Child Beauty Pageants

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. ~ Rachel Carson The year was 1920. The First World War ended and the women’s movement began to take off. 1920 also marked the first year of the American beauty pageant. This was a groundbreaking year, as women from all over the United States were given the opportunity to show their talent, outer beauty and inner intelligence. Little did our country know, that 40 years later, children as young as 10 months old would be competing in beauty pageants. 1960 marked the first child beauty pageant in America and started a major American trend. Since the tragic death of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, child beauty pageants have been a hot topic of debate. Ramsey’s death opened a new door to the skepticism of beauty pageants by allowing the media into the world of child beauty pageants through more curious eyes. These eyes began to see beauty pageants as a threat to children and their safety; being exposed to the world at such a young age with a made-up face of inappropriate maturity (Buzzle, par. 1). Destruction of the child’s self esteem and constant attentiveness to appearance are major cons that continue to grow. Cons of unremarkable expenses, loss of educational interest and loss of innocence also remain, strengthening the fact that beauty pageants are harmful to children who compete in them. A child’s self-esteem is a fragile element. Advocates for child pageants believe beauty pageants boost children’s self-esteem by the attention they receive for being dolled up, dancing and singing and winning awards for placing higher than the other children. But as fast as self-esteem can be built up by a sentence of praise or a trophy, it can be just as easily shut down by not being good enough for someone else and losing. The amount of pressure put on children to excel in a pageant is astounding. When the child has outside pressure of excelling and winning a pageant, the effects of a loss are damaging. Children become easily frustrated at such a young age and often cannot understand why the massive amount of pressure was put upon them for no reason. The main focus of winning that the parents stress on their child is unnecessary and unhealthy to the child’s mind. A healthier alternative to building a child’s self-esteem would be to enroll he or she in a community team sport. Youth sports give children the chance to participate and earn a sense accomplishment without being let down under pressure. Although child beauty pageants contest to specific age ranges, the judging is no different than the Miss America Pageant. Child beauty pageants consist of modeling sportswear, evening attire, dance and talent. The children are judged based on individuality in looks, capability, poise, perfection and confidence. As the judges call it, â€Å"the complete package† (Minorcon, par. 3). Children are constantly exposed to the newest hair extensions, longest-lasting make-up and latest clothing lines all in effort to beat out their fellow three-year old. These pageants are preparing young children for their teen and adult years at too early of an age. Child beauty pageants play a uniquely powerful role in defining what is attractive in our society by ranking and awarding the physical attractiveness of children. This constant reminder of putting hair and make-up above all else is disturbing and forces children to be concerned with superficial issues that have no long-term value. With cosmetic innovations being created and perfected, radical pageant parents have gone to great lengths to perfect their child. â€Å"When some of the children lost baby teeth that had not been replaced by pageant time, their parents fit them with false teeth. When a girl’s hair was too short to curl like Barbie’s, fake additions were fitted† (Harvard, par. 8-9). These â€Å"fixes† cost thousands of dollars that could be put toward a more beneficial and long-term career. Not only are the cosmetic alterations breaking the banks of these parents, but the additional pageant costs are making a dent in their wallets too. â€Å"There is a minimum cost of $545 to enter the pageant, which covers basic entry fees. Another $395 is needed for the maximum options of this pageant,† (Minorcon, par. 3). These â€Å"maximum options† might include staple clothing, such as tights or tank tops. All additional clothing, including sportswear, eveningwear, talent clothing, not to mention the â€Å"must have† accessories, is up to the parents to pick from the money tree in the back yard. This money should not be spent on pre-maturely advancing a child’s appearance, but should be saved for activities such as youth sports, or better yet a college fund! Several studies have been done on child beauty pageant contestants to seek out their experiences and thoughts rather than their parents’. Researchers are curious especially concerning contestants’ thoughts on further education. The real concern should be on future education needs; all of the girls aged eight to ten interviewed by A Network were not concerned with further education† (Par. 4). Many pageant girls have false aspirations of becoming a model, and while aspirations are crucial for any child, the dreams of becoming a model are slim to none after coming out of the child pageant life. Althou gh education is not necessarily effected at that present moment, the participating children do not plan ahead based on their mind and intelligence they will gain by attending school, but rather on their appearances. Lastly, the loss of innocence from these beauty pageants is devastating. Fake plastic smiles, false eyelashes and polished appearance spoil a child’s innocence. Children grow up to think that the only way to earn money is through exploitation of their bodies, which is not true. These children are the future of our world. A child’s growing years are important as they form the foundation for the development of body and mind. Childhood is the time for them to play, not learn poise. It’s the time for them to be mischievous and not polished. It’s the time for them to do well in academics and not exhibit their bodies. Children are more beautiful covered in mud than when covered in make-up. Works Cited The Whys and Woes of Beauty Pageants. 08 June 2000. Harvard. edu. 08 February 2010. Child Beauty Pageants. 12 January 2010. Buzzle. com. 08 February 2010. Beauty Pageants do More Harm Than Good. 16 December 2007. Debate. org. 07 February 2010. Beauty Pageants: Good, Bad, or Plain Ugly. 06 March 2004. Buzzle. com. 07 February 2010. Child Beauty Pageants Beauty Pageants: From the Title of Mini Supreme to America’s Next Top Model English 106 Cassie Robinson 3 Otober 2012 Abstract Beauty pageants have changed drastically in the past fifty years. Beauty pageants used to be all adult females who dressed in their Sunday best and walked on the catwalk at the county fair. Now, little children are decked out in glitzy outfits, have wigs that make their hair twice as long, and have teeth to make it seem like their baby teeth haven’t fallen out yet.In this literature review, I reviewed different articles, some against child beauty pageants and some that showed a firsthand look into the beauty pageants. Based on the reviews, I have made a decision as to whether child beauty pageants are good for those involved or not. Hundreds wait in silence as the announcer walks to the stage. â€Å"And the first place award goes to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The pause is added for dramatic effect, as if these parents and children need any more drama in the ir lives. Hair is pulled, tears are shed, and crowns are won.This is just another typical weekend for those in the pageant world. The views of beauty pageants have drastically changed within the past decade. Some think pageants are used to exploit little children and are a way for mothers to live vicariously through their daughters who are winning crowns and money. Others believe they are just a more drastic way for their children to play dress up and win money while doing it. The six articles chosen for this literature review will discuss one side of the argument.Something eye-catching in the article, â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras,† written by Skip Hollandsworth in 2011 was the line, â€Å"And you know what I hate? All these years later, I’ve still got this anxiety about feeling like I have to be perfect† (Hollandsworth, 2011). This is how Brooke Breedwell feels about pageants now, after being a pageant queen from age three months to eight years old. After telling h er mother she wanted to quit pageants and emphasizing it by throwing a curling iron at her, Breedwell finally gave up the lavish pageant life due to stress.Even as an eight year old, the stress was too much to handle. â€Å"The promise of a tiara has always been a fast, easy sell to young girls who pine to be princesses,† (Hollandsworth, 2011) which is something all girls and their mothers want. In order to win that crown, there are many time consuming tasks that must be done before the pageant. There are layers of makeup to be put on, eyebrows to be waxed, natural hair and fake wigs to be curled, fingernails to be manicured, bronzer to be applied to arms and legs, dresses to be sewn, and dances and routines to be learned.It is enough to stress any eight year old out. After all of this work and stress, it would be downright heartbreaking to find that someone else has beaten you for the title of Grand Supreme. This article is different from the others I chose to include in my literature review in the sense that it discusses not only the stresses that pageant girls go through, but also some of the legal situations that have been brought about thanks to the pageant world. JonBenet Ramsey is a name that is famous all around the world.The six-year-old pageant beauty who would have gone on to be the next Marilyn Monroe who was found murdered in her home on Christmas morning. For a couple months afterwards, pageants seemed taboo, but then, even in the wake of JonBenet’s murder, pageants became even more famous. Little girls are being trained to dance provocatively and blow kisses at their judges from a young age and these videos end up online and even on TV. These videos are made to be public so others can see the awards and crowns the little girls win and anyone, including pedophiles, can access them. On TV, the shows not only give the names of these children, but they also tell you what towns these little girls live in,† (Hollandsworth, 2011) wh ich would give these pedophiles easy access to track down the little girls. This would not be hard to do with the way our society is turning to technology. One article, â€Å"Is the Media to Blame for Child Sex Victims,† written by Mark Davidson in 1997, discusses the media’s association with beauty pageants even further. Americans support multi-million dollar activities that exploit children and promote the provocativeness of them, such as beauty pageants.Beauty pageants, â€Å"commercially flaunt kids’ bodies, often converting preteen and preschool girls into sex puppets adorned with lipstick, mascara, false eyelashes, bleached hair, high heels, and satin-and-rhinestone gowns and professionally coached in showgirl postures and movements,† (Davidson, 1997) which leads to controversial topics like the 1996 sexual molestation and murder of JonBenet Ramsey. There are many movies, such as â€Å"Lolita† and â€Å"Pretty Baby,† that portray young girls as being involved in sexual situations with older men.This leads to young girls growing up to believe this is acceptable. What makes this article different is that it does not revolve around beauty pageants, but around the media and its involvement in child pornography and exploitation of girls at a young age. Hollywood and the likes, â€Å"engage in massive pimping for child temptresses,† (Davidson, 1997) which intrigues young minds and makes them believe that since it is accepted in media, it is accepted in everyday society.Only after JonBenet had been murdered did the media look for moral guidance to see if what it was displaying was appropriate. A little girl who had not even started kindergarten had to be murdered before the media questioned their morals. The press argues that, â€Å"the tiny contestants really want to participate, as if they are capable of giving informed consent to their own victimization,† (Davidson, 1997), when in all actuality, the chi ldren have no concept of what is really happening. My next article, â€Å"Toddlers and Tiaras TOO MUCH TOO SOON? written by Charlotte Triggs in 2011, is a continuation of the stresses of being in the pageant world. It is not only stressful on the children, who are the main event of the pageants, but also on the parents. These parents put their children through the pageants and shell out the money for entrance fees, homemade dresses and flippers, which are fake teeth for the girls who are losing their baby teeth. â€Å"You’re never going to win that money back, even if they win every weekend,† (Triggs, West, Aradillas, 2011) said one mother about the pageant life.So, if there are no perks of being in pageants other than seeing their daughters win crowns, why do the mothers go through the stress and lose money to pageants? The same mother then went on to say, â€Å"But you’ve got to do it because your kid loves and excels at it and it’s something you enjo y as a family,† (Triggs, West, Aradillas, 2011). So if families are happy watching their children in pageants, then they are more than willing to put up with the stress. In addition to the stresses of ageantry and reasons for participating, things such as the confusing life moments and the decisions pageant girls go through are discussed in the article. While most girls their age are out playing with Barbies with their friends, these girls are dressed as Barbie and have a twisted view of how they should look. â€Å"Little girls should play with dolls, not be dolls,† (Triggs, West, Aradillas, 2011) said a New York-based clinical social worker. The girls are being dressed in outfits that are more suited for a stripper than a preschooler, and it can have a negative effect on them in the long run.The girls grow up being obsessed with their appearance and may look into different ways to keep up the appearances they once had, such as plastic surgery or eating disorders. These factors will affect the young girls before they are even in high school. The next article, â€Å"Pretty Babies,† written by Rosemary Ellis in 2011, discusses the way the author viewed beauty pageants when she was younger compared to how she views them now, as an adult. When Ellis was younger, beauty pageants were only seen at the county fair, which came only once a year, in the month of August.The fair itself was a magical time for Ellis, not to mention getting to see girls ranging from elementary to college age walk across a stage in their Sunday best and giving the judges their best smile. Today, the adult pageants are overlooked and, â€Å"the Miss America pageant has become so irrelevant that it lets ABC air the show for free,† (Ellis, 2011) because of the recent explosion of pageants for little girls. There are more than five thousand of these pageants across the country. This article differentiates from the rest in the sense that the author compared the pageants known in her childhood to the pageants that are shown now.In the pageants now, the girls are spray-tanned and covered in makeup, and the studio pictures they take before pageants are edited so much that one would not be able to recognize the little girl if she walked up to them on a sidewalk. Ellis goes on to examine the outfits the little girls are wearing now, seeing clothing that, â€Å"gathers to suggest a bust and has slogans across the chest or rear that are more suited to a stripper than a first grader,† (Ellis, 2009). These clothes send out provocative messages not only to girls in the pageant world, but also to all little girls who see the clothing and get used to it at a young age.Most people only see the mother/ daughter side of pageantry, never the father/ daughter side of it, which my next article, â€Å"Father Knows Glitz,† written by Joey Bartolomeo in 2010, discusses. Dads who are involved in pageants are not only single dads or gay dads; they are also just everyday, hard-working dads who love to see their daughters happy when they win an award. Not only are there soccer and football dads, but there are now pageant dads. Not all of them are dragged into it, either.Some, like Lon Enos, a tattooed, burly man, like being the pageant dad just because â€Å"It’s fun and it’s cool,† (Bartolomeo, 2010), an opinion that would differ from the quintessential man in America who watches football or baseball on the weekends instead of competing in pageants with his daughters. Compared to the other articles, this one stands out because it gives a firsthand view from a pageant dad, rather than the typical pageant mom. Compared to pageant moms who tend to try to live vicariously through their daughters, the dads are usually more relaxed and laid back although some can be intense.Even things such as making a dress, â€Å"I’m not spending $6,000 for a dress when it takes me three hours to make one,† (Bartolomeo, 2010) or building a new shelf for crowns and sashes become jobs for a pageant dad to do. The braver of the pageant dads will even get up on stage with their daughters and help them with their routines. â€Å"There will be enough time for them to be women. For now, let’s just allow them to be little girls,† is a quote from Staceyann Chin in her article, â€Å"Beauty and the Boob Tube,† written in 2009.Chin came across the show â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras† while procrastinating on a project she was working on. Much to her dismay, she was drawn in to the show, which reminded her, â€Å"of dog shows—tiny, powerless competitors trained to do as they are told, with trainers who exploit their charges to gain fame and fortune and live out some archaic dream they once had for themselves,† (Chin, 2009). Seeing the little girls being rewarded for their beauty made Chin feel uncomfortable because of an incident that happened when she was younger.Her grandm other’s friend would have the young Chin sit on his lap and he told her if she smiled for him, he would give her a coin. Her grandmother would always take away the coins when he left, saying, â€Å"Any money you make on your back will hurt your head,† (Chin, 2009). Many of the top ranked girls in pageants receive prizes such as checks and cash prizes, signifying being paid for looking pretty. This was after they got all dressed up, went out on stage, had their eyes, hair, and legs judged by adults, and then moved their hips in a suggestive manner.The pageant world is training the girls for a future that is not too great. Meaning, the pageant world is training them to look to others for judgment instead of trusting and believing in themselves, or that they need to look really good all the time or people will not like them. â€Å"I wanted to rush in—save these girls from an experience that would make them self-conscious about their little bellies, bottoms, and cu te button noses,† (Chin, 2009) is the way most people feel while watching the show, and yet, they are hooked and cannot wait for the next episode.It is the way the media portray the drama of the show that keeps viewers like Chin attached to the show. That is what makes this article different from the rest. It discusses the media involvement in the pageant world. Along with videos of these girls being put on the Internet, shows such as â€Å"Toddlers in Tiaras† and â€Å"Honey Boo Boo† which exploit the girls at a young age are also televised, causing the girls to live with their young pageantry for the rest of their lives, even though they may not have made the decision to participate themselves.After walking out on stage and, â€Å"dramatically ripping off a black, sheer robe to reveal a sparkly bathing suit,† (Chin, 2009) one little girl’s mother â€Å"kept trying to make her say she loved pageants and that she was a pageant girl. The toddler wou ld not repeat either phrase,† (Chin, 2009). Has the world of pageants changed so much that the toddlers who are the bane of all existence for the pageants do not even want to say they love pageants?Most people believe children who participate in beauty pageants are at a higher risk of having psychological and body image issues when they get older. While most think the pageants are bad for children, there are those who believe the pageants are a job for the children and give them careers for later in life. Based on the articles I have read and reviewed, I conclude that child beauty pageants are not good for those involved. References Bartolomeo, J. (2010). FATHER KNOWS GLITZ. People, 74(16), 64-71. Retrievedfrom EBSCOhost. Chin, S. (2009).Beauty & the Boob Tube. Advocate, (1026), 76. Retrieved fromEBSCOhost. Davidson, M. (1997, September). Is media to blame for child sex victims?. USA TodayMagazine. p. 60. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Ellis, R. (2011). Pretty Babies. Good Housekee ping, 252(8), 21. RetrievedfromEBSCOhost. HOLLANDSWORTH, S. (2011). Toddlers in Tiaras. Good Housekeeping, 252(8), 150-194. Retrievedfrom EBSCOhost. Triggs, C. , West, K. , & Aradillas, E. (2011). Toddlers & Tiaras TOO MUCH TOOSOON? (Cover story). People, 76(12), 160-168. Retrievedfrom EBSCOhost. Child Beauty Pageants Child Beauty Pageants While beauty pageants started in the 1920’s, children’s beauty pageants began in the 1960’s. This is when the predicament all began. Equally important is the definition of child abuse. It is defined as the exploitation of a child. Children in beauty pageants are exploited at a very over powering rate. Since there is so much exploitation, it should be considered child abuse. Due to parental involvement, children participate in pageants that damage them physically, mentally, and emotionally, prohibiting them from appropriately socializing in society.Before and during beauty pageants, there are many preparations that happen. Before the beauty pageants, the children’s parents get them tans and flippers which are a type of falsified teeth. After that, the parents either wax or even clear up any imperfections they may have like wrinkles, bushy eyebrows, and/or messed up hair. At the pageants, the girls get covered with make-up in the hopes of hiding any imperfections the child may have. The child is then dressed in whatever attire they are required to wear.For example: dresses, swimsuits, formal attire, and/or casual. After that, the girls will model their attire to the judges. Pageants will continue on into the talent portion in which the children will show their talents to judges. The talents vary from dance routines to karaoke, or even simply doing a catwalk. Child beauty pageants only judge based on looks and pure perfection. There are many damages that those requirements put on children. These requirements at times go as far to making five to six year olds look like sixteen to twenty year olds (Grosaru).The children are made to look more mature than what they are. Writer Frank Rich says â€Å"Today the merchandising of children as sexual commodities is ubiquitous and big business. † Referring to this statement, this shows that it also makes it easier for them to be made susceptible to pedophiles, eventuall y at times ending with the child being harmed physically by one of those men or women. Other than being subjected to that type of danger, the children are also subjected to cosmetic damages as well. Botox is one of the common cosmetic tools used.This is used to make the children appear â€Å"perfect† with no marks or any types of imperfections. One mother Kerry Campbell gave her eight year old daughter Botox and her excuses for giving her daughter this drug was one to give her a head start in pageants and second because all the other moms were doing it (Thompson). Many mothers like Kerry Campbell may be doing this type of abuse to their children because simply they want their child to be ahead in the pageants. Injecting a child with a dangerous chemical just to get a ahead in a child beauty pageant is a clear example of child abuse.The mental afflictions that the pageants cause to the children are numerous. Pageant mothers begin to create anxiety by the continuous moving from hotel to hotel. This keeps the child from having a normal home. In addition to this, there is no time for the children to socialize with friends in their own hometowns. They are not able to socialize with society at large. Now some of pageant parents argue that their children are able to make friends when they’re participating in the pageants.This is false and quickly disproven when the children are given the infamous speech of â€Å"no other girl is your friend here. † This speech begins to create paranoia about ever making friends or socializing with peers of their age (Grosaru). Other than creating anxiety and paranoia, there is also self destruction of self-image because they are made to think their body must be a certain way and their hair. This is called being â€Å"A little Barbie† (Nusseara). Mothers also can cause confusion within the child because of the beauty pageants.Mothers who had only boys try to make their boys into girls by making them partici pate in pageants. This causes the child to have confusion about their sexuality and this should not be done to a child. Such gender confusion and lack of self esteem in the name of a pageant are s clear signs of child abuse on the part of the parent. The parent should help the child to build their self esteem and not tear it down. There is a type of Darwinism that is incorporated in these pageants which is the fear the parents have of their children being losers (Giroux).Psychologist David Elkind says, â€Å"Parents use to be worried about if their children were good at school, but now they are only worried if their child are so called losers at school. † Parents create this emotional destruction within the children. The children begin to fear of becoming losers or disappointments to their parents so they are continuously rehearsing how to be perfect every day. In these pageants, the moms try to relive their own fantasy of what they once used to do or what they never got to e xperience themselves (Grosaru).This is abuse as the parents are only entering the child in the pageant for their selfish need to relive a glory day. The mothers go as far as lying about their child’s age to give them an advantage in the competition. This begins to make the child feel guilty about lying afflicting the emotional impairment to the child. In the 1960’s, children’s beauty pageants were created on the intention of showing off the innocence of children; when in reality it was use to exploit the children and make a profit off of them by making them dress inappropriately and not advocating their well being.This exploitation of the children is pure child abuse and nothing else. The children of these parents should be taken away for their safety. Laws or regulations should be made to insure the well-being of the children. Children who participate in beauty pageants all suffer physical, mental, and emotional damage; which keeps them from appropriately socia lizing in society and developing normally.

