2.What is the purpose (there’s two) of letting the transformed bacteria grow in recovery broth for a little while in 37 degrees before plating them on the selective media?

3.You are looking for a phage that will infect Burkholderia cepacia because it seems to be highly resistant to most antibiotics. You have the strain isolated in your lab so you can grow it up. You know it can cause onion rot, and is frequently found near tobacco or onion plants in the soil. Describe the steps you might take to isolate a novel phage from the environment that could infect Burkholderia cepacia.

Your answer doesn't need to be extremely detailed (you don't need to include specific volumes), just a couple sentences should suffice, but be sure to include any important details (i.e. if you need to make something sterile how do you do that)

4. For the bacterial transformation lab, what was the purpose of mixing calcium chloride solution with bacteria, and later performing a heat shock step after you've allowed the bacteria to sit on ice?

5. Giving animals too many antibiotics causes the animals to evolve resistance against the antibiotics.

True

False

6.

We went over two kinds of nucleic acid extraction. We went over "organic" RNA extraction where we use organic solvents to separate the RNA/DNA/protein/junk in a sample into layers or phases. In lab 3 you performed a DNA extraction but instead of the organic method you used a special column to collect the DNA. How did this work?

7. Beta-lactams target...

8. When we add Trizol (or phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol, same concept) to extract RNA from a sample, the RNA is in the aqueous phase.

True

False

9.

Coronaviruses have plus-sense single-stranded RNA genomes (non-segmented). Rotaviruses have a genome divided into 11 shorter segments of double-stranded RNA. Say we had a sample that presumably contained both those viruses, and we wanted to make cDNA so we can sequence their entire genomes. Which of the following sounds like the best plan?

10. We can infer that bacteriophages form a monophyletic group outside eukaryotic viruses (so all bacteriophages are more closely related to one another than they are to any eukaryotic viruses), because they all infect bacteria and bacteria are a monophyletic group.

True

False

11.

Which of the following tests would enable you to distinguish a microbe’s ability to ferment lactose?

12.

You perform quantitative PCR using SYBR green dye (on the same DNA template/primers) in multiple wells. In one well ("well A") you get a Ct value of ~25. In another well ("well B") you get a Ct value of ~31.6. Which statement is most likely true based on this?

One major challenge in cancer research is developing robust pre-clinical models for new therapies, ones that will accurately reflect a human response to a novel compound. All too often, a potential treatment that initially looked promising in cells or animal models will not have the same effects in a human cancer patient. Given the enormous costs of clinical trials, researchers need pre-clinical models that accurately reflect human disease genetics and reliably predict which drugs have the most potential to succeed in patients. In Cell Stem Cell this week, a team led by Zuzana Tothova, a postdoctoral scholar at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and Broad institute member Ben Ebert, also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chair of medical oncology at DFCI, describe a new approach that has the potential to make this leap. Using multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 editing of human hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells followed by transplantation in mice, the team designed customized mouse models for the progression of leukemia. In a number of different experiments, the animal models successfully reflected human responses to a therapeutic agent commonly used to treat blood cancers. "With our models, we can really test -- in a very controlled fashion, in the right setting, and using the right cells -- the genetic predictors of response to specific agents," said Tothova. Learning from human genetics The research team started by examining large-scale sequencing data from Ebert's lab and The Cancer Genome Atlas to determine which combinations of mutations occur most commonly in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), blood cancers in which the bone marrow fails to produce healthy blood cells. The researchers landed on nine genes that are recurrently mutated in MDS and AML. "We use human genetics to teach us which combinations of mutations lead to cancer," explained Ebert. "If we have sequencing data from enough tumors, we can identify the genes that are mutated recurrently and which combinations of mutations co-occur more commonly than expected by chance." Currently, many cancer models (such as cell lines) do not reflect the cancer genetics that a particular investigator would like to study, which often leaves both researchers and patients at a disadvantage. One strategy is to transplant an actual human cancer sample into a mouse, but the cancer tissue often doesn't engraft well, and researchers are only able to test against the specific combination of mutations accumulated in a given cancer sample in the first place. To study these specific MDS-driving mutations in combination, the team developed a pipeline to insert them into new lab models. "Say we're trying to develop a new drug against a particular combination of mutations, which we know about through the cancer sequencing efforts," said Tothova. "You might not have any sample available to study with that particular combination of mutations. We wanted to be able to engineer the right lesions in human cells, let them expand in mice, and generate an accurate genetic model of disease for testing new therapies. This has been a longstanding goal for cancer researchers, and for the pharmaceutical industry, for a very long time." Customizing cancer mutations with CRISPR To create models with the right mutations, Tothova and her team established a customizable system to introduce the cancer-driving mutations into human hematopoietic stem cells, where MDS and AML originate. The researchers already had extensive experience working with hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells, largely from umbilical cord blood or adult bone marrow, and in 2014, they published a Nature Biotechnology paper in which they described using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to create similar models of mouse cancers. This time, the team was aiming to model MDS in human cells, a much more challenging goal. The researchers took primary cells from healthy donors and used CRISPR-Cas9 to engineer them with a number of different mutation combinations, rather than a single alteration, in order to reflect the complexity of tumor mutations seen in patients. The combinations of mutations that the cells tolerated -- those that successfully altered the genes without killing the cells -- and that led to expansion over time were also the ones seen in human tumor samples. "Nobody so far has done this kind of multiplex CRISPR engineering in the actual hematopoietic stem cell compartment, adding specific mutations in combination to generate disease models," said Tothova. From there, the team injected the stem cells into the mice's circulatory systems, where a portion incorporated themselves into the bone marrow. The team monitored their progression, extracting and sequencing the human cells five months later to determine which engineered cells successfully propagated and which mutations became the most common over time in these pre-malignant and early malignant states. Testing therapeutic agents The mainstay of treatment for MDS patients are hypomethylating agents called azacitidine and decitabine. Based on previous studies, the team identified specific genetic mutations that could be used to predict cancer cells' response to these compounds in humans. (For example, mutations in a gene called TET2 predict treatment success for MDS patients, while mutations in the ASXL1 gene predict resistance in the tumors.) When the researchers treated the mice with azacitidine, they found that the response in the engineered cells matched what was expected from the human data: TET2-mutated cells responded to the drug, while ASXL1-mutated cells were resistant to the therapy. The team also discovered that mutations in a cohesin gene, SMC3, increased sensitivity to the drug -- data that could be important to clinicians and patients whose tumors share those mutations. "We are able to recapitulate findings previously seen in human clinical trials, which makes us feel more confident in the power of these models," said Tothova. "The data that comes from patients reflects the most important experiment we are trying to understand." She is currently working with clinical collaborators at DFCI to extend some of these findings into clinical trials. The team believes their approach to create this type of leukemia progression model for therapeutic testing can be applied to other types of cancer as well, as long as sequencing data is available to choose appropriate mutations and progenitor cells can be acquired from the desired tissue. "People in the field are hungry for these kinds of models," said Ebert. "We are modeling the disease in the right cellular context with a genetic complexity that reflects what we see in patients. This hasn't been done before, and it could become a really beneficial tool.

