English Topic on 'CONFLICT' comparing two micro fiction Essay

English Topic on 'CONFLICT' comparing two micro fiction - Essay Example She then goes on to describe what the neighbor would hear, and what she would think: â€Å"I would say to myself how glad I was not to be her, not to be sounding the way she is sounding, with a voice like her voice and an opinion like her opinion†. From this, the reader can infer that this person does not like how she sounds when she talks to this man, and perhaps she does not even like herself. The conflict is thus internal, precisely in being who she is. The conflict in this story is psychological, and we are not given the reasons why the neighbor would not like to be her upon hearing her voice and her opinions. The narrator in fact stipulates that the neighbor would not like what she hears, and would be glad not to be her. One can say that this is a sort of projection upon the neighbor of the narrator’s own dislike of herself when she talks to this man. The dilemma is thus in this woman’s ambivalence between liking herself and not liking However, all of this up to this point has been stipulated on the supposition that she were not herself, i.e. that she were not who she was. She resolves this conflict by saying: â€Å"But I cannot hear myself from below, as a neighbor, I cannot hear how I ought not to sound, I cannot be glad I am not her, as I would be if I could hear her.† Thus, to hear herself as a neighbor, from below, is an impossibility, as she is â€Å"not her†, meaning the neighbor, because she is herself, and she cannot put herself in the neighbor’s shoes and not like herself. The conflict is resolved in the final sentence: â€Å"Then again, since I am her, I am not sorry to be here, up above, where I cannot hear her as a neighbor, where I cannot say to myself, as I would have to, from below, how glad I am not to be her.† Given that this imaginary situation is an impossibility, the conflict is simply resolved by this

Extream leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Extream leader - Essay Example Their main traits are their tenacity, positive attitude and humility. They welcome other people’s opinion and views. They are capable of turnaround strategy through sheer force of will, flexibility and desire to find the solution. McDonald’s, Apple, Citibank, Amazon etc. have extreme leaders at the helm. These companies not only have leadership position in the industry but their innovative ideas and subsequent high growth have made indelible mark in the corporate world. Leaders like, Ray Croc of McDonald’s, Steve Job of Apple, Charles Prince of Citibank and Jeffery Bezos of Amazon, have all been extraordinary in their vision which they had the guts to transform into success. They were all dynamic leaders who accepted challenges and saw opportunities in adversity. They relentlessly pursued and brought their company to the pinnacle of success despite adverse circumstances. Moreover, they were leaders who shared their vision with the workers and appreciated their input. Indeed, these traits are rare and therefore make them the most sought after leaders for companies who want to make a distinct place in the highly volatile

The Evidence For The Endosymbiotic Theory

The Evidence For The Endosymbiotic Theory Abstract Modern eukaryotic cells were originally believed to have arisen directly from a single prokaryotic ancestor through serial mutation and the process of genetic drift. However, much evidence has lead scientists to believe that eukaryotes are the result of a merger between a prokaryotic cell, a relative of modern ÃŽÂ ±-protebacteria, that became incorporated by a host archaeon. This is referred to as the endosymbiotic theory. Over the span of millions of years, symbiont DNA was transferred to the nucleus to give rise to the eukaryotic genome and the prokaryote gave rise to mitochondria. As such the two organisms effectively become a single organism, each unable to survive in the others absence. The endosymbiotic theory is widely regarded due to the many shared biochemical and morphological characteristics of mitochondria with bacteria, including DNA organization and similarities protein synthesising machinery and membrane composition. In reviewing these characteristics I have come to conclude that an endosymbiotic event is the most plausible explanation for the development of mitochondria within the eukaryotic cell, despite the uncertainties regarding the nature of the prokaryotes inclusion in the host cell. Introduction The term endosymbiosis refers to the event in which one organism takes up permanent residence within another, such that the two develop a mutually beneficial relationship1.The endosymbiotic theory was developed to explain the evolutionary discontinuity between the appearance of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and the great many differences exhibited by the two taxa, described in Table.1. Since mitochondria share so many biochemical and structural characteristics with Bacteria, an evolutionary relationship was proposed, in order to explain the transition from prokaryote to eukaryote2. Contrary to the traditional view that a series of chance mutations were responsible for the evolution of eukaryotic cells, the endosymbiotic theory states that mitochondria arose by the incorporation of a free living aerobic prokaryote, relating to an ÃŽÂ ±-proteobacterium, into an anaerobic proto-eukaryote3. This is proposed to have occurred approximately 1.5 billion years ago, between the first fossil r ecord of aerobic prokaryotes and eukaryotes (Table 1), after oxygen had begun to accumulate in Earths atmosphere as a result of the emergence of photosynthetic organisms4 5. Rather than being digested, the prokaryote remained as a symbiont, helping in the production of ATP within the host by the process of oxidative phosphorylation, enabling it to survive the increasing oxygen concentrations, thereby giving it a selective advantage over anaerobic cells. Interdependence between the aerobic bacterium and the host cell developed and, the bacterium evolved into the mitochondrion. Photosynthetic eukaryotes originated in a similar manner by a secondary symbiosis between these organisms and photoautotrophic bacteria related to cyanobacteria. Wallin proposed in 1923 that mitochondria originated from an endosymbiotic event when he observed that they closely resembled bacteria in size and