Scientific Advance: Friend or Foe? :: Science Technology Essays

Scientific Advance: Friend or Foe? Scientists and non-scientists see the advances of technology in different ways. Scientists, like J. Michael Bishop, look at the possibilities technology offers while non-scientists, like Jeremy Rifkin and Mary Shelley, look at the potential chaos that could be caused by it. J. Michael Bishop is a professor of microbiology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is also winner of the Nobel Prize. He wrote, "Enemies of Promise" because he wanted to dispel the misconceptions that many people have about science, since he feels that these could have serious consequences for all Americans. Jeremy Rifkin is a well-known social activist who organized the 1968 March on the Pentagon and brought public attention to alleged U.S. war crimes in Vietnam. He is president of the nonprofit Foundation on Economic Trends. He is both criticized and admired for his condemnation on Biotechnology. Mary Shelley was the daughter of 2 influential people and became an influential writer herself in the early 1800s. Mary Shelley created a monstrous, powerful myth, which she used to warn ambitious scientists of the potential dangers contained in their creations. Her creation, Frankenstein, will forever be known as the monster that was created by Victor Frankenstein. The monster, a creature without a name of its own, that took the identity of its maker. Bishop argues that "Resistance to science is born out of fear." He blames ignorance of breeding this fear, and he blames ignorance of being, "our deepest malady" (241). Rifkin and Shelley on the other hand, accuse science of having the potential to evolve into something grotesque, monstrous and frightening. Bishop would say that this fear is born of ignorance while Rifkin and Shelley would argue it to stem from the potentiality of catastrophe, from the inability of man to predict the adaptability of nature, from the inability of man to anticipate the benefits that are likely to result from such experiments, and from the danger of acquiring knowledge and becoming greater than "his" (man's) nature will allow (321). J Michael Bishop in "Enemies of Promise" argues that we live in an age of scientific triumph in which science is mistrusted and under attack. He claims that some of the opposition to science comes from familiar sources. Some of these stem from religious fanatics who constantly push for creationism education in the public arena. These groups have a theological foundation to their opposition to the advances of science.

Analysis Unit 7 Essay

After nineteen years working as a plant maintenance engineer, employee Bob Thomas was terminated after Jean Lipski the Human Resources Director discovered that Bob was involved in starting a union at the Apollo Corporation. This case will answer the questions: 1. what, if any violation of the law did Apollo Corporation commit? 2. What may be the arguments that Jean Lipski and Bob Thomas use to defend their cases? The case study will also briefly list things mangers should not do to commit unfair labor practices. Review/Analysis of the Case Apollo Corporation is a company that makes component parts for the communication industry. Bob Thomas a Plant Maintenance engineer worked for the company for nineteen years. During the previous five years of his employment his attendance was insufficient, he was a complainer, and also was reported as being a troublemaker. The Apollo Corporation had a laid-back type of atmosphere. As a result of the companies not enforcing the policies strictly and applying disciplinary action against employees not conforming to company policy and a failure to comply with such polices were never put to use (Bohlander 2007). Apollo Corporation is involved in highly competitive industry to produce; HR Director Jean Lipski met with the managers during several meetings and instructed them to exercise their supervisory relationship employees. The employees that did not adhere to HR policies would have disciplinary action against them. Bob and several of the employees were not happy of hearing about the enforcement of the policies. Bob also began to worry about his job, because his attendance was so poor and being labeled as troublemaker and complainer. So Bob contacted the union organizer of the Brotherhood of Machine Engineers. Bob conveyed to the union organizer that he wanted to start a union drive in the company. After a week went by fliers were handed out to the employees about a union meeting. Jean Lipski found out that employees were putting together a meeting to discuss being a union and Bob was the leader of the campaign, Jean called Bob Thomas into her office and terminated his employment with company on the basis of his unsatisfactory work performance and less than perfect attendance. Bob immediately called the union organizer and informed him of his discharge from The Apollo Corporation. Bob and the union organizer immediately headed to the regional office of the NLRB to file unfair labor practice charge against The Apollo Corporation for involvement to unionize the company. Analysis of Findings Apollo Corporation could be charged with unfair labor practices of the National Labor Relations Board (Belcourt, 2004). The National Labor Relations Act, section 7 states â€Å"employees have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organization. †(p597) Bob Thomas termination happened shortly after he contacted a union organizer and started an campaign for a meeting to be held so that the employees could become unionized Jean Lipski arguments could be based off the fact that Bob had a record of poor attendance and unsatisfactory performance on the job and that was reason for his dismissal. Jean also could argue that she had conducted meetings with the managers to enforce the performance polices and that they were already being set in place and the fact that Bob contacted a union organizer was only to secure his job, because of his lack of performance. Bob Thomas could argue that he was discharged for his involvement in trying to unionize the company. Bob could point out the fact that The Apollo Corporation had been lax in their disciplinary practices in the past and he never suffered any repercussions for his poor performance, until he contacted a union organizer. He could further argue that his termination after contacting an organizer is a violation of the employee right to organize. Recommendations In order for this type of case to never happen again managers need to be aware of the unfair labor practices. Managers should not hire, promote or terminate employees on the basis of their union membership or gender, race and even religion (Belcourt 2004). Meetings should be held with both managers and employees. Most important, disciplinary policies should be enforced from the beginning of employment. Summary and Conclusions . This case study showed how an employee and a company not following their company policies from the beginning of employment can turn into a legal conflict involving the union. Employers have to practice fair labor and be knowledgeable of union practices in order to protect themselves from being accused or sued for discrimination.

