Importance Of Staphylococcus Aureus To Humans Biology Essay

Importance Of Staphylococcus Aureus To Humans Biology Essay The bacterial genus to be isolated and identification in this project is Staphylococcus. This genus has been chosen for the reason of its abundance on the skin of mammals and the pathogenic nature of one of its member, Staphylococcus aureus. Apart from skin infections, Staphylococcus aureus could mutate to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In both cases, these give rise to medical implications. In addition, the distinctive features of Staphylococcus aureus from other species in the genus allow it to be easily isolated and identified via culturing and biochemical tests. Staphylococcus was first discovered in 1880 by Alexander Ogston (Paniker 2005, p.192). Currently, more than 30 different species of the genus has been identified (Deurenberg Stobberingh 2008). The name Staphylococcus was derived from Greek, with the prefix Staphylo referring to bunches of grapes and the suffix coccus referring to granule (Ryan Ray 2004). As the meanings suggest, bacteria from Staphylococcus are circular-shaped and their arrangement resembles bunches of grapes when observed under a microscope. Typically, a Staphylococcus has a diameter of approximately 1ÃŽÂ ¼m (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.562). The aim of the project is to isolate Staphylococcus aureus from the genus from a bundle of cat hairs and verify its identity via microscopic examination. No human specimen is used due to the potential pathogenic property of Staphylococcus. It is intended that a pure culture of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus is obtained. For the purposes of this project, the importance of Staphylococcus aureus to humans, its classification in terms of morphology, physiology and structure, methods of isolation and identification by biochemical tests would be the objectives to be addressed. Importance of Staphylococcus aureus to humans The importance of Staphylococcus aureus to humans would be outlined by a review of the cell structure, cell physiology and environmental niches, followed by the medical implications of Staphylococcus. Cell structure Staphylococcus is a cocci bacterium. As a member of the Bacteria domain, it is expected that Staphylococcus has bacterial cell structure. In other words, it lacks nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. The structural elements in a cell of Staphylococcus should include a cell membrane, cell wall, ribosome and nucleoid (Campbell et al. 2009, p.98). On the other hand, it is worthwhile to note that Staphylococcus does not have flagella and spores (Paniker 2005, p.193). In addition to the above structures, Staphylococcus aureus possesses surface proteins that help attachment to proteins such as the fibronectin and fibrinogen-binding proteins involved in blood clotting (Baron 1996). This cellular property may explain the pathogenic nature of Staphylococcus aureus, as invasion might occur via wounds and abrasions. Cell physiology The cell physiology of Staphylococcus covers temperature, pH, osmolarity and oxygen requirements, as well as cell division. Staphylococcus typically grows from a temperature of 20oC to 40oC, with optimum temperature being 37oC (Todar 2000). Concerning the optimum pH for metabolism, it ranges from 7.4 to 7.6 (Paniker 2005, p.193). For osmolarity, Staphylococcus requires a water activity of at least 0.85 for substantial growth (Todar 2000). As for oxygen requirement, Staphylococcus is facultative anaerobic (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.562). This implies Staphylococcus can grow regardless of the presence of oxygen, but the presence of oxygen would be more favorable. Environmental niches The environmental niches of Staphylococcus can be addressed by its interactions with other organisms as to where it is found, how it synthesizes nutrients for growth and mutation. Staphylococcus is commonly found on the skin and mucous membranes of animals with stable body temperatures, including humans (OGara and Humphreys 2001, p.583). The salty environment along skin surface due to the production of sweat may account for the abundance of Staphylococcus, since its enzymatic activity is at alkaline pH (Blood et al. 2007). The prominent bacteria from the genus include Staphylococcus aureus, which colonizes in nasal cavity, larynx and on the skin surface (Andersson, Lindholm Fossum 2011). This may outline a parasitic relationship, in which Staphylococcus is the parasite and the animal supporting its growth is the host (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.725). In the presence of oxygen, Staphylococcus utilizes glucose to carry out cellular respiration, and electrons are passed on to the terminal acceptor, oxygen (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.562). When oxygen is lacking or absent, Staphylococcus may undergo fermentation and lactic acid is the usual product (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.562). In the process, glucose is converted into substrate pyruvate, followed by its binding to the cofactor Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) to produce lactic acid (Campbell et al. 2009, p.178) The interactions of Staphylococcus with the environment may also be underlined by mutation, which often occurs with Staphylococcus aureus. An example would be Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to the antibiotic, Methicillin (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.562). The mutation is caused by an alteration