Does creativity in its many forms relieve stress Essay

Does creativity in its many forms relieve stress - Essay Example lessness, Decreased sexual drive, Loss of appetite, Anxiety, Depression, Outbursts of anger. Long terms effects are more dangerous can be in the form of : Chronic head ache, Mood swings, Anxiety disorder, Substance abuse, Memory disturbances, Heart attack and strokes due increased blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol, Weight loss, Exacerbation of allergies including asthma, Irritable Bowel disease, Ischemic Bowel disease like Crohn's disease, Decreased sexual drive, sleeplessness.( Beware! Stress Could Cause Serious Long-Term Effects) The outcome of stress can be either a positive or a negative product depending on how the person deals with it and responds to the situation he's in. If negativity is adopted depression and failure are the end results expected. It is even proven medically how stress can reduce the immunity and a person can be more susceptible to diseases ranging from simple cases as flues and complicated cases such as cancer. On the other hand if a positive attitude is taken creativity can produce wonderful establishments. Stress this unconscious habit, can be dealt with usually in two ways; one is that stressed people repress it into their deep inner feelings which is definitely not healthy i.e. becoming victims, or they express their anger on a person present at the wrong time and wrong place. "Victims internalize their anger and bullies externalize it."(Pragito). Stress management can be through various techniques. Exercise and hobbies are a way of expressing the stress, some people even keep a journal in order to record any stressful event they pass through in order to put it behind their back and try to forget about it, once written it is forgotten. Hobbies such as writing, singing, listening to calm music, dancing and meditation -which is becoming popular nowadays in terms of spirituality building a balance between the body and the mind (Anna)- in other words any creativity form is a live illustration of stress relievers. Many studies indicate how lower stress levels are associated with a higher creativity level, even at the level of elementary school children where this can be a grand step to help future generations to have a lower stress level than present nowadays through creative thinking skills development (Bonita, 1). Creativity in order to be effective can be put into five steps: (Paul) 1. Preparation of information at hand or digging up new data to help in dealing with a problem causing the stress at hand 2. Incubation of the issue and investigating it thoroughly, 3. Enlightenment, which comes at directly or at an unknown moment. 4. Evaluation the solution that evolved and examining it carefully to ensure this is what is really needed. 5. Implementation of the proposal attained from the proceeding steps and putting it in operating action. Some organizations adopted the TQM Total Quality Management approach to decrease the stress levels present in its firms and become more productive in quality values too.

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business

Ethical Dilemmas in a Business Introduction Ethical Dilemmas often occur in business situations as well as everyday life. These could be simple problems such as whether to lie about deadline requirements in order to get work done faster, or something complex such as manipulation of facts and figures in financial statements. The core value system of the person making any such decision plays a huge role in the extent of his or her ethical manipulation. Competitve pressure on the other hand can force people to make ethical decisions radically different from what their value system might relay. This is a problem that is widespread in todays business environment, where stepping on someone else ensures an easier platform for growth. The model of The ends justify the means has overwritten a lot of the value based ethics which was heavily ingrained in our psyche. This report hopes to make simple guidelines which will allow one to make decisions keeping a humane as well as ethical approach which emphasizes the Right decisions, not the Easy ones. Business Scenarios Entailing an Ethical Dilemma Some of the best learning regarding any Ethical dilemma occurs when one experiences it firsthand. These problems occur when we are unprepared for it, thus a pre-determined framework would prove extremely useful. Ethical decision making deals with moral issues: A moral issue is present where ever individual actions, when freely performed, may harm or benefit others (Jones, 1991, p. 367). An ethical decision is defined as a decision that is both legal and morally acceptable to the larger community whereas an unethical decision may be regarded as either illegal or morally unacceptable to the larger community (Jones, 1991, p. 367). Thus let us have a look at some examples of Ethical Dilemmas which would require such Ethical Decision Making. Company Bankruptcy and Employee Loyalty Lehman Brothers which was a premium investment bank until its Chapter 11 bankruptcy declaration in September 2008 was a preferred employer for over 25000 people and their families. The company evoked a vehement sense of loyalty and pride, but bankruptcy changed all that. Lehman Brothers Services India LTD, which is the outsourcing and knowledge center in India received the news on a Monday, employees which included the author himself resolved themselves to jumping ship before even trying to see if they could do anything to help the firm. This is an ethical dilemma since on the one hand the employer has helped support the families of its employees, however on the other hand the employee has to decide quickly about the future course of action which will affect his or her family. A possible solution which would have been feasible was for the employees to provide their utmost support to management in order to steer the company out of rough waters. This is a