Campbell Soup Case Essay

Synopsis The Campbell Soup Company has dominated the soup â€Å"industry† since the company developed a cost-effective method of producing condensed soup products in 1899. Throughout most of the twentieth century, Campbell was known as one of the most conservative companies in the United States. In 1980, Campbell startled the business world by selling debt securities for the first time and by embarking on a program to lengthen and diversify its historically â€Å"short† product line. Despite a sizable increase in revenues, the diversification program failed to improve Campbell’s profitability, which prompted the company’s executives to refocus their attention on their core business, namely, manufacturing and marketing soup products. Unfortunately, by the end of the twentieth century, the public’s interest in soup was waning. Faced with a shrinking market for its primary product, Campbell’s management team allegedly began using a series of questionable business practices and accounting gimmicks to prop up the company’s reported profits. A class-action lawsuit filed in early 2000 by disgruntled Campbell stockholders charged top company executives with misrepresenting Campbell’s operating results in the late 1990s. The principal allegation was that the executives had used a variety of methods to inflate the company’s revenues, gross margins, and profits during that time frame. Eventually, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Campbell’s independent audit firm, was named as a co-defendant in the case. The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claimed that PwC had recklessly audited Campbell, which effectively allowed Campbell’s executives to continue their illicit schemes. This case examines the allegations filed against PwC by Campbell’s stockholders with the primary purpose of illustrating the audit objectives and procedures that can and should be applied to a client’s revenue and revenue-related accounts. The case also provides students with important insights on how the Private  Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has affected auditors’ civil liability in lawsuits filed under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Campbell Soup Company–Key Facts 1.During much of its history, Campbell Soup was known as one of the most conservative large companies in the U.S. economy. 2. Campbell’s conservative corporate culture abruptly changed in the 1980s when the company sold debt securities for the first time and embarked on an ambitious program to diversify and expand its product line. 3.In the late 1990s, after the diversification program had produced disappointing financial results and when market data indicated that the public’s interest in soup was waning, Campbell executives allegedly began using several illicit methods to meet Wall Street’s earnings targets for the company. 4.A class-action lawsuit filed in 2000 charged that Campbell had offered customers large, period-ending discounts to artificially inflate sales, accounted improperly for those discounts, recorded bogus sales, and failed to record appropriate reserves for anticipated sales returns. 5.PwC, Campbell’s audit firm, was named as a defendant in the class-action lawsuit and was charged with recklessly auditing Campbell’s financial statements. 6.Because the class-action lawsuit was filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the federal judge presiding over the case had to decide whether the allegations involving PwC satisfied the new â€Å"pleading standard† established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 7.The PSLRA’s pleading standard requires plaintiffs to plead or allege facts  suggesting that there is a â€Å"strong inference of scienter† on the part of a given defendant. 8.To satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard in the Third Circuit of the U.S. District Court in which the Campbell lawsuit was filed, a plaintiff, at a minimum, must allege that the given defendant acted with â€Å"recklessness.† 9.After reviewing PwC’s audit workpapers, the federal judge ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to satisfy the PSLRA pleading standard, which resulted in PwC being dismissed as a defendant in the case. 10.In February 2003, Campbell settled the class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay the plaintiffs $35 million, although company executives denied any wrongdoing. Instructional Objectives 1.To demonstrate that even the largest and highest profile audit clients can pose significant audit risks. 2.To identify discretionary business practices and accounting â€Å"gimmicks† that can be used to distort a company’s reported operating results. 3.To identify audit procedures that should be applied to a client’s sales and sales-related accounts. 4.To examine the implications that the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has for the civil liability of independent auditors in lawsuits filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 5.To examine the concepts of recklessness and negligence in the context of auditors’ civil liability. Suggestions for Use The â€Å"high-risk† accounts that are the focus of this case are sales and sales-related accounts. This case focuses students’ attention on schemes that companies can use to enhance their reported operating results. These schemes involve both â€Å"discretionary† business practices and accounting gimmicks. Auditing textbooks generally ignore the fact that audit clients often manage or manipulate their reported profits by using discretionary business practices—such as delaying advertising or maintenance expenditures. This case requires students to address this possibility and consider the resulting audit implications. After discussing this case, I hope my students recognize that companies that use discretionary business practices to â€Å"rig† their profits are likely inclined to use accounting gimmicks for the same purpose. As an out-of-class assignment, you might ask students to find in the business press recent examples of companies that have attempted to manage their earnings without violating any accounting or financial reporting rules. Have students present these examples and then discuss them when addressing case question No. 1. I think you will find that students have very different opinions on whether it is ethical for public companies to â€Å"massage† their income statement data while complying with the technical requirements of GAAP. You might consider packaging this case with the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4). The Health Management case provides a general discussion of the PSLRA. The Campbell Soup case contributes to students’ understanding of the PSLRA by examining in more depth the â€Å"pleading standard† established by that federal statute and the impact that standard has on lawsuits filed against auditors under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Suggested Solutions to Case Questions 1.Here are a few examples of discretionary business practices that corporate executives can use to influence their company’s revenues and/or expenses. ââ€" ºDeferring advertising, maintenance, or other discretionary expenditures until the following period. ââ€" ºSlowing down (or accelerating) work on long-term construction projects or contracts for which the percentage-of-completion accounting method is used to recognize revenue. ââ€" ºUsing economic incentives to stimulate sales near the end of an accounting period (a technique used by Campbell). Are the practices just listed â€Å"ethical†? Typically, students suggest that since these practices do not violate any laws, GAAP, or other â€Å"black and white† rules, the practices cannot be considered â€Å"unethical†Ã¢â‚¬â€a roundabout way of arguing that they are ethical. That general point-of-view seems consistent with the following comment that Judge Irenas made regarding Campbell’s period-ending â€Å"trade loading:† â€Å"There is nothing inherently improper in pressing for sales to be made earlier than in the normal course . . . there may be any number of legitimate reasons for attempting to achieve sales earlier.† For what it is worth, I believe that corporate executives who defer needed maintenance expenses or who postpone advertising programs that would likely produce sizable sales in future periods are not acting in the best interests of their stockholders. In other words, I do not believe such practices are proper or â€Å"ethical.† Likewise, corporate executives who take advantage of the inherent flexibility of the percentage-of-completion accounting method, ostensibly to serve their own economic interests, are not individuals who I would want serving as stewards of my investments. In my view, it is a little more difficult to characterize the â€Å"trade loading† practices of Campbell as unethical. Why? Because, allegedly, the company’s competitors were using the same practice. If Campbell chose not to offer large, period-ending discounts to their customers, the company would likely have lost sales to its competitors. [Note: Campbell’s CEO who resigned in 2000 announced in mid-1999 that his company was discontinuing trade loading.] 2. I would suggest that companies that use various â€Å"legitimate† business practices to â€Å"manage† their earnings are more prone to use illicit methods (accounting gimmicks, etc.) for the same purpose. As a result, auditors could reasonably consider such business practices as a â€Å"red flag† that mandates more extensive and/or rigorous audit tests. [Note: Professional auditing standards suggest that corporate executives who place excessive emphasis on achieving earnings forecasts may be prone to misrepresenting  their company’s financial statement data.] 3.SAS No. 106, â€Å"Audit Evidence,† identifies three categories of management assertions implicit in an entity’s financial statements that independent auditors should attempt to corroborate by collecting sufficient appropriate audit evidence. The third of these categories is â€Å"presentation and disclosure.† Included in the latter category is the following item: â€Å"Classification and understandability. Financial information is appropriately presented and described and disclosures are clearly expressed.† [AU 326.15] Likewise, one of the five transaction-related assertions is entitled â€Å"Classification.† This latter assertion suggests that, â€Å"Transactions and events have been recorded in the proper accounts.† Here are examples of â€Å"spin† techniques that can be used to enhance income statement data without changing net income: ââ€" ºClassifying cost of goods sold components as SG&A expenses to inflate gross profit on sales. ââ€" ºReporting items that qualify as operating expenses/losses as nonoperating expenses/losses to inflate operating income. (One of the most common variations of this â€Å"trick† in recent years has been including legitimate operating expenses in â€Å"restructuring† losses.) ââ€" ºTreating â€Å"other losses† as extraordinary losses to inflate income from continuing operations. 4.Shipping to the yard: Year-end sales cutoff tests are intended to identify misclassification of sales occurring near the end of a client’s fiscal year. Auditors will typically choose a small sample of sales that the client recorded in the final few days of the fiscal year and a comparable sample of sales that occurred in the first few days of the new fiscal year. Then, the relevant shipping and other accounting documents for those sales will be inspected to determine that they were recorded in the proper period. This standard test might have revealed the fact that Campbell was booking some unusually large sales near the end of accounting periods. Even though the shipping documents for these sales might have suggested that they were valid period-ending sales, a curious auditor might have  investigated the sales further. For example, that auditor might have attempted to determine whether the resulting receivables were collected on a timely basis. During the course of such an investigation, the auditor would likely have discovered that the sales were reversed in the following period or dealt with in some other nonstandard way. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures might also have resulted in the discovery of these â€Å"sales.† Customers to whom such sales were charged would likely have identified them as differences or discrepancies on returned confirmations. Subsequent investigation of these items by the auditors may have revealed their true nature. As pointed out by the plaintiffs in this case, during physical inventory counting procedures auditors typically take notice of any inventory that has been segregated and not counted—for example, inventory that is sitting in parked trucks. If there is an unusually large amount of such segregated inventory—which was apparently true in this case, the auditors should have inquired of the client and obtained a reasonable explanation. The old, reliable â€Å"scanning year-end transactions to identify large and/or unusual transactions† might also have led to the discovery of Campbell’s sales â€Å"shipped to the yard.† Guaranteed sales: During the first few weeks of a client’s new fiscal year, auditors should review the client’s sales returns and allowances account to determine whether there are any unusual trends apparent in that account. Auditors should be particularly cognizant of unusually high sales returns and allowances, which may signal that a client overstated reported sales for the prior accounting period. Accounts receivable confirmation procedures may also result in auditors discovering an unusually high rate of â€Å"charge-backs† by the client’s customers. In some cases, clients will have written contracts that document the key features of sales contracts. Reviewing such contracts may result in the discovery of â€Å"guaranteed sales† or similar transactions. Finally, simply discussing a client’s sales policies and procedures with client personnel may result in those personnel intentionally or inadvertently â€Å"tipping off† auditors regarding questionable accounting practices for sales, such as shipping to the yard or guaranteed sales. 5. Here are definitions of â€Å"negligence† and â€Å"recklessness† that I have referred to in suggested solutions for questions in other cases. These definitions were taken from the following source: D.M. Guy, C.W. Alderman, and A.J. Winters, Auditing, Fifth Edition (San Diego: Dryden, 1999), 85-86. Negligence: â€Å"The failure of the CPA to perform or report on an engagement with the due professional care and competence of a prudent auditor.† Recklessness: â€Å"A serious occurrence of negligence tantamount to a flagrant or reckless departure from the standard of due care.† After reviewing the definition of â€Å"negligence,† ask your students to define or describe a â€Å"prudent auditor.† Then, ask them whether they believe that definition/description applies to the PwC auditors assigned to the 1998 Campbell audit. Here are two hypothetical examples drawn from this case involving what I would characterize as â€Å"reckless auditors.† ââ€" ºA client employee tells PwC auditors that many year-end sales are â€Å"guaranteed† and that no reserve has been established for the large amount of returns that will likely be produced by those sales. PwC decides not to investigate this allegation because of manpower constraints on the engagement. ââ€" ºWhile reviewing receivables confirmations returned by Campbell customers, PwC auditors discover that approximately one-fourth of those customers indicate that their balances include charges for large amounts of product purchased near the end of the year, product that they did not order or receive. PwC dismisses this unusually large number of similar reported differences as a â€Å"coincidence.† 6.Here is a list of key parties that have been affected by the PSLRA. ââ€" ºInvestors who suffer large losses that they believe were caused by reckless or fraudulent conduct on the part of a given company’s management team, its auditors, or other parties associated with the company’s financial statements. At least some of these investors have likely found it more  difficult and costly to recover their losses because of the barrier to securities lawsuits erected by the PSLRA. [Note: Granted, the PSLRA has little impact on the ability of investors to recover losses in those cases involving obvious gross fraud or malfeasance by corporate management or other parties.] ââ€" ºSome parties have argued that the PSLRA diminishes the overall efficiency of the stock market. These parties argue that by making it more difficult for investors to file lawsuits under the 1934 Securities Act, the PSLRA has resulted in a larger portion of scarce investment capital being squandered by irresponsible corporate executives, which, in the long run, diminishes the strength of our economy and our nation’s standard of living. ââ€" ºGenerally, corporate executives have benefited from the PSLRA since it has reduced, to some degree, their exposure to civil liability. ââ€" ºAs pointed out in the Health Management, Inc., case (Case 1.4), the PSLRA apparently has not been very beneficial to large accounting firms. For whatever reason, in recent years, there has been a general upward trend in federal securities cases alleging accounting irregularities. Not only are independent auditors more likely to be named as defendants in such cases, the settlements in those cases tend to be considerably higher than in other lawsuits filed under the federal securities laws.

