The Effect of Temperature on the Permeability of Cell Membranes free essay sample

The effect of temperature on the permeability of cell membranes Introduction For my coursework, I intend to assess how temperature affects the plasma membrane of a cell. For this I will use the cell of a beetroot. Background What is a cell membrane? The cell membrane, also called the plasma membrane is a semipermeable lipid bilayer which is the surface of all cells that surrounds the cytoplasm. The membrane is called a bilayer as it has a double layer of phospholipids. Within the cell membrane there are many biological molecules, proteins and lipids, which are involved in cellular processes, and also serves as the attachment point for both the intracellular cytoskeleton and, if present, the cell wall. It is selectively permeable and chooses what molecules enter and leaves the cell and also maintains the cells potential. This following picture is a diagram of the fluid mosaic with all the different molecules labeled: Phospholipids – Phospholipids are a type of lipids which are key parts of all biological molecules, along with glycolipids, carbohydrates and proteins. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effect of Temperature on the Permeability of Cell Membranes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The circular head of the phospholipid is the phosphate component. This is hydrophilic (Water Liking) therefore faces the aqueous part that surrounds the membrane. The tail of the phospholipid is the fatty acid component. This is the opposite of the phosphate as it is hydrophobic (Dislikes Water) therefore the tails point inwards towards each other as it is a bilayer forming a non-polar interior. Cholesterol- Cholesterols are the lipids found in the membranes of all tissues. The name cholesterol comes from the Greek words chole (Bile) and stereos (solid). The phospholipid molecule is like the cholesterol molecule in the way that the cholesterol also has hydrophilic (Water Liking) heads and hydrophobic (Dislikes Water) tails, therefore they are able to fit between the phospholipid molecules. The cholesterol molecule helps keeps the fluidity of the cell membrane balanced so it’s not too fluid like or solid. It is also very important to the membrane as its keep it stable and without the cholesterol the membrane would break and the cell will burst open. Protiens- The cell membrane plays host to the protein as it is one of the more popular parts of a membrane that is responsible for its many different activities. Protiens are very important in a membrane as they have many tasks, most of the proteins act as transport proteins. These are used for bigger molecules like polar molecues and ions. There are a different variety of proteins each one for a different type of ion or molecule and they each control what enters and leave the cell. An important type of protein within the cell membrane is the globular protein. Unlike the proteins that only play a structural task, globular proteins work as enzymes, messengers, transporters and supply of amino acids. Some proteins molecules move around with the phospholipid layers whereas some proteins are fixed inside the cell and don’t move and some proteins are also fixed in the outer layer there are also some in the inner layer and proteins around with the whole membrane. Other proteins could also act as enzymes. Protiens are also important in the roles in the membrane s of organelles. E. g. Membranes of mitochondria and chloroplast, as they are involved in the process of respiration and hotosynthesis. Glycolipids- Many molecules including glycolipids on the surface of the membrane have carbohydrate chains connected to them. This combination is known as glycolipids or if a protein is attached then glycoprotein. Environmental Conditions on a Cell Membrane- The phospholipid bilayer is affected when the temperature of the environment it is in is incr eased on the membrane. When the temperature of the membrane is increased the protein starts to denature when the temperature is increased to about 35/45 Â °c and more. Once the proteins have started to denature they gradually start to change shape therefore the shape of the phospholipid bilayer also starts to change shape. At this stage the proteins haven’t fully denatured, but when the temperature is raised to about 65/70Â °c the protein will be fully denatured. Therefore as the protein has completely been denature, the shape of the protein will be completely deformed so, therefore it won’t fit properly into the phospholipid bilayer. Due to this, gaps will appear, making it more permeable. Similarly with the phospholipids, they don’t denature but as the temperature is increases they gain more energy and as a result of this they start to move around. This will cause fluidity of the membrane. This will make gaps and cause it to become more permeable. (References: Biology 1- Mary Jones, Richard Fosbery and Dennis Taylor, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cell_membrane) Prediction As you can see I have done some research about plasma membranes and its components and I have come to a prediction on what I think will happen and what results might show when I have completed the experiment. I simply predict that the greater the temperature on the beetroot sample the less light will pass through the beetroot sample when it is in the calorimeter and the lower the temperature is more light