complexity7. These and related observations led Lynn Margulis to publish Symbiosis in Cell Evolution in 1981, in which she argued that modern eukaryotes were originally formed from a fusion of separate species. Margulis also proposed, more controversially, that motile prokaryotic species such as Spirochaeta were incorporated and resulted in the evolution of the structures that provide cellular motion. Since this hypothesis is generally not accepted, it is not discussed in further detail here. 1. Over the next thirty years, further similarities between mitochondria and bacteria were found that supported Margulis work. Table 1 described some of the similarities observed between prokaryotic cells and mitochondria when compared to eukaryotic cells. Included are the overall physiological similarities of mitochondria and prokaryotes, such as the similarity in size compared to eukaryotes, similarities between the protein-synthesising machinery such as the mitochondrial ribosomes and tRNA molecules, and the presence of a separate mitochondrial genome.3 8 Table.1 Summary of the similarities between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and eukaryotic organelles. Adapted from: Indiana University-Purdue University Department of Biology (2004) Class Notes: The Endosymbiotic Theory Available: http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/n100/2k4endosymb.html [Accessed 16/04/10] Prokaryotes Eukaryotes Mitochondria of Eukaryotic cells DNA 1 single, circular chromosome Multiple linear chromosomes compartmentalized in a nucleus 1 single, circular chromosome Replication Binary Fission involving Fts proteins Mitosis Process akin to binary Fission involving dynamin proteins Ribosomes 30S and 50S Subunits 40S and 60S Subunits 30S and 50S Subunits Electron Transport Chain Found in the plasma membrane around cell Found only in the cells mitochondria Found in the plasma membrane around mitochondrion Size (approximate) ~1-10 ÃŽÂ ¼m ~50 500 ÃŽÂ ¼m ~1-10 ÃŽÂ ¼m First appearance in fossil record Anaerobic bacteria: ~3.8 Billion years ago Aerobic bacteria: ~2.5 Billion years ago ~1.5 billion years ago ~1.5 billion years ago What the endosymbiotic hypothesis does not make clear is the order of events regarding the formation of the nucleus and the acquisition of the prokaryotic cell containing the precursor mitochondrial genome. Two hypotheses have been put forward for the formation of the eukaryotic cell, illustrated in Fig.2. Nucleus formation preceded symbiosis of mitochondrion and chloroplast Nucleus formed after symbiosis of mitochondrion and before chloroplast Taken from Michael Madigan et al. Brock Biology of Microorganisms (2008) 12th edition, Pearson Education Inc The most widely regarded, summarised in Fig.3, proposes that an ancestral prokaryote first developed a membrane around its DNA from infolding of the plasma, similar to the way in which the endomembranous system of the endoplasmic rectilium and Golgi apparatus is thought to have arisen3. This organism, dubbed the protoeukaryote engulfed a small heterotrophic prokaryote, shown on Fig.2 as the ancestor of mitochondrion9. Pearson Education Inc. http://topicstock.pantip.com/wahkor/topicstock/2009/09/X8338687/X8338687-8.jpg The second hypothesis, in contrast, considers that there could have been a nucleus was formed after the acquisition of the protomitochondrion, when a member of the Archaea acquired the bacterial ancestor of the mitochondrion through endocytosis11. This is known as the hydrogen hypothesis, proposed by Martin and Muller (1998), who claimed that the symbiotic relationship between the two cells was initially based on the hosts dependence on the hydrogen, evolved by the symbiont as a by-product of anaerobic respiration, as a source of energy. The nucleus was formed from the mitochondrial DNA from the symbiont and the free DNA residing in the nucleus12. Both models thus involve the transfer of a large portion of mitochondrial DNA to the host nucleus, resulting in the dependence of the symbiont upon the host. An alternative hypothesis has recently been forwarded by Davidov and Jurkevitch, who propose that the ancestors of mitochondria were not endocytosed by Archaea but were predators that penetrated the host and devoured the host. The prey managed to survive and established a mutualistic relationship as in the previous hypotheses. (Davidov, Jurkevitch cited by Zimmer, 2009) This appears to be supported by the finding that certain species Rickettsia, obligate intracellular parasites, have more similar genomes to the than mitochondrion13 14. However the eukaryotic cell arose, abundant evidence has accumulated that supports the endosymbiotic theory, and the evidence of similarities relating to different functions of bacteria and mitochondria are reviewed in this essay. There is also an increasing body of experimental evidence that suggests that endosymbiotic events occur in modern cells, and two such experiments and their implications on the endosymbiotic theory are reviewed here. Aside from these experiments, the evidence presented in this essay relates entirely to the emergence of mitochondria. The Mitochondrial Genome Mitochondria possess their own genomes that replicate that replicate independently from the nucleus, using DNA polymerases specific to the mitochondria. These processes, as well as the subsequent DNA transcription and protein synthesis take place in the matrix of mitochondria and occur throughout the cell cycle, which parallels the situation in bacteria but is not true of nuclear DNA2. The DNA of mitochondria is a single circular molecule of roughly the same size as the bacterial genome, and has a mean GC content ranging from 20-50%. This is close to the variation found in bacterial species and greater than observed for eukaryotes, reflecting phylogenetic relationships of mitochondria and bacteria2. Furthermore, like bacterial DNA, the DNA of mitochondria lacks both intervening sequences and the organisation into histones present in bacteria3. Comparative molecular sequencing of mitochondrial genes and the RNA they encode has revealed that the mitochondrial genome is more closely rel ated to that of organisms such as the ÃŽÂ ±-proteobacterium Rickettsia prowazekii than to the rest of the eukaryotic cell, indicating an extracellular origin10 15. Similar sequencing by Ito and Braithewaite has revealed that yeast mitochondrial DNA polymerase I is homologous in amino