The Modern KKK Essay Example For Students

The Modern KKK Essay Although the modern Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, is not the same group that terrorized African Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they still have the same basic goals and ideas. There are many local and regional KKK groups such as the Oregon Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the New Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is the national and largest organization, but the only one seeking a political agenda. They are the group that claims they are keeping alive the spirit and ideas of the original Klansmen. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKKK, was formed in Louisiana in 1956. They have had many national directors, or Grand Wizards that led the group. The first Grand Wizard of the KKKK was former Louisiana State representative David Duke. Another notable Grand Dragon was Tom Metzger, who now heads a White supremacy group called the White Aryan Resistance. Today, the Grand Dragon of the KKKK is Pastor Thomas Robb. The KKKK claims that they are not racist, but rather they are racialist. This means that they do not necessarily hate any one particular race based on skin color, but they love the White race and have White pride. Most of their ideas are centered on this concept. Therefore, the first and foremost thing that the KKKK stands for is the White Race. They say that the White Race is the irreplaceable hub of our Nation, our Christian faith, and the high levels of Western culture and technology (Intro to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan). The KKKK believes that the only way to achieve their goals is to have a United States with all White people living in it, and there should be absolutely no integration. We will write a custom essay on The Modern KKK specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Another thing that the KKKK stands for is America first. This means that they think the interests of the United States should be put before those of any other nation. It is basically a policy of protectionism because the KKKK also does not want any foreign influence or interests in the United States. Another aspect of the America first policy is that there should be a foreign policy of military non-intervention (Intro to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan). The KKKK does not want to get involved with anything non-American.The KKKKs stand on foreign aid and trade relates to their America first policy. They believe that all foreign aid should be stopped immediately because while the United States tax dollars are being given to other countries, Americans themselves are still needy (The program). The KKKK believes that the money being spent on foreign aid should be kept within the United States and should be put into things like Social Security and Medicare. As for trade, the KKKK believes that NAFTA and GATT should be done away with because they take jobs away from American workers and will put millions upon millions into poverty (The program). Christianity is an important part of the KKKKs ideas and beliefs. In fact, one of the things that the KKKK claims is that the United States was formed as not only a White Nation, but as a Christian nation. They quote James Madison saying this about the founding of the United States on their web page (?The program?):We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacityof mankind for self-government upon the capacity of each and all of us togovern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to theTen Commandments of God. .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .postImageUrl , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:hover , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:visited , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:active { border:0!important; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:active , .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58 .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u53970258df343e0b5c50fd2482e40f58:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Americanism Summary 4 EssayTherefore, the KKKKs views on abortion and homosexuality reflect those of the Bible. They are against abortion and believe it should be illegal unless the mothers life is endangered or the woman was raped or a victim of incest. And since the United States is a ?Christian nation? and the Bible is against homosexuality, there should be a national law against it. They also believe church and state should no longer be separated, making prayer in public schools legal. Because the KKKK is so heavily involved in Christianity, they often light a large wooden cross on fire at their rallies. They say that they are not desecrating the cross but rather they are illuminating it and the truth and the light of Christianity (Intro to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan). The KKKK also believes that the White Race is being discriminated against. Their organization is based on the premise of equal rights for all, special privileges for none (Introduction to the Knights). Because of this premise, the KKKK is against all Affirmative Action programs. They claim that by giving the non-White minorities jobs and accepting them into college, Whites are being discriminated against. The KKKK considers this to be reverse racism.Among their other beliefs, the KKKK believes that the United States should cut off trade with countries that do not have strict environmental laws (one of their only liberal beliefs); military troops should be put on the borders of the United States to keep illegal aliens from entering the country; all of the anti-gun laws in the United States should be done away with so every American can protect himself or herself; the budget of the United States should be balanced; there should be a flat tax to contribute to the funding of community, s tate, and federal projects; and all those who can physically work should work (The Program). The KKKK has many ways that they spread these ideas and beliefs to the public. One of the easiest ways is to make themselves seen through public rallies and protests. Recently, the KKKK and other groups associated with the KKK have protested the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. They are against this holiday because they claim that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a communist and anti-Christian. Another reason the KKKK is against the holiday is because Martin Luther King, Jr. urged integration. The KKKK also stages rallies and protests outside of public courthouses. Since courthouses are well-known visible places, the KKKK knows that they will get media coverage and they can get their message out. This leads to another way that the KKKK thinks that they can get their message of White rights and White power out to the general public. Using the media to inform the public of your ideas is one of the easiest and most effective methods. The KKKK uses all forms of media to get their message out, including television, radio, and print advertising (?What is our goal?). However, the most common form of media that the KKKK uses is television. Members of the KKKK make their own videos talking about the White Rights movement, and what the KKKK stands for, etc. They then distribute these videos or play them on a public access television channel. The KKKK also prints and distributes its own literature. They print pamphlets among other things not only because they want the public to know about their beliefs and ideas, but they also want to let the public know who they are. The KKKK believes that the public thinks that its members are ?stupid, ignorant, backward, and hicks (Activity report). Even David Duke has written a book on his beliefs and experiences with the KKKK, called My Awakening (David Dukes Official International Web Site). .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .postImageUrl , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:hover , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:visited , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:active { border:0!important; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:active , .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf7eea0185c581f139ebefebfd0ee9cfc:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Love is worth the inevitable pain EssayPublic relations are another way in which the KKKK gets its message out and tries to improve their image. They do not hire a public relations company but rather they train their own Klansmen and Klanswomen to do the job. They go on television programs and radio shows to answer questions from reporters or from the public. Grand Wizard Thomas Robb frequently appears on radio, televised debates, and in documentaries. Another way that the KKKK uses public relations is that they give interviews to high school or college students working on reports. The KKKK wants to break into United States politics and the way they hope to accomplish this is through sleepers. A sleeper is a person who keeps his or her association with the KKK or the KKKK private. They then become involved with either the democratic or republican party. The KKKK does not immediately expect to gain any seats in the United States congress, so they start out small by winning seats as precinct captains or on state electoral committees (Activity report). This then paves the way for members of the KKK or KKKK to run for seats such as those in a state legislature. An example of this is former Grand Wizard and Louisiana State legislator David Duke. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1989. While a State representative, Duke was the Health and Welfare and Judiciary committees. He then ran from governor of Louisiana and received over 700,000 votes (Introduction to the Knights). Duke allowed media access to Klan rallies and appeared on many talk sh ows. Today, Duke is still involved with politics in Louisiana, as he is the chairman of the Republican Parish Executive Committee of the largest Republican county (David Dukes Official International Web Site). One of the methods that the KKKK considers the most important in getting its message out is by re-educating the educators (Activity report). They consider teachers one of the most effective tools in educating young White people about the White Rights movement. The KKKK designs workbooks for teachers to give them an accurate perception about the Christian foundation of education in the United States. These workbooks include information on the struggles White youth face today, how there is a war going on for the minds of White youth in the United States , and how the White youth are made to feel guilty about everything wrong in the world today. They want the teachers to teach their White students that it is okay to be White and proud. Another important and easy way that the KKKK gets their message out is through the Internet. It is very to obtain information on the Internet on any subject, and the KKKK is no exception. On web pages, the KKKK and other groups associated with the KKK can post their ideas and beliefs and anyone with a computer and modem can access it. The KKKK also has membership forms that their supporters can submit. KKKK merchandise such as T-shirts and hats are available on certain web pages as well. Because of advanced technology and the importance of politics in todays world, the KKKK and groups associated with the KKK can spread their message without using violence. The KKKKs ultimate goal is to obtain political power so they can implement all of their ideas and beliefs into laws among other things. The number of KKK-affiliated groups in the United States has grown and is no longer concentrated in the South. This makes the KKKK and other groups a real threat to society today.