difficult decision to make since it may even involve no pay during the period of bankruptcy, and hence almost no employee chose this decision. Service Bonds in Companies A widely used vehicle in corporate culture today is service bonds, issued by the company against almost all its new employees. These simply state that the employee must stay within the employ of the company for a certain duration before switching companies and/or leaving the job, failing which he or she would be penalized a certain amount of money. The Ethical Dilemma appears here mainly when the employee gets hired by the company while he or she may have an offer or opportunity in the near future. A prime example is when freshers are hired out of college, but they are waiting for an MBA admission. The job is just a failsafe option, and as soon as said MBA admission goes through, the employee will leave the firm. This is an Ethical Dilemma on both fronts, from the point of view of the employer as well as the employee. On the one hand, the bond is in itself a vehicle which does not hold any value in a court of law. Thus most companies will harass the employee but ultimately they are unable to recover any of the amounts mentioned in the bond, however they do withhold experience and relieving certificates. On the other hand the employee himself signs up for the training knowing full well that he or she may be leaving the job early, it is a very hedonistic approach, and is done only for self benefit, he or she does not care whether the company hired him or her keeping in mind requirements, and does not bother about the damages the company may incur due to a sudden loss of an employee. A possible solution here, which is unfortunately infeasible is a full disclosure on the part of the employee while joining up a company, this would usually result in the employer not hiring said employee to prevent any problems should the employee suddenly leave. Credit Sharing in the Workplace As rational human beings most of us understand the value of teamwork. The workplace however emphasizes this in order to have smooth and uninterrupted functioning. Teamwork is a prime requirement for any employee who joins any firm. One of the biggest ethical dilemmas faced both as an employee as well as a manager is how best to recognize individual contribution in a team based environment. It would be wishful thinking to assume that all employees contribute equally to the success of a project, thus the emergence of performance rewarding was born in the workplace. Here employees are gauged on individual performance in a team context, their contributions, mistakes as well as ideas are all assessed and suitable reward systems are kept in place. This however results in what is known as Credit Sharing whereby employees try to gain credit for work that they had a minimal contribution in. This usually happens when the work itself provides a sizeable benefit to the project, either in terms of revenue generation or cost minimization. Employees who were unrelated to this work still try to leverage it since it could provide a boost to their immediate future in terms of salary raise, or promotions. A possible solution to such a problem unfortunately cannot be found, this is simply because it is highly dependent on individual ethics to determine how low he or she may be willing to stoop to gain credit where credit was never due. Management unfortunately also cannot efficiently monitor this since it might result in inefficiencies in overall management of the project. Guidelines for Self for Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas An easy way to create a guideline for self to deal with Ethical Dilemmas, one needs a reference model of some kind which will allow for such a guideline to be created in the first place. Moral Dilemmas and Ethical Dilemmas both share a common thread in that they deal with moral issues at their core. Thus for a decision maker to act ethically he or she must (a) recognize a moral issue, (b) make a moral judgment, (c) give priority to moral concerns and establish a moral intent, and finally (d) act on the moral concerns (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 3). Thus logically it would be a necessary condition that the moral agent in this case the decision maker should be able to recognize a moral dilemma. This is highly relevant since pressure or competition usually dull our senses in this regard, since profits or immediate gains will be present and must be decided upon. However the severity of the moral dilemma elicits a moral impulse which could be radically different from what rationality tells us to pursue. What this means is that we may be more prone to making moral/ethical decisions, when we are able to identify the severity of the problem at hand. This is referred to as moral intensity and is a prime candidate for allowing ethical decisions to be made. Let us have a look at how some external factors could influence decision making and use them to form a basic guideline for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Effect of Stress or Competition on Ethical Decision Making Stress is deemed as having a negative effect on leaders decision making by preventing them from recognizing ethical/moral dilemmas which their decisions could entail. Time related deadlines have an effect which could result in limited focus and to cognitive biases. It also makes leaders have less access to external information sources (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 11). Thus a primary rule of thumb which we should ensure while dealing with any decision that could involve moral issues is Prevent or reduce stress while making a decision, since studies have shown that stress influences ethical decision making primarily through its effect on pro-social behavior or the willingness and motivation to take others interest into account (Jex et al., 2003) Studies also show that a root cause of stress related problems comes from the reward or lack of thereof which results