This study demonstrated which of the following?

Question 13

Researchers estimate the prevalence of caesarian section surgeries among pregnant women is on the rise. Suppose the researchers estimate that the current prevalence is 0.42.

1. Suppose a sample of 7 women at a clinic is collected. What is the standard deviation?
2. Suppose a sample of 10 women at a clinic is collected. What is the standard deviation?
3. Suppose a sample of 15 women at a clinic is collected. What is the standard deviation?

Question 14

Researchers are concerned about the prevalence of hypertension among a population of elderly patients at a cardiovascular clinic aged 45-60. Suppose the prevalence of hypertension in the group is actually quite high at 38%. Assume that a sample of 14 participants is collected.

1. What is the expected number of participants in this age range to report hypertension?
2. What is the probability associated with finding between 7 and 9 responses indicating hypertension?

Question 15

Recent research has suggested that adolescent drinking behaviors have escalated. Assume national statistics presume that only 14% of adolescents aged 13-17 engage in alcohol consumption. A sample of 58 participants in this age range is collected and 13 participants report consuming alcohol on a regular basis.

A) Can researchers carry out their analysis assuming an approximation to the normal distribution is acceptable?

B) Calculate the probability of observing the results witnessed in the sample.

C) Determine the mean and standard deviation for the distribution under the assumptions made in part A.

Question 16

A researcher is interested in looking at a new type of insulin that can treat diabetics with high fasting glucose levels. Suppose the researcher wants to take a sample of participants from the population of participants in the study in order to assess the progress by calculating their average resting glucose level (mg/dL). The researcher wants to be 95% confident using a population standard deviation of 27 mg/dL and hopes to have a margin of error at plus or minus 5 mg/dL. Calculate the sample size the researcher should get in order to answer his research question with all of the given information.

Question 17

Suppose the temperature that most foods can stay bacteria free in restaurants varies approximately according to a normal distribution with a mean of 31.3 degrees and a standard deviation of 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The Federal Department of Agriculture mandates that food inspectors make sure that all restaurants fine a location up to $1,500.00 if the temperature in cold food storage goes above the bottom 15% of that distribution for safety and insurance purposes. What temperature correlates to the bottom 15% of this distribution?

Question 18

Suppose a researcher is interested in the effectiveness of a new novel talk therapy technique in reducing overall depression as identified via score report on the geriatric depression scale (GDS). In order to carry out this hypothesis, the researcher gathers a SRS of participants in the program and performs the GDS test prior to, and after initiation of the new therapy technique. Assume the SRS score report presented below represents an approximately normal distribution.

A) What type of study design is this?

B) Conduct a paired sample t test investigating the effectiveness of the new therapy technique with 95% confidence. Write out your null and alternative hypotheses, and interpret your pvalue correctly.

C) Construct a 95% confidence interval representing the average difference in score on the GDS. Provide an accurate interpretation of your interval.

Question 19

A new vitamin supplementation program is intended to decrease average resting heart rate in individuals at risk for hypertension. Assume that a team of researchers are hopeful that resting heart rate in their population will get down to less than 68 bpm, in a population with a standard deviation of 2 bpm. In order to test this goal reduction, the team gathers a SRS of 273 participants in their program and calculates a sample average resting heart rate of 74 bpm.

