Was Mary Mallon a victim or villain free essay sample

Mary Mallon was a lady of Irish plummet who went to the United States as a foreigner to begin another life in 1886. She functioned as a cook in a house where affluent families came to commend their excursion. She was a solid transporter of typhoid and made the visitors wiped out and they kicked the bucket in view of her. In spite of the fact that science had not been grown enough yet and she was attempted unreasonably it didn't make her lone a casualty. Mary Mallon changed from casualty to miscreant. At the point when she chose not to answer to the police and come back to cooking. Mary Mallon was a casualty when she was isolated just because. Science had not been grown enough yet to demonstrate and clarify what sound transporters truly were and on the off chance that they existed by any stretch of the imagination. She accepted that she was unable to be a transporter without being wiped out. At the time she was asked by George Soper, an analyst who spent significant time in examining where maladies originate from, to coordinate to do a test with him, which she would not like to do. We will compose a custom paper test on Was Mary Mallon a casualty or lowlife or on the other hand any comparable subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Soper suggested that she may convey the microscopic organisms and be the reason for the vacationers in the house becoming ill. But since she was not wiped out herself she didn't accept a word he said and overlooked him. Mary had no motivation to accept she could be a typhoid transporter. At the time the hypothesis was; you either have typhoid and are truly debilitated or you don't. The equivalent applies to spreading it. She at any rate would need to be debilitated so as to spread it. Nobody thought about solid transporters, who like her, were sound but then conveyed the sickness with them their entire lives and could likewise spread it. They didn't become ill themselves in light of the fact that their invulnerable framework had beaten the microscopic organisms. In this manner, when cops came to capture her and put her in isolate without preliminary, she truly didn't have the foggiest idea what was befalling her and why. They revealed to her that she was a sound transporter and had made individuals wiped out, yet for what reason would she accept this? It was an extremely clever thought and individuals were still under the presumption that typhoid was spread by absence of cleanliness. So was she. â€Å" Message to great Housewives† with the notice that the house may look clean, â€Å"but don’t get the possibility that you can judge essentially by the presence of things†. â€Å"Wherever there is soil, germs can raise; and flies and vermin will come† (Tomes Reading, p 165). Individuals additionally didn't realize that typhoid could be spread by uncooked food like frozen yogurt. On the off chance that science had been grown more they could have perhaps utilized Mary to discover a fix or if nothing else it would most likely have given her a superior preliminary in any case. Presently everybody was thinking she had typhoid, so let us simply lock her up. Perhaps they could have thought of better arrangements in the event that they had known more. Be that as it may, Mary Mallon turned into a reprobate after she was discharged from isolate, on the grounds that then she realized she was not permitted to return to cooking and she did in any case. Accordingly, numerous individuals in the emergency clinic where she worked got wiped out and kicked the bucket. I need to accept that when she was in the emergency clinic and the entirety of the papers were expounded on her and kid's shows were distributed she needed to realize she was conveying it. They would not have saved her in isolate for such a long time in the event that she had not been a danger to human advancement. Additionally given the way that the individuals in the house where she had worked from the start had all become debilitated probably demonstrated a point to her. They did different tests on her too that demonstrated she conveyed it. She may at present have been believing that it couldn't be valid however that would have been extremely oblivious. The realities represent themselves. At the point when she escaped isolate and needed to comply with the standards that they had given to her, and didn't obey them she had changed in to a reprobate. She realized she was not permitted to cook again on the grounds that she could spread the malady that way. She needed to educate the administration where she was and didn't do that either. The way that she returned to cooking for me demonstrates she transformed into a scalawag, since that made numerous blameless individuals wiped out and made a considerable lot of them kick the bucket. What's more, the most exceedingly terrible thing is that out of every other place on earth she did it in a clinic. She realized she was not permitted to do it yet at the same time did it with gigantic results. At the point when she didn't have the foggiest idea what she was doing she was her very own survivor ailment, when she recognized what she was doing she had become a lowlife. The way that after she came out of isolate she needed to work amazingly low-paid and awful employments didn't give her the option to return to cooking and make honest individuals debilitated and bite the dust.

