Searching for the Real Me and We. A Filipino-American Experience Essay

Searching for the Real Me and We. A Filipino-American Experience - Essay Example This essay analyses the US invasion and occupation of the Philippines and the resulting waves of migration of Filipino workers and professionals to this country. It explores, not only the socio-economic results, but also the cultural impact of US direct and indirect rule on the Filipino people’s collective memories and consciousness. The migration of Filipinos to the US was basically determined in the past and at present by the desire of the US for cheap and efficient labor, a desire in keeping with capitalism’s exploitative character and racist framework. Many Filipino-Americans have absorbed the dominant US culture, which prevents them from understanding the realities behind their own migration experience, decolonizing their thinking, and developing their unity with all poor people of color. After defeating the Spanish colonial government, Filipinos were forced to wage another war, this time against the US invading forces. This time it was a vicious racist war that resulted in the death of â€Å"at least 1.4 million Filipinos† from the actual fighting and from war-related starvation and disease (San Juan). Studying history is a important step, and I have started to fully appreciate my Filipino heritage. Understanding myself and the Filipino-American experience, I am starting to understand the reality of the Black experience, the Latino experience, the experience of all the excluded in American society. I know I have to take the next step, going beyond the me and transforming myself into the we of humanity.

The Internal Chaos Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Internal Chaos - Research Paper Example The workings of the military and the government are to protect the nation from outside attack, secure the places for a life with freedom, and give the ignorance on who are on the right and wrong sides in wars. The real safety will not be achieved fully through sending military volunteers abroad and making treaties with other governments. The real peace and war avoidance lies in the hands of the individuals without relying to the governmental efforts.1 Objective of the Study For the purpose of the study, the focus would be on the American Civil War and the Ku Klux Klan as the history recorded evidences regarding both the event and the group itself. Several discriminations existed as conflicts arose during the Civil War and thorough understanding on the history of both the war and the group would be compared as they coexisted and affected the lives of people in America. Background Information Throughout the history of United States of America, the American Civil War was considered the most expensive war recorded on history of the nation. The battles separated the nation into half and the country received 600,000 deaths and 1,000,000 casualties. The winners were just the few who survived the series of armed fights. The survival of the fittest was inevitable in the Civil War. The devastating effects did not only happen in USA but also felt in the neighboring countries. The war happened as efforts were made to abolish slavery.2 The war started during the time of Abraham Lincoln on April 12, 1861 as the military and the Confederates had an encounter battle in South Carolina. In response to the first encounter battle, Lincoln made a volunteer army to free people... This essay discusses the American Civil War as the most expensive war recorded on history of the nation. The battles separated the nation into half and the country received 600,000 deaths and 1,000,000 casualties. The winners were just the few who survived the series of armed fights. The survival of the fittest was inevitable in the Civil War. The devastating effects did not only happen in USA but also felt in the neighboring countries. The war happened as efforts were made to abolish slavery. The war started during the time of Abraham Lincoln on April 12, 1861 as the military and the Confederates had an encounter battle in South Carolina. In response to the first encounter battle, Lincoln made a volunteer army to free people from slavery. Both the government and the Confederated created their own armies as the war progressed. During the battle in Maryland, the Confederates were defeated at the so-called Battle of Antietam dated September 1862. After such war, the Emancipation Procla mation was released that officially designated slavery as the main war objective. The causes of the civil war were the following: sectionalism, slavery, rights of States, slave power, nationalism, and battle of Fort Sumter and election of Lincoln. The North and South of USA had differences in social structure, culture and economies that caused the civil war to sprout. The differences happened as the North focused on progressive and modernized farms as the South continued to rely on slavery. The removal of slavery caused a great deal of fear in the South as slave revolts. In that case, the government made movements in stopping the spread of slavery.

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay

Truman Doctrine And The Marshall Plan History Essay On the eve of their victory in World War Two, the leaders of the so-called Big Three nations (Winston Churchill from Britain, Joseph Stalin, from the Soviet Union, and Franklin Roosevelt from the United States) met to negotiate the post-war administration of the vast European territories liberated from Nazi occupation and the captured territories of the Axis nations themselves. The two meetings at Potsdam and Yalta were actually the second and third (respectively) following the first of the Big Three meetings at Teheran in 1943. At the time of the final meeting at Yalta, all three leaders expressed genuine optimism that a peaceful and fair collaboration that had begun of necessity in their combined effort to defeat Hitler could last beyond the war years and into a prolonged period of international peace thereafter (Alterman, 2004). However, there were fundamental conflicting interests and concerns that had begun to develop even before the conclusion of the war. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had already begun to view one another as rivals in Europe, both for territory captured from the Germans as well as for the technological spoils of war, such as German aviation and ballistic rocket technology in particular (Roberts, 2000). During the last year of the war, the Western Allies had feared that Stalin would continue his advance well into central and western Europe and all the way to the Mediterranean (Alterman, 2004). To a large degree, those fears were unfounded as Soviet troops halted after occupying the Baltic States and territories in Germany, Poland and the Balkans (Alterman, 2004). Nevertheless, the Soviet Union did also exert continual pressure elsewhere, particularly in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and Turkey. When Britain could no longer afford to support the needs of Greece and Turkey, the U.S. stepped up and in 1947, announced a broad approach to providing economic support to those regions (and others believed by the Truman administration to be potentially at risk of Soviet domination) economically in what came to be referred to as the Truman Doctrine (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). That same year, U.S. Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall, introduced an even broader approach, that came to be called the Marshall Plan which included all of the mechanism outlined in the Truman Doctrine, in addition to a comprehensive fight against hunger, desperation, poverty, and chaos and whose aims included the revival of a working economy across the European continent but also in all the nations of the world ( Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon,). In fact, the principal motivation for this plan was a policy analysis authored by George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow entitled The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Roberts, 2000). That analysis led directly to the adoption of a containment policy by the Truman administration (and subsequent U.S. presidential administrations designed expressly to oppose perceive Soviet expansionist aims everywhere in the world (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Throughout the Cold War, the official position of the U.S. was that its policies with respect to the U.S.S.R. were strictly defensive and designed, of absolute necessity, to prevent the global domination sought by Soviet Communist leaders (Alterman, 2004; Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ; McNamara, 1995). In truth, the U.S. policies to oppose Soviet Communist expansion and the imposition of Communism beyond Soviet borders were not unfairly viewed by the U.S.S.R. as an expansionist attempt to export and impose Western Democracy beyond U.S. borders. The Deterioration of Relations between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. after 1945 Even before the end of World War II, the provisions of the February 1945 Yalta Conference set in motion conflicting priorities and zones of occupation that helped trigger the eventual deterioration of the wartime alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Specifically, the agreement left Britain, France, and the United States in charge of Western Germany, Italy, and Japan while the Soviets controlled Eastern Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. By comparison, the territory controlled by the Western Allies was much more valuable in terms of its economic potential than that held by the Soviet Union. The same was largely true in connection with the relative economic potential of Western and Eastern Germany. Under the terms of the Yalta Agreement, the Western Allies administered what later became West Germany and the U.S.S.R. controlled what later became East Germany. Even the capital city of Berlin was divided into zones o f occupation; within a few years, the geographical layout of Berlin and the shared occupation between the Western Allies and the U.S.S.R. would trigger a prolonged crisis as well (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Although perceived by the West as being stubborn and acting out of a specific motivation to dominate Europe, Stalin expressed genuine confusion over the inability or unwillingness of the Western Allies to appreciate the importance of Eastern Europe from the Soviet perspective, particularly with respect to Poland (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). Recent and not so recent history demonstrated full well the vulnerability of the Soviet Union to hostile invasion through Poland. Moreover, Stalins liberation of Poland from the Nazis had cost the Soviet Union as many as 20 million dead, making it the costliest war campaign in the entire history of warfare, by far. From the Russian point of view, Poland should rightfully have remained under Russian control for those two specific reasons alone (Alterman, 2004; Judge Langdon, ). In other respects, the Western Allies may have been right to question Stalins motives. During the war, both Churchill and Stalin had sent troops to occupy portions of Iran to prevent their rich oil fields from falling into the hands of the Nazis (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). Already at Yalta, Stalin had begun demanding oil concessions as a condition of removing Russian troops from Iran. Likewise, Stalin had insisted that Turkey permit the Russian Navy permanent unrestricted passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles. Stalin yielded on both accounts only after the U.S. expressed its intentions to back Iran and after the U.S. sent its own Naval warships to the region. Nevertheless, U.S. foreign policy thereafter would reflect the growing fears over such incidents that Stalin expressly intended to capitalize on any perceived weakness on the part of the West to oppose Communist grabs for global territories and resources (Roberts, 2000). The Importance of Kennans The Sources of Soviet Conduct In 1946, the U.S. State Department received a very long telegram from George C. Kennan, counselor in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, detailing his analysis of what he called The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Among other conclusions, Kennan wrote that the Soviet Union was eternally committed to global expansionism and to the spread of Communist ideology at all costs. Kennan warned that the Soviet Union would never stop probing non-Communist societies for weaknesses and that the Western democracies had no other choice but to remain vigilante in their opposition to Communism lest is spread throughout the entire world to the extent efforts toward that end were not opposed appropriately by the West (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Kennan concluded that what would be necessary and appropriate to prevent Communist expansionism from dominating the word would be a comprehensive policy of global containment of any efforts toward that end by the Western democracies (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). At approximately the same time, also in 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his infamous Iron Curtain speech in which he warned of the same danger with respect to the European continent and advocated a strong opposition on the part of the Western democracies. (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000; Westad, ). In principle, this containment strategy would be adopted by the West, most immediately in the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The Truman Doctrine By 1947, Greece was in the midst of internal warfare between the government and Communist rebels (Alter, 2004; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Roberts, 2000). Britain had been funding the counterrevolutionaries but eventually announced that it could no longer do so for economic reasons. The U.S. administration argued to Congress (and to the American people) that the fall of Greece to Communism would lead inevitably to the subsequent fall of Italy, France, and the entire Middle East to Communism as well (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Truman succeeded in obtaining congressional authorization for $400 million to fund anti-Communist rebels in both Greece and Turkey as well. This was the first implementation of what came be known as the Truman Doctrine, according to which It must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pres sures. Truman went on to say that this support from the U.S. should be primarily through economic and financial aid, which is essential to economic stability and orderly political process (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Officially, the Truman Doctrine focused on economic assistance to the needy populations of the struggling nations; unofficially, the real purpose of the Truman Doctrine was to fund anti-Communist forces and virtually any related effort to undermine Soviet attempts to spread Communism anywhere in the world. While being promoted primarily as a humanitarian gesture, the principal purpose of the Truman Doctrine and the reason for its existence was to oppose Soviet Communism (Gaddis, 1997). To be fair, there were reasons that the West was right to be so concerned about Soviet Communist expansion but there were also reasons that, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the West in general and the U.S. in particular overreacted in implementing the Truman Doctrine. The Western Allies had only recently learned a very difficult lesson after failing to respond appropriately to the rise of Nazism throughout the 1930s and to the expansionist aggression demonstrated by Hitler for years before the outbreak of World War II. Undoubtedly, that was foremost on the minds of Churchill and Truman and everyone else in foreign policy-making positions in the post-war era (Alterman, 2004; Roberts, 2000). The Soviets were hardly innocent either. In addition to the attempted exertion of influence in Iran over the removal of their troops and over control over shipping lanes in the Dardanelles, they also aggressively supported Communist revolutions anywhere they could in Eastern Europe, particular ly in Bulgaria and Romania in connection with Communist takeovers and in Poland by helping to eliminate the last source of political opposition to Communism (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). On the other hand, and again, in retrospect with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, the Western Democracies were also somewhat blind to apparent signs of Soviet restraint and concessions to the West. After initially insisting on shared control over defeated Japan, the Soviet Union eventually accepted exclusive American control over that nation (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). Likewise, they withdrew their troops from Manchuria, allowed free elections in Hungary and Czechoslovakia and a neutral democratic Finnish government, and they also withdrew significant numbers of their forces that had been assembled in Eastern Europe since the end of the War (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). It may be unfair to re-evaluate tensions of the time with the benefit of historical records available today (including those pertaining to Stalin that only became available after the collapse of Communist Russia). However, objectively, and with the benefit of hindsight, it would seem that a more measured and objective response on the part of the U.S. and her allies in the post-war years other than the full implementation of the Truman Doctrine might have allowed for a much less costly and potentially dangerous outcome than a four-decade-long Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan One of the major initiatives implemented within the general framework of the Truman Doctrine was General George C. Marshalls European Recovery Plan, which quickly became known as the Marshall Plan (Gaddis, 1997; Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ; Roberts, 2000). In principle, the Marshall Plan aimed to do the same thing (i.e. contain Soviet Communism from global expansion) although through incentivizing cooperation and conciliation on the part of foreign nations in return for U.S. economic assistance. It was, in essence, a tremendous carrot instead of a stick-based approach to encouraging foreign nations to implement democratic governments and to reject Communist overtures (Roberts, 2000). The U.S. even invited the Soviet Union to participate but they refused, believing (probably correctly, given the overall objective of the Truman Doctrine) that the terms in connection with which Soviet participation was being welcomed would have undermined Soviet control over the Eastern European countries under Soviet influence (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; Judge Langdon, ). Two years later, the Soviet Union would create Comecon, their own plan for an Eastern European Mutual Economic Assistance organization. The Marshall Plan was an unparalleled success in Western Europe: it facilitated infrastructure recovery in war-torn countries; it enabled economic growth while simultaneously reducing class conflict. More importantly, from the U.S. perspective, it established an economic dependency for U.S. goods and industrial machinery and for the U.S. goods, services, and labor to support it (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005). Certainly, the Marshall Plan was a more humane approach to expanding U.S. influence and discouraging Communist tendencies among Western European populations than the Soviet Union had employed in Eastern Europe. However, its fundamental purpose was much more similar. Moreover, the U.S. was guilty of the same degree of meddling in the domestic affairs of sovereign nations as was the Soviet Union, albeit through much more peaceful means that relied upon the carrot rather than the stick. Nevertheless, from the point of view of exporting its own political ideology to other nations, the U.S. was actually engaged in the same business as the Communists that the West continually portrayed as expansionist (Hunt, 1987; LeFeber, 1994; McDougall, 1997). For example, because of the dependence of Italy on American foreign economic aid and supplies of goods and services, the U.S. was able to convince the Christian Democrats to oust the Communist Party out of it governing coalition. In fact, General Marshall personally warned the Italians that continued economic aide was directly dependent on the Communists not succeeding in the elections of 1948. At the same time, the U.S. State Department recruited Italian relatives in the U.S. and Italian-American organizations in the U.S. to influence Italian political outcomes as much as possible (Goldfield, Abbot, Argersinger, et al., 2005; LeFeber, 1994; Hunt, 1987; McDougall, 1997). Ultimately, the U.S. cannot claim to have meddled or micromanaged Western European political affairs any less than their Communist counterparts in Moscow. While there is a strong argument that the methods chosen by Moscow were less humane, it would be a fiction to suggest that the Soviet Union exported Communism and was expansionist while the U.S. merely supported political self-determination and opposed the imposition of political ideology from abroad. Certainly, from the Soviet perspective, Washington was engaged in very similar processes that differed much more in their means than in what they hoped to achieve. Moreover, whereas the U.S. had the choice between brutality and economic pressure and incentivization, the U.S.S.R. had no such choice, at least not that could have competed against the economic and industrial strength of the U.S. Conclusion Throughout the Cold War, the predominant view in the Western hemisphere was that the Soviet Union was continually engaged in an aggressive campaign to export Communism while the West, led by the U.S. was merely resisting that expansion by supporting the freedom and self-determination of those nations that would otherwise have been at the mercy of Communist takeover. In reality, the U.S. was no less aggressive in exporting Democracy, although it had the economic means to do so much more gently and humanely, and by inviting membership in their democratic vision rather than by coercion and brutality. However, in terms of precipitating what became a four-decade-long Cold War between East and West, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the policy of containment first articulated and promoted by George Kennan in 1946 were no less responsible than Soviet expansionism through intimidation and force. The Cold War eventually resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union by virtue of the strength of the U.S. economy and industrial capacity. However, it was really only a matter of luck and restraint on the part of Soviet leaders that prevented the Cold War from suddenly becoming anything but cold particularly in connection with the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In both cases, Soviet forces were armed with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons and authorized to use them on U.S. forces. Ironically, those facts only became public as a direct function of the fall of the Soviet Union and the doctrine of Glasnost instituted as a result (Gaddis, 1997; Judge Langdon, ). The Cold War grew out of a combination of factors and was probably not as inevitable or as much the result of aggressive Soviet expansionism as is widely believed in the West. To be sure, its roots were partly the result of the paranoid personality of Joseph Stalin. Similarly, the U.S.S.R. had given the Western Allies reason for concern over Stalins intentions in the Middle East (and elsewhere) even before the end of the war. The historical record suggests that at the time of the final Big Three meeting at Yalta, Stalin genuinely hoped for a collaborative and cooperative relationship with the American and British governments. On the other hand, even during those most hopeful of times, Soviet spies were busily at work successfully and thoroughly infiltrating the Top-Secret U.S. Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. However, the relative insensitivity of Western leaders to appreciate the legitimate historical basis and geographical realities facing the Soviet Union, especially in Eastern Europe is equally to blame. To a much greater degree than is often acknowledged by Western historians, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were, in fact, less about achieving the specific objectives laid out publicly as their fundamental purpose than they were about implementing a global containment strategy designed expressly to counter perceived Soviet expansionism. It is likely that but for paranoia and overreaction on both sides, the legitimate geopolitical concerns of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. could have been negotiated more successfully and at far less cost to both sides. In that regard, the long-term effects and consequences of the American foreign policy approach with respect to the U.S.S.R. that was outlined and established by the Truman Doctrine and by the Marshall Plan within the first few years after the cessation of World War Two hostilities would have to be considered as responsible for the development of the Cold War as Soviet Communist expansionism.