Following Approaches to the Study of Politics Essay

An approach is to deal with a situation or problem in a particular way. It is also the means by which something is reached. It is the angel form which one views political problems. It is a criteria for searching for the questions to ask. A criteria used to analyze political data. It can be implicit or explicit in what it explains. Some reasons why approaches are used in the study of political science is because it helps us to be more analytical and also helps suggest hypothetical relationships among political forces. The historical approach deals with political thinkers such as Machiavelli, Vico, Montesquieu, Savigny, Maine, Seeley and Freeman. It lays emphasis on the use of historical evidence for proper study of political situations. The reason for the use of this approach is that all political institutions have a long record of their rise and growth and their present form may be well understood in context of their history. This approach does not only explain the past but also enables us to draw dependable conclusions and also it provides us with basic principles for interpreting the future. Some strengths of this approach are that the value of historical approach enables us to make sound generalizations and we may also call them authentic by virtue because they are based on past evidence. Secondly the historical approach is always open to verification. Since it is based on gathered facts of history we may test the validity of conflicting ideas if needed. Lastly it gives us a sense of history than warns us against repeating blunders of the past. History becomes a lesson for the present generation .It enlarges our mental horizon, improves the perspective and builds up an attitude towards events. Some scholars have listed some problems facing the historical approach to the study of political science. Some of these scholars are James Bryce. He says the historical approach is often loaded with superficial resemblance. As such historical parallels may sometimes be illuminating, but they are also misleading in most of the cases. Also Sidgwick mentioned that political science is to determine what ought to be so far as the constitution and action of the government are concerned and this end cannot be discovered by a historical study of the form and functions of government.  The sociological approach emphasizes that social context is necessary for the understanding and explanation of political behavior of the members of a community. The sociological approach deals with the traits of individuals that are transmitted from one generation to another generation. It also deals with the culture of the people. Some strengths of this approach are that it cannot be criticized for being narrow because it is because it is a very broad approach. Due to its broad nature it cannot be ignored during empirical study. A weakness of this approach is that it is feared by most political analysts that it may convert politics to a branch of sociology. Psychological approach is an approach that came into being when political science moved close to the discipline of psychology. This was done in modern times by Graham, Wallas, Charles Merrian, Harrold Lasswell and Robert Dahl. It is the study of political science made by political writers in a way so as to deal with the role of emotions, habits, sentiments, instincts and ego that constitute essential elements of human personality. A strength of this approach is that it is the right approach enabling us to study politics with the help of psychological tool. It helps throw more light on political science. This approach is criticized as partially correct because it does not take into consideration some essential elements covered in some approaches. Secondly this approach deals with normative attributed in an empirical political theory that is it deals with b elief systems. The structural functionalist approach has proven to be very useful particularly in the comparison of political systems. This approach views political systems with the way they perform as a unit in its environment. However this approach has been criticized by Jean Blondel. He says that the approach does not enlighten one about the aims of the participants. Also he says before this approach can be effective it depends on what one accepts as a function, in view of this it is difficult to achieve complete objectivity. Even though Jean Blondel has criticized this approach it has some strengths ac an approach. This approach is quite attractive for comparative analysis of political systems this is because in most times it deals with the manageable collection of variables and produces a set of standardized categories that can be applied successfully to varied political systems. The greatest strength of this approach lies in the area of pattern maintenance of the system. The comparative approach seeks to show the similarities and  differences among political situations as a source to data of idea formation and classification. An importance of this approach is that in comparing and contrasting events, institutions, processes, experiences and expectations one gets clearer image of thing observed and shaper understanding of the meanings of the political systems being compared. A weakness of this approach is that problem with the comparative method is that research might be not objective and the researcher deliberately chooses countries to show negative or positive moments to proof his/her point of view. For example, let’s consider a hypothesis, that countries with weak trade unions are more economically successful than countries with strong trade unions. Here, trade unionists and, on opposite side, managing directors have a political point to make, so more than likely their conclusions might completely differ. So we should be aware that conclusions are not driven by someone’s motivations and values.

Should the Building Engineer Belong to the Religious Organization Case Study

Should the Building Engineer Belong to the Religious Organization - Case Study Example Amos, 483 U.S. 327 (1987)† (2011), â€Å"Appellee Mayson, who had been employed at a [building] associated with [the LDS Church], was discharged because he failed to qualify for a certificate that he was a member of the Church and eligible to attend its temples†¦[which violated the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]† (pgh. 1). The outcome of the case, which basically allowed Mr. Mayson to be discriminated against by the LDS, was shocking in many ways. First of all, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the LDS Church) is a church that would not be thought to be discriminatory as they consider themselves a Christian group which follows the example of Jesus. On the other hand, the Latter-Day Saints reserve the right to hire whoever they want to hire for their particular position, and since this church is a religious (and therefore, private) organization, it can choose to hire and fire anyone it pleases. There could be a numerous variet y of reasons why the LDS Church would have preferred a building engineer who shared the same faith. Perhaps he came into contact with parishioners of the church on a regular basis and it was assumed that if he were Mormon, he would encourage the spirit of kinsmanship through being a fellow Mormon.

US - EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

US - EU - Essay Example Educational institutions--explicitly including universities--are not philanthropic islands of abstract debate. This maxim of the German President is borne out by this colloquium, for this is not merely an 'abstract debate'. And there can be no talk of an 'island', either, for this is a cross-border, joint meeting of SUERF and the CFS. Incidentally, the motive is the exchange of knowledge with the financial community including central banks, thus avoiding all suspicion of insular ivory-tower erudition. There can be no doubt that the financial community will likewise benefit from an exchange of knowledge.1 After all, the euro was and is an intellectual challenge for all those concerned with it. An interesting exchange of views is therefore to be expected, and a debate based on two fundamental perceptions may be fruitful:1) A consistent monetary policy, committed primarily to the target of stability, is the best contribution a central bank--no matter whether the Bundesbank or the Europe an Central Bank (ECB)--can make to the viability of the financial markets. Without stable money, the financial markets cannot function properly.2) Conversely, it must also be said that monetary policy needs an efficient, highly competitive and stable financial system. In the first place, a financial sector that is susceptible to disruption poses risks to the entire monetary system, and thus also to the safety of the currency. Second, in a stable environment, monetary policy impinges on economic activity more smoothly. That was and is true of the Bundesbank's monetary policy.2 It is bound to apply to the European System of Central Banks' (ESCB's) monetary policy as well. Clarity now obtains in some matters of significance to financial market players concerning the euro. The future framework for economic policy action is now emerging ever more clearly. Since its constitutive meeting in June 1998, the ECB Governing Council has taken a multitude of important decisions. There is broad clarity today about the arsenal of instruments with which the ESCB will operate. The primary buttress of refinancing will be repo transactions, which have been so successful at the national level. The interest rate for this main source of finance will lie within the corridor whose ceiling and floor are marked out by the interest rates for the marginal lending and deposit facilities. These principal elements of the range of instruments have been designed with the intention of the money market developing as steadily as possible, so that recourse to fine-tuning instruments can be relatively rare. The same purpose is served by minimum reserves, which are often criticized in banking circles. At a rate of 2 per cent, the cost burden is kept within very narrow bounds, especially considering that, owing to the envisaged payment of interest on minimum reserves, the banks' working balances, which will have to be held anyway, will yield interest. In the envisaged form (a reserve to be maintained as a monthly average) they will act as a buffer in the money market. They can therefore largely cushion unforeseen fluctuations in the demand for liquid funds without any major central bank intervention. A very important step on the way to a single monetary policy is the agreement on the main elements of the monetary policy strategy that was reached in the ECB Governing Council on 13 October 1998. These elements contain the quantitative definition of price stability as the primary objective of the single monetary policy: 'Price stability shall be defined as a year-on-year increase in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices for the euro area of below 2%.' By this decision, the ECB Governing Council is following up to a large degree the Bundesbank's successful strategy, while at the same time taking due account of the specific conditions

Why Quants Dont know Everything Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why Quants Dont know Everything - Research Paper Example According to Felix Salmon, for any discipline or industry, the rise of quants happens in four stages: Pre-disruption – Any industry is ripe for quantitative analysis wherever there may be huge amounts of data that has never been mined. There is untapped potential and realizations in the data, and what it may tell us. This prospect for quantification qualifies an industry to be in a pre-disruption stage. Disruption – After the industry has been identified for quantification, the next step is to collect and collate all the data available and start analyzing the data. This is where the algorithms start to take over. For example, the moment you start to receive targeted and personalized offers for credit cards and other financial services, solely based on computations, according to your finances and credit worthiness, instead of a relationship with your bank. This is a common phenomenon which leaves most of us wondering â€Å"How do the banks get my number and why do they think I will need a credit card, or a personal loan?† etc. Overshoot – This is when people stop thinking like people and start thinking like machines. Analytics spend hours doing calculations, forming algorithms and come up with readable, identifiable data sheets or metrics charts which can be further processed in the synthesis phase. Synthesis – It is the practice of marrying quantitative insights with old-fashioned subjective experience. Once you have the quantified data for the relevant industry, analytics would do brainstorming based on their experience with consumers as to how the stats could be applied to which consumer group and how the consumers can be identifies as prospective users of upcoming products. b) There are many industries which are not yet quantified and given a chance they can flourish with the right analysis. One of the industries which will be ripe for the next breakthrough

Marketing Professional Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marketing Professional Practice - Essay Example Thus, it is very evident that since these organizations cater to a wide range of sectors and industries, the manpower should be equally diverse, in terms of their educational and cultural background, experience and social exposure. One of the important criteria for selecting employees will be finding candidates who are service oriented. Their objective is to help the most unattended and unrecognized individuals and groups of the society (Burgos 2013, 23-26). The people working in these organizations should be able to handle and carry on the tasks properly. There is shortage of funds and many times the salaries of employees are delayed. In case of smaller organizations, the problems are more acute. The candidates applying for such an organization should be aware of this issue and should comply with it. Even the chief executives and other senior management teams perform many roles, compared to their peers in bigger and private organizations (Dolnicar; Lazarevski 2009, 280-290). Low pac kages and even lesser incentives are the common issues which results in low employee morale and high attrition in these organizations. ... The candidates must comply with the ethical norms and regulations and should be strict in terms of ethical practices. Not for profit organizations often face crisis of funds, crisis of employees and sometimes crisis of available projects. To overcome and minimize these issues, NPO’s need individuals who are able to show leadership qualities even in these crisis situations. Though the requirement for technical assistance and management is low compared to other private organizations, there has to be a minimum balance and smooth flow of the projects. For this, ideal candidates should be equipped with sufficient training and experience. This training and experience is required to handle the technology and the management functions of the organization. Ethical Issues in Non-Profit Organizations In an economy which is highly uncertain, non for profit organizations have started experiencing a rise in unethical practices. In the last few years, complaints regarding ethical violations b y top management and leaders have surfaced in the industry. This has grabbed a good amount of attention and concern from the public. Even though the number is less in comparison to profit and big industries, this number is rising constantly. Apart from this, a large number of ethical issues have started to arise which has resulted in financial issues and frauds in this industry (Watson 2007). If the misconduct in the non for profit organization go unaddressed, it can lead to an erosion of the public confidence. Loss of consumer confidence can largely dampen these organizations as customers are one of the major contributors of fund in this industry (Santora; Sarros, 2012). Ethical issues can occur in various places in an organization. The most vulnerable areas are as follows;

The Effect of low pH on Enzyme Activity Lab Report

The Effect of low pH on Enzyme Activity - Lab Report Example They are responsible for all the important reactions taking place in the body of animals and plants. They regulate the very complex systems. The kinetics of reaction is so much influenced by the pH of the system as pH can change the mode of binding for substrate to the enzyme. If the reaction is occurring through ionic mechanism, then pH is obviously a deciding factor for the rate of the reaction. (Park, 2000) Catalase is present in aerobic organism where an organism needs to breakdown molecules of oxygen environment. Catalase is also one of the enzymes that have maximum efficient, that is, it can break down million of molecules in seconds (McDowall, 2014). Hydrogen peroxide is so much oxidative that it can cause rusting. Catalyse is responsible for its breakdown. The reaction of catalase with hydrogen peroxide occurs as Hydrogen Peroxide+Catalase →Water and Oxygen (Matt,2012). Cut potatoes into small cubes. Blend the potatoes with one cup of water into mixer until a thick solution of potatoes is obtained. Filtered the solution to have homogenous liquid. For this purpose, 20 mL of it was filtered by using filter paper and funnel. Took round filter paper and made several holes in it with the use of sharp needle. In another 100 mL took 10 mL of hydrogen peroxide and diluted it with the help of 10 mL of water. Soaked the round filter paper with holes in filtered potato solution for 15 seconds. Placed the same filter paper in hydrogen peroxide and noted the time until the reaction completes. Repeat the experiment twice to get accuracy. A few drops of hydrochloric acid were mixed in the beaker that was containing 50% solution of hydrogen peroxide. Took another piece of porous filter paper and repeated the same procedure. Catalase is a basic catalyst. I was expecting the same results because a basic catalyst can work better in basic conditions as compared to the acidic conditions. The addition of acid lowers the pH of the

International peacebuilding and the Role of Education Essay

International peacebuilding and the Role of Education - Essay Example Self-awareness denotes an individual’s ability to understand the self, personality, identity, as well as strengths and weaknesses. Researchers highlight that self-aware individuals are more likely to engage in positive approaches of conflict resolution. Conflict resolution has been defined a reconciliation process that promotes the peaceful tackling of conflicts. This research assumes that self-awareness is a precondition for developing awareness towards the world and enabling one to solve problems effectively while promoting social justice. Education has been identified as one of the avenues that promote the development of self-awareness. More so, multicultural education offered in a multicultural setting presents a better avenue for the development of self-awareness. According to Zirkel, multicultural education presents five main dimensions, which may serve as factors that promote self-awareness (1149). One of the dimensions is content integration, which implies that students are introduced to a diverse curriculum with ideas from different authors. Moreover, multicultural education is characterized by knowledge construction. According to Zirkel, knowledge construction makes an individual aware of how different frames affect the interpretation of the curriculum offered in the school. Multicultural education serves to reduce prejudice because of the positive inclusion efforts of both the students and the teaching staff. Moreover, Zirkel highlights that multicultural education promotes equity pedagogy, which ensures that all children have equal opportunities (1149). A multicultural setting in education also serves to empower the school culture and proves to be more empowering to individual students because there is minima racism. Evidently, content integration promotes identity developments in students. Although the relationship is not simple, there is evidence suggesting that students who