will pass through the beetroot sample. I have predicted the above because once the temperature is raised to about 35/45 Â °c the proteins in the phospholipid bilayer start to change shape and once the temperature has been raised to about 65/70Â ° the shape would have completely changed and the protein would have fully denatured and the proteins embedded in the phospholipid bilayer will not be able to fit in the bilayer properly. As the temperature is increase not only will the proteins get denatured but the phospholipids will gain energy therefore will start to move faster and the phospholipids will gain fluidity and this will also increase the rate in which permeability is taking place. Therefore, for these particular reason gaps will be made in the phospholipid bilayer due to the denatured proteins and the movement of the phospholipids. As a result, the increase in temperature will have caused damage to the plasma membrane and this will let the red/purple pigment of the beetroot sample (betacyanin) out from the vacuole in which it is held in. Apparatus Beetroot- I am going to use this as I am going to test the permeability of the beetroot cell. Scapula- I will use this to cut the beetroot. Ruler- This will be needed to measure the beetroot. Beaker- I will use this as a water bath and to heat the test tubes in. Pipette- I will use this to get an accurate 4cm? sample of beetroot. Test tube- I will use this to put 15cm? of distilled water and beetroot. Distilled water- I will use this for the experiment as the tap water could have other chemicals for example chlorine. Calorimeter- This will be used in the experiment to calculate how much light is transmitted through the beetroot sample. Cuvette- This will be used to but the sample of beetroot in and put in the calorimeter. Bunsen Burner- This will be used to heat up the water bath. Thermometer- I will use this to measure the temperature of the test tubes in the water bath. Measuring cylinder- I will use this to measure out 15? of distilled water. Cork borer- I will use this to extract small pieces of the beetroot out of the actual one Test tube rack- I will need this to hold the test tubes. Timer- I will need to time how long I have kept the beetroot in the distilled water. Goggles- I will need to wear these so nothing enters my eyes Risk Assessment Equipment/SubstanceRiskReduction/Emergency Action ScapulaRisk of getting cutBe as careful as possible and if cut wash the cut in case of infection and use a first aid kit Bunsen BurnerRisk of getting burntTie hair back, wear goggles and if burnt then put the area which is burnt under cold water Hot waterRisk of getting burntIf burnt, place burnt rea under cold water Beetroot SolutionRisk of entering eyeTo prevent this wear goggles and if it enters eyes wash out with warm water Cork BorerRisk of getting cut Method To begin with I will use a cork borer and get 15 pieces of beetroot and use a ruler to measure each piece 2cm long and cut it using a scalpel as I will be using 5 different temperatures (25Â °c, 35Â °c, 45Â °c, 55Â °c, and 65Â °c). I will repeat each temp erature 3 times. Each piece of beetroot will have to be of the same size to make it a fair test and that is also why I will repeat each with temperature 3 times. Secondly I will then rinse the equal pieces of beetroot with distilled water and dry them as while cutting the beetroot cells could get damaged and therefore betacyanin would be on the samples and this would not be a fair test. After that I will then measure 15cm? of distilled water into a measuring cylinder and pour it out into a test tube. I will repeat this three times. After that a Bunsen burner will need to be set up and as it is a dangerous piece of equipment I will need to wear goggles when using it. Once the Bunsen burner is ready to use I will fill a beaker up with 150 cm? f water and as I will be using the water beaker as a water bath for the test tube I will need to use a tripod and put gauze onto top of it. I will then place the beaker on top of the tripod and on the Bunsen burner. After this I will put the test tubes into the beaker to get the water to the correct temperature. To analyze the temperature I will place a thermometer a test tube till it reaches the first tem perature of my choice which will be 25Â °c. Once the temperature reading is 25Â °c I will remove the Bunsen burner from underneath the beaker. Then I will pace the three test tubes in a holder and at the same time will put 1 beetroot piece in each test tube and keep them all in for four minutes, i will time it using a timer. When four minutes is over I will stir the beetroot solution so no pigment is left at the bottom of the test tube. Using a pipet I will extract 4cm? from each of the solutions and put them into a cuvette, but is important not to touch the cuvette where there are no arrows as that is where the light transmits through. Finally I will use the calorimeter to measure how much light is transmitted through the beetroot samples. But before putting each sample into the calorimeter I will put a sample of distilled water which should measure about 100 so that I will know that the calorimeter has correctly been adjusted. I will repeat this three times for each temperature. I will repeat this procedure all together five times as there are five temperatures, (25Â °c, 35Â °c, 45Â °c, 55Â °c, and 65Â °c) and test one temperature three times just as this is mentioned above.