of the methicillin-resistance gene (mec A) coding for a penicillin-binding protein (Davis 2011). This results in failure of antibiotics to cure infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, which will be addressed in the medical implication section. Medical implications of Staphylococcus Staphylococcus can present a great diversity of environmental, medical or biotechnological implications. Being a mesophile, Staphylococcus can carry out metabolism under normal room temperature. Together with the abundance of warm-blooded animals which act as hosts to provide a salty medium, it can be said that Staphylococcus has an environmental implication of ubiquity. Statistics show that Staphylococcus aureus is present in 30% of healthy people (National Centre for Preparedness, Detection and Control of Infectious Diseases 2003). Though Staphylococcus may colonize on the skin surface of the host without causing any harms, its ubiquity can still give rise to various medical issues. The MRSA mentioned previously would be one of the problems associated with Staphylococcus. Apart from methicillin, MRSA could show resistance against many other antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin (Agodi et al. 1999, p.638). The ineffectiveness of existing antibiotics to cure MRSA infections has resulted in fatality, and it is usually characterized by the incidence of septic shock and pneumonia (Klevens et al. 2007). A rapid increase of MRSA infections has been observed over the decades. The rate of hospitalized MRSA infections was only 2% in 1974 but this figure increases dramatically to approximately 40% in 1997 (Lowy 1998). This causes deaths of 19000 in t he United States of America annually (Klevens et al. 2007). As Staphylococcus colonies on skin surfaces and mucous membrane, skin infections and diseases associated with mucous membranes could be another medical implication. It is known that Staphylococcus aureus may cause Scalded Skin and Toxic Shock syndromes. Moreover, it may cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections, food poisoning (Gill et al. 2004, p. 2426). Classification of Staphylococcus The classification of Staphylococcus can be reviewed in terms of its morphology and some of the physiological properties stated above. Morphology The morphology of Staphylococcus can be described as cocci gram positive bacteria arranged in a cluster. This can be explained by its property of cell wall and its behavior in cell division. The cell wall of Staphylococcus shows a gram positive reaction, which indicates its composition is essentially a thick layer of peptidoglycan (Todar 2011). This property of cell structure helps the identification of Staphylococcus. Moving on to cell division, it can be predicted that Staphylococcus reproduce by binary fission. The reason for its cluster formation may be explained by its capability of undergoing binary fission in multiple planes with daughter cells remains proximal to each other (Paniker 2005, p.192). Though the daughter cells remain in close proximity, the positions of attachment could vary and this leads to cluster being formed irregularly (Todar 2011). Physiological properties In terms of thermal requirement, Staphylococcus is a mesophile. Regarding pH requirements, it is a neutrophile. Being a facultative anaerobe, Staphylococcus is catalase positive. The absence of flagella indicates that Staphylococcus is a non-motile bacterium. In addition, Staphylococcus aureus is coagulase positive but not for other species in the genus. As light is not readily available on skin surface and mucous membranes, it is proposed that Staphylococcus obtain energy via organic chemical compounds. Hence it is regarded as a chemotroph (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.137). The facultative anaerobic property of Staphylococcus may lead to a deduction that it utilizes organic carbon as the source of electron when oxygen is present. Though some Staphylococcus may use reduced forms of inorganic nitrates to generate electrons, its preference towards an aerobic atmosphere should define it as an organotroph (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.137, 562). When comes to carbon source, Staphylococcus is a heterotrophy (Kumar, Hatha Christi 2007). That is to say, it attains its carbon source by converting organic substances for synthesis via oxidation (Voet, D, Voet, JG Pratt CW 2008, p.449). To sum up, Staphylococcus should be one of the members of the microbial group Chemoorganotrophic heterotrophs. Methods of Isolation of Staphylococcus The methods of isolation of Staphylococcus would include growing in medium followed by streak plating. Growth media To ensure optimum growth of colonies, Staphylococcus should be enriched in nutrient broth with sodium chloride (NaCl) before plating on a nutrient agar. A nutrient broth normally consists of beef extract and peptone as fuels for growth (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.148). The addition of salt allows a selective medium for Staphylococcus as it predominantly grows in salty environment. Alternatively, a growth medium can be done via a Mannitol salt agar (MSA), which consists of 7.5% of NaCl and a pH indicator. MSA essentially acts as both a selective and differential medium. NaCl selects for saline-favored Staphylococcus and the pH indicator differentiates between Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Differentiation can be illustrated by the fact that Staphylococcus aureus utilizes mannitol in the agar for metabolism, and the generation of acidic product is