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa - Essay Example The novel tells the story of Stephen Khumalo who is a black Christian in the rural South Africa who sets for Johannesburg to look for the missing members of his family, his sister Gertrude and his son Absalom and his brother John. Even though, he gets to fin d them, it is evident that it is at an appalling cost. This is because he finds his brother having lost his faith and in turn learnt to hate his sister had lost her dignity and turned to prostitution, and his son having killed Arthur Jarvis son who is a white man opposed to the apartheid. Despite all these findings, it is noteworthy that the novel ends in a hopeful note, and this is by way of a conversation between James and Stephen on the future of South African racial understanding. This paper assesses the novel by focusing on the rampant crime that existed in the then South Africa, and this is to establish the accurate origin of the crimes. This book is laid down in South Africa of the 1940s a time during which there was both economic and political tensions that had resulted into a lengthy complicated history. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the mid 1600s, South Africa was inhabited by a considerable number of African tribal groups such as the San and the Khoikhoi and afterwards the Bantu speakers who are the ancestors of the present Zulus (Natarajan, 200). Even though, the Europeans had not come to settle as colonizers, a century later had resulted into a settlement of Europeans into deeper areas of South Africa, thus, displacing the native south Africans (Natarajan, 202). The arrival of the English almost a decade later transformed South Africa into a colony, and this had disastrous effects on the South Africans. This led to a conflict between the Boers who were the European settlers of South Africa and English, but it was till 1881 that a war between them transpired. However, this was after a series of clashes between the Boers and the native South Africans. At this time, it is evident that bla ck workers were only permitted to hold unskilled jobs, and subjection to pass laws that restricted their freedom (Ikejiaku, 451). The enactment of the Natives Land Act led to a reduction in the land the natives were permitted to own. This is evidenced by the assertion of Arthur Jarvis that it is merely a tenth of the territory, that was allocated to the native south Africans yet they formed four fifth of the country’s population (Paton, 156). This subsequently resulted into the emigration of most native South Africans into urban areas to work on mines. This influx of cheap labor was welcomed by the min e owners, who did not care about the housing and services of these people. It is in this context that the novel begins as Stephen Khumalo goes to the city to look for his son and other members of his family, and these are associates he had not made out for a lengthy time. The status of his family members at the time he finds them paints a true picture of the social evils in the Apartheid Africa, and this is of course the cause of the rampant crimes in South Africa. This is a clear indication that it is the society itself that caused the crimes. The novel depicts the whites as those affected by the native crime but also sheds some light on the social instabilities as well as moral issues as the cause for the breakdown of the tribal system. This disconnection, thus, leads to conglomeration of crime as the natives strive to survive.

Guidelines for Communicating Emotions Effectively Essay

Guidelines for Communicating Emotions Effectively - Essay Example e regular subjects of everyday discussions and just how well these feelings are articulated and recognized is essential to interpersonal associations and personal health and well-being. In the same way, in restorative contexts, improvement depends upon, among other stuff, just how articulately the client conveys his or her feelings and how properly the psychologist comprehends and replies to these gestures. In this paper, we seize an interdisciplinary strategy to comprehending the verbal communication of emotion in many different contexts. All of the languages offer speakers with a cluster of verbal approaches for passing on emotions. In English, for instance, we certainly have plenty of both literal (e.g., irked, upset, raging), and figurative (e.g., switching ones lid, whack a gasket) miens that can be used to explain a technically unlimited variety of emotional states (Bush 432-435). Studies of dialect use in psychotherapy similarly are replete with samples of literal and figurative miens for feelings (Bush 57). Emotions go profound and they are strong. It’s possible to shake off control and vital that you get around them the ideal you can. There are many measures to go through to communicate emotions efficiently, and conveying emotions efficiently can be good for everybody (Johnson 153). Before you may convey your feelings, you really have to understand what precisely you are going through. Can it be rage or anxiety? Joy or satisfaction? The very first thing you ought to do is steam everything down and figure out what the primary feeling is (Wood 234). Emotions can be found in packages. In fact, it is a very common occurrence to feel several emotions. however, determining the primary one can assist another person better know what is going on (Bush 57). Everyones way of feeling differs. Unhappiness, rage, thrill are all offered in numerous ways for every person. Making the effort when youre not mentally activated to take into consideration your emotions

Cormac McCarthys The Road Essay Example for Free

Cormac McCarthys The Road Essay A novel entitled The Road sparks the image of a journey, not necessarily one concerning movement, but an experience, where by the time you reach the destination you have either witnessed something or come-by certain things which may affect you as a person, changed the way you think or possibly had an effect on your personal ethics. For example, a mental journey, whereby somebody lives through a certain period in their life and comes out the other end with a new perspective and attitude, like in J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye. Another type of journey is an actual physical one from A to B; at the destination in this type of journey one may feel a sense of achievement and arrive at B with scores of anecdotes and stories that can range from little events that make a good joke to events which may actually change you as a person. Writing about journeys like these is a genre of writing in its own right: Travel Writing, an example being John Steinbecks Travels with Charley. The third type of journey that I associate with the phrase The Road is the concept of being on an open road, simply going with no particular interest in where you may arrive, simply the journey itself has its importance. This may simply be on a whim or yearning for open road or maybe because of a need to travel, to not stop and just keep going and perhaps to get away from something, an example of this is the film Thelma and Louise. This is a key image in American Culture, not only featured in many novels and films but important simply because it represents a freedom to be who you want to be. The open road offers new horizons and the prospect to witness new and unexpected things. This idea represents the liberty and freedom found in America The way in which the protagonists travel in The Road is not the picture perfect, open road, free spirited adventure, they rarely travel on the actual road, to avoid being seen by others who may want their belongings and food. This was not a safe place. They could be seen from the road. The iconic concept of the open-ness and the freedom associated with it is no longer present in Cormac McCarthys America. The idea of the road being such a dangerous and deadly place and the paranoia of the man is installed firmly in the readers head by the fourth page, when it discusses the shopping trolley the man has in which he carries all his possessions, food, blankets and tarpaulin. On the handlebars of the trolley the man clamped a chrome motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind him which shows that whoever is left in his world isnt to be trusted and its a fend for yourself environment with none of the trust and neighbourliness that America is famous for. In the post-apocalyptic world portrayed in The Road we see an utter breakdown in the sense of community and the love thy neighbour ethic for which America is renowned. In the book, the few people the man and child come across are treated with utter caution or are avoided altogether and people who need help are ignored. An example of this would be when they come across the man who has been hit by lightning and they dont help him. The son cries for his father to help the man, but he bluntly refuses and does nothing. This is an accurate account of how some people may react in todays world where help may not be given to the man by some people so as not involve themselves, but the good thing to do would, of course, be to seek medical help. Traditional American values would instruct that one do the good thing and aid the lightning struck man. Another good example of the lack of common ethics is when the stranger robs all their belongings and they run after him and not only get it back, but also take everything he has on him, including his clothes. The fact that the man and robber are prepared to leave the other to die of the cold and starvation, represents how McCarthys world has changed human nature and the love thy neighbour and do unto others only what you would want done to yourself ethics are left disregarded and one cares for no-one but themselves.. Im starving, man. Youd have done the same. You took everything. Come on man. Ill die. This proves my point that the people left will do anything to survive even if that worsens the chances of another individual. For me, the theme that is present throughout the book and had me contrasting McCarthys world to todays is the relationship between the father and son. The young child is, of course, dependent on his father for food, guidance and moral support like most children are today and this image is strong in America with the concept of a nuclear, wholesome family being very important. In the book, whilst the sense of community may have collapsed, the father-son relationship is very strong; they care for each other, keep each other company and the father brings the child up as best he can, but in Cormac McCarthys world nothing is left quite the same. What unsettled me was how freely the child spoke about their possible impending death and themes of a similar nature. The situation in which this child has been reared has left him matured beyond his years, an example showing this being when he asks his dad, You think we are going to die dont you? Were not going to die. Okay. The child is so unfazed by the topic and it strikes me as odd and proves how even something as simple as the carefree thoughts of a child have been distorted by the world and lifestyle of the people within the America McCarthy depicts. Within the story there are two scenes that are stuck in my mind because of their vividness and brutality. Firstly, when the father and son break into a house and find dismembered, burnt people locked in the basement, a man with his legs gone to the hip. These people are being held very much like poorly treated animals or cattle, probably to be eaten, because the people are so desperate for food they have resorted to what is one of the most taboo and strictly forbidden act in most societies, cannibalism. Also the setting of their incarceration is chilling and something only thought of in nightmares. Secondly, when the father and son come across the baby gutted and placed on the spit roast in preparation for a meal. America prides itself on the fact that its a free country. This phrase is thrown around a lot but it basically means that people there have a freedom to say and do what they want as long as it doesnt break the law. The people locked in the cellar certainly arent free and them being held captive shows how extreme people may have become out of starvation and desperation to survive disregarding their previously strong believe in freedom and equality. This is also interesting because it wouldnt be the first time slavery has been an issue in America. After the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which was passed in 1865, slavery was made illegal in America and equality reigns. The change was accepted after years of fighting and now America sees itself as a fair nation with racism and the plight of the black man as less of an issue, a good example being that the first black American President is going to be inaugurated January 20th of the coming year. Cormac McCarthys book portrays this ethic of us all being of the same level of importance being readily ignored by those in need to feed themselves and survive. In the news we often hear about anti-abortion lobbyists and pro-life rallies, especially in America. In Cormac McCarthys book the protagonists see a group of people travelling with impregnated women and then the man and son walk through the abandoned camp of these people and find a gutted baby on the spit-roast. If you put the two together the idea may strike you that women are being impregnated for the sole purpose of the meat theyll produce. In todays world this would be considered ungodly and unmentionable and not only brings up the topic of cannibalism but also the controversial theme of abortion which is utterly ignored in McCarthys world and the fact that it has gone beyond mere cannibalism but the actual production of babies for meat shows the pure desperation of some to survive and the ethical issue which is so very important today, ignored. In the scene the author refers to the baby itself very impersonally, as if its a piece of meat and nothing more. The author describes it as a human infant, headless, gutless and blackening on the spit, very brief and to the point much like one may have described it were it a common farm animal. If it werent for the human infant part it may well have been anything, the author does little to humanise the creature on the spit-roast. I think this may be simply to shield the reader and avoid the text being too explicit but also to show how this is largely commonplace in McCarthys world and that whilst shocking to the more good-willed protagonists, for some it is merely a case of survival. America is often referred to as the land of plenty, with its almost endless resources, especially of food. The poignant scene in which the father finds what could possibly be the last coke can on earth shows just how much has changed in McCarthys world and introduces the notion of how we take too much for granted. In the scene with the coke can the author describes drinks machinestilted on the floor, opened with pry bars. This shows the desperation of mankind for such objects like Coca Cola, which are integral to lifestyles in modern society and inexplicable to those who havent witnessed it. People now never think such ubiquitous items will run out. What makes the scene sadder is the fact that this iconic can which nowadays is seen in many pieces of pop-artwork, has hundreds if not thousands of adverts worldwide and is truly a universally recognized brand, isnt recognized by the child, showing how in McCarthys world this idea of a constant, ready supply of everything is simply no longer the case, especially with food. Throughout the book, punctuation is hardly used; with no speech marks and few commas and the father and son arent, at any point, referred to by name. I believe that this is to further the image that Cormac McCarthy is portraying; conveying the fact that the breakdown of society and nature is such that things like punctuation and the names of the characters, no longer are of any importance as there are more important things, survival for instance and by dropping things like the names it leaves the reader to focus more upon the father-son relationship and less on the more trivial details. The American Dream is the concept of everybody reaching his or her full potential and having the ability to fulfil their hearts desire, in the land of opportunity that America is famous for. People often immigrate to America to start a business or career in either the music industry or maybe acting. In the book rather than going to America in the hope of having it all, money, glamour, the sweet life, people are trying to leave because they have nothing. It shows how different this bleak world his and how everything has turned on its head. The phrase itself, American Dream was coined by James Truslow Adams in his book, published in 1931, called The Epic of America; in the book his definition for it is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone but in McCarthys world, for anyone surviving there is nothing left of the original values of America, the living are in some cases, hunted for food, their freedom compromised for fear and ultimately nothing remains as it was.