Cultural and Ethical Issue of Globalization

Multifaceted Perspective: The Cultural and Ethical Issue of Globalization Many American organizations that are redistributing employments to different nations make an issue in the economy of the Unites States and furthermore makes a social impact in a worldwide scale. Right up 'til today, The United States had lost a great many assembling employments contrasted with two decades prior (Heffner, 2012). Americans can no longer contend to universal makers, which put the United States economy in doom.There are numerous components required concerning why American companies’ chooses to do its assembling business outside of the United States. The most clear explanation is the expense of work. Global wages from underdeveloped nations cost route not as much as wages in the United States. For instance, makers in China get paid 33 pennies 60 minutes (Heffner, 2012). As an organization, the expense of working together outside of the Unites States is path less expensive than employing labor ers in the United States, which would cost more than 20 folds.In expansion to compensation, redistributing occupations outside of the United States would likewise spare organizations cost for finance charges, advantages, and managing associations that are basic in The United States. In addition, working together outside the United States expands a company’s capital on the grounds that the expense of work wages and assembling are less, yet the deals continue as before. The expense of land and plant cost is not exactly in the United States. Organizations don’t need to stress over support, property assessments, protection, and cost for tasks (Samuels, 2013).Although there are principles made by the International Labor Organizations with regards to working together in different nations, there are as yet less guidelines set out in different nations contrasted with guidelines that are compulsory in working together in the United States (Samuels, 2013). Organizations should k eep set principles and guidelines in the United States, which implies more administrative work, more duties, stressing over specialists rights, giving advantages to laborers, paid time offs, excursions, etc.More guidelines implies more expense and organizations will re-appropriate occupations outside of the United States on the off chance that it implies sparing them a great many dollars in cost. Another impacts of redistributing employments outside of the United States are the social changes that are joined by working together in different nations. It is no uncertainty that economy of underdeveloped nations are becoming because of universal exchange that most outside organization acquires. In any case, worldwide business can change the manner in which individuals live in a nation. The methods of living are influenced thus as the local language of the country.For model, The Philippines is viewed as perhaps the most unfortunate nation on the planet (The Poorest Countries in the World , 2013) and only 10 years prior there were not many outside nations that do organizations in the Philippines. Presently, there are such a large number of American organizations like, IBM, Cisco, TeleTech, and Sprint that redistributed occupations to the Philippines. Once more, it is useful for the developing economy of the Philippines, and yet it makes a culture stun in the nation. It is currently obligatory to take English courses in the Philippines, and a great many people are presently English language.Long-term impact could be a decrease in the local societies in the Philippines. One case of moral issues that emerges in worldwide business can be found on account of the organization Nike. Over 10 years prior Nike was engaged with an outrage that the organization supposedly recruited youngsters in its workforce in Pakistan, however later it was inferred that it was for sure reality. Youngsters made the soccer balls that were produced in Pakistan by Nike Corporation. It was realize d that the youngsters were paid 66 pennies to go through the entire day sewing the soccer balls.Although there were laws in Pakistan about kid work, it was not completely upheld in the nation (Azam, 1999). The issue was that records of birth were about difficult to get in nations like Pakistan. In this manner, there are presently records keeping of how old the laborers were. The nation isn't care for the United States was each conceived kid is recorded in a database. Nike Corporation conceded the charges and apologized for utilizing laborers that in the United States would be considered under matured specialists (Boggan, 2001) .The organization promised not to recruit under matured specialists, â€Å"Nike said it would raise the base age for employing laborers at shoe production lines to 18 and the base age for employing laborers at different plants to 16, in nations where it is regular for 14-year-olds to hold such occupations. It won't require the excusal of underage laborers as of now in place† (Cushman, 1998). The organization likewise â€Å"pledging to permit untouchables from work and human rights gatherings to join the autonomous examiners who investigate the industrial facilities in Asia, nterviewing laborers and evaluating working conditions† (Cushman, 1998). Organizations like Nike needs to consider the moral obligations that is a piece of