Chromatin Isolation essays

Chromatin Isolation essays DNA is the blueprint for all living things. DNA is made of a material called chromatin. The purpose of this experiment was to attempt to isolate, or separate, chromatin from onion cells. My lab partner was Dave Sugg. Hypothesis: We should be able to isolate DNA from onion cells. Procedure: To begin, weigh out about 15 grams of onion cubes and place it in a 400 ml beaker. Add about 60 ml of homogenizing medium to the onion cubes. Place it in a warm water bath for 8 minutes. Dont let it tip over!!! This softens onion tissue and allows homogenizing medium to penetrate the onion. The enzymes also get denatured. Quickly cool the solution to 15-20 degrees Celsius in an ice bath. Dont let it tip over!! Put the cooled solution in a blender. Blend for 45 seconds at high speed. Pour the result into a 500 ml beaker. Put this into an ice bath for 8 minutes. Set up a filter (cheesecloth 2 layers) in a funnel during the 8 minute wait. Pour the white solution through the filter into the other 500 ml beaker (leave the foam behind!). Take 25 ml of filtrate and pour it into a clean 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask. Put the flask in an ice bath until it cools to 10 15 degrees Celsius. Slowly add 50 ml of ice cold ethanol down the side of the flask until a white, stringy chromatin pr ecipitate occurs (the stuff will look stringy and cloudy). Wind the stringy DNA on a glass rod by turning the rod in one direction only. Data: Before we poured the ice cold ethanol down the side of the flask in the final step, there was a film at the top of the solution. We poured in all 80 ml of ethanol. There were 3 clear layers; a clear ethanol layer at the top, a DNA interface, clear with whitish strands, and quite visible unlike the protein, and a yellow homogenate at the bottom. This experiment taught us the process of isolating DNA from onion cells. We learned a great deal from the completion of these extractions. We h ...

The Role of Women in the Late 19th Century Essay

The Role of Women in the Late 19th Century - Essay Example The progressive era and the oppressive ideas prevalent The late 19th century can be thought of as an era where rapid business and economic changes occurred, progression in terms of the legal rights and professional attitudes of women occurred. The image of San Francisco in the early twentieth century in the public areas is well portrayed by Jessica to be â€Å"one comprising of substantial stone clad buildings, visible down Market Street with a lively mixture of people which comprised of women in long dresses and hats and working women in business suits† (Jessica, 2011, pg 11). The women in the late 19th century faced much oppression in the work place especially in male dominated areas. Sexism or gender discrimination was at its peak in this era as female workers in highly proficient jobs faced opposition from both sexes. The major role of the women in the late 19th century was that of a housekeeper and caretaker of the children. The women from wealthy families hosted parties for business reasons and charity raising purposes. Working women faced a huge opposition from their family, society and at the work place. The women in the 19th century were involved in many reform movements like the women’s rights to suffrage, feminism to pacifism, temperance to abolitionism which changed the American history and gained many rights for the women (Kathleen, Therese, 1996, pg 25). There were many informal community groups involved to bring about a change in the neighborhood, the state, the society and ultimately in the nation. Women began to enter into all fields like journalism, photography, law, medicine and engineering. The publications like newspapers and magazines played a major role in the upliftment of the women (Kathleen, Therese, 1996, pg XVII). The right to vote was given to women in the 19th century by the joint effort of many women’s right movements active at that time. Discussion The book the Russian Hill murders by Shirley portrays the bac kground found in the late 19th century well in relation to how the women were treated, expected to behave and the general culture over the period of time. The book is a murder mystery set in the 19th century and the incident occurs at San Francisco. The female lead in the book is Sarah Woolson who is an attorney at law in the late 1880’s, inspired by her father who was a Judge (Shirley, 2005, pg 15). The firm in itself is a major obstruction for her as she is taken into the firm reluctantly and in every manner possible the firm tries to push her down from her professional practice. The women in the 19th century had demanding work, much more tough than practicing criminal law in terms of the physical effort they had to spend â€Å"I find it strange that practicing law in a comfortable well-heated office is considered too demanding an occupation for women†¦.† (Shirley, 2005, pg 6). Sarah overcomes the numerous oppositions she faces with a helpful few while following the female etiquette demanded from women during the late 19th century. Conclusion In the book Russian hill murders (Shirley, 2005) the social status of women in the late 19th century is well analyzed. The characters are all well portrayed and the background description fits in well with what existed in reality in the late 19th century. The lead character Sarah gives us an idea of how women in male dominated fields were treated in the 19th centur