Identification of Dermatophytes | Experiment

Identification of Dermatophytes | Experiment Abstract Dermatophytosis constitutes a group of superficial fungal infections of keratinized structures like stratum corneum of the skin, nails and hair. Despite the availability of effective antifungal agents, dermatophytic infections continue to be one of the principal infections throughout the world, especially in tropical countries like India. Identification of causative dermatophytic species in clinical settings are not only of epidemiological concerns but also important for the treatment of rather common dermatophytosis with great precision. To study the clinical variants, species of fungi causing dermatophytic infections, epidemiological factors responsible for the disease in central Mysore, molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility tests by MIC. The prospective observational analyses of clinically suspected 600 dermatophytic infected cases were studied at the Dermatology department of K.R. Hospital and C.S.I. Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore, India. The study was conducted from November 2010 to October 2012. All the cases were evaluated and patient’s data were recorded as per pre-designed proforma. Skin scraping, hair and nail samples were collected, processed, molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility test were done according to standard mycological protocol. Patients on topical and systemic antifungal treatment were excluded from the present study. Clinically suspected 600 patients samples were collected, among them 389 (64.8%) were skin scraping, 113 (18.8%) were hair plucking and 98 (16.3%) were nail clipping. They were processed for isolation and identification of dermatophytes from different clinical types. The specific and non specific variables effecting dermatophytosis were also analyzed. Samples were collected throughout the year, of which samples collected from July to October showed highest incidence of dermatophyte infection among patients. The number of specimen collected under the age group 21-30 years were 333 (55.5%), which was statistically significant (PMicrosporum canis and 12 were infected by Trichophyton verrucosum. Among 600 clinically suspected dermatophytes infected patients, 433 (72.2%) samples were collected from K.R. Hospital and 167 (27.8%) samples were collected from C.S.I. Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore. The various factors which were found to increase chances of acquiring dermatophytosis were by sharing bed, 343 (57.2%); not bathing daily, 362 (60.3%); and domestic animals in their house, 102 (17.0%). Partial treatment and over the counter medication was also considered as major factors influencing dermatophytic infection among patients. Less number of patients 86 (14.3%) showed family history of dermatophytosis. Most of the patients visited to the Doctor in 5th-8th week after infection, 391 (53.2%). During that period of infection, they were either taking home made medicine or over the counter medicine. Most of the cases found predominantly were tinea corporis and tinea capitis. Tinea corporis 282 (47.0%) and tinea capitis 75 (12.5%) were seen among 26-30 year old patients and 6-10 year old patients respectively. Most of the isolates belonged to three genera and eight species, where T. mentagrophytes was predominantly isolated 105 (29.7%), T. rubrum 84 (23.8%) was isolated from tinea corporis cases, T. violacium 4 (12.2%), T. verrucosum 54 (15.3%), Epidermophyton floccosum 11 (3.1%), M. canis 13 (3.6%), T. tonsurans 38 (10.8%) and T. schoenleinii 5 (1.4%) were also isolated from different cases of tinea. Dermatophytes infected culture positive, 132 patient samples (skin scrapings, hair plucking and nail clipping), were obtained for molecular characterization in the study. Nearly 87 males and 45 females were referred by Department of Dermatology, K.R. Hospital and C.S.I. Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore during two years of study period. The collected samples were analyzed by both direct microscopic examination and culture assays. Of the 132 culture positive cases, the organisms identified by phenotypic characterization were belonging to three genera and eight species viz., T. mentagrophytes 52 (39.4%), T. rubrum 30 (22.7%), T. violacium 18 (13.6%), T. verrucosum 11 (8.3%), E. floccosum 10 (7.6%), M. canis 6 (4.5%), T. tonsurans 3 (2.3%) and T. schoenleinii 2 (1.5%). The culture isolates of these organisms were further characterized by PCR. The present study showed positive result for phenotypically analyzed culture positive with 100% sensitivity and specificity by PCR. PCR targeting internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and Chitin synthase 1 was sensitive to detect 10 picograms and 1 femtogram of T. rubrum DNA respectively. From the same source (houses) 10 isolates from patients and 10 domestic animals were subjected to both PCR and RFLP. The product after agarosegel electrophoresis, restriction enzyme cutting patern was found to be infected by same T. verrucosum with 100% sensitivity and specificity. This indicates that T. verrucosum infection is from animal source. The dermatophyte specific primer based PCR-RFLP which targets the internal transcribed spacer and chitin synthase 1 region are useful in the direct identification of der ­matophytosis from clinical specimens. The application of the Hae III, Hinf I and Mva I restriction enzymes by using the ITS amplicons and chitin synthase 1 region are constant, stable and reproducible show variation within the species, so these sequences have been widely used to develop rapid procedures for the identification of fungal species by PCR-RFLP analysis. The PCR-RFLP method, on using the dermatophyte specific primer with restriction enzymes Mva I, Hae III and Hinf I, showed species differentiation among the T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes isolates. Since direct microscopy and culture have limitations, performing a direct PCR on the clinical speci ­mens can augment the diagnosis of more dermatophytic cases. PCR confirmed 132 dermatophytic samples were taken for antifungal sensitivity test. In the current study, among 132 isolates of dermatophytes some are sensitive and some are moving towards resistance, but high MIC value indicated that it has slowly acquired adaptation towards the drug. This indicates in near future it will develop drug resistance against the antifungal agents. Twenty three isolates (14.4%) were showing high MIC value for fluconazole of which T. mentagrophytes (8), T. rubrum (5) and T. verrucosum (10) and M. canis (3) had MIC50 of 16  µg ml-1. Second most frequently used drug next to fluconazole is ketoconazole, which had MIC50 of 0.125  µg ml-1 for most of the isolates. Griseofulvin, itraconazole and terbinafine showed similar results of 0.03-0.06  µg ml-1. The present study showed drug concentration inhibition of some fungi against 50% of isolates and 90% of isolates and their geometric mean of five drugs against 132 isolates. MIC50 and MIC90 were not determined because of small number of samples i.e., C. parapsilosis ATCC-22019 were within the value standardized by CLSI guidelines. The study highlighted tinea corporis as the most common clinical pattern of dermatophytosis followed by tinea capitis in Mysore. The predominant causative fungal species isolated were T. mentagrophytes, T. rubrum, T. violacium, T. verrucosum, E. floccosum, M. canis, T. tonsurans and T. schoenleinii confirmed by PCR with 100% sensitivity and specificity. Trichophyton verrucosum was isolated and confirmed by PCR and RFLP from human and their domestic animals (from animals to human). PCR-RFLP provides the best technique for dermatophytic identification at species level. MIC was done to see susceptibility and resistance pattern for clinician as well as for lab workers where terbinafine was 100% sensitive drug against dermatophytes. Clinical evaluation and fungal species identification are mandatory for proper management of dermatophytosis rather than empirical treatment. Need for the study In the medical science dermatophytes are constant parasites of human beings, and has survived several generations of therapeutic regimens, ranging from single dose antifungal to several dose drugs like griseofulvin, tolnaftate and early imidazole. There are some dermatophytes which were abundant once upon a time but now it is rare, it may be due to geographical restrictions, indicate that economy, geography, type of the species and environmental factors also interferes with the dermatophytic survival and distribution. It is equally important to review anthropophilic dermatophyte as well as zoophilic dermatophytes, which may increase chances of infection in the near future, as immunocompromised diseases are increasing day by day. The dermatophytes are oldest parasites of human and animals. Good and specified knowledge about these agents are still far from human understanding. The medical mycologists have done considerable work, but the studies were mainly devoted to the reactions of the host rather than the study of the parasites. The rates of publication on dermatophytes are limited as compared to the extensive work being done in the field of bacteriology and virology. As we know, these dermatophytic infections are not usually life threatening, but offer an interesting approach to the variety of fundamental problems in human, animals and fungal biology. The obvious reasons apparently disregard to the study of Medial Mycology Most of the fungal diseases are not fatal and hence do not attract much attention of the investigators. The development of the infection is very slow and persists for years without any serious damage to the host. Carrier among human and animals is very common and survives for decades without harming the host. Methods of isolation and identification are relatively very complicated and require long time to obtain positive results. Most of them are sensitive to the limited antifungal drugs except few and drug resistance is very slow and limited. Sources of infection are mostly human, animals and soil. Factors that attract to do research on dermatophytes Increasing incidence of immunocompromised diseases in and around the world. Changing patterns of dermatophytic infections with change in environment. Development of resistant species among the dermatophytes. Carrier harbours pathogenic species for many years to produce disease under favourable condition. Formulate treatment of choice according to the new changing pattern of drug resistant dermatophytes. Fungal infections of skin, hair and nail are common in hot and humid climate. Humans acquire various dermatophytic infections due to poor health hygienic conditions. The present investigation was aimed to study molecular level identification of tinea by PCR and its antifungal susceptibility test. Objectives of the study To study the incidence of dermatophytic infections and their clinical variants To identify the sources of infection by PCR for dermatophytes To determine the in vitro antifungal susceptibility test Slide culture For visualization of the normal colonial characteristics, arrangement and morphology of spores and mycelial appendages, slide culture was done. SDA media without antibiotics or cornmeal agar with 1% glucose was used. Lactophenol cotton blue was used as the mounting fluid for easy visualization of hyphae and spores (WHO, 1986). Advantages It is arapid method of preparing fungal colonies for examination and identification. Permits fungi to be studied virtually in situ with as little disturbance as possible fungi were identified mostly by close examination of its morphology and the characteristics it possess. We were growing the fungi directly on the slide on a thin film of agar. By doing this, there was no need to remove a portion of the fungus from a culture plate and transfer it to the slide. So there wasless chances for the features that were key to identification, notably the spore-bearing structures, without any damage. A modified method adapted from Roberts et al. (2003) and described here fulfills those requirements. Sterile 1.5% water agar (7 to 8 ml) was poured into sterile 60-mm plastic petri plates and allowed to solidify. A sterile 22-mm2 cover glass was centered on the agar. The desired nutrient agar medium (10 ml) was poured into a second 60-mm petri dish, allowed to solidify, and cut with a sterile stainless steel spatula into blocks approximately 5 to 8 mm2. One block was aseptically removed and placed on the cover glass. Inoculation of the agar block on one or more sides with fungal hyphae or conidia was followed by placement of a second sterile cover glass on top of it. After the petridish lid was replaced, the completed modified slide culture was incubated at the desired temperature until adequate growth and conidiogenesis had occurred. Each cover glass was used to prepare a semi permanent mount on a standard microscope slide 3 by 1 inch (7.62 by 2.54 cm). The top cover glass was lifte d off with forceps and wetted on the specimen side with a drop of ethanol (70 to 90%). One drop of fungus mounting medium (e.g., lactophenol cotton blue) was applied to the specimen, and the cover glass was lowered gently onto the slide, specimen side down. The bottom cover glass was lifted from the water agar and similarly mounted on a second slide. The nutrient agar block adhered to one of the cover glasses during the cover glass mounting procedure and was carefully lifted off with a sterile dissecting needle before the application of alcohol and mounting medium. Heat fixation of the cover glasses before mounting as described by McGinnis may improve the stability of the conidium-bearing structures (James, 2011). Lactophenol Cotton Blue (LPCB) The Lactophenol Cotton Blue wet mount preparation was the most widely used method of staining and observing fungi and was simple to prepare. The preparation has three components: phenol, which will kill any live organisms; lactic acid which preserves fungal structures, and cotton blue which stains the chitin in the fungal cell walls. It was used constantly as a mounting fluid when examining culture of fungi microscopically (Leck, 2012). Materials Lactic acid †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 ml Phenol (crystals†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 gm Glycerine†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 40 ml Water (distilled)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 20 ml Mixed the above gently and added 50 mg the dye,  cotton blue. Procedure Placed a drop of 70% alcohol on a microscope slide. Immersed the specimen / material in the drop of alcohol. Added one or at most two drops of the lactophenol cotton blue mount and stained before the alcohol dries out. Holding the cover slip between forefinger and thumb, touched one edge of the drop of mount with the cover slip edge, and lowered gently, avoiding air bubbles. The preparation was ready for examination. Hair penetration test Many isolates of T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes are difficult to distinguish between on the basis of colony morphology and microscopic appearance. This in vitro test is the best method to distinguish between these two dermatophytes: Procedure Obtained a small amount of juvenile human hair and washed off fats and oils (kept hair in flask or beaker with 50 to 100 ml of ether, acetone or alcohol, shacked for 2 to 5 minutes and pour off the liquid). With scissors, a scalpel or a razor blade cut the hair into segments approximately 1 cm long. Put the hair in a glass petri plates, place on the lid and autoclaved for 10 to 15 minutes. This maintained sterility in the petri plates and can be used for 10 years. Calcofluor White Stain (CFW) It is a fluorescent stain for rapid detection of yeasts, fungi and parasitic organisms. Calcofluor White stain is a non-specific fluorochrome that binds to cellucose and chitin in cell walls (Chattaway and Barlow, 1954; Green et al., 1983; Hageage and Harrington, 2005). Composition: Calcofluor White M2R 1g/l and Evans blue 0.5g/l. Directions: Put the sample to be examined onto a clean glass slide. Add one drop of Calcofluor White Stain and one drop of 10% Potassium Hydroxide Place a cover slip over the specimen and let stand for 1 minute. Examine the slide under UV light at 100X to 400X magnification. Calcofluor White Stain was a non-specific fluorochrome that binds with cellulose and chitin contained in the cell walls of fungi and other organisms. The staining procedure with Calcofluor White Stain is a rapid method for the detection of many yeasts and pathogenic fungi like Microsporidium, Acanthamoeba, Pneumocystis, Naegleria, and Balamuthia species. Evans blue present in the stain act as a counter stain and diminishes background fluorescence of tissues and cells when using blue light excitation (not UV). A range of 300 to 440 nm (Emmax 433nm; 0.1 M phosphate pH 7.0; cellulose) can be taken for emission wave length and the excitation occurs around 355nm. Fungal or parasitic organisms appear fluorescent bright green to blue, while other material is reddish-orange fluorescent. Attentions to be taken as cotton fibers will fluoresce strongly as well amoebic cysts are fluorescent. One drop of 10% potassium hydroxide solution can be added for better visualization of fungal elements.

