Understanding Human Behaviour through Reductionist Approach

Understanding Human Behaviour through Reductionist Approach â€Å"The only way to understand Human Behaviour is to take a Reductionist approach.† Critically discuss with reference to relevant seminal and contemporary literature in psychology. Reductionism can be defined as being the idea that a complex system, such as human behaviour, is nothing more than the sum of its parts and that a description of the system can be reduced to descriptions of the individual components. Many of the main approaches in psychology tend to take a reductionist approach when trying to explain their understanding of human behaviour, including the cognitive approach which uses machine mechanism (using the analogy of machines and their most simple components) to explain human behaviour, such as Berkowitz (1993). The behaviourist approach also tends to be reductionist in how it tries to explain human behaviour, usually reducing behaviour down to simply environmental factors such as reinforcement and punishment. Perhaps the most reductionist approach in psychology however is the biological approach. The biological approach takes a more scientific approach to explaining human behaviour and puts it mainly down to our biology, for example, Lacourse, Boivin, Brendgen et al. (2014) explained that the results from their research suggested that a toddler’s aggression is strongly associated with genetic factors. Many psychologists would agree that â€Å"The only way to understand Human Behaviour is to take a Reductionist approach† for example, Hull (2002) who stated that â€Å"Reductionism at its most extreme asserts that the only level worth investigating is the lowest technologically feasible level. All else is a waste of time.† Given the fact that scientists who use more reductionist approaches to understanding human behaviour tend to get the most grant money for their research, publish the most papers and also tend to make the most scientific advances within psychology, this may be true. However, other psychologists believe that the lower states involved in reductionism do not capture the necessary coherence of the rationalisation relation at the higher level and are known as being anti-reductionist. Biological psychologists explain human behaviour by trying to relate it to the functioning of the brain and the nervous system, relating it to the role of genetic influences and also by putting it down to chemical processes in the brain. These are all reductionist ways to explaining human behaviour due to the fact that, apart from physics, they are the lowest level of explaining behaviour. A prime example of a reductionist explanation to understanding human behaviour such as aggression is through genetics. This type of biological reductionism reduces aggressive behaviour in an individual down to the role of genetic influence, for example Dilalla (2002) concluded from her review on the role of genetics on aggression that there is a â€Å"growing body of evidence on the genetic effects on aggression† with â€Å"the majority of twin and adoption studies on antisocial behaviour in children suggest that genetic effects are important influences† suggesting that aggressive beh aviour is mainly due to the genetic make-up of an individual. This explanation of aggressive human behaviour is solely reductionist and fails to take into account any environmental and cultural factors. The social approach to psychology however, would explain this behaviour through â€Å"The Social Learning Theory† by Bandura (1978), putting aggressive behaviour of a child down to factors such as imitation. Bushman Huesmann (2006) explored aggression in both children and adults, and found that exposure to violence led to participants becoming more aggressive, suggesting that human behaviour such as aggression can be adopted through imitation, leading one to believe that reductionist approaches to human behaviour, such as the biological approach isn’t taking every factor into account that could contribute towards an individual’s behaviour. Reducing human behaviour down to lower levels of psychology that can be studied is useful in trying to understand how things work. Poldrack Wagner (2008) used Atinkson Shiffrin’s (1968) multi-store model of memory in order to assess long-term and short-term memory. This cognitive approach to understanding human behaviour, suggested that remembering information over either the long-term or short-term was due to how we process this information internally. Reducing this behaviour down to a simple component of the individual means that, for example if an individual has long-term memory loss, it is easier to target one specific part of the brain responsible for this, thus easier to treat. However, even though this is a useful aspect of reductionist explanations of human behaviour, some psychologists, such as Hull, would argue that these explanations offer only a simple solution to a much more complicated problem. Depression, for example, according to the biological approach shoul d be treated with anti-depressants as biological psychologists such as Carlson (2005) believe that depression is due to neurotransmitters in the brain. However, social psychologists such as Beattie (2005), who examined the social causes of depression, would say that this is overlooking the real problem which could be issues such as problems within the family. This is a fundamental problem with the reductionist approach to understanding human behaviour; it tends to ignore social and environmental factors that may also contribute towards behaviour and hence when it comes to applying reductionist approaches to everyday life and having implications for human behaviour, the treatments may not be as reliable as they could be. Although there are arguments for â€Å"The only way to understand Human Behaviour is to take a Reductionist approach† there are a lot more anti-reductionist arguments. Anti-reductionist psychologists such as Hull Regenmortel (2002) refer to reductionism in explaining human behaviour as â€Å"as successful as Reductionism has been, it is seriously inadequate and must be supplemented with a more holistic science.