indicated by a yellow color. However, this phenomenon does not apply to non-pathogenic Staphylococcus (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.147). Streak Plating Following enrichment, Staphylococcus in the medium can be transferred to an agar plate with nutrient broth and salt, by employment of aseptic techniques. At the same time, a transfer to an agar plate with only nutrient broth should be performed as a control set-up. This is to ensure the effectiveness of the selective media because other bacteria could grow on the agar plate if the medium was not set up properly. Afterwards, the plates would be incubated for a week. Incubation should be done at 37oC as it is the optimum temperature for Staphylococcus to grow. Plating and incubation should be repeated a few times to make sure that the colonies grown are pure. Identification by biochemical tests The identity of Staphylococcus cannot be confirmed by carrying out the gram reaction alone due to the fact that a great variety of bacteria from other genus may also show gram positive reaction. Therefore, some biochemical tests have to be performed to verify that the bacteria isolated is in the genus of Staphylococcus and it is of the species Staphylococcus aureus. These tests include catalase, motility and cogulase. First of all, as Staphylococcus aureus is facultative anaerobic, it is expected that it contains enzymes to break down harmful products such as free radicals generated along its aerobic pathway (). In this case, the enzyme of interest is catalase, in which its presence allows the breakdown of toxic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into oxygen and water (). Therefore colourless gas bubbles can be observed when H2O2 is added to a colony of Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, as Staphylococcus aureus is non-motile, motility test can be performed. In a motility medium supplied with carbon source, a pink color can only be observed along the stab line (). This essentially means that the growht Staphylococcus aureus is localized and its colonies are not motile. Furthermore, the identification test between Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria from the genus would be based on its reaction with coagulase. Staphylococcus aureus readily coagulates plasma but not for others species in the genus (Willey, Sherwood Woolverton 2011, p.750). To ensure accuracy of the test, it is preferable to test on colonies extracted from culture plates that are known to contain coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative Staphylococcus epididymis respectively. The former acts as a positive control, while the latter acts as a negative control. Conclusion In conclusion, Staphylococcus is a ubiquitous bacterial genus that can pose various medical implications and it can be grown, isolated and identified based on its, environmental niches, morphology, physiological and structural characteristics. The aims of isolation and identification of Staphylococcus aureus can be achieved by a review of the four objectives as summarized below. Firstly, it is often found on epidermis of animal skins including humans and its ability to metabolize optimally at 37oC and at pH of 7.4-7.6 makes it a potential pathogen to humans. In particular, the species Staphylococcus aureus can cause a great diversity of diseases and the mutated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus could be fatal owing to its resistance to most antibiotics. Secondly, it can be classified by in terms of morphology and some of the physiological characteristics. Its morphology is gram positive cocci bacteria growing in clusters. It is a mesophile, nuetrophile and facultative anaerobe. It is catalase positive and only Staphylococcus aureus is coagulase positive. The energy, electron and carbon sources of Staphylococcus aureus can be described as chemoorganotrophic heterotrophic. Thirdly, regarding growth medium, the sample of cat hair should be enriched in a medium of sodium chloride before incubating on an agar plate of nutrient broth and salt at 37oC. The colonies should be streaked plated a few times to remove contaminants. This increases the efficiency of isolation of Staphylococcus aureus. Lastly, Staphylococcus aureus can be identified by the catalase, motility and coagulase tests. It is expected that bubbling is observed as a positive result with the catalase test. As for the motility test, a negative test is expected. In other words, no growth is observed across the stab line. Clumping of plasma is seen as a positive result and this differentiates Staphylococcus aureus from other species in the genus.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALIZATION ON TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY Essay