Reasons Why Welfare Doesnt Always Work Essay Example

Reasons Why Welfare Doesnt Always Work Essay Example Reasons Why Welfare Doesnt Always Work Paper Reasons Why Welfare Doesnt Always Work Paper Amanda Smith Today in America, there are thousands of Americans are welfare for different reasons. Whether people lost their job and can’t afford their necessities, or possibly they don’t have motivation to get a job and want to live off the government’s money. It could be that there is a single mother of two children who simply can’t afford the necessities for her children and herself even with a job, or maybe their handicapped or they are older and aren’t healthy enough to work and provide for themselves. Welfare is a program created by the government to improve the financial situation of people in need. Many people today in America who are on welfare are abusing the program, whether they don’t find a job and continue to stay on welfare for years, or spend money on drugs or something not needed instead of paying bills and buying necessary items. Other programs like Medicare and food stamps, to the elderly or the people that really need this help, are getting denied because they don’t qualify but yet they are barely providing for themselves or they can’t provide. Some of these programs that the government has created are not working the way they were meant to. Welfare is supposed to be good and helpful but it’s being seen as wasteful, not worth it by others, and simply has other issues that the government is in need of solving. It is supposed to be helping people such as single mothers get back on their feet, however many are abusing this help and having more children to continue receiving welfare money for a long period of time. People are not supposed to be on welfare for a long period of time, this program was meant to help people out temporarily so they could get back to work and provide for themselves, soon though, not years later (wikipedia). However, it is making some people lazier by getting money just to sit at home and do nothing. Some people are not motivated to get a job, or simply do not want a job and would prefer to live on welfare for years and not even use that money for the right things like clothing, bills, etc. Welfare reforms have reduced the probability of women going to college, even finishing high school, which isn’t going to help them get a decent paying job (NBER). Many people on welfare are using that money for alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. There is no law stating that people have to pass a drug test o receive welfare, but there should be some kind of procedure or questioning being done to people who are applying for welfare or for those who are already on welfare, to know whether they really deserve it if they are going to spend their money on the right or wrong thing (npr). As a working taxpayer, I contribute to the welfare system and I don’t really want to support an addiction to dru gs. Government assistance is good for those people who don’t abuse it and are willing to take the random drug tests no matter how degrading or unnecessary it may be. If people truly need the help, then they should be willing to do what it takes to receive that assistance. Many jobs require a drug test and if they don’t pass, they don’t get the job. It’s that simple. This should apply to welfare, if you don’t pass, you don’t get the benefits. Some people think that if you deny people these privileges that these people are going to steal and sell drugs to put food on the table (npr). Who’s to say that they won’t stop stealing or selling drugs? It’s not guaranteed. To the people who aren’t abusing the system, it may be a little bit of a hassle to go through the drug test but it’s worth it. It’s better off helping the people who actually want help and are using this assistance the way it should be. Medicare is a health insurance program administered by the United States government for people over the age of 65 (wikipedia). This is another program that needs some things changed. One problem this program faces, is the diversity in the elderly. While this coverage starts at the age of 65, people 80 and over are benefiting from it more. The medical needs of a 65 year old man could differ dramatically from an 80 year old man. Also, American seniors differ not only by age but also race, ethnicity, culture, and geographic region with different healthcare systems ( Freedom works). This program is trying to shove the needs of all the elderly, no matter how different their situations are, into one system that is going to help them all, and it’s not. A second problem with this program is the financial situation. As the baby boom generation begins to reach eligible age for Medicare, the cost will begin to rise dramatically. Congress will attempt to impose cost-controls on a system already beginning to deliver inadequate care to the different people of the elderly population (Freedom works). Food stamps is a government program made to assist low income families receive food. Many families may have someone working but making very little or not enough to