working together in different nations. Not on the grounds that the nation, similar to Pakistan, has laws that were not upheld appropriately in the nation, it doesn't give any organization the option to wander from the moral duties of organizations to their representatives. They should treat laborers of different nations a similar way that they would do if they somehow managed to utilize laborers in the United States.When organizations work with different nations they should know about the social and moral viewpoint that can emerge in doing such organizations. There are numerous components that impact the companies’ choice on re-appropriating employments, however the social duty of an organization must be equivalent no matter how you look at it. It doesn’t imply that wages, benefits, or different elements will be the equivalent for specialist in the United States and in different nations, however the degree of promise to laborers, regard, and treatment must be adherence to the moral obligations of organizations to their laborer. References Azam, F. (1999, June). NIKE: Nike Shoes and Child Labor in Pakistan. Recovered from http://www1. american. edu/ted/nike. htm Boggan, S. (2001, October 20). ‘We Blew It' Nike Admits to Mistakes Over Child Labor. Recovered from http://www. commondreams. organization/headlines01/1020-01. htm Cushman, J. (1998, May 13). Worldwide BUSINESS; Nike Pledges to End Child Labor And Apply U. S. Rules Abroad. Recovered from http://www. nytimes. om/1998/05/13/business/universal business-nike-promises to-end-kid work and-apply-us-rules-abr oad. html Heffner, T. (2012, May 15). American Manufacturing Can No Longer Compete. Recovered from httphttp://economyincrisis. organization/content/american-assembling can-no-more drawn out contend Samuels, D. (2013). Masters and Cons of Outsourcing Manufacturing Jobs. Recovered from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/stars amp-cons-redistributing producing occupations 40320. html The Poorest Countries in the World. (2013). Recovered from

Water - Wine - Milk - Beer Chemistry Demonstration

Water - Wine - Milk - Beer Chemistry Demonstration Science exhibitions in which arrangements appear to mystically change shading leave an enduring impact on understudies and help impart an enthusiasm for science. Heres a shading change demo in which an answer appears to change from water to wine to milk to lager basically be being filled the suitable refreshment glass. Trouble: Average Time Required: Prepare the arrangements ahead of time; demo time is up to you Heres How: To start with, set up the china, since this exhibition depends on the nearness of synthetic concoctions added to the glasses before the water is added.For the water glass: Fill the glass around 3/4 brimming with refined water. Include 20-25 ml of soaked sodium bicarbonate with 20% sodium carbonate arrangement. The arrangement ought to have a pH 9.Place a couple of drops of phenolphthalein pointer in the base of the wine glass.Pour ~10 ml immersed barium chloride arrangement into the base of the milk glass.Place an exceptionally modest number of precious stones of sodium dichromate into the lager mug. As yet, the set-up can be acted ahead of time of the exhibit. Only preceding playing out the demo, add 5 ml concentrated HCl to the lager mug.To play out the show, basically pour the arrangement from the water glass into the wine glass. Empty the subsequent arrangement into the milk glass. This arrangement is at long last filled the brew mug. Tips: Use goggles, gloves, and appropriate wellbeing precautionary measures when making the arrangements and dealing with the synthetic substances. Specifically, use alert with the conc. HCl, which can cause a genuine corrosive burn.Avoid mishaps! On the off chance that you are utilizing genuine drinking glasses, if you don't mind hold this crystal exclusively for this showing and take care that the readied dish sets is avoided kids/pets/and so on. As usual, name your dish sets, as well. What You Need: refined water immersed sodium bicarbonate; 20% sodium carbonate ph9phenolphthalein indicatorsaturated barium chloride arrangement (aqueous)crystals of sodium dichromateconcentrated hydrochloric acidwater glasswine glassmilk glassbeer mug

Process Design for Riordan

Procedure Design for Riordan Manufacturing OPS/571 February 18, 2013 Robin Hundley-Solomon Process Design for Riordan Manufacturing Riordan Manufacturing, and its parent organization Riordan Industries, Inc. is a Fortune 1000 organization (University of Phoenix, 2013). Riordan’s future is centered around staying beneficial while guaranteeing that budgetary and human capital is accessible for proceed with development (University of Phoenix, 2013). Remaining monetarily reasonable and serious in the worldwide condition requires the assembling plant in China to assess current procedures and address different parts of the company’s structure process.Primary in the process upgrade is the Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP), the gracefully chain, exact estimating, and a feasible usage process with quality administration segments. Expelling bottlenecks, joining Just-in-Time (JIT) inventories, limiting waste, and including worldwide open doors will relational word Riordan Manu facturing for proceeded with progress. Assembling Resource Planning Manufacturing