The Hot Zone

The Hot Zone is a factual story by Richard Preston about the outburst of the Ebola virus in a monkey house located in neighborhood of Reston, Virginia. In the first half of the book, the author tells about the previous outbreaks of Ebola-like viruses in the African continent and talks about the consequent disaster. He refers to the painful demise of a French expatriate, Charles Monet and several other effected by the disease. Major Nancy Jaax, a U. S. Army personal was called upon after the Reston outburst occurs.She works in full body â€Å"space suits’’ (Preston 1999) with the most deadly viruses with in laboratories known as â€Å"Hot Zones† (Preston 1999). Nancy Jaax, a housewife and a mother, tries to keep a balance between her job and family life though the former always gets priority. Her husband and colleague, Jerry Jaax gets worried about her vulnerable exposure to such dangerous agents at Fort Detrick. The monkeys kept under observation for Ebola virus testing in the research facility at Reston starts falling ill after a certain time.By examining their tissue samples, Nancy and her colleagues concluded the illness being caused by the virus. Hundreds of monkeys in the monkey house are killed by the military and the Centers for Disease Control in order to prevent the virus entering the human residents in the area. Strict precautionary measures are taken throughout the procedure. Finally, the entire building is decontaminated and the employees go back to their normal lives. In order to discover the origin of these viruses, a U.S scientific expedition visits a place in Kenya where some of the infected people were reportedly visiting the area. Unfortunately, the mission failed but the leading doctor of the expedition was able to put away the equipment used during the mission. The decontamination project at Reston was a success. The author ends the account by reporting his visit to the suspected site that housed the Ebola carriers. Ref erences Preston, Richard. (1999). The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story. Anchor

Describe the world you come from

For the majority of my life, I have lived in India. I moved to the US in 8th grade. I still remember the last few days in India, reminiscing all the good times I had with my friends and family. Those days when I used to go to the school soccer field in the warm evening with my friend to play. Those nights when the electricity would go out and my family would sit down in one room and eat dinner with my Grandpa telling stories of his old days in the Indian army. All the times when we celebrated the wide variety of festivals.There was this bitter feeling inside me, knowing that I will have to leave all this behind and start a completely new life. I had to make new friends; I had to live in a new environment. It felt like a great challenge at that time. But my family knew they had to move away from the flawed school system in India, where the rich would get the best education and the poor would get the inadequate. They knew I had a better chance of being successful in life, if we moved t o the US.From among my family and friends, I felt like the lucky one because I was getting this opportunity to better my life. Now in the US, I see my parents work hard everyday to make money and be able to fulfill my needs. They try to get me the optimal things for my sports and education. Often times I would see my mom come home from long day of work, tired and worn out, complaining of back pains and headaches. At those times I would think to myself that, my parents didn’t have to move to the US.They were better off in India, where we had servants taking care of the stuff at home and my parents with their comfortable jobs. But they moved to the US for me and I believe that it is my job to get a good education and become successful in life so that they can feel like they made the right decision by moving to US. Since the day I realized how hard my parents are working to help me succeed, it has become my goal to repay and thank them for everything they have done for me. I cou ld not be anymore happier than the day I have achieved my goals and made my parents proud.

Macro-Economic Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro-Economic Issues - Essay Example The impact would stem around profitability, efficiency, risks and leverage. At first a brief overview of the UK economy for FY 10, 11, 12 would be given and would then be followed by the effects on Imperial tobacco. Then a speculation would be made as to how Imperial tobacco would respond to these macroeconomic changes based on strategy and corporate objectives of Imperial tobacco. The growth of the UK economy seems sluggish in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The crisis had hit the UK from both eastern and western borders. This includes the housing market crash of US and the Euro Zone Debt crisis. Between 2008 and 2010, the GDP growth rate has been negative (Trading Economics, 2012) and the rate after 2010, although positive, has not been satisfactory. There is also a fear of double dip recession since the second quarter of FY 12 has experienced a GDP growth rate of -0.2 % (BBC News, 2012), the production sector has also experienced a decline of 1.4% , followed by a fall in co nstruction output of 0.5 % and compensation of employees by 0.3%. Now coming to the fiscal statistics, the National debt to GDP ratio stands at 80 %, the budget deficit has been reduced and increased VAT yield show signs of fiscal tightening. Interest rates are an all time low and despite of this bank lending to small businesses is falling. Low interest rates and increasing current account deficits are also putting pressure on the British Pound. A falling pound would hurt distributors country wide since import costs would rise as they would have to pay more in terms of the domestic currency. Unemployment hovers around 8.4 % and no signs of improvement are expected. Consumer confidence shows no signs of improvement despite yearly increases in current expenditure (The Economist, 2012). In addition to, UK has seen some major structural changes over the years, of which the most notable is the ageing population. Ageing population refers to a rise in the average age of the population of a country over time. So it is unlikely that the market for UK would continue to grow. In addition to, this has the impact of increasing wage levels across the economy as Labor supply reduces in the long run. Apart from these macroeconomic issues, the tobacco industry has been subjected to severe regulatory policies around the world which include: Increased duties year on year Ban on cigarette advertising Ban on smoking in public places Allegations of illicit trade Plans to introduce plain packaging All these regulations tend to have a negative impact on tobacco industry, with the exception of the levying of excise duties which would be discussed later on. Imperial tobacco seems to be quite resistant to macroeconomic changes. The risks that currently pose threat to Imperial tobacco plc are interest rate risks and exchange rate risks. Interest rate risks accommodate the financing and profitability of the company since Imperial Group plc has a high Debt to Equity ratio and raises a larg e amount of capital from debt capital and Bank loan markets. Now if the bank fail to meet their obligations of refinancing the debt then it would definitely limit the ability to capitalize on global opportunities and mitigate threats. Movement in interest rates can also affect the credit rating of Imperial tobacco and reduce its profitability because of increased finance costs.To reduce these risks Imperial employs various hedging strategies and has invested some of

Personal Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Development Plan - Essay Example In an investigation to identify the effects of culture shock on minority students, Ostrove and Long (2007) and Greenfield (1994) found out that culture shock negatively affects academic performance of the students. The research focused on the black students who were the first generation students. Similarly, Grossmann and Varnum (2011) considered college to be an alien planet where young people from both poor and middle class families are the first to attend college.   Consequently, the social atmosphere results to culture shock on the black students from the said backgrounds, and it influences their adjustment to college.   Inherently, the new social atmosphere also has direct effects on ones personality.   The difference between the social class between the first generation students and the continuing generation is also believed to influence academic performance (Phinney and Haas, 2003).  Induction experience and points for improvement  When I was inducted in Wolverhampton College, I found out that the social atmosphere was quite different from my former university, in America where I studied my undergraduate degree. Firstly as a student I came to know communication between the campus people in Britain was a lot. The university pushed students to talk to each other and develop friendship which gave me a sense of belongingness as soon as I started my program here. Secondly, I came to the university with the notion that it was a very serious institution of learning. Another significant transformation that I was forced to go.... The research focused on the black students who were the first generation students. Similarly, Grossmann and Varnum (2011) considered college to be an alien planet where young people from both poor and middle class families are the first to attend college. Consequently, the social atmosphere results to culture shock on the black students from the said backgrounds, and it influences their adjustment to college. Inherently, the new social atmosphere also has direct effects on ones personality. The difference between the social class between the first generation students and the continuing generation is also believed to influence academic performance (Phinney and Haas, 2003). Induction experience and points for improvement When I was inducted in Wolverhampton College, I found out that the social atmosphere was quite different from my former university, in America where I studied my undergraduate degree. Firstly as a student I came to know  communication between the campus people  in Britain was a lot. The university pushed students to talk to each other and develop friendship which gave me a sense of belongingness as soon as I started my program here. Secondly, I came to the university with the notion that it was a very serious institution of learning. To my disappointment I found out that most the university students preferred partying more than studying. Unfortunately, trying to beat this will only make one to lose friends, and consequently, one has to manage to cope with such a situation. Subsequently, due to time consumed in partying and actually, to adapt to these changes my overall performance was actually affected in by first year in

Cultural Studies in relation to Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cultural Studies in relation to Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Cultural Studies in relation to Fashion" analyzes the fashion and the relation to it. Even the type of clothes one prefers to adorn is also known to provide an expression of the nature or state of one’s mood. However, fashion is a hugely diverse subject and does not constitute of clothes alone. Rather, the way in which one likes to converse with others, the style in which one likes to do hair, and the way in which one interacts with the society at large, everything reflects how one would like to associate oneself with fashion. Actually, this paper is an effort to discuss the relation shared by fashion with culture and identity in reference to this statement, â€Å"fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities†. People arm themselves with fashion to form specific visual statements which would readily express their identities and tell others about who they are, which culture t hey follow, and what is their ideology. Different subcultures are seen in different parts of UK and all promote different fashions among all age groups, though teenagers are mostly affected by innovative fashion measures and hasten to promote such new and different styles to get in the click and be considered cool. There are many mainstream teenage subcultures which are massively prevalent in UK among which Goths or Gothics, Bohimes or Bohemians, Rastas, Scallies, and Moshers are pretty popular. British teenage population can be seen.

Walmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Walmart - Essay Example This is done to maintain the quality in Hard Rock Cafà ©. They have rating scale from 1 to 7. If it fails to achieve scale of 7 then the quality and service is believed to be not up to the mark. For efficient process and capacity design, Hard Rock Cafà © educates their staffs to present high quality entertainment. They design the facility through exclusive design, procuring and displaying unique music related merchandizes that includes Jimi Hendrix’s guitars and music events. Hard Rock Cafà © follows a systematic approach for location. It narrows down the search from the country to a city then a particular street corner. They try to enter the right market at the right time (University of Mizzou, 2011). Since it’s a theme restaurant, strategies include music, different visuals and memorabilia. The theme is used to expose memorabilia to customers for the purpose of sales. A dynamic working environment is present and that needs to be inculcated among the staffs. Hard Rock Cafà © inventories consist of merchandize that are related to the history of rock, i.e. memorabilia, special menus and decorations. They have spent approximately US$ 40 million for collecting rocks-and-roll memorabilia inventories. The outsourcing of the supply chain management assists in reducing the transportation cost, optimizes the distribution network and reduces operational cost by 20% (Avicon, 2003). The schedule is flexible as customers are mostly tourist and this is done to render service according to their demand and culture. With regards to maintenance, they provide exclusive activities and excellent performances. The unique music collection are rotated and shared between branches globally. Avicon, (2003). Avicon Leads Hard Rock Cafe’s Successful Transition to Outsourced Logistics, Fulfillment and Distribution. Avicon Engagement to Provide Improved Working Capital, Inventory Management and Operating Margins. Retrieved Online on March 03, 2011

Product Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Product Design - Essay Example In addition, it can also offer a unique stance in a highly competitive world (Slack 2006). The compass of design is substantial, covering graphic communications to integrated systems and then from information technology to urban environments. While globally it is described as the formation and development of all man-made products; it is fundamentally perceived as a device for improving the quality of life (Taschen 2001). Designers are not futurologists; however, they have to be in line with clearly identifying the relationships of the past, present and future as well as the prospective effects of political, social, and emotional impacts of the environment for them to create objects that would become a desirable product. They may carry this out by means of giving it the semblance of acquired improved functionality. Moreover, the added cultural value or further processes in the design or production create an amplified demand for a product (Slack 2006). Product design is a general term for the conception of an object that stems from design ideas which is manifested in the form of sketches, drawings, models or prototypes. This then can stretch into the production, logistics, and marketing the conceptualised objects. Products are designed with particular considerations valued by the designer, client, or end user that are then communicated through the products’ purchase and use (Slack 2006). It is a crucial facet of the method of product development and innovation; nonetheless, its success lies on the management practices though are no standard agreement in general as to what specific activities the management involves (Chiva-GÃ ³mez et al 2004). Great design is intentional and calculated. It put together real product modernisation with bona fide brand expression to come up with an ideal user experience. Balancing to strike is not an easy task nonetheless it is the art generally applied to attain a

Ethical Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Argument - Essay Example John has taken Networking and Artificial Intelligence as his Major specialization subject. Since the subject was tough, only 15 students (including John) took it as there Major Specialization Subject. There was enough competition among these students and there performance was up to par. There were four permanent Faculties and three Visiting Faculties, who were highly qualified; well experienced in there field and dedicated & hard working. It was the Final Examination of the first semester and John has worked really hard to get good marks in the exam. One night when he was playing with codes of networking, a few batch mates came and asked "to co-operate". He was in the dilemma whether to co-operate with his friends or not. That night, his batch mates made a plan which according to him was "highly unethical". The plan was to misuse The Relative Grading System by mutual understanding and co-operation. The batch mates tried to exploit the weakness of the system from the terms of the marks obtained by the topper. Clearly if the topper obtains only 30% of the absolute marks in an examination, which is to be checked using the relative grading system, then even a student who has just managed to obtain 24% absolute marks, will effectively, secure a total of 80% relative marks (Grade A) and will pass with flying colors, who in real circumstances should not be allowed to attend the second semester. They were trying to convince him into executing the same plan and finally attempt only three questions out of the bunch of ten., as everyone will do this and will get 'A' grade. John did not get convince because it was not an ethical act and there came 'Ethical Arguments'. He told his mates to give a real fight in the examination and not this 'fake co-operation' because somewhere in the long run they have to pay for this unethical act. He said that every game has certain rules which can be manipulated to act in one's favor but one who is a hard worker will never try to manipulate and will come out as a winner with his hard work and efficiency, even after following these rules. He argued the basic purpose of introducing a relative grading system is to dilute the significance of the toughness of the paper and the marks to be primarily a function of the individual's strength in a competitive environment His batch mates stood firm in their decision and did not give heed to his ideas. It was the Final Examination and question papers were distributed. John was forced to attempt only three questions out of those ten just for the sake of friendship and cooperation. He was feeling very bad. He recited his favorite lines during the examination: "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion." -Abraham Lincoln But he was helpless and bounded; he was not feeling good. Result day, although everyone passed with flying colors but one man lost his job. The teacher, who was blamed that he was not

Team project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team project - Essay Example Executive members receive a reward of up to two percent reward on Costco purchases per year.( Costco.com) Company vision as put forward by its founder, Jim Sinegal, is to â€Å"give the customer the best value we can†. His strategic vision is to give customers the best value and at the right price. He stressed the importance of treating people right and with respect. It works under the philosophy of â€Å"To keep costs down and pass savings to customers.† (costco.com) Costco sells automotive supplies, sporting goods, hardware, apparels, jewelry, toys, electronic goods and health aids. Away from the usual business activities, COSTO offers technical and non technical services based on different forte such as travel operations to financial investments. Other services of COSTCO includes COSTCO Photo Center, COSTCO Travel, Food Service and Shopping. In 2010, the company branched out to publishing, and has started to publish books and calendars. (Success Story. 2015) Costco does not raise prices because it believes it will be its downfall. In order to offer lower prices than competitors, it adopted a mark-up price of only 15 percent which is much lower than department stores. Department stores, according to Bond, Ronald, 2015,has a mark-up of 50 percent. Costco keeps its price down because they sell in bulk so that a cost of operation is down. Costco distribute its products through its international warehouse designed buildings located at various global sites. Costco has 672 warehouses in various regions, majority of which are in America. Few are located in Asia, such as there are 20 COSTCO warehouse stores in Japan, 11 in South Korea, 10 in Taiwan and 7 in Australia. It has also opened an internet website to keep abreast with competition, with free shipping and discounts to members. It limits distribution of its products by carrying

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay Example for Free

Physician Assisted Suicide Essay The controversy surrounding physician assisted suicide has dominated the public court for long drawing and evoking varying emotions whenever it arises. Not to be confused with euthanasia, physician assisted suicide refers to the act by doctors to provide a lethal injection to a patient at his or her request with an intention of terminating the patients life. It is closely related to euthanasia only that euthanasia can be carried out by doctors with or without the request of the patient. The debate on legalization of physician assisted suicide and its ethical appropriateness has at one time cropped up in most countries. It is always a sensitive topic to the policy makers and politicians thanks to the arguments and the counterarguments it attracts, pitting religious groups and the liberalists. Religious groups like the Catholic Church feel it is unethical and against God’s teachings and will. Liberalists believe it should be a personal choice and not to be left to the dictates of the politicians and religious fundamentalists. There are those too in the medical profession who see it as a grave violation of the professional requirements as vowed in the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic oath refers to the oath made by medical practitioners vowing not to carry out any prescription that would jeopardize the life of a patient whether or not it is at the patients requestor not. Doctors are supposed to abide by this oath. This is an oath that owes its history to the pre-medieval period and may not have foreseen the sort of challenges facing patients, doctors and other stakeholders in the health provision sector. This is a debate that has reigned much in the 20th century and it is the high time it is put to rest. The position of this paper is that physician assisted death is an exercise of ones fundamental freedoms and allows a patient to die with dignity (Colesanto, 62). The activism towards legalizing physician assisted deaths dates back to the start of the 20th century. It is this period that would witness the rise and the formation of societies and organization whose intention was to agitate either for its legalization or for its complete legal prohibition. In spite of this decades’ long activism, in the United States for example, only the state of Oregon has legalized it. Other countries in the world with a clear law on its legalization are Netherlands and Belgium, which passed the law in 2002. In Switzerland, physician assisted deaths are legal but there is a strict demand for certification and a clear establishment of such a need. These countries have provided inspiration to the rest of the world and soon there is likely to be increased activism towards the enactment of such laws. This will give patients faced with extreme choices to make one last important choice regarding their life, choosing to terminate their sufferings or to continue wallowing in a miasma of immense pain in the face of a sure death. The much hullabaloo about the ethical acceptability of physician assisted suicide misses a very important point; it is neither moral nor immoral. It is a personal choice that should be given to every patient who certifies the minimum required conditions. What should be noted is that death under normal circumstances is never pleasurable, a decision to end life is made after hard considerations and in the knowledge that it is the only easy way out. Patients who make such hard choices are driven by the immense pain they are facing and with no respite in sight. That is the key reason why it is the patient that makes the call rather than the doctor. Wear notes that in assisted suicide, â€Å"the patient acts the part. † He further says that the choice to either take death or life in physically assisted suicide â€Å"rests fully with the patient in the sense that neither will take place without the patient’s desire† (87) This brings in an important point into the debate; choice. This is the key argument behind physician assisted deaths. They should be permitted in the respect of one fundamental freedom of making own choices regarding the direction of our lives especially faced with such insurmountable odds. It is the final freedom of choice to be exercised. A look at terminally ill patients leaves one with pity and grief at the pain some of them go through. Although there has been tremendous efforts brought forth by technology seeking to improving the conditions and the lifespan of these patients, it is apparent that they go through a lot of suffering. There is no known medication that can ease such pain. One noted complication id the feeling of breathlessness and suffocation experienced by a lot of terminally ill patients in their death bed. This is a complication that can not be alleviated through drugs and always leaves a patient with a feeling of helplessness. The bouts of pain that attacks such patients cannot be eased effectively through the use of medication. Patients have to brave through such suffering in the daunting knowledge that death is on the way. To such patients, it is without any doubt that death would be a welcome respite, and to know that they can have control of the hour that such a death would take place would be a great solace thanks to physician assisted death. Most hospices offering palliative care are filled with people living their last moments on earth. They are people who have failed to receive any improvements from the normal process of medication and some of them are meant to receive comfort in their last days on earth. It is important to note that many are in a vegetative state and no amount of medication, care and therapy can bring them back to their active life. They hence become a burden to their loved ones and to the society in general. Most of these, especially the aged are more than willing to die, they do not expect to hang on to life forever as John Hardwig notes, â€Å"to have reached the age of, say, seventy-five or eighty years without being ready to die is itself a moral failing, the sign of a life out of touch with lifes basic realities† (14) It goes without saying that anyone has reached such a point in time and is in a vegetative state requires a lot of attention from the spouse, family members and friends. He has to receive constant visitations and comfort to re assure him or her during the last moments. This inability to fend for oneself and the feeling that one is a burden to family members is degrading in itself and given a choice, majority would prefer death to such loss of dignity. This is where the concept of dying with dignity comes in. Though those who take an economic approach to this debate are accused of being mundane and hedonistic, it is an important issue that has to be tackled. Palliative care for terminally ill patients for example can be both financially and emotionally draining both to the patients and to the families’ savings. It is only a matter of time before the spouse or the family begins complaining of the huge bills and time that they commit to medication and care. Economics aside, this is usually an emotionally draining period, as Ackerman notes, â€Å"when this kind of care giving goes on for years, it leaves the care- giver exhausted, with no time for herself or life of her own†. 5) The amount of money spent during this period can eat up into the family’s savings and jeopardize the lives of those that are healthy. It has to be understood that the rest of the members have other obligations and plans such as bills and college fees. It is not prudent hence to continue paying for the care of a person who is willing to die rather than commit such funds to a more fulfilling venture with long term implications. In such a case, phy sician assisted suicide is the only way out. There is however lots of people who are opposed to physician assisted deaths. They cite various reasons such as ethics and the importance of human life over money and that it is against their religious teachings. One major argument is that legalization of physician assisted death will result into a devaluation of life (Low 37). It is true that there has to be effective laws in place to regulate the useless taking of people’s lives, to ensure that people do not end other people’s lives just because they feel like. However, when it comes to terminally ill and suffering patients beyond any medical salvage, the issue of devaluation of life does not come into play. They are suffering and death is fast coming, why not let them make that one important decision that will put a stop to their suffering? It is apparent that this debate has ranged on for long. Each time it is mentioned though, its benefits are more glaring than its disadvantages. It is an important way of easing the suffering of terminally ill patients by given them a chance to exercise their one final choice regarding their lives. This is a practice that eases both the patients’ and the family members’ economic and emotional strain.