† Emotion, for example, is ignored by reductionist explanations due to the fact that it is seen as impossible that an individual’s emotions can be explained through lower levels of psychology, such as neurotransmitters. Thus, factors such as emotion can only be truly explained by less reductionist approaches such as an individual is happy due to the environment that surrounds them, not due to biological factors. A further approach to understanding human behaviour is taking into account the role of the environment. Reductionist biological approaches do not consider the environment when explaining human behaviour, however there is a lot of research suggesting that although an individual is born with certain biological traits, such as genes, environmental factors, for example an individual’s upbringing and people they are exposed to predominately shapes an individual’s behaviour further. However, taking an environmental approach to understanding human behaviour is also reductionist, but psychologists specialising in this area such as Brent are starting to integrate the small parts into the whole. In 1995, Brent assessed risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicidal behaviour and stressed the importance of environmental factors such as family, as well as biological factors on these risk factors. Taking a more holistic approach like Brent (2005) instead of a reductionist approach to understanding human behaviour tends to take many factors into account instead of just reducing an explanation down to its simplest form, thus can lead people to believe that a more holistic approach to understanding human behaviour is a lot more valid and reliable as, for example, when treating an individual of an illness such as depression, not only will the biological aspect of the illness be treated with anti-depressants, but the social aspect of the illness can also be treated with a form of counselling. Using a reductionist approach to understanding human behaviour can be seen to be not so useful when trying to explain individual factors due to the fact that reductionist explanations, although they are reduced to the lowest levels of psychology and thus are in the simplest form, generalise behaviour to a target population. Maguire, Gadian, Johnsrude et al. (2000) found that the amount of time spent as a London taxi driver positively correlated with the volume in the posterior hippocampus and from this, suggested that â€Å"the posterior hippocampus stores a spatial representation of the environment and can expand regionally to accommodate.† Here, Maguire et al (2000) have generalised their study of male, London taxi drivers to the population as a whole. Every individual is unique and so it would not be right to generalise these findings to everyone as the same behaviour in people may be due to different explanations, such as our biology and the environment. In conclusion reductionist approaches to understanding human behaviour can be seen to have led to further scientific advances within psychology due to the fact that reductionist approaches make it easier to find the cause of human behaviour, meaning that it is then easier to treat, by reducing the explanation down to its simplest form. However, as discussed, there are many problems and critiques of the reductionist approach to understanding human behaviour, with the main problem being that the reductionist approaches leave out vital factors such as the environment and social factors when explaining behaviour, thus by using a reductionist explanation it does not give a full explanation for a complex subject such as human behaviour, whereas taking a more holistic approach such as a humanist approach, takes many different factors into account. Therefore, reductionist explanations, is limited when it comes to understanding and explaining human behaviour. Samantha Carlisle

Benjamin Franklin :: essays research papers

Benjamin Franklin: New World Physicist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston Massachusetts. He was one of seventeen other brothers and sisters. His father, Josiah Franklin, who emigrated from Oxfordshire, England, worked as a soap boiler and tallow chandler. Benjamin’s mother, Abiah Folger, was from Nantucket but her family derived from England as well. Benjamin Franklin’s entire life, which lasted almost the entire eighteenth century, was based upon order and systematic discipline in addition to his dependence on wisdom and intelligence. Franklin was sincere, honest, and was apt to self-examination. He acquired long lasting friends from persons of every age. Franklin found unquestionable delight in living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Benjamin Franklin started attending school at the age of 8 and was at the head of his class by the end of his first year. After only attending his first school for one year he moved on to math and arithmetic school. He failed out of that school by the time he was 10. He then quit school completely in order to assist his father in the soap and candle making business. At age 12 he moved on to be an apprentice to his older brother James, who was a printer. Soon Franklin had ambitions to write and by age 16 he had written a series of letters by an imaginary author. The letters were printed in the New England Courant, which was published by his brother. Still pursuing his writing career, he ran away to Philadelphia and continued working in the printing business. He arrived in 1725 with one Dutch dollar and one copper shilling. By 1729, he had bought and published The Pennsylvania Gazette. He then married his landlady’s daughter, Deborah Reed. In the next seventeen years Franklin had three children, published the first Poor Richards Almanac, and invented the Pennsylvania fireplace, among many other things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1747, Franklin began his electrical experiments and then retired from the printing trade. His book, Experiments and Observations on Electricity, was published soon after that. The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 and Franklin wrote anonymously in London newspapers against the act, which was repealed the next year. In 1771, he wrote the first part of his autobiography, three years before his wife died. In 1776, Franklin, along with Adams, Livingston, Jefferson and Sherman, drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted on July 4, 1776. Later in 1776, Franklin was elected as the Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention and appointed one of the three commissioners to the French Court. Benjamin Franklin :: essays research papers Benjamin Franklin: New World Physicist   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston Massachusetts. He was one of seventeen other brothers and sisters. His father, Josiah Franklin, who emigrated from Oxfordshire, England, worked as a soap boiler and tallow chandler. Benjamin’s mother, Abiah Folger, was from Nantucket but her family derived from England as well. Benjamin Franklin’s entire life, which lasted almost the entire eighteenth century, was based upon order and systematic discipline in addition to his dependence on wisdom and intelligence. Franklin was sincere, honest, and was apt to self-examination. He acquired long lasting friends from persons of every age. Franklin found unquestionable delight in living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Benjamin Franklin started attending school at the age of 8 and was at the head of his class by the end of his first year. After only attending his first school for one year he moved on to math and arithmetic school. He failed out of that school by the time he was 10. He then quit school completely in order to assist his father in the soap and candle making business. At age 12 he moved on to be an apprentice to his older brother James, who was a printer. Soon Franklin had ambitions to write and by age 16 he had written a series of letters by an imaginary author. The letters were printed in the New England Courant, which was published by his brother. Still pursuing his writing career, he ran away to Philadelphia and continued working in the printing business. He arrived in 1725 with one Dutch dollar and one copper shilling. By 1729, he had bought and published The Pennsylvania Gazette. He then married his landlady’s daughter, Deborah Reed. In the next seventeen years Franklin had three children, published the first Poor Richards Almanac, and invented the Pennsylvania fireplace, among many other things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1747, Franklin began his electrical experiments and then retired from the printing trade. His book, Experiments and Observations on Electricity, was published soon after that. The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 and Franklin wrote anonymously in London newspapers against the act, which was repealed the next year. In 1771, he wrote the first part of his autobiography, three years before his wife died. In 1776, Franklin, along with Adams, Livingston, Jefferson and Sherman, drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted on July 4, 1776. Later in 1776, Franklin was elected as the Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention and appointed one of the three commissioners to the French Court.

Social and Moral Values in Relation to the Downfall of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream. Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental neces sities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity. Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status. Social and Moral Values in Relation to the Downfall of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers ‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream. Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental neces sities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity. Gatsby hasn’t just lost his morals but also his sense of family because he has created such an elaborate illusion. Catherine scrutinizes the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald pg 37). The marriage had become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald, pg 125). More than his morals, Gatsby loses all sense of family, his wealth has metaphorically become it. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of shallow family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status.

The Power of Myth Essay examples -- Literary Analysis, Joseph Campbell

According to Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, one archetypal mythic hero appears in diverse cultures in different forms. Two protagonists in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki share similar heroic characteristics despite their different backgrounds and cultures. One of the concepts explained in The Power of Myth is the stages of human development. Campbell states that â€Å"As a child, you are brought up in a world of discipline, of obedience, and you are dependent on others. All this has to be transcended when you come to maturity, so that you can live not in dependency but with self-responsible authority† (Campbell 87). Thor and Santiago both experience the stages of human development, from dependence to maturity. In The Alchemist, Santiago decides to become a shepherd and travel the world, disobeying his parents who want him to be a priest. When his father says â€Å"Amongst us, the only ones who travel are the shepherds†, Santiago makes up his mind to become a shepherd. (Coelho 9). In Kon-Tiki, Thor was disappointed and discouraged because his theory is rejected and ignored by people. However, soon, he decides to sail the sea with few other people to show that his theory is right. Thor says to his friend, â€Å"I’m so sure the Indians crossed the Pacific on their rafts that I’m willing to build a raft of the same kind myself and cross the sea just to prove that it’s possible† (Heyerdahl 23). Santiago’s making his own decisions and Thor’s taking action to get out of his helpless situation show their developments to the more mature human beings. According to The Power of Myth, one of the characteristics of hero is to encounter troubles. He explains, â€Å"The trials are designed to see to it that the intending hero sh... ... by giving money to prepare sailing, and equipments that they need while sailing. Also, when they struggle to settle on the land, the native people help Thor and his companions. Native people helped them settle the raft on the island, and to reach the destination. According to Thor, the native inhabitants â€Å"pointed westward indicating that they were heading toward dangerous reefs† (Heyerdahl 182). Listening to this, they got prepared for the dangerous way and succeed go through there. These examples demonstrate that the two protagonists escape from their troubles with the help of other people. In conclusion, the two characters in The Alchemist and Kon-Tiki share similarities in their stages of human development, encountering troubles, and getting help from other source. These supporting details illustrate the universality of the characteristics of mythic heroes.