The Emergence Of The Role Theory

The Emergence Of The Role Theory Role theory is a conceptual framework with long history in the field of Foreign policy analysis. In order to explain and understand the foreign policy of nation states, the role theory focuses on the reasoning of national political elites, their explanation of the international system and their own states role within this larger system. Despite its conceptual stringency, methodological openness and rich empirical applications, the role theory seems to be neglected by the main stream scholars. Role theory as we said is a long established conceptual tool for the foreign policy analysis. While the role theory analytical potential is high, only recently we have witnessed its revival. Role theory first attracted attention in the foreign policy literature after the publication of Holstis  [1]  study of national role conceptions. Role theory had been in development for nearly four decades in Sociology, Social Psychology and Anthropology by this time. Holsti didnt import much of the conceptual or theoretical language associated with role theory. He chose to focus on the simple idea that the Self, in this case the leaders of the state may hold a set of beliefs or images about the identity of the state. Also, a social psychologist of the sociological variety  [2]  suggested that Holstis article may well be an example where borrowing a theory has paid off. These national role conceptions were shaped the way that a state acted by it in the international system level. The objective of this paper is to present a role theory as a theoretical and conceptual tool for the analysis of the foreign policy. This paper will divide into parts. First part introduces the intellectual sources and inspiration of the role theory. The second part introduces the assumptions of the role theory, and then Ill mention the key concepts offered by the theoretical conceptual framework of the role theory. The third part summarizes the criticism of International Relations theorists towards formulation of the role theory. The fourth part explores briefly how we can integrate foreign policy analysis and international relation through role theory. The emergence of the Role Theory and its intellectual sources: Role theory was first introduced in 1970 by Kalevi Holsti in his article National Role Conceptions in the Study of Foreign Policy. In 1970, Holsti criticized the unnecessarily crude shape of the national roles and too strong pre occupation with national role types relevant to then structural conditions such as bloc, leader, satellites, allies, and non-aligned. Such typology ignores the great set of roles that smaller states play in the system and in different regions  [3]  . At a time of structuralism analysis of foreign policy, Holsti tries to refocus the attention of the discipline towards the domestic sources of foreign policy behavior. Role theory has been inspied by sociological and social psychological theories about the role of individual in the society  [4]  . Holsti drew heavily on Meads symbolic inter action  [5]  long before Wendt picked symbolic inter action as a core principle of his constructivist theory. Holsti relies on George H. Mead and his study of the impact of the behavior of others on an individuals self conceptions and his conceptual distinctions between the self and the change. Symbolic inter action remains the most important source of inspiration for role theorists up until today. Social psychological and sociological theories about the role of individual in the society are applied in the explanation of the behavior of the state. Role theorists argue that by providing the sense of purpose of the state in international community, national role conceptions concede the state with a sense of selfhood and identity. Without the sense of identity, individuals cant order their environments and they will find that the social behavior becomes difficult to understand and manage  [6]  . According to Chaftez, the same process occurs within the states. In this sense, role theory is just another example of anthropomorphic theory  [7]  . It is built around an anthropomorphic assumption that we can draw an analogy between individuals in the society and the state. This assumption some would say chicanery allows us to import social psychological and sociological theories into the disciplines of international relations and foreign policy analysis. At the same time the role theory steers clear of the trap of treating states as some kind of unitary actors. After explaining the origin of role theory and knowing the main scholars and intellectuals ideas of the theory. Ill explain the main assumptions that theory depend on. Theoretical assumption of the role theory: This part tries to identify the assumptions of the role theory which are the epistemological and ontological and its position in contemporary theoretical debates. The starting point is the classification of approaches to the study of foreign policy by Walter Carlsnaes  [8]  . In line with the categories developed by Hollis and Smith  [9]  , Carlsnaes distinguishes four basic approaches to the study of foreign policy according to their epistemological assumptions which are objectivism versus interpretativism and ontological assumptions versus individualism. Objectivist holistic approach such as various strands of realism and neo realism offer a structural perspective on the foreign policy. Objectivist individualist approaches such as bureaucratic politics approaches and liberal approach see the foreign policy from the agency based perspective. On the intersection between holism and interpretativism lie the approaches such as: social constructivism or discursive approaches representing the social institutional perspective. Hollis and Smith distinguish explanation and understanding as two basic epistemological positions. Explanatory approach is inspired by natural sciences and looks for causal relations within the social reality. On the other side interpretivists rely on reconstructing inter subjective meaning of that structure for the subjects of interests. The goal of interpretativism is to reconstruct and understand the way people make sense of the social reality and on this ground understand the behavior of individuals and groups. While some authors argue that the two theoretical questions are interrelated as ontological position predestined the epistemological choice  [10]  , Carlsnaes agrees with Hollis and Smith that ontology doesnt entail epistemology and thus we can distinguish four basic combinations of theoretical perspectives. After that, itll be better to explain the meaning of the two assumptions which are epistemology and ontology in details to form the whole image in our minds about the role theory. Epistemology The epistemological position of the role theory is quite clear according to Carlsnaes. It is an example of interpretative perspective. Role theory seems to favor domestic sources of foreign policy and at the same time given its roots in symbolic interactionism, role theory produces interpretative knowledge rather than casual explanations. Role theory allows us to reconstruct the meaning attributed to national role by the domestic elite individual national foreign policy makers  [11]  . Carlsnaes classification shows the original analytical intentions of those who formulate the role theory. According to Stephen Walker, role theory offers a thick description. The theoretical function of role theory isnt codifying abstract regularities but to make thick description possible, not to generalize across cases but to generalize within them. In line with its epistemological underlying, role theory is more suitable for answering the How possible questions rather than the Why questions. Role theory follows the principles of interpretative which examine the background of social and digressive practices and meanings which make possible the foreign policy practices as well as the social actors themselves, how meanings are produced and attached to various social subjects and objects thus constituting particular interpretive disposition which create certain possibilities and exclude others. Ontology Walter Carlsnaes, following Hollis and Smith distinguishes two basic ontological positions: holism and individualism. Holism holds that the effects of social structures cant be reduced to independently existing agents and their interactions, and that these effects include the construction of agents in both causal and constitutive senses  [12]  . The dynamics of social systems can always be tracked to the evolutionary changes on the level of self reproducing structures  [13]  . On the other side individualists claim that individuals are ontologically primary, all social phenomena as institutions, norms and cultue are intended or unintended consequences of aggregated behavior of the individuals. Social scientific explanations should be reducible to the properties or interactions of independently existing individuals. Walter Carlsnaes puts the role theory unambigously into the individualist box. The role theoretical analyzes focus on the reasoning of individual national foreign policy makers. Role theory exemplifies the bottom up individualist interpretative approach which is concerned to understand decisions from the standpoint of the decision makers by reconstructing their reasons. Holsti and most of the empirical applications of his conceptual framework didnt incorporate role prescriptions of external expectation and their empirical analyses focus solely on the domestic sources of national roles. Conceptual framework of the role theory: Its better to divide the concepts of the role theory into three categories which are: National role conceptions, which are better one role or many roles and other concepts of the role theory. National role conceptions Role theory explains the foreign policy behavior by exploring the roles played by individual countries in international level. The conceptual framework of the role theory has evolved through time as new concepts have been added. The key concept of the role theory is national role conception introduced by Holsti. He defines the national role conception as the policymakers have definitions of the general kinds of decisions, commitments, rules and actions suitable to their state and its the function of any state that should perform on a continuing basis in the international system or in subordinate regional systems. Its the image of the appropriate orientations or functions of their state or in the external environment  [14]  . This definition has been widely accepted by other role theorists. For example Ulrich Krotz thirty years later defines the national role conceptions as domestically shared views and understandings regarding the proper role and purpose of ones own state as a so cial collectivity in the international arena  [15]  . National role conceptions induce preferences and motivate wills, goals and actions. Often interests and policies that derive from National role conceptions are viewed as normal and