While discussing the topics of trade, development and political economy, globalization is often discussed. In general, globalization means a process in which world economies become highly integrated, leading to a global economy and highly global economic policymaking, through international agencies such as the World Trade Organization (Todaro & Smith, 2006). Since late 1980s, the increasing globalization in the manufacturing sector and service sector has also globalized the telecommunication industry. A large number of telecom companies are expanding rapidly from their home countries to other countries in order to increase their customer base and their sales, off course. Globalization has with it many challenges and economic benefits too. For many economists, globalization can cause serious troubles in the whole world, such as inequality is accentuated, environmental degradation, and dominance of rich countries etc. But at the same time proponents of globalization are of the view tha t globalization leads to the rapid growth of knowledge and innovation and improved living standards. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF GLOBALIZATION How globalization occurred or which forces gave birth to this phenomenon? The three chief economic and financial indicators that led to globalization are:  The international trade of goods and services, the widening and freeing of trade has led to globalization to increase at a rapid pace. The greater flow of capital because of growth of global capital markets. Globalization of financial sector is the most influential aspect of economic globalization. The greater movement of people around the globe has also contributed to rapidly growing globalization, breaking down cultural barriers. Globalization means integration of different markets in the global economy. Globalization may occur in different markets such as financial markets, commodity markets and even in the service sector (Scholte, 2000). Producers and consumers and national economies as a whole benefit from the process of globalization. For example, economies may benefit from specializing themselves in particular products in which they have comparative advantage. Firms may become cost competitive through globalization by accessing to cheap raw materials from other countries. Similarly, benefit of economies of scale is achieved through access to large markets and higher demand for products, thus reducing average production cost of the firm. Large multinationals are the main carriers of economic globalization. They are globally aligning their production and resources according to the principle of profit maximization. GLOBALIZATION OF TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY- CASE OF VODAFONE Initially telecommunication industry was owned and controlled by state-owned national telecommunication companies. But with the passage of time, innovation in technology and globalization has transformed the nature of telecommunication industry. Globalization has opened up markets and brought competition in this sector. National telecommunication companies were being privatized and the industry deregulated to make it competitive. All over the world, the multinational companies have become the main vehicle for accelerating globalization. Vodafone, a British multinational telecommunication company, is the world’s leading telecommunication having significant existence in Europe, United States, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. It is one of the most rapidly flourishing global companies, which started as a holder of one of the first two mobile communications licenses in the UK and now it’s a dominant global brand. (Ibbott, 2007) provides a view that Vodafone created a social network that was involved in mergers and acquisitions and  deployment of a global network of mobile technology that serves a proportionate mobile customer base of 198.6 million in 2006. Ibbott (2007) explained what really globalization means as â€Å"A global company is one that permits its local operations to act in the image of the market locally and yet can act in a truly homogeneous way with respect to the supply and provision of its core products and services† Vodafone is a global company as its sourcing and supply chain activities are transferred to be entirely global for the major part of its investment, while services remain local (Ibbott, 2007). Globalization does not mean to open operations and branches in other countries but to make its operations global, not directed by the head office located in the parent country. CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALIZATION ON TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY- CASE OF VODAFONE Globalization has become a vital aspect of the global economy and strongly influences the comparative advantage of economies. (Salvatore, 2004) examined the effect of globalization on the comparative advantage of Europe for several goods and concluded that Europe has a comparative disadvantage in telecommunication with respect to Japan, United States and Dynamic Asian countries. The degree of globalization is a significant element in examining the international competitiveness of economies. Large multinational corporations are enjoying the benefits of globalization, the most. Almost 50 percent of total profits of Vodafone came from foreign sales, i.e. Asia Pacific and Middle East region. The CEO of UK-based Vodafone Group talking about global leadership said (Yunker, 2008), â€Å"Less than 5 percent of our profits comes from UK. We have had to fundamentally redesign this company as a global company. We are a highly consumer-centric company. In Germany, we feel German. In Italy, we feel Italian. In Spain, we feel Spanish. In India, we feel Indians.