acid sequence the DNA polymerases, of E. coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae in both the 3-5 exonuclease and DNA polymerase domains. The similarity of the DNa replication machinery further implies that mitochondria evolved from prokaryotes. While nuclear DNA is contributed by both parents in sexual organisms, mtDNA is contributed almost entirely by the oocyte16. The symbiotic concept accounts for this non-mendelian mode of inheritance and indicates the evolutionary importance of maintaining uniparental heredity of nonchromosomal genes, due to the inherent redundancy that results from the fusion of gametes, This ensure that at least one copy of the organellar genome is maintained at each stage in the eukaryotic cells life cycle3. DNA sequence analysis has also demonstrated the presence of mitochondrial DNA in the nucleus17. Biologists originally believed that the nuclear DNA of the eukaryote coded for mitochondria. However, Margulis reasoned that, if the endosymbiotic hypothesis represents the true course of events in the evolution of mitochondria, then upon entering a symbiotic partnership, the symbionts would lose all synthetic capabilities except the ability to replicate their own DNA. It has been shown that that the proteins that mediate function of the mitochondrion are encoded both in the mitochondrial and the nuclear genome and must be imported to the mitochondrion, shown in Fig.3 which supports Margulis hypothesis. Margulis Although many mitochondrial genes have been found in the nucleus, nuclear genes direct the synthesis of only some of the proteins from which they are made, thus cells which lack mitochondria cannot generate them1. This appears to be the result of extensive gene transfer that took p lace after the endosymbiotic event which brought the two cells together. The transfer of essential genes to the host nucleus resulted in the progressive loss of independence after the host acquired the symbiont, resulting in an organelle unable to survive in oxic conditions outside the host3. O Daley proposes that the large transfer of mitochondrial DNA may have been the result of evolutionary pressure to accumulate DNA inside the nucleus, due to increased genetic variation 17 18.The High rate transfer of DNA between the nucleus and mitochondria demonstrates that the incorporation of the mitochondrial genome into the eukaryotic cell was vital in defining the eukaryotic genome18. An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc., usually as some form of binary object. The name of referred object is ch14f62.jpg. Fig 3: Transfer of nuclear precursor proteins from the nucleus to the mitochondrion and subsequent production of mitochondrial protein. Red arrows indicate the site of action of a specific inhibitor of either nuclear or mitochondrial protein synthesis, discussed in more detail later in of this essay. From Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and James D. Watson (1994) Molecular Biology of the Cell. 3rd edition, Garland Publishing Inc., New York. Lipid membranes Possibly the most convincing evidence of the extracellular origin of mitochondria is the similarity between the inner mitochondrial membrane and the membrane possessed by bacteria. Mitochondria are surrounded by two phospolipid membranes, and while the outer membrane resembles the eukaryotic membranes, including the membranes of other cellular organelles such as that of the nucleus and endoplasmic rectilium, the innermost membrane is chemically distinct to those found elsewhere in the eukaryotic cell6. Furthermore, Microscopic observation has enabled the comparison of cristae, invaginations of the inner mitochondrial membrane, shown in Fig.4, to bacterial mesosomes, shown in Fig.5. Both structures increase the surface area of their respective membranes and provide a site for the process of oxidative phosphorylation. Margulis has suggested that the similarity between mitochondrial cristae and the mesosomes possessed by many species of Bacteria (Fig. 5) also alludes to the extracellula r origin of mitochondria3. Consistent with the endosymbiotic theory, it has been reasoned that the inner membrane once belonged to the bacterial symbiont, and that the outer membrane was a remnant of the phagocytic vacuole in which the symbiont was engulfed by the host cell, resulting in the development of cristae from mesosomes9. Left: Fig.1: Structure of an idealised mitochondrion as compared to an electron micrograph. Illustrates the double membrane structure and the infoldings of the inner membrane known as cristae on which oxidative phosphorylation occurs. Adapted from: Dr Jay Pitocchelli, Saint Anslem College (2001) Lecture Notes for Cell Biology. Available: http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/ jpitocch/genbio/mitochondrion.JPG [accessed 27/04/10] Right: Fig. 5 : Electron micrograph of thin section of T.dentrificans showing inverted Y form of simple mesosome-like body. From: J W Greenawalt and T L Whiteside (Dec 1975). Mesosomes: membranous bacterial organelles. Bacteriological Review. 39(4): 405-463. The inner mitochondria and bacterial membranes also share many biochemical features. Table 2 illustrates the observations made by Parsons, that the outer mitochondrial membrane is more similar in density and lipid composition to that of the endoplasmic reticulum of Serratia than of the inner mitochondrial membrane3 19. It has also been noted that ÃŽÂ ²-barrel transmembrane proteins are exclusively found in the bacterial membranes and in the outer membrane of mitochondria, and that the amino acid sequences of these proteins show high similarity6. Additionally, LACTB, a protein that derives from bacterial penicillin-binding protein of peptidoglycan, has been found in the intermembrane space of eukaryotic mitochondria20. While mitochondria lack peptidoglycan, the presence of a vestigial peptidoglycan-forming protein provided further evidence that mitochondria are descended from bacteria. Table 2: Comparison of structural features and lipid composition of inner and outer Mitochondrial membranes and ER of Serratia. Adapted from D.F. Parsons (1867) Ultrastructural and molecular aspects of cell membranes. Proceeings of the Seventh Canadian Cancer Research Conference 7:193-246. The nature of the mitochondrial respiratory system raises another significant line of evidence supporting the endosymbiotic theory. The production of energy via the