Stereotype Threat And Gender Threat On Learning - 1797 Words

Learning is an activity that everyone experiences all throughout life. From sitting in a classroom to watching television at home, people are constantly learning from their surroundings. While not everyone learns exactly the same way, there do exist threats to people’s learning that has likely affected everyone. One such example of this is stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is where people feel they should confirm the stereotypes of the social groups such as race and gender. One example of stereotype threat would be an English person living in America feeling pressured to speak a certain way since people believe that is how he would speak. Similar to how stereotyping is considered bad, there are problems with stereotype threat on†¦show more content†¦However, the effects of stereotype effect on learning relating to performance are not too clear. In a series of studies described in a paper by Ganley, Mingle, Ryan, Ryan, and Perry (2013), researchers examined gender s tereotype threat effects on math ability between on grade school students by giving a math test. Consistent between the three studies performed, the results found that there was no significant difference between the groups exposed and not exposed to the stereotype effect but they did find a slight main effect for gender - male scoring higher than female on their math test in two out of three of the studies (Ganley et al, 2013). This leads to the conclusion that either there is no measurable performance effect due to stereotype effect, or that there already stereotype effect has already taken hold on some of the participants. In the second of a series of experiments by Rydell, Rydell, and Boucher (2010), the experimenters taught female participants a novel mathematical operation and manipulated exposure to a negative gender stereotype threat, difficulty of the test and time spent studying. The results of the study suggest when learning a novel task, exposure to stereotype threat may influence how quickly the task can be accurately performed (Rydell et al, 2010). However, the data suggested that stereotype threat depended on the difficulty of the problem itself (Rydell et al, 2010). This is consistent with what most people would think. It would be

Corruption of Power - Macbeth - 1801 Words

Shakespeare’s bloody and tragic play Macbeth, written in the seventeenth century, portrays blind ambition, appearances can be deceiving and corruption of power. It follows the reasons behind Macbeth’s downfall. The play analyzes how other outside forces can easily change the path of ones desires and decisions. The witches’ intrusion, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and Macbeth’s dark desires all interfere and manipulate Macbeth’s decisions. He goes from being praised as a noble soldier to a traitor and corrupt king. In the play, Macbeth commits many terrible crimes; however he is solely not responsible for all of them. The outside factors manipulate his decisions and are responsible for his downfall at the end. To begin, the†¦show more content†¦He feels as if no one can harm him. Although the apparitions are correct, the witches have twisted the truth for Macbeth to feel invincible and confident on the decisions he is making to cause him harm in the near future. Secondly, Lady Macbeth’s blind ambition and false appearance take part in further altering Macbeth’s decisions. Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter and she immediately starts to plot King Duncan’s murder so the witches’ prophecies can her husbands desires can become true. She knows Macbeth is, â€Å"too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/†¦ That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false/ And yet wouldst wrongly win† (1.V.17-23). Lady is aware her husband Macbeth is too noble and innocent to hurt an individual for his own personal gain. She knows she will have to persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan in order for him to become king. Later, during the congratulatory dinner, Lady Macbeth convinces a hesitant Macbeth to execute Duncan. At first, Macbeth is hesitant because he thinks he is double crossing trust with the king, he is his kinsman, and tonight Duncan is his guest. Moreover, Duncan has done no wrong to deserve death. Macbeth confesses to Lady Macbeth he can not murder Duncan however, Lady Macbeth says, â€Å"Art thou afeard/†¦Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornamentShow MoreRelated Corruption and Power in Macbeth Essay754 Words   |  4 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Personal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, and at the same time is able to destroy a person’s nature. In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, becomes corrupt through power that he gains. The play shows that even someone who starts out like Macbeth and does not crave power, will do terrible things to gain authority and power. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The play begins with the characters King Duncan and Malcolm talkingRead MoreComparison Of Power And Corruption In Macbeth1105 Words   |  5 Pagesabout how power and corruption and how they correspond. Power is authority, respect, dominance, and most of all, power is control. Corruption is evil, profane, impious, impure, and most of all, corruption are wicked. In the novel â€Å"Lord of the Flies† there are two major characters that gain power, but only one becomes corrupt. The novel is about a group of kids that are stranded on an island. The boys try to form a society on their own and fail to do so. The boys start to fight for power, and one outRead MoreCorruption and Power in Macbeth Essay775 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, and at the same time is able to destroy a persons nature. In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, becomes corrupt through power that he gains . The play shows that even someone who starts out like Macbeth and does not crave power, will do terrible things to gain authority and power. The play begins with the characters King Duncan and Malcolm talking about a good and hardy soldier (Act I: ii: 4). Read MoreMacbeth Power And Corruption Essay786 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare we see how easily power and ambition can corrupt as Macbeth learns of his ‘fate’ to be the next king and, in an effort to speed up the wait commits regicide and murders the king. Macbeth’s turn in the play works well with the Lord Acton quote â€Å"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† In the beginning of the play we see that Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis and so has power but is also humble, but when the witches tell him he willRead More powmac Power and Corruption in Macbeth Essay examples1905 Words   |  8 PagesPower and Corruption in Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   Authority poisons everybody who takes authority upon himself (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin). This could easily be a comment on the story of Macbeth where an apparently respected Scottish couple have the opportunity to seize the highest authority, take it, and in doing so, poison themselves and their country. In Macbeth, the plays theme is the strife created by the wrongful seizure of power and the corruption of morals of those who acquire power by evilRead MoreEssay Power and Corruption in Macbeth by William Shakespeare3354 Words   |  14 Pagesgive him power†(Abraham Lincoln). Power is the ultimate force in the universe. Power by definition is control, controlling everything would make everything go the way that person wants it to so power is sought. Power is desired by most normal people, people who aspire to be more than themselves, to rise above the common man and do as they please. Power appeals to human nature. There are many different types of power, but th e main two are necessary and unnecessary power. Necessary power is that ofRead MoreEssay On Corruption In Macbeth1109 Words   |  5 PagesWith Power Comes Corruption â€Å"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.† is a quote from Lord John Dalberg-Acton, explaining that any amount of power can corrupt the mind, but absolute power will take over. This is represented throughout history: in politics, monarchies and times like the french revolution. Many writers have used this theme in their works. One work that includes this theme is William Shakespeares Macbeth. The play Macbeth follows Macbeth, a brave warriorRead MoreThe Tragic Downfall of Lady Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay1202 Words   |  5 PagesThe Tragic Downfall of Lady Macbeth William Shakespeare’s play entitled Macbeth is a bloody tragedy about ambition, evil, guilt and moral corruption. The story emphasizes a lot on the consequences or aftermath of the bad deeds that Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth do and the growing impact it has on them in turn. Lady Macbeth a woman driven by her assertiveness, boldness, strength and ambition for her husband could not escape the guilt that eventually caught up to her and destroyed her.Read MoreSymbolism that Represents the Theme of Corruption in Shakespeares MacBeth1043 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in MacBeth Symbolism plays an important role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power in William Shakespeares Macbeth. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly used to emphasize this theme. The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil, blood representing guilt, murder, and pain, and the archetypal pattern of purification by using water represents removal of guilt, cleansing and peace. Symbolism is used repeatedly to emphasize the theme of corruption of powerRead More Symbolism In Macbeth1097 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeares Macbeth, symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly used to emphasize this theme. The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil, blood representing guilt, murder, and pain, and the archetypal pattern of purification by using water represents removal of guilt, cleansing and peace. Symbolism is used repeatedly to emphas ize the theme of corruption of power. The image of

Leadership in Jason Bourne-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the Leadership and Leadership Qualities based on a Film and a Book. Answer: Introduction Jason Bourne (2016) is the fifth installment of Bourne series directed by Paul Greengrass along with Matt Damon in the lead (Jason Bourne 2015). Matt Damon comes back into Bourne series after a gap of nine years. He plays the title role of the series for the fourth time and is accompanied by Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles and Vincent Cassel in pivotal roles. The film is set on a highly classified operative mission of CIA to eliminate a number of ex-agents because their survival can result into a serious threat to the United States. In this field of security operations and national intelligence, leadership is regarded as the most important part of both field and tracking operations. This film displays three different leaders, who deal with their subordinates in different levels (Lussier and Achua 2015). Alicia Vikanders character Heather Lee is a Cyber Security Specialist, who deals with major field operatives through his insights and other form of directions. Among th ese three characters, Alicia Vikanders Heather Lee has more flesh and blood in it (Jason Bourne 2015). It is one of the lead characters with the