Your Own Franchise, Part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Your Own Franchise, Part 2 - Assignment Example In this paper, the researcher will focus on issues like legal rights of the franchisee, financial obligations of franchisees, market segments for this franchise, factors involved in determining a site for the franchise, possible challenges and current phase of franchisee. Background of Allstate Insurance Company will be briefly discussed in the next section in order to develop situational framework for this paper. Allstate Insurance Company & Franchise Model Allstate Insurance Company was founded in 1931 and became publicly traded in the year 1993 (Allstate, 2013a; Bond, 2012). In USA, Allstate Corporation is regarded as largest publicly held insurance company that offers both personal lines property and casualty insurance services (Allstate, 2013a). As of 2011, total asset of the company is hovering over $125 billion while it was ranked 93 in Fortune 500 list. Allstate Insurance Company business model focuses on developing chain of franchise owners’ or entrepreneurial individ uals who are ready to act as â€Å"Allstate Exclusive Agents† and sell wide range of financial and insurance products of Allstate Insurance Company to customers such as auto insurance, property insurance and investment services (Allstate, 2013b; McCarthy, 2010). ... ce*, Allstate*, and Esurance† while promoting and marketing Allstate Insurance products like life insurance cover, retirement insurance cover, health insurance covers, fixed deposits, auto insurance, home insurance and fixed deposits (Bond, 2012). Legal Rights as a Franchisee In case of working under the trademark Allstate Insurance Company, individual agents holding the rights to sell Allstate Insurance products are being classified as franchisee owner while Allstate Insurance Company can be classified as franchisor. From 2000 onwards, Allstate Insurance Company converted all of its existing franchisee as independent operation in order to get tax advantages while legal rights of these franchisees are being governed through ‘independent contractor’ norms (Napaausa, 2013). Although, Allstate Insurance Company converted its franchisee owners to independent agents but job description remained unchanged. Therefore, legal rights of independent contractor or franchises r emained disregarded in case of franchisee-franchisor relationship for Allstate Insurance Company. As par Employee Agent (EA) agreement, franchisee owners are needed follow all the employee responsibilities on behalf of Allstate Insurance Company yet they would not be liable to get compensation like federal unemployment compensation or contract compensation (Napaausa, 2013). As par Section XVII, Section XVII.B.2 and Section I.A of the EA Agreement, franchisee contract can be terminated without payment of commission or non compliance of responsibilities mentioned by Allstate Insurance Company (Judiciary, 2012). Legal rights of franchisee is being dominated in EA Agreement while some undue favor has been given in favor of the franchisor such as minimum accountability for supporting actions of franchisee,

Organization Development Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organization Development Change - Essay Example From this essay it is clear that  professional development deals with improvement of individual’s effectiveness in practise, while organizational development entails the ways in which organizations can be enhanced through   overall   productivity,   human   fulfilment, and the response that is necessary towards the   environment.  Ã‚  This study highlights that  scholars such as Rittel and Weber have proposed the concept of wicked  Ã‚   problems and wicked projects as a class of problems that has difficulty in definition and has no ultimate solution. Moreover, they argue that these wicked problems are found in several forms that are in different organizations, as well as, environments. It is worth noting that wicked problems generate from a dense network of interconnected factors that are challenging in understanding how a particular decision is viable towards influencing decisions in other areas.  Change has numerous definitions that go in line with where it has been used. Never the less, a change agent could be best explained as a helper, advisor, coach, and leader or consultant. Its main function is the catalyst effect that entails bringing change to an organization or businesses in specific ways.   In light of this, many companies, as well as, organizations hire change agents to foresee specific changes in organizations.  The practitioner must be adversely knowledgeable about organization development theory.... It is expected that the practitioner has self management skills which makes it easier to practise interpersonal skills to members of the organization. Besides, the practitioner must be adversely knowledgeable about organization development theory (Beyerlin and Marauhn, 2011). Of importance to note is that change is constant as it occurs in both national and international levels, over and above, physical environment particularly in ways that organizations are structured and ways in which the organizations operated politically, socially and economically. Apparently, the world has become so complex and is continuously integrated to the extent of changes that seem too far being affective. Moreover, change appear to be frequent and random, a situation that makes the world a global village. According to Fitzmaurice 2009, incredible amount of change that is being witnessed globally has put the world in a position where individuals and organizations are now able to see the big picture in rel ation to how events are affecting them and vise versa. Change Applications Application of organization development in terms of change ensures that organizations and individuals are aware of the changes and how they are affecting them. Besides, the applications of organizational development support individuals and organizations to deal with change through events such as team building efforts and improvement of functions within the organization, over and above, those that are external through the introduction of planned change efforts (Griffiths 2007). In every organization development change, there are three practitioners’ who are involved ensuring that there is change in