electron transport chain by mitochondria is associated only with the inner membrane, as in prokaryotes, and does not occur in the outer membrane, as evidenced by the difference in electron transport protein content in the mitochondrial membranes, shown in Table 29. Additionally, the membrane potential across the inner membrane that is necessary for the production of ATP is not found in the outer membrane of the mitochondrion or in eukaryotic membranes. Table 3 also demonstrates that that bacteria such as P. denitrificans and mitochondria share many respiratory features, such as the sensitivity of the oxidative chain to antimycin, which disrupts proton gradient formation across the membrane. Furthermore, the electron-transport chains of bacteria and mitochondria both contain a membrane-bound enzyme complex that accepts ele ctrons solely from ubiquinone-10 quinine carrier3. Taken together, this evidence supports the theory that the outer membrane of mitochondria was formed from the vesicular membrane during an endosymbiotic event and the inner membrane formed from the prokaryote engulfed2. Table 3: Mitochondrial features of Paracoccus denitrificans Illustrates the similarities of the respiratory system of mitochondria to the systems of Paracoccus , that are also found in many other bacteria. These strikingly similar respiratory features indicate that microbes such as P. denitrificans may be the ancestors of mitochondria. Many of these features are found in other bacteria. After Whateley (1977) Adapted from Lynn Margulis. Symbiosis in Cell Evolution (1981) W.H.Freeman Co Ltd. Respiratory Chain Succinate and NADH dehydrogenases Ubiquinone-10 is the sole quinine Cytochromes a and a3 act as oxidase Sensitive to low concentrations of antimycin Oxidative Phosphorylation Respiratory control is released by ADP or by uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation ATPase has tightly bound nucleotise exchangeable on energization Membrane Phospholipids Phosphotidylcholine is the main constituent All fatty acids are straight-chain and monounsaturated Mitochondrial division The way in which mitochondria divide also provides evidence for their extracellular origin. It has been shown that these organelles multiply semi-autonomously, not through mitosis as eukaryotic cells are, but rather through a process similar to binary fission of pre-existing organelles21. Mitochondria been found to possess dynamin proteins, mechanochemical GTPases, that are related to the FtsZ, filamentous temperature sensitive, proteins found in bacteria. Bacterial FtsZ2 proteins interact to form a divisome ring complex that from a division furrow from outside, a similar mechanism has been observed by the Dnm1 protein of mitochondria, where the proteins constrict the membrane from the outside, illustrated in Fig. 6. Furthermore, evidence of FtsZ proteins have been found in the mitochondria of the alga Mallomonas splendens that are proteins closely related to those of ÃŽÂ ±-proteobacteria. The FtsZ protein is located in patches on the mitochondrial membrane, near the centre or at the ends of mitochondria, similar to the location of Dnm1. The similarities in the molecules involved in initiating bacterial and organelle division further emphasise the evolutionary ties that these organelles have to bacteria.9 22 23 Fig. 6: A model of the mechanism of mitochondrial division: Dynamins are targeted to their site of action by other proteins. After modification by GTP, Dynamins from rings that tighten around the site of division and constrict to cut the mitochondrion into two. This mecahism parrales that of FtsZ, the tubulin protein of bacteria. Adapted from: Suzanne Hoppins, Laura Lackner, and Jodi Nunnari (2007) The Machines that Divide and Fuse Mitochondria. Annual Review of Biochemistry Vol. 76: 751-780 Ribosomal Similarities The protein-synthesising machinery of mitochondria shares more similarities with bacteria than that of the eukaryote cytoplasm. For example, the initiating amino acid in the transcripts of bacteria and mitochondria is N-formylmethionine, whereas protein synthesis in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells begins with methionine. The structure of the mitochondrial ribosomes also differs from those found in the eukaryotic cytoplasm, in that they are more similar in size and share the same subunit structure, described in Table.1 3 9. The sequences of 16S ribosomal RNAs are closer to certain aerobic eubacteria than many other bacteria are, for example, Wolters and Erdmann have confirmed, by phylogenetic analyses, that the primary and secondary structure of 5S and 16S rRNA of angiosperm mitochondria share specific signatures with a particular type of purple bacteria, the rhodobacteria25. Conversely, mitochondria show no homologies in these traits with the eukaryotic cell cytoplasm3. These similar ities appear to confirm the phylogenetic relationship of these organisms and the organelles. Similarities between the ribosomes of bacteria and mitochondria are further evidenced by the action of a number of antibiotics that affect only bacterial, mitochondrion ribosomes protein-synthesising machinery. Fig. 3, above, demonstrates specific inhibitors of protein synthesis. These similarities the action of antibiotics between three types of ribosomes are illustrated in Table 4 3. For example, neomycin and streptomycin act by binding the 30S subunit of mitochondria and bacteria and inhibiting protein chain initiation, while chloramphenicol blocks the attachment of amino acid to tRNA9. None of these chemicals interfere with protein synthesis in the cytoplasm of the eukaryotes. Conversely, cyclohexamide and anisomycin affect only the protein synthetic machinery of eukaryotic cells, and have no inhibitory effects on mitochondria or on bacteria. Another example, rifampicin, inhibits the RNA polymerase of bacteria and mitochondria, but has no such effect on eukaryotic nuclear RNA pol ymerase. It is notable that each antibiotic, except for Puromycin, affects both mitochondrial and bacterial or cytoplasmic ribosomes, and this would appear to suggest a relationship between the protein synthesising machinery of mitochondria and that of prokaryotic bacteria from which they were thought to have originated3. Experimental Evidence Laboratory experiments have been conducted to confirm the establishment of endosymbioses in several organisms. Kwang Jeon of the University of