Starbucks Summary

This is to recommend that Struck to increasing the power of expand the international markets especially the countries that Struck has not been launched yet in order to gain more global market share thus generate more sales. Struck also need to reduce the power of expand domestic markets since the market in the US is approaching saturation and the marketing- warming expansion techniques has caused cannibalize existing store sales.Based on my analyzes on the case Planet Struck (A), Struck Coffee remains a leader in the coffee business in the world for a long time because the perceived premium product's cachet that they are offering customer something so far superior than customers' expectations and their ubiquitous positioning strategy that providing ready access to customer foot traffic. These are the biggest strengths of Struck. Based on its existing successful del, Struck has indicated continuing increased gross operating income and operating income. See Appendix#l ) This huge succe ss offers Struck more resources to expand its international market such as capital, existing business model, successful previous experiences and expert management team. At present, it is the great time for Struck to expand its international market, since the domestic market is approaching saturation. Even the marketing-swarming expansion techniques prevented competitor entry to the rake and helped Struck built strong brand awareness and recognition, it leads to downward trend in sales per store.As an illustration, between 1 995 and 1 998, Struck had averaged $0. 69 million sales per store per year but until 2002, the sales has been decreased to $0. 559 million per store. This data reflected the domestic market has approached the saturation. However there is still an opportunity to increasing the globally market share, since in year 2002, there are total of 4574 domestic stores but the total number of international stores are only 131 2, which is only quarter of the number of domesti c stores. See Appendix #4) Therefore, expanding international markets would lead to increasing the globally market share thus generate more sales and also will help the company to achieving its objective which is establish Struck as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Struck has a pretty strong brand image to many of its customers as a â€Å"third place† where is a place between work and home that people can escape, reflect, read, chat and listen.This niche positioning strategy has differentiated Struck from its competitors and this strategy has also become to Struck strongest competitive advantage that provided customers an atmosphere of both warmth and comfort. In conclusion, the main plan of action right now should be to focus on expanding international market instead of domestic markets. Thus the global market share will be increased if the marketing strategy is executed correctly and cooperated with right partner.