The Structure Of Protein P53 Biology Essay

The Structure Of Protein P53 Biology Essay Protein p53, encoded by gene Tp53, is known as a tumor suppressor. Discovered in 1979 as a transformation-related protein (DeLeo et al., 1979) and protein which accumulates in the tumor cells binding with simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigens (Lane et al., 1979), p53 was regarded as an important protein in the regulation of an apoptosis and cancerization. During the last 30 years, a large amount of studies was taken in p53 and its related mechanisms in cellular process. In 1980s, researchers cloned the Tp53 gene and determined the role of p53 as a tumor suppressor. However, the structure of p53 protein was uncertain until 2006, in which William and his colleagues determined the DNA binding core domain of protein p53 (William. C. Ho. et al., 2006). Plenty of researches focus on the regulatory mechanism of p53 and hundreds types of targets and regulators of p53 were found, e.g. MDM2, Cyclin H, ATR, ATM, etc. These molecules can interact with p53 and regulate the life process collecti vely. P53 plays a very crucial role in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis induction, the mutation of p53 would lead to the cancerization in cells and induce cancer. Bai and Zhu (2006) reported that the mutation or loss of p53 gene and protein can be found in over 50% of tumor cells in human all around the world. For these reasons, the application of cancer therapy through protein p53 and Tp53 gene is a very potential aspect in cancer treatment. This review will describe the structure and function of p53 protein, examine its role in natural and tumor cells and focus on the cancer therapy application through p53. The Structure of P53 Human protein p53 is a 53KDa phosphoprotein encoded by a 20Kb-gene; it has an intricate structure which is closely related to its function. Wild-type P53 protein contains five major domains. The N-terminus of p53 is a transcription-activation domain (TAD), with a major one at residues 1-42 and a minor one at residues 55-75 (Venot et al., 1998). The basic function of this domain is involvement in the regulation of the pro-apoptotic transcription. Following the TAD is a proline-rich region which plays an important role in apoptotic activities. The central core of p53 protein is a DNA binding domain which can bind and interact with special DNA sequence that contain 2 copies of 10bp motif 5-PuPuPuC(A/T)-(T/A)GPyPyPy-3 (Kern et al., 1991). This region is also responsible for binding with LMO3, which is an essential co-repressor of p53 (Larsen et al., 2010). A nuclear localization signaling domain (NLS) is located beside the C-terminus of central core. The C-terminus domain of p53 protein, called negative regulatory domain is involved in the down regulation of DNA binding in central core (Chen, et al., 2005), and is also an essential part for the induction of cell death. A homo-oligomerisation domain (OD) located between the negative regulatory domain and NLS. This part is involved in tetramerization, which is a main activity for p53 in vivo. The different domains of p53 protein have their functions respectively, nevertheless, they constitute an inseparable entirety to play the role as a tumor suppressor. The function of p53 As a cancer suppressor, the main function of p53 is the anticancer function. P53 plays a vital role in apoptosis, gene stability and DNA damage through a series of complex mechanisms. First, p53 can respond to DNA damage through activating the DNA repair protein. For example, upon DNA damage, p53 gets activated and initiates the transcription of repair protein XPC and DDB2. The complex of p53-XPC-DDB2 can repair the DNA damaged by UV (Adimoolam and Ford, 2003). In addition, p53 can arrest the cell cycle at S, G1, and G2 phase (Agarwal et al., 1995), which can provide sufficient time for proteins repair to fix the damaged DNA. Induction of apoptosis, the programmed cell death, is also the essential and most important anti-cancer function of p53. If DNA damage is irreparable, p53 can activate the expression of pro-apoptosis genes like p21, Gadd45 (growth arrest and DNA-damageinducible protein 45), Bcl-2 family, etc. Moreover, p53 can bind and interact with hundreds of protein to regulate the cellular process and apoptosis. P53 can also restrain the cell cycle by repressing the expression of genes include bcl-2, bcl-X, cyclin B1, MAP4 and survivin (Bai and Zhu, 2006). The physiological functions of p53 are to maintain the genetic stability and regulate the normal cell cycle through a complex regulatory network. The mutation of Tp53 gene would lead to the loss of function of p53 protein, resulting in a cellular canceration. Consequently, the essential function of p53 is preventing the cancerization of cells by repairing genes or inducing apoptosis, in order to achieve these function, p53 can interact with a n umber of downstream targets. The Regulation in P53 Level A large amount of cellular response and process is induced by p53 through a series of complex biochemical mechanisms. P53 achieves its function through activating, binding, interacting with myriad kinds of downstream target molecules including kinase, enzymes, etc. Generally, p53 interacts with its target by phosphorylation of transcription-activation domain in N-terminus. The most well-known target of p53 is a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) p21. P53 would initiate the transcription and transduction of p21 in response to cellular stress, p21 is necessary in G1 control, the increase of p21 arrest the cell growth and induce cell death (Yin, et al., 1999). P53 and p21 contribute to a cell-cycle check point in G1 phase. The damaged genes would not be allowed to express until they are repair. If most damaged genes cannot be repaired, the accumulation of p21 regulated by p53 would induce apoptosis. Another important target of p53 is MDM2 (also called HDM2 in human body). MDM2 is a p53 inducible gene and its product can bind and interact with p53. The product of MDM2 gene, called p90 or p95, can bind with p53 and combine with ubiquitinate which can induce the degradation of p53 (Buschmann, et al., 2000). MDM2 is the killer of p53 which can keep the amount of p53 proteins into an appropriate level. However, a series of cellular stress would cause the overexpress of MDM2 and result in the over degradation of p53, the cell would lose ground and transform to tumor cell. P53 has plenty of other regulation pathways that cannot be listed in detail. The hundreds of pathways regulated by p53 have two mutual purposes: repair genes and induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the core of the p53 regulation levels is to maintain the stability of genes and accelerate the death of damaged or diseased cells. The Role of p53 in Normal and Tumor cells In natural human cells, the wt-p53 protein can be regarded as a guardian of the cell and genome. It can monitor the vital process, repair the gene indirectly through interaction with repair protein and induce apoptosis when necessary (Hofseth, et al., 2004). P53 plays a crucial role in numerous cellular processes which are related to cell cycle and cell death. If Tp53 gene mutated, the tumor suppression function in the cell would partly reduce. As a result, people whose Tp53 gene was mutated are more susceptible to suffer from cancer. Tp53 gene is mutated in over half of tumor cells; the mutation would alter the structure of p53 protein, thus p53 would lose its function partly or completely. The p53-mutated cells can not die programmatically, and become tumor cells. The mutated p53 protein tends to accumulate in tumor cells because the mutated p53 lose its function to induce the express of MDM2, which can degrade p53 proteins in the cell. The accumulation of p53 protein is a significant feature for the tumor cells. In cancer treatments, tumor cells can be detected through the accumulation of p53. However, mutated p53 can also be an obstacle of the therapy because mutant p53 can inhibit the function of wide-type p53 (Blagosklonny, M. V., 2002). If the treatment strategy is transferring the wide-type p53 into tumor cells, how to eliminate the effect of mutant p53 is the problem which has to be solved first. Consequently, p53 plays crucial roles both in normal cells and tumor cells; it is a gatekeeper in normal cells and a marker for tumor cells; it is an effective target for cancer treatments, nevertheless it can also become a barrier in cancer therapy. Conclusion P53 is the best-known transcription factor and cancer suppressor plays multiple roles in the cell. In healthy cells and, it is a gatekeeper to monitor the cell cycle and prevent the mutation of gene. If some mutations happen in the genome, p53 serve as a doctor to activate the repair process of damaged genes. When cells suffer from an irreversible damage or oncogenic stress, p53 can become a killer of cancerous cells. P53 participates in a number of biochemical pathways which can respond to the stress, arrest cell-cycle, repair gene and induce apoptosis. In the 30 years after the discovery of p53, plenty investigation was devoted into this essential protein and received a number of great achievements. A large amount of downstream targets has been identified and the regulatory network of p53 levels became clearer. Although plenty of details about p53, such as the relationship between each pathway, are still unknown. There is still a potential application through p53 in cancer treatmen ts.

