Songhai Empire Essay Example

Songhai Empire Paper Beffa 4 The Songhai Empire Alex Beffa Global History April 9, 2012 Beffa 3 The Songhai, also known as the Songhay, was not only the last, but also the largest and greatest empire of western Africa between 1000 and 1600 ce. i The previous empire was the Mali empire. Songhai was just a client state at the port of Gao, which was a major trading port for trans-Saharan trade especially since it is located on the Niger river. When the Mali empire started to decline in the 14 th century, the Songhai king declared independence. i The Songhai empire was the most thriving west African empire for many reasons but major ones are: the kings Sunni Ali and Muhammad Ture as well as the conquering of the city of Timbuktu. Sunni Ali became ruler in 1464. He did not waste any time waiting to begin expanding. Shortly after coming to power, he went to conquer the great trading port of Timbuktu from the Tuareg raiders. After Timbuktu was his, Sunni Alis armies went south to the port of Jenne. In 1480, he attacked the Mossi states south of the Niger river. He had a strong military background which helped him become one of the best conquerers and leaders in African empire history until this point. His best asset was his naval skills which is mostly likely why he typically conquered ports along the Niger river. One of his major advancements was the the creation of a bureaucracy. This allowed the Songhai to be a more centralized empire than the previous empires of Ghana and Mali. To help get the Muslim support, Sunni Ali claimed to be a Muslim, though he never truly left the old traditional religions supposedly due to the belief that it was the source of his supernatural powers in battle. We will write a custom essay sample on Songhai Empire specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Songhai Empire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Songhai Empire specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In 1492, after a successful conquest, according to some oral traditions, Sunni Ali drowned while crossing the Niger river. Still others refuse to accept this theory, insisting that he died in battle. His reign was from 1464-1492. When Sunni Ali died, one of his sons named Sunni Barou took over. iii Unfortunately, unlike his father, Sunni Barou did not claim to be Muslim but rather embraced the old tradition. This did not go over very well with the Muslim community in the empire. Not long after taking the throne, Sunni Barou was overthrown by a very faithful muslim named Muhammad Ture. Born around 1440, he was a very ruthless Beffa 4 killer. He even want so far as to eliminate the rest of Sunni Alis family members. As for his way of governing, the Islamic religion played a big role. He believed that the spread of islam was very important for two reasons. One, he was a devout muslim and felt that everyone should be. And second, he saw Islam as a way to unify the empire. He organized his own bureaucracy with 10 providences and an administrator for each. This allowed him to rule very effectively over a vast empire. To lower chances of a rebellion, Muhammad Ture would not allow the kings of the conquered to keep their power but instead he would replace them with members of his own family. In 1495, Muhammad decided to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike other rulers, he was able to leave for long periods of time due to how incredibly stable his government was. After his journey, he felt the need to expand the empire. When Sunni Ali had died, a good number of the states Sunni Ali had conquered had declared independence. It was up to muhammad to reassert the Songhai’s control over these territories. He had no problem with going on an almost continuous military conquest for close to two decades. Like Sunni Ali, Muhammad Ture also expanded the navy. After a military life like that, he was lucky to be around to experience old age. In 1528 Muhammad was so well aged that he had lost the drive to continue the conquests. Also he began to go blind, so his son Farimundyo Musa took over. Farimundyo Musa changed his name to Askia Musa which is where the Askia dynasty comes from. Askia Musa was assassinated in 1531 by one of his brothers. Since Muhammad Ture was Islamic and education is a big part of Islam, Muhammad obviously supported education. The University of Timbuktu was one of the first universities in all of Africa. It attracted many scholars, mainly Islamic. Trade helped bring prosperity to the Songhai Empire as well as these other advances. iv Timbuktu was not only, a major trading spot, but also an educational capital. It had a big effect on the Songhai empire. By conquering this major port early on in the Songhai empires life, it established a sort of foundation. By controlling this port along with a few other key cities, they basically dominated the trans-Saharan trade. Timbuktu Beffa 3 was founded by nomads of the Tuareg in the early 12 th century. In its early days, Timbuktu was thought to be inferior to other major trading ports for trans-Saharan trade such as the cities of Ghana or Walata because they were more impressive. It did not take long to change peoples minds. Timbuktu and its sister city Jenne, which