White Collar Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

White Collar Crime - Essay Example Additionally, the law enforcement agencies do not focus their attention on the rich as they have the money to go to the law. This is the reason there are many poor in prisoners. While the poor fill the prisons, the rich are making more money. The other reason the rich want to get more than they already have is solely that they want to have more power over the powerless. In the sense that, the poor do not have an ability to measure up to the poor; because there is power inequality that is mostly caused by the rich having more than the poor. In additional, the poor do not have the ability or the resources to commit sophisticated crimes making them susceptible to jail, as they do not plan. This is because crimes committed by white-collar criminals compared to those committed by blue-collar criminals are sophisticated in nature because of the resources required to commit such crimes (Siegel, 2013). In the case of Ponzi scheme, the rich use the poor to make money because the scheme uses new users to pay the old investors and the new investors are mostly the poor. Therefore, it is correct to state the rich want to be richer because of power and maintenance of social

A Business Plan for the Important, Sale, and Eventual Production of Essay

A Business Plan for the Important, Sale, and Eventual Production of MDMA - Essay Example For the Love of Molly: A Business Plan for the Important, Sale, and Eventual Production of MDMA This has encouraged even those that might otherwise have a moral compunction against such an activity to engage in the sale and trafficking of illegal substances. In this dystopian world, one in which executive decree hearkens back to the divine right of kings and a simple suspicion of possible future crime can have one indefinitely interred in a maximum security zone, the following analysis will seek to provide the reader with an informed way in which this author would seek to establish a United States ecstasy enterprise. In such a way, a focus upon seeking first to develop imports of the drug into a robust network of suppliers, then seeking to shift from importation to domestic production as a means of serving the demand that has been created will be discussed. Finally, a level of analysis will be put forward with regards to the best way of seeking to distribute and retail these products to the end consumer. Firstly, in order to base a level of business upon the importation of ecst asy, it must be realized that almost all trade and business development is based upon trust and personal connections with individuals that business is being performed with. As such, seeking to foster connections within South East Asia with government officials, mafia kingpins, and military juntas is a good first step in forging the personal connections that will be required in order to create a U.S. import economy for ecstasy. Due to the fact that ecstasy’s prime ingredient, sassafras oil - also known as camphor oil, can only be harvested from sassafras trees, seeking to develop close ties with individuals that have access to camphor oil supplies internationally is a logical and intelligent first step (Singer 112). The supply of ecstasy around the world generally originates within South East Asia; an area of the world that is notoriously corrupt and if one is in fact arrested for a crime, a bribe can easily be paid in order to have the individual released and the â€Å"crime forgotten† (Cherry 18). The enterprising young business person from the United States would do well to remember that the legal system within these far flung reaches of the world, although just as Draconian as the United States on the surface, does not have the severity as far as punishment goes as long as an individual has ready cash on hand to buy out the correct officials. As such, in seeking to establish a resilient import economy for ecstasy, once these personal relations are solidified, it is necessary to begin to insure that the delivery mechanisms for the drug will not be challenged. Numerous individuals seeking to import raw MDMA from South East Asia have been foiled by hit or miss US Customs enforcement. Random searches and seizures of entire vessels laden with MDMA worth untold millions on the street have occurred in the recent past. As such, seeking to integrate with the supply chain by importing the drug the old fashioned way is both foolish and highly dangerous. A far more effective approach would be to leverage what few others have considered can be done; the bribery of US Customs officials. Naturally, with the current state of propaganda that exists within the American media, such a thought is not even presently in the mind of anyone within society (Fitzgerald 201). Individuals have been led to wrongly believe that bribery within the United States is something that merely cannot exist. However, with the ever increasing hardship that the

Jaguar Cars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jaguar Cars - Essay Example Product: Jaguar car is the product in this case. The new XK is available as either Coupe or Convertible, with the option of a normally aspirated 4.2 litre V8 engine or as the Supercharged R version. The XK 4.2L V8 Coup is a 6-Speed automatic car with acceleration 0-60 mph in 5.9 sec with a top speed of 155-250 Kmph. Its fuel efficiency is around 17 kmpl. The company proudly pronounces that Jaguar is dramatically beautiful, powerful and luxurious car. Its available in different variants like Coupe or Convertible, 4.2 litre V8 XK or Supercharged XKR. Ford focuses on its exhilarating lines and muscular intent in next-generation lightweight aluminium to attract the young consumer. Its interior too is designed quite aesthetically. A cockpit designed around the driver - intuitive controls, inspired by a sporting pedigree and tailored to respond precisely on demand. The XK features a host of intelligent technologies, each engineered to empower the driver and enhance the pleasure of driving. Jaguar has axed its S-Type model and replaced it with a new sports saloon called the XF. Place: The Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG) recorded strong revenue growth in fiscal 2005. The Ford Europe and PAG primarily include the sale of Fordbrand vehicles in Europe and Turkey as well as sale of PAG brand vehicles. Jaguar form an important component of this brand identity together with Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin. Revenues from Ford Europe and PAG reached $60,258 million in 2005, up 11.3% over 2004. Ford Europe and PAG accounted for 34% of total revenues. Growing Ford Europe and PAG has enabled the company to offset revenue decline in the Americas division. Therefore Ford strategically placed its Jaguar brand in UK and other EU nations. From the financial figures so far it appears that Ford's strategy has worked well. In fact, Jaguar pitted couple of its models against BMW, but The S-Type, which was launched as a direct competitor to the BMW 5-Series in 1999 was widely criticized for being overly conservative, and the model is now ready for being discon tinued. Price: The car is competitively priced. The base end 4.2 litre V8 Coup is available with a price tag of 59,995.00. In the fourth quarter of 2006 Ford suffered some losses owing to ending of its employee-discount pricing incentives, rising gas prices, and rising interest rates. Now a days the pricing strategy is also influenced by the growing trend of users purchasing used SUVs. Fuel economy plays a major role in deciding the price factor and attraction for the customers. Promotion: Marketing communication in turn helps a company in building a brand, creating brand loyalties, increase in sales, cutting costs, etc. UK market is a very diverse market in general which caters to customers/ consumers from different walks of life, different cultures, ethnic groups and age groups. In today's market driven economy concept, the art of communication to existing consumers as well as prospective consumers takes a great deal out of the managerial brain storming sessions. Jaguar launched a wide ranging online and mobile campaign in September 2006 for its new XKR sports car, which was officially unveiled at The London Motor Show. Interactive marketing took the lead for the car's launch, with cinema and press advertisement backing up. There were

Performance Appraisals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Performance Appraisals - Essay Example Appraisal outcomes are used to recognize the shoddier performers who may require some form of counseling, or in extreme cases, relegation, discharge or reduction in pay. Performance appraisal engages an assessment of real against preferred performance. It also assists in assessing different factors which manipulate performance. Managers need to plan performance growth approaches in a planned way for each employee. Managers should keep the objectives of the organization in mind and plan at best possible exploitation of all accessible resources, including financial. Performance appraisal is a multistage procedure in which communication plays a significant part. (i) Essay appraisal method: The evaluator writes a short essay providing an evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses and potentials of the employee. In order to do so impartially, it is essential that the evaluator knows the employee well and should have interrelated with the employee. The time taken and contents of the essay differ between evaluators, essay ratings are complicated to evaluate. (ii) Graphic rating scale: A graphic scale evaluates a person on the eminence of his or her work (average; above average; outstanding; or unsatisfactory). Graphic scales seem basic in creation; they have a function in an extensive assortment of job responsibilities and are more reliable and reliable in comparison with essay appraisal. (iii) Field review method: To overcome the evaluator linked unfairness, essay and graphic rating techniques can be joined in an orderly evaluation procedure. In the field review method, 'an associate of the HRM staff convenes with a small group of evaluators from the supervisory units to talk about each rating, thoroughly recognizing areas of inter evaluator difference.' Field review evaluation is considered applicable and dependable, it is time consuming. (iv) Forced choice rating method: The forced-choice rating method does not engage conversation with managers unlike the field review method. This method has numerous differences; the most common is to compel the evaluator to choose the good and bad fit statement from a group of statements. These statements are subjective or attained in advance to evaluate the worker. The score or weights allocated to the individual statements are not exposed to the evaluator so that she or he cannot support any employee. In this way, the evaluator favoritism is mostly abolished and related standards of performance develop for an objective. This method is of little worth wherever performance appraisal interviews are carried out. (v) Critical incident appraisal method: In this technique, a manager explains significant confrontations, giving particulars of both constructive and unconstructive performance of the employee. These are then talked about with the employee. The conversation focuses on authentic behavior rather than on personality. This technique is well suitable for performance evaluation

Problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Problem question - Essay Example The essay starts by defining criminal law as well as explaining the factors that constitute a crime of such magnitude. The body of the essay will develop through identification of specific crimes in relation to the given scenario involving Ahmed and Blanche in a bid to establish if there is any criminal liability. According to the online HG.org worldwide directories (http://www.hg.org/crime.html), â€Å"criminal law which is often called penal law, involves prosecution by the government of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime.† On the other hand, a crime is further defined as, â€Å"any act or (commission of an act) in violation of a public law forbidding it.† Thus, criminal law forms part of public law. Every citizen of a state has certain duties towards the state and in the interest of the society as a whole, the state prescribes certain norms of conduct that bind all members of the state upon which it has a jurisdiction to punish a person who trans gresses against these (Kleyn & Viljoen 2002). Thus, the persons who commit crime can be prosecuted in a criminal court and punished if found guilty. The punishment will be determined by the level of crime against the accused once convicted of a crime. It must be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that somebody has committed a crime and some facts have been recognised as crimes for many centuries and these mainly emanated from common law and they include but are not limited to the following: murder, robbery, shoplifting, rape, assault, arson as well as bribery among others (Anderson, Dodd & Roos 2003). Where there has been a commission of crimes of such magnitude, it is the state versus the accused whereby the state will initiate the prosecution whereby punishment will be effected once a person has been convicted of a crime. 1 The aim is to prevent further occurrence of similar crimes, punish the offender, rehabilitate and reform the offender as well as to protect the interests of th e society. Criminal law is often considered as the most effective technique that can be used to combat certain wrongful acts of conduct according to the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. It is thus seen as an effective way of dealing with certain conducts which are deemed wrongful and violate the prescribed norms in society. In the given case involving Ahmed, the facts are: Ahmed, a diabetic, has left his wife, Blanche, and his son, Calum, for Diva who has given birth to his daughter, Elaine but for two years Blanche who has suffered at Ahmed’s humiliating and violent treatment. It is after Blanche sets alight the flat where Diva and Elaine are killed and Ahmed is overcome with grief, forgets to take his insulin and, before the police arrest Blanche, takes his gun and returns to the former matrimonial home. Indeed, when Blanche opens the door, Ahmed fires at her but misses and kills Calum instead. In this regard, it can be noted that specific crimes are punishable because they threaten the interests of the individuals and society as a whole. It is the duty of the state to ensure that these interests are protected. There are specifically four different groups of crime that can be identified as criminal and these include crimes against: another person, against community mores, against the interest of the state and against another person’s property. (Kleyn & Viljoen 2002). The most serious crime against another’

Artists Chosen to Depict This World in a Positive and Negative Sides Essay

Artists Chosen to Depict This World in a Positive and Negative Sides - Essay Example Art serves many purposes and for these purposes is to relate to its audience.  Ã‚   Relating to the audience can either be done either by painting the world in a positive light or otherwise by invoking the darker side of man and society.   Both methods are effective in rendering art. One of the artists that depicted in this world in a positive light is Claude Monet (1840-1926), a French impressionist painter famous for his ponds and water lilies.   He portrayed the world in a positive a light because he invokes fond memories among his audience when he paints his ponds, water lilies, garden, and beach.  Ã‚   Noticeably, Monet’s work is full of depicting waters in various form be it ponds or beaches, it invokes a positive feeling among his audience because it reminds them of outing, the family gets together, childhood and happy moments. The other approach that is opposite to Monet’s positive outlook is depicting the darker side of man and society.   This approac h is to bother and unsettle the audience by invoking negativity in the artwork.   One of the classic examples is Pablo Picasso with his distorted image of man and his surroundings.   His approach was so negative that he was first criticized for his negative approach in painting.   Finally, the audience caught up with him and understood the genius of his work that beauty can also be portrayed by evoking the negative aspect of man and society and not just by painting nice things and people which could sometimes be boring.