Legalizing Marijuana Essay -- Legal Issues, Drugs

What exactly is marijuana? Marijuana, also known as pot or hemp, is a naturally grown substance that contains THC. THC changes how the brain works and gives the user a high that relieves many different pains and even helps erase bad memories. The hemp plant can be found in just about any place, but has to be kept in heat. Marijuana is from a naturally grown plant so why not be able to use it legally? Well, there are many reasons against the legalization of marijuana and there are also many very good reasons to legalize it for medical and recreational use. So to the government and everyone against legalizing marijuana, too bad! It’s natural and people are going to smoke no matter what the laws are, so why not just make it legal? Making the use of marijuana legal everywhere will more than likely help stop the chaos between the smokers and nonsmokers and reduce the outrageously high total of 858, 408 who are arrested annually for marijuana possession and use. So why exactly should marijuana be legal? Well, there are many reasons both opinions and facts, but why does it need to be legal? According to many of my sources, marijuana has been found to be less dangerous than both alcohol and tobacco products. â€Å"Marijuana is safer than many over the counter drugs.† (Young, Francis L. 2) Judge Francis L. Young, from the DEA, declared that marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. â€Å"Long term heavy marijuana use does not produce the severe or grossly debilitating impairment of memory, attention, and cognitive function found with chronic alcohol use.†(British Medical Journal Lancet 4) Only a small number of marijuana users eventually smoke enough of it for a long period to suffer impairments matching those ... ...ady! The laws changed for no reason. â€Å"Prior to 1937, at least 27 medicines containing marijuana were legal in the U.S. Many of these medicines were made by well-known pharmaceuticals that are still around today. Eli Lilly being one of there that sold medicines containing marijuana had to stop production because of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. It was legal once so let it be legal again. Legalizing marijuana will let the terminally ill and very sick people get what they need to help them without the trouble. It will also decrease the number of arguments and legal battles to legalize or to not legalize the substance. Marijuana is from a natural plant that is not meant to harm or affect people in anyway. The government and anyone against legalizing marijuana need to realize that there are things far more worse than marijuana. Make it legal and stop the drug war!

The Economic and Political Factors Affecting the U.S. Sugar Subsidy Program :: Sugar Subsidy Economics Essays

The Economic and Political Factors Affecting the U.S. Sugar Subsidy Program Graphs Not Available Sugar growers continue to benefit from favorable economic conditions provided by the U.S. government. Yet empirical data reveal a decrease in the aggregate support for sugar legislation in recent years. In 1978, there were 9,187 full or part owners of sugar cane and sugar beet farms, compared to 7,799 farms in 1987. The level of sugar subsidy allocated to the farmers, however, has increased and even favored certain sugar growers disproportionately over others. Such empirical findings suggests that politics, as much as economics, affect the level of sugar subsidy. This paper examines why an increasingly smaller number of sugar farmers receive a steadily larger government subsidy. Mainstream economics cannot explain the unusual linkage between sugar producers and subsidy levels. While traditional, neoclassical economists cultivate elegant models that explain economic phenomena, they fail to characterize correctly the relationship between voters, their elected representatives, and the political institutions which shape the policies. Consequently, an accurate model must combine what we know from mainstream economics and political economy. Before outlining the theoretical framework, however, the following section reviews the history of the sugar subsidy. History of Sugar Subsidy The Jones-Costigan Act, created the modern sugar program as part of the New Deal package of agricultural legislation in 1934. The program included domestic production controls and direct payments to farmers, as well as import restrictions that addressed the declining ratio of farm to non-farm incomes of the preceding decade (Harper, 1990). The first major transformation of the U.S. sugar program resulted from the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba's exports to the U.S. in 1963. Throughout the following years, the United States government imposed a series of price supports, import quotas, and loans to protect U.S. producers from lower-priced foreign grown sugar as well as to encourage domestic production of sugar (Rendelman, 1989). Many farmers in the U.S. began to supplement the dearth of sugar left by the embargo and exploit the "protected market" conditions provided by the U.S. government subsidy. Despite the federal aid granted to sugar growers, not all sectors of agriculture devoted to growing sugar derivatives flourished. Domestic production of sugar cane increased steadily from 1982 onward, while sugar beet production stagnated (Knutson, 1985). Through time, the largest number of sugar beet farmers were concentrated in a specific West/Midwest region of the U.S. (Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho) while sugar cane farmers were found in the Southeast, specifically Louisiana and Florida.

Bennidict Arnold :: essays research papers

My name is Benedict Arnold. I was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich Connecticut. I led a very daring life, for I was a spy. My entire familial lineage was based in New England and was long established and well respected. As a child I worked with an apothecary, but that wasn’t what I planned to do for my life. During the French and Indian War, I enlisted in the militia and fought from 1754 to 1763. My father died toward the end of the war, and so I had no way of making money afterward, so I used my knowledge of potions and became a druggist in New Haven, Connecticut. My business soon expanded, and I began a trading company that shipped to Canada and the West Indies in 1764. After eleven years in this business, my success brought about my election to militia captaincy. Soon after I was made captain, I was once again upgraded to the status of colonel. At the start of the American Revolution in 1775, I joined Ethan Allen to capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British. After the great success I had in New York, I decided to make an assault on Quebec. I was promoted to brigadier general after this invasion, even though I had to retreat to Lake Champlain. I was actually defeated there at Lake Champlain in 1776 by a British naval attack. This did diminish my perseverance somewhat, but I came back into full force in April 1777 when I was promoted to major general after the Battle of Ridgefield. If I do say so myself, I would definitely have you know that had I not relieved Fort Stanwix in the fall of 1777, an American victory at the Battles of Saratoga would not have been possible. By battlefield leadership allowed me to become the commander in Philadelphia in 1778, where I met my wide, Margaret Shippen. I became a bit obsessed with money once I became commander, and for a good reason! I served my country for many years, and I still feel that I had a right to some money. Well, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem had I not gone into debt. At that point, I had to begin begging for money. I came in contact with a British commander in chief named Sir Henry Clinton. This is where my devious actions began.