A) Carry out a one sample Z test to determine if the team can conclude that the supplementation program is successful in meeting their goal reduction in resting heart rate. Use an α=0.05.

B) Construct a 95% Confidence interval about the sample mean, and interpret the result.

Question 20

Suppose a database contains population based statistics for a group of hypertensive potential participants in a new clinical trial. The systolic blood pressure of the population varies according to a normal distribution with mean 141 and a standard deviation of 8.4 mmHG.

Jim Young/Reuters

Screw the passengers.

That appears all too often to be the governing philosophy of the airline business.

Take the case of a United Airlines flight from Chicago to London last weekend. A technical problem forced the plane to abort its trans-Atlantic route and divert to Goose Bay in Canada. The 176 passengers were marooned there for more than 20 hours, sleeping in unheated military barracks at near-freezing temperatures.

“There was nobody from United Airlines to be seen anywhere,” one passenger told NBC News. “No United representative ever reached out to anybody, no phone calls, no human beings, no nothing. Nobody had any idea what was going on.”

It so happened that this came at the end of a week in which the world’s airline chiefs, junketing in Miami, celebrated their most lucrative year ever. They are projecting profits totaling $29.3 billion in 2015—almost double what they made in 2014.

And you must have noticed if you’re flying anywhere in the U.S. this summer that seat prices are not falling. Indeed, if the owners of those seats are suddenly feeling fat and happy, they are in no mood to pass on their swell feelings to you. It’s hard to imagine any other service industry being run like the airline business—but then there is no other business like the airline business.

So now we have a novel opportunity to see how airlines behave when, suddenly and much to their surprise, they find themselves with a business model that is working. If making a profit is a new experience for them, what effect will that have on their behavior?

First, let us consider why the numbers have been transformed.

There has been a steep change in the efficiency of jets. Beginning with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the combination of lighter but stronger composite materials in structures and a quantum leap in engine efficiency, using far less fuel, has slashed operating costs per airplane by as much as 30 percent.

In the last year, this windfall has been boosted by the large decline in oil prices.

However, these dual benefits are not being evenly spread either among airlines or continents. Airlines stuck with fleets of older airplanes are not getting these benefits. Fleet age has become far more decisive in deciding an airline’s profitability, particularly true in the U.S.

The three major U.S. legacy carriers—American, United, and Delta—failed to get in early to order the new generation of airplanes—the 787, the Airbus A350, revamped versions of the Boeing 777, the Airbus A320, and the Boeing 737—and allowed European, Middle Eastern, and Asian competitors to become first adopters and, thereby, reap the benefits of lower fuel costs.

The average age of the jets in the American fleet is 12.3 years; for United 13 years; and for Delta 17.2 years. It won’t be until at least 2020 that they can finally dump the oldest of their airplanes. (American has actually been delaying the delivery of some new jets that it ordered.)

Age doesn’t mean that an airplane is unsafe. Properly maintained 20-year-old jets are not in danger of falling apart. The frequency of flights determines retirement age more than years and the smaller single-aisle jets used on domestic routes age the fastest because they are making up to seven flights a day.

Age may not be dangerous but it sure registers with passengers when it contrasts with the comforts they encounter in the new generation of jets with their better cabin climate and quieter engines. So it’s not surprising that when airlines show up with all-new fleets as well as gracious cabin crews people start wondering, Why can’t it always be like this?

It’s also not surprising that the major American carriers are now trying to stop those airlines from coming to an airport near you.

When it comes to price and the domestic U.S. routes, not only are prices not coming down but there is persuasive evidence of price-fixing. The veteran investigative reporter James B. Stewart described this market as a classic oligopoly in a penetrating piece in The New York Times .

However, this is far from being a new phenomenon. These tactics began long before the final round of consolidation mergers when US Airways was swallowed by American Airlines in 2013. They have merely been continually refined to the point now when the airlines, suddenly enjoying profits, have responded not by lowering fares but by tightening control over the number of seats available and cutting back on flight frequency and destinations.

The reality is that the airlines don’t need to expose themselves to charges of collusion on fares and the operation of a hidden cartel that mutually governs capacity. That’s so 20th century.

These days their key tool is “yield management”—being able to precisely calculate how many seats should be available on any given route at any time of the day or night and adjusting the price hour-by-hour according to demand. This algorithm has become so refined and the market so controlled that each of the major airlines ends up looking at the same numbers on their computer screen. No human intervention is needed. In all but name it is a cartel—but one run entirely by unaccountable robots.

So?

We live in the world’s most vigorously capitalist marketplace. What’s wrong with airlines trying to make a decent profit, for once? And what is the point of them flying empty seats around the skies?

But I come back to my earlier point: How do these airline executives behave when, joy of joys, they find their balance sheets deeply in the black? Like a lot of other corporate minders they think a lot more about their shareholders than their customers. Short-termism rules. Wall Street responds to quarterly earnings, not patient long-term strategy.

A good example is Jet Blue. This airline was a rare example of a successful startup based on a maverick idea: super-chummy cabin staff and generously spaced seating. A new CEO (previously schooled by the stingy bean-counters at British Airways) is undermining that spirit by jamming more seats into the cabin and raising baggage charges, all at the behest of shareholders.