Brief History and Introduction of Privacy and Human Rights Essay

Brief History and Introduction of Privacy and Human Rights From Article 21 of the Japan Constitution states, â€Å"Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed. No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated.† Article 35 states, â€Å"The right of all persons to be secure in their homes, papers and effects against entries, searches and seizures shall not be impaired except upon warrant issued for adequate cause and particularly describing the place to be searched and things to be seized . . . Each search or seizure shall be made upon separate warrant issued by a competent judicial officer.†1 A 1988 Act for the Protection of Computer Processed Personal Data Held by Administrative Organs governs the use of personal information in computerized files held by government agencies. It imposes duties of security, access, and correction. Agencies must limit their collection to relevant information and publish a public notice listing their file systems. The Japanese government has followed a policy of self-regulation for the private sector, especially relating to electronic commerce. Essentially, there were no set privacy laws other than the general issues stated in the constitution, but when needed the Japanese government will intervene and regulate. In June of 1998, former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced that he had signed an agreement with U.S. President Clinton for self-regulation for privacy measures on the Internet except for certain sensitive data. â€Å"If data in a certain industry is highly confidential, legal methods can be considered for that industry.†2 Several committees have been ... ...s not safe. We need to take more time.†4 References 1 Constitution of Japan, November 3, 1946. 2 U.S. Japan Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce, May 15, 1998. 3 Japan: More Crime, Less Privacy, 2 Jun 1999, 4 James Brooke, Japan in an Uproar as 'Big Brother' Computer File Kicks In, 5 Aug. 2002, 5 Lies and Secrets: Japan's National ID Network Has Gone Live Already, 31 Jul. 2002, 6 Japan ID System Raises Big Brother Fears, 5 Aug. 2002,

Transracial Adoption

Transracial Adoption Transracial adoption is that white parents will not be able to give a black child a cultural identity and survival skills in a racially diverse society. â€Å"Adoption, defined as the legal act of taking a child into a family and raising the child as its own (Vianna, 1981). † Black children need to learn coping mechanisms to function in a society where racism is prevalent. Black families are capable of teaching these mechanisms in everyday life without having to seek out special projects or activities.They live their lives in a white-dominated society, and their children learn by daily interactions. Even when white adoptive families actively seek out interactions and activities with black families, they put an emphasis on the differences within their family. Cultural support can be especially difficult to give if there is limited understanding of the cultural differences of family members. White couples are ill equipped in their understanding of African Am erican culture to adequately prepare a child for life in an ethnic group other than that of the adoptive parents.Despite their best intentions, whites cannot fully understand life from a minority perspective. Over time, there has been a decline in the availability of white children to adopt. Adoption agencies cater to white middle-class prospective adoptive parents, and, because white children are not as available, the agencies try to persuade these families to adopt black children. The harm will come to transracial adoptees because of the obviousness of the adoption and the constant reminder of being adopted may be interpreted positively.A child who is of a different race will learn sooner that he or she is adopted, and being forced to recognize this will make the adoption easier to talk about, thus making for a more open relationship with the parents. It has been suggested that there are direct benefits to the child in learning early about the adoption. They include a greater open ness about the adoption, a positive self-identification with the adoptive status as well as racial identity, and recognition that there is no shared biology between the parents and child.Because the adopted child knows that he or she was wanted by the family, there is also recognition that race is not a factor in how much the child will be loved. This visible reminder that the child was chosen to be a part of the family can help to increase the child's self-esteem. The visible differences can also help to remind the child that he or she does not share biology with the parents. Simon and Alstein (1977) found that young black children, 3 to 8 years of age, saw themselves as black and did not attach any negative evaluation of themselves to their racial asked again to whom they would go if they needed help. † The results showed that the adopted children would still turn to their parents or siblings for help. The study's overall findings provided strong evidence that white parents are capable of raising children of another race to have high self-esteem, positive identities, and close family ties.There are several issues that families must consider before committing to transracial adoption. The most important thing to consider is the potential parents' own racial views. Another thing to consider is that the family will be in the minority after transracially adopting. The concern may be how the parent and other members of the family will deal with opinions expressed by those outside of the family. Prospective parents could think about adopting siblings so that each child will have a familiar face to help with the transition.Ignoring differences can cause hurt and resentment. Because race and culture are so closely linked, to be colorblind to someone's race is to ignore his or her culture. Children have a right to learn about their culture so that they can pass it down to the next generation. In conclusion, transracial adoption is not only a black and white issu e; children are also adopted from foreign countries. Places like Korean are popular when families decide to adopt, because the high birth rates and poor economic conditions in these places mean that there are often children readily available.There is not as much debate about the adoption of these children as there is over black children being adopted by white families, because adoption is seen as helping these children. The idea of saving a child is an idea that supporters of transracial adoption believe can happen right here in the United States by decreasing the numbers of children of all races awaiting placement with a permanent family. REFERENCES Shireman, J. F. ([995). Adoptions by Single Parents. In Single parent Families: Diversity, Myths and Realities (ed. Hanson). New York: Haworth Press, Inc.Simon, R. J. (1974). An assessment of racial awareness, preference, and self identity among white and adopted non-white children. Social Problems. 22. 43-57. Simon, R. J.. & Alstein, H . (1977). Transracial adoption. New York: Wiley. Simon, R. J. , & Alstein. H. (1987). Transracial adoptees and their families. New York: Praeger Publishers. Simon, R. J. & Alstein, H. ( 1991). Intercountry adoption. New York: Praeger Publishers. Vianna, F. M. (Ed). (1981). Tile American heritage desk dictionary. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