maximum amount of screen time after Bournes character. She is a strong female leader, who not only leads her team in a proper way; she also stands by her principals until very end. Synopsis of Leadership in Jason Bourne The movie deals with a specific secret covert operation of searching and assassinating an ex field agent of CIA, Jason Bourne. Jason Bourne (2016) begins with a different time setting which is a number of years after the incidents which took place in The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) (Jason Bourne 2015). The film begins in the Greece-Armenia border where Bourne survives as a private street fighter. After exposing the classified Blackbriar operations, Bourne has isolated himself for many years (Jason Bourne 2015). Erstwhile, Nicky Parson another ex-CIA hacks into the CIAs server in order to seek information about the classified information and to expose CIAs unethical operations to the outside world. However, Heather Lee a PHD in computer science from Stanford and a newly appointed CIA Cyber Security Specialist tactfully tracks her down and gets access to her identity (Jason Bourne 2015). In the process of searching stored information, Heather discovers that Nicky was related to Jason Bourn e. On the other hand Nicky acquired certain information about an old program of the CIA which was known as Tradestone program. This program was started by Bournes father who got killed in Beirut in an alleged terrorist attack. The remaining version of the film deals with the owner of Deep Dream (a social networking site) and how he sold private user information to the US intelligence, an ex-Blackbriar assassin codenamed Asset and Jason Bournes avenge on Dewy who is responsible for Bournes fathers death. Heather Lee has a lot of leadership qualities in her. She rightfully acts in Interpersonal roles, when conversing with other operatives and when she rests her case of bringing back Bourne after reading the previous research documents about him (Jason Bourne 2015). Lee leads Bourne to trace down Dewey and saves him in the end. Lees monitoring capabilities are showcased in the chasing sequences when she single handedly hunted down Nicky Parson and Bourne through surveillance and other field operatives (Lussier and Achua 2015). She acts as a spokesperson with the higher officials and her subordinates in order to take decisions and connect them with his subordinates. Lee also acts as an able Disseminator as she is well aware in the skills of hiding and sharing information with the field operatives. She helps Bourne twice to save himself from the active team of CIA in Berlin and Las Vegas. Her capability to decide in disturbing circumstances and negotiation is exceptional. She acts well in handling Deweys plans in the end. However, in the beginning, she handles the disturbing emergency situations of Athens by proper methods and her software skills. She helps her field agents and Asset in allocating resources and providing exact time period of Bournes arrival (Jason Bourne 2015). Her leadership qualities in Decisional roles are showcased properly in the film. Leadership aspects of Lee in Jason Bourne As an operating officer of CIA Heather Lee successfully acts and reacts according to the situations. She is a great negotiator, able administrator and talented enough to perform her duties as a figure head (Jason Bourne 2015). Heather Lee performs her interpersonal roles, Informational roles and Decisional roles in a profound process. She knows her job and is completely dedicated for the betterment of the CIA. She has her own principles and believes in changing the old principles and ideas set by Dewey in operations. Lee knows that Dewey has been responsible in many unethical practices including assassinations of Agents and implementation of Iron Hand program. Lee is not in favour of Deweys idea of mass surveillance on public privacy through the social media Deep Dream and incorporation of CIAs Beta program Iron hand. She plays a major role in Bournes access into the United States and dismantles the assassination plans of Dewey and Asset. However, Lee plays the central role in the en tire film and acts as a true blue leader in controlling his entire unit. The film deals with the interpersonal, informational and decisional managerial roles of leadership (Lussier and Achua 2015). As a leader, Heather Lee seems to have exceptional monitoring abilities. Her sharpness is showcased by her ability to find out Nicky Parson in a short time period through hazy and moving surveillance camera. She instructs Asset and other field agents with exact directions to work and how much distance to cover to catch and get a shot at Bourne. Her ability to allocate resource has been showcased a one of her positives. She is also equipped with enough intelligence to handle disturbances. In a scene of the film, Bourne and Nicky tries to escape the CIA by getting disappeared into a crowd (Jason Bourne 2015). The film showcases a situation of political emergency in Greece, where thousands of protesters are performing violent demonstration against the state affairs. Bourne and Nicky gets stuck into this political crisis and this causes enormous disturbances for CI A to get to Nicky and Jason (Jason Bourne 2015). However, Lee handles the entire situation with maturity and rational behavior. She tracks down Bourne and Parsons escape through Satellite monitoring, security cameras and the cameras attached with the field agents and instructs the rightful direction to Asset to get to Bourne. She also understands and acts according to the situation when she understands that Dewey is acting separately with Asset in order to eliminate Bourne (Jason Bourne 2015). Her leadership skills are also showcased through this incident (Jason Bourne 2015). Later in the film she also acts as