Union Membership Trend Essay Example for Free

Union Membership Trend Essay On January 27 of this year the annual labor report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On this very same day the USA Today along with several other media vultures jumped on this information as if they knew what was already going to be on it. The article titled â€Å"Union membership up slightly, outlook in doubt† written by Sam Hananel, summarized the numbers in detail and left no doubt that the current union membership trend will continue in its downward slide. The fact is union membership has been in decline since 1980, and back then the percentage of covered salaried or wage workers was only about 20%. Today the percentage of unionized workers stands at 11.8% down 0.1% from the previous year. The funny thing about these numbers is the political spin everyone has put on them, to include Mr. Hananel; which makes me wonder if I’ve missed some fine print. Upon further review of the article at hand I still remain convince that a negative union membership trend will continue along with the current government practice of downplaying the numbers. Even though the author tried to put a positive on the numbers that fortunate don’t lie. The current percentages of unionized workers mirrors those on record from the time of the â€Å"Great Depression.† The current recession, that yes, we’re still in, doesn’t bode well for any significant positive upswing in union membership. The government will continue to introduce and press on rhetoric that will equate the union membership decline to republican legislative action as this reporter took the liberty of, in mentioning Wisconsin, while dismissing the actions of a democratic legislature in California that succeeded in reducing union benefits. The numbers provided also shed more light on government efforts, which have been dismal at best at all levels. Now labor organizers are focusing some of their efforts on government workers; in an attempt to lure them in as members, but the reality of this trend is that those numbers are severely limited at a time when government workers have not received a raise in two years and are still waiting to see  if they’ll receive one come January 1st while a world-wide hiring freeze was also implemented in January of this year and thus lifted with limitations on certain agencies in July. I don’t believe union membership will ever attain a level in membership numbers that will come close in comparison to the apex reached in the 1930’s when a 1/3 of the salaried workforce was represented. Government Legislation over the years has provided adequate protection for today’s workforce. As the swell in interest on Human Resources activities has created a better management tool for businesses to not only protect themselves but their employees also. I still believe more can be done to protect all workers regardless of union or non-union affiliation. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/workplace/story/2012-01-27/union-membership-growing/52817346/1

MAXXI National Museum Architecture

MAXXI National Museum Architecture MAXXI MUSEUM ­Ã‚ ­   Ã‚   Contemporary Architecture This report will focus on MAXXI National Museum and it will provide a comprehensive review of Contemporary museum architecture (built in Rome in 2009), designed by the Zaha Hadid Architects. As it was said in â€Å"Museums in the 21st Century†, there is no doubt to say that museum architecture seeks it’s development through the periods, divided into pre- and post-Bilbao eras. Bilbaos buildings are a variety of architectural styles, ranging from gothic to contemporary architecture like Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (build in Spain in 1997) which gives the begging of contemporary Bilbao movement. Rome has no obligation to turn itself into a trendy modern city; its glory rests on the achievements of antiquity, the Renaissance, and the Baroque. In mid1990’s a new policy in Rome for ’the promotion of contemporary architecture’ has tried to change the architectural understatement by its city governments, policy with different aspects, views and cultural activi ties, with willingness for novelty. The foundation of the Maxi Museum was followed by international design competition combining all the new prospects. Hadid’s proposal is an impressive urban sculpture with dynamic and indefinite exhibition space. To construct this essay, and prove that MAXXI museum is an example of Modernism various sources have been researched. Therefore, its consistency includes Architectural concept and urban strategy, space vs object, Institutional Catalyst and Contemporary Spatiality. The essay was conducted in the form of a survey, with data being gathered via books â€Å"Lubetkin Tecton: An architectural study† by Yoshio Malcolm Reading Peter Coe (1992) , â€Å"Frank O. Gehry: The complete works† by Francesco Dal Co Kurt W. Foster (1998) ,and the following articles â€Å"MAXXI Museum in Rome by Zaha Hadid Architects wins the RIBA Starling Prize 2010† by Levent Ozler, â€Å" Zaha Hadids MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Art s† by Zaha Hadid Architects,† Starling Prize 2010 Goes to Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI Museum in Rome† (unknown author). The early architectural modernism was indeed sudden break with tradition. Raise the banner of artistic simplification and geometrization, advanced substantiate this aesthetic slogan, ethical and