All Literature Is Protest Essay

â€Å"All literature is protest. You can’t name a single literary work that isn’t protest† was a quote said by Richard Wright. My interpretation of this quote is that through all of literature, there is protest. There is protest from the protagonists and even the antagonists. I agree with this quote because in every piece of literature there is a conflict that one faces, and characters show their dislike towards something in different forms of protest. This quote is proven to be true in â€Å"Screeno† and â€Å"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities†, both of which are short stories written by Delmore Schwartz. One way that this quote is portrayed is by using symbolism. In the short story â€Å"Screeno†, written by Delmore Schwartz, Cornelius Schmidt goes to a theatre to play the Lotto, and wins $425. However, as the manager is shuffling and counting the money, another voice from the audience yells â€Å"SCREENO!†, showing that he won the lottery as well. An old man walked down to the stage, and even though he legitimately won, the assistant manager tried talking him into believing that the number â€Å"1† on his card was actually a misprint, and read the number â€Å"7†. Great symbolism is shown here- the assistant manager and the people working at the theatre symbolize a corrupt government. The assistant manager said â€Å"’I know it is a 7.’† (page 196), showing that he was so sure of that because the cards have been prepared in advance to remove the possibility of two winners of the jackpot. This corrupt government tried to trick the old man into thinking it wasn’t a 1 on his lottery card, even though he actually did win the money. The people in the theatre symbolize a jury, and they decided to go on with the game show, without being bothered by the old man- â€Å"But the audience had decided once and for all† (pg 199). Since at the end of the story Cornelius Schmidt gives all of his money to the old man, he is a symbol of justice. The old man was trying to protest against this Lotto case, because he knew it was unfair, so he was the victim of the corrupt government. Another way this quote is shown is through conflict. The old man and Cornelius are both having a conflict of Man vs. Society, which is when the values and customs  by which everyone else lives are being challenged. Cornelius and the old man are both protesting against the assistant manager, because he was saying the old man had a misprint on his Lotto card. Cornelius wants the assistant manager to give the old guy his money so he could just leave and not worry about him anymore. However, Cornelius saw that the old man wasn’t giving up, and neither was the assistant manager, which led to a conflict of Man vs. Self. This is an internal conflict, which Cornelius then â€Å"consider[ed] matters with himself again and came to a decision† (pg 200) to give the old man all of his jackpot money. Another way this quote is portrayed is by point of view. The point if view in this story was written is 3rd person objective, which is when the narrator is an outsider who reports on what he/she sees and heard. The narrator tells us what is happening, but he can’t tell us the thoughts of other characters in the scene. The narrator lets the readers be part of the story too, and be a jury, just like the people in the theatre. We could ‘judge’ the assistant manager, the old man, and Cornelius as much as we wanted to. Setting also lures the readers into being a part of the audience and judging the audience that are in the theatre because in a theater, people observe the events on stage and judge them how they want to. Since 3rd person subjective is just like â€Å"Tell it how you see ità ¢â‚¬ , this protest is real and thus supports the quote. Another way this quote is portrayed is in the short story â€Å"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities†, also written by Delmore Schwartz. The speaker in this story has a conflict of Man vs. Man, which involves a struggle, (mental or physical) between two characters in the story. The speaker doesn’t want to grow up to be like his father and make the same mistakes he has. His father put too much value in money. â€Å"My father tells my mother how much money he has made in the passed week† (page 4) shows readers that his father made his finance public, which wasn’t necessary. The author also writes that the amount of money had â€Å"been exaggerated†. The father also seems pessimistic on page 4, when he makes an announcement to the mother that ‘you have to die sooner or later anyway†. If the couple is on a date, the father shouldn’t be talking about things like them dying. This also leads to a conflict of Man vs. Self when the speaker wan ts to change how he will grow up; not to be like his parents. â€Å"Only remorse, hatred, scandal and two children whose  characters are monstrous!† show that the speaker thinks his own qualities are ‘monstrous’, and he thinks about changing them so he won’t be like his father. This quote is also supported through imagery in the story. The speaker’s parents were on a date, and while passing a fortune teller’s booth, the mother wanted to go in. The father did not want to do, and they â€Å"begin to argue about it† (pg 8). He was about to walk off and leave the mother there, which is not something a man should do when on a date with someone he is about to get married to. The father then â€Å"lets go of my mother’s arm and strides out† and the mother is â€Å"stunned† that he did such a thing. She is also â€Å"near to tears†, but she â€Å"refuses to budge†, which is an image of protest. This shows that she will not leave until they have gone to the fortune teller. Another way this quote is supported is through characterization. The speaker has really low self esteem and he doesn’t want to become like his parents. While he is watching the movie about his parents before marriage, he protests by screaming at the screen. At one point the speaker got out of his seat and shouted â€Å"Don’t do it! It’s not too late to change your minds, both of you.† (pg 6), hoping his parents would end up not getting married and having kids with â€Å"monstrous† qualities (him). He doesn’t have any pride, because he feels that his parents have made many mistakes in their relationship. He protests throughout the whole movie, trying to stop his parents from getting married, even though he knows it has already happened. At one point he even had an usher grab his arm and tell him â€Å"You can’t carry on like this, it is not right, you will find that out soon enough, everything you do matters too much† (page 9). However, it did not matter anymore, for the speaker had already woken up from his dream into the morning of his 21st birthday; in dreams begins responsibilities. â€Å"All literature is protest. You can’t name a single literary work that isn’t protest† is a very important quote said by Richard Wright. The short stories â€Å"Screeno† and â€Å"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities† support this quote and prove it to be true. Several literary elements were used in order to show this including symbolism, imagery, characterization, conflict, and point of view.

Nathaniel Alexander, Inventor of a Folding Chair

Nathaniel Alexander, Inventor of a Folding Chair On July 7, 1911, an African-American man named Nathaniel Alexander of Lynchburg, Virginia patented a folding chair. According to his patent, Nathaniel Alexander designed his chair to be used in schools, churches, and other auditoriums. His design included a book rest that was usable for the person sitting in the seat behind and was ideal for church or choir use.​ Fast Facts: Nathaniel Alexander Known For: African-American patent holder for a folding chairBorn: UnknownParents: UnknownDied: UnknownPublished Works: Patent 997,108, filed March 10, 1911, and granted July 4 the same year Little Biographical Data Alexanders invention is found on many lists for black American inventors. However, he has escaped having much biographical information known about him. What can be found confuses him with an early governor of the state of North Carolina, who was not a black American. One says he was born in the early 1800s in North Carolina and died several decades before the date of the patent of the folding chair. Another one, which is written as satire, says he was born the same year as the patent was issued. These seem obviously erroneous. Patent 997108 is the only invention on record for Nathaniel Alexander, but on March 10, 1911, his application was witnessed by two people: James R.L. Diggs and C.A. Lindsay. James R.L. Diggs was a Baptist minister from Baltimore (born in 1865), who was a member of the Niagara Movement, and holder of an MA from Bucknell University and a PhD in Sociology from Illinois Wasleyan in 1906- in fact, Diggs was the first African-American to hold a Sociology Ph.D. in the United States. The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights movement led by W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter, who assembled in Niagara Falls, Ontario (American hotels barred blacks), to discuss Jim Crow laws following the Reconstruction. They met annually between 1905 and 1910: in between 1909 and 1918, Diggs corresponded with DuBois about a possible history of the movement, among other things. There may have only been a passing connection between Alexander and Diggs. Foldable Chairs for Churches and Choirs Alexanders folding chair is not the first folding chair patent in the United States. His innovation was that it included a book rest, making it suitable for use in places where the back of one chair could be used as a desk or shelf by the person seated behind. This would certainly be convenient when setting up rows of chairs for choirs, so they could rest music on the chair ahead of each singer, or for churches where a prayer book, hymnal, or Bible could be placed on the reading shelf during the service. Folding chairs allow the space to be used for other purposes when there is not a class or church service. Today, many congregations meet in spaces that used to be large big box stores, supermarkets, or other large, cavernous rooms, Using folding chairs set up only during services, they are able to quickly turn the space into a church. In the early part of the 20th century, congregations likewise might have met outdoors, in warehouses, barns, or other spaces that didnt have fixed seating or pews. Earlier Folding Chair Patents Folding chairs have been in use for thousands of years in many cultures, including ancient Egypt and Rome. They were even commonly used in churches as liturgical furniture in the Middle Ages. Here are some other patents for folding chairs that were granted prior to that of Nathaniel Alexander: M.S. Beach of Brooklyn, New York patented a folding chair for pews, U.S. Patent No. 18377 on October 13, 1857. However, this design appears to be a drop-down seat such as an airplane jump seat rather than a chair you can fold, stack, and store away.J.P.A.  Spaet, W.F. Berry and J.T. Snoddy of Mount Pleasant, Iowa were granted U.S. Patent No. 383255 on May 22,  1888, for a folding chair designed to look much like a regular chair when in use. It could be folded up to be stored away and save space.C. F. Batt patented a folding chair for steamers on June 4, 1889, U.S. Patent No. 404,589. Batts patent notes that he was seeking improvements on longstanding folding chair designs, especially avoiding having a hinge at the side arms that can pinch your fingers when folding or unfolding the chair. Sources Alexander, Nathaniel. Chair. Patent 997108. 1911.Batt, C.F. Folding Chair. Patent 383255. 1888.Beach, M.S. Char. Patent 18377. 1857.Pipkin, James Jefferson. James R.L. Diggs. The Negro in Revelation, in History and in Citizenship: What the Race has Done and is Doing. St. Louis: N.D. Thompson Publishing Company, 1902Spaet, J.P.A., W. F. Berry and J.T. Snoddy. Folding Chair for Steamers. Patent 404,589. 1889.WEB DuBois Correspondence with J.R.L. Diggs, Special Collections, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