The problem is that the people running airlines in the U.S. have one part of their brain missing, the part that provides the service ethic. As well as fare-gouging they’re space gouging in the cabins. Even with the newest jets like the Dreamliner they are packing more seats into coach than the airplane designers (or nature) intended.

Q1. Read the above article and answer the questions that follow.

a. Why did the investigative reporter James B. Stewart describe US airlines as a classic Oligopoly?

b. What is the meaning of yield management as described in the above article?

c. Why did the writer accuse people running airlines of missing service ethics?

Please read the case and answer the three questions below in specific

A group of bright and entrepreneurial graduates of the American University of Dubai Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Business colleges has formed an idea generation company called ThinkTank4U. The company is built on an innovative idea itself. In a knowledge economy, new, novel and practical ideas become keenly sought-after ‘goods’. ThinkTank4U offers to its clients ‘ideas’ on a wide range of issues and themes including: how to bring new products to market, how to compete, how to grow, how to improve performance, how to deal successfully with competitors, complementors, customers, suppliers, and own employees. The mission of ThinkTank4U is to help clients with new working ideas that translate into greater performance. The company guarantees its clients the success of its ideas. It shares the revenue generated by its ideas with the client based on a formula agreed in advance by both of them. If no revenue is generated by the company’s ideas, it charges no fees for the assignment completed for the client.

The company is composed of a core group of four self-managed teams of ‘Ideators’ (the term used to describe team members indicating their task as idea generators) and helped by supporting contractual professional staff. Each team has on average seven members and is coordinated rotationally by the Ideator having the most valuable expertise in the basic issue of the assignment at hand. For example, if the client is asking for new advertising campaign ideas for promoting an electronic device, the team will be coordinated by the Ideator who has the most experience in the field of advertising. The company has no ranks in its structure, which is mainly based on teams and committees. The company also has a sophisticated information system that can be accessed by everybody in the core group.

After each assignment is completed, the team members set together for reflection. They make sure that the experience gained from the assignment is extracted, shared, and documented. The team learns how to better structure thinking, manage debate, activate participation, expose hidden assumptions, gain new knowledge, be acquainted with new industries, and so on. They revise their processes and outputs and try to discover weaknesses, gaps, and flaws in their working style, team structure, or relationship with clients. The company has a regular internal electronic publication it calls ‘The Pool’, where team members can present their thought, learned experiences, and ideas to share with the rest of the company.

The company’s strategic decisions are taken in general meetings coordinated by the company’s eldest member. The operational decisions are overseen by the committee of the current team coordinators. There are clear but simple policies and decision rules about how to make operational decisions to maintain consistency and to preserve the precious time of team coordinators. Strategic decisions are made by consensus whenever that is possible. When consensus is difficult to obtain in one session, another session is scheduled where arguments have to be presented, debated and then their merit is evaluated (by all members) using a scoring system from 1 (= weak) to 5 (= strong). The argument with the highest evaluation score will be wholeheartedly adopted by all.

The supporting contractual professional staff has a traditional pay policy unconditional upon the company’s performance. The core group pay, however, is based on performance of each member as evaluated by all members of the team. Each assignment’s revenue is divided into three parts: one third goes to the company’s account, one third is shared equally among the team members, and one third is allocated according to the contribution of each member as evaluated by the whole team.

Performance evaluation of Ideators is done by their teammates. Evaluation components are based on active and positive participation in clients’ assignments and in the running of the company’s affairs. These include skills such as initiative, creativity, debate, refutation, cooperation, knowledge sharing, the impartiality of judgment, and professionalism; and personal traits such as integrity, openness, responsiveness, sympathy, and willpower. There is a very strict exit policy. A team member who ranks last in evaluation in five consecutive times has to leave the company. Ranking last in performance in two consecutive times triggers an immediate inquiry into the reasons behind this ‘fatigue’. It also necessitates conducting what the company calls a ‘climbing’ session by all team members who offer help by sharing their experience and knowledge and by encouraging their teammate to climb back to high performance.

The company’s work culture and evaluation and support system succeed only on the basis of honesty, trust, and sheer candor (straightforwardness), traits that are at the heart of the hiring process of the company in addition to other competencies related to creative thinking and other soft skills. Members also have to possess strong characters to be able to withstand pressures, biases, and negative tendencies. These qualities are not easily found in many of the applicants who dream to join this company. Hiring is done by each team according to its own judgment but with non-binding consultation and coordination with other team coordinators. There is a well-established rule governing team size. When the size of a team exceeds 10 members it splits itself into two teams with each hiring new members if necessary. This is how new teams are formed out of current teams.

One of the company’s teams is currently working on a client’s assignment that requires the generation of ideas about how to increase sales of children’s games after the Eid season. A recently hired member of the team, known for his experience, knowledge, and creativity, has come with the following strategy:

• Make a strong advertisement campaign on TV channels watched widely by children to promote new games (reason: children will solicit promises from their parents to buy them these games in the Eid season).
• Supply limited numbers of these games to children’s toys stores and make available less attractive games (reason: children have to have games in the Eid season and when they cannot find their most desired ones they will ask their parents to buy them alternative games of equal value).
• Run the same strong advertisement campaign again after Eid season (reason: children will desire to have these games more than ever).
• Flood the children’s toy stores with these games (reason: children will remember their parents’ promises and pressure them to buy these games. Parents cannot refuse otherwise they look bad in the eyes of their children for not fulfilling their promises).