political. The technique had become progressive character, and the machine a metaphor.In the history of the foundation of modernism role has Berthold Lubetkin along with Le Coubusier second- generation well-known modernist. In 1932, Lubetkin formed the Tecton partnership including Gofrey Samuel,Sir Herbert ,Michael Dugdale ,Valentine Harding and Anthony Chitty . Main years of work for Tecton partnership were the period from 1932 till the outburst of the Second world war, and their work can be categorized in four departments: Apartments in north London, the work for Finsbury Borough Council, The zoo work and house projects. One of the picturesque projects commissioned to build after earned reputation from the designed Regen’s park (built in London, 1978) and Whipsnade zoo (built in Whi psnade in 1931) was Dudley Zoo. Its location is outside Birmingham, in town called Dudley opened in May 1937.The geometric character of building consisted twelve animal enclosures which despite the different functions of the buildings they formed relationship based on close connection between them which was an early modernist example in England. In another hand on the official page of MAXXI museum Zaha Hadid commented that â€Å"the museum should not be seen as an object, but as a field of buildings†. Another way to support the touch of modernism is connected with the concrete walls in Kiosks, smallest buildings in the zoo. Concrete is material typical for this period, and the same construction techniques are used in Maxxi museum. In that way is proven that Maxxi museum was part of the Modern movement (modernism). Another modernist for this period is half American half Canadian architect Frank Gehry. Among the well-known work of him is (built in Spain in 1997). The projected was funded and owned by Basque Country Administration, presenting good access for trade business. The internal organizations of the spaces are distributed in three floors. The central court of the building serves as unit point, with open view to the city. Different art galleries fill the spaces with purpose to expose temporary exhibitions, permanent exhibitions and art from living artist.The material for the exterior curved walls of the building is limestone and for interior is used plaster. Natural light is captured via skylights with the help of shades control during the day. And as Frank Gehry says for the unconsciously made curved walls the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light. With this citation it is suggested that engineers along with the architect used scientific knowledge, one of the typical c haracteristics for modernism. In Maxxi museum the fluid and sinuous shapes, the variety and interweaving of spaces and the modulated use of natural light is leading to functional framework. By measuring all these important aspect in order to have this result and let the light to come into the building they highlight the function. Therefore MAXXI museum it was also used scientific knowledge. Once it was said by Frank Lloyd Wrights that the perception â€Å"form follows function† implies the believes that it is design serve to its function. According to arcspace.com the main design idea of Maxi museum it is conected to the use of the building exhibition space for visual arts. Maxi museum walls crossing area and their interfaces define the interior halls of the museum and exterior.Because of the geometric abstraction in Maxxi museum â€Å"Form follows function†, we reach another characteristic of modernism. Modernism introduces the concept of truth to materials which states that the building materials should be exposed rather than hidden and situated in the appropriate place. An example of this is statement is Maxxi museum. With its limited range of materials, such as the walls of exposed concrete or gray flooring using its shortcomings, it is constructed a sequence. On second floor and third, the touch of daylight can be sense over the glass roof supported by steel struts. They possess a mechanism that helps for the exhibition of paintings and sculptures which are not mounted to the floor. In that why Maxxi museum is modernist building. Another architect of the modernism movement was Oscar Niemeyer. After his individual development in architecture and a series of projects in the city Belo Horizonte, he began to feel passion for oval shapes which links with his homeland, rivers and even woman’s body shape and concrete as a material for construction. The same materials are used in Maxxi museum, another good reason to support the evidence of Contemporary architecture. Exposed concrete and glass we can see in Peter Behrens building called AEG. Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter, who worked mainly in Germany and France. Kandinsky is expressionist and proclaimed himself for creator of the first abstract painting, despite concerns that it dates back to deliberate with an earlier date. His first works were abstract watercolor. His work in life passes through three stages: impression of external nature, improvisation and works compositions. Wassily works and lived initially in Munich and later in Russia, but because the conditions of Russian Communism the censorship of totalitarian regime was forced to emigrate. First assume teaching at the Bauhaus in Germany, after the closure of the school by the Nazis escaped to Paris. In 1933 by the National Kandinsky taught in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, where he met with Russian constructivism. At that time, the geometry acquired superiority in his art. Forms which are reminding of microorganisms, but always depicting inner life of the Wassily. He used an unordinary color compositio ns imitating Slavic folklore. And mix sand with dyes to impart roughness colors. Accordingly to theguardian.com it mentions that Maxxi museum has different varieties of colors, such as: grey, black, white and wide range of cream mixtures of the exposed concrete. Our attention is grabbed, from the red abstract elements from the ceiling ,positioned in order to show the contemporary character of the building through color .Respectively of Wissily Kandinsky color theory based on abstract elements and forms ,we have proven our claim. Modernism is period with highly advanced technological development .It categorizes the exposure of the structure, that’s why it could be called the period of Structural Expressionism. Hi-tech architecture creates new visual ideas, and the admiration for economical building constructions led to poor manufacturing quality. During the eighties it was difficult to differentiate this technological improvement from post–modern architecture. This is exemplified in the work undertaken by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, Centre Pompidou. As it was mention in archdaily one of the main design concept ideas was the typically structural uncovering for modernism. The building was dived with the help of color coding .Using this system it could be easily recognized the different components or area of the building. For example electrical mechanism was colored in orange and yellow, structures and stairs were painted in grey .In maxi museum we have exposure of staircase too, which led agai n to the thought that Maxi museum is modernist building. Le Corbusier is a French architect and it was born in Switzerland. He formulated his five principles of modern architecture, in which he remains faithful to the end of his life. The first principle is connected with columns it separates the house from the ground through several supporting columns. The second principle is garden he also uses gardens on the roof of buildings. The third principle is a small number of load-bearing walls. The fourth principle is widely glazing and the last fifth principle is free facade exterior walls free from their load-bearing function. And based on those five point principles he adjusted one of his projects: Villa Savoye which has big influence over the modernism. With open plan and sequence of ramps, he dares the residents to go through the spaces constantly. In Maxxi museum the visitor are invited to enter into a series of continuous spaces, rather than the compact volume of an isolated building. So in both cases we have a unified space. Conclusion: To sum up, the main goal of the essay was to determine and explain why Maxxi museum is contemporary building. Based on several perceptions typical for modernism, it was proven accordingly to the concept â€Å"Form follows function, Truth to materials, unhidden structures and scientific knowledge. Maxi is a museum with numerous volumes and extension of lines, without center point, representing the circulation of images and ideas. Building is seen as a second skin of the city, responding to the environment, the building is seen as artistic s stretching drawing over the marvelous landscape.

Antisense Technology and Its Applications

Antisense Technology and Its Applications ANTISENSE TECHNOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATION INTRODUCTION: The tool that is used for the inhibition of gene expression is called Antisense technology. The antisense nucleic acid sequence base pairs with its complementary sense RNA strands and thus prevents it from being translated into a protein. The complementary nucleic acid sequence can be either a synthetic oligonucleotide, like oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN) having less than 30 mucleotides or longer antisense RNA (aRNA) sequences (Sczakiel, 1997). Example of sense and antisense RNA is: 5’ A C G U 3’ mRNA, and 3’ U G C A 5’ Antisense RNA. Dr. Hal Weintraub first developed this technology at Basic Science Division. Firstly, they showed that aRNA inhibits the gene expression in mouse cells by Berg, 2002. Dr. Meng-Chao Yao in 1996 showed that aRNA that was incorporated into non-conserved regions of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) disrupts translation and this was done by altering interaction of the mRNA, and the rRNA, mRNA chimera. Sequence transcription of antisense DNA strand into the sense mRNA strand, which is then translated into polypeptide (Kimball, Nov 2002). The inhibition in which the theory works are as follows: When the RNA binds to the complementary mRNA, it forms a double stranded RNA (ds RNA) complex which is similar to double stranded DNA . The dsRNA complex do not allow translation to occur. This translation process was not known. Several theories include: dsRNA prevents ribosome from binding to the sense RNA and translating. dsRNA cannot be translated from nucleus to cytosol, where the translation occurs. dsRNA is susceptible to endoribonucleases that does not affect single stranded RNA, but degrade the dsRNA. ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES: Oligonucleotide-based antisense techniques represents the most successful approach to genetic message element. Zamecnik and Stephenson first demonstrated the antisense effect of synthetic nucleotide. Zamecnik and Stephenson identified a repeated sequence of 21 nucleotides (nt) that was crucial to viral integration with the help of nucleotide sequences from the 5’ and 3’ ends of the 35S RNA of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV). They synthesized a 13-mer oligonucleotide, d(AATGGTAAAATGG), complement to the portion of this viral sequence. Viral production got inhibited when synthetic oligonucleotide was introduced into cultured fibroblast cells.Thus, they concluded that oligonucleotide was inhibiting viral integration by hybridizing to the crucial sequences and blocking them. They introduced the term ‘hybridon’ to describe such oligonucleotides. At the same time, Tennant et al and Miller et al reported similar effects for synthetic oligonucleotides in other systems. These results focused on the ability of synthetic oligonucleotides to interfere with gene processes. Synthetic oligonucleotides are foreign to the cells into which they are introduced and thus becomes prey for endogenous nucleases. Synthetic oligonucleotides were protected from endogenous nuclease when they attained the persistence level in cell. There are three possible sites on a nucleotide where protective modifications could be introduced. The three possible sites are Base, Ribose (2’ OH group) and the Phosphate backbone. In RNA nucleotides the 2’ hydroxyl group, missing in DNA nucleotides, can be modified. The alteration was thus introduced in the protective modifications of nucleotides that protects against the nuclease degradation which does not at the same time eliminates the desired effect of the oligonucleotide sequence by blocking the complementary hybridization or harming of the cells. In the late 1960s, Eckstein and colleagues successfully introduced the first-generation antisense-motivated nucleotide modification. They replaced one of the non-bridging oxygen atoms in the phosphate backbone with a sulfur atom. This modification was called as phosphhorothioate that achieved the goal of nuclease resistance measured by an increased half-life for a phosphorothioated oligonucleotide upto ten hours in human serum as compared to that of one hour of an unmodified oligonucleotide having the same sequence. Moreover, Matsukura and colleagues demonstrated that phosphorothioated oligonucleotides were effective hybridons against the HIV replication in the cultured cells. On the other hand, phophorothioated oligonucleotides displayed slightly reduced hybridization kinetics and a tendency towards unspecific binding with certain proteins which resulted in cytotoxicity at high concentrations. Thus, the dose-response was added to the mix of issues for antisense agents and hence the useful modifications continued. The so called second-generation class of modifications directly addressed the non-specific and cytotoxic issues which was raised by the phosporothioates by the introduction of RNA oligonucleotides with alkyl modifications at the 2’ position of the ribose sugar. The two most important of these modifications are 2’-O-methyl and 2’-O-methoxy-ethyl RNAs. Antisense nucleotides contains these modifications and displayed the nuclease resistance in concert with lower toxicity and major drawback of 2’-O-alkyl modifications is that the antisense agents containing them are unavailable to the most powerful antisense mechanism called RNase H cleavage. Steric block mechanism are affected from these agents. Thus, the 2’-O-methyl oligonucleotides have been used to increase the desired expression of alternate splices in certain proteins by suppressing the undesired splice variant. Since RNase H cleavage is the most desirable mechanism for antisense effect. Nuclear resistance rarely have 2’-O-alkyl modifications which is a hybrid oligonucleotide, constructs incorporating both the characteristics has been appeared in the form of the â€Å"gapmer† antisense oligonucleotide, containing central deoxynucleotide blocks sufficient to induce RNase H cleavage which was flanked by the blocks of 2’-O-methyl modified ribonucleotides, thus protecting the internal blocks from nuclease degradation and these irrelevant cleavage appears because of binding short stretched nucleotide in most of the genomes. For example, a 15-mer can be viewed as a series of eight overlapping 8-mers. mRNA has less potential random targets, while in RNase H cleavage it is still high. This theoretical potential became real in the case of 20-mer phophorothioate oligonucleotide targeted to the 3’-untranslated region (UTR) of the protein kinase C alpha gene (PKCÃŽ ±). While unmodified oligo-deoxynucleotides forms desired DNA:DNA and DNA:RNA duplexes. A variety of nucleic acid analogs have been developed by that increased the thermal stabilities when hybridized with the complementary DNAs or RNAs as compared to unmodified DNA:DNA and DNA:RNA duplexes. These are third generation antisense oligonucleotide modifications and the analogs are: peptide nucleic acids, 2’-fluro N3-P5’-phosphoramadites, 1’, 5’-anhydrohexitol nucleic acids, and locked nucleic acids. The newest and most promising third generation modification is the locked nucleic acid (LNA), introduced by Koshkin et al, Obika et al and Singh et al. LNA, is thus composed of locked nucleotides into a single conformation through a 2’-0’, 4’-C methylene linkage in 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylene-ÃŽ ±-allofuranose. LNAs