provide food on the table. However, many of these working families do not get the food stamps they really need. Between 1994 and 1999, the number of people receiving food stamps declined by 35% and poverty went down 15% (Food stamps for working families). This decline in food stamp enrollment was because of families becoming ineligible because of income going up or welfare reform rules excluding certain groups from receiving food stamps. Many families have left welfare for work and have lost their food stamps because of this. They were looking to keep the food stamps for the transition of their family. It’s not fair that these people who are actually working and trying to make some money for their family are not receiving the food stamps when they really need them. There is also people who sell their food stamps for their necessities, and some who sell them for illegal substances. (Selling food stamps for kid‘s shoes). It has a little similarity to welfare. Many people who receive the stamps are supposed to be buying healthy groceries for themselves, and their family, but many don’t. They resort to cheap and fatty food, like McDonald’s then they can still have money left over for other things, for necessities, or not. It’s not surprising that some lower-income families have weight problems because of what they’re doing with their food stamps. The programs that the government have created are meant to help people, and to some they are. There are many Americans though who are abusing the system and it can be difficult to catch these people. They all have flaws in them that are pretty controversial and difficult to amend, and some people don‘t think these aren‘t such a huge problem as other things are in today‘s society. How each of these problems are solved in each program will be a difficult task, if the government decides to do it. I think these programs need to be fixed immediately, before the costs for these programs becomes too much and things get out of hand. Bibliography â€Å"Welfare Reform Has Led to More Work but Less Education† National Bureau of Economic Research. 6 May 2010. â€Å"Reform as I Knew It: When Bad Things Happen to Good Policies† 1 May 1996. The American Prospect. 6 May 2010. â€Å"Medicares Two Fundamental Problems† 17 July 2003. Freedom Works. 6 May 2010. â€Å"Welfare† Wikipedia. 6 May 2010. â€Å"Medicare† Wikipedia. 6 May 2010. â€Å"Selling Food Stamp’s For Kid’s Shoes† 16 February 2010. Urban Habitat. 6 May 2010.

Biographical essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biographical - Essay Example Chamberlain must have governed in frenzy of faith that the mad man of Germany would calm down soon. He must have played the gentle man that Britain was not going to blow the first whistle on Germany. While Hitler, Mussolini and Japan came out openly as rogue leaders and state, we sat back and watched. It seems nothing was wrong with the invasion of Manchuria. It seemed it was all okay to embark on rapid militarization of Rhineland. The appeasement policy massaged Hitler’s roaming appetites for war. I have today set foot on Europe to bring good news, thanks to Chamberlain and the appeasement policy (McDonough 1). I bring good news from the world on the other side pacific that we are indeed very sorry for this war, which the world could have avoided. This is the news that I bring with a gun on my hand and explosives on my back.† Powell spearheaded many military strategies and by October 1944, there was huge progress. He helped in designing the D-Day operations and strategi es, much to the success of the Allied. After the end of the war, Powell returned to work in Europe under the Marshall Plan. He records in his diary the following. â€Å"The Marshall Plan is a big boost in the recovery of Western Europe and Japan in the post-war period. I can see a future beyond the rubble, hunger and starvation. Even so, I fail to understand why the Russians with whom we had just fought on the same side could be taking advantage of the situation. I foresee a quite friction between the ambitious Soviet and the USA. I believe it is now time for reconstruction, not for claiming plunders of the war. Otherwise, I may consider that I fought on the wrong side of the war.† Amongst other entries, Powell observes that the onset of the Cold War started with Russia’s taking advantage of the small nations. He also notes that in the aftermath of the war, many states in Eastern Europe were still weak. Rather than being left to their own determination, Russia was forc ing them one after another into communism. It is then that the US acted under the Truman’s Doctrine (McDonough 1). Under the Truman’s Doctrine, it became the official policy of the US to support any free people resisting attempted subjugation by an armed foreign force. To counter the emerging tyranny of Russian, Powell received orders to watch keenly the developments in Eastern Europe and advise accordingly. This was the early years of the Cold War in the aftermath of WWII. Powell was also not an apologist for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki situation on the account that it was a consequence of war. He based his reasoning purely on war strategy. From his 1945 diaries, he has offered sufficient reason why the use of the atomic bomb was unavoidable (Doyle 1). As noted in his diary, he enters the following: â€Å"The world seems to forget so fast. Just the other day were dealing with Hitler and Mussolini. That is over, and the next rogue is Russia. The United States is practi cally fighting proxy wars to help those whose right to free determination is under threat by the USSR. It is foolhardy to start playing blame games at this moment on whether the atomic bomb solution is justified.