in stress related ethical failings in managers (Selart and Johansen, 2010, p. 12). Effect of Globalization on Ethical Decision Making Globalization is the new mantra by which todays companys move. It ensures competitive advantage by reducing costs and promoting more profitable sales opportunities, it also results in a diversified and distributed workplace. This is one of the prime causes of ethical dilemmas. Being distributed could result in marginalization of branch employees when decisions affecting corporate culture or financials get made; this is often seen in the case of a lot of the leading multinationals which operate with an IT arm in India. Another great challenge for managers in global business is the misunderstanding of their decisions due to conflicting moral compasses of their stakeholders from different cultures, which could result in their best decisions being, confounded (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). An effective tool suggested to counter this is the Global Moral Compass which allows for managing complex moral challenges that business leaders cannot ignore, as well as providing an adaptive framework which allows for linking diverse value propositions and wisdom traditions (Thompson, 2010, p. 1). This is the global moral compass for business, its 4 parameters include. Vision Moral vision is the true north of the moral compass; the spiritual, affective aspect of moral identity expressed in the power of myth, narrative, and images representing core values. Code it is the moral code by means of which one lives ones life, this code is enhanced by personal experience and is ever changing. Fitness Moral fitness is the symbolic aspect of moral agency; it is ritualized action that expresses and reflects the vision and values of moral identity. Performance Performance is the proof of the pudding the intentional aspect of moral agency demonstrated in concrete decisions and behavior (Thompson, 2010, p. 13-14). Thus some more rules of thumb can be generated via the means of globalization and its effect on ethical decision making Globalization requires a more complex set of moral principles which guide decision making; this is enhanced by the use of the global moral compass which can be used to point decisions to the right direction. Globalization requires that the culture, socio-economic situations, geographies as well as history of stakeholders involved be understood to a certain degree, before a decision benefitting them all can be made. True value addition can be had when all the stakeholders are in almost full or full agreement with decisions made, thereby we may need a certain degree of inclusivity to be incorporated in decision making to ensure that stakeholders are completely in sync with the decisions being taken. Effect of Monetary Gain in Ethical Decision Making In recent times a lot of unethical decision making has been uncovered in terms of financial misreporting done by CEOs and other top ranking officials of various companies. The lure of money is thus viewed as a serious barrier in ethical decision making; this is something even laymen can understand. Simple financial incentives like bribes given to government officials influence how fast they perform work, and as such is an ingrained habit in the minds of people today especially in a corrupt bureaucracy like Indias. However studies have found that it cannot simply be narrowed down to the lure of financial incentives that lead to such behavior, other factors including CEOs narcissism, shareholders expectations and subordinate silence as well as CEOs dishonesty could all be possible causes for such unethical decision making (Chen, 2010, p. 1). Now the study also aims to look just beyond financial remuneration as a source of ethical failing on the part of the CEOs, since a lot of them have contributed to charities of some kind or the other (contributions themselves being significant). Thus this evidence suggests that simply CEOs character flaws cannot conclusively be used to resolve this ethical failing (Chen, 2010, p. 2). Some factors which could influence this include Moral or Ethical standards present in the country of origin, cultural norms which influence managerial behavior, corporate and individual corruption levels in the country of origin and incorrect assessment of information due to inflated self expectations in terms of performance. All of these factors can lead to unethical decisions being taken mainly in regards to financial reporting of the firms performance. However we must also identify the effect that stakeholders can cause on mangers when it comes to financial reporting or ethical decision making. Ever increasing expectations, continuous percentage improvement requirements and unrealistic targets all have a direct influence on managers and CEOs making the decisions that they do. However most people are ready to brush this aside as it would result in the blame being spread across people rather than rest squarely on a single person, this unfortunately is a Scape-Goat mentality and is highly ingrained in the psyche of the general populace as was amply demonstrated by the victimization of Mr. Kalmadi in the Commonwealth Games scandal in India. More attention needs to be paid to the responsibilities of shareholders, financial analysts and the financial press in setting realistic expectations for companies. Simply focusing on improving the ethical behavior of individual CEOs without removing this root cause is unlikely to have much effect on the level and frequency of misreporting (Chen, 2010, p. 15). Thus the rules of thumb which we can garner from the above include. While making financial decisions, it is better to make it keeping multiple trustworthy people in the loop, this ensures that decisions although signed off by a single entity (the CEO) would still be ratified by multiple people. The key point here is that decisions made collectively have the possibility of dissonance among stakeholders making said decisions, which would