Strategic Reward Key Models and Practices Essay

Strategic Reward Key Models and Practices - Essay Example For example, it is possible to create a plan for performance related pay using different strategies such as the following: (1) merit-based pay plan; (2) job- or skill-based pay plan; (3) competency-based plan; and/or (3) job-evaluation-based pay (Heneman and Werner, 2005, p. 45; Baldwin, 2003, p. 45, 70). After examining the potential impact of introducing a performance related pay in a German public service, Shmidt, Trittel and Muller (2011) found out that the use of different types of performance related pay schemes can lead to different effects in terms of public sector employees’ work motivation and performance and that a highly selective performance related pay will never work in government offices. It simply means that depending on the type of performance-based appraisal used by each government office, there will always be the risk wherein the public sector employees would perceive the type of assessment and evaluation process used within the government office to be inef fective, inconsistent, and unfair to some government employees (Shmidt, Trittel and Muller, 2011; Rayson, 2013). Another possible reason behind the reluctance of the public sector employees in integrating performance related pay is the fact that most of the non-performing government employees would fear that their superiors would be closely monitoring their overall work performance. Because of the on-going tight government budget, Weiner (2013) reported that the public sector employees may no longer have the opportunity to enjoy so much of work-related flexibility options. Since there is a need for the government to cut down their unnecessary fixed operating costs, some of the underperforming public sector employees may think that they can be one of the candidates in case... It is the duty and responsibility of the public HR managers to design and implement the performance related pay effectively within the UK government offices. As a common knowledge, the public sector employees will be affected by the new pay and reward scheme. Therefore, the reservations made by the public sector employees should be considered legitimate. The use of performance related pay is a good form of pay and reward strategy particularly in terms of increasing the quality service provided by the public sector employees. For this reason, the public HR managers should exert more effort to effectively address all reservations made by the public sector employees. It is also necessary to create a S.M.A.R.T performance-based criteria that could guide the public sector employees on what they are expected to do. In the process of removing the reservations of each public sector employee, the HR professionals can easily win the support of all affected individuals.

Strategy of Sweetco Inc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Strategy of Sweetco Inc - Case Study Example Apart from this, another fact was also revealed that Sweetco received money from its holding company for its operational functions on the basis of loans. This is the reason why the CFO has asked for an extension in the credit terms to 60 days. The objective is now to analyze the financial credibility of Sweetco at present and make a future projection so that we can decide whether to maintain the business relationship or not. The best option in such a case is to ascertain credit scores of the company Sweetco Inc. Assigning credit scores means defining certain factors for making decisions and allotting weight age on each factor. For example, 30 percent weight age for the payment history of the customer, 30 percent weight age to the amount of money outstanding, 15 percent weight on the length of the credit history, 10 percent weight on the newly generated credits, and 10 percent on the different types of loans being offered to the customer, i.e. Sweetco Inc. For this purpose the marketi ng contacts would be utilized; the investigation of credit shall be done through reliable sources; the customer of Sweetco Inc. can be contacted for information on the company’s status; the documents and financial statements can be filled based on the information acquired from different sources; the credit file for Sweetco. Inc. should be prepared; and finally a wholesome financial analysis is untaken. Hardline Position: The hardline position involves an extreme decision. In this case the decision would be that the company should not continue the business with Sweetco Inc and increasing the credit terms does not comes into play in this case. If the credit scores and the financial analysis show that Sweetco Inc. neither has the ability to pay back the money nor would be able to attain sustainability without the help of its holding company or any other financial support.

Young Consumers and the Power of Persuasion Essay Example for Free

Young Consumers and the Power of Persuasion Essay As old generations have died away new generations have poked their way into the world. As man evolves with new generations so do their lifestyles. A few decades ago children would ask their parents for the necessities they need and be okay with what they had. Now it’s backwards. More and more kids are demanding to have the latest technologies and the latest gadgets rather than being comfortable with the resources and materials their parents provide. Children are taking control rather than their parents taking control. Children are becoming the parents and the parents are becoming the children. The parents are doing what their children want them to do and not how it should be done. What causes children to be obnoxious and do everything possible in order to get what they want? In the essay â€Å"Kid Kustomers†, by Eric Schlosser, found in SIGNS of LIFE in the USA, by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, the author talks about how advertisement drives these children to have â€Å"pester power†, in other words the power children possess the power to get something they want by means of begging (222). He also says that as more children are watching television they don’t realize that they are being brainwashed into believing everything they see and wanting it. He also goes on to talk about the different methods kids (as he refers to them) have to obtain what they want. Eric’s point throughout the essay is that it’s horrible to compensate for the needs kid’s have. Eric’s essay is effective because although the essay is very short, Eric does an outstanding job explaining the methods kids use to persuade parents, an excellent job giving more than one reason why kids are the markets best consumers, and informing the reader why this crisis is occurring. The author did an excellent job explaining the whole concept of how kids are using different methods to persuade parents to buy them what they want. A pleading nag is one accompanies by repetitions of words like â€Å"please† or â€Å"mom, mom, mom.† A persistent nag involves constant requests for the coveted product and may include the phrase â€Å"I’m gonna ask just one more time.† Forceful nags are extremely pushy and many include subtle threats, like â€Å"Well, then, I’ll go ask Dad.† Demonstrative nags are the most high-risk, often characterized by full-blown tantrums in public places, breath-holding, tears, a refusal to leave the store. Sugar-coated nags promise affection in return for a purchase and may rely on seemingly heartfelt declarations like â€Å"You are the best dad in the world.† Threatening nags are youthful forms of blackmail, vows of eternal hatred and of running away if something isn’t bought. Pity nags claim the child will be heartbroken, teased, or socially stunted if the parent refuses to buy a certain item. (224) The explanation the author gives really makes the reader capture the purpose for writing the essay. The good explanations that are given throughout the essay make the whole reading a lot better to understand. By adding these explanations it won’t leave the reader thinking about a main point the author stated a while back, while reading new information and going ahead in the essay. Eric also does a good job explaining other reasons why kids are being â€Å"Kustomers†. This is excellent because he is not saying that only one-reason makes the cause and effect plot to show up. The author says, â€Å"The Internet has become another powerful tool for assembling data about children†(225). The author is informing the reader that advertisements is not the only source out there brainwashing kids brain into buying the latest clothes, gadgets, and other senseless items, but also the Internet. With more reasons to show why kids are becoming the ideal customers it can give the reader some information on how this is affecting families. This essay is very informative because it gives the reader information about how the cause of kid consumption can affect their lives and families. During the course of a year, he or she watches more than thirty thousand TV  commercials. Even the nation’s youngest children are watching a great deal of television. About one-quarter of American children between the ages of two and five have a TV in their room. (226) By giving the reader information it’s engaging the reader to think about his or her own family (kids) and to also think about their family (brothers and sisters, cousins). The audience, given by the information given in the reading, is not for kids who like shopping, but for adults who are having trouble and are looking for a solution or to be informed that compensating their children is actually harming them. The essay itself is a good informative essay giving the reader an insight into a problem, if not a major problem, that is occurring in our generation. Although the essay is very short, Eric does an outstanding job explaining the methods kids use to persuade parents, an excellent job giving more than one reason why kids are the markets best consumers, and informing the reader why this crisis is occurring. The grade Eric’s essay â€Å"Kid Kustomers† is an â€Å"-A† because it could have been longer, but the author used evidence and information to back-up his statements and ideas. Eric’s use of information and the interpretation of that information into his worked really made the essay run smoothly. Works Cited Schlosser, Eric. â€Å"Kid Kustomers.† SIGNS of LIFE in the USA. Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon, eds. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 222-226. Print.