was also soon conquered by the Songhai, were in much better position to the gold field than Walata. Another factor in the rise of timbuktu was the nomad arabs that had been raiding caravans along the western routes. In turn, more people had been taking the eastern routes through Timbuktu. Finally, probably the most signif icant reason timbuktu was such a major port, Timbuktu was on a point where three major trans-Saharan routes went: the Mauritanian, Taghaza salt road, and the route to In Salah by way of Arawan. Two of the most important major imports and exports of the Songhai empire were salt and gold, but other items included slaves, ivory, cotton fabrics, grains, and ostrich feathers. vi To Timbuktu in particular, the major ones were gold, salt, slaves, and kola nuts. The salt came from the salt mines in the Sahara. The gold came from Bure, Bambuk, and Akan. The others, kola nuts and slaves were kinda of wide spread, coming from several p laces and in demand at many more. Naturally as a major trading port, Timbuktu had cultural diffusion. Islamic ideas were passed around especially when Muhammad Ture was in power. vii In 1591 a Moroccan force overthrew the last king of the Songhai empire, thus ending the reign of the greatest western African empire between 1100 and 1600. viii They took the capital at Gao and then moved on to timbuktu. ix It would make sense that trade would be the Songhais forte since when the Mali empire was still in power, the Songhai was a major trading spot at the city of Gao. And the big emphasis on having a great navy would also make sense considering they are located on the Niger river. The major reasons for such an enormous and thriving empire were the well-organized government, combined with outstanding kings, and never having a financial crisis since they conquered cities like Timbuktu and Jenne right from the beginning. Beffa 4 Bibliography Fritze, Ronald. Timbuktu. In World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 16, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. Insoll, Timothy A. â€Å"Trade Empire. † Archeaology 53, no. 6 (november 2000): 48 MAS Ultra-School Edition, Ebscohost (accessed February 5, 2012). Page, Willie F. Encyclopedia of African History and Culture. USA: A Learning Source Book, 2001 William, Oscar. â€Å"Songhai Empire. † In World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABCCLIO, 2004-. Accessed February 5, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abcclio. com/search/display/601432? terms=songhai World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. â€Å"Africa, 3000 BCE-1500 BCE,† ac cessed February 4, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abcclio. com/search/display/588506? terms=medieval+africa+songhai World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Askia dynasty, accessed April 16, 2012. http://ancienthistory. bc-clio. com/. World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Muhammad Ture, accessed April 15, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Sunni Ali, accessed April 8, http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. 2012. i Oscar William. â€Å"Songhai Empire. † In World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC- CLIO, 2004-. Accessed February 5 , 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/search/display/601432? terms=songhai ii World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Sunni Ali, accessed April 15, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. om/. iii World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Sunni Ali,† iv World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Muhammad Ture, accessed April 15, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. v Ronald Fritze. Timbuktu. In World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2004-. Accessed April 16, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. vi World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Muhammad Ture,† vii Fritze viii World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, s. v. Askia dynasty, accessed April 16, 2012. http://ancienthistory. abc-clio. com/. ix Fritze

List of Elements Belonging to the Actinide Group

List of Elements Belonging to the Actinide Group The actinide or actinoid elements are a series of elements including atomic number 89 (actinium) through 103 (lawrencium). Here is a list of elements that are actinides, a subset of the rare earth elements group. Discussions of actinide elements may refer to any member of the group by the symbol An. All of the elements are f-block elements, except sometimes actinium and lawrencium. As such, the actinides are a subset of the transition metals group. Here is a list of all of the elements in the actinide series: Actinium (sometimes considered a transition metal  yet not an actinide)ThoriumProtactiniumUraniumNeptuniumPlutoniumAmericiumCuriumBerkeliumCaliforniumEinsteiniumFermiumMendeleviumNobeliumLawrencium  (sometimes considered a transition metal yet not an actinide) For more information about the actinide element group: Actinides Element Group

Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter Sample

Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter Sample SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Hospitality's a competitive industry, but luckily the applicant who wrote this cover letter has both a degree in Hospitality Management and experience as a server. In his cover letter,Charliestrives to show that he's ready to move into a managerial position. Read on to see how Charlie presents his skills and experiences in the restaurant industry. Then check out the breakdown of what his cover letter does well. Cover Letter for Position of Assistant Restaurant Manager Charlie Putnam5 Mountain RoadCentreville, VA 20122 May 1, 2016 Ms. Talia RichardsonRestaurant ManagerTapea Restaurant Group56 Main St.Centreville, VA 20122 Dear Ms. Richardson, As I was growing up, Friday nights always meant dinner at Tapea. Your dining room was like a home away from home for me and my family, and we came back weekly for the amazing food, comfortable atmosphere, and warm customer service. As I graduate with a degree in Hospitality Management from Johnson and Wales in May, I would be thrilled to join the ranks of my favorite restaurant as Assistant Restaurant Manager, an opportunity I saw posted on your front window. Please allow me to share how my background makes me a great fit for the role. Over the past few summers, I worked as a server at Solera, a Spanish restaurant in Providence. In this position, I developed excellent customer service and organizational skills, as well as close attention to detail. I also went beyond my duties as server to help planfunctions for parties of 50 to 100 people. In particular, I led the planning ofa graduation party last June. My experiences taught me a great deal about all the moving parts that must come together for a restaurant to stand out in the competitive hospitality industry. Beyondmy professional experiences, I’ve gained industry knowledge through my studies in Hospitality Management. My classes and practicums taught me the ins and outs of budget management, conflict resolution, and team leadership. For my thesis project, I created an employee handbook that contained workplace policies and training instructions. In a managerial role, I would seek to inspire a sense of pride and ownership of responsibilities among my fellow employees. I would carry on Tapea’s dedication to a truly great dining experience for its guests. I believe that my knowledge and experience, along with my outgoing personality and strong work ethic, make well suited to the Assistant Manager position with Tapea Restaurant. As a lifelong patron, I have firsthand experience with your great customer service and amazing menu (the garlic chicken croquettes are actually addictive). I look forward to learning more about the position and can be contacted anytime by phone or email. Thanks very much for your time. Sincerely, Charlie Putnam Charlie Putnamcharlie.putnam@gmail.com555-555-5555 Does Charlie's cover letter show that he's ready to take on the role of Assistant Restaurant Manager? Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter: The Breakdown In his cover letter for the Assistant Restaurant Manager position, Charlie expresses his excitement about the prospect of working for Tapea Restaurant. He tells the hiring manager that he grew up going to the restaurant and knows it well. Then he goes on to focus on his professional experiences and academic studies as they relate to the new job. In the first part of his argument, Charlie talks about his experiences working in the restaurant industry. Not only has he worked as a server, but he also helped plan large functions and events. Beyond working in a restaurant, he also studied Hospitality Management at school and learned about management responsibilities, like preparing a budget and team leadership. From his cover letter, it's clear that Charlie understands the duties of Assistant Manager and feels equipped to take them on. Hopefully, the qualificationshe describesin his cover letter will be enough to land him an interview and set up a job for after graduation! Before you head to additional cover letter samples, consider a brief note on format. A Note on Format Charlie's cover letter shows a traditional format, with his name and information at the top, the current date, and the hiring manager's contact details. These headers work well if you're sending your letter as a hard copy or Word attachment. If you're pasting your letter right into the body of an email - an approach that's fine, if not expected, for lots of jobs - then you can leave out these formatting features and start right in with the salutation. Similarly, if you're applying through an online portal and pasting your letter into a text box, then you probably don't need to worry about the format. Consider how you're sending your cover letter, along with any additional application instructions from the organization, and let that guide your formatting. What's Next? Care to read another? Check out this next cover letter sample for the position of Head Content Editor. Are you looking for other kinds of cover letters? Check out our full guide for five more samples, along with tips for how to write yours. If you're writing a cover letter, don't waste time staring at a blank page. This cover letter template and guide will help you get the ball rolling.