a spoke person to the higher authorities in order to take charge in the operations and manipulates everyone to allow Jason Bourne back in the program. Overtime, she also ably wins the trust of Jason Bourne but could not capitalize the situation because of a mistake. Her decisional abilities as a negotiator are established by this scenario. She presides the meeting properly to rest her case in front to the senior officials and informally helps Bourne to escape more than once. This incident highlights her abilities as a figure head. She ably sets a meeting with Bourne and meets her twice for negotiations. This showcases her excellent performance in Liason functions. Effectiveness Leader Leader Follower Relationship Repetitive/non repetitive task Strong and weak pints of the leader Situation Appropriate style for situation Heather Lee Good Repetitive tasks strong Great communication skills. Speaking with the field operatives during the operations. weak Not good enough negotiation skills Could not negotiate with Bourne to bring him back to the program. Heather Lee Poor Repetitive Tasks strong Passive conflict with Dewey. She believes in bringing Bourne back whereas, Dewey believes in eliminating him. Dewey gets eliminated in the way. Coaching and Conflict Skills of Lee Heather Lee is displayed in the film as a complete contrast to Tommy Lee Jones Robert Bob Dewey. Deweys principles of working are through heinous means and methods which is not at all merciful for the ex-agents (Jason Bourne 2015). As a leader, he is self obsessed. He loves his power and charisma and uses it to manipulate and force anybody to do anything (Jason Bourne 2015). However, Lee develops a supportive and cordial relationship with her subordinates. She tries to cooperate with them and never tries to cheat them like Dewey does through Asset. She takes the responsibility of the entire operations on her shoulders and rightfully tracks down parson in her very first attempt. She helps CIA to avoid the embarrassment of losing both the ex agents. She stands by certain decisions and provides descriptive feedbacks for her decisions to the higher authority. In the end of the film, the Director of National Intelligence asks her about the plans of bringing back Jason Bourne into the prog ram. She assures him that she has gained the trust of Bourne and if he would not like to come back into the business then he will be killed. She is clear in her head and in implementing decisions which makes her a great leader. She is a character who stands by her principles throughout the film. However, she is extremely flexible and rightly changes sides if necessary. Despite the orders from the Director she helps Bourne to flee away twice from the CIA field operatives. She understands the greater good for the CIA and the country and acts accordingly in the film. She never criticizes her Director or Asset (Jason Bourne 2015). However, she takes steps to eliminate the obstacles in the road to CIAs success. She never criticizes Bournes actions as she understands the situation he has gone through (Lussier and Achua 2015). These are coaching skills of a good leader (Lussier and Achua 2015). The film showcases a dysfunctional conflict between Robert Dewey and Heather Lee. Deweys way of working was damaging the name of CIA. CIAs functioning was earning a bad name for the United States. Heather Lee believed that he can bring changes to the Organization and that was her sole reason of choosing CIA over other organizations. Lee plays passive in the film; she never goes for a direct conflict with the Director (Lussier and Achua 2015). However, she planned her opposition in a different way. She supports Bourne to dismantle the power of Dewey and takes charge of the organization by confirming her loyalty towards the state authority. Failures in Leadership Despite the fact that, the film showcases Lee in positive light, there is enough problems and failures in her leadership (Lussier and Achua 2015). Despite all her negotiation skills she could not convince Bourne to join the program. She wins her trust by helping him eliminate Asset and saves him by killing Dewey but commits a mistake of speaking about eliminating Bourne if he does not agree to her. This showcases her failure. On the other hand Dewey communicates with his subordinates in a proper way. He handles Craig Jeffers and handles Malcolm Smith with his special communication skills (Jason Bourne 2015). He assures Malcolm safety and manipulates him to engage Bourne in an irrelevant discussion so that Asset can assassinate him. He is extremely influential and among his subordinates except Lee. Lee on the other hand single handedly eliminates Dewey and his plans in order to re-arrange the CIA properly (Jason Bourne 2015). Lee is second in command in the film; however she is more c apable and more appropriate to be a leader. Lee has great leadership qualities but Dewey is more charismatic in his leadership. Lee is not so popular among her people like Dewey. His charisma can be seen and observed in the way he assassinates Richard Web and plans Kalloors death. Trust is displayed as the main obstacle in the path of leadership in the film. The subordinates like Lee do not trust Dewey and his way of working. This also showcases his inability to survive as a leader in the CIA. Moreover, Lee acts on her own in the operations as she helps Bourne but lacks the number of members in executing the plans (Lussier and Achua 2015). Her operational skills are not fully tested because of her solo activities in the second half of the film (Lussier and Achua 2015). The basic crisis in the film is of the lack of ethics and honesty towards their subordinates. Dewey never speaks the truth about his willingness to kill Bourne to Lee. Rather, he was also trying to assassinate Lee along with