Observing Bacteria Essay Example for Free

Observing Bacteria Essay Abstract: Microscopes are fragile instruments that must be handle with extreme caution as they can produce high quality results when observing the smallest specimens on earth. A microscope must be properly cleaned before use and storage. The different objectives allow for a range of observations. At the highest objectives, the resolution can easily be lost which is why the oil immersion lens is used to minimize refraction. While observing specimens, both dead and active, their shapes and arrangements can be observed. For example, the oil immersion lens can be used to observe the active Streptobacillus bacteria in yogurt. Purpose: The purpose of this lab was to display knowledge of the use of a compound microscope with and without an oil immersion lens while observing and identifying various bacterial shapes and arrangements, including a self prepared yogurt culture. Procedure: Exercise 1: Viewing Prepared Slides 1. After setting up and cleaning all lenses, place the prepared e slide properly on the stage. 2. View the slide under the10x objective by moving it around with the X and Y stage travel knobs then focus it by first using the coarse adjustment followed by the fine adjustment until the view is clear. 3. Adjust the diaphragm to allow enough light for good resolution. 4. After a micrograph is taken, rotate the 10x objective away from the specimen and the 40x over it. Use the fine adjustment knob to bring the specimen back into focus. 5. Repeat the above steps for 6 more specimens. Those viewed and micrographed in this lab are: Amoeba Anabaena Ascaris eggs Paramecium Yeast Penicillium Part 2 of Exercise 1: 1. View 6 more prepared slides by using the oil immersion lens. Follow steps 1-5 above to locate, center, and focus each slide at 10x and 40x. 2. Then swing the 40x objective to its half way position with the 100x objective nearing the slide. 3. Add a drop of provided oil to the slide cover’s surface and slowly swing the 100x objective over. 4. Using the fine adjustment knob bring the specimen into focus and take a micrograph. 5. Repeat this process for 5 more specimens. Those that were micrograph in this lab were: Bacillus Coccus Spirillium Prepared Yogurt Exercise 2: Observing Bacteria Cultures in Yogurt 1. Using a clean sealable glass jar, place a teaspoon of yogurt in the container. 2. Cover the jar and place in a dark, relatively warm areas fro 12-24 hours. 3. Place a sample of the yogurt specimen in a clean slide using a toothpick and cover with a cover slip. 4. Repeat the above steps for viewing the slide at the 10x, 40x, and 100x oil immersion with the microscope. Keep the diaphragm low, as the bacteria will be transparent. 5. Repeat the viewing process with the prepared yogurt slide from the lab kit. Compare the two specimens. 6. Clean all items used in this lab: specimen vials, slides, and microscope. Carefully cover and store microscope. Data/Observation: Specimens observed in Exercise 1 Part 1 with the 10x objective: Amoeba Proteus at 100x Anabaena w.m. at 100x Ascaris Eggs, w.m. at 100x Paramecium Conjugation at 100x Yeast, w.m. at 100x Pencillium with conidia, w.m. at 100x Specimens observed in Exercise 1 Part 2 Exercise 2 with the 40x objective: Bacteria Bacillus form at 400x Bacteria Coccus form at 400x Bacteria Spirillum form at 400x Yoghurt Bacteria at 400x Fresh Yogurt Specimen at 400x Specimens observed in Exercise 2 with the 100x Oil Immersion Fresh Yogurt Specimen at 1000x Results/Analysis: A. Identify the following parts of the microscope and describe the function of each. A. Eyepiece lens B. Tube C. Nosepiece D. Objective Lens E. Stage F. Diaphragm G. Mirror H. Coarse Adjustment knob I. Fine Adjustment knob J. Arm K. Clip L. Base B. Define the following microscopy terms: Focus: The point at which the light from a lens comes together. Resolution: The closest two objects can be before they are no longer detected as separate objects. Contrast: The difference in light intensity between the image and the adjacent background relative to the overall background intensity. C. Describe your observations from the fresh yogurt slide you prepared in Exercise 2. D. Were there observable differences between your fresh yogurt slide and the prepared yogurt slide? If so, explain. CD: Observation of the prepared slide was made easier by the purple staining and the dead bacteria. The observation of the fresh specimen was harder to see in a focused manner because it continued to move. The prepared slide is an obvious Bacillus bacterium. While the fresh sample is harder to focus so it is not as easily observed as Bacillus bacterium. There are more bacteria present in the fresh specimen than in the prepared slide. E Describe the four main bacterial shapes. Cocci: a spherically shaped bacterium Bacillus: a rod shaped bacterium Spirillum: spirally shaped bacterium Vibrio: comma or S shaped bacteria F. What are the common arrangements of bacteria? Cocci: occurring as a single sphere Diplococci: occurring as spheres in pairs Streptococci: chains of linked spheres Staphylococci: spheres grouped in grape like clusters Bacillus: a single rod arrangement Diplobacillus: pairs of rods Streptobacillus: Chain-linked rods G. Were you able to identify specific bacterial morphologies on either yogurt slide? If so, which types? In both samples Streptobacilluss arrangements and shapes were observed. They were more prevalent and easy to distinguish in the prepared slide since that bacteria was not actively moving. At times the fresh specimen at 400x looked like Staphylococci; however, upon observing the bacteria closer at 1000x it was obvious that there were no sphere shaped bacterium present. H. What is the purpose of immersion oil? Why does it work? Normally, the quality of an observed specimen decreases with the number of lenses, glass, etc that the light travels through. With the oil immersion lens, one of the strongest microscope lenses at 100x, the oil restricts the light refraction allowing for a clear focused image at such a high resolution. The oil mixes with the specimen and the oil itself has the same refractive index to that of glass. This gives the specimen a finer resolution and brightness than would have otherwise been observed. Conclusion: In conclusion this lab taught one how to properly use, clean, and store compound microscope. The lab assessed the ability to observe a specimen both provided and freshly prepared with and without an oil immersion lens. This allowed for hands on learning, observation, and identification of various bacterial shapes and arrangements. One was able to extended his/her learning while ageing yogurt and making a fresh specimen on a slide to be observed at all objectives with and without oil.

Relativism Essay -- ethics beliefs cultural relativism essays papers

The year was 1943. Hundreds of Jewish people were being marched into the gas chambers in accordance with Adolf Hitler's orders. In the two years that followed, millions of Jews were killed and only a fraction survived the painful ordeals at the Nazi German prison camps. However, all of the chaos ended as World War II came to a close: the American and British soldiers had won and Hitler's Third Reich was no more. A certain ethical position would state that the anti-sematic Nazi German culture was neither right nor wrong in its actions. In fact, it is this view of the cultural relativist that assumes all actions considered right in a culture to be good for that culture alone. Moreover, the relativist claims that these actions cannot be judged according to their ethical correctness because there is no absolute standard by which they could be compared. In the above case, this position would not allow for the American and British soldiers to interfere with the Nazis; the relativist would claim that the Allies were wrong in fighting the Germans due to a cultural disagreement. In truth, it is the relativist position which has both negative logical and practical consequences, and negligible benefits. The first logical consequence of relativism is that the believer must contradict himself in order to uphold his belief. The view states that all ethics are relative while putting forth the idea that no absolute standard of rightness exists. If this is the case, then what is cultural relativism relative to? From a purely logical point of view, this idea is absurd, for in assuming that something is relative one must first have some absolute by which it is judged. Let the reader consider this example to reinforce the point. A young woman is five feet tall, and her older friend is six feet tall. The younger female considers herself short because she looks at her friend and sees that she is taller than her. It would be illogical to say that the first woman is short if she were the only female in existence; if this were the case then there would not be anyone for her to be relative to in height. However, this logical fallacy is what the relativist assumes by stating that there is no standard of rightness for relativity. Quite simply, the cultural relativist is stating that he is relative to an absolute which ... ...at there cannot be any moral progress in a culture per-say. As discussed, the negligible benefits of cultural relativism such as tolerance, lacking of an absolute standard, and an open mind can only be applied to a limited range of instances. As previously shown, extreme relativism "in its vulgar and unregenerate form7" leads to stagnation of cultural morals and passive acceptance of ethical injustice. Of course, just as in any ethical theory, there are some things to be learned from it. One of these is the idea of not being too critical of other cultures. Also, the theory shows the importance of not becoming so culturalcentric that one looses the ability to learn from other socities. In truth, if more cultures tempered their tolerance with wisdom, then many of the evils that plague us could be effectively eliminated. --- End Notes 1. Rachels, James. "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism." Reason and Responsibility. Ed. Joel Feinberg. p. 454. 2. Rachels, p. 454. 3. Rachels, p. 454. 4. Rachels, p. 455. 5. Rachels, p. 455. 6. Rachels, p. 457. 7. Williams, Bernard. "Relativism." Reason and Responsibility. Ed. Joel Feinberg. p. 451.

To what extent and why would you agree or disagree with the view that the New Right proceeded by assertion approach to welfare provision?