Tennessee has demonstrated that, under laboratory conditions, it is possible to observe the establishment of a stable amoeba-bacteria symbiosis. After over 20 years of culture, a strain of Amoeba proteus became infected with a large number of bacteria. These became integrated as necessary cell components after initially being pathogenic to the host cells26. The amoebas dependence on the endosymbiotic bacteria was also demonstrated by removing the nucleus of an infected cell and placing it into another cell that had previously had its nucleus removed. Treatment with chloramphenicol also killed the majority of the endosymbiotic bacteria, which rendered the amoebae unable to survive. Thus, Jeon had proven that the host nucleus had become dependent on the symbionts 3, 27. Finally, Okamoto and Inouye have shown that some organisms can take opportunistic advantage of a similar process to endosymbiosis, by observation of a heterotrophic protist that engulfed a unicellular green alga and used the products of its photosynthesis. Inside the host cell, the alga underwent morphological changes, including the loss of flagella and cytoskeleton. The heterotrophic host switched its source of nutrition and became an autotroph, and became capable of phototaxis, the ability to move towards light. (Kimball, 2007) The acquisition of the alga by the protist and subsequent changes in both cells are believed to represent the early stages of a secondary endosymbiosis in process, and the conclusions of both experiments illustrate the possibility of secondary endosymbiosis occurring in modern cells in a similar way in which the symbionts from which mitochondria are descended were acquired28. Conclusion Based upon the large body of available evidence contributed by scientists in the years since the endosymbiotic hypothesis was first proposed, including the conclusions of various experiments and the sequence data of nucleic acids and proteins, I have concluded that modern eukaryotic cells arose by a stable incorporation of prokaryotic endosymbionts. This dramatic change was then the driving force behind the evolution of new species and eventually more complex organisms4. However, the question of which order eukaryotes came to possess nuclei and respiratory organelles is still the subject of much debate, and the fact that some genes remain encoded in the mitochondria rather than being completely transferred to the nucleus has not been accounted for16. Despite these uncertainties, the endosymbiotic theory remains the most probable explanation for the similarities between mitochondria and Bacteria, and the large disparity between Bacteria and eukaryotes. The next steps in the developmen t of this theory may require new methods of reconstructing events that occurred billions of years ago, in order to answer one of the greatest uncertainties in evolutionary biology, regarding the origin of the eukaryotes.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Essay -- Lolita Essays

Vladimir Nabokov, one of the 20th century’s greatest writers, is a highly aesthetic writer. Most of his work shows an amazing interest in and talent for language. He deceptively uses language in Lolita to mask and make the forbidden divine. Contextually, Lolita may be viewed as a novel about explicit sexual desire. However, it is the illicit desire of a stepfather for his 12-year old stepdaughter. The novel’s subject inevitably conjures up expectations of pornography, but there in not a single obscene term in Lolita. Nabokov portrays erotic scenes and sensual images with a poetic sensibility that belies the underlying meaning of the words. The beautiful manipulation of language coerces one to understand Humbert’s interdict act of pedophilia. By combining erotic and poetic desire in the context of the forbidden, Nabokov challenges the immorality of pornography, as illicit desire becomes masked in sensuous language. Nabokov carefully tailors the language Hu mbert Humbert uses to tell the world of his love for the forbidden nymphet, urging sympathy and innocence from the reader. However, the deeper meaning of the forbidden sexual desire is clearly seen in the use of only slightly veiled metaphor alluding to Humbert's own obsession. The very first words of the novel set the stage for Nabokov's masterful use of poetic and erotic allusion. The poetic and romantic lyricism become the foundation for allusion from the deviancy of Humbert’s sexual desires: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in ... ... unambiguously seeks to transmute Humbert’s erotic experience into a work of art, and to induce us to relive it intensely in our imagination and with our senses. He does not want us simply to identify with his protagonist as a crude pornographer would, but to bring us to adhere totally to this beautiful text in which the gradual eroticization of the language eventually creates a poerotic ecstasy. There is no longer any separation between signifier and signified, between the pretext and the present text; the obstacle that prevented novelistic language from representing the sexual act is magically abolished, even though sex still remains a powerful source of anxiety. It is not the sexual interdict, no matter what its true nature is, which is transgressed, but the aesthetic one. As Humbert later acknowledges â€Å"sex is but the ancilla of art,† it cannot be its main subject. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Essay -- Lolita Essays Vladimir Nabokov, one of the 20th century’s greatest writers, is a highly aesthetic writer. Most of his work shows an amazing interest in and talent for language. He deceptively uses language in Lolita to mask and make the forbidden divine. Contextually, Lolita may be viewed as a novel about explicit sexual desire. However, it is the illicit desire of a stepfather for his 12-year old stepdaughter. The novel’s subject inevitably conjures up expectations of pornography, but there in not a single obscene term in Lolita. Nabokov portrays erotic scenes and sensual images with a poetic sensibility that belies the underlying meaning of the words. The beautiful manipulation of language coerces one to understand Humbert’s interdict act of pedophilia. By combining erotic and poetic desire in the context of the forbidden, Nabokov challenges the immorality of pornography, as illicit desire becomes masked in sensuous language. Nabokov carefully tailors the language Hu mbert