lead to further questioning of the decisions and thus a more refined and correct decisions can be made. Altruistic perspectives aside, stakeholders themselves should be able to handle negative results and management must have enough moral fiber to take the right decision in letting the stakeholders know of any failings without fear of castigation. Effect of Communication in Ethical Decision Making In todays competitive environment, communication or a lack of thereof can lead to decisions being made which may seem unethical. Information is a powerful tool which can prevent decisions which can negatively affect people. Thus communication of this information from the holders to the decision makers becomes paramount to ethical business decisions being made effectively and efficiently. Communication on corporate culture itself can have a positive impact on ethical decision making in the workplace, we thus explore the use of a Business Code of Ethics or BCE which is a pre-requisite in recent times for any company in operation. The BCE simply conveys acceptable behavioral norms and rules which are active in the workplace, and could prove to be an efficient tool in curbing unethical decision making which managers might make in the absence of such an instrument. Studies however show that such a BCE comes with several limitations, this could include, frequency of communication of the BCE, quality of communication used, reinforcement of the BCE via actions of top management, level to which the BCE is ingrained in the decision making of middle and lower level management and finally overall adoption of the BCE via the general populace in the workplace. Communication in this regard is mainly seen via the means of this code of ethics. Now this could result in certain limitations with respect to achievable targets, or patterns of behavior which can be deemed acceptable to meet said targets, however in the long run it is observed that this has a positive impact on both the quality of work culture ingrained in the organization, as well as individual ethical standards which permeates through the employee base (Kaptein, 2010, p. 16). Thus some takeaways from communication and BCE include Effective communications of acceptable ethical standards have a significant positive impact on both workplace culture as well as individual ethical/moral standards improvements. Although a certain degree of compromise must be made in terms of performance for enforcing said ethical standards, it will have a positive impact in the long run and will allow the company to overcome any future negative impacts which may have occurred had such a provision not been in place. Conclusion Thus all throughout we have seen that just external factors alone cannot be used as the final determinant of ethical decision making abilities of an individual. He or she can also influence the surroundings and make decisions which can be both Right as well as beneficial to the maximum number of people, not just his or her organization. This is illustrated by the use of effective communication, utilizing the moral compass, reduction the impact of stress and financial incentives and finally realizing that the individual has to take the ultimate responsibility of his or her decision, and although redemption may be found by attributing any fallacies to external factors, the price will still have to be paid by the individual who made the decision.

The Life and Work of Chaim Potok :: essays research papers

The Life and Work of Chaim Potok Chaim Potok lives a very full life he has served his country, peoples, and religion very well and with great impact. First, to be discussed is his life birth through the present. He was born at a very early age on February 17, 1929, in New York, New York to Benjamin and Mollie Potok. The first university he went to was Yeshiva University where he graduated in 1950 with a B.A., summa cum laude, in English Literature. He also went to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he left with an M.H.L. and a rabbinic ordination in 1954. Finally, he graduated the University of Pennsylvania with a doctorate in philosophy in 1965. Mr. Potok is married now since June 8, 1958, to Adena Sara Mosevitzsky. They have 3 children Rena, Chaim worked for the better of his people and religion with both his occupations and his writings. He worked as an instructor at the University of Judaism 1957 to 1959. He was on the faculty of the Teachers Institute, Jewish Theological Seminary from 1964 to 1965. He was also editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society of America 1965 to 1974. He is currently the chairman of the Publication Committee at The Jewish Publications Society. Chaim Potok also served his people and religion through all of his writings which are all in some way related to or involve Judaism. Now, to go in-depth into his writings. First, his novels. The first novel Potok wrote was The Chosen, which won him the Edward Lewis Wallant award, in 1969, here is a quotation about that book: "So why did Potok's book make such a heavy impression on me?... he takes a meager story, told in plain words, about two Jewish boys who are radically unlike me and turns it into something so universal I couldn't help getting pulled in by it. " -Lea Davis The next novel he wrote was the sequel to The Chosen, The Promise, in 1969, which also won him an award, The Athenaeum Prize. After that, he wrote My Name is Asher Lev in 1972. His next novel In the Beginning was written in 1975. Then he wrote The Book of Lights in 1981. In 1985 he wrote Davita's Harp. In 1990 he wrote The Gift of Asher Lev which won him The National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. Which brings us to his most recent novel I Am the Clay from 1992. Chaim Potok also wrote a couple of children's books The Tree of Here and The Sky of Now in 1993 and 1995 respectively. The Life and Work of Chaim Potok :: essays research papers The Life and Work of Chaim Potok Chaim Potok lives a very full life