(3) ‘Our judgement would be that, essentially, the New Right proceed by assertion' [George and Wilding]. To what extent and why would you agree or disagree with the view that the New Right proceeded by assertion approach to welfare provision? Professors George and Wilding made the statement in their study of welfare and ideology that the New Right ‘proceed by assertion' – that is to say that they make over generalised and unbalanced rhetoric about the state provision of welfare. The New Right emerged as an ideology in critical response to the post 1945 government attempts to provide a comprehensive system of welfare in Britain. They argue that state provision is not only inefficient and ineffective, but that collective enterprise is actually impossible as they have no belief in a common purpose in society. New Right ideas can be separated into two major strands of thought. The Neo- Liberal philosophy that is concerned with economic factors; and the Neo-Conservative strand which is interested with social, moral and political implications. However, they can be grouped together to define a philosophy which favours more market and less state involvement in peoples lives. They equate that more government means less personal reedom which, for the New Right, undercuts the principles of democracy. It is widely argued that the New Right present an ideology of Welfare that while being rational and efficient in theory; in practice is simply too idealistic and is neither sensitive nor flexible enough to the social needs of contemporary society. This essay intends to show that the ideologies of welfare presented by the New Right lack legitimate evidence to support and justify their proposals; this will be shown in two ways. First, the inadequacies of the New Right philosophical basis will be highlighted o show that at the most primary footing of their perspectives on social policy are unsound. Secondly, I will look at their argument for the supremacy of the free market system over state provision. This will be examined in both the economic and social spheres. The key and most basic reason why the New Right has a tendency to make statements with little substance or legitimacy is that their fundamental philosophical basis appears to be flawed. New Right thinkers emphasise individualism; Friedman asserts that ‘. The individual (is) the ultimate entity in society ‘. Clearly, there is little room for collective conscious in their philosophy. This egotistical individualism stresses that the welfare state, a collectivist policy, cannot work due to ‘human nature' e. g. self-seeking and greedy. The New Right ideology claims that the nature of human kind is unchangeable which thus makes the Welfare State an impossibility. However, many critics of this theory argue that classifying human nature as fixed ignores all culture and history surrounding the development of society. They centre their ideology on agency and completely fail to recognise the role of structure. Thatcher, a leading figure of the New Right ideology, said there is no such thing as society -just ndividuals. However, George and Wilding dismiss this assertion by highlighting that as human beings, we are all linked together in patterns and cycles of dependency. Williams also points out that surely ‘. We are not just individuals or families, but members of one another. ‘ The New Right also asserts that the Welfare State policies view people as social beings who can be motivated by social concerns and social goals. Naturally, the New Right reject this view of humans, again this can be rooted back to the importance of the individual and their assumption that humankind will very rarely act for the collective good. However, this argument ignores the cyclical nature of human relationships, any moral or collective consciousness is disregarded which is highly unrealistic for as humans we are social beings, we are graggrarious . New Right supporters also declare that the Welfare State is essentially inefficient due to its need for rational planning. They reason that due to the complexity of modern society, it is impossible to structure and implement plans that would be beneficial both economically and socially. As Willets points out ‘. It is precisely the increasing complexity of modern life which makes centralised organisation mpossible.. ‘ They dismiss constructive rationalism as unrealistic and call for less government intervention. Friedman views much government activity as undesirable. He believes it should have a limited role restricted to areas such as foreign policy and overseeing economic policies. However, it seems unreasonable to dismiss some degree of planning in modern society, people need valid motives and goals that are justified. The New Right principles on the role of the Welfare State assert that: we must first help those in need. Socialists believe that the State should provide an average standard. We believe that it should provide a minimum standard, above which people should be free to rise as far as their industry, their thrift, their ability or their genius may take them†¦. This highlights the New Right emphasis on individual freedom and choice. They say that the state provision of welfare is an encroachment on basic human freedoms as it restricts choice. However, if one considers services such as water, housing or health care, these are such fundamental needs that there is no real choice whether or not these needs are fulfilled. As a result of this, consumers in markets for these services are in a weak osition. Because of this vunerablilty, state provision of these services ensures a comprehensive service which is regulated. Market systems in such essential areas of provision leave the consumer susceptible to exploitation and it also undermines the principles of a free democracy As a result of the need for planning in the functioning of the Welfare State, many New Right thinkers dismiss it as it ignores the concept of spontaneous order- the market system. Or, at