Humbert uses to tell the world of his love for the forbidden nymphet, urging sympathy and innocence from the reader. However, the deeper meaning of the forbidden sexual desire is clearly seen in the use of only slightly veiled metaphor alluding to Humbert's own obsession. The very first words of the novel set the stage for Nabokov's masterful use of poetic and erotic allusion. The poetic and romantic lyricism become the foundation for allusion from the deviancy of Humbert’s sexual desires: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in ... ... unambiguously seeks to transmute Humbert’s erotic experience into a work of art, and to induce us to relive it intensely in our imagination and with our senses. He does not want us simply to identify with his protagonist as a crude pornographer would, but to bring us to adhere totally to this beautiful text in which the gradual eroticization of the language eventually creates a poerotic ecstasy. There is no longer any separation between signifier and signified, between the pretext and the present text; the obstacle that prevented novelistic language from representing the sexual act is magically abolished, even though sex still remains a powerful source of anxiety. It is not the sexual interdict, no matter what its true nature is, which is transgressed, but the aesthetic one. As Humbert later acknowledges â€Å"sex is but the ancilla of art,† it cannot be its main subject.

Customer Relationship Management and Flight Attendants

Essentials of MIS Additional Cases 1 BUSINESS PROBLEM-SOLVING CASE JetBlue Hits Turbulence In February 2000, JetBlue started flying daily to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Buffalo, New York, promising top-notch customer service at budget prices. The airline featured new Airbus A320 planes with leather seats, each equipped with a personal TV screen, and average one-way fares of only $99 per passenger. JetBlue was able to provide this relatively luxurious flying experience by using information systems to automate key processes, such as ticket sales (online sales dominate) and baggage handling (electronic tags help track luggage).Jet Blue prided itself on its â€Å"paperless processes. † JetBlue’s investment in information technology enabled the airline to turn a profit by running its business at 70 percent of the cost of larger competitors. At the same time, JetBlue filled a higher percentage of its seats, employed non-union workers, and established enough good will to scor e an impressive customer retention rate of 50 percent. Initially, JetBlue flew only one type of plane from one vendor: the Airbus A320. This approach enabled the airline to standardize flight operations and maintenance procedures to a degree that resulted in considerable savings.CIO Jeff Cohen used the same simple-is-better strategy for JetBlue’s information systems. Cohen depended almost exclusively on Microsoft software products to design JetBlue’s extensive network of information systems. (JetBlue’s reservation system and systems for managing planes, crews, and scheduling are run by an outside contractor. ) Using a single vendor provided a technology framework in which Cohen could keep a small staff and favor in-house development of systems over outsourcing and relying on consultants. The benefit was stable and focused technology spending. JetBlue spent only 1. percent of its revenue on information technology, as opposed to the 5 percent spent by competitors. JetBlue’s technology strategy helped create a pleasing flying experience for passengers. As president and chief operating officer Dave Barger put it, â€Å"Some people say airlines are powered by fuel, but this airline is powered by its IT infrastructure. † JetBlue consistently found itself at the top of J. D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction surveys. JetBlue believed it had learned to work lean and smart. The big question was whether JetBlue would be able to maintain its strategy and its success as the airline grew.By the end of 2006, the company was operating 500 flights daily in 50 cities and had $2. 4 billion in annual revenue. Along the way, JetBlue committed to purchasing a new plane every five weeks through 2007, at a cost of $52 million each. Through all of this, JetBlue remained true to its formula for success and customers continued to return. February 14, 2007, was a wake-up call. A fierce ice storm struck the New York City area that day and set i n motion a string of events that threatened JetBlue’s sterling reputation and its stellar customer relationships.JetBlue made a fateful decision to maintain its schedule in the belief that the horrible weather would break. JetBlue typically avoided pre-canceling flights because passengers usually preferred to have a delayed arrival than to camp out at a terminal or check into a hotel. If the airline had guessed correctly, it would have kept its revenue streams intact and made the customers who were scheduled to fly that day very happy. Most other airlines began canceling flights early in the day, believing it was the prudent decision even though passengers would be inconvenienced and money would be lost.The other airlines were correct. Nine JetBlue planes left their gates at John F. Kennedy International Airport and were stranded on the tarmac for at least six hours. The planes were frozen in place or trapped by iced-over access roads, as was the equipment that would de-ice o r move the aircraft. Passengers were confined inside the planes for up to ten and one-half hours. Supplies of food and water on the planes ran low and toilets in the restrooms began to back up. JetBlue found itself in the middle of a massive dual crisis of customer and public relations.JetBlue waited too long to solicit help for the stranded passengers because the airline figured that the planes would be able to take off eventually. Meanwhile, the weather conditions and the delays or cancellations of other flights caused customers to flood JetBlue’s reservations system, which could not handle the onslaught. At the same time, many of the airline’s pilots and flight crews were also stranded and unable to get to locations where they could pick up the slack for crews that had just worked their maximum hours without rest, but did not actually go anywhere.Moreover, JetBlue did not have a system in place for the rested crews to call in and have their assignments rerouted. The glut of planes and displaced or tired crews forced JetBlue to cancel more flights the next day, a Thursday. And the cancellations continued daily for nearly a week, with the Presidents’ Day holiday week providing few opportunities for rebooking. On the sixth day, JetBlue cancelled 139 of 600 flights involving 11 other airports. 