Hebrew History Essay

Question #1 What were the major eras/events in Hebrew history? What importance do they have in Western Civilizations? Is the Bible a reasonably accurate source for the History of the Jewish people from the Egyptian captivity to the Babylonian captivity? The history of the Hebrew people is marked by war, internal conflict and an ongoing struggle for survival. Along the way, the Hebrews have crafted a rich tapestry of accomplishments through perseverance and faith. On more than one occasion, the majority of the Hebrew people have been enslaved. At other times, they were powerful and unquestioned rulers of their domain. A timeline of Jewish history shows these remarkable contrasts. The best contemporary source for the early origins of the Hebrew people is the Bible. This book contains a detailed chronology of the Hebrew people, their culture and their faith over a centuries-long time span. The first five books of the Bible comprise the Jewish Torah. These five books trace the creation of the world, its destruction by flood, the enslavement of the Jewish people, their escape, and the establishment of the nation of Israel. The thriving nation, would not last, though. It was subjugated by the Babylonians in the 700s B.C.E. In between the Egyptian and Babylon enslavements, the Hebrew people took an epic journey. According to the Bible Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in about 1446 B.C.E. Shortly after, The Ten Commandments were given by God, laying the foundation for all future Jewish law. Thirty years after the Israelites entered Canaan, the Judges began their rule. A spectacular temple was completed in Jerusalem in about 959 B.C.E. A number of brutal wars followed in the next century. Israel itself had become a divided nation by this time. A weakened Israel had fallen captive to the Babylonians by about 586 B.C.E. The Torah is essentially a contemporary account, written by Moses and other early Jewish leaders. It spans from the creation of the world to the entry of the Hebrews into Canaan after escaping the Egyptians. The rest of the Old Testament chronicles the history of the Israeli nation, in addition to containing numerous prayers, songs, prophesies and accounts of miraculous happenings. Apart from the Biblical account, the Jewish people are mentioned in Egyptian texts dating back to 1440 B.C.E. Early Jewish history is intimately tied to the ancient Egyptian empires. Hebrew history has had a profound effect on Western Civilization. The Christian Bible, which contains the Jewish Torah along with centuries of historical accounts of Jewish culture, and is still the most widely read book in the world. Christ himself was Jewish. The Hebrews also contributed technical knowledge to the Western world. For example, the famous glassmakers of Italy were preceded by the Jewish glassmakers of ancient times. It is they who were primarily responsible for introducing this art to the world. For many, the Bible is the only credible source tracing history back to its origins. For Christians and non-Christians alike it shapes perception of the world around us. Orthodox Hebrews never accepted the Bible’s New Testament as doctrine. Instead of being the messiah, Christ is regarded as a prophet or teacher. As Christianity spread around the world, the Hebrew people were increasingly scapegoated for Christ’s death and persecuted for their rejection of him as the messiah. A deep anti-Semitism set in across Europe and spread to the new world. This has resulted in dire consequences throughout history and especially in the twentieth century. The Bible is a detailed and moving account of Jewish history. It is constructed dually as a book of history and a book of faith. Therefore, it cannot be expected to give a complete picture of all the complexities present in the development of the Hebrew nation. It is written from the perspective of a small fraction of the participants. In the following centuries scholars modified some portions of the text. Some other portions were deleted or lost. Given the lack of alternate perspectives in the Bible, it is clear that the writers and caretakers of it took extraordinary care to present and preserve the story as they believed it to be. As a result it gives us a series of signposts that, in many cases, are confirmed by other ancient texts and oral traditions. The details will always be a matter of individual perception, but the Bible does provide a relatively accurate road map to the history of these extraordinary people. The most critical event in the history of Judaism is their deliverance from four hundred years of slavery to the Egyptian Pharaoh. According to the Bible, Moses and his brother Aaron were chosen to lead the Hebrew people on this miraculous escape. After several plagues were put upon the Egyptian people the Pharaoh was finally convinced to let the people go. He soon changed his mind, but the Red Sea swallowed up the Egyptian army as they tried to pursue the Hebrews. The Hebrew tribes lived in the desert for forty years until God allowed them to enter the promised land of Canaan. While the Hebrews were in the desert many of the Jewish rites and traditions were created that are still practiced today. Entering Canaan would not be easy, however. The Israelites waged war and defeated many of the tribes already living in the area. The land was divided into twelve subsections, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Hundreds of years of wars and in-fighting followed as the nation of Israel tried to establish itself. Archaeological evidence found in recent years seems to confirm many events related in the Bible. The evidence also raises more questions, however. Archaeology and modern science has its limitations. Many of the major events in the Bible are backed up by modern evidence. It is more difficult to ascertain why and how these events happened. Question #2 In what way were the economic foundations of the Roman and the Han empires similar? How do you account for the similarity? How were they different? What were the consequences of the differences? During the Han dynasty, the Chinese economy underwent substantial changes. At the beginning of the period the economy was primarily based on subsistence farming. Trading activity was minimal and most farms were small family-run operations. Later in this period, a more substantial trade network emerged. A peasant class somewhat dependent on trade markets became more widespread. Grain and rice were the primary crops of the region. They were often used to pay for other goods and services. Rice crops were particularly robust as farmers constantly improved their farming methods. A trend toward commercialization of these products characterized this period. Industry also began to emerge during this period. Inventors, so prolific during the early part of the dynasty, began to lag behind their counterparts on other continents during the late part of the dynasty. The expansion of trade networks also dried up. The caused an economic vulnerability that enemies would effectively exploit. The Roman Empire became an economic powerhouse based essentially on its continual conquest of new areas. Eventually, this strength would become weaknesses. The Roman economy had several different weaknesses that played a role in the ultimate collapse of the empire. The Roman Empire economy specialized in luxury goods, architecture and infrastructure, and creating war-related materiel’. In pre-conquest times the Roman economy was much smaller, but it was also better balanced. Farms surrounded and supplied a central city-state where merchants, tradesmen and a professional class worked. The expansion of the empire forced the Romans to adopt a new monetary system based on both silver and gold. The availability of these metals varied causing the value of each in relation to the other to change frequently. This creation caused confusion and a lack of full faith in the monetary system in the years when the empire was expanding most rapidly. This, in turn, set the table for further difficulties down the road. As the empire became less centralized the cost of maintaining it rose consistently. Meanwhile income revenues were less dependable and predictable. Emperors began to rely heavily on slave labor and taxation to support the empire. Defending the widespread empire entailed enormous costs. Over time the empire became stretched too thin. In a desperate effort to remain financially viable, the Roman emperors reduced the actual content of silver and gold within their coinage. In other words, the face value of the coins was more than they were actually worth. The creation of a widely practiced monetary system allowed the economy to diversify and innovate. When the monetary system became less reliable the opposite began to occur. Due to slave labor, heavy taxation and other factors, economic innovation in Rome ground to a halt. The Romans could no longer afford to arm and equip their vast army. Far-flung outposts of Roman power became increasingly vulnerable. The â€Å"barbarians† from northern Europe were eventually able to penetrate the heart of the Roman Empire. Essentially, the Roman Empire operated an early example of free market capitalism. Their version of capitalism had several flaws that ultimately led to its destruction. Free market capitalism on this scale would not emerge again for many centuries. The fates of the Roman and Han empires exposed an ironic fact about economics and national security. When trade with outside entities peaked, so did the relative power of the empires. On the other hand, when trade was cut off or simply dried up, the empires were exposed to great risk. Their fates also showed the vulnerability of economies based in a large part on slave labor. In the Roman Empire, slaves were acquired from conquered territories and made to do much of the work that kept the empire operating smoothly. In the Han dynasty, people actually sold themselves and their families into slavery. Slave labor is inherently inefficient. Even for those who willingly sold themselves into slavery, production levels are rarely as great as that of free workers. Both economies eventually frowned on the use of slavery in such a widespread way, but economic stagnation had already set in. Both empires might be viewed as examples of the dangers of over-expansion. This is especially true of the Romans, who primarily relied on their war gains to support their economy. When the pace of conquest slowed, so did the economy. The Han dynasty differs in its initial focus on subsistence farming before converting to a more consumer-based economy. Both economies had their strong and weak points, but the Roman economy was particularly vulnerable to collapse. Question #3 What effects did the Indian Ocean trade have on the societies that took part in it? How is trade related to the dissemination of technology? Define the term â€Å"Africanity† and explain the development of â€Å"Africanity† in terms of Bantu migrations. Ancient Indian Ocean trade not only introduced new goods to various societies; it also began a centuries-long spread of information, technology, religion, language and culture. Trade across the Indian Ocean was well-established at least two thousand years ago. Cities sprung up along the African and Middle Eastern coasts. In this time port cities were primarily isolated from inland areas, meaning that the coastal cities developed unique identities of their own. Kinship and trade among the coastal cities in different regions led to a â€Å"de-nationalization† of these peoples. A sailor was a sailor first, and the citizen of a specific regime second. These sailors often married women in far away points. The wives, in effect, served as bridges between cultures. Generally speaking, using sea routes for trading was much less expensive than moving goods over land. Also overland routes were often blocked or impeded by armed forces or bandits. As Indian Ocean ship building improved, what resulted was an ancient version of globalism. The cross-cultural social and economic effects we see today were present in antiquity on a smaller scale. The relatively vast distances necessary to travel the Indian Ocean gave rise to new techniques and methods in shipbuilding. These methods were diffused across cultures along with improvements in tools, farming methods and other technologies. Ships were capable of transporting goods farther than ever before. There is strong evidence of an ancient trade triangle between Southern Africa, Egypt and India. There is also evidence that early traders ventured as far as Java in the Far East. As today, not everybody in ancient times was content with these cross-cultural influences. As the Islamic empire grew, an increasing number of Africans became affected by their influence. Some were content with this and other outside influences. Others may not have been. In about 1000 B.C.E. the first of several large migrations began. â€Å"Africanity† is a term of identity for the African people. It is distinctly different and less clearly defined than identifiers for other cultures. In fact, African languages have no one specific word for â€Å"identity†. In our language identity refers to an independent individual with clear boundaries from other individuals. In Africa, identity is more complex. Instead of being a static identifier, â€Å"Africanity† refers to an ongoing process of finding one’s identity within the larger culture. There is no singular identity. One’s identity is always being formed and is dependent on interaction with others. Africanity also is expressed discovering one’s differences from others. It is also a come to be a term of resistance to the imposed definitions of identity from the Europeans and others. Africans are not so comfortably identified in terms of a geographic description as Europeans or Americans might be. Identity is a process rather than a label. The Bantu are a large group of Africans loosely defined by language and tribal connections. In several large waves, the Bantu migrated throughout Africa. They diffused their language, culture and technological developments while also absorbing characteristics of the people they came into contact with. The Bantu migrated primarily from north to south over about 1500 years. Their possible reasons were numerous and still somewhat mysterious. Overpopulation and the lack of arable land for agriculture are often cites as reasons for this tremendous population shift. Others have proposed more primal reasons. Were the Bantu migrations an expression of â€Å"Africanity†? Some Bantu were moving away from attacks by outside empires. More pervasive were the encroaching cultural and religious influences that some Bantu may have felt were drawing them away from their own pursuit of identity and forcing outside standards upon them. There is still a lot of debate as to why such a large number of Bantu migrated throughut Africa in successive waves. It may have been strictly economic or there may have been deeper elements involved. Whatever their reason; their integration and diffusion of other African societies and their knack for survival are in their own ways expressions of Africanity. Question #5 Discuss the origins of Islam, and the development of the religion of Islam, the umma, and the three branches of Islam (Sunni, Shiite, and Kharijite). What were the causes of the decline of the caliphate? The faith of Islam is thousands of years old. It traces its history to many of the same characters mentioned in the Bible and the Torah. For instance, Abraham is a central figure in all three texts. Islam would go on to take unique perspectives and characteristics from the other two, partially due to regional differences. As individual religions became the main defining characteristic of competing nation states, wars in the name of religion became commonplace. The primary figure in the development of Islam was the prophet Mohammed. He was born approximately 570 B.C. in the town of Mecca (in modern day Saudi Arabia). He rejected the polytheism commonly practiced around him in favor of one God, called Allah. In his 40s, Mohammed began receiving divine revelations which he dutifully recorded for posterity. These revelations formed the central part of the Qu’ran, the book of faith for the religion of Islam. Lacking acceptance from his peers, and from Jewish and Christian critics, Mohammed moved his ministry to the city of Medina. From Mohamed’s time all the way to the present day differing views on the Qu’ran have caused conflict within the Muslim world. There is a very strict constructionist view of the book that demands adherence to the book’s tenets even when taken to extreme levels. On the other side a more moderate wing of Islamic leaders who believe that contact and cooperation with the non-Islamic world is not living in violation of the Qu’ran. After Mohammed’s death, there was no clear successor to his leadership. Various local sects competed for this leadership with three main groups emerging – Sunni, Shiite and Kharijite. To this day the three groups have doctrinal differences that sometimes result in bitter conflicts. Each group claims a different line of succession tracing all the way back to Mohammed himself. For instance, the Shi’a believe that the legitimate line of leadership must run directly through the family of Mohammed, while the Sunni and others believe that leadership can be politically elected from outside Mohammed’s family tree. During Mohammed’s life the influence of Islam remained primarily within the Arabian Peninsula. Shortly after his death Islamic armies began to conquer nearby regions, eventually reaching Western Europe and Israel. Early Islam also promoted the acquisition of scientific knowledge. As a result, early Islamic society was highly advanced. The Umma is a term that describes a wide variety of Islamic people. It includes Islamic people in all primary spheres of Islamic influence. Most commonly, the Umma refers to all Islamic peoples from Africa to the easternmost point of Pakistan. The term dates back to ancient Islam. The centralization of the Islamic governmental structure lasted about 200 years. By the end of this period powerful emirs began to rule individual kingdoms within the empire. Control by a centralized caliphate was proving to be impractical and unresponsive to the defensive needs of certain localized areas. Eminent scholars argued increasingly that the security of the Umma was at risk under the caliphate system. Many leaders wanted to maintain the caliphate while also delegating more day-to-day management to local authorities. This idea gradually began to take hold. Meanwhile, waves of Turkish and Selijug and other immigrants helped accelerate the process toward local emirates. Economic and security factors eroded the Caliphate and gave rise to a network of smaller emirates.