Kalloor. His dishonesty towards his second in commands showcases his failure as a leader. On the other hand Lee also distrusts Asset and the CIA Director. She eliminates Dewey and helps Bourne to eliminate Asset. Despite the fact that her dishonesty was for saving the organization, it remains a display of poor leadership (Lussier and Achua 2015). Second in Command The second in command should be good enough to follow the footsteps of his leader. She should try and emulate the direction in which the first in command has driven the entire team (Lussier and Achua 2015). The leadership should be passed in the right time and to the right person. The second in command should be provided with the leadership when he is experienced enough to handle it and make use of it. There should be a proper learning process for the second in command. The designation of second in command is a very unstable position to be in. Sometimes it draws people towards more power which leads to bigger problem in a team. This should be rightfully avoided by building up a good relationship with the second in command (Lussier and Achua 2015). Every young leader has his way of working, managing and implementing ideas. Most of the new leaders try to implement ideas which are new and can play an instrumental part in transforming the face of the organisation. However, this can also make havoc negative effects in the organisation. Sometimes, an organisation is not capable of going through a necessary change this creates problem in managerial and leadership roles. Moreover, it is also necessary to involve the second in command in every major activity in the organisations. He should be allowed in the decision making process. His insights and suggestions should be treated as an equal to the leader. The second in commands role is of taking the responsibility of the entire situation along with the leader. The concepts like Figure head and Liason are technical aspects of leadership and hence should be taught and allowed to learn these ideas in order to do well in the field. In the film, Heather Lee remains the second in command until she dismantles the empire of Dewey which is heinously run by him. However, this is not an ideal situation. In an ideal situation this would not happen (Lussier and Achua 2015). Conclusion The film is a good example of showcasing the leadership qualities and the difference between a failed leader and strong leader. The film also highlights the fact that experience alone cannot assure good leadership. Heather Lee is a prime example of good leadership. She is passionate about her work. She is extremely good with communication and decision making and applies the presence of mind at her best. The report displays the use of leadership qualities in the movie Jason Bourne. Good leaders in general are passionate about their work. Heather Lee is one of the prime examples of it. She is so passionate about her principles and work that she works for 24 hours in certain instances. She never compromises with her work and principles in the film. Lee had strong communication skills with the help of which she connects all of her staff. Good leaders perceive that success is impossible without the efforts of their employees. Strong managers do not try to perform every aspect of a project themselves. They try and allow their subordinates to take decisions and in planning projects. Lee also knows all these ideas and she readily accepts this and act accordingly. Encouragement of the employees to work as a group helps a team to grow. This growth plays an important role in team building activities. Lees enigmatic expressions and her loyal and intellectual gesture to her job make her a special character in the series. She leads her team from the front in the operations which are showcased in the film. She is quick, dominant and believes in the principle of changing the ethos of the organisation upside down. She knows and understands her difference with Dewey but plays the game of conscientiously to overcome the obstacles for the greater good of the organisation. Her character is a prime example of good leadership despite having certain short comings because of her inexperience. `Another very important factor is her abilities of decision making. She ably makes rightful decisions at the right time. She has the ability to overcome situations at the time of severe problems. The process by which she handles the problem in disturbing circumstances makes her an automatic good leader. Despite inexperience she uses all kinds of tactics to overcome the situations and single handedly takes back CIA towards glory. The report also showcases the great coaching and conflicting skills of the leader through the example of Heather Lee. Lee handles the situations very well and avoids conflicts passively but ultimately wins through mind games. Her coaching skills play an important role in building confidence among the team members. This report showcases the ideas of leadership qualities through the character of Heather Lee in the film Jason Bourne. The importance of the second command holds an enormous importance of team building and future of the team. The interpersonal, informational and decisional roles are thoroughly discussed along with the positives and negatives in the report. Lees extraordinary skills of coordinating with the field agents and her ability to be flexible at times are showcased. However the shortcomings like her inability to make Bourne comeback into the agency is displayed as a major drawback of her leadership qualities. References Jason Bourne. 2015. [DVD] Directed by P. Greengrass. The United States of America: Perfect World Pictures, Kennedy/Marshall Captivate ,Entertainment Pearl Street. Lussier, R.N. and Achua, C.F., 2015.Leadership: Theory, application, skill development. Nelson Education.