he has served his country, peoples, and religion very well and with great impact. First, to be discussed is his life birth through the present. He was born at a very early age on February 17, 1929, in New York, New York to Benjamin and Mollie Potok. The first university he went to was Yeshiva University where he graduated in 1950 with a B.A., summa cum laude, in English Literature. He also went to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he left with an M.H.L. and a rabbinic ordination in 1954. Finally, he graduated the University of Pennsylvania with a doctorate in philosophy in 1965. Mr. Potok is married now since June 8, 1958, to Adena Sara Mosevitzsky. They have 3 children Rena, Chaim worked for the better of his people and religion with both his occupations and his writings. He worked as an instructor at the University of Judaism 1957 to 1959. He was on the faculty of the Teachers Institute, Jewish Theological Seminary from 1964 to 1965. He was also editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society of America 1965 to 1974. He is currently the chairman of the Publication Committee at The Jewish Publications Society. Chaim Potok also served his people and religion through all of his writings which are all in some way related to or involve Judaism. Now, to go in-depth into his writings. First, his novels. The first novel Potok wrote was The Chosen, which won him the Edward Lewis Wallant award, in 1969, here is a quotation about that book: "So why did Potok's book make such a heavy impression on me?... he takes a meager story, told in plain words, about two Jewish boys who are radically unlike me and turns it into something so universal I couldn't help getting pulled in by it. " -Lea Davis The next novel he wrote was the sequel to The Chosen, The Promise, in 1969, which also won him an award, The Athenaeum Prize. After that, he wrote My Name is Asher Lev in 1972. His next novel In the Beginning was written in 1975. Then he wrote The Book of Lights in 1981. In 1985 he wrote Davita's Harp. In 1990 he wrote The Gift of Asher Lev which won him The National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. Which brings us to his most recent novel I Am the Clay from 1992. Chaim Potok also wrote a couple of children's books The Tree of Here and The Sky of Now in 1993 and 1995 respectively.

Compare and Contrast ‘Crow Lake’ and ‘Warren Pryor’

In the modern day, millions of students of all ages from around the globe attend schools and universities solely for the purpose of receiving an education. The reason as to why education is one of the most important elements in life is because it helps individuals gain wisdom and awareness, and essentially achieve more success in their lives. The importance of education also happens to be one of the central elements in Mary Lawson’s ‘Crow Lake’, as well as in ‘Warren Pryor’, a poem written by Alden Nowlan. To begin with, one most first realize the true value of education.We are introduced to this concept when we see the extents to which Warren’s parents go in order for their son to be able to receive an education, rather than to labour on a farm. In the first stanza of the poem, Alden describes: â€Å"His parents boarded him at school in town, slaving to free him from the stony fields† (Nowlan 2-3). Alden is able to achieve imagery in hi s reader’s mind by his use of diction. The selection of words such as ‘slaving’ creates a powerful evocative effect, as it highlights how much an education is truly worth. On the other hand, Kate is also making similar conclusions.While reflecting on her university education, she explains: â€Å"I had discovered by then that Great-Grandmother Morrison was more right than she knew about the power of education [†¦] she’d had no idea of the other doors it could open† (Lawson 187). This passage reveals Kate’s experiences with success and her realizations about the true potential of formal education. Another common element between the protagonists of the novel and the poem, is the financial struggles they have to face and the sacrifices they have to make. Alden Nowlan describes Warren’s situation with: â€Å"When every pencil meant a sacrifice† (Nowlan 1).This line introduces the reader to a taste of poverty, where something as uncostly as a pencil can mean a sacrifice. Similarly, Kate retells: â€Å"Money was too tight for me to go home for short breaks† (Lawson 188). This shortage of money in the Morrison family translates into separation of the members from each other. Therefore although the two characters are faced with different situations, the lack of money becomes an issue for both the protagonists, as well as their families. However, Kate and Warren begin to contrast each other in their attitude towards receiving an education.While Kate sees her university as the ultimate path to a brighter future, she explains: â€Å"The World was spreading itself out before me; I felt that I could go anywhere, do anything. Be anyone. † It is clear that she realizes her opportunity to change her life for the better, and she is prepared to take advantage of it. While on the other hand, Warren Pryor does not seem to be a man of books and learning. Although he was able to finish university and successfu lly get a job, the last stanza explains: â€Å"And he said nothing. Hard and serious like a young bear inside his teller’s cage† (Nowlan 13).While ironically this life of hard work and success means little to Warren, in order to avoid disappointment from his parents, he chooses to remain silently inside his teller’s cage. Although these two pieces of literature have a few differences and points of contrast, for most of the parts they’re significantly relevant. Mary Lawson and Alden Nowlan both use unique methods of bringing a subject to life, whether by in depth development of a character, or through biblical and religious references. Overall, both pieces deal with the central concept of the importance of education in today’s world, for both the individual and the society.