Tesco Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tesco Research Paper - Essay Example The report below therefore investigates the manifestation of the organizational culture, structure and the motivational factors that the management employs in enhancing the profitability of the company. In doing this, the research compares the utilization of numerous theories that explain the implementation of such factors in a commercial organization thus enhancing the profitability of the company. Humans are among the most fundamental resources in an organization. This makes the management of humans important since they influence the profitability of the commercial organization. Systems theory of management views commercial organizations as systems with numerous components that must work seamlessly albeit independently in order for the organization to run as a unified whole. In most cases, the components are often in the form of departments. Tesco Corporation has numerous departments key among which are administration, production, marketing and human resource among many others. The various departments must work independently by making independent decisions. However, in making such decisions, the departments must consult each other in order to safeguard the profitability of the commercial organization. Organizational culture refers to the behavior of people within a company. Organizational culture is therefore an essential factor that influences the profitability of a commercial organization since an organization interacts with numerous people. As explained earlier, human resources are some of the most important people in an organization. Additionally, the customers and lawmakers among many other stakeholder are all humans who influence the profitability of a company. This underscores the need for an organization to develop effective structures to supervise the interaction among people within the organization. Tesco Corporation understands the need for effective management of behavior within the organization. Among the tools, the

Research Methods for Business Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Methods for Business - Research Paper Example This study takes a more theoretical view towards the topic and considers the successful stories of three small businesses as the case to be analyzed. The abstract in the paper provides a sufficient view of the entire work done in the study. Besides this, the introduction provided in the first chapter of the paper also establishes an adequately contained framework of the research. By considering and studying the cases of three business organizations, the relationship between the two variables under the influence of leadership is taken into account. The study gathers the responses and required data through the telephonic interviews in the three distinct employee levels along with visiting and reviewing the websites for more information regarding the topic at hand. The academic articles answers the questions regarding the roles of leaders, the leadership strategies utilized to attain performance excellence initiatives, the challenges and issues countered by the leaders and the ways which the leaders used to overcome the obstacles. The literature review provided in the articles gives a good overview of the recent studies done by various researchers in the field of human resource management in general and leadership in particular. It properly defines the terms utilized in the discipline of HRM and used in this study. The journal article concludes the facts regarding the relationship of the quality management and customer satisfaction with the leadership strategies. It examines the role of leaders as encompassing an active involvement in the organizational activities and attempting to establish, maintain and sustain the long-term strategies, consistent transferring of messages and being available to the employees at the time of needs. The study suggests that the three companies involved in the small business utilized three strategies of leadership. Firstly, they formed teams to study the quality management concepts and, in doing so, they learned from one

Microbial Analysis of Soil Essay Example for Free

Microbial Analysis of Soil Essay Abstract: soil samples were collected fortnightly from area near Dahisar River, A river in suburb of Mumbai. laboratory analysis started from July 2010 to September 2010. Total bacterial and fungal count were estimated by standard spread plate isolation. Isolated bacteria were subject to colony characterization and were estimated by their morphological and biochemical characters. As being a monsoon the occurrence of variation of different species were high. The microorganisms isolated from the soil were of staphylococcus strain and were gram positive, aerobic, coccus shaped bacteria. The fungal species were also identified, of which Aspergillus and Penicillium were dominant, followed by mucur, as sub dominant .This project aims to find out the water and soil quality of River and as it is flowing through an industrial area, to find out if it is getting affected by the Industrial pollutants. Introduction: Soil is the region on the earth’s crust where geology and biology meet, the land surface that provides a home to plant animal and microbial life (Pelczar et al., 1993). Soil teems with microscopic life (bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa and viruses) as well as macroscopic life such as earthworms, nematodes, mites, and insects, and also the root systems of plants. The numbers and kinds of micro- organisms present in soil depend on many