a more tangible level, they favour monetarism over Keynesianism. – The New Right view the market as the most efficient system as it generates ompetition which,in turn, spurs innovation and a consumer led market. It also means that a monopoly cannot be created and consequently, prices are kept reasonable and quality of services are kept high. They argue that the Welfare State violates the spirit of capitalism and basic human nature . For the New Right, the market is the most efficient and rational way to operate economically and socially – The New Right also argue that the State presents a series of destructive economic consequences. Mead contends that the government projects a view to society that work is merely an option, not a nessecity. In other words, that social security creates a ‘nanny state', causing idleness. He views the Welfare state as a victim of it's own success by feeding and sustaining the type of behaviour it is trying to minimise. Another problem with this, according to the New Right, is because the welfare state is centralised it is therefore seen as ‘government money', it is depersonalised and as a result becomes vulnerable to abuse and manipulation . Again, this leads back to the view that man is individualistic and self seeking, rejecting the concept of the ‘common good' or collective social conscious. In the defence of the State, it is obvious that in any socio-political arena there will be negative and positive outcomes of any kind of social policy. However they must be weighed up against each other. It is impractical and unrealistic to assess the welfare state in the abstract, as the New Right tends to. Their philosophies also ignore the complex and diverse nature of modern society, and are simply not sensitive enough to the various needs. Holman explains that in reality, the New Right regard ‘.. personal gain and material selfishness.. as virtues while compassion for the disadvantaged and a readiness to share oods and power are sneered at as weakness.. ‘ Thus far we have seen that the New Right philosophy celebrates private enterprise as it promotes democracy, however there is much substantial evidence to prove otherwise. Friedman, for example, claims in his writings NAME OF BOOK AND QUOTE DIRECTLY.. that it is the free market which made it possible for black people to overcome racial discrimination in the United States. This completely disregards the role of state legislation in this matter, and further presents an unbalanced and misleading view of the social policy process which seems to be a consistent motif hat runs through the New Right philosophies. XPAND ECONOMIC POINT Another major factor in the inadequacy of the market provision of Welfare State services is that it cannot supply needs regardless of ability to pay or according to need. As a result, it is easy to deduce that the market solutions are distinctly less equitable than the state provision of public services. Therefore, it can be argued that, the New Right fail to consider the social consequences of the market system. The problem of the New Right is that their opinions of the supremacy of the free market are formed from their own view point which is invariably secure, affluent and rofessional. They fail to recognise that the freedom the market offers is conditional. Holman argues that it ‘†¦ depends upon the prior advantage of having jobs, opportunities, savings. The market provides freedom for the privileged. ‘ The World Bank, long regarded as supporters for the free market, issued a report in 1997 emphasising that an effective state is ‘†¦ vital to the provision of goods and services and the rules and institutions that allow markets to flourish and people to lead healthier, happier lives. Without it, sustainable development, both economic and social is impossible.. This shows that while the New Right ideology is not wholly disregarded, it is seen as not looking at the whole picture, which gives an unbalanced and bias view of state provision. The New Right can be thought of as ‘leading by assertion' due to the fact that they often make statements without backing it up with legitimate evidence. According to the New Right ideology, the Welfare State has many negative social implications. Firstly, it undermines any sense of responsibility and self-reliance by providing, not so much a ‘safety net', more an altogether too comfortable cushion to those who get state provision. This, in turn, fosters what Keith Joseph coined in the 1970's a ‘dependency culture'. This anti-collectivist theory claimed that poor families in poverty transmitted this culture of difficult relationships, unskilled work or unemployment. However, this is an generalised statement that when examined, becomes totally inadequate. Willams argues that ‘such an explanation .. fails to account for the effect of social circumstances†¦ ‘ Charles Murray, whose work has been widely published in Britain by the Institute of Economic Affairs, assets that the Welfare State infact sustains an ‘underclass' by emoving any element of real risk or danger-factors which, according to the New Right, are essential to the consistent function of an innovative and motivated market. This theory is best represented by a quote from the 1992 Conservative Party Conference where the Social Security minister, Peter Lillley, categorised single mothers as having dominant membership of this supposed underclass and described them as ‘young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing list. ‘ This assertion by Peter Lilley is an example of how the New Right thinkers tend to make broad statements, often considering them in the abstract without using much vidence and dispensing normative prescriptions for the social ills. Clearly, however, a broader agenda is required when evaluating social policies. Also this approach fails to consider the supportive and cohesive functions that the Welfare State provides. Holman shows effectively the inadequacy of the New Rights theory of