2 76 Part I: Information Systems in Hits Digital Age JetBlue the TurbulenceJetBlue’s eventual recovery was of little solace to passengers who were stranded at the airport for days and missed reservations for family vacations. Overall, more than 1,100 flights were cancelled, and JetBlue lost $30 million. The airline industry is marked by low profit margins and high fixed costs, which means that even short revenue droughts, such as a four-day shutdown, can have devastating consequences for a carrier’s financial stability. Throughout the debacle, JetBlue’s CEO David G. Neeleman was very visible and forthcoming with accountability and apologies.He was quoted many times, saying things such as, â€Å"We love our customers and we’re horrified by this. There’s going to be a lot of apologies. † Neeleman also admitted to the press that JetBlue’s management was not strong enough and its communications system was inadequate. The department responsible for allocating pilots and crews to flights was too small. Some flight attendants were unable to get in touch with anyone who could tell them what to do for three days. With the breakdown in communications, thousands of pilots sand flight attendants were out of position, and the staff could neither find them nor tell them where to go.JetBlue had grown too fast, and its low-cost IT infrastructure and systems could not keep up with the business. JetBlue was accustomed to saving money both from streamlined information systems and lean staffing. Under normal circumstances, the lean staff was sufficient to handle all operations, and the computer syste ms functioned well below their capacity. However, the ice storm exposed the fragility of the infrastructure as tasks such as rebooking passengers, handling baggage, and locating crew members became impossible. Although Neeleman asserted in a conference call hat JetBlue’s computer systems were not to blame for its meltdown, critics of the company pointed out that JetBlue lacked systems to keep track of off-duty flight crews and lost baggage. Its reservation system could not expand enough to meet the high customer call volume. Navitaire, headquartered in Minneapolis, hosts the reservation system for JetBlue as well as for a dozen other discount airlines. The Navitaire system was configured to accomodate up to 650 agents at one time, which was more than sufficient under normal circumstances.During the Valentine’s Day crisis, Navitaire was able to tweak the system to accomodate up to 950 agents simultaneously, but that was still not enough. Moreover, JetBlue could not find enough qualified employees to staff its phones. The company employs about 1,500 reservation agents who work primarily from their homes, linking to its Navitaire Open Skies reservation system using an Internet-based voice communications system. Many ticketholders were unable to determine the status of their flights because the phone lines were jammed.Some callers received a recording that directed them to JetBlue’s Web site. The Web site stopped responding because it could not handle the spike in visitors, leaving many passengers with no way of knowing whether they should make the trip to the airport. JetBlue lacked a computerized system for recording and tracking lost bags. It did have a system for storing information such as the number of bags checked in by a passenger and bag tag identification numbers. But the system could not record which bags had not been picked up or their location.There was no way for a JetBlue agent to use a computer to see if a lost bag for a partic ular passenger was among the heap of unclaimed bags at airports where JetBlue was stranded. In the past, JetBlue management did not feel there was a need for such a system because airport personnel were able to look up passenger records and figure out who owned leftover bags. When so many flights were canceled, the process became unmanageable. JetBlue uses several applications provided by outsourcing vendor Sabre Airline Solutions of Southlake, Texas to manage, schedule, and track planes and crews and to develop actual flight plans.Sabre’s FliteTrac application interfaces with the Navitaire reservation system to provide managers with information about flight status, fuel, passenger lists, and arrival times. Sabre’s CrewTrac application tracks crew assignments and provides pilots and flight attendants access to their schedules via a secure Web portal. JetBlue uses a Navitaire application called SkySolver to determine how to redeploy planes and crews to emerge from fligh t disruptions. However, JetBlue found out during the Valentine’s Day emergency that SkySolver was unable to transfer the information quickly to JetBlue’s Sabre applications.And even if these systems had worked properly together, JetBlue would have probably been unable to locate all of its flight crews to redirect them. It did not have a system to keep track of off-duty crew members. Overtaxed phone lines prevented crew members from calling into headquarters to give their locations and availability for work. JetBlue’s response to its humiliating experience was multifaceted. On the technology front, the airline deployed new software that sends recorded messages to pilots and flight attendants to inquire about their availability.When the employees return the calls, the information they supply is entered into a system that stores the data for access and analysis. From a staffing standpoint, Neeleman promised to train 100 employees from the airline’s corporate office to serve as backups for the departments that were stretched too thin by the effects of the storm. Chapter 2:of MIS AdditionalBusinesses Use Information Systems Essentials E-Business: How Cases 77 3 JetBlue attempted to address its customer relations and image problems by creating a customer bill of rights to enforce standards for customer treatment and airline behavior.JetBlue would be penalized when it failed to provide proper service, and customers who were subjected to poor service would be rewarded. JetBlue set the maximum time for holding passengers on a delayed plane at five hours. The company changed