environmental factors: amount and type of nutrients available, available moisture, degree of aeration, pH, temperature etc (Prescott et al., 1999). Soil bacteria and fungi play pivotal roles in various biochemical cycles and are responsible for the recycling of organic compounds (Wall and Virginia, 1999). Soil microorganisms also influence above- ground ecosystems by contributing to plant nutrition, plant health, soil structure and soil fertility (O’Donnell et al., 2001). Soil is generally a favorable habitat for the proliferation of microorganisms, with micro colonies, developing around soil particles. Numbers of micro organism . In soil habitats normally are much higher than those in fresh water or marine habitats (Atals and Bartha, 1998). Bacteria make up the most abundant group of micro- organisms in the soil (3.0 x 106 – 5.0 x 108) per gram of soil, followed by the actinomycetes (1.0 x 106 – 2.0 x 107), fungi (5.0 x 103 – 9.0 x 106), yeast (I.0 x 103 – 1.0 x 106), algae and protozoa (1.0 x 103- 5.0 x 105) and nematodes (50 – 200) counts per gram of soil are wide differences in the relative proportions of individual bacteria genera found in particular soils (Atals and Bartha, 1998). Soil fungi may occur as free-living organisms or in mycorrhizal association with plant roots. Fungi are found primarily in the top 10 cm of the soil and are rarely found below 30 cm. They are most abundant in well-aerated and acidic soils (Domsch et al., 1980). Most fungi in soil are opportunistic (zymogenous). They grow and carry out active metabolism when conditions are favorable which implies adequate moisture, adequate aeration and relatively high concentrations of utilizable substrates (Postage, 1994; Miyanoto et al., 2002). In this research we isolate culturable heterotrophic bacteria and fungi from different top soil samples MATERIALS AND METHODS Laboratory analysis Preparation of materials The materials needed for this experiment include; glass wares (conical flasks, bijou bottles, pipettes, petri-dishes) and they were washed with detergents. These glass wares were rinsed thoroughly with clean distilled portable water and left to air dry before sterilizing them in the autoclave at 15ââ€" ¦C for 1 hour. Also, the laboratory cabinets on which the work would be carried out was swabbed with cotton wool soaked in methylated spirit to sterilize it before any microbiological analysis was carried out to avoid the growth and isolation of other organisms not present in the samples. After sterilization, the plates were allowed to cool to about 45 degrees before they were used. Microbiological evaluation Ten (10) grams of the soil sample for microbiological evaluation was weighed into 9ml of sterile water. Preparation of serial dilution goes thus: 1ml of the original stocks solution was poured into 9ml sterile distilled water and mixed thoroughly to give 10-2 of the original sample and this was done for each sample and the bottles labeled according to date of collection Isolation and Enumeration of Micro-organisms. 1gram of the samples was homogenized in 9mls of distilled water to obtain a ratio of 1:9 and the second diluted of each sample was plated using the pour plate technique. Sterile molten nutrient agar (NA), potato dextrose agar (PDA), macconky’s agar,(MA) manitol salt agar (MSA) and deoxycholate astrate agar (DCA) were used{the potato dextrose agar (PDA) was acidified). These agars were then added and left to solidify undisturbed. These plates were incubated 37oC for 24hours (incubation was aerobic) and the procedure was repeated using 10-2 finally the number of colonies per plates were counted and recorded. The acidified PDA was incubated at 25C for 3-7 days for microbial growth. Total Bacterial counts (Cfu/g) The total bacteria count for each sample was determined with the pour plate techniques using nutrient agar. The plates were incubated between 24hours at 370C and all colonies appearing on the end of the incubation period were counted using digital unlimited colony counter and the counts were expressed in colony forming unit per gram {CFU/g} of the sample. Colonies of bacteria developing on the plates were observed, isolated and reisolated on a fresh media until pure culture was obtained. Preparation of Pure Culture It is necessary to isolate organisms in pure culture before studying and identifying them because a pure culture originates from one cell. Characteristics colonies from the original culture on the plates were picked with a sterile wire loop (using surface streaking method) and this loop was used to make streak of the colony on the surface of newly prepared sterile agar plates of NA,MA MSA. These streak will space out the inoculants and discrete colony of a particular specie of organism and then incubated at 35-37oC for 24hours to enhance microbial growth. Distinct colonies were re-inoculated on another fresh agar plates in order to obtain a pure culture. The isolates were picked with sterile loop and streaked into prepared agar slants, labeled and incubated for growth after which they were kept in the refrigerator for future use and identification. Identification of Isolates These isolated bacteria were identified using both morphological culture characteristics (i.e. the color, shape, elevation, capacity, consistency, edge) and biochemical test (i.e. citrate, oxidase, indole, sugar fermentation, test etc.)and the bacteria were identified based on the results obtained from the above mentioned biochemical characterization results and the procedures include. Grams Staining Techniques A drop of distilled water was placed on