Isolation, Cloning, and Translation of Plasmid DNA

Isolation, Cloning, and Translation of Plasmid DNA Abstract: The objective of this experiment was to clone a kanamycin gene into the MCS of a pUC18 plasmid, and then to transform cells with the plasmids. Purified pUC18 and pKan plasmid samples were obtained. A 0.7 % agarose gel was prepared, and the wells loaded with the plasmid samples. Restriction endonucleases were used to cut a kanamycin resistance gene from a pKan plasmid. DNA ligases were used to ligate the kanamycin resistance gene on to the multiple cloning site of the pUC18 plasmid. Escherichia coli (strain DH5ÃŽÂ ±) were then transformed with plasmids. The presence of the kanamycin resistance gene in the pUC18 was determined using the indirect (pUC18 selection) and direct selection methods. The results from the gel image were inadequate. Zero colony counts were recorded on the kanamycin plates for the indirect selection method. Zero colony counts were recorded on the kanamycin/ carbenicillin plate for the direct selection method. In Conclusion it can be said that although the kana mycin gene should have been inserted into the pUC18 plasmid, the results from both selection methods indicate that it wasnt. Introduction: DNA cloning is a process in which a certain piece of DNA is replicated several times [1]. This process in essence involves isolating the gene or DNA fragment of interest, and transferring it to another molecular of DNA [1]. In order for the cloning process to begin, the DNA of interest has to be cut at precise locations [1]. Specific endonucleases are used for this process. After which a small molecule of DNA is chosen, that has restriction sites that are complementary to the DNA of interest and is capable of self-replication [1]. These small molecules of DNA are called cloning vectors (phages, plasmids, Yeast Artificial Chromosomes, or Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes can be used) [1]. The two pieces of DNAs (the vector and DNA of interest) can be joined together by using a DNA ligase [1]. The newly formed composite DNA molecule is called a recombinant DNA [1]. The recombinant DNA can then be introduced into a host cell by a process of transformation [1]. Once transformed multiple c opies of the host cell can be produced, and in doing so multiple copies of the DNA are also produced [1]. Bacterial DNA can carry genes for antibiotic resistance [2]. The antibiotic resistance gene can either be on the chromosomes or on other external chromosomal pieces of DNA (e.g. plasmids) [2]. The pUC18 is a cloning vector plasmid that contains an ampicillin resistance gene [2]. On the other hand the pKan plasmid contains a kanamycin resistance gene [2]. The pUC18 plasmids are extremely useful for transformation with an Escherichia coli host cell [2]. The pUC18 plasmid consist of an origin of DNA replication, pBR322 derived ampicillin resistance gene, and a lacZ gene of E.coli [2]. The lacZ gene is part of something called the lac operon [1]. The lac operon in essence consists of the lacZ, lacY, and lacA genes [1]. The combination of the three genes allows the cell to utilize lactose [1]. When sufficient quantity of lactose is available, the cell is able to utilize the lactose by producing the enzyme beta-galactosidase [2]. pUC18s lacZ gene contains a collection of different restrict ion enzyme recognitions sites [2]. This site within the lacZ gene is called a Multiple Cloning Site (MCS). The MCS of the pUC18 plasmids can be recognized by a number of different enzymes; hence cuts can be made at various different places [2]. In gene cloning experiments, X-gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl,-D-galactoside) is used to indicate the presence of the lacZ gene, and hence indicates whether or not a cell is producing the enzyme beta-galactosidase [2][3]. This indication is given by a blue coloration of the colonies growing on a medium containing X-gal [2]. Beta-galactosidase cleaves X-gal into D-galactoside and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indole [3]. The actual presence of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indole is what causes the colonies to true blue [3]. The pKan plasmid contains the kanamycin resistance gene. In this experiment the kanamycin resistance of the pKan plasmid will be cloned into the MCS of the pUC18 plasmid [2]. This new recombinant DNA will then be transformed into an E.coli strain DH5ÃŽÂ ± host cell [2]. A brief overview of the isolation, cloning and transformation processes are given above [2]. This process in the end will yield an E. coli strain that is resistance to both ampicillin and kanamycin [2]. As mentioned earlier, the multiple cloning sites (MCS) of the pUC18 plasmid is located with its lacZ gene [2]. This means that when the kanamycin resistance gene is inserted into the multiple cloning sites, the lacZ gene is disturbed [2]. This alters the production of beta-galactosidase [2]. Hence the E.coli cells are not able to utilize X-gal on a growth media, producing white colonies instead of blue [2]. The presence of white colonies can be used as an indication for insertion of the kanamycin gene in pUC18 plasm id [2]. A kanamycin/ampicillin selective media can also be used to make sure that the pUC18 plasmid has the kanamycin gene inserted into it [2]. In summary the main objectives of this experiment is to clone a kanamycin gene into the MCS of a pUC18 plasmid, and then to transforms a cell with the plasmids. The hypothesis is that a kanamycin resistance gene will be inserted onto the MCS of the pUC18 plasmid, and as a result the cells will be resistant to both antibiotics. Materials and Methods: The following materials and methods are taken from: Hausner, M., Jong, M. (2010). Experiments in Biotechnology (BLG888 ed.). Toronto: Ryerson University. Pg 7-19 Materials: Bacterial plasmids, restriction enzymes, solutions and media used: Overnight cultures of DH5ÃŽÂ ±/ pUC18 and MM294/pKan (5x10mL) were used. DNA solution kit that was used consist of solution 1 (glucose/Tris/EDTA to which lysozymes were added), solution 2 (SDS/NaOH), and solution 3 (KOAc). Enzymes RNAase (5mg/ml) and DNA ligase were used. Isopropanol and ethanol were used. TE buffer used contained 10Mm TRIS and 0.1 mM EDTA. Tris borate buffer that was used contained (TBE)(1X)10.8g Tris, 5.5g Boric acid, 10 mM EDTA, and up to 1000 ml distilled water. DNA loading dye and Ethidium bromide solution were used. The plasmids pUC18 and pKan were used. The restriction enzymes that were used were BamHI (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H.) and HinDIII (isolated from Haemophilus influenza). 5M ammonium acetate was used. Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl was used. 50mM EDTA was used. 5 x ligation and restriction buffers were used. TE buffer that was used contained 10Mm Tris, 0.1 Mm EDTA. Cell culture of E. coli strain DH5ÃŽÂ ± was used. 50 ml of LB broth and 3 sterile saline tubes. 2 LB plates, 8 LB + carbenicillin (carb), and 3 LB + carbenicillin (carb) + kanamycin (kan) plates were used. X-gal solution was used. 1 plate of LB+ kanamycin (kan). Methods: Preparation of the plasmid DNA: pUC18 and pKan plasmid were prepared over a period of three days (three weeks). Two centrifuge tubes with the culture sample were centrifuged for 10 minutes and supernatant discarded. 100Â µl of solution 1 was added followed by 10Â µl of RNase. After 20 minutes solution 2 was added. Five minutes later ice cold solution 3 was added, which was centrifuged 10 minutes later for 10 minutes. 400Â µl of the supernatant was extracted to a clean tube, to which 400Â µl of isopropanol was then added and was left for 30 minutes at -20oC. The DNA sample was then centrifuged and the pellet speed vac. The dry pellet was re-suspended in 20Â µl of TE buffer. A gel was prepared with accordance to steps in the lab manual. The DNA samples were then loaded on to the wells and the electrophoresis apparatus ran. The gel images were taken to see presence of the pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Endonuclease restriction digestion of the plasmids and ligation of the kanamycin fragment to pUC18: Two centrifuge tubes were prepared from 10Â µl of pUC18 and 10Â µl of pKan plasmids. To each tube restriction buffers, restriction enzymes and sterile water were added (refer to the lab manual for details). The prepared tubes were centrifuged and left in a water bath. 5Â µl of EDTA was added to each tube. 100Â µl of TE buffer and Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl were added. The tubes were then pulse centrifuged and top layer remove and transferred to new tubes (A1 and B1). 100Â µl of Phenol:chloroform:isoamyl was added, top layer removed and transferred to new tubes again (A2 and B2). Ammonium acetate and ethanol were added to tubes A2 and B2. The tubes were centrifuged, supernatant discarded, pellet speed vacuumed, and finally re-suspended in TE buffer. Tube C and D were prepared with accordance to the lab manual. The new tubes were then centrifuged and incubated. Transformation of an ampicillin sensitive E.coli Strain: The first five steps to prepare the cell culture of DH5ÃŽÂ ± for transformation were done by the lab staff. Details on the steps can be found in the lab manual. Four centrifuge tubes were prepared. Tube 1 contained uncut DNA plasmids, tube 2 contained DNA sample from tube C, tube 3 contained DNA sample from tube D, and tube 4 contained sterile water. The pre-prepared cells were then added to the tubes and heat shocked. LB broth was added to each tube and incubated for 20 minutes. X gal was spread evenly on the 8 LB+ carb plates. 100Â µl from tubes 1, 2, and 4 were spread on 3 of the LB+carb+X-gal plates. 100Â µl from tube three was then plated on the remaining five LB+carb+X-gal plates. Tube 3 was also plated on to 3 LB+carb+kan plate. A dilution series (using 0.1Â µl from the previous) was prepared from tube 3 using 3 sterile saline tubes. 10 Â µl from dilution 2 and 100 Â µl from dilution 3 were spread plated onto 2 LB plates. Colonies from each plate were counted. Blue and white colonies from tube 3 plates were then streaked on to a LB+Kan plate. Results from the LB+Kan plates were then recorded. Additional details can be found in the lab manual: Hausner, M., Jong, M. (2010). Experiments in Biotechnology (BLG888 ed.). Toronto: Ryerson University Results: Figure 1: 0.7 % agarose gel digest showing the presence of the pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Lane 3 and 2 were used by Abbas and Jamie. The figure above shows the 0.7% agarose gel image showing the presence of pUC18 and pKan plasmids. If banes appeared in the respective lanes, the plasmid samples would be used in the next part of the experiment. The image above shows bands appearing for lane 3 (pKan), but none for lane 2 (pUC18). This indicates the presence of the pKan plasmid but absences of the pUC18 plasmid. Hence due to inadequate results, additional plasmid sample were prepared by the lab staff. In total results from all 14 plates were recorded. Indirect Method: Table 1: Results for colony counts for the indirect (pUC18) selection method on LB+ carb+ X-gal plates Plate 1 Plate 2 Plate 3 Plate 4 Plate 5 Tube 1 TMTC-Blue N/A Tube 2 5-Blue Tube 4 0 Tube 3 40 Blue/ 5 White 55 Blue/ 15 White 79 Blue/ 22 White 65 Blue/ 3 White 54 Blue/ 12 White The results for tube 1, 2, 3, and 4 plated on the 8 LB+ carb+ X-gal plates are shown above. Tube 1 contained an uncut plasmid which explained the high number of colonies for plate 1. Tube 2 contained a cut pUC18 plasmid, which can be explained by only 5 colonies. Tube 4 contained only sterile water; hence zero colonies appeared on the plates. Tube 3 was plated on 5 plates, showing an average of 59 blue colonies and 11 white colonies. Direct Method: No colonies were obtained from the three plates of LB + carb + kan plates. Competent Cell and Percentage Transformation Calculation: The dilution series was prepared from tube 3, as indicated in the materials and methods section. Dilution 2 had a 100 colonies and dilution 3 had 30 colonies. The CFU (colony forming unit) calculations and values are shown below. CFU = (# of colonies) x (dilution factor) / (volume plated) CFU for dilution 2 = 100 x 104/ 0.1 = 10000000 cells/ml CFU for dilution 3 cant be calculated because it doesnt fall between the 30-300 colony limit. Table 2: Percentage transformation of colonies using competent cells (CFU) Plate 1 Plate 2 Plate 3 Plate 4 Plate 5 Average Percentage Transformation For total colonies (%) (45) 0.0045 (70) 0.007 (101) 0.0101 (68) 0.0068 (66) 0.0066 (70) 0.0070 In order to calculate percentage transformation, calculations from CFU are need. Percentage transformation can be calculated using the total colonies (i.e.. plate 1: 40 blue+5 white =45 total). Percentage Transformation = (Transformed cells per ml /competent cells (CFU) )x 100% So for example for the average of 70 total colonies; =0.007% Discussion: As mentioned in the result section the agarose gel image was inadequate. Lane 2 and 3 in figure 1 represent the pUC18 and pKan plasmids respectively. Clear bands were seen for the pKan plasmid however this is not the case for the pUC18 plasmid. In order for the plasmids to show up, they had to be extracted from their respective E. coli strains(pUC18 (DH5ÃŽÂ ±) and pKan (MM294). The presence of bands on the pKan lane proves that there is actual extraction from the cells. The presence of multiple bands could indicate the presence of multiple size plasmids of pKan. The fact that no bands were seen for pUC18 could be as a consequence of inadequate extraction from the E. coli cells (DH5ÃŽÂ ±). Experimental procedural error could have resulted in this. Both strains of microbes would have been genetically engineered to only contain the plasmid of interest; hence the risk of contamination is reduced. The selection methods for the experiments were divided into indirect (pUC18 selection) and direct selection methods. As mentioned in the materials and method section, cells from tube 1 were streaked on to a plate. The cells were transformed with undigested pUC18 plasmids. The colonies were too many to count and were all blue. The high number of colonies could simply occur because of the stable natural of the undigested pUC18 plasmid. The undigested pUC18 plasmids contain an uninterrupted lacZ gene, capable of producing beta-galactosidase. Beta-galactosidase is hence able to utilize X-gal on the plates and produce the large number of blue colonies. Since the cells were carbenicillin resistance (due to the pUC18 plasmids), they were able to grow on the plates. Cells were transformed with digested pUC18 plasmids from tube 2. Cells from tube 2 formed too few colonies (only 5) when compared to tube 1 (TMTC). This is due to the unstable nature of the digested pUC18 plasmids. These plasmids were digested with HinDIII and BamHI, and it possible that not all of them had an opportunity to re-ligate properly. The restriction enzymes could have cut up the lacZ gene or the carbenicillin (ampicillin) gene making it difficult for the plasmid to come back to its original conformation and survive on the X-gal+carb plate. A large majority of the pUC18 could have been cut in to smaller fragments rendering then inactive. Tube 3 initially contained the digested pUC18 and pKan plasmids. Cells were then transformed with the content of this tube. Since the transformation process is not perfect, there is no way to know what plasmid the cell took up. Hence it can be assumed that cells were transformed with either only the pUC18 plasmids, the pUC18 plasmids with the kanamycin gene, pKan and Puc18 or in some case only the pKan plasmid. Five plates were spread plated with these cells and presence of blue and white colonies were noted. As the results indicate a mixture of both blue and white colonies were obtained with an average of about 59 blue colonies and 11 white colonies. Blue colonies would hypothe tically contain cells (plasmids) with an intact lacZ (producing beta-galactosidase) gene justifying the blue color. The white colonies would have there lacZ gene disturbed (not producing beta-galactosidase), because another piece of DNA would have been inserted into the MCS. However the production of white colonies doesnt dictate the insertion of the kanamycin gene into the pUC18 plasmids. It is highly possible that another gene or DNA fragments from the pKan plasmid got inserted in the pUC18 plasmids. Confirmation of this was performed by streaking white colonies onto a kanamycin plate. The fact that no colonies grew, indicated that the kanamycin gene was in fact not inserted. This proves that the results are false positive because white colonies appeared on the X gal plates, but didnt on the kanamycin plates. This means that the white colonies werent transformed with what we wanted. Finally it is noted that when tube 4 was streaked on to a plate, no growth occurred. This seems log ical as the cells in this tube were only transformed with sterile water, which means no plasmids were present. The cells would not have contained plasmids with the carbenicillin resistance gene, and hence did not survive on the carbenicillin plates. The direct method results were recorded from the LB + carb + kan plates. No growth was observed in any of the plate, which proved to be highly contradictory to our hypothesis. Presence of white colonies on the indirect method plates but none on the direct method plates was suprising. White colonies were assumed to have pUC18 plasmids with both kanamycin and carbenicillin resistance genes. Hence its inability to grow on the carb + kan plates was surprising because white colonies grew on the X-gal plates. However as mentioned earlier it could be possible that another fragment of DNA was inserted into MCS besides the kanamycin gene. The fact that white colonies also didnt appear when they were streaked on to a kanamycin plate, ties in with these results. Both direct and indirect methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Indirect method involves multiple steps and hence in many cases can be time consuming. More plates are involved in the indirect methods, making it difficult to keep track sometimes, also adding to cost. However the indirect method helps to indentify the false positive/false negative results. The indirect selection method helps to make a comparison between the cut and uncut pUC18 plasmids. Comparison of the colonies shows the effect of restriction enzymes of the activity of the pUC18 plasmids. Moreover the indirect method is much more selective. This is because it first shows which colonies have an insertion in the multiple cloning site through the blue/white screening method. Then the plating of these white colonies on to a kanamycin plate helps to confirm that it was a kanamycin resistance gene that was actually inserted (on the MCS). The direct method is very concise involving only one plate, which save b oth time and money. This selection method has no chance of giving false negative/false positive results. The direct selection method selects for cells that have been transformed with pUC18 plasmids, and have a kanamycin resistance gene in their MCS. Since the pUC18 plasmid already has an ampicillin resistance gene (carbenicillin in this case), the insertion of kanamycin resistance gene allows it to survive on a LB+carb+kan plate. A problem comes when the plasmids dont have the necessary gene inserted in their MCS. So in this case for example it could be possible that the plasmid doesnt contain the kanamycin gene so the kanamycin antibody kills it, even though the carbenicillin resistance gene is there. Another technicality comes when a cell transformed contains both pUC18 and pKan at the same time. Because this selection method only selects for cells that have both carbenicillin and kanamycin resistance, it is difficult to tell whether the cell selected has both plasmids (pUC18 and pKan) or only a pUC18 (with the kanamycin gene). Therefore although more time consuming the indirect method is more useful. Some of the experimental errors that occurred could have been due to improper spreading techniques. The process of cell transformation that was used was through heat shock. It could be possible to use other cell transformation technique such as electroporation. In Conclusion it can be said that although the kanamycin gene should have been inserted into the pUC18 plasmid, the results indicate that it wasnt.