increased the thermodynamic stability and enhanced nucleic acid recognition. Ribozymes: Ribozymes are RNA enzymes were first described by Cech in Tetrahymena thermophilia. Antisense agents immediatley seized the RNA processing capabilities of these enzymes. Thus, the hammerhead ribozyme was characterized. This enzyme was first isolated from viroid RNA by Ulhenbeck and Haseloff and Gerlach. RNA Interference (RNAi): RNA interference (RNAi) was first described by Fire and colleagues in Caenorhabditis elegans. Long-double stranded RNAs were introduced into C. elegans. RNAi generated enormous interest by both those who view it as a potentially powerful antisense tool and recognize it like ancient eukaryotic cellular defense mechanism. ANTISENSE MECHANISM: The overall goal in introducing an antisense agent into the cells either in vitro or in vivo is to suppress or completely block the production of the gene product. The normal transcription and translation is affected due to transition between DNA and amino acid sequence. DNA strand is transcribed into pre-mRNA at step one. In step two, through the action of 3 separate processes like 5’ capping, intron excision and polyadnelyation, pre-mRNA is converted into mature mRNA. In step three, transportation of mRNA is carried out in ribosomes into the appropriate poly-peptide. The first target is transcription step to achieve antisense knock-down or knock-out, in which antisense agent is targeted to DNA itself, thus preventing transcription of the primary message. Dagle and Weeks noted that there are three ways in which this strategy can be carried out viz, minor groove binding polyamides, strand displaying PNAs, and major groove binding , triplex forming oligonucleotides. According to White at al, pyrrole-imidazole are minor groove binding polymers that achieve sequence-specific action through side-by-side pairing of pyrrole and imidazole amino acids. Less than 7bp appears in the target sequence of short stretched DNA. While PNA agents are longer and their mode of operation binds to complementary strand of DNA helix, displacing the complement. This process is thus aided by the fact that PNA:DNA duplexes are more stable than the DNA:DNA duplexes so that former is thermodynamically favored over the latter duplex. Triplex forming oligonucleotides have longer sequences and these agents create stable triplex DNA instead of binding to one of the DNA helix, while displacing the other helix of DNA. Both involves the interaction of TFO having purine bases in a polypurine:polyrimidine stretch of duplex DNA. Watson-Crick bonded is the target dsDNA sequence and triplex forming oligonucleotides binds to duplex through Hoogsteen hydrogen binding: T-A:T and C-G:C triplets. This strategy necessitates that only the purine-pyrimidine dsDNA can be targeted and the cytosine in TFO must be protonated. Thus the cytosine protonation is due to the requirement for the acidic conditions. Sorensen et al reported that the LNA containing TFOs stabilizes the triplex formation at physiologic pH. A 15-mer having seven LNAs raised the temperature for the triplex to duplex transformation from 33 °C to ~66 °C at pH 6.8. The next level of antisense attack focuses on the processing of the pre-mRNA and the intron excision mechanism. In this process, the oligonucleotide-based agent is used. The sequence-specific binding of the oligonucleotide to the pre-mRNA is required to prevent intron-excision. The antisense agent is then targeted to the mature rRNA and interferes with the transcription apparatus in either due to presence of the oligonucleotide which prevents formation of the ribosomal complex. In ribosomal complex, short RNA oligonucleotides are not stable due to presence of helicase enzymes, while longer RNA oligonucleotides activates RNAi pathway. Finally the most used mechanism is that of the RNase H degradation of mRNA. RNase H is an endogenous enzyme which cleaves the RNA moiety of an RNA:DNA duplex. In both cytoplasm and nucleus, RNase H is found. During DNA replication it removes the primers of RNA from Okazaki fragments. The most powerful weapon assessing functions of gene is called RNase H activation antisense. Kurreck thus listed 15 antisense oligonucleotides in total that are used in clinical trials against the diseases like cancer and asthama. APPLICATIONS OF ANTISENSE TECHNOLOGY: In Medicine: James Watson and Francis Crick proposed deoxyribonucleic acid, which consists of two deoxyribonucleotide molecules each having 5’and 3’end that defines a polarity for the DNA strand. After binding of these strands in antiparallel orientation 3’ of one being juxtaposed to 5’end of the other, they compose a complete DNA molecule. The two stands are bound together by pairing four complementary bases in each strand such that adenine present on one strand binds to second thymine, while cytosine binds to guanine in the second. Each strand contains all the genetic information called as mirror image. This structure permits transmission of genetic information by allowing a complementary strand produce for a single strand. One strand can therefore produce an entire DNA molecule, occurring during the cell division. Each triplet set of nucleotides on a strand of DNA encodes an amino acid. In this process, one or another portion of one strand (a gene) is copied by ribonucleic acid polymerase II producing a compelementary molecule of ribonucleic acid, or RNA. This messenger RNA (mRNA) therefore, contains the same information which is contained in the gene that has been transcribed. Mature RNA molecule is left when the introns are excised. RNA molecule is thus exported to the cell, directing protein synthesis at ribosome. This takes place after intron excision and additional process. Formulation of Antisense Technology: DNA/RNA physiology is applied in various methods. Antisense technology is the most important application used. Here, oligonucleotide is introduced into cell which binds to its target mRNA through complementary based-pairing. This binding forms RNA dimer in cytoplasm and halts the protein synthesis. . Application of Antisense Technology invitro: Antisense technology is used successfully in two general areas. The first one is fundamental research where antisense oligonucleotides introduced helps to determine the role of a specific gene. Cell growth and other changes occurred due to the production of angiotensin II. Cellular renin angiotensin system played an important role in variety of cardiovascular disorders like artherosclerosis and vascular hypertrophy. Oligonucleotides were developed to inhibit the synthesis of angiotensin as it was difficult to demonstrate cellular system to be operative. It is a substrate form which the cells make angiotensin II. Cells make their own angiotensin II having growth promoting effects with the help of this technology. Therapeutic Application of Antisense Technology: Viral infections can occur when the antisense oligonucleotides are complementary to viral RNAs. Similarly, antisense oligonucleotides directed towards the oncogene product plays an important role to reduce growth of cancer cells. The most widely used application of this technology is in gene therapy. In this case, a variety of vectors are used to introduce antisense encoding genes into larger number of cells in a patient or animal to produce long term inhibition of protein. For example, vectors having angiotensin II receptor sequences when introduced in animal models can cause long term normotension in hypersensitive animals. REFERENCES: Damha, Masad. 2002 Oct 17. Making sense of Antisense. http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/mbiotech/menu/damha.htm> Accessed 2003 Feb 11. Tennant RW, Farelly JG, et al. (1973) Effects of polyadenylic acids on functions on murine RNA tumor viruses. Journal of Virology, 12: 1216-1225. Kurreck J. (2003) Antisense technologies: Improvement through novel chemical modifications. European Journal of Biochemistry, 270: 1628-1644. Miller PS, Braiterman LT, and Ts’ o POP. (1977). Effects of a trinucleotide ethyl phosphotriester, Gmp(Et)Gmp(Et)U, on mammalian cells in culture. Biochemistry, 16: 1988-1996. 1

Historical Perspective Essay examples -- Bloody Sunday History Essays

Historical Perspective Unfortunately, all most Americans know about the event known as Bloody Sunday, they learned from U2's smash hit, "Sunday Bloody Sunday." The source of this song's popularity stems from its ability to evoke widespread sympathy for Irish by painting an unforgettable picture of death and despair in the minds of each of its listeners. So what is unfortunate about this song being the primary source of historical knowledge concerning Bloody Sunday for most Americans? It is unfortunate not because of its lack of information or authenticity, but because of its lack of historical perspective. Essayist Jane Tompkins addresses this idea of perspecitivism by citing the changing representation of colonial American Indians in historical texts dating from 1964 to 1978. According to Limerick, in historical texts from the early 1960s, Indians weren't represented at all; they were "simply beneath notice" (65). By the late 1960s Indian culture, albeit "an inferior culture" (65), was finally acknowledged. In the early 1970s Indians "were the more or less innocent prey of the power-hungry whites" (65), but not until 1978 did Indians become "complicated, purposeful human beings, whose lives were spiritually motivated to a high degree" (66). Tompkins argues that because every historical account is a product of its author's perspective, it is important to analyze varying sources, including those of the traditionally under-represented. What I found in my research of Bloody Sunday is that in our efforts to account for the traditionally under-represented perspective, we have absentmindedly omitted the dominant perspective instead. This omission will undoubtedly cause the same problems that omitting the traditionally under-repr... ... Unlimited Special Reports. 20 Oct. 2000. <http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/bloodysunday/article/0,2763,184927,00.html>. Limmerick, Patricia Nelson. The Legacy of Conquest. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1987. 35-54. McClean, Raymond, M.D. The Road to Bloody Sunday. L'Derry, Northern Ireland: Guildhall Press, 1997. 120-130. Morrison, Matt. "Remembering Bloody Sunday." The Irish People. 25 Jan. 1997. 1 Oct. 2000 <http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/witness.htm>. Tompkins, Jane. â€Å"’Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History.† in â€Å"Race,† Writing, and Difference. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1986. 59-77. Winchester, Simon. "13 Killed as Paratroopers Break Riot." Guardian Unlimited Special Reports. 20 Oct. 2000. <http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/bloodysunday/article/0,2763,184928,00.html>.