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Misinterpreted Essay

Reading Fahrenheit 451 one can only wonder on somewhat naà ¯ve, but nevertheless terrible prophecy of the dark future to come, brought on us by Ray Bradbury. Often seen as a work of fiction or anti-utopia, in fact this is just a social horror story, if such a genre can be invented for its description. The technologies depicted in Fahrenheit are rather primitive compared to modern times. Sure, Bradbury had extrapolated the TV screens of 50’s and predicted the invention of giant TV walls, with â€Å"presence effect† that allows the viewer to feel himself in the center of action. Bradbury had expressed the fears that TV means death of media of a previous generation, being the books. But, as McLuhan stated, the technologies of past ages don’t die so easily, â€Å"The dominant technologies of one age become the games and pastimes of a later age† (McLuhan, p99). As fears that cinema would mean the death of theatre had proved themselves to be incorrect, thus a larger-scale fear that TV means the end of books had proved itself to be false too. On the other hand, Bradbury hadn’t predicted the invention of a new media which would outscore the TV as much as TV outscores the books: the Internet. The TV had no chance to progress into totally-enveloping media reality depicted in the book, losing the race to more modern media. While Bradbury’s technology prediction hadn’t been correct, his social predictions had proved to be uncannily true, if somewhat optimistic. The all-world media programming is here, broadcasted by orbiting satellites, â€Å"turns the globe into a repertory theater to be programmed† (McLuhan, p9). And the news brought to us by every source – from TV to Internet and even to Radio – are apt to be manipulated simultaneously, as was shown brilliantly in â€Å"Wag the Dog†. The censorship depicted by Bradbury isn’t here; instead, we have a total media coverage that produces fake events undistinguishable from real. People do not need to follow instructions told to them on TV; instead, we follow the views and ideas presented to us daily. The Electric Dog doesn’t roam the streets: the society is our Electric Dog that doesn’t kill nonconformists in real sense but effectively blocks ‘them’ from ‘us’. What brings salvation and hope in Bradbury’s world after the holocaust are Bible words. It doesn’t mean that he relies on religion to carry us through the new Dark Ages – rather, he tells us about our inner faith, which isn’t expressed but felt and understood. But as no holocaust had happened yet, only those who really feels in need seek salvation, others are content with what they’ve got. Bradbury’s views on government in Fahrenheit border with clear accusations of fascism, the burning of books being the most obvious historical reference. But fascism in US had became such a popular scare since the end of WWII that we don’t fear it as much anymore. After all, if government would ever decide to apply a ‘stricter’ views to economics like Roosevelt’s New Deal in 30’s, (which is quite possible now because of economics crisis), most voices would be raised in its defense rather than in its critics. People feel the government to be controlled by them, not the other way round. In Fahrenheit society education of youth program them to see their world as unquestionably right, defies critical thinking and praises the conformity instead. This is not only an exaggerated, but also a distorted picture of modern education, depicted just to scare us even more, to create a sense of further isolation of Guy Montag from the world. Bradbury doesn’t give much attention to the youth; this is sensible, for what he longs for is the past. Fahrenheit’s ending can be seen as a longing for â€Å"Golden Age†, the times that never were real but always in our eyes seem to be brighter than today. It is a hymn to nostalgia. But one cannot contemplate his past too long – he must consider the future. We should look ahead and be brave, no matter what dangers are waiting for us there. Works Cited Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Published by Del Rey Books, Random House Publishing Group, 1953, renewed 1981. McLuhan, Marshall, From Clichà © to Archetype, Published by Viking Adult, 1970. Wag the Dog, by Barry Levinson, 1997 (the movie).

Modern Relationships

The advancement of technology does not only change man’s way of doing things but also it changes some aspects of his personal life. One of these aspects is in the area of  Ã‚   building relationships.   According to Maslow, one of man’s basic needs is belongingness and love. He stated that man basically wants to find someone whom he can love and be loved.   Relationships add meaning to his life and gave him a sense of purpose ( Maslow, 1954). With the discovery of the internet, that purpose is going to be fulfilled in a new way. The quest for a mate had always been a complicated procedure for most. Some have list of qualities and requirements that they want to find in someone while others do not know what they are looking for. All they know and hoped for is that there is someone for them out there in the world. Whoever comes along they always hoped he will be the special one but unfortunately they are not always right the first time. And so the quest continues. One way that modern man had taken advantage of for the quest is using the internet.   What is interesting about the World Wide Web is that it provided modern man the chance to meet different people from different culture and religious background. With the use of   his fingers , he can easily   meet someone from anywhere in the world   at any time. It is because anybody can connect to any chatrooms or websites that advertises various individuals looking for someone to love. Others may be skeptical about this idea simply because you actually do not know the real person behind the face. And many (mostly conservative ones) would suspect that no lasting relationships can ever be established from internet dating. They feel that everyone was just out there to fool or take advantage of somebody. They also reasoned that if it is hard to make a relationship work with someone you personally know for years how much harder will it be if you commit to a relationship with someone you only know in the internet. And how more complicated will it be if that person came from another country and practicing another religion! While the above argument may have some truth in it, internet dating continues to become a popular means of modern man to find someone to love. Their reasons may vary. Others find communicating in the internet easier. Communication had always been a problem of any relationships. Some people just cannot express themselves to those who already know them for years. They cannot relate their disappointments, frustrations and broken dreams for fear of rejection or betrayal. So they pretended to be strong and able to conquer the world while in reality they are on the verge of collapsing.   But the internet had provided them a different scenario. In there they find people who do not know them and therefore had no basis to judge. And since the other person is so far away in the world to do them any harm, they freely began to talk about themselves and later they realized that they were accepted for who they were. They do not need to wear a mask. And because of that they were willing to take the relationship to the next level. Another reason why people go for internet dating is because they find it challenging to do so. They are mostly adventurous individuals who are curios to learn about other cultures and religion. They do not fear these differences because they have the capacity to accept people’s differences from their own. For example modern America is a place of diverse nationalities, and most Americans had been an eyewitness of successful relationships between two people of diverse culture and religion. They figure that if they possessed a heart of understanding and acceptance any relationship can work. It really does not matter much where a person comes from as long as he is willing to make the necessary adjustment to make a relationship last as it should. In other words, there are cases that modern relationships between different cultures do not work not because of their differences in beliefs and customs but because of their innate negative characters. If they marry a person of their own culture and religion, their relationship will still not work because basically they are the problem. Another reason why people choose internet dating is because it helped them not to get too physically involved. Some good relationships fail initially because the physical involvement gets in the way of knowing the real person apart from the physical self. People who hade made sexual relationships before and were guilty about it find internet dating a welcome change. And they find that they do not have to be totally committed to have a relationship. All they want is to have someone willing to talk to. But of course, as I have stated before things just happens that change their minds and before long they find themselves loving someone from across the globe. The internet can also be the means for lovers to stay in contact when the other had to leave for another place for some reason. In the past, relationships failed because after the lover left, he lost touch with the other that was left behind.   Telephone long distance charges are very costly. At first there may be many calls but later on only few calls are made in a year     and then eventually it stopped. Then one of them realizes that the other had found a new love. But modern technology is trying to change all that. The internet provided convenient access for constant communication between lovers. Through it they can promptly and continuously catch up with each other’s lives. Communication no long becomes a barrier for their long distance relationships. The only thing that can really break their relationship now is if they really wanted to in the first place. Most people would never see themselves finding someone through the internet. They may utilize the net for an already formed relationship outside the internet (like the above example where one lover had to go away for some place) but to really find someone in the net is next to impossible for them. People who do this are usually very careful in life, they are afraid to make mistakes and for them it is a mistake to find someone in the net. But times had changed. In reality, there are many sensible people in the net. Decent modern men and women now take part in internet dating.   Their rule of thumb is to  Ã‚   use their head, be smart and stay away from suspicious people. It is true that many get fooled in the internet. But it is because they ignored the warning signs. People who do nasty things in the net and who request to see some private parts are not to be trusted. They do not possess any self-respect and will most likely make a mate’s life miserable. People that can be trusted are those who communicate respectfully and talk about wholesome matters.   But still in spite of that, a person should be watchful who he/she is talking or committing to. Even with the modern way of building relationships, using the head and lots of prayers are still the best means of finding the right person. Reference Maslow, Abraham H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Incorporated   