asset arranging frameworks are a typical asset in practically all assembling plants, huge and small.MRP frameworks give a handily comprehended way to deal with deciding number of parts, materials, and calendars for requesting and creation of these segments (Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano, 2006). Since Riordan produces parts in clusters utilizing a similar hardware, a MRP framework will give a road to improve Riordan’s system for diminishing change and waste in the flexibly and request of their electric fans. The plant in China creates the plastic fan cutting edges and fan housings.The electric fans are bought from a neighborhood plant, sent to Riordan and collected to be sold as a completed item. The fan provider has a 93% rate for on-time conveyances, postponing creation if not accessible. Riordan keeps stock and security load of handily acquired material, which brings about expenses. Worry with s crap materials and a decrease in squander is basic for Riordan’s China plant as it moves to execute new procedures. Dealing with these wasteful procedures by the utilization of a MRP framework will decrease crude materials and completed merchandise stock costs.The usage of the MRP framework will meet the objectives of giving an ace calendar to creation, oversee stock levels, computerize the requesting procedure to lessen squander, and diminish changeability in gracefully and request. These segments must be overseen adequately if Riordan is to stay serious in the worldwide market. Procedure Design The present procedure of Riordan Manufacturing isn't ideal and must be altogether adjusted to stay a worldwide pioneer. Since the conveyance and gracefully of electric fans is conflicting, bottlenecks can happen, postponing production.Stocking handily got polymer items builds stock expenses. Choosing elective providers for fans will empower Riordan to guarantee conveyance of fans to meet creation prerequisites and client orders. The utilization of different sources decreases the need to have a stock of fans. This execution of a Just-in-time (JIT) stock administration framework decreases stock and capacity costs, diminishes squander items and improves the assembling procedure. This lean creation and procedure is â€Å"based on the rationale that nothing will be delivered until it is needed† (Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano, 2006, p. 71). Improvement of key scope quantification, stock administration, and the creation and booking of the items in the opportune spot, at the perfect time, in the perfect sum builds income and efficiencies for the organization (Shields, 1999). The utilization of stream the board, which joins JIT and the capacities of MRP produces a blend of items dependent on requests, and utilizing the surge of parts provided without a moment to spare (Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano, 2006). Flexibly Chain Companies can increase serious and key preferr ed position with a proficient, smoothed out gracefully chain process.To be cost-effective organizations take out non-esteem included exercises, make the best limit use underway and dispersion, and seek after economies of scale (Chase, Jacobs, and Aquilano, 2006). Gracefully chain the executives plays out the center capacity of item move through the way toward accepting crude materials to shipment of the last item. The China plant process is presently incoherent, without a focal framework to administer receipt, stock, creation numbers, requests, and shipment.The execution of a lean procedure with Just-in-Time stock, robotized bookkeeping of crude materials, requests, solicitations, and transportation calendars will limit desk work logjams, waste, and bottlenecks. Re-appropriating and looking for worldwide chances, for example, get together and transportation of the last item, in an area with less expenses permits Riordan to concentrate just on the creation of parts. Worldwide item so urcing can help in bringing down expenses by buying the necessary material from different nations where it is accessible at low price.Multi-sourcing of electric fans takes into account reliable conveyance and rivalry among suppliers, likewise diminishing expenses. Creation Forecast The plant’s creation estimate depends on the hypothesis of moving midpoints. China’s fabricating unit deals with plastic polymers and electric engines required for creation of fans. To ascertain requests for one year from now creation Riordan midpoints deals throughout the previous three years. This normal is the projection for the coming year (Riordan, 2006). Riordan additionally creates custom fans dependent on intermittent requests from clients on a year to year basis.These gauge numbers are mistaken and flighty and can prompt abundance stock and waste. The selection of the lean procedure and Just-in-Time stock is a best practice business technique and idea to upgrade scope quantification , stock administration, and creation and booking of the items in the market at the ideal occasions and area. These procedures in addition to the examination of financial conditions will expand income for the organization to meet corporate objectives. Execution Plan Adequate arranging is vital for achievement in the usage of the new process.Evaluation at standard interims with responsive and convenient changes empowers Riordan to