The Pygmy Chain Sword Plants Essay Example

The Pygmy Chain Sword Plants Paper Understanding the process of photosynthesis is also vital in other areas, such as medicine, agriculture, energy production, and even electronics. In medicine, since light has extremely high energy content, sometimes it can cause damage to living organisms such as skin cancer and skin aging. To combat the high-energy content, plants developed photoprotective mechanisms to limit the amount of harm, which is caused from exposure to the light. By learning about the causes of tissue damage cause by light exposure and the way photoprotective mechanisms operate, we can develop our understanding of this process and use it to benefit the human race. An example of how photosynthesis has been applied in the medical field is in the treatment of tumors, where substances related to chlorophyll are injected into cancerous tumor tissue and exposed to light. The illumination of these tumors causes photochemical damage to take place, which can kill the tumor and leave surrounding tissue unharmed, as the protective agents converted the excess absorbed light into heat due to the basic principles of photosynthesis. Overall, photosynthesis is relatively inefficient, as only one to two percent of solar energy is used to form photosynthetic products. From that one to two percent, many plants undergo a process called photorespiration that causes them to waste much of the photosynthetic energy absorbed. By studying photosynthesis in detail and understanding processes like photorespiration, we can learn to control these processes so we can increase the productivity and efficiency of plants. We will write a custom essay sample on The Pygmy Chain Sword Plants specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Pygmy Chain Sword Plants specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Pygmy Chain Sword Plants specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Research along these lines is critical, as recent studies show that agricultural production is leveling off at a time when demand for food and other agricultural products is increasing rapidly. (Gust) Research into photosynthesis could lead to the production of more efficient crop strains or the development of more efficient, selective, and environmentally friendly herbicides that take effect by preventing steps of photosynthesis from occurring. Developing our understanding of photosynthesis can help to deal with issues of global importance, the decreasing amounts of fossil fuels and coal, which are vital to our daily life, especially in developing countries such as China where most of the power plants rely on coal. By learning how to control and increase the efficiency of photosynthesis, we can increase the production of fuels derived from agriculture such as ethanol. A new experimental process carried out by scientists today involve making ethanol from trees, grasses, and crop wastes by breaking down the cellulose in woody fibers to form cellulosic ethanol. This is much more efficient as trees and grasses do not need to be replanted every year like grains. (Ethanol made from, 2006) By increasing our understanding of photosynthesis, we can cut down on our dependence on fossil fuels, and on the production of greenhouse gases, by increasing the production of ethanol as an alternate source of fuel. Photosynthesis can even help in the development of technology, as engineers strive to make transistors and circuit components smaller in order to make computers faster and more compact, similar to how thylakoid membranes are packed inside chlorophyll molecules. Learning how plants control the movement of light energy to the different reaction centers and convert the light energy into chemical energy, can allow for the development of molecular-scale computers The reason why I chose this research question is that apart from my own personal interest in plants and my concern over the rising levels of pollution on earth, by understanding photosynthesis, the basis of life on earth, we can make medical and technological discoveries to improve our standards of living. Yet at the same time we can learn to control photosynthesis in order to increase the production of food and ethanol, and limit the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.