What Factors Influence Internet Use Among Teens English Language Essay

What Factors Influence Internet Use Among Teens English Language Essay The Internet has become part of todays teens culture and they are very familiar on how to use and navigate in it. This paper reflects on the factors that influence internet usage among teens based on a survey compiled by Pew Internet American Life Project on a sample of over 1,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 who were interviewed randomly by phone. It indicates that 9 out of 10 access the internet regularly which is an increase of 75% in comparison to the year 2000. This high number is in contrast to the findings that only 66% of American adults use the internet. The study further showed that most teenagers first accessed the internet between the age of 10 and 12. 87% admitted using the internet regularly, with 52% of them accessing the internet daily, an increase from 42% in 2000. About 50% of these teenagers, their families used a speedier broadband connection with the rest using other means such as dial-up connections. Teens were found to use the internet for instant messaging, online blogs, initiating online chats and sending e-mails. In the survey, 75% use instant messaging compared to 42% of adults as a means of communication with their fellow age mates. The survey also indicates that 75% of todays teens use the internet to read news which is a sharp increase from 38% in the year 2000. University of Diegos technology trackers such as Susannah Stern expect instant messaging to keep growing exponentially due to peer influence. Though Teens interviewed felt that internet use was a source of indispensable fun and a means of communication and research. Amanda Lenhart, a Pew researcher who participated in conducting the study, found that Teens are very selective-theyre smart about their technology use. They use it for the kinds of things they need to do. The older teenage girls between ages 15 to 17 contrasted the myth of the tech-savvy boys since they were found to use the internet more than their male counterparts. Literature review To determine factors influencing Internet usage among the youths such as demographics and socio-economic and peer influence, a literature review of the available Pew research has been conducted, focusing on factors influencing teenagers access to the Internet or World Wide Web except for e-mailing purposes. According to the literature, students are the main users of the Internet. Jones and Madden (2002) conducted a study on high school and junior college students Internet usage. Browsing the Internet was a daily activity; 73% of these students used the Internet more than the library for research. Seventy-nine percent of the students agreed that Internet use has had a positive impact on their academic experience (Jones and Madden, 2002). Princeton Research Associates on behalf of Pew Internet American Life Project conducted nationwide phone interviews, and did an analysis on how respondents penetrated the Internet. The data results show that all 59% of the general population penetrated the Internet less than 86% of students (Jones and Madden, 2002). Study Framework and Hypothesis Development There are various factors influencing internet use among teens. This review provides a basis for this study based on the Pew Internet American Life Project survey and shall primarily test on the influencing factors such as demographic and social-economic factors. Testable hypothesis shall then be proposed. Demographic factors The particular factors of gender, race/ethnicity, location of residence and age were very crucial in determining internet usage among the teenagers in relation to their education status. There was a general increase for both students and non-students access to the internet. There was also an increase in the proportion of teenagers who accessed the internet across common races in the United States such as Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. However, these increases have not been uniform across these groups. Most high school drop-outs were observed not to have been on the internet for the past one year with only less than 33% answering to having accessed it. This was in sharp contrast to the over 90% of junior college students who have had regular access to the internet in the age bracket of 18 to 19. Internet access tended to increase with increasing levels of education and was highly used by junior college students and post-secondary students. The widening gap between those in school and the drop-outs access to the internet is projected to rise due to increasing encouragement and facilitation of internet access points in schools. If older students already in college are exposed and encouraged more than younger students in high school, as is normally the case, age will become an important demographic factor since internet usage prevalence will be higher in older students. Internet usage was clearly greater among whites than any other race especially among males. 71.8% of white males accessed the in comparison to 50.5% of Hispanic males and 40.7% of black males. The open-ended question on where a particular teen accessed the internet was phrased and the answers tabulated using the categories of home, school, library, friends/neighbors, and other. Most teens were found to be more comfortable accessing the internet at a friends home whereby over 34.7% of males and 29.3% of the teens responded to this. Although access points such as the library were chosen by only one in eight, this was an improvement from 4.7% in 2000 to a current12.5%. Economic factors Teenagers from low income and high poverty areas have been most disadvantaged in accessing the internet. A survey carried on teen Internet usage reveals social and economic disparities (Taylor et al., 2003). A relationship between incomes, race and education was also observed. Levels of education were higher in Whites than any other minorities whereby the proportion of whites who completed high school was more. This had a direct impact on the number of internet users. Teenagers from low-income households estimated at three million, most of them black, have no access to the internet. Therefore, these kids may not find adults who would otherwise teach them on how to responsibly use the internet. Daniel Bassil, president of Cabrini Connections, notes that, Even the kids that have access dont necessarily have people mentoring them to use the information to their greatest advantage. Teens from low-income backgrounds are less likely to access the internet for services such as instant messa ging and emailing as a way of communication since most of their friends are not online more frequently. This finding may indicate a difference in choice of content creation versus content consumption in different socio economic groups (Bosah, 1998). c)Social factors Free and unlimited Internet access When freshmen register today, they get a student ID card, a meal card, and most, important, a free personal e-mail account. Theyve got no online service fees to pay, no limits to their time logged on, and computer labs open for their convenience round-the-clock. Its an Internet users dream. 2. Huge blocks of unstructured time Most college students attend classes for twelve to sixteen hours per week. The rest of the time is their own to read, study, go to movies or parties, join clubs, or explore the new environment outside their campus walls. Many forget all those other activities and concentrate on one thing: the Internet. 3. Newly-experienced freedom from parental control Away from home and their parents watchful eyes, college students long have exercised their new freedom by engaging in pranks, talking to friends to all hours of the night, sleeping with their boyfriends and girlfriends, and eating and drinking things Mom and Dad would not approve of. Today, they utilize that freedom by hanging out in the MUDs and chat rooms of cyberspace, and no parent can complain about online service fees or their refusal to eat dinner with the family or help out with chores. 4. No monitoring or censoring of what they say or do online When they move on to the job world, college students may find suspicious bosses peeking over their shoulder or even monitoring their online time and usage. Even e-mail to co-workers could be intercepted by the wrong party. In college, no ones watching. Computer lab monitors tend to be student volunteers whose only responsibility is to assist anyone who needs help understanding how to use the Internet not tell them what they can or cannot do on it. 5. Full encouragement from faculty and administrators Students understand that their schools administration and faculty want them to make full use of the Internets vast resources. Abstaining from all Net use is seldom an option in some large classes, professors place required course materials solely on the Net and engage in their only oneon- one contact with students through e-mail! Administrators, of course, want to see their major investments in computers and Internet access justified. 6. Adolescent training in similar activities By the time most kids get to college, they will have spent years staring at video game terminals, closing off the world around them with walkmans, and engaging in that rapid-fire clicking of the TV remote. Even if they didnt get introduced to the Internet in high school, those other activities have made students well-suited to slide into aimless Web surfing, skill-testing MUDs, and rat-a-tattat chat room dialogue. 7. The desire to escape college stressors Students feel the pressures of making top grades, fulfilling parental expectations, and, upon graduation, facing fierce competition for good jobs. The Internet, ideally, would help make it easier for them to do their necessary course work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Instead, they turn to their Net friends to hide from their difficult feelings of fear, anxiety, and depression. 8. Social intimidation and alienation With as many as 30,000 students on some campuses, students easily can get lost in the crowd. When they try to reach out, they often run into even tighter clicks than the in-crowds of high school. Maybe they dont dress right or look right. But when they join the faceless community of the Internet, they find that with little effort they can become popular with new friends throughout the U.S. and in England, Australia, Germany, France, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, and China. Why bother trying to socialize on campus? 9. A higher legal drinking age With the drinking age at twenty-one in most states, undergraduate students cant openly drink alcohol and socialize in bars. So the Internet becomes their substitute drug of choice: no ID required and no closing hour!