limit asset use toward unnecessary exercises. Job definition and clear direction are key in process configuration changes and Riordan must portray cautiously its usage plan. For the JIT preparing venture, it is ideal to partition the workers into two gatherings. Gathering one will begin preparing with the instruction partition on Monday, February 18 through Wednesday, February 20. Gathering one can apply this learning in reproduction preparing on the second 50% of the day on Wednesday, February 20 through Friday, February 22.The second week beginning Monday, February 25 through Friday, March 1 Group one will apply learned information and abilities in a real work setting. Managers will be available to help and workers can talk about any info, questions, and survey any procedures with the preparation directors. Gathering two will start the instruction part of the preparation on Monday, February 25-Wednesday, February 27. Gathering two will apply this learning in reenactment preparing on the second 50% of the day on Wednesday, February 27-Friday, March 1.The second week starting Monday, March 4 through Friday, March 8, Group two will apply learned information and aptitudes in the real work setting. Gathering two will do likewise as Group one with respect to the arrangement of info, questions, and audit any procedures also. Mechanization has been included for the JIT procedure since this is a ceaseless procedure. The sum of the principal day is required to experience the getting and embellishment forms. This connects to the following proce dure of cutting and get together procedures for the following two days. This permits more opportunity to painstakingly put the items together.On the fourth day, it connects the procedure to audit and check for any item deformities and tally the overabundance squander. On the last day, it joins with the past procedure for bundling, cleanup, and reuse forms. Overabundance waste can be checked to figure out what can be reused into the crude materials stock or given to the Chinese accomplices to discard the abundance squander. Table one has been included for a delineation of the procedures. Table One Cover Letter February 18, 2013 Riordan Manufacturing One Riordan Plaza San Jose, California 95112 Dear CEO:Team An is regarded with the chance to present the proposition for execution of Lean creation and Total Quality Management (TQM) for improving the Process Design of Riordan Manufacturing. There are different choices to follow the current operational procedure in the firm. The determina tion of the correct instruments for Lean Production and Quality Management can give knowledge with respect to the material prerequisite arranging and vital needs to fulfill the needs of irregular requests notwithstanding the flow guaging dependent on yearly demand.The proposition will recognize the bottlenecks during the time spent conjecture request and creation plan, which will accomplish the equalization expected to fulfill the amount of Riordan electric fans for the interest. TQM will decide the materials and staff expected to create the electric fans as per determined request and guarantee that Riordan is delivering quality items in an effective way. This execution comprising of fusing TQM, Just-in-Time inventories, limiting waste, and including worldwide chances, assists with separating the consequences of the undertaking and gives the capacity to conjecture request in an ideal way.Any sort of criticism will be incredibly refreshing and any colleague promptly be accessible to react to any inquiries. Try not to stop for a second to get in touch with us either by telephone or email. The group will promptly roll out any improvements you recommend. We anticipate keep cooperating later on as Riordan positions itself for proceeded with worldwide achievement. True

Riddles, Research, and Nerds with Power Tools

Riddles, Research, and Nerds with Power Tools So its been almost exactly a week since I last put together a blog entry, and the past seven days have been quite hectic indeed. Even though its IAP, the MIT tradition of work hard, play hard absolutely still applies, although I suppose the definition of work is a little more flexible now than it is during the actual term. Which is a very good thing, in my humble opinion. Ive spent the past week solving puzzles for Mystery Hunt, playing with cell culture for my UROP, and building stuff at my fraternity. And since I cant really pick which one I most want to tell you about, I decided to blog about all of them. *** Part the First: Riddles As you may have almost certainly heard, last weekend was Mystery Hunt MITs annual puzzle-palooza, which ran from Friday at noon until about 8 pm on Sunday. Many of the dorms and other living groups field teams, so it was natural for me to join the official Simmons Hall team, which has played the Hunt since Simmons opened in 2002. In addition to a slew of Simmons residents, the team also includes quite a few alumni (including Matt), a handful of students from other living groups, and many random friends. This year, the team was named Smallish Momenta (an anagram of Simmons Hall Team) and included over 80 people. Mystery Hunt traditionally begins in Lobby 7 at noon on Friday with a big kickoff event, which serves the dual purpose of bringing all the teams together and introducing the theme of the