Please Answer the three questions below (be specific):

1. Assess the virtuousness of ThinkTank4U Company. (Virtue ethics, the focus on integrity the character not the act).
2. How ethical is the strategy suggested by one of the Ideators on how to increase sales of children’s games after Eid seasons? Base your evaluation on a specific ethical theory. (Choose one of theories: Utilitarian, deontological and justify)
3. How does the recently hired member of the team, who suggested the strategy, fit the culture of ThinkTank4U Company? Explain

A.) Is the national crime rate really going down? Some sociologists say yes! They say that the reason for the decline in crime rates in the 1980s and 1990s is demographics. It seems that the population is aging, and older people commit fewer crimes. According to the FBI and the Justice Department, 70% of all arrests are of males aged 15 to 34 years†. Suppose you are a sociologist in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and a random sample of police files showed that of 33 arrests last month, 19 were of males aged 15 to 34 years. Use a 10% level of significance to test the claim that the population proportion of such arrests in Rock Springs is different from 70%.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Find the P-value of the test statistic. (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

B.) Women athletes at the a certain university have a long-term graduation rate of 67%. Over the past several years, a random sample of 36 women athletes at the school showed that 22 eventually graduated. Does this indicate that the population proportion of women athletes who graduate from the university is now less than 67%? Use a 5% level of significance.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

C.) The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reported that 77% of all fatally injured automobile drivers were intoxicated. A random sample of 55 records of automobile driver fatalities in a certain county showed that 36 involved an intoxicated driver. Do these data indicate that the population proportion of driver fatalities related to alcohol is less than 77% in Kit Carson County? Use ? = 0.10.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

D.) What is your favorite color? A large survey of countries, including the United States, China, Russia, France, Turkey, Kenya, and others, indicated that most people prefer the color blue. In fact, about 24% of the population claim blue as their favorite color.† Suppose a random sample of n = 59 college students were surveyed and r = 14 of them said that blue is their favorite color. Does this information imply that the color preference of all college students is different (either way) from that of the general population? Use ? = 0.05.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

E.) The following is based on information from The Wolf in the Southwest: The Making of an Endangered Species, by David E. Brown (University of Arizona Press). Before 1918, the proportion of female wolves in the general population of all southwestern wolves was about 50%. However, after 1918, southwestern cattle ranchers began a widespread effort to destroy wolves. In a recent sample of 37 wolves, there were only 11 females. One theory is that male wolves tend to return sooner than females to their old territories, where their predecessors were exterminated. Do these data indicate that the population proportion of female wolves is now less than 50% in the region? Use ? = 0.01.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Find the P-value of the test statistic. (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

F.) In a fishing lodge brochure, the lodge advertises that 75% of its guests catch northern pike over 20 pounds. Suppose that last summer 62 out of a random sample of 87 guests did, in fact, catch northern pike weighing over 20 pounds. Does this indicate that the population proportion of guests who catch pike over 20 pounds is different from 75% (either higher or lower)? Use ? = 0.05.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Find the P-value of the test statistic. (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

G.) USA Today reported that about 47% of the general consumer population in the United States is loyal to the automobile manufacturer of their choice. Suppose Chevrolet did a study of a random sample of 1009 Chevrolet owners and found that 487 said they would buy another Chevrolet. Does this indicate that the population proportion of consumers loyal to Chevrolet is more than 47%? Use ? = 0.01.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

Find the P-value of the test statistic. (Round your answer to four decimal places.)

H.) This problem is based on information taken from The Merck Manual (a reference manual used in most medical and nursing schools). Diltiazem is a commonly prescribed drug for hypertension. However, diltiazem causes headaches in about 12% of patients using the drug. It is hypothesized that regular exercise might help reduce the headaches. If a random sample of 209 patients using diltiazem exercised regularly and only 16 had headaches, would this indicate a reduction in the population proportion of patients having headaches? Use a 1% level of significance.

What is the value of the sample test statistic? (Round your answers to two decimal places.)

Find the P-value of the test statistic. (Round your answers to four decimal places.)

Cooperative Research Ethics Review Boards: A Win-Win Solution?

Enhancing public participation in research is one of the central challenges facing the clinical research enterprise in the United States, and one of its highest priorities.^[1] Public concern about the safety of participating in research is increasing, reflected in a rising tide of litigation, negative articles in the popular press, and other published commentaries.^[2] Part of this concern focuses on Research Ethics Review Boards (Research ERBs)the entities responsible for ethical review and oversight of human research. These bodies, referred to in federal regulations as Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), are overburdened and often characterized as inefficient and ineffective.^[3] The increasing number of multi-center studies is exacerbating current problems, as they often require duplicative reviews.^[4] Multiple submissions of a single protocol and its associated consent documents to several Research ERBs for review and alterations create redundancy without necessarily enhancing the protection of research subjects.^[5]

Many parties, including the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), note that these duplicative reviews can actually detract from subject protections by diverting time and resources from more effective uses; they have suggested streamlining review through the use of alternative models.^[6] Collaborative approaches to ethical review that capture the best of both central and local processes could be more efficient, less costly and less demanding of limited resources, and also be more effective. They may allow for more timely data collection and analysis of adverse events, address the problem of institutional conflict of interest, and offer more options for unaffiliated investigators and patients with rare diseases.^[7]