Blood Buffer Essay

Objectives: After completing this exercise and reading the corresponding material in your text, you should be able to 1. Prepare a wet mount slide 2. Identify structures described in this lab on slides 3. Cite examples of the wide diversity of cell types 4. Relate differences in structure among cells to functional differences Introduction Structurally and functionally, all living things share one common feature: all living organisms are composed of cells. The development of this concept began with Robert Hooke’s seventeenth-century observation that slices of cork were made up of small units he called â€Å"cells.† Over the next 100 years, the cell theory emerged. It was formally (and independently) presented by Schleiden and Schwann in 1839, and clarified by Virchow a few years later. This theory has three principles: (1) All organisms are composed of one or more cells. (2) All life processes derive from the activities of cells. (3) All cells arise from preexisting cells. Living organisms are composed of one or many cells, and every activity that occurs in a living organism is ultimately related to metabolic processes in cells. Understanding the processes of life requires an understanding of the structure and function of the cell. Although cells vary in organization, size, and function, all share certain structural features. All are enclosed within a plasma membrane, defining the boundary of the living material. All contain a region of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which forms the genetic code. Inside of the plasma membrane is watery cytoplasm, and the chemical processes inside the cell occur within this watery medium. Upon microscopic examination, we see there are two basic types of cells, prokaryotic and eukaryotic, see the table below to see a comparison of the two cell types. For these following exercise you should use the highest magnification possible, because you will be able to see more detail, and you should record your observations at this magnification. Always begin with the lower magnifications, once you have found your specimen center it and focus it before increasing the magnification. We will not be using the 100X objective because it requires special handling and immersion oil, so you should use the 40X objective for most observations. What is the total magnification of a sample view with the 40X objective? Remember there is a lens in the ocular that magnifies the image 10x, so the total magnification will be 40 x 10 = 400X. Exercise 1: Examining Prokaryotic cells 1. What types of organisms are prokaryotic? 2. What structures are found in a Eukaryotic cell that will not be visible in a Prokayotic cell? 3. Examine the specimens available at the back of the classroom. Locate a prokaryotic cell and bring it back to your microscope. Name of specimen: ____________________ 4. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch your specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. Exercise 2: Examining Eukaryotic cells The cells on which we focus most of our attention are relatively large and complex, although many details of their structure are only evident with electron microscopy. The word eukaryote derives from the visible nucleus found in most of these cells. No one cell will show all of the features that a cell might have, so you will be observing a variety of eukaryotic cells. Protist cells: The protist kingdom includes eukaryotic unicellular forms (e.g., protozoans, algae, slime molds) as well as some simple multicellular forms. Many are mobile; some are photosynthetic; others are animal-like, ingesting food particles, or fungi-like, secreting digestive chemicals into the environment. Protists are diverse, often having complex cells. 1. What structures do you expect to see in these cells that was not evident in the prokaryotes you saw? Cultures of mixed protists and/or pond water are available in lab. Many different forms may be found in these cultures, including amoebas, flagellates and ciliates. (Many classifications of protists are based on how they move – with flagella, or cilia, or neither of these.) 2. Examine the specimens available at the back of the classroom. Locate the cultures of protist cells. You will examine two separate cultures. One of the cultures you’ll examine is the â€Å"Mixed Pond Protists,† you can pick which specimen you’ll examine for your second sample from the other cultures present in class. Make a wet mount of each culture, drawing material from the debris at the bottom of the culture jar. Name of specimen #1: Mixed Pond Protists Name of specimen #2: ____________________ 3. Observe first with scanning power (4X objective), looking for movement. If you don’t see anything, wash the material back into the jar and get another drop. Once you have located organisms, observe on higher power (40X objective). If the protists are moving very rapidly, they may swim out of the field of view. In this case, remove the coverslip and add a small drop of Detain. Detain is a thick solution that will help slow down the protists. REMEMBER THAT THE MICROSCOPE LIGHT IS HOT. Turn it off when you are not looking at the slide. 4. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch each specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. 