† Vodafone has experienced fall-out in Japan in 2005. It released â€Å"Converged-Handset† mobile phones in December 2005 in 13 countries concurrently, including Japan. Being, one of the world’s largest global companies, it did so without taking into account the domestic environment of each country. In this way they incurred great loss in both, number of  subscribers and profits. The company lost 200,000 subscribers in the first few months of the year and profits declined by 15.4 percent (Fackler & Belson, 2005). Customers also got many troubles like; lack of functions, the expensive bills and bad signals. Thus it failed to introduce same technologies in different countries. In order to regain its position in the market, they offered such services which are being provided by their competitors such as; low prices, flat monthly bills for calls and emails. Hence market competition forced Vodafone to survive in the market by competing with the same products at same rates as its competitors are offering. Due to globalization, consumer became more aware of their decisions. They take their decisions by taking into account their ethical and environmental concerns. This new dimension poses pressure on industries to improve their business through new public initiatives and laws. Likewise, increased global competition put serious pressure on Vodafone to evaluate its CSR policy and ethical stance. When globalization reached its pace and mergers and acquisitions among firms take place, multinational companies get authority to hire and fire their workers (Carlson, 2002). This was happened in Motorola, when they fired their 3000 workers on 2000 by shutting down their plant in Scotland. Similarly, in 2009, Vodafone restructured its business model, in order to save costs and to accommodate more customers-facing roles. Around 400 workers were made jobless from its headquarters or being deployed to some other places. Hence, it is being proven over the years that in large multinational organizations, large number of workers have been made jobless, thus, creating a sense of insecurity among workers. Taking into account the fact that globalization may also have adverse impact on workers; The European Globalization Adjustment Fund (EGF) has been established. The EGF aimed to support redundant workers, mainly in the areas where globalization has adversely affected the workers. The European Globalization Adjustment Fund has been established under Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006. It has an annual budget of EUR 500 million to assist worker for their employment. EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION The growing integration of the economies has been a heated debate all around the world over the last two decades. The consequences of globalization and its various dimensions have been widely debated and examined by academics, politicians, policymakers, and even the private sector. According to the United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report, 1999 â€Å"Globalization is shaping a new era of interaction among economies and people. It is increasing the interaction between people across national boundaries, in economy, technology, in culture and in governance. But it is also splitting production processes, labor markets, political entities and societies. So, while globalization has positive and dynamic aspects, it has also negative, disruptive, marginalizing aspects.† Critics of globalization argue that globalization is detrimental to economic growth, such as it increases income inequality among nations, economic instability may arise, workers are being exploited and governments become unable to raise taxes, on the other hand, the advocates of globalization are of the view that it brings higher rate of sustainable economic growth and improved living standards. In a study from the Centre of Economic Policy Research by European Policy Advisors, while analyzing the economic impact of globalization, it was found that the true benefits of globalization overweigh the costs associated with it. Similarly globalization has been affecting the telecommunication sector too. Due to increasing globalization, the telecommunication policy all around the world has widened their cross-border implications as compared to the past. According to the analysis of (Siochru, 2004), media and telecommunication sectors are the leading sectors in facilitating globalization. The globalization of financial transactions and manufacturing products is due to globalization of media and telecommunication sectors. REFERENCES 1.Carlson, B. A., 2002. Job Losses, Multinational and Globalization: The Anatomy of Disempowerment. Santiago: United Nations Publications. 2.Fackler, M. & Belson, K., 2005. A Major Backfire in Japan Deflates Vodafone’s One-Size-Fits-All Strategy. [Online] Available at:

Explain How Christian Charities and Communities Essay

May put these Ideas into Practice Christian charities and communities put these ideas into action by devoting time to those who are less fortunate than themselves. They may work abroad as a doctor or nurse, or as an aid worker in a refugee camp. They may also provide help from their own homes by not being wasteful and donating old clothes and books and other objects that could be of use. There are certain organisations set up for Christians to help those less fortunate. These include organisations such as Voluntary Service Overseas which offers service to people with the will to help and it helps set them up with some work to do abroad. Other people will make donations to charities or even set aside some of their monthly income to make sure that they give something each month to help thise less fortunate than themselves. Christians are obligated to work towards helping those less fortunate than themselves. Charities such as Oxfam, Save the Children Fund and Comic Relief are all based to eliminate world poverty. However, they are not based on any religious beliefs. Christian charities include the Salvation Army, Christian Aid, Tear Fund and CAFOD. Christian Aid was organised just after the Second World War as many people had lost all their possesions and loved ones, including their home and family. Many people were left