cell and transferred when needed. The calcium needed is packaged and kept in the cells sarcoplasmic reticulum this is an organelle similar to the SER. The cytoplasm of muscle tissues, called sarcolemma, is unique because it contains large particles of glycogen (storage of energy) and has a high concentration of calcium. This enables the muscle to contract efficiently Connective Tissue Connective tissue can be found within and throughout the human body, taking on many forms varying on its function. Whether its tendons and bones, or blood and skin. The main function of connective tissue is to support the human body and connect together different types of tissues. Connective tissue usually has scattered cells throughout an extracellular matrix. Connective tissues are composed of three main types of cells: Fibroblasts, Macrophages, and Mast cells. Fibroblasts are responsible for creating an extracellular matrix within the tissue, this gives the connective tissue elasticity needed so the tissue can stretch and then return to its original shape when needed. Collagen and proteins mostly make up the matrix providing strength to the tissues as well as flexibility. Macrophages are cells that come from blood cells and clean any Foreign particles present through the process of phagocytosis. The final primary cell type is the Mast cell. The mast cell communicates with the bodys blood chemically, instructing it when to clot its blood, or inflame particular tissues. Mast cells provide the connective tissues with vital reparative properties that are needs when damage takes place. Nervous tissue Nervous tissues are built of nerve cells. The main function of the nervous tissue is relaying electrical impulses from one are in the body to another, collecting, sending and managing information from area to area. The nervous tissue is made up of special nerve cells called neurones. Neurones transmit impulses at a very fast rate and are easily stimulated. The three main neurone types are: Sensory neurone, Motor neurone and connector neurones. Nervous cells are built of a standard cell body, contain cell organelles such as; nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondria, ribosomes, cell membrane and cytoplasm. The Golgi apparatus however is slightly different, not only can it process and package proteins it can also process and package neurotransmitters. At either end of the cell body are protrusions. One of these protrusions is known as the axon, this is a nerve fibre that attaches to the soma, carrying impulses away from it. The axon has a specially adapted membrane that can connect with the membrane of a targeted cell, letting impulses be carried into it. These connections are known as synapses. The dendrite which stems from the other end of the soma, works differently to the axon, picking up impulses from surrounding neurones and transmitting it to its own soma. A material made of protein and fat known as the myelin sheath, acts as a sheath around the axon of a nerve cell. Its primary functions are to protect and insulate the nerve fibre, stopping impulses leaving he cell from incorrect areas, and also increase the speed of the impulses. Ranvier are regular gaps that are located along the sheath, these let nutrients and waste enter and leave the neurone. They also let the impulses move along the neurone itself. These features are what give the nervous tissue the ability to send information to different areas of the body and coordinate bodily functions allowing the body to carry out its intended purpose

College Admissions Essay: I Will be an English Teacher :: College Admissions Essays

I Will be an English Teacher "Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor." -- Robert Frost I felt trapped, immobilized, confused. It was my senior year in high school. My friend Nancy aptly described me as laboring under a "stupor of thought." Finally, I did the one thing that held any promise of relief - I decided to become an English teacher. I didn't just switch oars in the middle of the stream; I switched to an entirely different river. Throughout high school, instructors and classmates have said to me, "You know, you'd make a great teacher." That's nice, I'd say, but I already have a plan, a nice, sensible plan: earn a degree in accounting, marry my love of music to my skill with numbers and computers, and become the financial manager for a non-profit music arts organization. I outlined my plan in essays. It was a good plan, a sensible plan, a righteous plan. I can't change now. It's too late, too late! It's too late...isn't it? After three years of resistance, my passion for learning and literature and my experiences as a student finally defeated my sensible plan. I decided it was not too late. I would become a teacher - truth be told, I already was. Outside the classroom, I wore teacher-ness on my sleeve. Volunteering in the school office, I'd chat with the students about their classes. They'd moan about the speech class they intended to put off as long as possible. I'd counter with tales of giving my instructional speech on Japanese style gift-wrapping - the women in the class produced beautifully wrapped gifts, but the men were all thumbs! "Gee, you make it sound cool. Have you ever thought about teaching?" Oh no, not me. I'm going to be an accountant. The drive to learn more and share what I learned exposed me. After fulfilling the algebra requirement, I realized that I enjoyed algebra. So I took more math classes, just for the fun of it. I stayed up late, working additional problems, caught up in the thrill of understanding. I became an unofficial tutor, helping my classmates with factoring and linear equations. It was fun helping them learn. Whipping around the room from one student to the next was exhilarating! "Have you ever thought of becoming a math teacher?