How to Make Homemade Ink in 4 Easy Recipes

Ink is one of the practical contributions of chemistry. Using basic materials found at craft supply stores, you can make invisible inks and tattoo inks in addition to writing and drawing inks. Although some ink recipes are closely guarded secrets, the basic principles of preparing ink are simple. All you have to do is mix pigment with a carrier (usually water). It helps to include a chemical that  will allow the ink to flow fluidly and adhere to the paper (typically gum arabic, which is sold in powdered form). Black Permanent Ink  Recipe The most popular ink, black permanent ink can be prepared at home using the following materials: 1/2 tsp lamp black (This you can buy or make yourself by holding a plate over a candle and collecting the soot, or by collecting another form of char.)1 egg yolk1 tsp gum arabic1/2 cup honey Mix together the egg yolk, gum arabic, and honey. Stir in the lamp black. This will produce a thick paste that you can store in a sealed container. To use the  ink, mix this paste with a small amount of water to achieve the desired consistency. Applying a small amount of heat may improve the consistency of the solution, but be careful—too much heat will make the ink difficult to write with. Brown Ink  Recipe Brown ink is a popular alternative to black ink and can be prepared without any char or lamp black. All you need to make it is: 4 teaspoons loose tea or 4-5 tea bags1 teaspoon gum arabic1/2 cup boiling water Pour the boiling water over the tea. Allow the tea to steep for about 15 minutes. Squeeze as much tea (tannin) as possible from the tea or teabags. Stir in the gum arabic and mix until you have a consistent solution. Strain the ink so that you are left with a thick paste and allow it to cool before bottling it. Prussian Blue Ink  Recipe An even simpler recipe, and one that produces a bold color, is this recipe for Prussian blue, which painters have been using since the early 1700s. All you need to make it is: Prussian Blue pigment (sometimes sold as laundry bluing)Water Mix the pigment into the water until you have a rich blue ink with a thick consistency. Unless you happen to have a calligraphy pen, the easiest way to use these inks is with a homemade quill or a paintbrush. Blackberry Ink Recipe Like the recipe above, this one produces a rich blue ink, but one that is darker and made entirely of natural materials. To make it, you will need: 1 cup blackberries1/2 cup water1/2 tsp gum arabic4 drops thyme oil First, heat the blackberries in the water, pressing them to release the juice. Once the mixture is dark blue and all of the juice is released, strain the mixture and stir in the gum arabic until you have produced a thick paste. Add the thyme oil and stir. Allow the ink to cool before bottling it.