Good Intentions Ruined by Boring Topics :: Personal Narrative Writing

Good Intentions Ruined by Boring Topics â€Å"I cannot believe that I got stuck with Rene Descartes for my Senior Project!† I said to Megan as we walked through the hallway to our ninth period class. Megan and I had been friends ever since the second grade, and often vented to each other when we were upset. â€Å"Oh trust me, I feel really sorry for you,† she replied with a sympathetic grin. She however, had one of the best topics, Elvis. That couldn’t possibly be very difficult. I must admit, I was beginning to feel a little jealous. A few weeks before our topics were assigned; we were instructed that our Senior Projects would be a lengthy research paper dealing with one of the top one hundred people of the twentieth century. I sat daydreaming of the people I believed would probably be on the list, beautiful movie stars and rock stars. My ideas of the one hundred most influential people of the century and The History Channel’s list of the most influential people defiantly shared different opinions. I am sure that the other students in the classroom at that time shared the same ideas that I had. This would be our very last high school project, the very project that we’ve anticipated all year long. For this last assignment, I wanted to write to impress. I wanted to show not only my classmates, but also my corky English teacher just what I was made of. I wanted to write a paper so great, that for years to come, people could examine my writing as a â€Å"perfect example†. Those aspirations were completely lost when we were finally assigned our topics. I remember the day well. It was a bright sunny day in late April. It was getting to the time of year when seniors began having meetings every week to discuss the upcoming class trip to New York City, class advisors were running through the blue-gray hallways to measure all of the upcoming graduates for their gowns, and the attitudes of all the students and even teachers were upbeat. The seniors especially were excited for the end of the school year. The bell to eighth period rang. We all scurried out of the lunch room like a herd of cattle.

Borderline Personality Disorder Essays -- Psychology Psychological Hea

Borderline personality disorder "is defined in the DSM IV, a manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose all mental disorders, as an AXIS II disorder which has symptoms of impulsively and emotional dysregulation" (Livesley 146). A person with BPD has feelings of abandonment and emptiness, and has "frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, going to extremes to keep someone from leaving" (Burger 300). He or she is emotionally unstable and forms intense but unstable interpersonal relationships. They show impulsive behavior, such as spending money, sex, eating and substance abuse. Borderlines engage in self-manipulating behaviors and recurrent suicide attempts and thoughts. "Their behavior can be seen as maladaptive methods of coping with constant emotional pain" (Livesley 144). "Personality includes those aspects of a person's thinking, moods and behavior which affect his or her relationship with others" (Livesley 98). Differences in personality style (traits) add color and variety to relationships but may become too extreme, inflexible or maladaptive, significantly impairing a person's ability to function. When a person is not able to deal with people or problems of the environment, he or she is said to have a Personality Disorder (Livesley 99). "Originally the term borderline was used to refer to individuals whose adjustment was on the borderline between normal and psychotic" (Holmes 393). Today borderline personality disorder is primarily marked by instability, showing different symptoms at different times. Most of the symptoms revolve around problems of mood, mild disturbance in thought processes, and impulsive self-injurious behavior (Holmes 393). All of this prevents the borderline to have interpersonal relationships. Individuals with the borderline personality disorder tend to have intense relationships that are very unstable. "Frequent interpersonal conflict, unstable, stormy relationships are characteristics of a borderline; Relationships usually have "love and hate characteristics" (Durand 334). Individuals with this disorder do not simply drift in and out of friendships, but instead show abrupt, frequent and dramatic changes between "intense love and equally intense hate" (Durand 334) in any one relationship. The fluctuations in their mood, involved with their anger; involved with their thought disturbances, and mixed with their paranoid thoughts ab... ...ometimes symptoms can go unnoticed or are misunderstood. "Persons with BPD may often be thought of as manipulative or as attention-seeking (Burger 134). They can sometimes "act as if" they are okay. "People with BPD need validation and acknowledgment of the pain they struggle to live with as well as compassion without blame or judgments (Durand 99). Family members should always take suicidal statements and threats seriously and alert a mental health professional as soon as possible. "Education for family members cannot be stressed enough (Durand 99). Families need to learn all they can about BPD so that they can advocate for appropriate treatment for their loved ones. Informed families are then better able to deal with the stigma often encountered from mental health professionals. Instability might not even do borderlines justice, (Burger 199) chaotic is the best word to describe the life of a borderline. Their lives are intense their friendships abrupt. BPD is extremely painful to the patients, their families and to society. People with BPD experience intense emotions and are very vulnerable. They are among the most intensive and extensive utilizes of mental health services.

Helping Children with Incarcerated Parents Essay -- big brother big si

A serious issue facing this country today is the 2.7 million children currently being left behind with incredible pain while their parents are being placed behind bars (Maier 91). They are left behind with not only pain, but the struggles of living day to day life without the guidance of their parents, as well as having to find a new home. According to child development specialist and the founding director of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, Denise Johnston, â€Å"there are over 10 million minor children in the United States who have dealt with parental incarceration over the course of time† (91). The Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) program needs to take the initiative in the process of reunification between parents who have been incarcerated, and the children which whom they leave behind. The Big Brother Big Sister program is designed to nurture children that have not had that sense of connection before, also helping them to recognize their potential, as well as helping them to build a bright future. The BBBS program serves many children in the world that deal with various challenges in life, but one program in relation is the Amachi program. â€Å"The Amachi program specifically helps children with an incarcerated parent to broaden their perspectives on what they can achieve in life and help them to overcome† (Big Brother Big Sister). Along with the responsibilities they possess, the Amachi/BBBS program should also help to reunify these children back with their parents once they are released from incarceration. Ultimately, having these BBBS mentors there to encourage these children to visit their parents is creating an easier path to complete reunification. According to R. Anna Hayward and Diane DePanfilis of the Univers... ..." Social Work in Public Health. 27.1-2 (2012): 12-28. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Maier, Katrin. â€Å"Children of Incarcerated Parents.† Taylor & Francis Online. 12.1 (2006): 91-105. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Merenstein, Beth, Ben Tyson, Brad Tilles, Aileen Keays, and Lyndsay Ruffiolo. "Issues Affecting the Efficacy of Programs for Children with Incarcerated Parents." Journal of Correctional Education. 62.3 (2011): 166-174. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. Osofsky, Joy D. Young Childrn and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment. New York: Guilford Press, 2004. eBook. Reed, Diane F., and Edward L. Reed. "Children of Incarcerated Parents." Social Justice. 24.3 (1997): 152-169. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. United States. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Child Welfare: More Information and Collaboration Could Promote Ties Between Foster Care Children and Their Incarcerated Paents. Washington: , 2013. Web.