5 Things Productive People Do at the End of Every Working Day

5 Things Productive People Do at the End of Every Working Day We’ve all been there. Clock-out time rolls  around and it’s all you can do to grab your bag  and race your coworkers to the elevator. And, if we’re honest, you  probably spend the last 30 minutes  or so watching the clock and noodling with Facebook or email, thinking: why bother starting any new projects when the day is almost done? Sound familiar? What if, instead, you  put that last bit of your workday to better use and set yourself up for being more productive the following morning right out of the gate? Here are five no-fail strategies that won’t require a ton of effort, but will pay off big time when you come back to your desk.1. Plan for tomorrowTake five minutes to go over your schedule for the coming day. This will not only remind you of breakfast meetings or doctors appointments you may have forgotten, but will also give you the chance to mentally prepare for what’s in store. Need to dress to impress tomorrow? Make sure to bring y our gym clothes? Wear or bring heels for an evening event? You might even find yourself looking forward to your next work day, rather than assuming tomorrow will be just the same old same old.2. Landscape your to-dosLook back at what you’ve accomplished today and check those puppies off. Remind yourself of the outstanding items and make a priority list in your head for tomorrow. If it’s gotten messy or out of control, jot yourself a new one. This will also help you take stock of your productivity for that day- and strategize for how to do better tomorrow. You can learn from today’s distractions and set yourself up better for success.3. Organize your inboxWhen you’re cleaning up your coffee cup and snack wrappers and errant pens and office debris, make sure to go through the same tidying process in your email. Delete the nonsense and the junk mail, archive the important stuff, and leave only what you need to focus on when you get back to work. Sorting by s ender can make it easier to delete.4. Put in one last face timeDon’t just slink away. Check in with your boss or colleagues for a little post-work-day processing. How’d you all do? Anything urgent left on the docket? Any successes to go home proud of? Fires to put out tomorrow? This isn’t just a shrewd move for establishing yourself as a responsible team member, it can go a long way towards team building and camaraderie. And saying a proper and friendly goodbye is just as important when you’re the boss!5. Go homeThis may seem silly, but it’s awfully tempting to stick around and get a few things finished. Trouble is, this becomes a habit. Chances are you won’t get anything substantive done. Set yourself a hard cut-off time and stick to it. It will, believe it or not, help you be more productive tomorrow and won’t leave you feeling constantly fatigued or overwhelmed by work.Then simply relax, turn off your work brain, and enjoy the rest of the day- the part that belongs only to you.

Three Google Searches That Will Help You Get Paid to Write Now

Three Google Searches That Will Help You Get Paid to Write Now I confess, I am a Google junkie. I have built a solid reputation for knowing a lot of obscure, but helpful, information about a lot of random topics. Much of this I can attribute to an unhealthy amount of time spent searching Google to satisfy my curiosity, so I may have an unfair advantage. Yet, while reading several of the articles saturating the web right now about How To Get Your First Writing Client, I can’t help but wonder, â€Å"Why are they overlooking the obvious?† Skip sites like Freelancer.com and oDesk.com, which advertise low paying freelance writing jobs that you have to spend valuable time bidding for (and where you run the risk of being scammed). Opt out of writing on demand sites like Scripted.com that require you to go through a lengthy application process, where you must submit writing samples for approval despite having a portfolio, to compete for jobs averaging under $30. Spend less time perusing job boards and cut through the middleman Locate client websites directly, using Google to gain an opportunity to address your application to a specific contact and have a fair chance of your response actually being read. Do so ‘Write For Us’ How many times have you followed the links from an aggregated job board, to a Craigslist ad, to an actual website link leading the advertisement on the clients website which reads: ‘Write For Us’? Exactly. ‘Be A Contributor’ In my experience, this search term is often helpful for leading you directly to client sites that you will not find on a job board because they have such a large following that they do not need to advertise anywhere else. ‘Submission Guidelines’ Whether it is a large or small publication, you are likely to end up on this page of the clients website as a potential hire or a hired writer. Cut to the chase Do your own Google search using these exact search terms and see how many results you come up with. Narrow your search results

Hospital Birth vs. Home Birth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hospital Birth vs. Home Birth - Essay Example Discussion NCT (2008) states that, â€Å"In the 1950’s the majority of pregnant women in United Kingdom delivered their babies at home† (p.2). The ratio of midwives and women who were knowledgeable in midwifery to the general population was higher compared to the past decade. Most middle aged women had experience in midwifery having assisted in child delivery of a family member of a friend. At the time, home birth was considered reasonably safe and without concerns of overcrowding and fatigue. NCT (2008) continues to state that, â€Å"Trends gradually changed in the 1970’s towards the 80’s as hospital births increased in frequency and numbers. By the 1990’s home births had reduced significantly to about 1% (p.2).† In recent times this percentage has increased to 2.68% as popularity and campaigns for home births have increased. ACOG (2011) notes that â€Å"Most governments require that recommendations be made to pregnant women to have a choic e of their desired place of birthing.† A medical professional can evaluate and examine a pregnant woman and suggest a place of birth for the woman explaining his or her recommendation based on medical grounds to her. The key factors to be considered when choosing between home birth and hospital birth are the safety of the procedure, the sense of security of the mother and the level or sense of control. According to ACOG (2011), â€Å"Women who inquire on planned home births at medical facilities should be adequately informed of its benefits and possible risks.† This information should be based on current and documented evidence. The advising party should clearly note to the mother that although the possible risks associated with home birth may be minimal, home birth is closely associated with increased risk of neo natal death. The risk of neo natal death is two to three fold that of hospital birth. To achieve a successful and reduced-risk planned home birth, the woman r equires selecting suitable candidates for the home birth. â€Å"A nurse certified in midwifery, physician or midwife who is qualified and aptly practices within regulations set by the local medical body should be available† (ACOG, 2011). The intended candidate should also be available for consultations. Safe, easy and timely access to a hospital or medical facility should be possible at the slightest chance of complications occurring. An easy access to hospital should provide contingency in case complications develops and the mother and or infant require emergency medical attention. ACOG (2011) states, â€Å"At present, the United States records an approximate figure of 25,000 home births annually.† From this figure, a quarter of the births is not attended to and is unplanned due to the spontaneity or unexpected labor. On average, the fraction of women who initially plan and intend to deliver at a hospital, those women who fail to make provisions for the attendance of a certified medical professional in midwifery, and unplanned homebirths record high rates and instances of neo natal and pre natal deaths. Women should plan for any eventuality and sudden changes in original or intended plans. The lack of transport to the designated/ planned hospital may warrant a home birth. In case no provisions were made to equip the home or vicinity/ surrounding with equipment and tools of delivery, the woman runs the risk of infection to

Mediator's Opening Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mediator's Opening Statement - Essay Example Throughout these proceedings any reference to the party against whom the claim is made will be identified as the respondent. My job as your mediator is to help you settle or resolve the dispute between you. I will not be deciding the outcome for you since my role as a mediator is to help you come to an agreement voluntarily. We will be convening based on an established schedule and when necessary to move this process along. With my help, you will identify your own interests and alternatives for the resolution of the dispute between you so that we can ultimately negotiate and execute an agreement that is acceptable to both sides and to which you will be bound once you agree to it. Therefore, unlike judges and arbitrators, I will not be deciding the outcome of this complaint. You as the parties to this process will decide the outcome. I will play a facilitative role in these proceedings. In my capacity as a facilitative mediator, my job is to understand and respect party autonomy. In t his regard, my role is to preside over these meetings and to allow you to discuss and air your differences in a meaningful and productive way. I will not make recommendations nor will I provide an opinion as to what I think the court might do in a similar situation or if it was seized of the matter. That is not my job as a facilitative mediator. My job is guide you via questions and comments that may help you to find common ground for arriving at a mutually agreeable conclusion on your own and without my input as to what would be a viable solution. It is also important to remind you, that throughout these proceedings, I will remain neutral in that I do not take one side over the other. I also want to assure you that this meeting is private and confidential and will remain so throughout these proceedings and after the matter is concluded. There are several reasons for ensuring privacy and confidentiality. First and most importantly, I do not want you to feel inhibited by the prospect of these discussions becoming a matter of public record. This might prevent full and frank disclosure which we need to ensure that this matter is resolved between you voluntarily. Secondly, privacy and confidentially ensures that my neutrality will not come into question if this matter is unresolved and you take it to court. If that happens, I might be called to testify for one party over the other and that would leave the appearance of bias. Thirdly, confidentially and privacy builds trust between you and me. Confidentiality and privacy however, can be waived, but only if the parties agree to it being waived. Another exception would be in rare circumstances where I might be compelled to testify in criminal proceedings or to give evidence in the investigation of criminal offences. The proceedings will be organized around joint and caucus sessions. Joint sessions are self-explanatory. Caucus sessions will be sessions in which I will meet with each of you separately to gain a prospec tive on your arguments, issues and interests. I am no way forming an opinion on your arguments, issues or interests, but merely seeking to identify them so that I can be more informed as to what and where you are going in joint discussions so that that I can guide you toward productive discussions that are aimed at guiding you toward a voluntary conclusion of the matter. Therefore, I do not want either or you to read

How a Shorter Working Week Can Help to Keep the Quality of Services Essay

How a Shorter Working Week Can Help to Keep the Quality of Services Intact - Essay Example Based on this research mullins points out that we live in an organisational world where different types of organisations are a necessary part of the society and serve many important needs. This statement appear just as true as the one that all tiers of the present-day society’s structure are more or less regularly shaken by multiple global financial and economic crises – the latest of which is still ongoing, with yet unknown precise dimensions and tail end. Therefore, each and every organisation – whether in the public or private sector – is subjected to the consequences of these crises, with certain implications for the organisation’s modus operandi, operational capabilities, and, above all, the individuals who work for, and depend on, the organisation in question. In order to better understand how our organisation would successfully perform its functions under the above-mentioned circumstances, a few conceptions need to be reviewed. On the one han d all organisations are made of individual members, where the individual is a central feature and necessary constituent part of any organisation’s behavioural situation, whether acting in response to expectations of the organisation, or as a result of influences of the external environment. Individuals and groups interact within the formal structure of an organisation, which is created by management in order to establish relationships between those individuals and groups, as well as to provide order and systems, and to direct the efforts of the organisation into goal-seeking activities...ery organisation – whether in the public or private sector – is subjected to the consequences of these crises, with certain implications for the organisation’s modus operandi, operational capabilities, and, above all, the individuals who work for, and depend on, the organisation in question. In order to better understand how our organisation would successfully perform its functions under the above-mentioned circumstances, a few conceptions need to be reviewed. On the one hand all organisations are made of individual members, where the individual is a central feature and necessary constituent part of any organisation’s behavioural situation, whether acting in response to expectations of the organisation, or as a result of influences of the external environment (Mullins, 1996d, p.5). Individuals and groups interact within the formal structure of an organisation, which is created by management in order to establish relationships between those individuals and groups, as well as to provide order and systems, and to direct the efforts of the organisation into goal-seeking activities (Mullins, 1996d, p.6). Thus, through its formal structure, the organisation – as comprised of the organisation’s members – carry out its activities aimed at achieving certain objectives (Mullins, 1996d). On the other hand, each organisation function s as part of the broader external environment, which affects the organisation through a variety of stimuli, like technological and scientific development, social and cultural influences, economic activity, governmental actions, etc.; while the increasing rate of change in environmental factors, including crises, necessitates certain internal change, as part of a process by which the organisation adapts to the demands of the external