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Steps

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Steps We owe the discovery of the polymerase chain reaction to Kary B Mullis in the year 1983. He was the actual proponent of PCR. Few people are aware that in 1971, Kleppe and the Nobel laureate Gobind Khorana published studies including a description of techniques that are now known to be the basis for nucleic acid replication. However, it is unfortunate that Kleppe and Khorana were ahead of their times. Oligonucleotide synthesis wasnt as simple as it is today; genes had not been sequenced and the idea of thermostable DNA polymerases had not been described. Hence, the credit for discovering the PCR remains with Kary Mullis. The Polymerase Chain Reaction is essentially a cell-free method of DNA and RNA cloning. The DNA or RNA is isolated from the cell and replicated upto a million times. At the end, what you get is a greatly amplified fragment of DNA. The PCR is quick, reliable and sensitive and its variations have made it the basis of genetic testing. WHAT KARY B MULLIS SAYS ABOUT HOW HE DISCOVERED THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION I was just driving and thinking about ideas and suddenly I saw it. I saw the polymerase chain reaction as clear as if it were up on a blackboard inside my head, so I pulled over and started scribbling. A chemist friend of his was asleep in the car. Mullis says that Jennifer objected groggily to the delay and the light, but I exclaimed I had discovered something fantastic. Unimpressed, she went back to sleep. Mullis kept scribbling calculations, right there in the car. He convinced the small California biotech company, Cetus, he was working for at that time, that he was up to something big. They finally listened. They sold the patent of PCR to Hoffman-LaRoche for a staggering $300 million the maximum amount of money ever paid for a patent. Mullis meanwhile received a $10,000 bonus. BASIS OF THE METHOD The purpose of PCR is to generate a huge number of copies of a segment of DNA, which could be a gene, a portion of a gene, or an intronic region. There are three major steps in a PCR, which are repeated for 30 or 40 cycles. This is done on an automated cycler, which can either heat or cool the tubes containing the reaction mixture, as required, in a very short period of time. There are three major steps in a PCR, which are repeated for 30 or 40 cycles. DenaturationDuring this process, the double stranded DNA melts and opens to form single stranded DNA. All enzymatic reactions, such as those carried over from a previous cycle, stop. This will be explained in the next paragraph. The temperature for denaturation is not fixed but it usually occurs at about 95 °C. It is important to realize that the denaturation temperature is largely dependent on G:C (guanine:cytosine) content of the DNA fragment to be analyzed. This is reasonable when one considers that the G:C bond is a triple hydrogen bond and the AT bond is a double bond. Logic dictates that a triple bond should be 1.5 times harder to break than a double bond. Therefore, when the segment of DNA to be analyzed has a very high G:C content, the denaturation temperature can reach even upto 99 °C. AnnealingThis requires temperatures lower than those required for denaturation. In this process, the primers anneal to that very specific segment of DNA that is to be amplified. The primers are jiggling around, caused by the Brownian motion. Ionic bonds are constantly formed and broken between the single stranded primer and the single stranded template. The more stable bonds last a little bit longer (primers that fit exactly) and on that little piece of what is now double stranded DNA (template and primer); the polymerase can attach and starts copying the template. Once there are a few bases built in, the ionic bond is so strong between the template and the primer, that it does not break anymore. ExtensionThis is done at 72 °C. This is the ideal temperature for working with polymerase. The primers, which are complementary to the template, already have a strong ionic attraction to the template. This force is stronger than the forces breaking these attractions i.e. the high temperature. Primers that are on positions with no exact match (non complementary) get loose again (because of the higher temperature) and dont give an extension of the fragment. The nucleotide bases are added from the 5 end to the 3 end. The phosphate group of the dNTPs is coupled with the hydroxyl group of the extending DNA strand. The extension time depends on two factors; the type of polymerase used and the length of the DNA fragment to be amplified. Usually, Taq polymerase adds dNTPs at the rate of about 1000 bases per minute. It is important to realize that each component of the PCR including the input DNA, the oligonucleotide primers, the thermostable polymerase, the buffer and the cycling parameters has a profound impact on the sensitivity, specificity and fidelity of the reaction. The three steps of the first cycle are shown, that is, denaturation, annealing and extension. At the end of the first cycle, two strands have been synthesized. At the end of the second cycle, four strands have been synthesized (the three steps of the cycle have not been shown). At the end of the third cycle, eight strands have been synthesized. The number of strands increases exponentially with each cycle. Nuggets The Polymerase Chain Reaction is essentially a cell-free method of cloning DNA and RNA. There are three steps involved in every cycle; these are denaturation, annealing and extension. At the end of each cycle, the DNA doubles. Therefore, theoretically, if there are n cycles in a reaction, the number of DNA fragments at the end of the reaction will be 2n. COMPONENTS OF THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION The components that are essential for a successful PCR are elaborated here. TEMPLATE DNA This is that portion of the DNA/gene that is to be amplified. Usually the concentration is  100 ng genomic DNA per PCR reaction. However, this can vary depending on the target gene concentration and the source of DNA. The PCR reaction is inherently sensitive. It is not necessary for the template DNA to be abundant or highly purified. Higher amounts of template DNA can increase the yield of nonspecific PCR products, but if the fidelity of the reaction is crucial, one should limit both template DNA quantities as well as the number of PCR cycles. DNA in solution may contain a large number of contaminants. These contaminants may inhibit the PCR. Some of these reagents are phenol, EDTA, and proteinase K, which can inhibit Taq DNA polymerase. However, isopropanol precipitation of DNA and washing of DNA pellets with 70% ethanol is usually effective in removing traces of contaminants from the DNA sample. Effects of Fixation This is of particular interest to the pathologist since he has to deal with formalin fixed tissue. DNA extracted from fresh tissue or cell suspensions forms an optimal template for PCR. The tissue is best stored at -70 °C at which the nucleic acids can be stored indefinitely. A temperature of -20 °C is sufficient to preserve the DNA for several months and at 4 °C, the DNA can be stored for several weeks. At room temperature, the DNA has been successfully stored for hours to days; however, mitochondrial DNA is very sensitive to temperature and may degrade in thawed tissues. DNA extracted from fixed tissue has been used successfully for PCR. The type of fixative and the duration of fixation are of critical importance. Non crosslinking fixatives like ethanol provide the best DNA. Formaldehyde is variable in its DNA yield. Carnoys, Zenkers and Bouins are poor fixatives as far as DNA preservation is concerned. Not surprisingly, formaldehyde is the fixative which has been evaluated the most, because it is more commonly used worldwide. The studies have demonstrated that a successful PCR depends on the protocol to extract the DNA and the length of fixation. Formaldehyde reacts with DNA and proteins to form labile hydroxymethyl intermediates which give rise to a mixture of end products which include DNA-DNA and DNA-protein adducts. Purification of DNA from formalin fixed tissue, therefore, includes heating to reverse the hydroxymethyl additions and treatment with a proteinase to hydrolyze the covalently linked proteins. However, there is no way to reverse the DNA-DNA links and these links inhibit the DNA polymerases. This accounts for the low PCR yield which is seen with formalin fixed tissue. Usually, the PCR reaction with formalin fixed DNA as a template yields products which are not more than 600 bp in size. Nuggets Template DNA is required in a concentration of 100ng for each PCR reaction. Contaminants in DNA may inhibit the reaction. Fixation of tissues provides DNA which is not as good as DNA obtained from fresh/ frozen tissues. Different fixatives give different DNA yields. Alcohol is the best fixative and Carnoys, Zenkers and Bouins are poor fixatives as far as DNA preservation is concerned. Formalin is intermediate in DNA yield. Purification of DNA from formalin fixed tissue involves heating to reverse the attachment of hydroxymethyl intermediates and treatment with a proteinase to hydrolyze the covalently linked proteins. The DNA obtained after fixation can be used for reactions in which the PCR product is not more than 600 bp. PCR BUFFER The purpose of using buffers in PCR is to provide optimum pH and potassium ion concentration for the DNA polymerase enzyme (usually obtained from bacteria Thermus aquaticus) to function. Most buffers are available in a 10X concentration and require dilution before use. Although most protocols recommend the final buffer concentration of 1X, a concentration of 1.5X might result in increased PCR product yield. The PCR buffer contains many components. Some important ones are discussed here: Divalent and monovalent cations These are required by all thermostable DNA polymerases. Mg2+ is the divalent cation that is usually present in most of the PCR buffers. Some polymerases also work with buffers containing Mn2+. Calcium containing buffers are ineffective and therefore, rarely used. Buffers can be divided into first and second generation buffers on the basis of their ionic component. The second generation buffers, as opposed to first generation