Asperger?s Syndrome Essay -- essays research papers

Asperger’s Syndrome Today there are many different types of disabilities and syndromes. When you have a child to be diagnosed with a disability or a syndrome life can suddenly become overwhelming. This is especially true if they have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Parents sometimes feel guilty because their child has a disability or syndrome. Parents may feel that they are responsible for their child’s disability or syndrome. Parents may feel guilty about their child being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome since it is a neurological disorder. This particular syndrome is not widely recognized by the general public. Since Asperger’s Syndrome is not widely recognized by the general public, the public sometimes may not understand the behavior of someone who has Asperger’s Syndrome. This can be a challenge for a parent who tries to explain their child’s behavior to someone who has never heard of Asperger’s. Parents until recently may have known thei r child was behaving in an unusual manner but did not where to go for help. These are just some of the challenges that parents’ face when their child has Asperger’s because it has some of the same characteristics as Autism. This paper will review the definition and characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome, what assessments are available to diagnose Asperger’s Syndrome, and what particular children are most often diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s Syndrome was not made an official disorder until 1994. Asperger’s was discovered by Hans Asperger in the 1940's. Asperger’s Syndrome is different from autism and is under the category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Asperger has a long definition. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV of the American Psychiatric Association (cited in Klin & Volkmar, 1995) Asperger’s syndrome follows the same format as autism. The definition of Asperger’s syndrome actually uses autism as a reference point. Asperger’s syndrome involves the absences of some abnormalities in certain areas of functioning that are affected in autism. People with Asperger’s can be highly intelligent. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV of the American Psychiatric Association (citied in Klin & Volkmar, 1995) the definition of Asperger Syndrome there is a qualitative impairment in social interaction. There should be at least tw o of the following imp... ...elligent but have odd behaviors. We as educators need to understand the behaviors of children with Asperger’s Syndrome so they will not get left behind in the classroom. With on going research maybe in the future there will be one diagnostic test that all clinicians can use to properly identify someone with Asperger’s Syndrome. When a child is labeled with Asperger’s Syndrome remember this child can be highly intelligent but with some odd social behaviors. References Attwood, T. (1998). Asperger’s syndrome: A guide for parents and professionals. New York: Jessica Kingsley. Klin, A., & Volkmar F. R. (1995). Asperger’s syndrome: Guidelines for assessment and diagnosis. January 22,2005 from http://www.aspennj.org/guide.html Rubin, E. & Laurent, A. C. (2004). Implementing a curriculum- based assessment to prioritize learning objectives in asperger syndrome and high functioning autism. Topics in Language Disorders, 24(2),298-315. Tsatsanis, K. D., Foley, C., & Donehower, C. (2004). Contemporary outcome research and programming guidelines for asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Topics in Language Disorders, 24(2), 249-259.