a clean glass slide. The inoculating wire loop was sterilized by flaming until it was red hot (this is to prevent the invasion of unwanted micro- organisms that might be inhabiting the wire loop) in the blue flame of a Bunsen burner. The loop was allowed to cool and the small portion of each colony of microorganisms to be gram stained was picked and smeared in the drop of water (distilled) on the glass slide and then spread into a thin smear along the slide. The smear was air dried and passed through the blue flame. The smear was stained with 1%crystal violet and left for 1minutes (60secs) and then washed with running distilled water it was then stained again with Lugols iodine for another 60secs and also washed with running distilled water. The slide was decolorized rapidly with 75% alcohol in order to present the organism from having the color of the primary reagent and it was washed immediately with distilled water. The slide finally was flooded with a counter stain safranine (a secondary stain) for 60secons and also washed off with distilled water and allow to air dry. The slide was covered with a cover slide and observed under the microscope using oil immersion x 100 objective lens with immersion oil. The gram reaction of the isolated arrangement and the shape of the cell were observed and recorded. Gram positive (+ve) bacterial were characterized by a purple color (i.e. the primary stain) while the gram negative (-ve) bacteria were characterized by red color (i.e. the secondary stain) .This procedure is actually used to ascertain the component of each organisms cell wall. Motility Motility was determined by hanging drop techniques. Using loop, a little part of the colony of the organisms were grown in peptone water for 18hours and then placed in the grease free slide and covered with a Vaseline bound cover slip and then observed under x100 objective lens. A motile organism is then seen moving in the drop of liquid. Identification Of Mold Isolates Mold isolated was identified using cultural and morphological characteristics and according to (Fawole and Oso, 2001), microscopic observation was carried out using lacto phenol blue stain. Procedure for Mold Staining A drop of lacto phenol blue stain was dropped on a clean grease free sterilized glass slide and after this a sterile inoculating wire loop was used to pick the mycelium unto the glass slide from the mold culture .The mycelium was spread evenly on the slide. Teasing was carried out to separate the mycelium in order to get a homogenous mixture and the mixture was then covered with cover slips gently and then allowed to stay for some seconds before observing under x40 under the microscope. The microscope examination of actively growing mold was on the basis of structures bearing spores, presence or absence of septate. BIOCHEMICAL TESTS Catalase Test Catalase test demonstrates the presence of catalase enzyme by aerobic microorganisms. Catalase is an enzyme that catalysis the release of oxygen from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). To test for catalase, a drop of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution was added to a slide and the organism to be tested for catalase production is brought in contact with the hydrogen peroxide. The production of gas bubbles however indicates a positive reaction and this shows that catalase enzyme is produced.(FawoleOso, 2001) Oxidase test This was carried out by placing a clean filter paper on the working bench or petri dishes and 2-3 drops of freshly prepared oxidase reagent was added to the isolate using a sterile inoculating wire loop. After this, a few quantity of oxidase reagent was added and a purple coloration was observed within 10-15minutes which indicated that the organisms is oxidase positive and according to Olutiola et al, 1991, a positive reaction is dependent on the presence of cytochrome. This test is also useful for the separation of Neisseria in mixed culture and in differentiating Pseudomonas from enteric bacteria. Indole test Olutiola et al, 1991, describes the test as one which is important in the differentiation of colonies and it depends on the production of indole from tryptophan by the organism. An inoculating loop was used to inoculate the organism into a test tube containing decarboxylase medium becomes violet. An uninoculated test tube serves as a control (i.e. remained yellow) Sugar fermentation test The ability of the isolates to utilize certain sugar as energy source was tested. If the organism does ferment a particular sugar, acid will be produced and gas may be produced or not. Acid production is indicated by color change of the medium from red to yellow and acid presence could also be detectable with a ph. indicator in the medium while the production of gas is indicated by a void produced in a Durham tube. The fermentation medium was prepared by 0.1g of sodium chloride and 0.1g of fermentable sugar (glucose) in 10ml of distilled water. An amount of 9ml of the medium was pipette into a test tube containing Durham’s tubes in replicates. 5ml of phenol red indicator was immediately discharged into the test tubes. The test tubes containing medium were sterilized in an autoclave at 121 o for 15minutes.After sterilization, each isolate were incubated in glucose Medium. An uninoculated test tube was also incubated for glucose to serve as a control. The test was also carried out using maltose, lactose, galactose, manitol, sucrose, fructose and mannose.