Comparison Between Wind and Other Poem

Compare how Wind and one other poem present weakness and strength. The weaknesses and strengths in ‘Wind’ are attempts to portray the diversity of nature and the ongoing sense that nature has by using the present tense. Hughes switches from hard sounds, ‘bang and vanish with a flap’ and ‘black back gull bent like an iron bar’ representing the hard assonance and from this referring back to the harsh storm.However the use of colour in descriptions could symbolize both a negative and a positive, for example, ‘orange sky’ representing the warm colours of summer, also ‘green goblet’ could seem to be related to jealousy however could also be referred to as bright and a symbolic image of summer and the bright colours, linking to the ‘orange sky’. The diversity in ‘below the green corrie’ in terms of portraying weakness and strengths are highlighted through the man and his relationship with nature, it shows the weakness of the writer in terms of competing with nature.In my opinion I believe that not only the writer portrays himself to be the weaker opposition but also can portray the ‘bandit’ like and the ‘swashbuckling’ mountains to eventually be seen as the weaker opponent to another side of nature. For example, ‘a sunshaft had pierced the clouds and their leader’ could represent the light controlling the intimidating mountains and almost converting it to something more hopeful and positive.This could be the sun, the main character in nature, controlling them without choice, this takes away the sense of fear and the negativity of the ‘bandits’ and creates a positive image. Both ‘Wind’ and ‘Below the Green Corrie’ clearly share the same structure in terms of the negative openings to each poem. They both clearly and dynamically highlight the dangerousness of the situations automatically. MacCaig begins with a negative image of ‘the mountains gathered round me like bandits’ which really presents the fearful situation. In contrast to this ‘Wind’ also presents this.Hughes immediately beings with a metaphor, ‘This house has been far out at sea all night’ comparing the house to a boat, ‘at sea’ (isolated), this really emphasises the danger. They both begin presenting their negative images, those that seem to place both in a vulnerable position. ’ The mountains gathered round me’ show the vulnerability of the character, contrasting that ‘this house has been far out at sea’ also shows this, the use of ‘at sea’ creates an image of isolation, placing the so called house in a vulnerable position also.

A comparison cultures of the Irish Travellers in Ireland, Great Research Paper

A comparison cultures of the Irish Travellers in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States and the preservation of their customs and language - Research Paper Example The common heritage will be explored first in order to discern the connection between these geographically distinct groups. A comparison across cultures will be made for various cultural aspects such as language, religion, society etc. This will aid in discerning how well preserved the Diaspora cultures are in respect to the original culture. HISTORICAL CONNECTION AND ORIGINS The origins of the Irish Travellers have been mired in mystery. Myriad theories and ideas exist as to the origin of the travellers. (Helleiner, 2003) Most scholars hold that the Travellers descended from landowners and labourers who were persecuted by Oliver Cromwell during his military campaign in Ireland. The numbers are speculated to have increased as the famines of the 1840’s forced more settled Irish people to join the ranks of the travellers. Another alternative theory sees the Travellers as a mix of Scottish Travellers and certain other gypsies from England from somewhere around the 1600’s. An even older view persists that the Irish Travellers are derivatives of nomadic groups that roamed Ireland as far back as the 5th century. By the 12th century these nomads assumed the names of â€Å"Tynkler† and â€Å"Tynker†. (O Riain, 2008) A unified social system is seen to have emerged but the exact details of such a social system remain sketchy. The Irish Travellers were not and are not a highly learned group so historical records are neither stored nor transmitted. Gaps in each of the theories presented above indicate that no theory can be seen as a culmination of the origins. Instead, the Travellers can be seen as a dynamically changing social group. Various influences such as the ones presented above have impacted the group’s cultural outlook. Changes in transport aided the Travellers in crossing regular geographical boundaries. Consequently the travellers continued to move to Britain and North America till immigration laws allowed. The resulting groups in various geographical boundaries offer commonly shared and unique perspectives that are analysed below in context of a common culture. Baseline Irish Traveller Culture The Irish Travellers are not ethnically distinct from the Irish people. Instead, the Irish Travellers are actually derived from the Irish people. However, the culture of the Irish Travellers is distinct and distinguished from regular Irish culture. The cultural development of the Irish Travellers has more or less occurred in isolation from popular Irish culture. There are streaks of some other cultural influences as listed above. These cultural influences include Christianity, Roma gypsies and localised influences on the Irish Traveller Diaspora. (O hAodha & Acton, 2007) An overview of common cultural traits of the Irish Travellers are provided below which will be used as a baseline to evaluate newer cultural developments of the Diaspora. Profession As mentioned before, the Irish Travellers were known as â€Å"Tynkers† which represents the prime profession of the travellers. The travellers were traditionally repairmen for tin pots and pans. Given that pot repair is not a regular function, the travellers would move about the countryside from settlement to settlement to repair utensils. This tendency produced a nomadic character while the profession became the identity of the trav ellers. The travellers became distinguished tin smiths but the dearth of work in one place caused them to be on the move. It is also mused that the travellers would purchase animals, often old ones in order to fulfil their nourishments needs. Thus they were also known as â€Å"knackers† in relation to their animal purchases. (Okely, 1983) Dealing in horses was a speciality of the Travellers. They

This is for principles of Law and taxation Term Paper

This is for principles of Law and taxation - Term Paper Example The country has over time carried out fundamental reforms in its judicial system that gets geared towards promoting democracy in the country. The third part of the constitution of Azerbaijan got adopted in 1995. The national leader of Azerbaijan, Haydar Aliyev, led these judicial reforms. Among the Acts that got adopted was the constitutional court act, courts and judges’ act, public prosecution act, police act and operational investigational act (Kruger 231). All the above acts met the requirements of international law. Following these reforms, there was an establishment of a three-staged independent judiciary system. The first degree of the judiciary system comprised of the courts of appeal and the court of Cassation. Presently, city courts act as first degree jurisdictional courts. The military courts and the local economic courts act as territorial jurisdictional courts. The supreme court of Azerbaijan comprises of four chambers. The four chambers are the civil chamber, the criminal chamber, the military chamber and the administrative-economic chamber. The four chambers serve the different types of legal cases in the country depending on the nature of the case. The Supreme Court treats the decisions made by the courts of appeal in cassational order. In January 19, 2006, the president of Azerbaijan signed a decree which would ensure that the judicial reforms in the country bridge on to the next phase (Motyl & Amanda 57). The constitutional court of Azerbaijan provides the highest authority of the constitution. The judicial-legal counsel act came into place in 2005. The act outlined the measures to be taken to make the human rights provided in the constitutional effective. The counsel constituted of 15 persons 9 of which were judges. The others were representatives of the president and other statutory bodies such as the parliament. The training sector of judges got further established under the counsel (Motyl &

Rational Improvement of Writing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Rational Improvement of Writing Skills - Essay Example One of the weaknesses in my essays is lack of strong introductions and conclusions. Presently, this remains my goal that in future, I master the writing of good introductions and conclusions. In addition, I feel that my essays portrayed good organization, as shown in their structures. However, I feel I need further improvements to my sentence transitions between paragraphs. Redundancy is another aspect I should work on in my future essays. In two of my essays, I noted that I tend to repeat some ideas in an unacceptable manner. Finally, the objectivity aspect of the essays was well above average. In most of my essays, I focus on the topic I am supposed to address, without deviating to a different course, or beating around the bush. However, I feel I need to perfect on this aspect since it is core to the writing process. During this semester, we have widely discussed the issue of human rights in the world. This issue is real and is given great attention in most countries. Each one of us was asked to choose a topic associated with the human rights issue and write an essay addressing the solutions to the problems that arise from this issue, as well as the effects of the problems in society. Choosing a topic was not hard for me, so I quickly identified peace and racial conflicts as my topic. This essay was engaging as I was required to research on this issue in different countries in order to establish the presence of this issue in those countries, as well as the possible solutions to the problems the issue presents in those countries.