its operational philosophy to make more accomodation for inclement weather. An opportunity to test its changes arrived for JetBlue just one month after the incident that spurred the changes. Faced with another snow and ice storm in the northeast United States on March 16, 2007, JetBlue cancelled 215 flights, or about a third of its total daily slate.By canceling early, ma nagement hoped to ensure that its flight crews would be accessible and available when needed, and that airport gates would be kept clear in case flights that were already airborne had to return. In the wake of its winter struggles, JetBlue was left to hope that its customers would be forgiving and that its losses could be offset. Neeleman pointed out that only about 10,000 of JetBlue’s 30 million annual customers were inconvenienced by the airline’s weather-related breakdowns.On May 10, 2007, JetBlue’s Board of Directors removed Neeleman as CEO, placing him in the role of non-executive chairman. According to Liz Roche, managing partner at Customers Incorporated, a customer relationship management research and consulting firm, â€Å"JetBlue demonstrated that it’s an adolescent in the airline industry and that it has a lot of learning and growing up to do. † Sources: Doug Bartholomew and Mel Duvall, â€Å"What Really Happened at JetBlue,† Base line Magazine, April 1, 2007; â€Å"JetBlue Cancels Hundreds of Flights,† The Associated Press, accessed via www. nytimes. om, March 16, 2007; Susan Carey and Darren Everson, â€Å"Lessons on the Fly: JetBlue’s New Tactics,† The Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2007; Eric Chabrow, â€Å"JetBlue’s Management Meltdown,† CIO Insight, February 20, 2007; Jeff Bailey, â€Å"Chief ‘Mortified’ by JetBlue Crisis,† The New York Times, February 19, 2007 and â€Å"Long Delays Hurt Image of JetBlue,† The New York Times, February 17, 2007; Susan Carey and Paula Prada, â€Å"Course Change: Why JetBlue Shuffled Top Rank,† The Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2007; Coreen Bailor, JetBlue’s Service Flies South,† Customer Relationship Management, May 2007; Thomas Hoffman, â€Å"Out-of-the-Box Airline Carries Over Offbeat Approach to IT,† Computerworld, March 11, 2003; and Stephanie Overby, â€Å"JetBlue Skies Ahead, † CIO Magazine, July 1, 2002. Case Study Questions 1. What types of information systems and business functions are described in this case? 2. What is JetBlue’s business model? How do its information systems support this business model? 3.What was the problem experienced by JetBlue in this case? What people, organization, and technology factors were responsible for the problem? 4. Evaluate JetBlue’s response to the crisis. What solutions did the airline come up with? How were these solutions implemented? Do you think that JetBlue found the correct solutions and implemented them correctly? What other solutions can you think of that JetBlue hasn’t tried? 5. How well is JetBlue prepared for the future? Are the problems described in this case likely to be repeated? Which of JetBlue’s business processes are most vulnerable to breakdowns? How much will a customer bill of rights help?

Delta Airlines Plays Catch-Up

1. What business risks would Delta is taking if it decided not to catch up with industry leaders in using IT to gain a competitive advantage? Delta would fall behind the industry and its customer expectations. If Delta’s business processes were significantly inefficient and ineffective compared with its competitors, it would lose business. Airline customers are typically operating under time constraints and pressures to catch flights and connections, and they do not want to be inconvenienced by inefficient and ineffective business processes.2. What competitive advantages can an airline gain by using DSS and EIS? An airline can use both DSSs and EISs to uncover areas where the company can create competitive advantages and perhaps first-mover advantages such as self-check in and printing boarding passes from home. First-mover advantages can be enormous and place an organization in the position to significantly impact its market share. A fast follower can also increase its market share by tagging onto the first-movers ideas. It also has the advantage of avoiding some of the mistakes or pitfalls that the first-mover might have made. Of course, a fast follower will only obtain a temporary advantage, as many competitors will begin to implement the innovative IT system.3. What other industries could potentially benefit from the use of yield management systems? Almost all industries could benefit from the use of a yield management system. Like in health care industry for doctor visits and even the telecommunications industry for shared modem services.4. How can American and United use customer information to gain a competitive? Both airlines used their innovative IT systems to gain valuable business intelligence into their customer information. They conceived and rolled out hugely successful frequent flyer programs, which increased the likelihood that frequent business travelers, their most profitable customers, would fly with them instead of with a competitor. Frequent flyer programs require sophisticated computer system to properly account for and manage the flight activity of millions of customers. Ultimately, frequent flyer programs became an entry barrier for the industry  because all airline companies felt they could not compete for the best customers without having their own frequent flyer systems.5. What types of metrics would Delta executives want to see in a digital dashboard? Delta could use throughput and speed efficiency metrics to baseline and benchmark its gate and boarding applications. It could also use usability and customer satisfaction effectiveness metrics to determine the satisfaction in its gate and boarding applications. The dashboard could also contain information on market pulse, customer service, and cost drivers. It should also allow for sensitivity analysis, what-if analysis, and goal-seeking analysis.6. How could Delta use supply chain management to improve its operations? Airline security is one of the hott est topics today. Delta could use supply chain management to monitor luggage, scan bags, and detect bombs and other hazardous material. It could also create a more efficient and effective supply chain allowing the company to pass these savings onto the customer, while making the company more profitable.