Central review boards have taken on increasing importance in recent years. Reference to a "central IRB" does not necessarily mean that one Research ERB is always the IRB of record; use of the term "cooperative review" may more accurately reflect the emerging approaches discussed in this article. In a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) of research deans at institutions using a Central IRB (defined as any noninstitutional board or cooperative arrangement), 53% agreed that its use shortened time to approval of research protocols. Eighty-four percent were pleased with the Central IRB review, and 77% indicated that they were able to maintain excellent local oversight of studies approved by a Central IRB.^[8] Notably, some highly respected academic institutions have turned to well-established commercial review boards after deficiencies in their local boards and processes resulted in significant enforcement actions by federal regulatory agencies. One of these private boards was among the first human research protection programs (HRPP) to receive full accreditation by the Association for Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP); the Partnership for Human Research Protection (PHRP) also has accredited independent review boards.

Many institutions are hesitant to use cooperative review mechanisms for a variety of reasons. According to the AAMC survey, those who have not used Central IRBs (76% of respondents) did not do so because of concerns about liability (73%), additional costs (60%), the absence of local representation (86%), and the inability to assess the quality of the services (56%). Federal regulations require that research review boards have "sensitivity to such issues as community attitudes,"^[9]and many institutions feel that local review is an essential component of ethical research; to what extent this view also reflects a desire to maintain institutional autonomy is unknown. Both the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have responded to the increasing number of multi-center trials by clarifying that existing regulations permit institutions to use joint review, rely on another qualified IRB, or make similar arrangements to avoid duplication of effort for cooperative research.^[10] OHRP and FDA also have issued further guidance that clarifies the implementation of such arrangements to ensure that the local context is taken into account.^[11]

Already, some academic organizations and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are utilizing cooperative models to streamline the Research ERB review process. To explore the potential of these emerging ethical review mechanisms, the Clinical Research Roundtable of the IOM recently convened stakeholders in the clinical research enterprise to hear from those involved in these efforts.^[12] In this paper, we describe several models of cooperative review, many of which were presented at the meeting. These models include the Multicenter Academic Clinical Research Organization (MACRO), the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY), independent Research ERBs, the NCI's Central IRB, and Regional Ethics Organizations (REOs). Many of these models are in the formative stages, and REOs, which are now utilized in the United Kingdom, do not exist in the U.S. at this time.^[13] Therefore, key evaluative data regarding existing central review mechanisms are not presently available; indeed, more data are needed to assess both traditional and cooperative review mechanisms and to more fully and scientifically compare these options. Our assessment is based upon the best available data about these efforts. Key issues about centralized review relate to perceived legal liability by cooperating academic institutions regarding the ability to fully reflect and address local concerns.

Page 1 of 2 Case Study 1 A New “Garcia” on the Block Garcia Gonzalez is ready to start a new career. After spending 30 years as a market researcher and inspired by the success of Starbucks, he is ready to enter the coffee shop business. However, before opening his first shop, he realizes that a great deal of research is needed. He has some key questions in mind. ? What markets in the United States hold the most promise for a new coffee shop? ? What type of location is best for a coffee shop? ? What is it that makes a coffee shop popular? ? What coffee do Americans prefer? A quick trip to the Internet reveals more previous research on coffee, markets, and related materials than he expected. Many studies address taste. For example, he finds several studies that in one way or another compare the taste of different coffee shop coffees. Most commonly, they compare the taste of coffee from Starbucks against coffee from McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, and sometimes a local competitor. However, it becomes difficult to draw a conclusion as the results seem to be inconsistent. ? One study had a headline that poked fun at Starbucks’ high priced coffee. The author of this study personally purchased coffee to go at four places, took them to his office, tasted them, made notes and then drew conclusions. All the coffee was tasted black with no sugar. Just cups of Garcia. He reached the conclusion that McDonald’s Premium Coffee (at about $1.50 a cup), tasted nearly as good as Starbucks House Blend (at about $1.70 a cup), both of which were much better than either Dunkin’ Donuts (at about $1.20) or Burger King (less than $1). This study argued that McDonald’s was best, all things considered. ? Another study was written up by a good critic who was simply interested in identifying the best-tasting coffee. Again, he tasted them all black with nothing added. Each cup of coffee was consumed in the urban location near the inner city center in which he lived. He reached the conclusion that Starbucks’ coffee had the best flavor although it showed room for improvement. McDonald’s premium coffee was not as good, but it was better than the other two. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee had reasonably unobjectionable taste but was very weak and watery. The Burger King coffee was simply not very good. ? Yet another study talked about Starbucks becoming a huge company and how it has lost touch with the common coffee shop coffee customer. The researchers stood outside a small organic specialty shop and interviewed 100 consumers as they exited the shop. They asked, “Which coffee do you prefer?” The results showed a preference for a local coffee, tea, and incense shop, and otherwise put Starbucks last behind McDonald’s, Burger King, and Dunkin’ Donuts. ? Still another study compared the coffee-drinking experience. A sample of 50 consumers in Edinburg, Texas, were interviewed and asked to list the coffee shop they frequented Page 2 of 2 most. Starbucks was listed by more consumers than any other place. A small percentage listed Dunkin’ Donuts but none listed McDonald’s, despite their efforts at creating a premium coffee experience. The study did not ask consumers to compare the tastes of the coffee across the different places. Garcia also wants to find data showing coffee consumption patterns and the number of coffee shops around the United States, so he spends time looking for data on the Internet. His searches don’t reveal anything satisfying. As Garcia ponders how to go about starting “A Cup of Garcia,” he wonders about the relevance of this previous research. Is it useful at all? He even questions whether he is capable of doing any primary research himself and considers hiring someone to do a feasibility study for him. Maybe doing research is easier than using research. Sources: Shiver, J., “Taste Test: The Little Joes Take on Starbucks,” USA Today (March 26, 2008), http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2006-03-26- coffee_x.htm, accessed July 20, 2008; Associated Press, “McDonald’s Coffee Beats Starbucks, Says Consumer Reports,” The Seattle Times (February 2, 2007), http:// seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003553322_webcoffeetest02. html, accessed July 20, 2008; “Coffee Wars: Starbucks v McDonald’s,” The Economist 386 (January 10, 2008), 58. Questions 1. What are the top three key decisions faced by Garcia? 2. What are the key deliverables that an outside researcher should produce to help Joe with the key decisions? 3. How relevant are the coffee taste studies cited above? Explain. 4. What flaws in the coffee taste studies should Garcia consider in trying to weigh the merits of their results? 5. Briefly relate this situation to each of the major stages of the marketing research process. 6. Try to do a quick search to explore the question: “Are American consumer preferences the same all across the United States?” 7. Would it be better for Garcia to do the research himself or have a consultant perform the work? 8. If a consultant comes in to do the job, what are three key deliverables that would likely be important to Garcia in making a decision to launch the “A Cup of Garcia” coffee shop?