with nothing. That is when ‘Christian Reconstruction in Europe’ was set up, which raised a massive one million pounds! This helped people start to build up their lives again. Once the citizens in Europe started to become more settled, the attention was drawn to other countries where there was still a huge problem with poverty and injustice, such as Africa. The name of the organisation was then changed to ‘Christian Aid’ and has been known as that ever since. Christian Aid has helped those in natural disasters (such as the war in Lebanon, the famine in Sudan and East Pakistan and others), by sending over money, doctors and medicines, clothes and food. The money sent over is used to build hospitals, education centres and wells for clean water. Most recently Christian Aid has campaigned for fair trade and for an end to Third World dept. Christian Aid works in more than 70 countries, and on more than 700 local projects. There are four main areas to Christian Aid, the first of which is fund-raising. Christian Aid Week started in 1957 and is a major nationwide event. Churches are given a number of towns to manage between them, of which all houses in them have an envelope posted through. In this envelope are the aims of Christian Aid, along with the explaination of the work and asks for a donation. In 1995 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8,600,000 was raised. Christian Aid provides emergency aid to deal with natural disasters and refugees- this takes priority over long-term projects due to the extreme nature of the situations. This type of aid involves sending food and medicine as well as providing shelter for those affected. About 10-15% of its funds are spent on emergency aid each year. Long-term projects such as in Bangladesh where a basic drugs factory has been funded have the aim to continue helping the country in the future. This is the main area of Christian Aid’s work, which encourages people in LEDC’s to work themselves out of poverty, so that they will not need aid in the future. The final area of Christian Aid’s work is education (in the UK mainly), where 5% of the budget is spent. ‘Christian Aid News’, a quarterly newspaper gives information on their developments as well as explaining the need for world development and ways in which Christians can help those in LEDC’s. Christianity tries to make people in the west aware of the conditions in the Third World. They do this by running advertising campaigns and educatory packs for schools. They believe that increased awareness will mean that Christians and others will be more prepared to give to Third World charities. The Salvation Army began in 1865 when William Booth, and his wife Catherine, realised that the poor were not being treated equally to the richer and they were not even allowed into churches. He believed the ‘church needed to go to the people, rather than the people coming to the church, to be touched by the Christian message.’ By 1900 the Army had spread around the world to 36 countries.The aim of The Salvation Army is ‘the advancement of the Christian religion†¦of education, the relief of poverty, and other charitable objects beneficial to society or the community of mankind as a whole.’ The Salvation Army are also aiming to reach out to others, in order to encourage them to do the same. The ‘community outreach team’ aims at doing just that, making people aware of the hundreds of people who are homeless in London alone! Caritas is a world-wide Roman Catholic organisation which believes that it is not enough to give people in need material help. It believes in ‘providing the solidarity needed to nourish that hope which alone will enable our less fortunate brothers and sisters to take personal charge of their own lives and destiny and thus achieving that liberty which is their inalienable right as children of God.’ In England and Wales, Caritas is represented by CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development). CAFOD is considered one of the United Kingdom’s leading development and relief organisations, and funds over a thousand projects in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. Not only does CAFOD help those less fortunate but they also work within parishes, schools and community organisations to help teach others about poverty and it’s causes. They also run many fund raising projects through schools and otherwise, such as sponsored sports events to raise money. CAFOD aims to get rid of poverty in the Developing World, and aims to bring about justice and fair shares for everyone. CAFOD also does a lot of emergency work when it is needed. When there is a natural disaster incident, such as a flood, hurricane, or earthquake they provide food and then help with rebuilding. Some Christians donate one tenth of their earnings as their duty towards helping the poor. Christian’s faith teaches that the wealth is by no means bad but they must learn the right purposes for earning it and using it, and would argue that they should give money to charity rather than spending it all on luxuries. This is illustarating the Eye of the Needle; â€Å"it is easier for a camel to go through a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God† as in the story of The Rich Man †¦ If the world were like it should be according to Christian teaching then the world would probably be a better place. The problem is that God gave men and women free will. If all of the world’s wealth was divided up equally between each person then not before very long the rich would be rich once again and the poor would be back where they were.