Identifying Your Intent unit 3 IP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Identifying Your Intent unit 3 IP - Essay Example The guests will be most interested in knowing what I have planned to do with the money I need as loan, they will be interested in the new strategy I have set to offer to obtain many scholars, the course am offering, the number of staff I will be needing and also the where am planning to locate the offices. I therefore would like to present to them the best ever with clear ideas, logical sequences of the ideas and to make them concentrate with what I have to say. I am planning on presenting to them a good presentation that will persuade them and also convince them of my capability. I also want you to assist me in choosing what to wear on that day, how I should talk, and what to do if a question is raised and am not in a position to answer, I therefore desperately need you to address these issues and communicate as soon as possible. After the presentation I expect the audience to congratulate me for the great plan I have for the next generations to come and offer me the loan without hesitating, I therefore look forward for your assistance in preparation of this presentation, I will appreciate your assistance that will play a major role in determining the outcome of my request for the loan, I look forward to hear from you soon.

Write your own dystopian story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write your own dystopian story - Essay Example The country followed another ritual of a lottery of drowning thirty of its citizens down the sea every month to overcome its problems. It was due to these laws that Mrs. Dickinson had hidden her daughter. The Dickinson family was very happy until a police officer saw Emily playing around the house. The Butchering Team arrived at their doorstep. It was the day of the lottery as well. It was an unfortunate day as Mr. Dickinson’s name was in the drowning lottery as well. The family got a tip off and they all walked together towards the sea for the lottery from the backdoor. They took a brave step and Mrs. Dickinson stood in the middle of the crowd at the shore and announced that the entire family was going to go through the drowning ritual. Their protest was joined by a larger crowd and many people joined in. This led to wave of unrest and the state government of Ludiano was overthrown. The leaders were expelled from the state and so were the members of the Butchering Team. This was how peace was again restored in the state

Marketing Mix for the Holden Commodore Case Study

Marketing Mix for the Holden Commodore - Case Study Example The car has been produced with a different target in the market but it has remained a family car. But the Holden Commodore VE Ute which was released in 2007 has a new target to individual users. It is small compared to the others but is has the appearance that makers Commodore in the market. The Holden Commodore Sport wagon which was released in 2007 is also a family car and is larger. This shows that the company has been responding to the changing need of the market and has therefore been producing models that go with the market. There are also some models that have been targeted for the upper market. Although most of the models have been selling at a constant price, there are some models like Commodore VE that has been produced target the higher income market. the company has been pressure to lower the price of the VE model as the demanding the market falls due to low sales attributed to the its exorbitant prices. (Edger, 2002) Since it was produced the primary target market for commodore has been the family. It has bee produced targeting the family market and therefore the model have been made larger in a way that they can carry the whole family. The company has been producing medium sized cars that are usually important for family travels and other means. Therefore the family has been the primary target market for the cars. ... The company has been producing cars which are meant for private use. All the models produced are personal cars which are mainly aimed for the family. The features that are produced with each successful model show that the car is for the family market. They produce medium sized cars which are safer and durable. However in the recent past there have also been productions of other models that are aimed for the secondary market. These include the sportive VE Ute which is aimed at individual travelers. But this can only be considered as the secondary market since there are not many productions that have been made on this model. Generally the company has produced cars that are primary made to meet the needs of family travelers but the trend in the market has forced it to produce other models which specifically target the individual travelers as well. The company has been improving its models since it was produced in order to put in place some futures that are meant to position it as a contented in the target market. With new models entering the otherwise competitive market, Commodore has been retaining large sales owing to the way it ha s been changing features of its cars to meet the demands of the target market. The design and the price of the cars have been well planned in order to fit the status of the target market. (Kenwrite, 2004) Positioning When the first car was produced the level of competition in the market was low compared to what it is right now. By then there were not many models that were targeted to the family target market but with time there have been new entrants in the same market that have increased the level of competition. The main competitor of the Commodore model has been the Ford Falcon, Honda CV, Toyotas Camry, Mitsubishi

Technical Marketing in Engineering Research Paper

Technical Marketing in Engineering - Research Paper Example An attractive field that makes a combination of science and engineering expertise with people’s skills is that of a sales engineer. A sales engineer is a person who is professionally trained to market and sell highly technical products and services. With the field of technical marketing in place, there is high demand for sales engineers with the description of abnormal increases in employment as stated by the U.S. Department of Labor. From the lists provided for the recent graduates for a position of technical marketing by several companies. Before every detail is put down, there is a question to deal with. What particular work do specialized advertisers perform? It is a good question to get everything started. Technical marketers sell products in that the product’s installation and optimal use needs great handle from experts. In addition, they give information about the firm’s products, help the future and probable customers with their technical problems. Make design plans for the proposed machinery layouts, give an estimation on the cost savings, give recommendations on the improved materials and machinery and lastly make suggestions on the training schedules provided for the employees (Nitto, 324). In answering these questions, this report gives an analytical review of information acquired from certain professionals as well as from literature. The following analysis gives an examination in the field’s employment outlook, the required and available skills and personal qualities, the career benefits, and the disadvantages and certain entry options. Regardless of the way that promoting and deals are utilized reciprocally, the specialized showcasing is included with more deal lives up to expectations.  

A Modest Proposal Essay Example for Free

A Modest Proposal Essay Jonathan Swift, a satirical author from the 1600’s and 1700’s, wrote A Modest Proposal, in 1729 to bring to the attention of the Irish officials that the poor were in dire need of help. In this essay, Swift proposes that the poor sell their children to upperclassmen for ten shillings in graphic detail (Swift 3). Through this disturbing mental image that readers were not able to look away from, the author successfully conveyed his message to the Irish people and managed to ultimately get them to help their own citizens. In modern society, the poor are growing poorer and the rich are growing richer, just like in the 1700’s. The lower class is not much different than the Irish lower class conditions was three hundred years in the past. The similarities of the lower classes are that the rich are of a much smaller percent, the poor are not receiving the help that they should, and that jobs are not readily available to anyone despite popular belief. The movement against Wall Street’s 1% was not effective due to these reasonings. The percentage ratio between the rich and the poor, in both eras, respectively run from extremely low to very high. In an article written for The Los Angeles Times on December 4th, 2011, the author clearly states how â€Å"we are fighting the 1% because they possess most of the nations wealth†¦ They are the enemy of us the 99% who toil at low-wage jobs†¦ and yet pay our fair share of taxes. † (Schiller 1) In this quote, the percent of people without jobs is comparable to that in Swift’s time. As Darell Figgis explains, â€Å"Throughout the eighteenth century the state of that nation was inconceivably wretched. It was rack-rented mercilessly, without let or hindrance or prospect of remedy (1)†. Eighteenth century Ireland was in a worse state of living than the poor in the United States. In eighteenth century Ireland, anyone who was not part of royalty was part of poverty. In this case, jobs were unavailable to most people who were of poor descent. The job most of the poor were able to acquire was a begging job, and even then life was difficult. Even local farmers were more fortunate than the beggars, since they were able to spare a little of their own harvest for heir families. Officials turned a blind eye to the problem, and ignored the pleas of the beggars and lower class. If the United States continues to go down this path, soon the country will face the same fate as that of 18th century Ireland. Occupy Wall Street was a major event that happened in New York City to fight how the upper-class is not helping the less fortunate. Many people flocked to Wall Street to protest, bearing signs saying â€Å"We Are The 99%†, declaring how the so-called â€Å"1%† of the United States holds most of the money in the country. As Fox News writes, â€Å"The protesters have varied causes, but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality, reserving most of their criticism for Wall Street. ‘We are the 99 percent,’ they chanted, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans† (â€Å"Occupy Wall Street† 1). These people wanted to make their opinions known, clearly portraying their disapproval of the system today. The upper-class in society receives up to seventeen percent of the national income in total (McCormally 1). Even through this, there is no evidence that any help will come to the lower class any time soon. A Modest Proposal, written by the satirist Jonathan Swift, condemns the same fate to the Irish of the time. As Swift writes, â€Å"I am not in the least pain upon that matter, because it is very well known that [the Irish people] are every day dying and rotting by cold and famine, and filth and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected (Swift 4)†. This quote shows how horrid the living conditions of Ireland were during this time period. Upperclassmen did nothing to help this condition from progressing, and continued about their own ways, pretending that there was no real problem occurring. Likewise, in today’s society, many of the upperclassmen do not help the lower class. Though some actually do lend a helping hand to those people who need help the most, many lower class citizens have to work their way around a meager salary. In the time of Jonathan Swift, though the crisis was much more profound, there were still some similarities to the issues of today’s society. In his work of art, A Modest Proposal, he declares the problem, â€Å"And as to the young laborers, they are now in as hopeful a condition; they cannot get work, and consequently pine away for want of nourishment, to a degree that if at any time they are accidentally hired to common labor, they have not strength to perform it† (Swift 4). This statement is not too far away from the economic problems the United States is having today. Many college-bound students are unable to secure a job, thus making them rely on their parents for longer than ever before in history. The monetary issue has been growing ever larger since the most recent stock market crash, in which the Dow Jones dropped a total of 22. 11% within a week (Stock Market Crash of 2008. 2). However, the issue is currently under review, and hopefully a bailout is in the near future for people of the United States of America. In conclusion, there are many similarities between today’s poverty-driven streets and Ireland’s poor population. The upperclassmen, or, in today’s words, government, were not and are not paying attention to the dire needs that the countries needed to get through the hardship that should not have been. Jobs are scarcely available to anyone who does not know someone already with a job working for the same company. Even though this is the case, the government is not working to help out the situation, and is not focusing on what is needed; more jobs, less government spending on luxuries that are unrequired for the survival of the country itself. The rich are growing richer as the poor’s funds are growing thinner and, much like the issues addressed in A Modest Proposal, help from officials is not in sight.