Holfstede cultural dimensions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Holfstede cultural dimensions - Essay Example The above practice would help in enhancing the applicability of the human resources practices to help in meeting the needs of the personnel employed in different multinational organizations. Culture is learned through the inherited human nature, based on different preferences, experiences, and values. Four cultural dimensions of Holfstede identifies those global applications, which are reflected by, in all aspects of life such as family life, practices of child rearing, education, health care and the employment practices (ASHA, 2014). The cultural dimensions as generated by the cultural scientist, Geert Hofstede are generated based on the cultural dimensions model which is elucidated as follows. The parameter of individualism or collectivism as generated by Hofstede evaluates the culture of a region based on individualistic and collectivist attributes. People dwelling in regions governed by collectivist approaches operate in a close cultural setting that reflects mutual care and understanding for each other. The collectivist countries also reflect honor for the existing cultural and social norms. On the other hand the regions governed or based on individualistic cultures reflect individuals that tend to take decisions in an independent fashion by not taking into consideration the needs and views of other members in a social group. Thus, decisions though taken by individuals based on social norms are loosely knit to each other thereby affecting the existing social fabric (Piepenburg, 2011). This dimension can influence the perceptions of person’s disability. For example, after facing any negativity in the life or suffering of any accidental disability can change the thoughts of the person. The victim can be more focused to live an independent life by analyzing the cultural backgrounds. The caretakers of these victims can facilitate them for a self-care life (ASHA, 2014). Uncertainty Avoidance tends

'Despite cases such as PAY v LANCASHIRE PROBATION SERVICE and X v Y, Essay

'Despite cases such as PAY v LANCASHIRE PROBATION SERVICE and X v Y, private life should mean what it says'. Critically assess - Essay Example This essay would also present arguments which show that private life affects a person’s work. Pay v Lancashire Probation Service One of the known cases related to private life and employment is Pay v Lancashire Probation Service ([2003] UKEAT 1224_02_2910 (29 October 2003). This involves a probation officer, Mr Pay, who joined Lancashire Probation Service in 1983 ([2003] UKEAT 1224_02_2910). His work involved â€Å"the treatment of sex offenders† and even had a so-called â€Å"Sex Offenders Initiative† programme which he founded along with another colleague (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). This programme â€Å"ran successfully for a period of 4 years† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). His work with sex offenders was properly regarded â€Å"by his employers and by the courts† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). However, it was found out through an anonymous fax letter that he was a member of an organization called Rois sy Workshops Limited (â€Å"Roissy†) that maintained a website, wherein Mr Pay performed the â€Å"fire act,† and merchandised products connected with bondage, domination and sado-masochism (BDSM) (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). ... Ms Wyham to whom the matter was referred to, commented that the important issue is â€Å"whether or not as a public servant, and as a member of a criminal justice organisation working with sex offenders and other vulnerable groups, Mr. Pay's activities in his private life, as depicted on the Internet are commensurate with his role as a probation officer and the public trust in him† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). She noted that there might be an effect as to Mr Pay’s disclosure of his relationship to Roissy especially â€Å"on victims who looked to the Probation Service for help† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). She stated that such website information may be ‘badly misinterpreted’† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). The Panel set forth the following reasons for his dismissal thus, â€Å"The Panel regards the nature of the act shown in the photographs presented and Mr Pay's participation in those acts, and al so the advertising material for Roissy Workshops Ltd, as incompatible with the role and responsibilities of a Probation Officer. The Panel further takes the view that involvement in such activities by Mr Pay is additionally inappropriate, having regard to his work with sex offenders. ... The Panel shares the view of the previous Panel †¦ that the Probation Service has a responsibility to the public to demonstrate the integrity of its officers, and that public knowledge of Mr Pay's activities would damage the reputation of the Service. The Panel does not accept that the decision to dismiss Mr Pay constitutes infringement of his rights within the Human Rights Act 1998. The Panel note that Articles 8 and 10 †¦ are qualified rights, and that due regard must be had to the protection of health or morals, and the protection of

Business Simulation Game (Individual Report) Essay - 1

Business Simulation Game (Individual Report) - Essay Example Fruits are starting to bear for the few steps already covered though we still have a long way to go. Strategic management planning and implementation has been in place for the six years. Our work in the office has been to implement these plans for the last three years and into the future in order to realize the full implementation. The next three years will be about much to do with consolidating the gains made in the last three years in order to maintain the market dominance that we have gained since. There is still room for improvement in our market segment we are pursuing. In internet marketing for example, we are relatively doing well but there are still a number of companies ahead in terms of these segment sales volumes. The same is true in private label and wholesale where competition is very high. Claude Footwear Company core business is the manufacturing of sports footwear. Our markets cover or divided into four geographical regions for ease of doing business; North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe-Africa. These geographic areas are covered and managed from divisional headquarters located in each. The world head office and manufacturing plant is located here in London United Kingdom. As part of the strategic plan in the future is to put up manufacturing plants in some of the regions if we consider that it might be a strategic low-cost measure. This could be implemented sooner in emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Specialty footwear still could be a factor to consider in putting up those plans if you consider country or region specialty sports like long distance running in East Africa, short distance, baseball, basketball, and American football in the Americas and football in Europe. The company in the medium term is implementing, as mentioned earlier a strategic plan which include product innovation, new product lines, marketplace scope expansion, and diversification and

'Despite cases such as PAY v LANCASHIRE PROBATION SERVICE and X v Y, Essay

'Despite cases such as PAY v LANCASHIRE PROBATION SERVICE and X v Y, private life should mean what it says'. Critically assess - Essay Example This essay would also present arguments which show that private life affects a person’s work. Pay v Lancashire Probation Service One of the known cases related to private life and employment is Pay v Lancashire Probation Service ([2003] UKEAT 1224_02_2910 (29 October 2003). This involves a probation officer, Mr Pay, who joined Lancashire Probation Service in 1983 ([2003] UKEAT 1224_02_2910). His work involved â€Å"the treatment of sex offenders† and even had a so-called â€Å"Sex Offenders Initiative† programme which he founded along with another colleague (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). This programme â€Å"ran successfully for a period of 4 years† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). His work with sex offenders was properly regarded â€Å"by his employers and by the courts† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). However, it was found out through an anonymous fax letter that he was a member of an organization called Rois sy Workshops Limited (â€Å"Roissy†) that maintained a website, wherein Mr Pay performed the â€Å"fire act,† and merchandised products connected with bondage, domination and sado-masochism (BDSM) (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). ... Ms Wyham to whom the matter was referred to, commented that the important issue is â€Å"whether or not as a public servant, and as a member of a criminal justice organisation working with sex offenders and other vulnerable groups, Mr. Pay's activities in his private life, as depicted on the Internet are commensurate with his role as a probation officer and the public trust in him† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). She noted that there might be an effect as to Mr Pay’s disclosure of his relationship to Roissy especially â€Å"on victims who looked to the Probation Service for help† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). She stated that such website information may be ‘badly misinterpreted’† (Pay v Lancashire Probation Service [2003]). The Panel set forth the following reasons for his dismissal thus, â€Å"The Panel regards the nature of the act shown in the photographs presented and Mr Pay's participation in those acts, and al so the advertising material for Roissy Workshops Ltd, as incompatible with the role and responsibilities of a Probation Officer. The Panel further takes the view that involvement in such activities by Mr Pay is additionally inappropriate, having regard to his work with sex offenders. ... The Panel shares the view of the previous Panel †¦ that the Probation Service has a responsibility to the public to demonstrate the integrity of its officers, and that public knowledge of Mr Pay's activities would damage the reputation of the Service. The Panel does not accept that the decision to dismiss Mr Pay constitutes infringement of his rights within the Human Rights Act 1998. The Panel note that Articles 8 and 10 †¦ are qualified rights, and that due regard must be had to the protection of health or morals, and the protection of