Standardized Testing is a Distraction and Affecting the American Public Education in a Negative Way - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 750 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Management Essay Level High school Tags: Standardized Testing Essay Did you like this example? Standardized testing is harming students learning and has taken over public education. Mary Elizabeth Williams argues that standardized testing has taken over public education. She contends that the current testing requirements are resulting in frightening culture change at schools; where a vast amount of energy is spent getting students and teachers ready for testing. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Standardized Testing is a Distraction and Affecting the American Public Education in a Negative Way" essay for you Create order Since testing has taken up a teacher ability to teach effectively, this has made a students education come out poorly. There has been a strategy for improving education through standardized testing and has failed to work out. According to Williams My classes are directly affected. My curriculum is affected. My classes are canceled for test prep and they are not made up. An elementary school teacher named Paula agrees that tests take up a lot of time as what can be used as learning time in class. This can change the way students view their education, when they are taking tests, they have to pick the right choice between several options to be successful. Another quote, Absolutely, there are broken schools and faculty teachers who are failing our children every day. But building a better system of public education, to which every child in this country is entitled- takes creative an innovative approach tailored individual communities. Schools shouldnt have their own futures writing on ho w well children fill in the bubbles in the test scored by score machines. We are making test taking a priority rather than learning in our public education. Test taking is a poor strategy for improving education and destroying American public education. Others may agree that standardized testing is a good way to measure student learning. According to Walberg Over the past four decades, more than 200 public opinion polls complied by Richard Phelps, have consistently shown that the public strongly supports standardized tests. There are high percentage of schools who use standardized testing to measure educational goals, and make sure that high school graduates have acquired knowledge and skills they need for further education in adult life. This offers strong evidence that public schools are in favor of raising standards in American Schools in using standardized tests to measure student and teacher progress. According to Walberg The benefits for outweigh any disadvantages. Being able to give students detailed tests, results help them spot their weakness, increase their learning, and reduced the potential for over confidence. Having to use tests verify that students have accomplished or nearly mastered specific content before introduci ng new material; improves better results. According to, Walberg Well-designed standardized tests can measure knowledge understanding, application of ideas, and other high-level skills. Tests over emphasize factual knowledge and low-level skills throughout a students education. As a student progress in their education, they practice to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in standardized testing. Having standardized tests throughout a students career makes them become better prepared to meet future educational, occupational and professional goals. However, standardized test discriminates against minority and low-income students in college. According to, Soares Soares researched, has found that tests like the ACTs and SATs put low-income and minority students at significant disadvantages and has resulted in a lack of diversity at the nation of 4 year colleges Schools are missing out in a lot of talent that would benefit our states human capital and economic welfare and we could get more youths from our bottom of our families into public universities. Admissions that rely on test scores more than highs school grades are biased towards students from higher oncome and against those form lower income. According to, McDermott The commission advices colleges to scrutinize how they use test scores and urges them to place more emphasis on students high-schools curriculum and achievements. Colleges do not need any standardized tests like the ACT and SAT to be selective in admission. There are more-accurate measures of ability and succes s; that a test score could never portray what a student has experienced, learned and accomplished. According to, McDermott Minimizing the emphasis we place on the SAT can only mean maximizing our students potential for success and happiness. High school students need to have control over their academic future, that the courses they choice and take in high school really matter. Test can distract students and rather than stressing on a test, a student should focus more on their intellectual exploration in school. If university admissions were based in highs schools records there could be hope for our youth focused on learning academic materials and would be a win-win situation for public education.