Employee Handbook Privacy Section Essay

According to Connelly, Roberts, and McGivney, LLC (1998), â€Å"in today’s workplace computers and electronic communications are the norm rather than the exception† (p. 1). With technology, rapidly advancing electronic communication is becoming essential. This creates a challenge for organizations on how and what to monitor when it comes to its employees. This paper will address the issue of privacy in the global workplace and give suggestions on what privacy rights issues should be addressed, as well as what the company’s position should be in response to its privacy rights. Lastly, it will define how organizations privacy protections may limit the company’s liability and how privacy protections enhance employee motivation and productivity. Privacy Rights to be Addressed The majority of employees expect to have a certain amount of privacy in the workplace. Nevertheless, there are times where the employer may have a justifiable reason to monitor or investigate the employee’s within its organization. The following provides some business practices that may be imposed to assure the honesty of the organization and the employees within the organization. One privacy right that should be addressed is drug testing. Drug testing helps to ensure the safety of the workplace. According to Jankanish and Husbands (1993), â€Å"drug and alcohol testing programs should fit within existing arrangements for ensuring the quality of work life, employee rights, the safety, and security of the worksite, and employer rights and responsibilities (e.g. protection of the public interest)† (p. 105). The testing should ensure the worker’s rights and confidentiality of the results. Another issue to be addressed is background checks on potential new hires. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has set guidelines and standards for organizations to follow when implementing a background check. According to Alison Doyle (nd), â€Å"the FCRA defines a background check as a consumer report. Before an employer can get a consumer report for employment purposes, they must notify you in writing and get your written authorization† (p. 1). Even if an employer is just running a basic check for inquiry purposes they must still get permission from the employee. The purpose of the background check is to ensure that information that was provided from the applicant is truthful, and some organizations require certain security clearances, or the individual may be applying for a position that works closely with children. The employer still needs to have permission from the applicant in ord er to run these background checks. Lastly, the employer needs to protect the privacy of employee personal information. According to Brian Koerner (nd), â€Å"twenty five percent of all identity thieves are known by the victim – whether it be a friend, relative, or co-worker† (p. 1). Employers need to take steps to keep personal information such as social security numbers, home addresses, and phone numbers safe. This information if obtained by the wrong person could lead to identity theft. Employers need to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to keep employee information confidential. This can be done by utilizing an employee number rather than the employee’s social security number, make sure that personal information is not posted where it is easily accessible, only allowing acceptable personnel to handle confidential information, and dispose of information and documentation appropriately (about.com). Limiting Liability It is important that companies understand the different potential corporate and personal liability when preparing, planning, implementing or maintaining a n employee privacy handbook section. Companies must remain aware of potential issues that may need to be addressed in order to remain proactive and avoid liability pitfalls. There are many areas of potential liability an organization that includes negligence, liability under the privacy act, loss, or misuse of personal records, and criminal liability. In order to provide an organization with the most liability protection, they must be aware of what these liabilities are. Negligence is the failure to provide reasonable care, which result in damages to another person or company. If a company or organization does not take reasonable care to provide adequate protection for their employees or customers’ information and the employee or customer suffers damages, the organization may be legally responsible for the amount of loss suffered. In order to avoid negligence, organizations must be proactive and provide adequate security. The Privacy Act was created to ensure that companies are obligated to provide protection in ways that they retain, collect, use, and disclose personal information (Bushkin, p. 1). Companies covered by the Privacy Act are required to protect private and personal information they hold. Companies must avoid misuse and loss as well as unauthorized access. Whether it is physical protection or electronic protection, companies must provide a reasonable level of security. Companies who act negligent and cause excessive damages to individuals or customers may face criminal liability. Companies must act appropriately when dealing with private or personal information. Intentional misuse of personal or private information may result in criminal proceedings. Companies must take reasonable measure to ensure that the security systems in place adequately protect their employees and customer’s information. It is unlikely that an organization will be held responsible for information lost due to security attacks provided that they have acted reasonably in their attempts to protect the information (Givens, p. 1). Companies can face significant damages and a direct loss in business as well as liability to third parties if they do not proved the necessary security measures. By designing, developing and implementing a strong security policy as well as educating employees on how to handle private and personal information, companies can protect themselves and t heir