† Powell indicates that when the United States resolved to use atomic bombs on Japan, it was because that was the only solution left. Germany and other axis powers had been subdued and surrendered. The war had dragged for too long, but Japan was not

Exercise and sport Genetics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exercise and sport Genetics - Essay Example lear families provided the earliest data to on the heritability of variations in fitness-related traits (Bouchard, Leon, Rao, Skinner, Wilmore, & Gagnon, 1995). In these studies, 130 two-generation families were monitored for different responses to an aerobic exercise program implemented for twenty weeks. Oxygen uptake, stroke volume, cardiac output, and exercise heart rate response to training were found to be heritable. Genetics was also found to influence other variables such as skeletal muscle strength and performance, muscle adaptation to endurance exercise, explosive power, muscle strength, and their response to training. Segregation analysis showed that mostly single genes are responsible for phenotypic variation in some traits like oxygen uptake at the ventilator threshold (Feitosa, et al., 2002). These findings have resulted in the identification of polymorphisms and genetic loci that contribute to human physical performance. Genome-wide linkage analyses and genetic associations identified cardiorespiratory and skeletal muscle performance genes. Studies using the HERITAGE family cohort (Bouchard et al. 1995) identified linkage peaks associated with genetic variation in maximal oxygen uptake, power output, exercise stroke volume, blood pressure, body fat distribution, glucose and insulin metabolism (MacArthur & North, 2005). Association studies have further identified three candidate genes involved with cardiorespiratory function. The first was CKMM, which encodes for the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase, is responsible for the rapid regeneration of ATP during intensive muscle contraction. This gene was associated with exercise performance (Rivera, et al., 1997). Second was the angiotensinogen gene, AGT, M235T missense polymorphism, which has positive association with several measures of cardiorespiratory performance (McCole, et al., 2002). Missense polymorphisms in the ADRB2 gene for the ÃŽ ²2 -adrenergic receptor were also found to be associated

Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Quiz - Essay Example Since its creation, the WTOs focus has shifted from public interest goals to ones dealing primarily with the liberalization of trade, helping trade flow as freely as possible. The philosophy of the most favored nation (MFN) is an outcome of the WTO agreements, what it implies is that if a country was to give preferential treatment to any one country with regard to any trade related issues, it was to treat all members equally regarding the same issue. Originally the MFN clause was included in bilateral trade agreements; however, several steps which limited the functioning of the MFN principle were taken in the1930s which led to the division of the world economy into a number of separate trade blocks. After going through this ordeal the WTO introduced MFN in the form of a multilateral reciprocal relationship. Ans: A customs union (CU) is a kind of trade bloc or a form of trade agreement under which the members preferentially grant limited or a tariff free market which allows access to each other’s import while upholding a common set of external tariffs to the imports from the non-member nations. Jagdish Bhagwati, who is known for his espousal of free global trade, would not be in favor of forming such a union as in such a situation, whether a country is part of the union or not, it is worse off than before. He is known to have criticized the foundations on which customs unions function for instance proximity of the trading nations & the volume of trade criterion. We should note however that formation of a custom union is the transition period between two states of trading equilibrium. Given any initial trading equilibrium, there exists a series of steps, and at each of these steps either new customs unions are created or the older unions are enlarged this happens due to the innate nature of the negative impact the unions create that in order to ensure that no member is harmed there is need to expand continuously ,ultimately leading to

The Facebook In Education English Language Essay