Henry David Thoreau Essay

â€Å"Simplify! was Thoreau’s motto† in his life (Stanley 20). He showed people how to live simple life by living a simple life in Walden. Due to Thoreau’s efforts and works on nature people considers a nature an important part in their lives, as a result nature became one of the top topics in 21st century. Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts (Meltzer 11). His parents were John Thoreau and Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau (12). Henry had three siblings named Helen, John Jr. and Sophia (12). The Thoreau family continuously moved to different places in search for better living conditions (11). Henry’s father John had difficulties finding a job (13). He eventually started a very famous pencil making business (13). Henry’s parents named him David Henry Thoreau, â€Å"after his uncle David Thoreau† (Stanley 16). Thoreau changed his name to Henry David Thoreau (Olson 14). He changed his name because â€Å"people called him Henry† (Stanley 16). Henry and his siblings went to same school (Stanley 16). First, they went to school called â€Å"Concord’s Public Grammar School† (16). At his school all students for all grades, â€Å"sat together on hard benches† (16). Although Henry’s family could not really afford a private school, Henry still went to private school named â€Å"Concord academy† (16). He went to Concord academy from age eleven until sixteen (16). He was very quite child at school, as he often did not play games with children (Olson 30). Henry had many nicknames like â€Å"Judge† and â€Å"the fine scholar with big nose† (30-32). These nicknames came from children at his school because he did not join in their play (30-32). Since he was born, he was very interested in nature and natural phenomena (Olson 33). At age eleven, he wrote famous piece of writing about seasons (Meltzer 15). The writing about the seasons stated like this: The Seasons Why do the seasons change? And Why Does Winter’s stormy brow appear? Is it the word of him on high? Who rules the changing varied year? (15) Henry went to Harvard University for college education (Olson 34). He was not interested in going to college as he barely passes his entrance exams for Harvard; he thought he might work as a carpenter (34). In college, his interest in writing and poetry grew especially with poems of English poets such John Milton, William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer (35). In Harvard university, William Ellery Channing became Henry’s one of the best friend (35). Later Henry realized that William Ellery Channing was the one who helped him towards his writing (35). In college, Henry started to read many books from college library (Stanley 17). On August 30, 1837, Henry graduated from Harvard University (Olson 37). After graduating from Harvard University Henry did not knew what to do for living (Stanley 18). He was usually was call upon to do land surveying but he thought it was not a great profession although he had a skill to do land surveying (17). Ralph Waldo Emerson was Henry’s great friend and mentor as Henry got many ideas from Emerson towards his writing (Olson 9). Emerson also allowed Henry to live in his house until Henry has some job to do (Stanley 18). While living with Emerson, Henry was introduced to,† Concord’s elite circle of writers and philosophers† (18). While living with Emerson, Henry thought, he needed to do something in order for living so he did, â€Å"odd jobs like gardening and fence mending† (8). Emerson held informal meeting at his house in which the group of writers and philosophers were welcomed to attend (Olson 27). Henry was also present during these meetings (27). Transcendentalists were the people who used to attend these meeting (Stanley 18). They talked about topics such as political, cultural and regional etc (Olson 27). These Transcendentalists were concerned about, â€Å"society’s materialism† (Stanley 18). â€Å"They believed each person is born with an inner voice, or conscience, and those who live simple lives, close to nature, can hear the inner voice more clearly† (18). These Transcendentalists people keep their journals with them for writing their ideas and works (19). The Transcendentalists influenced Henry so much that he came up with this famous quote, â€Å"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears however measured or far away† (19). After college, Thoreau gave many lectures in Concord Lyceum (Stanley 87). On April 11, 1838, Thoreau made his first lecture in Concord Lyceum (Olson 43). His topic of first lecture was â€Å"Society† (43). On 1838, Lyceum elected Henry as secretary and curator but due to various reasons, he only held these positions until December 1840 (43). Thoreau wrote and read many lectures about Nature while working in Concord Lyceum (Stanley 8). Thoreau disliked slavery as in Concord Lyceum he lectured against it in his lecture, â€Å"Slavery in Massachusetts† (Woodlief). Thoreau also supported John Brown efforts in ending slavery as he told in front of Concord Lyceum in his lecture, â€Å"A Plea for Captain John Brown† (Woodlief). Henry David Thoreau gave nineteen lectures in Concord Lyceum (Stanley 87-88). Henry was not paid anything for lecturing in Concord Lyceum (88). When Emerson said town and people of Concord Lyceum about fees people started giving fees (88). Due to Emerson help, fifty dollars was paid to Thoreau because of his lectures that he spoke (88). Thoreau’s fees in Concord Lyceum were always low (88). Thoreau did not care about fees in Concord Lyceum, as he only wanted to help people and show them right path (88). In 1847, Thoreau worked as land surveyor (Meltzer 86). Thoreau was appointed surveyor-in-chief by Concord (86). As a surveyor-in-chief, Thoreau has to do many jobs such as, â€Å"to lay out roads, walk the bounds with town officials, and supply the technical documents for lawsuits involving his craft† (86). Thoreau left his land surveying paper after his death. (86). His land paper were so complete that it included every farm in town (87). Most of Thoreau’s surveys were made between 1849 and 1861 (87). According to Meltzer the survey made between 1849 and 1861 were about two hundred. These surveys are still found in Concord Free Public Library (87). Thoreau was able to make more than one hundred and fifty land surveys (87). Most of the Thoreau’s surveys were made in Concord but some were in different cities (87). Even modern land surveyors who use modern technologies and tools appreciate Thoreau’s work (87). They said his work as a land surveyor was phenomenal (87). Modern surveyors made surveys of Walden Pond could not disproves, â€Å"Thoreau conclusion† about Walden Pond, â€Å"made only from a string and a stone† (87). Thoreau as a talent land surveyor he made the map of Walden (Olson 80). Thoreau was very conservative when it came to land and because of him, government made the, â€Å"National Park Service (NPS) in 1916† (81). The National Park Service was more than fifty million acres (81). It, â€Å"became important part of America’s conservative effort† (81). The National Park Service â€Å"preserves natural resources and save the nation’s forest for future generations† (81). After studying in college, Henry David Thoreau tried to teach schools in Concord (Stanley 18). After two weeks of teaching schools, Henry David Thoreau was fired because, â€Å"he was expected to flog children if they were bad† (18). So as a teacher Henry David Thoreau was not successful†(18).   After college, Thoreau also worked in his father’s pencil making business (Woodlief). Although Thoreau worked in his father’s pencil, making business he really did not wanted to join him in his pencil making business due to various reasons (Stanley 18). In 1838 Henry’s brother John and he himself, â€Å"took over Concord Academy† (18). In Concord academy they started to teach students as they,† introduced many new ideas in education† (18). In Concord academy, â€Å"John and Henry took students for weekly nature walks to observe animals and plants so that they would learn through discoveries and firsthand experience† (18). Henry and his brother were very profitable in running Concord Academy (18). The academy closed in 1840 due to John’s sickness (18). The Concord Academy was very successful when John and Henry ran it (18). In 1843, when Henry David Thoreau was twenty-six years old, â€Å"he believed he was ready to make literature his profession† (Meltzer 53). Henry’s first writing work came in the periodical named Dial published by Hedge Club (Olson 48). In his first work, he wrote a poem named â€Å"Sympathy† (48). The poem was about Thoreau’s friend Edmund Sewall, â€Å"a young friend whose free and pure spirit Thoreau admired† (48). Margaret Fuller was the first editor of Dial (48). She remained editor of Dial from 1840 to 1842 (50). Tension between Thoreau and the editor Margaret Fuller began as later Margaret Fuller rejected many essays and articles written by Thoreau (48). Margaret Fuller also rejected Thoreau’s essay, which was about, â€Å"four-day walk Thoreau took with Fuller brother, Richard† (48). Thoreau was rumored to like Margaret Fuller and wanted to marry her (48-50). In 1842, Emerson became editor of Dial as a result Thoreau’s essay was more published in Dial (50). Henry David Thoreau wrote an essay on nature in an edition of Dial called â€Å"Natural History of Massachusetts† (50). In 1844, Thoreau wrote his last essay in the edition of Dial (97). In 1839, Henry and his brother went for a trip together (Olson 53). Their trip was to sail from Concord River to Merrimack River (53). For going on this trip, they needed transportation system, so they made a boat called Musketaquid (53). Musketaquid is a Native American name for Concord River (53). The boat they made was fifteen ft in length and three feet in width. This trip provides material was Thoreau’s book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (53). On the trip Henry went with his journal to write down ideas and notes about the trip (Stanley 15). Henry David Thoreau published his notes for the book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers ten years after the trip (16). During the trip, the friendship between Henry and John grew, as they became more and more close (Olson 55). For the past few years, Henry and John used to hate each other, as they wanted to marry same woman named Ellen Sewall (55). Although Henry wanted to marry Ellen Sewall, he never got married to anyone (6). In 1849 Henry’s, book A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers was published. The book was not that popular when it was published as only two hundred twenty copies of that book was sold when it was published but in the modern times the book got more and more popular (53). Shortly after the trip, Henry’s brother John died on January 11, 1842, from lockjaw, which was caused by cut while John was shaving (Woodlief). After John’s death Henry was, â€Å"freed to become what he really wanted to be: a writer who embraced the transcendentalist notion of the self-reliant man† (Olson 57). On July 4, 1845, when Thoreau was 27 years old he started living near Walden Pond (Stanley 20). The Walden Pond became the sight of his famous book Walden or Life in the Woods (Olson 58). Henry David Thoreau admired Walden Pond and it beauty when he was very young (Burleigh 6). Thoreau book Walden or Life in the Woods was based on the beauty of nature as many of Thoreau’s work came from nature (6). Near Walden Pond, â€Å"he often walk and sees the animals, river and trees, all beauties of nature and writes it’s down in his journal† (6). Walden or Life in the Woods was a book that described lifestyle of Henry after returning from Concord to Walden Pond and how he spent his life near Walden Pond (Olson 60). Near Walden Pond Thoreau built up his own cabin (Woodlief). Thoreau’s cabin was built on the land owned by Emerson (Woodlief). While living in Walden Thoreau did extensive amount of reading and writing (Woodlief). While living in Walden Thoreau looked up the nature very closely (Woodlief). While living in Walden Thoreau just saw the nature all day long (Burleigh 10). While living near Walden Thoreau, â€Å"wanted to get so close to nature that he became one with it† (10). Henry went to Walden because he wanted to prove himself (14). â€Å"He wanted to show that someone could live very, very simply† (14). Thoreau went to Walden, as he wanted to enjoy his life (16). Thoreau didn’t like any luxuries in his life, as he wanted to be as simple as he could (16). At Walden, he lived very simple life as he with only forty-seven dollars he provided himself with food, clothing and shelter (Olson 60). In Walden, Thoreau made a desk for himself in which he wrote Walden or Life in the Woods and his famous essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience† (Meltzer 85). Thoreau got his intelligence from, â€Å"natural world and the experiences of his life† (13). Walden or Life in the Woods was the last book that he published and it was the last book published before his death (61). Walden or Life in the Woods was not that popular on its publication and did not make a lot of money but it was one of the famous works of American literature (12). After returning from Walden Thoreau had very tough time in Concord (Olson 65). Henry David Thoreau got imprisonment for not paying his poll tax for last several years (66). He refused to pay his poll taxes because he was against Mexican War as he thought it was another way to extend slavery in U.S (Meltzer 77).Sam Staples was the constable who arrested Thoreau (66). Sam offered to give money for Thoreau but he rejected (Olson 66). Thoreau got so angry that he asked Staples to quit from his job as a constable (66). Thoreau was surprised to find out the conditions of jail in which he was (68). He said, â€Å"it was the neatest apartment in town† (68). While Thoreau was in the jail, that night a woman came and paid poll taxes for Thoreau (Meltzer 76). The woman who came neither told who she was nor shared her identity (76). Some people thought that woman who came was the Thoreau’s aunt Marla (76). When Thoreau was free to go, he refused it and was â€Å"mad as the devil!† (77). In the jail, Thoreau started to write his essay called â€Å"Resistance to Government† later called â€Å"Civil Disobedience† (77). Many of Thoreau ideas in his essay were shares by many abolitionists (Olson 71). As always Thoreau essay got little popularity in the beginning (Meltzer 79). In 1866, four years after Thoreau’s death his essay was renamed as â€Å"Civil Disobedience (79). In his essay he said, â€Å"that a law should be respected not because it is a law, but only if it is just and right. If unjust laws exist, civil disobedience, such as refusing to pay taxes, is an effective way to oppose and change them† (80). Thoreau thought there were two types of laws, conscience laws and government laws and â€Å"when these two laws conflict, it’s citizen duty to obey the voice of conscience rather than that of government† (81). Many people were influenced by Thoreau because his essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience† and not paying his poll taxes (â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau†). Among these people were two great leaders known as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (Meltzer 81). As people were influenced by Thoreau, during Vietnam War four hundred and forty eight writers didn’t pay their poll taxes and protested against them (â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau†). During their protest, they had two major points (â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau†). The first point was, â€Å"None of us voluntarily will pay the proposed ten percent surcharged or any war designated tax increase† (â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau†). Their second point was, â€Å"Many of us will not pay that twenty three percent of our current income tax which is being used to finance the war† (â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau†). In Thoreau’s last twenty years, he began his observation about vegetation in Concord (Gray). Thoreau’s goal was, â€Å"to find God in nature† (Gray). Henry got his goal about nature from his mind and from Emerson (Gray). After leaving Walden, Thoreau tried to find scientific things in nature (Gray). In 1999, Thoreau book Wild Fruit was published (Gray). The book was imprint because of Thoreau’s friend Bradley Dean (Gray). The manuscript of this book was â€Å"neatly stacked and wrapped at time of his death† (Gray). The manuscript of the book was lost many times because of change of owners of Thoreau’s house and due to it bad handwriting (Gray). This book was written as Thoreau took notes on each plant in order, which they grew (Gray). In that book, the sentences were mainly poetic (Gray). In the book, he asks people to pay close attention to fruit grown by nature (Gray). In the book he take stand against destruction of environment especially wilderness (Gray). The advised Thoreau made during the book was to, â€Å"let us try to keep the New World new† (Gray). His advised is being taken a century later (Gray). After writing this book Thoreau traveled to Main Woods and Cape Cod very often as traveling there he was interested in Native American and their frontiers (Woodlief). In 1860, Thoreau got a cold as the symptoms of tuberculosis such as cold created problems for him (Olson 84). Tuberculosis also created problems for his family as Henry’s elder sister who was a schoolteacher died of tuberculosis (Meltzer 12). Even with cold, he lectured in lyceum in Waterbury, Connecticut (Olson 84). Thoreau’ cold felt worse after the lecture â€Å"as he found that his deepened into bronchitis† (84). Later his cold and health got much worse (84). On May 1861, he planned to go to trip to Minnesota in order to study plants (84). The trip was not fully completed due to Thoreau’s bad health (86). Thoreau thought his end of his live was very near (86). In September 1861, he made his last visit to Walden (86). On November 3, 1861, Thoreau made his one last final entry in his journal (86). Thoreau last words before his death was, â€Å"Moose and Indian† (Woodlief). Henry David Thoreau died on May 6, 1862 at the age of forty-four years (Meltzer 145). Henry left his essays and his two books after his death (Woodlief). Henry also left his huge journal after his death, which was later published in twenty volumes (Woodlief). After Thoreau’s death, his friend Emerson and Luisa May Alcott wrote memorials for him (Woodlief). Emerson memorial was, â€Å"Emerson eulogy† and May’s memorial was, â€Å"Thoreau’s Flute† (Woodlief). â€Å"Thoreau is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery also contains the graves of authors such as Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Thoreau long time friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson is also buried in the cemetery† (Olson 87). Although Henry David Thoreau was very simple, he gave many things to people in this world that people can benefit from. His works on nature forced people to realize that our nature was something as people benefited from Thoreau’s work almost a century later (Olson 88). Works Cited Burleigh, Robert. A Man Named Thoreau. New York: Atheneum, 1985. Gray, Paul. â€Å"Unregarded Berries.† Time 29 November 1999. 18 May 2009 Meltzer, Milton. A Biography Henry David Thoreau. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2007. Olson, Steven P. Henry David Thoreau American Naturalist, Writer, And Transcendentalists. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc, 2006. â€Å"Part Way with Thoreau.† Time 9 February 1968. 5 May 2009 Stanley, Phyllis M. American Environmental Heroes. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 1996. Woodlief, Ann. â€Å"Henry David Thoreau.† American Transcendentalism Web. 26 June 2007. 19 May 2009