years Hunt. Unfortunately, I actually missed the kickoff due to my UROP, but nonetheless ended up figuring out that the theme was basically a murder mystery. The esteemed Dr. Otto Awkward had been killed in cold blood, and it was up to us to crack the case which we could do only by tracking down each of the contacts listed in Dr. Awkwards Little Black Book. Sort of hokey, I know, but it worked. Incidentally, Dr. Awkward was the name of the team that won last years Hunt and, therefore, the authors of this years Hunt. (Winning Mystery Hunt nets you precisely two rewards: bragging rights, and the privilege of writing next years Hunt.) After finishing up with research, I fairly ran over to Simmons Hall, where our headquarters was located, and started pitching in. For about the next 48 hours, I was basically either solving puzzles, banging my head against the wall, or sleeping. (Oh, and I ate a bit too.) The puzzles I worked on required me to do a lot of crazy things, including (but not limited to) looking up T-shirts on Threadless; factoring numbers into a crossword-esque array, except that all of the numbers and factors were in base 16; looking up star distances; performing reverse Caesar shifts; researching various TV shows and famous books; and even looking up poker odds. Suffice to say, it was completely ridiculous in a way that could only ever happen at MIT. In addition to helping out with a bunch of traditional pen-and-paper puzzles, I also helped out with two special puzzles that involved performing specific tasks around campus. For Race Around the Block, three friends and I needed to follow a very detailed and specific set of instructions that ultimately had us trekking up, around, and even under the main buildings of campus. One catch was that we had to split into two groups, and both groups had to coordinate with one another to actually solve the puzzle. Ironically, our biggest hurdle was simply figuring out where to start, since the puzzle instructed one of the teams to start where you can see one city three times on a red line. After about two hours of searching, we finally realized that this referred to a timeline of the worlds most important cities in Building 9, on which Constantinople appeared thrice. It then took us another four hours or so to actually solve the puzzlebut it was definitely worth it. For Thatll Tichu to Mess With Us, another friend and I had to learn how to play Tichu, a Chinese card game that combines elements of bridge and poker, and then win a hand against the organizers of the Hunt. Although it took us a while to win (apparently, learning a card game simply by reading its Wikipedia article isnt always a good strategy whod have thought?), ultimately we got the better of the Tichu Masters and came away with another answer for our team. Happily, even though this years set of puzzles turned out to be one of the more difficult Hunts in recent memory (according to upperclassmen, anyway), my teams momentum was anything but smallish. Altogether, we solved 42 regular puzzles (out of over 129!) and one meta-puzzle. Although that wasnt anywhere near enough to get us close to winning, we all had a ton of fun, which is really the most important part. Speaking of fun, one of the most enjoyable parts of Mystery Hunt is the ridiculous things that my fellow hunters end up saying while trying to solve puzzles. Here are some of my favorites from the weekend: Constantly heard throughout the weekend: Why would you do this to me? It looks straightforward. Josiah 09: I havent had enough coffee til I get the shakes! Are there any robots MIT is famous for? It also needs to be named after a tectonic plate. *awkward silence* Me: tectonic plates have names? At one point our printer started malfunctioning, so I got Will 10 to try and fix it for me. As he walked over, it immediately started working perfectly and spat out the puzzle I was trying to print. As Will said, I frightened it into submission. One puzzle featured the cast of Sesame Street deep in discussion about the Mystery Hunt. Unfortunately, no one had any idea how to solve the puzzle, prompting someone to proclaim proudly, I want a T-shirt that says stumped by a muppet.' Another puzzle involved writing a ridiculous Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novel for the organizers. As my friend JR explained to me, We are looking for aid in writing a mystery most foul! Me: Are there any common abbreviations beginning with SA? Anagha 08: Sure, the sinoatrial node. Me: come again? Is anyone doing the Animal Lovers puzzle? Keith G: Animal lovers over here! Matt: If you want to do it with animal lovers Me: Thats going on my blog. (Sorry Matt!) *** Part the Second: Research As Ive already mentioned in previous entries, my UROP is in the Langer Lab, where Ive been putting in roughly 40 hours of work a week for the past two weeks. And Im even getting academic credit for doing so, which is a nice side benefit to go along with all of the practical laboratory skills Im picking up. So far, Ive spent most of my time working with cell culture in a sterile environment (that is, a chemical hood). In addition to mastering basic aseptic techniques, Ive also learned all about how to properly care for cells mixing growth media, replacing old media, and splitting cells that have grown too rapidly. A few days ago, I was taught how to count