The Facebook In Education English Language Essay Facebook is a networking site, which connects people all over the world, making the Earth a global village. This social networking giant was launched by Mark Zuckerberg and his friends. The website mainly aims at connecting people or helps them socialise and makes its revenue out of advertising. This paper mainly tries to tell what facebook is all about, and concentrates on how it can be used for educational purposes. It also highlights few of the security problems faced by the users of facebook. This paper mainly tells about the student- teacher interaction, students council on facebook and how it will be useful to their education above and beyond portraying results of a FB opinion poll which can divulge and justify the creation of this study. INTRODUCTION: Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates at Harvard. He initially founded a website called Facemash for Harvard students. Since the website attracted many users, he was motivated to programme Facebook. Initially, the usage of this website was limited to Harvard students. Later, seeing the response that this website received, it was extended to the students of other universities as well. In 2009, the services of this website were made global to anyone above the age of 13. The users of this website have to create an account using a valid email- id. Each user has a separate profile, which bears some personal information about the user. Users can edit their profile, add pictures, post on their wall (a wall is a private space provided by this webpage. It is more or less like a personal notice board, where in, users can write, comment, add videos, pictures, etc.), send messages (the message option is more or less like the email and is a secure communication link) or even poke their friends (a partially fun and partially boring event to let other users know that you exist). Users are also allowed to customize the privacy settings for their profiles, where, the contents of their profiles will be viewed only by their friends, or a selected, customized few. Any registered user can search for and add any other member as friend, provided the other person accepts the friend request. Users can also categorise their friends as close friends, family, high school friends, etc to keep track of their close ones activities. Further, users are allowed to create or join groups of their interests. Users are also allowed to create Events and send out online invitations with the RSVP option thus providing the organizer an efficient and simple tool to make their organizing a huge success! Facebook also provides notifications, where in users are reminded about various important happenings, meetings, dates, etc. This interface also informs users if they have been tagged on someone-elses profile. Facebook provides the chart, calendar and clock applications as well. Facebook has emerged as a new dais not only for mere communication but for learning and teaching as well. With the help of breakthrough technology, facebook is supported in all mobiles, tabs and computers. This indeed has turned FB as a teaching platform where we can share materials, have a discussion, conduct contests and assessments and above all it requires no pre-training to start with [4]. Even though FB users range from school going children to elderly people, the ratio of teens and college students is substantially large. The reasons behind this are it is a new-fangled venue to utter and convey themselves, innocuous lurking, identity marking apart from acquaintances, mythoi and quixotic affairs, which are the prime facades of juvenile growth. Elaborate cram based on the time the college youth spend per day, how and why they exercise FB also portray the same end results [13]. From both the students and teachers point of view, facebook can be efficaciously practiced as a social network; Students envision FB as a course and mà ©tier for vigorous participation, to solidify self pride and poise etc whereas rendering inferential outcomes, explicating diverse didactics, adapting and updating to the scenario of expectations of students etc are some added vantages to the teachers [3]. Another angle of approach is how facebook can be made use of to dig into instructors strike of self-revelation which tops on a students reliability in addition to immediate apprehension. Studies are going on in this invited research area which analyses the essence of computer-liaised teacher disclosure. Facebook is likely happened to be a worthy asset to abide academic alliance with faculty. Findings indicate that the latters self-revealing tendency may stimulate students for efficacious learning by means of interactive sessions [6, 11]. Prior to be used for educational purposes, FB is nowadays used by the students to pre-register to engage with an educational institution, to socialize and to integrate with the other students [2]. Detailed works shed light on social networks evolution, peoples horizon, FBs entailment on executives, its prospects on campus networking in time to come and also mentionable is interface with studying environs [8]. Apart from just learning, it definitely acts as a powerful medium in