employees from potential liabilities. It may be necessary for companies to audit their employees to ensure that information is not being misused. Addressing the laws required in the employee handbook regarding privacy will consist of the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). A PIA is an analysis of how information is handled: (1) to ensure handling conforms to applicable legal, regulatory, in addition, policy requirements regarding privacy, (2) to determine the risks and effects of collecting, maintaining, and disseminating information in identifiable form in an electronic information system, and (3) to examine and evaluate protections and alternative processes for handling information to mitigate potential privacy risks (September 26, 2003). When addressing the laws regarding privacy in the employee handbook the following processes will occur. Whenever any agency makes a determination under this section not to amend an individual’s record in accordance with his or her request, or fails to make such review in conformity; or fails to maintain any record concerning any individual with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is necessary to assure fairness in any determination relating to the qualifications, character, rights, or opportunities of or benefits to the individual that may be made on the basis of such record, and consequently a determination is made which is adverse to the individual; or fails to comply with any other provision of this section, or any rule promulgated there under, in such a way as to have an adverse effect on an individual, the individual may bring a civil action against the agency, and the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction in the matters under the provisions of this section (September 26, 2003). The court may order the agency to amend the individual’s record in accordance with his request or in such other way as the court may direct. In such a case the court shall determine the matter de novo. The court may assess against the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this paragraph in which the complainant has substantially prevailed (September 26, 2003). The court may enjoin the agency from withholding the records and order the production to the complainant of any agency records improperly withheld from him (September 26, 2003.) In such a case the court shall determine the matter de novo, and may examine the contents of any agency records in camera to determine whether the records or any portion thereof may be withheld under any of the exemptions set forth in this section and the burden are on the agency to sustain its action (September 26, 2003). The court may assess against the United States reasonable a ttorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this paragraph in which the complainant has substantially prevailed (September 26, 2003). In any suit brought under the provisions of this section in which the court determines that the agency acted in a manner, which was intentional or willful, the United States shall be liable to the individual in an amount equal to the sum of actual damages sustained by the individual as a result of the refusal or failure, but in no case shall a person entitled to recovery receive less than the sum of $1,000; and the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court (September 26, 2003). An individual’s name and address may not be sold or rented by an agency unless such action is specifically authorized by law (September 26, 203). This provision shall not be construed to require the withholding of names and addresses otherwise permitted to be made public. Matching agreements, no record, which is contained in a system of records, may be disclosed to a recipient agency or non-Federal agency for use in a computer-matching program except pursuant to a written agreement between the sources agency and the recipient agency or non-Federal agency specifying (September 26, 2003). Having this section in the privacy handbook takes some ethical considerations because providing key rules and regulations in protecting someone’s personal information is extremely important. Due to the amount of technology in this day of age moreover, the amount of identity theft it is crucial to protect personal information. Having trust and security is an ethical consideration for the fact that someone will feel protected by the laws and the company. Corporations are faced with challenges everyday on how to protect their employees. By implementing and using the employee handbook privacy, section this will help to keep these companies records safe and secure for the employees. Technology has made it too easy for hackers to access information so by regulating how the information is kept will help to ensure the safety of the employee’s information. What this paper covered is the issue of privacy in the global workplace and gave suggestions on what privacy rights issues should be addressed, as well as what the company’s position should be in response to its privacy rights. Lastly, it defined how organizations privacy protections may limit the company’s liability and how privacy protections enhance employee motivation and productivity. With all of these guidelines in place the employees will have a better sense of security in the workplace. References Bushkin, Aruthur A. The Privacy Act of 1974 A Reference Manual for Compliance. Retrieved October 30, 2006 from http://www.cavebear.com/nsf-dns/pa_history.htm Connelly, Roberts, and McGivney, LLC. (1998). Privacy Issues in a High-Tech Workplace. Retrieved October 29, 2006 from http://library.findlaw.com/1998/Mar/1/130358.html Doyle, A. (nd). Background Check: Employment. Retrieved October 29, 2006 from http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/backgroundcheck/a/background.htm Givens, Beth. Legislative Hearing, Privacy Rights. Retrieved October 30, 2006 from http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/outsourcing-privacy.htm Jankanish, M. & Husbands, R. (1993). Worker’s Privacy. Retrieved October 29, 2006 from http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9221087468&id=eisbpZMK4qkC &pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=what+privacy+rights+issues+should+be+addressed&sig=zL07cCOHNB7lOgu2Z9RwX8sBASg Koerner, B. (nd). Is Your Employer Protecting Your Personally Identifiable Information? Retrieved October 29, 2006 from http://idt heft.about.com/od/workplaceidentitytheft/p/workplacePII.htm The Privacy Act of 1974. 5 U.S.C.  § 552a  § 552a. Records maintained on individuals as Amended, Updated page September 26, 2003. Retrieved on October 30, 2006 from http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/privstat.htm