buffers, also contain (NH4)2SO4 and permit consistent PCR product yield and specificity over a wide range of magnesium concentration (1.0 to 4.0 mM MgCl2). The overall specificity and yield of PCR products is better with second generation buffers, as compared with first generation PCR buffers. Buffers also contain KCl. Salts like KCl and NaCl may help to facilitate primer annealing, but concentration of 50 mM will inhibit Taq polymerase activity. Interactions between K+ and NH4+ allow specific primer hybridization over a broad ran ge of temperatures. Magnesium is one of the most important components of the buffer. Mg2+ ions form a soluble complex with dNTPs which is essential for dNTP incorporation; they also stimulate polymerase activity and influence the annealing efficiency of primer to template DNA. The concentration of MgCl2 can have a dramatic effect on the specificity and yield of PCR products. Optimal concentration of MgCl2 is between 1.0 to 1.5 mM for most reactions. Low MgCl2 concentration helps to eliminate non-specific priming and formation of background PCR products. This is desirable when fidelity of DNA synthesis is critical. At the same time, however, too few Mg2+ ions can result in low yield of PCR products. High MgCl2 concentration helps to stabilize interaction of the primers with their intended template, but can also result in nonspecific binding and formation of non specific PCR products. It is important to be aware that many PCR buffers (often sold in 10X stocks) already contain some amo unt of MgCl2. Therefore, the addition of further amounts must be carefully monitored. In the best possible scenario, the PCR would work well with the amount of Mg2+ already present in the buffer solution. However, if this does not occur, it is necessary to standardize the amount of Mg2+ in the reaction mix. This can be difficult because the dNTPs and the oligonucleotide primers bind to Mg2+. Therefore, the molar concentration of Mg2+ must exceed the molar concentration of the phosphate groups contributed by dNTPs and the primers. As a rule of thumb, the magnesium concentration in the reaction mixture is generally 0.5 to 2.5 mM greater than the concentration of dNTPs. The optimal concentration of Mg2+ should, therefore, be standardized for each reaction. Tris-Cl The concentration of tris-Cl is adjusted so that the pH of the reaction mixture is maintained between 8.3 and 8.8 at room temperature. In standard PCR reactions, it is usually present in a concentration of 10mM. When incubated at 72 °C which is the temperature for extension, the pH of the reaction mixture falls by more than a full unit, producing a buffer whose pH is 7.2. Other components Some buffers also contain components like BSA (Bovine serum albumin) and DMSO (dimethyl sulphoxide). BSA reduces the amount of template sticking to the side of the tube, making it available for amplification and reducing the risk of primer dimer. Primer dimers are products obtained when the primers anneal to each other instead to to the template DNA. DMSO has been shown to facilitate DNA strand separation (in GC rich difficult secondary structures) because it disrupts base pairing and has been shown to improve PCR efficiency. In effect, it is wise not to tamper with the buffer provided with the Taq polymerase. The buffer is usually standardized for the vial of Taq and there is no need to add additional MgCl2 or stabilizers like DMSO and BSA. However, some Taq buffers come with the buffer in one vial and MgCl2 in a separate vial. Under such circumstances, it is advisable to start with 1 µL of MgCl2 and increase its concentration in aliquots of 0.5  µL, if the initial reaction fails. Nuggets The PCR buffer contains divalent and monovalent cations, Tris Cl and other components. The PCR buffer is used to give the correct pH and potassium concentration for the DNA polymerase to function. The most common divalent ion used is magnesium in the form of MgCl2. MgCl2 concentration is vital for PCR. Tris Cl is used to maintain the pH between 8.3 and 8.8 at room temperature. Salts like NaCl and KCl may facilitate primer annealing Other components like BSA and DMSO help to increase the sensitivity and specificity of the reaction. OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PRIMERS What are Oligonucleotide Primers? PCR primers are short fragments of single stranded DNA (17-30 nucleotides in length) that are complementary to DNA sequences that flank the target region of interest. The purpose of PCR primers is to provide a free 3-OH group to which the DNA polymerase can add dNTPs. There are two primers used in the reaction. The forward primer anneals to the DNA minus strand and directs synthesis in a 5 to 3 direction. The sequence of primers is always represented in a 5 to a 3 direction. The reverse primer anneals to the other strand of the DNA. How to design a primer? The predominant goal kept in mind while designing a primer is specificity. Each member of the primer must anneal in a stable fashion to its target sequence in the template DNA. The longer the primer, the higher is its specificity. Unfortunately, the longer the primer, the less likely it is to anneal to a particular sequence in the template DNA. Conversely, if the primer length is small, it is likely to anneal, but its specificity will be poor. A compromise is reached by designing primers between 20 and 25 nucleotides long. Inclusion of less than 17 nucleotides often leads to non specific annealing, while presence of more than 25 nucleotides may not allow annealing to occur at all. Remember that the DNA sequence in the human genome appears to be a random sequence of nucleotides. When designing primers, it is important to calculate the probability that a sequence exactly complementary to a string of nucleotides in the human genome will occur by chance. Several formulae are designed to calculate such probabilities. However, mathematical expressions are not necessarily correct and in this case, the predictions maybe wildly wrong. The distribution of codons is non random with repetitive DNA sequences and gene families. It is advisable to use primers longer than the statistically indicated minimum. It is also advisable to scan DNA databases to check if the proposed sequence occurs only in the desired gene. For a practicing pathologist, it is best not to attempt designing of primers. What a pathologist requires is the primer sequence for an established test. If, for example, a pathologist requires primer sequence for the diagnosis of sickle cell anemia, all he has to do is search the web for papers related to molecular testing of sickle cell anemia. The primer sequences will be provided in the paper. Custom made primers can be commercially synthesized. Several biotechnology companies provide this facility. Before the primers are ordered, it is essential to check that the sequence is correct and that there are no missing nucleotides in the sequence. That is where, BLAST is invaluable. Before the intricacies of the BLAST search are elaborated upon, it is necessary to mention that designing a primer does not depend only on the sequence of nucleotides. Other factors like the GC content and melting point are also important considerations. They will be dealt with later in the chapter. BLAST and its uses BLAST is an acronym for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. It is an algorithm comparing information about primary biological sequences with a library or database of sequences. A BLAST can be performed for different organisms, but in this book, we will concern ourselves with nucleotide BLAST in humans only. BLAST searches the database for sequences similar to the sequence of interest (the query sequence) by using a 2-step approach. The basic concept is that the higher the number of similar segments between two sequences, and the longer the length of similar segments, the less divergent the sequences are, and therefore, likely to be more genetically related (homologous). Before perfoming a BLAST search the oligonucleotide sequence is first identified. The sequence is fed into the programme. BLAST first searches for short regions of a given length called words (W). It then searches for substrings which are compared to the query sequence. The program then aligns with sequences in the database (target sequences), using a substitution matrix. For every pair of sequences (query and target) that have a word or words in common, BLAST extends the search in both directions to find alignments that score greater (are more similar) than a certain score threshold (S). These alignments are called high scoring pairs or HSPs; the maximal scoring HSPs are called maximum segment pairs (MSPs). The BLAST search as outlined in fig 7.2 shows the results of the search. If we scroll down further, we can see the sequences producing significant alignments. Note that in this BLAST search, there are 49 BLAST hits in the query sequence. In the list shown in figure 7.2, there is a list of hits starting with the best (most similar). To the right of the screen is the E-value. This is the expected number of chance alignments; the lower the E value, the more significant the score. First in the list is the sequence finding itself, which obviously has the best score. To the left is the accession number. This refers to a unique code that identifies a sequence in a database. It is important to know that there is no set cut-off that determines whether a match is significant or similar enough. This must be determined according to the goals of the project. The sequences provided in the figure 7.2 show a significant alignment with Pseudomonas japonica. It shows a high score (bits) and a low E-value. Note that the lower the E value, the greater the likelihood that the sequence is a good match. BLAST output can be delivered in a variety of formats. These formats include HTML, plain text and XML formatting. For the NCBIs web-page, the default format for output is HTML. When performing a BLAST on NCBI (National Centre for Biotechnology Information), the results are displayed in a graphical format showing the following: The hits found A tabular form showing sequence identifiers for the hits with scoring related data Alignments for the sequence of interest and the hits received with corresponding BLAST scores for these. The easiest to read and most informative of these is probably the table. The