The Horror Genre Essay Example for Free

The Horror Genre Essay The horror genre is based on fear, predominantly visual, psychological and atmospherical. A very good horror may even be able to affect you physically, making you too scared to go to sleep, turn the light off or the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The Blair Witch Project uses suspense in the way that you never get to see what is actually following the students in the woods, making you use your imagination, which can be much scarier than anything you can see. It also sets the scene at the start of the film when they ask people on the streets about the woods, and when they all say bad things you now something bad is going to happen. This happens in a similar but different form in The Superstitious Mans Story. At the start of the story it straight away sets William Privett up to be a bit strange, not in the literal sense, but in a way that he has a strange presence. The narrator says, and I quote: if he was in the house or anywhere behind your back without you seeing him, there seemed to be something clammy in the air, as if a cellar door was opened close by your elbow. The Sexton (church caretaker) says that: hed not known the bell go so heavy in his hand for years and he feared it meant death in the parish. This is like the towns-people at the start of Blair Witch; you are given the feeling that something bad is going to happen. In Silence of the Lambs after the killer, Buffalo Bill, takes a victim he puts a moth inside their mouth. Although William Privett was not murdered, a miller-moth flies out of his mouth when he is found dead in The Superstitious Mans Story. The strange thing about this is the fact that he hasnt worked in a mill for several years. At that same time Philip Hookhorn (a towns-man) was at Longpuddle Spring and saw William there, and this was peculiar because William never went there, on account that that was the place his only son drowned as a child. So it could be said that the miller-moth that came out of his mouth could have been his soul or spirit escaping from his body. His spirit may have been out of his body earlier on in the story also, because his wife Betty could have sworn that she felt him go past her while she was ironing, even though she never looked or exchanged words with him. Nancy Weedle, a friends daughter, also says that she saw William out at the same time. But Nancy saw him going in to the church on Midsummer Eve, and any faint shapes of all the folk in the parish who are going to be at deaths door within the year can be seen entering the church. The people who recover from their illness come out after a while. Notice the way that Betty felt William go by her, indicating that the unexplained, clammy aurora that he seems to have could actually be his spiritual being. This story gives me the impression that you have to be in touch with your spiritual side, believing in ghosts and other strange phenomena. But this of course was written in the eighteenth century, around the same time that Edgar Allen Poe wrote the poem The Raven, which features a talking Raven and angels. Nowadays with scientific knowledge and facts, and better common sense you dont get many people finding supernatural stories believable, but the intended audience of the time would have been affected by it. IT is a good horror film. It shows us that anything can have a dark-side, as the killer in it is a clown, which is usually a happy, entertaining character. If you look at it in a certain way, Night Fears is also like this, dealing with the other sides to the human psyche, but it has other factors that conform to the horror genre. The situation that his job as night watchman has put him in, all alone at night with a fire the only light available, plus the fact that hes uneasy about taking the job, is something that is often seen in horror films. You get the impression hes unsettled with the job practically straight away, when it says just four lines into the story: Two days ago, when he first took the job, he was in inclined to suspect the light; it dazzled him, made a target of him This shows that he feels vulnerable when he is alone at work, that the small source of light he has in front of him simply makes every where else seem darker. While walking around on patrol he find himself dozing off, but one time when he reawakens he sees that there is a person sitting on the barrier to his enclosure. He straightaway finds something unusual about the man, the fact that he did not hear him approach or sit onto the barrier. I feel that he didnt hear him coming could have something to do with him dozing off slightly as he was walking. He reacts to his presence calmly, assuming that hes a drunk, and tries to usher him on his way home. Then the stranger says the first thing that spooks the watchman. When he says: A fine night, the stranger replies by saying, Yes, but cold; it will be colder before morning. At this point the night watchman turns to his brazier, and he suddenly realises that his coke supply is not as much as the previous nights, and that it is running out. When the watchman tells the stranger that this is the reason for the lack of heat coming from the fire, he begins to attack him further. how easily men forget? This coke of yours, I mean; it looks as if they didnt care about you very much, leaving you in the cold like this. This statement strikes the watchman particularly odd as that thought had just crossed his mind, and eerily the stranger picked up on it. The watchman tries to get that thought out of his mind quickly, by dismissing the strangers suggestion by saying that they probably just forgot to leave him any as they were rushing to get home. But then he contradicts himself by admitting that he doesnt know his co-workers that well, and that he has a feeling that the one they call Old Bill doesnt like him, and it was Old Bills task to leave him the nights supply of coke. The watchman then reveals that he is growing impatient with the stranger: How I would like to push him off, the night-watchman thought, irritated and somehow troubled. The two of them carry on like this for quite a while, with the stranger bringing up problems like money, sleeping during the day and not spending time with his family. With the problem of sleeping during the day the stranger says: People have done themselves in sooner than stand the torture This is an important part of the story as it is the first time that death is mentioned, and this is the main point you would when explaining why the night watchman killed himself. He thought that the blue blinds that his wife were making him would solve his insomnia, but this statement by the stranger even puts doubts in his mind about this, something that he once described as a Sovereign remedy. Then the stranger starts to get personal when he starts talking about his family: What about your children? You wont see much of them theyll grow up without knowing you not that you miss them much if children dont get fond of their father while theyre young, they never will At this point I feel that the watchman is starting to lose it, as he doesnt defend himself by saying how good the kids were, even though before the thought of his children and wife was the only this getting him through the night. The stranger then suggests that he should find another job; maybe the stranger is after the job as night watchman and is trying to scare him out of the job. The stranger seams to actually be taking control as the next quote shows: I was never brought up to a trade fathers fault It struck him that he had never confessed that before; had sworn not to give his father away. What am I coming to? This sudden control that the man has over the mind of the watchman strongly shows that the stranger was probably in his head all along, and that the doubtful side of his conscious has taken the form of this stranger. This, getting into his mind, by the stranger happens again as the watchman realises that he is soaked with perspiration: I shall get a chill, thatll be the next thing such an idea hadnt occurred to him since he was a child. This indicates that the stranger is getting deeper and deeper into his thoughts, and has now got so deep it has reached thoughts that he had not conceived since he was a child. The stranger then says: Its a pity youre under contract to finish this job As the night watchman did not mention anything about a contract, this is a pivotal moment if you are trying to understand who or what the stranger actually is, as it narrows it down to two possibilities. He is either a man after the watchmans job, as he has found out from somewhere that there is a contract involved, or he is the watchmans imagination, and he knows about the contract from the watchmans memory. The night watchman soon after starts to walk and stumble around his confinement aimlessly, banging his own head as random thoughts start to go through his mind. Then one particular thought stands out from all the confusion, as he reaches into his pocket for his knife to kill himself. The stranger then turns around for the first time and sees the watchman dead on the floor. He then warms his hands on the brazier before crossing the street and starting down an ally and did not return. Just a few moments ago when I narrowed the stranger down to two possible things, I have now decided that the stranger was the night watchmans conscious. I feel this way because I dont think that it could have been a man after his job because of the fact that he went into the ally-way and did not return. If he were a real person this would suggest that he was a homeless man, and therefore would not be after a job. The Superstitious Mans Story is a story that requires you to believe in ghosts for you to really get the effect of it. At the time it was written it was common for people to believe in that kind of thing, as there was no way to prove that ghosts didnt exist. Night Fears how ever is a more recent story and is more of a psychological story, not telling you clearly what happens at the end and leaving you to make up you own mind. In conclusion I think that Night Fears is a more effective horror story as it is more up to date and in touch with my generation, as the idea of a psychological horror is still used even in the films of today.