Foxconn Technology Group is a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (reputed to be the world’s largest “contract manufacturer”). Even as a subsidiary, Foxconn’s numbers are impressive—the company employs about 800,000 people, half of whom work in a huge industrial park in Shenzhen, China, called Foxconn City. With 15 separate multistory buildings, each dedicated to individual customers such as Apple, Dell, Nintendo, and Hewlett-Packard, Foxconn’s promotional material proudly states that the company pays minimum wage (900 yuan, or $130 a month), offers free food and lodging along with extensive recreational facilities to its employees—on the face of it, not your stereotypical “sweatshop” environment. However, in the first half of 2010, 12 Foxconn employees found the working conditions so oppressive that they elected to kill themselves by jumping from the roofs of those 15-story buildings. According to reports, two other employees were seriously injured in suicide attempts, and another 20 were saved before completing their planned attempt. The sudden spate of suicides drew unwelcome attention to the true state of the working conditions in factories that visitors have described as “grim.” Labor activists report annual turnover of 40 percent or more as employees leave rather than face dangerously fast assembly lines, “military-style drills, verbal abuse by superiors... as well as occasionally being pressured to work as many as 13 consecutive days to complete a big customer order—even when it means sleeping on the factory floor.” Consider the case of 19-year-old Ma Xiangqian, a former migrant worker who leapt to his death January 23, 2010. His family revealed that he hated his job at Foxconn: “11-hour overnight shifts, seven days a week, forging plastic and metal into electronic parts amid fumes and dust.” In the month before he died, Ma worked 286 hours, including 112 overtime hours, three times the legal limit. The negative publicity was swift and targeted. Apple’s international release of its iPad in Hong Kong was marred by the ritual burning of pictures of iPhones and calls for a global boycott of all Apple products. The negative press prompted an equally swift response from Foxconn customers seeking to distance themselves from the story. Apple, Dell, and HP all announced investigations of the working conditions at Foxconn’s plants, with the implied threat of contract termination. Foxconn’s response was to surround the buildings with nets to prevent any further suicide attempts, to hire counselors for employees experiencing stress from the working conditions, and to assign workers to 50-person groups so that they can keep an eye on each other for signs of emotional stress. The company also announced two separate pay increases more than doubling worker pay to 2,000 yuan a month (although workers must pass a three-month review to qualify for the second pay increase). In addition, a series of “motivational rallies,” entitled “Treasure Your Life, Love Your Family, Care for Each Other to Build a Wonderful Future,” were scheduled for all Foxconn facilities. While the immediate response was targeted directly at the media criticism, there are concerns about the longer-term consequences for Foxconn and its customers. Hon Hai’s reputation and dominance have been built on top quality with wafer-thin margins—margins that may prove to be too thin to absorb a 100 percent increase in labor costs. As for its customers, they may have given implied threats of contract termination, but with Hon Hai as the world leader, there are limited options for alternative suppliers. Apple asked the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a nongovernment organization, to conduct an extensive audit of Foxconn’s operations. The FLA teams visited Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, and surveyed some 35,000 workers at three facilities that assembled Apple products, including iPhones and iPads. The audit report was released March 29, 2012, and found that during the preceding 12 months, workers typically exceeded the 60 hours of work per week stipulated in Apple’s agreement with Foxconn. In addition, the report found that many workers also exceeded China’s legal limit of 36 hours of overtime per month. In conclusion, the FLA found that conditions were “no worse than any other factory in China.” Foxconn seems unconcerned by the criticism. In July 2015, the company announced that it would be building up to 12 new factories in India, employing as many as 1 million people by 2020. This was seen as a strategic response to rising wage costs and labor disputes in China. In March 2016, the company announced a $3.5 billion deal to acquire a 66 percent controlling interest in Japanese screen maker Sharp after weeks of negotiations and numerous setbacks. The deal is expected to give Foxconn more leverage with its dealings with Apple (Sharp provides an estimated 25 percent of Apple’s iPhone screens), but with around $3 billion in liabilities, Sharp will require some aggressive action to turn around.