the emergence of an underclass in his study of the effect of the implementation of New Right policies in Easterhouse during the early nineties. He presents quantitative evidence to show that it is not the ‘feather-bedding' approach of the Welfare State that is ccountable for social problems and ‘wrong' values. Rather Holman argues that, . the deprivations are imposed upon people by government policies and economic factors beyond their control. The underclass thesis should be seen less as an explanation of the state of places like Easterhouse and more as a New Right excuse which diverts blame away from the dire results of New Right practices.. The New Right maintain that the free market promotes democracy by offering choice to the consumer. They argue that the Welfare state creates a monopoly, therefore there is no competition, which is bad for the consumer. asically the state is answerable to no-one because people are not directly paying for their health care or schooling (for example). Williamson summarises that the Welfare State from a New Right perspective is ‘significantly inefficient as it is an effective monopoly, bureaucratic in character and dominated by producers, not consumers. ‘ Williams also highlights the problem of the concentration of power in the market or oligopoly , which is fundamentally undemocratic. She asserts that business people rarely practice free competition whenever they are in a position to control the market hemselves. This is further reinforced by Richard Titmuss in his 1959 lecture ‘The Irresponsible Society' where he stressed that major monetary decisions of building societies, insurance and pension companies were being made by a small minority of people. Such decisions affect millions of people, and their views are not taken into account, which is fundamentally undemocratic. It must be noted, however, The New Right philosophy does not altogether reject the role of state in Welfare. Gray accepts the idea of quasi-markets within the welfare state, perhaps in the form of a voucher system. This way competition is still strong because people have the freedom to choose which hospital or school they want. Seldon reinforces this by suggesting that ‘ National economic expansion can best be helped by putting welfare by stages into the market where the consumer will rule instead of the politician'. The effectiveness of the market system is not completely convincing. The New Right tends to present a distorted and partial view of the efficiency of the free market. -more explanation of efficiency of market see george nad wildiing chapter on democratic socialism. conclusion

The story of Tony Manero Essay - 1886 Words

The term disco often brings to mind, images of polyester suits, coordinated choreography and flashy disco balls. John Badham’s 1977 cinematic classic Saturday Night Fever capitalized on those images to help mainstream society relate to this growing subculture. John Travolta’s portrayal of Tony Manero, a down on his luck heterosexual male, who uses disco as a means of escape from his everyday life, helps to demonstrate Hollywood’s encroachment on this growing cultural phenomenon. What Badham’s film fails to explore is the history of disco; the influence that it had on underground society in the United States. The story of Tony Manero lacks the colourful history of this musical tradition. For example, the film does not explore the†¦show more content†¦After the Stonewall Riots in 1969, gay Americans began to develop a new collective persona and disco offered them a foundation on which they could build that identity upon. This collective identit y was most commonly shared in the discothà ¨ques themselves. The gay community quickly realized the importance of establishments that serviced gay cliental and while organizations like the Gay Activist Alliance existed to fight for gay equality on a political level, discothà ¨ques helped them fight for cultural equality. As the decade progressed, the sophistication of the gay club scene grew tremendously. Disco soon became â€Å"the most effective tool in the struggle for gay liberation†. Soon, the gay community began to move away from brothel style clubs and started to develop a discothà ¨que culture. With this shift, came a change in the way the gay community approached disco music and its lifestyle. By shifting the focus of clubs away from sex to music and dancing, the gay community began to develop a more diverse form of culture. These new clubs that focused on music helped to foster a greater sense of legitimacy which could be seen in the collective resistance of disco music at the time. Artists like Carl Bean, whose cover of Charles Harris’s song â€Å"I Was Born this Way† which was one of the first songs to explore gay sexuality in such open terms, helped to unify homosexual men.Show MoreRelated Comparing the Dance of Life in My Papa’s Waltz and Saturday Night Fever643 Words   |  3 Pagessociety. It symbolizes tradition, family, bonding, and entertainment. In almost every decade of the twentieth century, a different style of dance prevailed. In the 1970s, John Travolta brought disco dancing into the spotlight with his portrayal of Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. Through his depiction of this character, John Travolta shows the monumental effects of dancing. Literature can also artfully explore the effect of dance on people. Theodore Roethkes My Papas Waltz dramatizes a specialRead Morestayin alive Essay1348 Words   |  6 Pagesof the narrative touches on the rise of the New Right while another tracks t he breakdown of working-class cultural idols. New Deal liberalism and the growth of a New Right founded upon a white working-class cultural conservatism are both not a new story. In Stayin’ Alive, the essential catastrophe of the 1970s was not only the Watergate incident, stagflation, racial conflict, and the local scuffles over the Vietnam War, however; In Jefferson Cowie’s Stayin’ Alive, the 1970s essential catastrophe was