main idea of BLAST is that there are often high-scoring segment pairs (HSP) in a statistically significant alignment. BLAST searches for these high scoring sequence alignments between the query sequence and the sequences in the database. The speed and relatively good accuracy of BLAST are among the key technical innovations of the BLAST programs. Sequence of events to be followed when performing a BLAST search.: Go to PUBMED (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) Scroll down to reach a heading called POPULAR Under POPULAR click on BLAST Click on nucleotide blast Under the heading, enter accession number(s), gi(s), or FASTA sequence(s), type or paste the sequence that you want matched. Click BLAST Wait for the results. Analyse the nucleotide sequence as it appears. Calculation of Melting Temperature The melting temperature or Tm is a measure of stability of the duplex formed by the primer and the complementary target DNA sequence and is an important consideration in primer design. Tm corresponds to the midpoint in transition of DNA from the double stranded to its single stranded form. A higher Tm permits an increased annealing temperature that makes sure that the annealing between the target DNA and the primer is specific. The Tm is dependent on the length of the oligonucleotides and the G+C content of the primer. The formula for calculation of Tm is given in table 7.1. Table 7.1: Formula for calculation of the melting temperature. Length of Primer Tm ( °C) Less than 20 nucleotides long 2(effective length*) 20 to 35 nucleotides long 22 + 1.46(effective length) *Effective length = 2(number of G+C) + number of (A + T) Primers are usually designed to avoid matching repetitive DNA sequences. This includes repeats of a single nucleotide.. The two primers in a PCR reaction are not homologous to each other and their complementarity can lead to formation of spurious amplification artifacts called primer dimers. The 3 end of a primer is most critical for initiating polymerization. The rules for selecting primers in addition to those already mentioned are as follows: The C and G nucleotides should be distributed uniformly throughout the primer and comprise approximately 40% of the bases. More than three G or C nucleotides at the 3-end of the primer should be avoided, as nonspecific priming may occur. The primer should be neither self-complementary nor complementary to any other primer in the reaction mixture, in order to avoid formation of primer-dimer or hairpin-like structure. All possible sites of complementarity between the primer and the template DNA should be noted. The melting temperature of flanking primers should not differ by more than 5 °C. Therefore, the G+C content and length must be chosen accordingly (a higher G+C content means a higher melting temperature). The PCR annealing temperature (TA) should be approximately 5 °C lower than the primer melting temperature. G+C content in each primer should not be more than 60% to avoid formation of internal secondary structures and long stretches of any one base. Primer extension will occur during the annealing step. Primers are always present in an excess concentration in conventional (symmetric) PCR amplification and, typically, are within the range of 0.1M to 1M. It is generally advisable to use purified oligomers of the highest chemical integrity. Primer Dimers A Primer Dimer (PD) consists of primer molecules that have attached or hybridized to each other because of strings of complementary bases in the primers. As a result, the DNA polymerase amplifies the PD, leading to competition for PCR reagents, thus potentially inhibiting amplification of the DNA sequence targeted for PCR amplification. In the first step of primer dimer formation, two primers anneal at their respective 3 ends. The DNA polymerase will bind and extend the primers. In the third step, a single strand of the product of step II is used as a template to which fresh primers anneal leading to synthesis of more PD product. Primer dimers may be visible after gel electrophoresis of the PCR product. In ethidium bromide stained gels, they are typically seen as 30-50 base-pair (bp) bands or smears of moderate to high intensity. They can be easily distinguished from the band of the target sequence, which is typically longer than 50 bp. One approach to prevent PD formation consists of physical-chemical optimization of the PCR system, i.e., changing the concentration of primers, MgCl2, nucleotides, ionic strength and temperature of the reaction. Reducing PD formation may also result in reduced PCR efficiency. To overcome this limitation, other methods aim to reduce the formation of PDs only. These include primer design, and use of different PCR enzyme systems or reagents. Nuggets Oligonucleotide primers are short fragments of single stranded DNA (17-30 nucleotides in length) that are complementary to DNA sequences that flank the target region of interest. They dictate which region of DNA in the PCR will be amplified. Primer sequences can be obtained by reviewing previously published literature. A confirmation of the sequence can be done by using BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). The melting temperature is the midpoint in the observed transition from a double stranded to a single stranded form. A higher annealing temperature ensures that the annealing between the target DNA and the primer is specific. A primer dimer consists of primer molecules that have attached or hybridized to each other because of strings of complementary bases in the primers. Taq polymerase amplifies the primer dimer leading to competition for the PCR products. Several methods are used to reduce primer dimer formation including changing the concentrations of primers, MgCl2, nucleotides, ionic strength and temperature of the reaction. TAQ DNA POLYMERASE The initial PCR reaction used the Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase. However, this was unstable at high temperatures and it was necessary to add a fresh aliquot of enzyme after every denaturation step. The annealing and extension temperatures had to be kept low and as a result, there was formation of non specific products in abundance. The discovery of the thermostable Taq DNA polymerases ensured that the PCR did not remain a laboratory curiosity. The extension and annealing temperatures could now be kept high and the formation of non specific products was greatly reduced. Taq became famous for its use in the polymerase chain reaction and was called the Molecule of the Year by the journal Science. Why Taq? Taq is the enzyme of choice in PCR because of the following reasons: Taq works best at 75 °C80 °C, allowing the elongation step to occur at temperatures which make non-Watson-Crick base pairing a rare event. It can add upto 1,000 nucleoside triphosphates to a growing DNA strand. Taq has a half-life of 40 minutes at 95 °C and 9 minutes at 97.5 °C, and can replicate a 1000 base pair strand of DNA in less than 10 seconds at 72 °C. Because of all these properties, Taq is the enzyme of choice in the PCR. How does Taq polymerase act? The first requirement is a primer. The primer is annealed to the template strand having free hydroxyl group at its 3 end. During the extension phase, the Taq synthesizes a new DNA strand complementary to the template by adding dNTPs in a 5 to 3 direction condensing the 5 phosphate group of the dNTPs with the 3 hydroxyl group of the end of the extending DNA strand. Since Taq works best between 70 °C- 80 °C, a temperature of 72 °C is usually chosen as the optimum annealing temperature. Where does Taq come from? In Thermus aquaticus, Taq polymerase is expressed at very low levels and commercial production is not economically viable. However, the enzyme can now be produced from different versions of the engineered Taq gene so as to obtain high levels of expression in E coli. What other polymerases are available for use in PCR? Taq is not the only polymerase; other polymerases are available but Taq is the one that is generally used in a PCR. A few other polymerases with their uses are as follows: PFU DNA polymerase -Found in Pyrococcus furiosus, it functions in vivo to replicate the organisms DNA. The main difference between Pfu and alternative enzymes is the Pfus superior thermostability and proofreading properties compared to other thermostable polymerases. Unlike Taq DNA polymerase, Pfu DNA polymerase possesses 3 to 5 exonuclease proofreading activity, meaning that it works its way along the DNA from the 3 end to the 5 end and corrects nucleotide-misincorporation errors. This means that Pfu DNA polymerase-generated PCR fragments will have fewer errors than Taq-generated PCR inserts. As a result, Pfu is more commonly used for molecular cloning of PCR fragments than the historically popular Taq. However, Pfu is slower and typically requires 1-2 minutes to amplify 1kb of DNA at 72 ° C. Pfu can also be used in conjunction with Taq polymerase to obtain the fidelity of Pfu with the speed of Taq polymerase activity. TFL DNA polymerase Obtained from Thermus flavus, it is useful for the amplification of large segments of DNA. WHAT IS FIDELITY? All DNA polymerases have an intrinsic error rate that is highly dependant on the buffer composition, pH of the buffer, dNTP concentration and the sequence of the template itself. The types of errors that are introduced are frameshift mutations, single base pair substitutions, and spontaneous rearrangements. Therefore, the PCR reaction generates a product that is very similar, but in many cases, not identical to the original sequence. The quantity of dissimilar product obtained is obviously related to the cycle in which the mismatch took place. Under normal circumstances, this does not make any difference; however, these errors may become significant during sequencing when the role of fidelity comes into play. Fidelity is the ability of the polymerases to avoid the incorporation of wrong nucleotides during the reaction. Under normal circumstances, it really does not make a difference if a wrong nucleotide is incorporated because the size of the PCR product remains the same and that is what we have to look for. However, there are some polymerases like Pfu which have a high fidelity. In addition to reading from the 5 to the 3 direction, they can also read from the 3 to the 5 direction and correct the wrong nucleotides wh