5. What evidence do you see that protists are eukaryotes? 6. Attempt to identify the protists you have observed. There are several keys to protists available. Your instructor can help you use the keys if you’re not familiar with how they work. Write the name of your protists and your rationale for identification based on the characteristics in the key into your notes. When you have finished looking at your slide, place the slide in the bleach water. Plant cells: Plant cells are different from animal cells in many ways. 1. Name three ways plant cells differ from animal cells below. As in animals, cells of plants are organized into tissues, aggregations of similar cells performing a common function in a multicellular organism. In this part of the lab, you will look at several types of plant cells. Onion epidermal cells: 1. Make a wet mount of a colorless scale of an onion bulb by peeling the thin, membranous layer from the inside of one of the bulb scales and placing it on a slide in a drop of water. This usually works best if you partially slice through a ring, allowing the thin layer of tissue on the inner surface of the leaf to be pulled off. Use forceps to arrange the tissue in a drop of Iodine on a slide and cover with a cover slip. 2. Observe your preparation with the microscope, focusing first with the scanning power objective. Continue your study, switching to the low power (10 X) and finally the high power objective (40 X). 3. What shape do most of these cells have? What structure maintains this shape? 4. What structure is stained by the iodine? 5. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch each specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. 6. Which cellular components present in most leaf cells are absent from onion leaf cells? Elodea leaf cells: 1. Remove a single young leaf and prepare a wet mount. Examine the leaf first on scanning power, then on low power. 2. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch each specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. 3. After the cells have warmed a bit from the light of the microscope, you may see cytoplasmic streaming. Microfilaments in the cytoplasm are thought to be responsible for this intracellular movement. What cellular structure do you see moving around the cytoplasm? Animal cells: Human epithelial (cheek) cells: 1. Using the broad end of a clean toothpick, gently scrape the inside of your cheek. Stir the scrapings into a drop of saline and a drop of Methylene Blue on a clean microscope slide and add a cover slip. Do not reuse your toothpick. DO NOT PUT IT BACK WITH THE CLEAN TOOTHPICKS AND DON’T LAY IT ON THE TABLE. Discard it in the BIOHAZARD bag. 2. Because the cells are almost transparent, decrease the amount of light entering the objective lens to increase the contrast. Find the cells using the low power objective of your microscope, then switch to the high power objective for detailed study. Find the nucleus of a cell. Many of the cells will be folded or wrinkled due to their thin, flexible nature. 3. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch each specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. 4. Dark specs on the cells are bacteria, similar to the E. coli you looked at earlier. How big are these bacterial cells relative to your cheek cells? Discard this slide into the bowl containing the bleach water. Sheep’s blood (wet mount): Blood consists of two parts – a liquid portion (water + proteins) called plasma, and a cellular portion, containing many different cell types, including erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs), and leukocytes or white blood cells (WBCs). Red blood cells are red because they contain a lot of the oxygen-carrying molecule hemoglobin. The blood sample we have has been treated chemically to prevent clotting. 1. Prepare a wet mount by placing a drop of saline and a small drop of blood on the slide. Add a cover slip. Examine a portion of the slide in which the blood is diluted. 2. Examine your specimen under the microscope. Sketch each specimen under 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any internal or external structures visible. 3. What is missing from these cells that is found in eukaryotic cells? 4. How do the red blood cells compare to your cheek cells in size? What shapes are the cells? Discard this slide into the bowl containing the bleach water. Cells Review Questions Your answers should be specific and to the level of the lecture, book and lab manual. You may need to use outside sources. 1. What characteristics do all cells have in common? 2. What characteristics are common to all eukaryotic cells but not found in prokaryotic cells? 3. Would you expect that all the living cells you saw in lab contain mitochondria? Explain. 4. Did all living plant cells you observed contain chloroplasts? Explain. 5. Describe as many differences as you can between plant and animal cells at a cellular level. Do any of these differences relate to the organismic differences we see between plants and animals? Explain. 6. How do prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells compare in size? 7. How would you compare a protist cell to a cell from your body, a cheek cell for example, in terms of complexity at the cellular level?