(Olutiolaet al., 1991) Discussion: The abundance of bacteria and fungi in this study were typical of environment with high species richness and functional diversity. Despite the fact that it is possible that a number of bacteria and fungi may be missed in this study, the isolates could be readily assigned dominant (e.g. Bacillus sp, Aspergillus sp) or transient/succession roles in the isolation of organisms form different seasons, which form the basis of this study. In additions to the implications of the determination of the number of microorganisms during soil sampling, one should consider the qualitative aspect of the preservation of important species and groups of microorganisms and of the changes in these biochemical characteristics resulting from the variations in these counts. Although the results of this study would not be considered to be exhaustive, as it was done within the limits of facilities available in the laboratory, an insight into the population dynamics and distribution of culturable aerobic bacteria and fungi diversity has been elucidated. This is without prejudice to the possible influence which a substantial proportion of bacteria and fungi that are not culturable in vitro could have on the overall picture of event. It would require more modern technology (nuclei acid probes) to obtain such detailed overview of microbial diversity. This should be a subject of extension of this investigation in future. Conclusion Through this project, if emphasis is made on public health, the observation and findings show striking predominance of Salmonella typhi. And E.coli. E.coli being an enterobacter cause dysentery and S.typhi poses a great risk of typhoid. Health inspector and municipal authorities should look into this matter for further investigation and if possible improvement Acknowledgement Investigators are grateful to the Principal Management of S.V.K.M’s Mithibai College for constant encouragement support. And head of department of zoology Prof. V.V. Dalvie for providing me opportunities and Prof. Radhika D’souza, under whose guidance the project was successfully completed References 1 .Atals RM, Bartha R (1998). Microbial Ecology: Fundamentals and Applications. 4th Edition. Benjamin Cummings Publishing Company Inc. Addison Wesley Longman Inc. pp. 300 – 350. 2. Miyanoto T, Igaraslic T, Takahashi K (2002). Lignin–degradation ability of litter decomposing basidomycetes from picea forest of Hokkaida Myco.sci. (41): 105 – 110. 3. Domsch KH, Gaws W, Anderson TH (1980). Compendium of soil fungi 4. O’ Donnell AG, Seasman M, Macrae A, Waite I, Davies JT (2001). Plants and Fertilizers as drivers of change in microbial community structure and function in soil. Plant Soil (232): 135 – 145. 5. Pelczar MJ, Chan ECS, krieg NR (1993). Microbiology: Concept and Application International edition McGraw-Hill, USA. Pp 281-324. 6. Wall DH, Virginia RA (1999). Controls on soil biodiversity insights from extreme environments. Appl. Soil Ecol. (13): 137–150. 7. Fawole and Oso, 2001

Enhancing Parental Participation within the NICU :: Health, Family Center Care

Family centred care (FCC) encompasses the concept of parental participation in their infants care (Franck and Callery 2004). It aims to place the needs of the infant in the context of the family (Saunders et al 2003). FCC is adopted within many neonatal units and is considered the gold standard of care aiming to underpin and guide neonatal care towards the partnership between health professionals and parents (Hutchfield 1999). Subsequent to the interruption of the bonding process between infant and family when a baby is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) it is suggested that the NICU provides an ideal opportunity for FCC practice (Allerman Beck et al 2009) as nurses and parents are compelled to develop an effective relationship in order to satisfy the infants care needs (Reis et al 2009). However a study by Higman & Shaw (2008) found that it appears to be more difficult to achieve on the neonatal unit as FCC is reliant on the family’s relationship with the chi ld. In order to deliver effective FCC neonatal nurses need an understanding of parents needs and how to address them. Mundy (2010) in a study researching the assessment of family needs in neonatal Intensive Care Units found that assumptions of parent’s needs were often made by healthcare professional’s resulting in unfounded and inappropriate conclusions. The importance of treating each family as individual is paramount when assessing how best to involve parents in the care of their infants (Higman & Shaw 2008). Review of the literature shows a lack of research into these assessments and highlights that enhancing family centred care requires appropriate assessments of family needs and the incorporation of this into individualised plans of care. A study into nurse’s perceptions about the delivery of FCC by Higman and Shaw (2010) supports this view, throughout the study it is apparent that although nurses realise the importance of FCC it is not always consistent within their own practice. Peterson et al (2004) suggests reasons for these inconsistencies could be the deficiency of adequate training and, the stress implementing FCC can impose on nursing staff due to an already demanding workload, potentially creating negative attitudes towards the relevance and practicalities of its delivery. The consensus view of FCC is positive although limitations to its execution are manifested throughout the literature. Staff shortages are suggested to hinder the performance of FCC within the clinical area, creating time constraints with nurses having very little opportunity to build good relationships with the families (Higman and Shaw 2008).