Essay --

Webster defines feminism as both "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activity on the behalf of women's rights and interests" (Webster 418). Equality of the sexes (in terms of rights) and the furthering of women's rights are seemingly positive aspirations; yet people tend to describe feminism using negative terms, and feminism today has acquired a bad reputation. "Radical" and "extremists" are adjectives commonly applied to feminism as a whole, when, in truth, feminists who adopt extreme positions constitute the minority. Moreover, these "gender feminists," or "militant feminists," as many call them, although they receive the most public attention because of their aggressive tactics and high visibility, alienate people in broadcasting their views. Their goal, to create a "sentimental priesthood" that will achieve collective power and retribution as oppressed "victims" of a white-male supremacy, seems unreasonable (Himmelfarb 20). In contrast, "equity feminists," or "academic feminists," embrace the basic principles of feminism. They celebrate women's achievements, work for the individual rights of all women, and, as Christina Hoff Sommers aptly says, "want for women what they want for everyone, equal protection under the law" (Himmelfarb 20). Though not all feminists agree on how to reach this goal, most argue for a reasonable, realistic, and positive method. By contrasting the differing feminist ideas of writers like Adrienne Rich, Gertrude Himmelfarb, and Camille Paglia, one defines a winning brand of feminism: a philosophy founded on equity feminist ideology and dedicated to the achievement of social, political, economic, and intellectual reform. David Thomas and Camille Pag... ...minism by "constantly raising the stakes," and seeking "not mere reform or revision...but revolution" (Himmelfarb 20). In this way, they isolate themselves and lose support among both men and women for the entire feminist cause. John Ellis concludes that gender feminism "poisons relations between the sexes, and catapults into leadership roles in the women's movement angry, alienated women who divert that movement from the necessary task of exploring feasible changes" (74). People need to know that feminism, based on its essential ideals and goals, has broad appeal, and that they should not dismiss it because of a specific sector. They must look beyond the extremists to find a branch of feminism that welcomes all people and focuses on a positive and reasonable goal: a society that affords everyone the opportunity and right under the law to reach his or her potential.

Democracy Essay

Professional politicians, if by nothing else than by a simple Darwinian processes, are very good at perceiving such things, and give the people exactly want: age government deficits. For example, in every present and past democracy, the people always claim that they want politicians who will not accept bribes, when in fact this is the farthest thing from the truth.What the people really want, as they repeatedly demonstrate from the voting, is politicians who will spending huge amounts of money on multi-media campaigns to win votes, who will spend massive amounts of time coming to their towns to speak to the local rotary club or school (for a fee), and who will spend massive amounts of time influencing legislation to win government contracts for local businesses. There are, of course, many other robbers with democracy. In all known democracies, the media flourishes.Science has not yet found a solution to this problem. In a democracy, you will Incessantly be subjected to hearing the Id eas, speculation, and bizarre prognostications of everyone around you. The media multiplies this problem a thousands. TRIAL BY JURY: When one Is accused by the state of a crime, the second scariest thought you can have Is that you will be tried by a Jury of your peers. The only thing scarier than this Is to be tried a Jury of your peers.The only thing scarier than a democratically elected government which allows Its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry Is a democratically elected government which goes NOT allow Its colleens to own sophisticated weaponry. Democracy – Essay 3 By Vienna POLLS: One way in which the media attempts to tell people what to think is by again, you will understand it. Fortunately, the results of these polls invariably conflict with each other and with reality, so that prolonged exposure builds up immunities.People who live in a democracy, since they believe they have some influence over the law, tend to extrapolate this into the belief that the law me ans whatever they want it to mean. (The media probably plays a role in this, though we LAWYERS: They come with litigation. Experiments show that when the population of incessantly be subjected to hearing the ideas, speculation, and bizarre thousands. When one is accused by the state of a crime, the second scariest thought you can have is that you will be tried by a Jury of your peers. The only thing scarier than this is to be tried WITHOUT a Jury of your peers. WEAPONRY: The only thing scarier than a democratically elected government which allows its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry is a democratically elected government which does NOT allow its citizens to own sophisticated weaponry.