right within the respective country. According to Le Prestre, the articulation of a national role betrays preferences, operations of an image of the world, triggers expectations and influences the definition of the situation and of the available options  [16]  . At the same time, national role conceptions make certain interests and policy options intuitively implausible, categorically exclude them as wrong or unacceptable or make them unthinkable. National role conceptions are a product of domestic socialization processes and they give meaning and purpose to the foreign policy. One role or many roles Glen Chafetz notes that actors usually have multiple roles that various in overall importance centrality and according to the situation salience. This argument is supported by Holstis original empirical analysis. He confirms that on the lowest level of a day to day politics actors normally have several different roles in the international system and its subsystems. Role theory reflects the arguments made by James March and Johan Olsen that humans maintain a repertoire of roles and identities each providing rules of appropriate behavior in situations for which they are relevant  [17]  . On the other side some researchers adopt the single role assumption that the foreign policy as such is on the highest plane guided by a shared, historically constituted role vision of a national mission which is relatively stable and coherent across time, context and circumstances. The analysis of such dominant, overarching shared view, understanding regarding the proper role and purpose of ones own state as a social collectivity in the international arena can be challenged for being overly generalizing. By looking for common thing in the national elites world views and visions of the national mission, we get that one inevitably puts aside differences in the political elites foreign policy priorities. On the other side the single role assumption allows us to trace and explain patterns in the foreign policy of the state and identify ideas discourse shared even among national politicians with different political preferences in foreign policy making. Other concepts of the role theory Even though the national role conception represents the key concept of the role theory it isnt the only concept. While the national role conception is an egos own conception of his position and function, the term role prescription has been introduced to capture the alters prescriptions. Holsti defined role prescriptions as norms and expectations cultures, societies, institutions or groups attach to particular positions. Role prescriptions emanate from the external environment. In the constructivist language role prescriptions are interred subjectively shared norms and expectations which form the social structure of the international system. Even though the term role prescriptions has been introduced in the role theory since its very beginning, the structural source of the role prescriptions has been sidelined and hardly utilized in role theoretical empirical analyzes. It took some time before role theorists acknowledged the analytical value of the role prescriptions and of the struct ural dimension of the role theory. Contemporary role theorists not only acknowledge on a theoretical level that roles are determined both by an actors own conceptions about appropriate behavior and by the expectations or role prescriptions of other actors but they include role prescriptions into the design of their empirical analyses. The inclusion of the role prescriptions into the research design is in line with the tenets of symbolic interactionism and with the constructivist arguments that roles are institutionalized in social structure. Stephen Walker a Sheldon Simon introduced another structural concept into the framework of the role theory: role set  [18]  . Role sets can be defined as a set of actors positioned as significant others and the web of mutual roles in the system. It is a web of mutual expectations which according to Walker and Simon represent a dynamic and interconnected system. The last term is national role performance. National role performance denotes concrete foreign policy decisions and actions. National role performance encompasses the attitudes decisions and actions governments take versus other actors in order to implement the role. Empirical analyzes relying on the concept national role conceptions usually rely on the single role assumption, they try to discover domestically shared ideas about the purpose and role of the state in international arena and they try to illustrate. The term role set is simply denoting the set of roles played by a particular state versus the spectrum of other actors explain the continuity in the foreign policy behavior of national role performance. On the other side analyzes operationalizing the concept of role prescriptions are better equipped to capture and explain changes in roles and role performance of foreign policy behavior. For example: Walker and Simon claim that actors do from time to time experience role conflict. Role conflict is defined as a situation in which multiple roles are elicited by competing or conflicting expectations, cues and conceptions. This conflict can have the form of a clash between contradicting national role conceptions and role prescriptions or as a clash between two competing role prescriptions. Walker and Simon convincingly argue that the structure of the role set is a product of this role location process as countries enact roles and attempt to cope with role conflict. If individual member of the system in an attempt to solve his own role conflict and changes the role he plays in the system then the whole role set changes as other members of the change their roles and expectations in respons e. The criticism of the role theory: In line with Carlsnaes classification of the role theory as an individualist interpretative approach, International Relation constructivists treat the role theory as an actor based perspective. Alexander Wendt who praises the role theory for introducing symbolic inter actionism into the field criticizes Holsti for emphasizing the agentic role taking side of the equation at the expense of the structural, role constituting side which strips the concept of role of much of its interest. Similarly Audie Klotz criticizes Holsti for excessive focus on individual motivation and cognition at for ignoring the congruence in shared norms which form the backbone of dominant ideas and knowledge. To summarize the critique, International Relation constructivists castigate the role theory for orientation on subjective rather than inter subjective ideas. Role theory seems to forget that national identity and role is not only about inner experience of the state in elite national role conceptions but al so about the structure of expectations of the wider international environment role prescriptions. Wendt and other critics are to some extent different and right. The theoretical and conceptual model introduced by Holsti in fact incorporates not only actor centered national role conceptions domestically shared visions about the role and purpose of the state in international arena but also structural role prescriptions expectations of others. But this socio psychological theoretical model wasnt fully translated into Holstis design for a foreign policy analysis. Even though role the agent society relationship plays a crucial role in the original Meads social psychological theory, Holsti depreciated the impact of society on the formation of national roles in the international context. In his words the expectations of other governments, legal norms expressed through custom, general usage, treaties and available sanctions to enforce. These are ill defined, flexible and weak compared to those that exist in an integrated society and particularly within formal organizations. In a rather n eorealist he also refers to the lack of institutions, acute international conflict and the fact of sovereignty as the factors behind the precedence of policymakers role conceptions over externally derived role expectations. Here lies the rift between Holsti on one side and the English School and constructivist IR on the other side which has been reproduced in some of the empirical analyses. Integration of FPA and IR through Role Theory: Role theory has an intermittent presence in the study of foreign policy analysis, though it is unfamiliar to scholars in international relations. Yet it is uniquely suited to integrate IR and FPA. Role theory is premised on explaining and understanding the interaction between agents and structure. This may sound familiar to constructivist IR scholars. Role theory tends to focus on the agent structure debate from a slightly different, albeit complementary and vantage point. Foreign policy analysis and International Relation scholars operate within different analytical traditions. Whereas the former consider the individual to be the ground of International Relation theory, the latter are more apt to proceed from a system level orientation. To be more precise, Foreign policy analysis scholars often use role theory informed by social psychology while International Relation scholars are more firmly grounded in constructivist principles borrowed from sociology. There is a geographical divide: the former group of scholars is more prevalent in the United States, whereas the latter tend to be located in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Both groups use methods of analysis and standards of evidence that are in keeping with their separate traditions. Some suggest that theories of International Relations cant also be theories of foreign policy. However, others have argued that there is no logical barrier to such a synthesis  [19]  . We believe that role theory offers the potential for integration, possibly and synthesis. Foreign Policy Analysis generally as well as cognitive approaches specifically and International Relation theory generally as well as constructivism specifically stand to benefit from the results of dialogue between the formers largely agent based role theory and the latters largely system based agent structure debate. Although fully synthesizing the two fields may not be feasible, there is so much common ground that bridging the divide between these two traditions not only brings them closer together but also advances knowledge in both Foreign Policy Analysis and International Relations theory. Indeed some efforts aimed at synthesis can already be identified. Consider for example: Maulls work on the civilian power role of Germany and Japan and Harnischs subsequent efforts to place Germanys civilian power role in a constructivist International Relations framework. These two scholars demonstrate the potential for a synthesis of Foreign Policy and International Relations through role theory. Roles like the civilian power role make intuitive sense to policymakers and offer great potential to translate Foreign Policy and International Relations theory into meaningful policy relevant advice.