Cell and Molecular Biology

Cell and Molecular Biology Final Name: Hadeel Binomar30 pts. Protein misfolding can be an aspect of several different human disorders, including cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerosis. Many times, the misfolded protein is a membrane protein. In fact, a type of diabetes insipidus results from a mutation in the G-protein-coupled vasopressin 2 receptor that prevents the protein from making it to the cell membrane A) Describe how this type of receptor would normally get targeted to the membrane (from the beginning of translation) and B) then propose one mechanism by which the mutation could cause a lack of proper targeting. One of the most important protein's target is G protein-coupled receptors, several signaling mechanisms depend on this type of receptor to change both internal and external stimuli to the intracellular responses. Basically, one of the G couple receptor subfamilies is G-coupled Vasopressin-2- Receptor (V2R), and this receptor is going through a strict quality control process at the endoplasmic reticulum, which presents the only correctly folded protein to gets through the secretory pathway. The primary function of the V2 receptor is to activate the attached G protein that bound to the ? subunit then phosphorylated to GTP. The G protein couple receptor then activates the enzyme adenylate cyclase that catalyzes the reaction in the ER and forms cAMP from ATP. After that, cAMP acts as a second messenger and activates a protein kinase that phosphorylates the integral membrane proteins on the cell surface. Moreover, the secretory pathway organelles' and the plasma membrane both are first introduced into the Endoplasmic reticulum, and the co-translationally proteins that can cross the ER are synthesized by the ribosome first then binds by chaperones to gets moves to the ER surface using GTP that allows them to move toward the receptor then release it. The soluble proteins and the integral membrane proteins as I mentioned above, can be targeted through the ER and then translocated by the same mechanism.Further, several mutations occurring in the transmembrane region which affect the structure of the protein. These are multiple mutation sites, such as mutations occurring in the amino acid residues which was acting as a causative agent for human disease. Also, there are other mutations occurring on the single site position that will affect the translation mechanism and cause many human diseases like: cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, and atherosclerosis that proves the function of V2R protein which plays important role in the translation during the protein folding process. One of the mechanism that may a reason for lacking the proper target protein is when the mutations of the CFTR gene occurring and affect the function of the chloride ion channels and cause defect in the protein sequences which lead to the production of diseases and misfolded of the proteins that are unable to recognize their functional destinations. Otherwise, Lack of the stop signals is another issue that prevents the protein from getting into the surface of the ER, also called the non-stop decay cellular pathway, because lack of this stop signals prevents mRNA from synthesis and translate the proteins, these consider as a point mutation that inhibits the essential stop codons. 30 pts. Describe the experiment shown in figure 3 from the paper we discussed in class (Miller et al, 2003). (A) In your description, consider the following questions: Why did they do it? How did they do it? What did they learn? (B) Diagram the results that you would expect to see in Lanes T, 1, 2, 3, and 4, if the amino acid signal DID in the protein Gap1p was mutated to random amino acids and tell why; and (C) Give two possible (different) results that might occur if the amino acid signal LxxLE in Bet1p was mutated to the amino acids DID (which are the signal in Gap1p). Diagram the results expected in Lanes T, 1, 2, 3, and 4 and explain why you predicted this result for each case.left20840701.A001.A4467225201739500The experiment was performed to study the role of cargo binding domain of Sec24p in the process of protein sorting. To perform this study, both mutant and wild types subunit Sec23/24p and Sec23/24L616W were harvested from microsomal membranes. The immunoblotting assay performed to quantify cargo molecules using radio-labeled secondary antibodies. Comparison of the mutant subunit with wild type illustrated omission of some molecules in mutant one, these molecules were cargo protein molecules. While some of them are packed in a way that similar to the wild-type. It meant that there were some signals that remained unaffected although mutation was there. Unexpectedly, it was found that in these unaffected molecules of mutation in Sec23/24p, packaging was better than the wild type. Further, they found the proteins that were highly affected had Bet1p and Gap1p/Sys1p chimera, because they completely depending on the Sys1p di-acidic of COPII vesicles. If the amino acid signal DID in the protein Gap1p was mutated to random amino acids, the resulting bands would be seen as in figure 1. A because the amino acids might be present in all the lanes. And Gap1p is required for di-acidic motifs to fuse together with the COPII vesicles at the mutated domain. Also, Sys1 peptide is not involved in Sec 23/24p hence its mutation is not contained in a di-acidic motif. If the signal LxxLE was mutated to the DID, the expected Bet1p