1. Was Foxconn’s response sufficient to stop any future suicide attempts? Why or why not?

2. If the company has operated on “wafer-thin margins,” will the Indian and Japanese deals make it a more ethical company? Why or why not?

3. Would you describe Foxconn’s response as an example of proactive or reactive ethics? Why?

4. If Apple is committed to addressing working conditions at Foxconn factories, should “no worse than any other factory in China” be an acceptable benchmark? Why or why not?

Special Checking Is Handed a Loss Sammy Benson supervised greater Downtown Bank's Special Check Sorting Unit, which processed odd-sized, foreign, and damaged checks. Once the checks were sent to his unit, they were manually interpreted, recorded, entered into the appropriate account transactions, and filed for return. Sammy supervised three check sorting clerks in his department. These jobs were staffed by relatively untrained, entry-level individuals who had just graduated from high school. During the summer, Greater Downtown Bank hired low-income, disadvantaged young people for various jobs throughout the company as part of its Community Upbeat campaign. To participate in this effort, representatives from the Human Resources Department visited selected high schools to interview students. Since the students were already prescreened by the school, the interviews were little more than "get-acquainted" discussions. Last summer, Sammy's unit supplied one of the jobs in this effort. Juanita Perez was hired in this context to work as a Special Checks clerk. She was scheduled to begin working in June after graduating from the local vocational high school, where she maintained a C average. This was her first full-time job. When Juanita reported to the bank for a brief induction program, she was scared. It was not only her first day on the job, but the first time she had ever been in the bank. Nevertheless, she kept up her courage and reported to the Human Resources Department as planned. After waiting in the lobby for a while, she was taken to a small meeting room where she and two other new hires were shown how to fill out and sign various forms and documents. Next, an administrative assistant read to the new hires a series of personnel policies about work schedules, breaks, overtime, pay secrecy, attendance, and benefits. She signed more forms, wondering what all this meant. As the meeting drew to a close, Sammy Benson arrived after receiving a call from Human Resources. He and Juanita were introduced for the first time. Sammy escorted Juanita back to the Human Resources Department, showing her the bank's various offices and other departments. He gave her a quick tour of his area, introducing her to the other clerks as he went. Sammy was careful not to interrupt their work, however, nor did he explain to Juanita what they were doing. It was obvious by the expressions on their faces that the employees were surprised to see her. After a quick tour and passing introductions, Sammy gave Juanita some basic instructions in her job. He gave Juanita the job of processing foreign checks. He felt this task was the easiest job to learn and do correctly. During her first day on the job, Sammy spent about 15 minutes showing her the procedure: inspect, record, enter, adjust, file. Since he had to prepare for a meeting later that day, that was all the time he could spend with her. By the end of the first week, Juanita seemed to be getting the hang of things: She came to work on time, stayed busy, and was fairly pleasant and easy to get along with. Sammy intended to spend as much time as possible with her during this period; however, because she seemed to catch on quickly and he was very busy, he saw her only occasionally over the next few weeks. Then, after about a month, Juanita called in sick one day. A replacement was brought in, and as she looked through Juanita's desk for a notepad, she found what appeared to be a large pile of unfiled checks. When Sammy looked through the pile, he found that there were, in fact, quite a few unprocessed checks, some of which dated from Juanita's first day on the job. As they were the more unusual kinds of checks the department handled, Sammy assumed that she apparently had not known how to process them. Unfortunately, the combined value of these checks totaled around $65,000. The bank had lost the "float" value on them, and Sammy knew that customer complaints would be coming in soon. Sammy expected Juanita to come back to work the following day, and he wondered if he should write up a warning notice for her immediately. (Source: Alan Clardy, Ph.D., Advantage Human Resources, HRD Press, 1994) Based on the case study, answer the following questions. 1 Why do you think the problem occurs? What probably cause the problem of Juanita's poor performance? Explain.

2 Sammy is considering issuing a formal written warning notice to Juanita upon her return.

a) Do you think this is an appropriate action to take? Why is it and why is it not? Discuss.

] b) How can Sammy be sure he is making the right decision either to issue or not issuing the warning notice? Propose two (2) possible ways that can guide Sammy in making effective decisions.

3 What could be done by Sammy to manage Juanita's poor performance problem? Suggest four (4) methods of how Sammy can provide Juanita with skills and knowledge to improve her performance. Provide suitable example to support your answer.

4 Managers have the most significant impact on employee performance. Based on this statement, how would Sammy align the performance of his staff with the organizational goals? Propose four (4) work practices that Sammy can apply which lead to both high individual and high organizational performance. Provide suitable example to support your answer.