Tumour Supressor Genes and Retinoblastoma

Tumour Supressor Genes and Retinoblastoma Throughout our life time growth is constant. Barring a few cells, most cells continue to grow, divide and replace themselves. Such processes require a strict regulation and this is brought about by cell cycle processes. These processes are carried out by proteins which control the growth and development. Proteins are coded by the genes and when the genetic information is altered or is mutated, it leads to a protein which is dysfunctional and the cell might lose its restraint on growth processes. This in turn leads to an uncontrolled growth of the cells which then causes cancer. Cancer is a disease of the genes. At a molecular level, there are two major reasons which have been attributed for cancer induction. The first one is the gain of function in genes and the other one is loss of function of genes. The genes which gain function, that is, get activated after certain specific events are known as proto-oncogenes. They are typically activated in cancer cells conferring new properties, such as hyperactive growth and division, protection against programmed cell death, loss of contact inhibition between cells, and the ability to become established in diverse and adverse environments. Those genes which lose their functions due to specific events are termed tumor suppressor genes (Eeles et al 2004). Tumor suppressor genes are inactivated in cancer cells, resulting in loss of normal functions, such as accurate DNA replication, cell cycle control, adhesion within tissues. Tumor suppressor genes are named such because when they are expressed in a normal cell they maintain the cell in a differentiated state and do not allow unchecked proliferation of cells. Therefore, at least one functional copy is required to prevent tumor initiation. That there are tumor suppressor genes was proposed when it was experimentally found by Harris et al. (1969) in cell fusion experiments wherein a fusion between a normal and a tumor cell rendered the cell non-cancerous and therefore, it was proposed there must be tumor suppressor genes which suppress cell growth in a dominant fashion (Skapek et al, 1997). As long as the normal copy is functional, the protein expressed maintains normal functioning of the cells. Many tumor suppressors have been identified and extensively characterized. TP53, WT1, NF1, BRCA, VHL, APC, MEN1 are a few examples of tumor suppressor genes. Tumor suppressor genes are divided into three categories- the gatekeepers, the caretakers and the landscapers. Gatekeepers are genes that directly regulate the growth of tumors by inhibiting their growth or by promoting apoptosis. In contrast, inactivation of caretakers does not directly promote growth of tumors. Rather, inactivation of caretakers leads to genetic instability that only indirectly promotes growth by causing an increased mutation rate. Landscaper genes do not directly affect cancer cell growth but contribute to an abnormal stromal environment that contributes to neoplastic transformation of the overlying epithelium. This project deals with one gatekeeper gene, known as retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB1). RB1 is the first tumor suppressor gene to be identified and cloned (Lee at al., Eeles et al, 2004; Andrade et al, 2006). It is the gene which when mutated predisposes a person to a common malignancy of the eye, retinoblastoma. Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer in children. It generally manifests in children before the age of five years with a majority of the tumors occurring by the age of 2 years (Lee et al., Eeles et al, 2004). Clinical features of retinoblastoma: As the name implies, retinoblastoma is one of the rare embryonic neoplasms originating in the retina. It is the most common intraocular tumor in children (Valverde et al, 2005). It was first described as a specific entity by James Wardrop. In majority of cases, the first sign at presentation is the characteristic cats eye reflex, which is usually noted by direct visualization. This white, pink-white, or yellow-white pupillary reflex, termed leukocoria, results from replacement of vitreous by the tumor or by a tumor growing in the macula. Another common symptom, strabismus or squint (exotropia or esotropia) can occur alone when small macular tumors interfere with the vision, or can be associated with leukocoria. Uncommon presenting signs for retinoblastoma are red, painful eye with secondary glaucoma, orbital cellulitis (infection of the soft tissues of the eyelids), unilateral mydriasis (excessive dilation of the pupil due to disease or due to trauma), and heterochromia (the iris of the two eyes show different color). In rare cases, presenting symptoms include hypopyon (pus in the anterior chamber of eye), hyphema (blood in the anterior eye chamber), keratitis, and vitreous hemorrhage (Vogelstein and Kinzler, 2002). A complete evaluation for retinoblastoma includes ophthalmologic examination, radiographic evaluation (skull X-ray, CT scan, MRI), and more recently, genetic testing. Fundus examination of first degree relatives is also done to look for the presence of retinoma or a regressed tumor which may indicate a hereditary component of the disease. Retinoblastoma can be exophytic or endophytic. It is exophytic when tumor occurs between the choroid and the retina and it is endophytic when it extends from retina towards the vitreous chamber. Therapy depends on the stage at which it is discovered. Based on that, treatment is given which includes enucleation, external beam radiotherapy, cryotherapy, episcleral plaques, xenon and argon laser photocoagulation, and chemotherapy. The choice of treatment depends on the factors such as: Multifocal or unifocal disease, Site and dimensions of the tumor, Diffused or focal vitreous seeding, Age of the individual, Histopathological finding. Therefore, staging and grouping of the disease is very important. Retinoblastoma can manifest in one of the eyes, both eyes and / or pineal body of the brain. When it is observed in one eye, it is referred to as unilateral retinoblastoma. When it is present in both the eyes, it is referred to as bilateral retinoblastoma. It is called trilateral retinoblastoma when the pineal gland is also involved. Why should retinoblastoma occur in one eye in some individuals and both the eyes in others? One more observation was that most of the individuals who came with retinoblastoma in both the eyes were diagnosed at an age earlier than those who presented with unilateral retinoblastoma. What is different in the genotypes of these two types of individuals that warrant a delayed onset of disease in the unilateral retinoblastoma cases? This was explained by Knudson in his study. Genetics in retinoblastoma: Retinoblastoma occurs with a frequency of 1 in 13,500 (Mateu et al., 1997) to1 in 20,000 (Di Commo et al., 2000). It is seen in both hereditary and nonhereditary forms (Knudson, Lee et al.) and shows no significant variation between races, countries, or level of industrialization (Mateu et al., 1997). However, contradictory views have been expressed by Mastrangelo as he questions the credibility of the data. Previous studies indicated that a gene predisposing to retinoblastoma manifests in young children was localized to chromosome 13. The gene was probably at band q14, since several retinoblastoma patients had shown to carry constitutional deletions of this region of chromosome 13. Retinoblastoma can be hereditary as well as sporadic. Those who have a mutation at one of the alleles of RB1 in germline cells are said to be predisposed to the disease. Such cases are categorized under hereditary retinoblastoma. Both hereditary as well as non-hereditary forms of retinoblastoma may show tumors in one or both the eyes. In the hereditary form of retinoblastoma, a germline mutation is transmitted as high penetrance (90%) autosomal dominant trait (Martinez et al). Most reported cases are sporadic (Knudson, 1971; Mateu et al, 1997). Retinoblastoma is caused by two mutational events at the retinoblastoma (RB1) locus (Knudson, 1971). That is, biallelic inactivation of RB1 due to mutations is a crucial event in the development of retinoblastoma (Andrade et al, 2006). Knudsons hypothesis: Alfred Knudson realized the implications of the fact that individuals with hereditary bilateral retinoblastoma were diagnosed at a younger age than those children with non-heritable disease, mostly unilateral retinoblastoma. The mean age of individuals on diagnosis was found to be 19 months in unilateral retinoblastoma cases whereas it was found to be 5 months in bilateral retinoblastoma cases. Also, in most cases of familial retinoblastoma, tumor develops in both the eyes. To explain these two important phenomena, age of onset and tumor development (unifocal or multifocal) in one or both eyes, Knudson proposed the two hit hypothesis. The hypothesis seeks to explain the occurrence of hereditary and nonhereditary retinoblastoma and its correlation with the age of onset of the disease. According to Knudson, the first mutational hit can be inherited through the germline or can be somatically acquired, whereas the second occurs somatically in both cases and leads to tumor in cells that is double defective at the RB1 locus (Knudson, 1971; Mateu et al., 1997). Thus in case of hereditary retinoblastoma, the individual must have inherited the mutation through the germline and hence, during the course of development may show the second mutational hit leading to tumorigenesis. As this individual already has a mutation in germline, it shows the second hit early in the life time. Statistical analyses indicated that as few as two mutational hits were rate limiting for the development of retinoblastoma tumors. The occurrence of the first mutation (M1) in the germline and all developing retinal cells gives retinoblastoma tumor a head start in hereditary cases (only M2 must arise in a retinal cell), compared to non-hereditary tumors where both M1 and M2 must arise in a single retinal cell. On the other hand, in unilateral retinoblastoma cases, the individual has not inherited a germline mutation at the RB1 locus. During the course of development, the cells of such patients gather both the mutations in somatic cells with some exceptions. Thus these tumors arise later than the hereditary forms of retinoblastoma. Knudson performed a statistical analysis of some patients presenting with retinoblastoma. The number of tumors in each eye was calculated and he devised a distribution keeping number of tumors in one eye, m= 3. Each tumor which is seen originates from a single cell. Thus, a mutation rate can be roughly calculated. If the total number retinal cells are n, m/n is the probability of a cell undergoing mutation at one of the alleles. Now, retinoblastoma is derived from the inner and outer neuroblastic layer. The order of magnitude of retinoblasts is reflected by the magnitude of the number of ganglion cells which are derived from the early differentiated inner nuclear layer of the retina. The estimated number of ganglion cells has been put at 2 x 106 per retina. Thus, using this as an approximation for the total number of cells, the probability that a cell will inherit one mutation is 0.75 x 10-6. Since a majority of hereditary cases occur in the first two years of life, the probability expressed per year at either member of the autosomal gene pair would be one fourth of this value, or approximately 2x 10-7 per year. This estimates the rate of second mutation in mutated cells (Knudson, 1971). It is seen that the rate at which the second mutation occurs is relatively lower than the first mutational hit. Retinoblastoma in hereditary cases which present themselves as bilateral retinoblastoma show high penetrance. In such cases, the vast majority of high penetrance mutations are null alleles where the mutations abrogates which destabilizes RB mRNA, presumably due to pre mature truncation of translation, so that no pRb is detected. However, some mutations show low penetrance. The low penetrance phenotype can result from several different types of RB alleles. Germline deletion of the whole RB gene often results in unilateral retinoblastoma, presumably because an unknown adjacent critical gene is also deleted, without which the RB-/- cell cannot survive. Only cells in which M2 is a different intragenic RB mutation on an allele with the adjacent critical gene still intact can survive to form retinoblastoma. Some mutations reduce expression of wild type pRB by targeting the promoter or splice sites. In-frame mutations result in a stable pRB with some aberrant functions. THE RB1 GENE: The RB gene family includes at least three members- RB1, RBL1, and p130. The RBL1 and p130 also show similar protein binding characteristics as RB1 and therefore they come under one gene family (Mulligan and Jacks, 1998). All three genes code for pocket proteins because their main sequence similarity resides in the pocket domain, which mediates interactions with the cellular and viral proteins to exert biological functions of this family (Pogoriler et al., 2006). The RB1 gene has been localized on chromosome 13 of humans on the long arm with locus 14.2 (Cavenee et al, 1971). The RB1 gene codes for a protein which is 928 amino acids long. There are 27 exons in RB1 and occupies nearly 200 kb of the genome. The gene transcribes a 4.7 kb mRNA. The exon size varies across the gene. The largest is exon 27 which is 1892bp long while exon 24 has only 30bp in its exonic region (NCBI database: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). Comings et al. suggested that RB1 is a tumor suppressor gene which is recessive at cellular level (Comings, 1971; Di Commo et al., 2000). The RB1 promoter present upstream of the exons does not show the typical TATA box binding domain. The promoter sequence of RB1 reveals that the sequence between -300 and +400 is GC rich (Hong et al, 1989). As the promoter lacks a TATA element, it might explain the presence of three transcriptional initiation sites. Deletion analysis of the promoter by Hong et al demonstrated that the sequence stretching from +13 to +83 suffices the promoter activity. Another characteristic of the promoter region is that the G+C rich region shows similarity with many housekeeping genes (Hong et al, 1989). This outlines the fact that the RB1 gene is expressed constitutively in almost all tissues of our body. The Leiden Open source Variation Database (LOVD) maintains the reported mutations in the RB1 gene. Almost 940 mutations and polymorphisms have been reported in RB1 by many scientists (www.rb1-lsdb.d-lohmann.de/). Single base pair mutations are the most frequent M1 mutations and account for nearly 40% of the confirmed mutations, followed by short and large mutations. The second hit might be associated with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) mutations, promoter hypermethylation, or even a second independent base substitution (Andrade et al, 2006; Lohmann et al., 1996). The most common point mutation found in the studies is the change from C>T at the CGA sites which codes for amino acid arginine. This change leads to premature termination of the protein (Lohmann et al., 1996). Expression of Rb protein: Initially, RB gene was considered to be expressed ubiquitously in all tissues of the body considering its role in maintaining cell differentiation (Karantza et al, 1993). However, later studies revealed differential expression of Rb protein. In situ Hybridization studies done with Rb expression during embryogenesis show, that the Rb family of proteins is differentially expressed in only certain specific cell lineages. According to studies, Rb1 mRNA transcripts were detected not only during in the ganglionic cell layer of retina but also during neurogenesis, hematopoiesis, myogenesis, lens