packaging would be shown in figure 2. A as not be seen in lanes containing Bet1p because the amino acid signal LxxLE does not exit after mutating to amino acids DID. The second probability for the Bet1p would be expected to bind with the vesicle for packaging when it interacts with di-acidic motifs which is needed as shown in figure 2.B290512515621000581025113030004781550412752.B002.B6286501346202.A002.A20 pts. Explain the experiment shown in Figure 5C from the Shen et al. (2018) paper on the phosphorylation of CDC25 that we discussed in class. In addition, be sure to also address the following: A) why did they do this experiment (the central issue); B) what did they learn; and C) what is another control experiment they could have done? D) Would these results change if you added a constitutively active form of LKB1 to the reaction? If so, how and why? A) Overall, the main purpose of this paper is to explain how the division of cells is highly regulated such that cells that fail to pass some specific stage-based tests cannot advance to the proceeding stages. In this particular experiment, HeLa cells were subjected to chemicals that are known to activate the enzyme AMPK. Also, the main catabolic processes that are involved to generate energy for cells to transition from G1/G2 were determined by the application of radiochemical approaches, the experiment required to approve how highly conserved cellular energy sensor can significantly delay mitosis entry and activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Further, Wee 1 family inactivates the cell cycle G2/M Phase which is controlled by Cdc3/cyclic B (mitotic cyclin-dependent kinase complex). They found that AMPK-dependents phosphorylation of CDC25C arranges a metabolic control point for the M-phase transition and the cell cycle phase G2. B) Also, they learned that suppression of Wee 1 or acute induction partially reinstates mitosis ingress in the circumstance of activated protein kinase (AMPK). This experiment showed that when Phosphorylates Cdc25 is in a distributive and disordered state, it results into ultra-sensitivity in protein phosphorylation. C) For another control experiment, they might try exposing the U2OS (cell line) clones conditionally exhibiting Cdc25A etoposide. That will help to test whether Cdc25A degradation is significant for the G2 control point or not.D) If they add an active form of LKB1 to the reaction, the results will not change, because in cells LKBI activity inhibits AMPK activation in response to different stimulations. Also, LKBI is lost upon consistent isolation and therefore no effects of phosphates observed.20 pts. Briefly describe the role of cyclin-CDK in the cell cycle and give an example of positive and negative control in this system. Also, describe how cell cycle regulation links to the stimulation of apoptosis at the molecular level. In the beginning, the cell cycle depends on many basic factors that control the regulation process starting from the signal transcription molecules, growth factors and the Cyclin Dependent Kinases enzymes include the checkpoints which control the transition process between the cell cycle phases by binding to the cyclin proteins CDKs then phosphorylate other proteins to transfer from one phase to another. The role of transcription factors is to turn on the signals for gene expression, DNA replication, and cell divisions. As an example of CDKs, cyclin-dependent kinase 1 CDK1 is a cell division cycle protein homolog 2, that has a primary role in human cancer cells because CDK1 rather than any types of CDKs is fatal to the mutated version of MYC- dependent cancer that leads to a depletion of oncogenes like (Fos and Jun) in human cancer cells. Fos and Jun are combined forms of the transcription factor called AP1 that activates the delayed response genes such as cyclin D and CDK4. Recent studies reveal that the reason for the MYC breast cancer cells duplation is targeting CDF1 exhibit any other CDKs cell lines. Also, CDK1 inhibition can control and target the cancer cells in human and both phosphorylation and expression of MYC during the cell cycle process. To initiate intracellular signaling pathways and stimulate the cell cycle entry, mitogens substance bind to the cell surface receptor with the activation form of GTPase Ras that activates MAP kinase cascade. That will lead to the expression of encoding gene of the transcription regulatory protein like MYC. Moreover, E2F transcription factor is a target for cyclin D and CDKs that stimulate proteins expression to initiate S phase, also E2F regulated by the tumor suppressor gene Rb (Retinoblastoma protein). At early G1 Phase, Rb protein combined with E2f to form the histone deacetylases protein that remains chromatic condensed, then cyclin kinase phosphorylates Rb protein, causing it to disassociate from E2F. That allows recruitment of histone acetylates, which decondense the chromatin and helps transcription complexes to form in G1 and S phase and to form a positive feedback. For the negative control, if there are no growth factors present to stimulate the synthesis of Cyclin D in the new cell, Rb phosphorylated will turn off, and Rb will rebind to E2F, then the cell cycle will stop and that will lead to many negative results like prevent it to bind with DNA, or DNA damage and cells will return to the G0 phase. Apoptosis is a consequence of DNA damage; if the damage is not repaired, the cell cycle will divert towards apoptosis, otherwise, if the cell has DNA defects and fail to undergo apoptosis, that will change to the cancer cell. G1 phase regulators such as P53 and E2F are essential to promote the cell regulations and eliminate any damage or abnormal changes during the cell cycle. P53 has a primary function to prevent any mutation in DNA during cell progression, so any defect in P53 will lead to cancer, and it's usually mutated in cancer cells. Further, Rb protein considers as a tumor suppressor and also promotes apoptosis. Additionally, most human cancers have inactive Rb protein, either mutated Rb or the non-phosphorylated (inactivated form) of Rb protein