Hamlet -- the Characterization Essay -- GCSE English Literature Course

Hamlet -- the Characterization      Ã‚  Ã‚   The beautifully developed characters within Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy, Hamlet, are manifestations of genius. Let us in this essay tour the gallery of the Bard’s characters in this most famous play.    George Lyman Kittredge, in his book, Five Plays of Shakespeare, describes the Bard’s excellent characterization of Claudius:    King Claudius is a superb figure – almost as great a dramatic creation as Hamlet himself. His intellectual powers are of the highest order. He is eloquent – formal when formality is appropriate (as in the speech from the throne), graciously familiar when familiarity is in place (as is his treatment of the family of Polonius), persuasive to an almost superhuman degree (as in his manipulation of the insurgent Laertes) – always and everywhere a model of royal dignity. His courage is manifested, under the most terrifying circumstances, when the mob breaks into the palace. His self-control when the dumb show enacts his secret crime before his eyes is nothing less than marvelous. (xviii)    The genius of the Bard is revealed in his characterization. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt in Literature of the Western World examine the universal appeal of   Shakespeare resulting from his â€Å"sharply etched characters†:    Every age from Shakespeare’s time to the present has found something different in him to admire. All ages, however, have recognized his supreme skill in inventing sharply etched characters; it frequently happens that long after one has forgotten the exact story of a play one remembers its people with absolute vividness. It is true, paradoxically, that many of Shakespeare’s characters represent universal types.[. . .] Scores of them are fu... ...stitute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.    Wilson, John Dover. What happens in Hamlet. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.         

Rate of Photosynthesis: Limiting Factors

Rate of photosynthesis: limiting factors Limiting factors The main factors affecting rate of photosynthesis are light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and temperature. In any given situation any one of these may become a limiting factor, in other words the factors that directly affects the rate at which photosynthesis can take place masking the effects of the other factors. Light and rate of photosynthesis At low light intensities, as light intensity increases, the rate of the light-dependent reaction, and therefore photosynthesis generally, increases proportionately (straight line relationship).The more photons of light that fall on a leaf, the greater the number of chlorophyll molecules that are ionised and the more ATP and NADPH are generated. Light dependent reactions use light energy and so are not affected by changes in temperature. Rate of photosynthesis Intensity of light As light intensity is increased further, however, the rate of photosynthesis is eventually limited by some other factor. So the rate plateaus. At very high light intensity, chlorophyll may be damaged and the rate drops steeply (not shown in the graph). Chlorophyll a is used in both photosystems.The wavelength of light is also important. PSI absorbs energy most efficiently at 700 nm and PSII at 680 nm. Light with a higher proportion of energy concentrated in these wavelengths will produce a higher rate of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide and rate of photosynthesis An increase in the carbon dioxide concentration increases the rate at which carbon is incorporated into carbohydrate in the light-independent reaction, and so the rate of photosynthesis generally increases until limited by another factor. As it is normally present in the atmosphere at very low concentrations (about 0. 4%), increasing carbon dioxide concentration causes a rapid rise in the rate of photosynthesis, which eventually plateaus when the maximum rate of fixation is reached. Rate of photosynthesis Carbon dioxide c oncentration 1 Temperature and rate of photosynthesis Although the light dependent reactions of photosynthesis are not affected by changes in temperature, the light independent reactions of photosynthesis are dependent on temperature. They are reactions catalysed by enzymes. As the enzymes approach their optimum temperatures the overall rate increases.It approximately doubles for every 10 Â °C increase in temperature. Above the optimum temperature the rate begins to decrease, as enzymes are denatured, until it stops. Limiting factors In 1905, when investigating the factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis, Blackmann formulated the Law of limiting factors. This states that the rate of a physiological process will be limited by the factor which is in shortest supply. Any change in the level of a limiting factor will affect the rate of reaction. For example, the amount of light will affect the rate of photosynthesis.If there is no light, there will be no photosynthesis. As light i ntensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis will increase as long as other factors are in adequate supply. As the rate increases, eventually another factor will come into short supply. The graph below shows the effect of low carbon dioxide concentration. It will eventually be insufficient to support a higher rate of photosynthesis, and increasing light intensity will have no effect, so the rate plateaus. Rate of photosynthesis Temperature Rate of photosynthesis Higher CO2 concentration; higher temperature.Higher CO2 concentration; lower temperature. Lower CO2 concentration; lower temperature. . Intensity of light If a higher concentration of carbon dioxide is supplied, light is again a limiting factor and a higher rate can be reached before the rate again plateaus. If carbon dioxide and light levels are high, but temperature is low, increasing temperature will have the greatest effect on reaching a higher rate of photosynthesis. Finding out How might the factors that affect the r ate of photosynthesis be investigated? Design a suitable series of experiments. 2