development prior to and during differentiation. In the liver and the CNS, RB1 is co-expressed along with p107 protein. Consequently, RB-/-, p107-/- cells undergo cell apoptosis. RB1 transcripts were also detected throughout myogenesis. pRB has also been found to be expressed during spermatogenesis (Yan et al, 2001). Since RB1 mutations specifically arise in the human eye, analysis has been performed for the developing eye. The results suggested that RB1 transcripts were detected in the ganglion cell layer of the developing retina from embryonic day 14 through 18 (Jiang et al, 1997). Preliminary studies had indicated that Rb expression in developing retina initiates as the cells commit to differentiation, but pRb has been detected only in certain subsets of retinal cells (Di Commo et al, 2000). In conclusion, pRb expression is important for terminal mitosis in peripheral nervous system, keratinocytes, and skeletal muscles (Di Commo et al, 2000). THE RETINOBLASTOMA SUSCEPTIBILITY PROTEIN: The RB1 gene transcribes a 4.7 kb mRNA which encodes a phosphoprotein which is 928 amino acids long. It is an example of a pocket protein as there are sites or pockets which interact with other proteins. The protein is a negative regulator of the cell cycle. The pRb migrates in SDS PAGE as a multiple, closely spaced bands with molecular weights between 110 and 114 kDa (Skapek et al, 1997). The pRb can be divided into three domains protease resistant, protease soluble and structural domains comprising of the N terminal, R motif, and A/B pocket (Di Commo et al, 2000). The N Terminal: The N terminal region extends from amino acid 1-379. Although the N terminal is well conserved among Rb orthologs and paralogs, it has been studied far less. However, a significant number of mutations in this region occur in retinoblastomas, strongly implicating it in tumor suppression. Another study by Goodrich et al, 2003, suggested that integrity of the domain is necessary for rescue from both developmental defects as well as tumor susceptibility. The crystal structure of the domain reveals a globular entity formed by two rigidly connected cyclin folds similar to the pocket domains which suggests that Rb evolved through domain duplication. A coherent conformation of the Rb holoprotein has been suggested in which the N terminal domain and the pocket domains interact directly (Hassler et al). The A/B domain: The pocket domain consists of two non consecutive stretches of amino acids, A (amino acids 380-577) and B (amino acids 645-785) (Xiao et al, 2003). It is coded by the exons 12 through 22 of the RB1 gene (Brichard et al, 2006). This region has been shown to interact with many proteins. This domain has been shown to be critical for many interactions of pRb including interaction with a variety of cellular proteins like E2F transcription factor (extensively characterized), tethering of pRb to nuclear structures (Skapek et al., 1997), phosphorylation during the G1 phase of cell cycle. Between the A and B domain is a small stretch of 75 amino acids, the spacer region. A small deletion within the spacer region or replacement of the spacer region with a random sequence has no effect on the function of pRb. However, deletion of entire spacer affects the physical interaction between the two domains. There is another pocket referred to as the C pocket domain in the large A/B domain of the pRb protein. This C pocket lies within the minimal functional domain of RB (Rb amino acids 395 to 876) (Whitaker et al, 1998). The C terminal: The C terminal stretches from amino acid 786 to 928. Of the sixteen sites for phosphorylation by cdks identified, six lie in the C terminal. It has been demonstrated that phosphorylation of S788 and S795 destabilizes the E2F complex interaction directly while phosphorylation of T821 and T826 induces an intramolecular interaction with Rb pocket that destabilizes the remaining interactions indirectly (Rubin et al.). The C terminal also contains a Nuclear Localization Signal (NLS) as well as cyclin binding motif [R/K]XL that are important for Rb phosphorylation (Di Commo et al, 2000). RB AND CELL CYCLE: pRB is a negative regulator of the cell cycle. The cell cycle consists of DNA synthesis (S phase) and mitosis (M phase) separated by two gap intervals, G1 and G2. When they are not cycling, cells are in a quiescent phase, G0, and extra- and intracellular signals are required to re-enter the cell cycle. Serum-starved cells in G0 will enter G1upon growth factor stimulation, and will return to G0 if mitogens are removed prior to a point in late G1. Beyond this restriction point (R) cells traverse through S, G2 and M, and will not stop even if serum is removed. There are two checkpoint controls which ensure proper cell cycle progression. The first one is referred to as the G1S checkpoint that ensures that there are proper environmental conditions for cell division. Importantly, many of the extracellular and intracellular signals that regulate passage through R point converge on the pRB pathway (Di Commo et al.) The second one is called as the G2M checkpoint which ensures that all the req uirements for cell division are fulfilled. Fig: Schematic diagram showing RB phosphorylation pathway. (1) E2F activity repressed in G0 phase imparting cell cycle inhibition. (2) Mitogens trigger a signaling pathway leading to activation of cdk 4/6- cyclin D, cdk 2-cyclin E complexes which in turn phosphorylate RB sequentially rendering it inactive. (3) E2F mediated gene expression allows progression through S phase. (4) During transition to mitosis, the action of mitosis reactivates RB to hypophosphorylated form. The regulation of pRB is by phosphorylation. Hypophosphorylated pRb is in its active form whereas on phosphorylation it loses its activity. The protein contains 16 CDK recognition motifs (S/TP) for phosphorylation, six of which are located in the C-terminus (Rubin et al, 2005). Hypophosphorylated pRB binds target proteins and arrests cells in G1. This block is relieved by a crescendo of CDK-mediated phosphorylation that begins as cells in G1 approach R, and is abruptly reversed at the end of M phase. The major targets for hypophosphorylated pRB are E2F and co repressors such as Histone Deacetylases (HDACs). E2F belongs to a family of transcription factors who have evolutionarily conserved domains including the one for DNA binding and a dimerization domain. E2F is found as a heterodimer with another class of proteins- Differentiation Regulated Transcription Factors (DRTF-b). E2F-pRB co repressor complexes maintain the gene repression (Lees et al, 1993) that is required for progression through R, such as cyclin E. To pass this checkpoint, these repressor complexes are disrupted in two stages by the sequential action of cyclin D and cyclin E activated CDKs. As cells exit G0, cyclin D levels rise, causing activation of CDK4/6 and phosphorylation of multiple C-terminal sites on pRB (Gorges et al, 2008). The C-terminal region of pRB contains a series of (R/K)XL cyclin docking motifs. Ser 795 is the first site to be phosphorylated, and is critical for inactivating growth suppression by pRB. Following D-CDK4/6 phosphorylation, the increase in negative charge promotes an intramolecular interaction between the C-terminus and a series of positively charged lysine residues (the lysine patch) that surround the LXCXE binding groove in the B domain of the pocket. Associated LXCXE proteins, such as HDACs, are also dislodged. However, E2F which does not use LXCXE motif to interact with the pRB does not dislodge. Removing HDACs is thought to relieve active repression of certain target genes such as cyclin E. The genes which are required for DNA replication like gene for thymidine kinase, DNA polymerase and dihydrofolate synthase are also activated as a result of phosphorylation of RB1 and subsequent loss of interaction with E2F protein which now recruits other transcription factors. The cell thus enters the S phase. In the S phase of cell cycle, DNA gets replicated and synthesized. Histone synthesis also occurs during the S phase. Once DNA replication is complete, the cell enters another gap, G2 ÂÂ ­where the cell continues to grow till the cell enters the M phase or mitosis phase. Significant protein synthesis takes place during the G2 phase. Proteins like microtubules involved in mitosis stage are synthesized. At the end of the G2 is the G2/M checkpoint. Once it overcomes the second checkpoint, the cell enters actual cell division- mitosis. RB1 PROTEIN INTERACTIONS IN CELL: Cell cycle control at the G1 S checkpoint and growth suppression as well as differentiation into a particular subset of cell is considered the major function of RB1 protein. Transcription regulation is a control mechanism that is critical for fundamental processes such as cell growth and differentiation. Proteins involved in transcription regulation either bind to DNA sequences or act as co-activators or co-repressors. pRb is one such transcription regulator. In accordance with its role as a tumor suppressor, introduction of Rb into Rb-/- cells diminishes their capacity for malignant transformation which underlines the fact that pRb plays a critical role in DNA replication, cellular senescence, differentiation, and apoptosis, placing pRb at the center of cellular proliferation and tumorigenesis through its interaction with various proteins. At least three distinct protein binding activities have been identified and extensively studied: the large A/B pocket binds E2F (Benevolenskaya et al, 2005), the A/B pocket binds the LXCXE peptide motif, and the C pocket binds the nuclear c-Abl tyrosine kinase (Whitaker et al, 1998). Also, the protein also stabilizes the heterochromatin to maintain the overall chromatin structure. The C pocket is distinct from the A/B pocket domain as pRb can simultaneously bind to c-Abl as well as E2F (Whitaker et al, 1998). The A/B domains are sufficient for E2F subunit binding to Rb. However, the E2F-DP1 heterodimer requires the presence of C terminal. The retinoblastoma protein inhibits E2F mediated transcription via two distinct mechanisms- 1.) pRb binds to E2F transactivation membrane and inhibits E2Fs ability to promote transcriptional activation of E2F dependent genes. 2.) pRb actively represses expression of certain genes by recruiting HDACs and other chromatin remodeling factors (Gorges et al, 2008). The C terminal has also been shown to bind to MDM2. MDM2 interaction with the extreme C terminal region has therefore been shown to contribute towards regulation of apoptosis (Janicke et al., 1996; Sdek et al, 2004). MDM 2 has been known to stimulate E2F transactivation activity and promote S phase entry of cells, independent of p53 (Sdek et al., 2004). The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein has been known to bind directly and inhibit a transcriptionally important amino terminal kinase domain of TATA- binding protein associated factor TAFII250 (Siegert et al., 2000). TAF II250 is the largest of approximately 10 TAF subunits of Pol II specific human TFIID. It directly binds to TBP and is believed to be a central scaffold for assembly of TAFs and TBP into a stable TFIID complex (Siegert et al., 2000). The retinoblastoma protein interacts even with transcription factors ATF2. ATF2 enhances the activity of TGF ÃŽÂ ² promoter. The retinoblastoma protein also enhances the stimulatory effects of ATF 2. The site on Rb required for its effect alone and in combination with ATFs has been mapped mainly to A/B products and the C pocket (Li and Wicks, 2001). It has been also reported that the amino terminal of BRCA 1 can efficiently bind to the ABC region (from amino acids 379-928) of the Rb protein. It has been shown that growth suppressor activity of BRCA1 takes place only in presence of a functional Rb protein (Aprelikova et al., 1999). pRb has been known to interact with proto-oncogene c-jun. One of the transcriptional modulator target sites of pRB is the AP-1 binding site within the c-jun and collagenase promoters. c-Jun also physical interacts with pRb where the C terminal site of leucine zipper interacts with pRb (Nishitani et al., 1998). pRb also represses the expression of c-Fos gene the gene product of which , Fos, is one component of the heterodimeric transcription factor, AP-1. Thus, pRb can be functionally linked to c-jun for transcriptional regulation. pRB when recruited to DNA via E2F is a potent transcriptional repressor due to its ability to recruit HDACs (Kennedy et al., 2001) and histone methylases. Again, one pRB binding protein, EID1 is a potent inhibitor of histone acetylases, p300 and CBP and blocks differentiation (Benevolenskaya et al.). HDACs interact directly with pRB by means of a LXCXE motif (Kennedy et al., 2001; Gorges et al., 2008). p53 controls phosphorylation of pRB in a cell indirectly. On DNA damage induces the transcription of its target gene p21WAF1/CIP1. The p21 protein thus formed binds to two different proteins. First, it inhibits the activity of CDKs in cell which in turn keeps pRB in active state. Thus, p53 helps in negative regulationof cell cycle. Second, the p21 protein interacts with the PCNA which then leads to inhibition of cell cycle (Hsieh et al, 1999). Androgen receptors show a unique interaction with pRb at the N terminal. Over expression of pRb leads to increased transcription activity of androgen receptor, AR. pRb also potentiates the activity of glucocorticoid recptors, GR. However, loss of pRb activity inhibits AR but not GR activity (Lu and Danielsen, 1998). MUTATIONS IN RB GENE: After RB1 gene was first cloned by Friend et al in 1986, mutations have been identified in the gene ranging from single base pair deletions, to small length insertions and deletions (Lohmann et al. 1996, Andrade et al. 2006). The mutations do not show any hotspots and they are widely distributed over the 27 exons of RB1 as well as the promoter region (Dalamon et al. 2003). The most common mutation found to result in predisposition to retinoblastoma is the point mutation from C>T. At times the mutation at this point changes the codon from CGA to TGA, from Arginine to stop codon. This premature truncation of protein leads to abrogated expression of pRb in cells. Hypermethylation of RB1 promoter has been also observed as a common epigenetic event in certain tumors (Gonzalez- Gomez et al., 2003). Retinoblastoma Gene Mutation database (RBGMdb) maintains a comprehensive list of all mutations in the RB1 gene. Till now, 932 mutations have been reported in the RBGMdb. Most of the mutations are nonsense mutations (42%). However, if recurrent nonsense mutations are not considered, the percentage comes down to 18%. RB1 mutations are scattered all along the genomic sequence. However, there are a few hotspots which show high recurrence. Most of the recurrences correspond to C>T changes in the sequence. Out of 351 nonsense mutations 271 (79%) are C>T transitions in eleven CGA (arginine) codons, in exon 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, and 23. No mutations have been found in the three other CGA codons in exon 1 and 27. In four of the mutated CGA codons, R251and R255 in exon 8, R451 and R455 of exon 14, a high frequency of constitutive hypermethylation has been demonstrated. In addition to hot spots, frameshift and point mutations leading to translational changes or splice site mutations are scattered along the retinoblastoma coding region and non-coding adjacent splicing sites. With the exception of exons 5, 14, 15, 24, 25 and the non-mutated exons 26 and 27, frameshift mutations are randomly distributed through the RB1 coding sequence. Splicing mutations are also evenly distributed, but show preference for intronic sequences adjacent to exons 6, 12, 16, 17, 19 and 24. It is worth to mention that most missense substitutions (60 %) are located in cyclin box B, underlined by exons 19 to 21.