spreading a social matter which draws attention of millions in just a few seconds. More theories deal with this thought and several analyses are done for the practical possibilities [1]. Apart from general studies, finical reports state that several SNSs (certainly including FB) have come under daily cum inevitable means of (academic) communication. Statistics, surveys, questionnaires etc render helping hand to know the diversified impression of SNSs. Having mentioned that, via those one can come to an idea of their grandness, innovation, requisite, uses and intention. Though SNSs have some drawbacks, their overhaul and resources have grown their usance to a phenomenal extent and, which, now have become very common. Some grounds of FB which have made it unimaginably popular are self expression, entertainment quotient, maintaining relations, visual familiarity, global updates of all forms, media drenching, following famous icons regularly etc. [7,9]. Not only meant for entertainment and educational platform, through FB, researchers across the globe are experiment the mental attitude, especially of students, depression references. There exist some strategies to approach a person who have expressed his/her personal opinion about something or somebody. Since it is now a rising issue, this topic is worth discussion [5]. A mathematical experiment on FB and its users reveal the approximate percentage of the genders, the time each race spend, various purposes like chatting, finding friends, lurking, work and event reminder, multimedia sharing, games, business and many more [12]. Thus, Through FB walls, students can keep up tight-knit links, call off one, and establish new contacts, not only generally but with other institutions as well. As far as students are concerned, they can share and exchange information about both teaching and learning and can develop themselves better practically than by being bookish. It definitely introduced an online fashion where people can get together with their near and dears and distant pals [10]. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSS8X54-PUsZBG3dGKIjT3eqsNpN-HERvBQ4MVw_OrCvban6QZXTw The above picture is that of a facebook profile. THE USAGE OF FACEBOOK FOR NETWORKING PURPOSES: This networking giant is the second most used website in the world and has an online traffic of about 900 million across the world. This website is not only a platform for networking but is also useful in bettering education, making news more accessible, advertising and promoting businesses, etc,. Because of the variety of applications provided by this network, it has almost become ubiquitous. THE USE OF FACEBOOK AS A GLOBAL CLASSROOM: A lot of teachers today feel that since the usage of facebook is very familiar with students across the globe, it may prove to provide an upper hand in their education, if used properly. Teachers and students may become facebook friends. That way, teachers may know a lot about their students personally. The student teacher interaction which may not be plausible in the classroom may be made possible online. Teachers and students can post study related videos and articles on their wall, for other students to view and learn. If students and teachers are facebook friends, students will be able to ask doubts any time and get clarified based on the availability of the staff online. If the topics and dates of submission for assignments are posted on facebook, it would be convenient for both the staff and the student. This networking may create a bonding between the preacher and the preached that may not be possible in todays classrooms. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXfXWpQFLMswGgkIzEXGEd0oNeZrPI7lcUH4wy094nMH30wiZAtAThis picture shows how networking is made easier by writing in some ones wall on facebook THE USE OF FACEBOOK AS A STUDENTS COUNSEL: An online forum or group may be created in facebook wherein students can counsel among themselves. Such groups may be very interactive and useful for students to do group activities and combined studies. A new innovative idea of any student may be shared among their fellow beings any time, and discussed. Discussion about any topic on their subject or any assignment may be done online and students may get a good participation from other fellow students. THE CRITICS ARGUEMENT: Critics however say that students and teachers should not be friends on facebook because it changes the entire relationship between the teacher and the taught. A few people also say that teachers or students may misuse or take advantage of this online friendship. A survey conducted by Kirschner and Karpinski on the students of Midwestern University, USA, states that students spending time in facebook were found to have lesser GPA, than the ones not using facebook. Though this might not be the only reason for these students reduced GPA, this might also have accounted for it. This might be true in the western part of world. But an emphatic study at universities in the eastern part of the world, show that the usage of facebook and GPA are not related. THE THREAT FOR PRIVACY ON FACEBOOK: There is