Jo Goodwin Parkers “What is Poverty” Essay Example

Jo Goodwin Parkers â€Å"What is Poverty† Essay Example Jo Goodwin Parkers â€Å"What is Poverty† Essay Jo Goodwin Parkers â€Å"What is Poverty† Essay We should always help people who are in need. In almost any place in the world today, offerin help or aiding another person even in the simplest ways, can go a long a way. However, help should not only be extended to those who are victims of calamities such as typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis but also poor people whom we cncounter everyday. Doing so will somehow alleviate the pain being felt by people like Jo Goodwin Parker, who recounts her story of poverty in the essay, â€Å"What is Poverty?†In the essay, Ms. Parker revealed how she has been suffering in her impoverished state for a very long time now. However, she is quick to emphasize that she wants be people to understand here story rather than simply pity her. She recounted how she does not have enough food and water and has been living in a torn down shelter for many years. Worst of all, her children have suffered greater than she has as they have bad cases of worm-infections, very dirty clothing, and lived on used diapers. And she emphasizes that despite all the programs and government institutions that offer help to the poor, she is still unable to improve her and her childrens lives because sadly, everything she needs such as food, hot water, soap, shovel, medicine, and books, require a susbtantial amount of money which is doe not have.It can be surmised that Ms. Parker embodies the poor which we see everyday. She represents the sector of society that most needs help. As Ms. Parker said, she â€Å"did not come from another place or another time† (Parker n.p.). She, like many others, are around us and therefore, it is our duty to always help people who are in need.Parker, Jo Goodwin. â€Å"What is Poverty?† 1971. University of Oklahoma Press. 8 July 2009 ;https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/JGParker.html;.

The Eyes Of The Dragon Essays - Novels By Stephen King, Free Essays

The Eyes Of The Dragon Essays - Novels By Stephen King, Free Essays The Eyes Of The Dragon The book that I read was The Eyes of the Dragon. The author was Stephen King. It was published in 1987. Stephen King grew up in Maine and has lived most of his adult life there, both in Bangor and in the Portland area. He and his wife, Tabitha, have three children, Naomi, Joe, and Owen Philip. This story took place in the fairy tale times with Kings and Dragons. The kings name was Roland. He was a good king. He had two sons. Peter, the first son, was good at every thing and his father and every one else loved him. Thomas was just a reject. He had no friends and his Father didn't even care for him. Flagg was the Magician. Flagg was trying to manipulate the kingdom so that he could end up in control and after 5000 years his chance had finally come. He killed Roland and framed Peter so that he would have to go to jail for life. Thomas was then king and Flagg was his friend and teacher. Flagg taxed the town and beheaded people for anything that they did. The title of the book came from the passage that Flagg had shown Thomas that lead to the head of a Dragon head that was hanging in his fathers room. He saw Flagg poison his father and he was to scared to tell anyone. Any way, Peter excapes and kills Flagg. Thomas was just a followed of any one who would be his friend. He was stupid and he never expected to be king so he didn't pay attention in class. Peter was the perfect son. He won all of the castle competitions. Every body in the entire kingdom loved him. Flagg was just plain evil. Every thing he did, he did for the good of evil. He finally got his way with the world and he took complete advantage of it. Stephen Kings style is to keep the reader from knowing to much and in some places in the book it gets very boring and then every thing starts to pick up. I like his style because it reads very quickly and is very entertaining. I think that this is one of the better books that I have ever read. I would recommend it to any one who has a brain in their head Bibliography na

E-bay in the domain of business information system Assignment

E-bay in the domain of business information system - Assignment Example At the present, IT experts need information technology knowledge to determine the ways and functions of IT systems, to customize, design and test systems for competitive benefit, and to look for and recognize new solutions that are able to change as well as improve their business. In addition, today the functions of management information system (MIS) in a business are similar to the functions of heart in the body. In the same way, the data and information can be considered as blood and MIS is the heart. In today’s corporate and business bodies need the fresh and pure supply of blood that is attained through the MIS (the heart). In this scenario, the MIS technology also makes sure that suitable data is gathered from a variety of sources that need to be processed as well as transmitted for carrying further operations to all the required business and corporate destinations. Moreover, the system is anticipated to accomplish the information requirements of a person, a group of ind ividuals, the management processes, the managers and the top management. This report presents a detailed analysis of MIS technology and its possible advantages and capabilities for the business organizations. This report will assess EBay’s business and possible impact of information technology based system on the business. This report will outline recommendations for business improvement through the adoption of new technology based systems at the Ebay business.... This report presents a detailed analysis of MIS technology and its possible advantages and capabilities for the business organizations. This report will assess EBay’s business and possible impact of information technology based system on the business. This report will outline recommendations for business improvement through the adoption of new technology based systems at the Ebay business. MIS Technology and possible Impacts This section is aimed at assessing the MIS technology framework and possible impact of the MIS technology on any business. The MIS facilitates the clerical staff in carrying out business transaction processing as well as replying quickly to their inquiries on the data pertaining to the deal, the position of a particular record as well as references on a multiplicity of documents. In the same way, the MIS is helpful to the middle management briefing them with target setting, planning and managing the corporate processes. However, it is maintained through th e utilization of management capabilities and systems of planning and control. Additionally, the MIS technology based system performs a major role of business and corporate information and data communication, generation, problem detection and facilitates in the process of decision making. In this way, MIS performs significant functions in administration, management and various other processes of a business (Anand, 2008), (Ray, 2004), (Laudon & Laudon, 1999) and (Turban et al., 2005). In addition, MIS technology based systems deal with transaction processing like that answering the issues like that conditions of a particular record as well as multiplicity of documents. Additionally, the MIS technology system offers operational data for scheduling, planning

Plato's Arguments for Rationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plato's Arguments for Rationalism - Essay Example Plato’s arguments can be summarised in the following contest: a) Justification is simply by reason instead of senses. This means that there is need to move away from that world of cave that is explored by our sensory experience and move outside the cave to discover the world of forms by means of reason. b) Objects of knowledge such as forms are necessary, unchanging and external. Therefore, we are looking for the permanent order which underlies the flux. c) The most basic and important knowledge is priori that means that it does not rely on sensory information. Thus this is true knowledge of goodness, of mathematics, of justice and many others. d) Mathematics is simply like a model for the entire knowledge process. This implies that the easiest way that an individual can think of forms is by thinking of mathematical objects being the perfect circle.The theory of form is regarded to as one of Plato’s most powerful theory. It proposes that on top of the physical world tha t we sense in our midst, there is also another realm based on reality. This kind of realm is intelligible instead of being an observable sphere in existence; it is made up of absolute, unchanging, external, perfect forms that define that which exists imperfectly and fleetingly in our world of senses. The forms therefore provide knowledge regarding the objective truth. The theory of forms assists Plato’s epistemological theories in a number of ways.Epistemological theories are based on the account of what is meant by knowledge.