Predator - Prey Relationships :: Predators Animal Kingdom Biology Essays

Predator - Prey Relationships The relationship between predators and their prey is an intricate and complicated relationship; covering a great area of scientific knowledge. This paper will examine the different relationships between predator and prey; focusing on the symbiotic relations between organisms, the wide range of defense mechanisms that are utilized by various examples of prey, and the influence between predators and prey concerning evolution and population structure. Symbiosis is the interaction between organisms forming a long term relationship with each other. Many organisms become dependent on others and they need one another or one needs the other to survive. Symbiotic interactions include forms of parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. The first topic of discussion in symbiosis is parasitism. Parasitism is when the relationship between two animal populations becomes intimate and the individuals of one population use the other population as a source of food and can be located in or on the host animal or animal of the other population(Boughey 1973). No known organism escapes being a victim of parasitism(Brum 1989). Parasitism is similar to preditation in the sense that the parasite derives nourishment from the host on which it feeds and the predator derives nourishment from the prey on which it feeds(Nitecki 1983). Parasitism is different from most normal predator prey situations because many different parasites can feed off of just one host but very few predators can feed on the same prey(1973). In parasite-host relationships most commonly the parasite is smaller than the host. This would explain why many parasites can feed off of one single host. Another difference in parasite-host relationships is that normally the parasite or group of parasites do not kill the host from feeding, whereas a predator will kill it’ s prey(1983). Efficient parasites will not kill their host at least until their own life cycle has been completed(1973). The ideal situation for a parasite is one in which the host animal can live for a long enough time for the parasite to reproduce several times(Arms 1987). Parasites fall under two different categories according to where on the host they live. Endoparasites are usually the smaller parasites and tend to live inside of the host(1973). These internal parasites have certain physiological and anatomical adaptations to make their life easier(1987). An example of this is the roundworm, which has protective coating around it’s body to ensure that it will not be digested. Many internal parasites must have more than one host in order to carry out reproduction(1989). A parasite may lay eggs inside the host it is living in, and the eggs are excreted with the host’s feces.

Lord of the Flies :: essays papers

Lord of the Flies Artificial Restraints in Lord of the Flies "GOLDING PUTS SO MANY ARTIFICIAL RESTRAINTS ON HIS STORY IN ORDER TO EMPHASISE HIS POINT, THAT THE WHOLE THING COMES OUT TOO NEATLY AND, IN FACT, REDUCES THE POWER OF HIS MESSAGE." I think that, while the boys experience immense bad luck due to the author, the story still proves its point. It is still possible though, that the bad luck of the boys could have been experienced in real life. I think that without this bad luck, the point of the story wouldn’t be as great, because without the restraint’s Golding placed on the boys, life on the island would have been too easy for the boys. The major constraint that Golding puts on the boys is the personality clash between Jack and Ralph. From the beginning, when Ralph is elected leader, Jack hates Ralph, and towards the end of the book, the feeling becomes mutual. Without Jack and Ralph’s problems, life would have been easy, and the ‘darkness of man’s heart’ would not have been conveyed to the reader. Jack shows ‘the darkness’ and if he and Ralph had just been friends, there would never have been an opportunity for Jack to show this darkness which lurked beneath the surface. Golding also uses the dead pilot conveniently against the boys - the way in which he is caught in the trees just in the right position to be caught by the wind and look like the beast and the way the wind picks up after Simon has let him down from the trees and carries him out to sea, so that the other boys cannot see that it wasn’t a beast. The author uses the boy’s fear against them, and although this could possibly happen in the situation, Golding uses it as a weapon against them, their morale and their companionship. I think that the boys split up and go to Jack because of the fear - he can kill the beast, he can get them meat, and if they ever get upset, he can start a dance and all will be fine.