always a threat for privacy in facebook. With the increasing use of pseudo identity by unlawful people, there is even more of a security threat on facebook. But, according to a study conducted on students, they did not face any real time security problems (for example, being stalked by strangers either online or in the real world) because of using facebook. Also, not a lot of students care about their identity being disclosed on facebook. THE STUDENTS USAGE OF FACEBOOK FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES: A survey, via a questionnaire was conducted on about two hundred and fifty students of SASTRA University. The following questions were asked and the students were requested to answer them briefly. Name: Age: Gender: The time that you spend on facebook: Your marks in %: The number of hours that you spend online: The activities that you do in facebook: Can facebook be used in education: yes no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: Does facebook in any way help you in your academics: Does the use of facebook affect your studies: Can facebook be used as a global classroom: yes/no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: Can facebook be used as a students council: yes/no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: The following results were obtained. About 86% of students reported that facebook can be used for education, 64% of them told that facebook helps them in their academics, 70% of them agreed that facebook does not affect their studies, 68% of them voted that this networking site could be used as a global class room, 83% of them voiced that the networking giant could be used as a students counsil. CONCLUSION: As we all know, there are two sides to a coin, to an untold story and to every other thing on earth. Everything has its pros and cons. Hence, facebook, if used properly can be made a powerful educational tool. But, the students who spent more than six hours on facebook were found to have lost interest in studies and eventually, their GPA were less. But, the advantages of facebook can be made to outweigh its disadvantages if educators start using facebook as an educational tool. In conclusion, this study is all about fore fronting the emerging phases of Facebook with special attention to education and academic purposes. Therefore, this paper triggers empiric and theoretical probe on academic activities in Facebook.

Metaphilosophical Pluralism and Paraconsistency: From Orientative To Mu

Philosophical Methodology Metaphilosophical Pluralism and Paraconsistency: From Orientative To Multi-level Pluralism M.E. Orellana Benado, Andrà ©s Bobenrieth, Carlos Verdugo Universidad de Valparaà ­so ABSTRACT: In a famous passage, Kant claimed that controversy and the lack of agreement in metaphysics — here understood as philosophy as a whole — was a ‘scandal.’ Attempting to motivate his critique of pure reason, a project aimed at both ending the scandal and setting philosophy on the ‘secure path of science,’ Kant endorsed the view that for as long as disagreement reigned sovereign in philosophy, there would be little to be learned from it as a science. The success of philosophy begins when controversy ends and culminates when the discipline itself as it has been known disappears. On the other hand, particularly in the second half of the twentieth century, many have despaired of the very possibility of philosophy constituting the search for truth, that is to say, a cognitive human activity, and constituting thus a source of knowledge. This paper seeks to sketch a research program that is motivated by an intuition that opposes both of these views. Section 0.0 Introduction In the West, human beings have been doing philosophy for roughly 2,500 years. Eastern traditions are, perhaps, even older. What can we learn about philosophy itself through this experience and practice? This is the initial question of metaphilosophy, the body of discourse that collects and articulates our observations and reflections about philosophy as a human activity. Answers to it are essential in order to address the further issue of what contribution, if any, philosophy has made, or can be hoped to make, toward the education of humanity. For, to be sure... ...its set of well-formed formulas. (15) Wang, Hao: Beyond Analytic Philosophy (Cambridge M.A., London: MIT Press, 1988) p. 10. (16) For another view that, together with those of Rescher and Wang, restricts the scope of metaphilosophy to philosophy see Double, Richard: Metaphilosophy and Free Will (Oxford : Oxford University Press 1995). For an example of a discussion that falls within the institutions of philosophy component see Mandt, A.J.: "The inevitability of pluralism: philosophical practice and philosophical excellence" in Cohen, A./ Dascal, M. (eds): The institution of philosophy (La Salle: Open Court, 1991), pp 77-101. (17) The authors acknowledge with gratitude the generous support provided by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientà ­fico y Tecnolà ³gico (Chile) to the research project here outlined as well as the confidence and comments of two anonymous referees.