cells, which basically involves diluting a sample of cells onto a special, overpriced microscope slide called a hemacytometer. Counting cells actually wasnt as difficult as I had expected it to be: its really just a matter of knowing the procedure and having the right equipment. In addition to cell culture, Ive also been making a variety of hydrogel scaffolds, which can then be used to carry cells for repairing tissue. Once again, its all about knowing the technique and having the right materials. The first major step in making a hydrogel is weighing out all the various materials in order to make solutions of the proper concentration. I then mix the solutions, add a photoinitiator and stick it under an ultraviolet lamp for about three minutes, which activates the photoinitiator and causes the two solutions to basically knit together and form a clear, watery, gel-like substance hence the name hydrogel. The final step is to pass the hydrogel through a series of syringes and successively smaller syringes, a process known as shearing, which turns the gel into a more-or-less solid, injectable substance. Although it sounds straightforward, you can ruin an entire gel with just one mistake or slip of your hand, so I try to be as careful as I can. One final tidbit my particular lab group is part of an active collaboration with the Voice Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, which means that every now and then I get to visit our facilities at MGH (only a few T stops away, Boston Rain notwithstanding). Even more exciting, Ive started filing the paperwork for getting my own MGH ID card! I know its not really a huge deal in the long run, but it still feels pretty awesome. *** Part the Third: Nerds with Power Tools A little over four months ago, I experienced two literally life-changing events on the exact same day. On Friday, September 7, 2007, Ben Jones hired me as an MIT admissions blogger, and the brothers of Phi Kappa Sigma invited me to join their fraternity. Even now, I couldnt tell you which is more important to me, except that they are both integral parts of who I am, and who I will become. In most fraternities, new members join the house as pledges probationary members who havent yet been initiated into the fraternity, but who have nonetheless committed to becoming full brothers. And really, its the word commitment that matters the most about being a pledge. As the old scripture goes, to whom much is given, much is expected and just as my newfound brothers have given an incredible amount of their time, dedication, and energy to me and my fellow pledges, they have high expectations of us, too. Whether its learning about the history of the Greek system, memorizing the names of Phi Kappa Sigmas founders, or simply getting to know the brothers, every part of the pledge program has a purpose. Throughout the past four months, the other ten pledges and I have been constantly surprised, not only by what the brothers have done for us, but we have managed to do as a pledge class. And that brings me to the real subject of this part of my entry. Each year during IAP, the current pledge class designs and builds something lasting for our house, as a way of both giving back to the older brothers, and giving forward to future members of the fraternity. Since Friday, my fellow pledges and I have been hard at work on a project of proportions greater than anything else we have ever attempted, individually or as a group: completely renovating and remodeling the raised stage portion of our basement to turn it into the houses very own private lounge. I know that may not sound like much on paper, but when I say completely, I really mean completely. Not only did we repaint the walls and window frame, replace the old carpet with tile, curtain the windows, erect a wall for privacy and safety, rebuild the old stairs, construct and upholster two amazingly comfortable benches, and build a pair of custom-fit tables we did it all in just seven days. Personally, the whole experience has been pretty dramatic and, dare I say it, inspiring. Out of the piles of sawdust and debris, weve managed to create something truly spectacular, something I know the entire house will benefit from for many years to come. In the process, I like to think weve learned a lot about each other and, perhaps even more importantly, our own capabilities. Basically, never underestimate what eleven MIT nerds with power tools can do. Although the project definitely required the full efforts of all eleven pledges, I do want to take this opportunity to dedicate this entry to my pledge brother Tyrel 11, without whom the lounge never would have seen the light of day. Early in the year, we chose Tyrel to be the go-to guy for this project, and hes gone above and beyond what any of us expected. From working later and starting earlier than anyone else, to getting support for our ideas from the brothers, to always knowing exactly what supplies we needed and precisely how to put things together, Tyrel was clearly the driving force behind this whole endeavor. Words arent worth much, but theyre what I have to give; and I can honestly say that Tyrel deserves all my gratitude and more. Pictures of the lounge will be coming shortly, so you can judge our efforts for yourself. Were showcasing our work to the brothers in just a few hours, so wish us luck!