Modest Proposal Essay -- essays papers

Modest Proposal Animals or Students? It brings great obstacles to those who walk down the halls of Silverado High School day in and day out to be by bombarded by thirty-six hundred plus students. This prompts trying to go to the bathroom between classes beyond implausible, for it’s intense enough to just make it to class on time as it is without trying to make a pit stop at the bathroom. Students have been reduced to plowing and shoving their way through people in order to possibly make it to class and be in their seat before the tardy bell rings. I think all parents and more important, students involved will agree that this gargantuan number of students trying to push through one another to make it to the restroom or simply to be on time for class is leaving all entangled in a present state of rage and irritation over this subsequent grievance to their already stressful existence. Therefore, we, the students and parents, need to find an economical, practical solution to allow students to walk the hallways w ith ease. Having contributed multiple years pondering this very subject, and after careful consideration of the suggestions of my colleagues, I continually discovered them to be dreadfully mistaken in their computations. With that in mind, here’s my plan of action, I propose to herd students just like the cattle they are, with hall monitors being awarded the job of herding students up and down stairs and preventing the slowing or stopping, for that matte...

Character and Conflict in “The Most Dangerous Game” Essay

Conflict and Character in â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† There’s a popular worship song called â€Å"Love Knows No End† by Hillsong. Although it may be simply sung at church, I find it relative to General Zaroff, a hunting fanatic in â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game†. His ardent passion for the thrill of hunting led him to seek a greater challenge. Since he had already perfected the art of killing all of his quarry without exception, he decided to pursue a new creature; one that could reason and provide a more perplexing chase – humans. Unfortunately, Rainsford accidentally stumbled across Shiptrap Island, the location where General Zaroff hosted his malevolent game. Undoubtedly, conflicts have brought out the true character of everyone. As in the case of Rainsford and General Zaroff, from â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game†, by Richard Connell, it was seen that the dilemmas and obstacles either contributed to creating a dynamic or static character. Without conflict, there would be no brilliance or appeal to a story. It is a vital element in literature that presents the character a challenging struggle from an opposing force, whether it be nature, an antagonist, or the character himself. Such as, â€Å"‘Rainsford,’ called the general, ‘if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher’† (Connell 13). This demonstrates a competition for General Zaroff, granted that he was a hunting prodigy. Very rarely, has someone been close to winning the game, Rainsford being one of them. General Zaroff recognized that possibility and perhaps have had glimpses of fear and uncertainty. On the other hand, â€Å"Rainsford knew he could do one of two things. He could stay where he was and wait. That was suicide. He could flee. That was postponing the inevitable† (Connell 14). This was the climatic struggle for Rainsford from the story because of his hopelessness. He could not dismiss the fact that at one point, he would die from the hounds. Rainsford perceived this tragic circumstance since his mind was weak from the mental battles, along with the physical hardships he faced throughout the whole game. Therefore, the conflicts from this story resulted in either a transforming or stagnant character. For instance, General Zaroff’s character development proved to be static, in  other words, not changing throughout the story. To illustrate this, â€Å"He could see the great hounds, and he called, ‘Better luck another time,’ to them† (Connell 15). Considering this quote, it was apparent that he would continue his monstrous game in the future. Even with General Zaroff’s predicament of possibly losing the game and his murdering secrets being revealed, he did not relinquish his passion for bloodshed. Another case is, â€Å"Two slight annoyances kept him from perfect enjoyment. One was the thought that it would be difficult to replace Ivan† (Connell 15). Rainsford constructed an ingenuous trap that killed Ivan and a few of the hounds. As a consequence, General Zaroff lost his loyal accomplice. Accordingly, he would be on the search for a new â€Å"Ivan†, confirming that he still needed a partner to help him with his games. Thus, General Zaroff remained the same character that he always was, a ruthless hunter, despite his struggles. In contrast, the dynamic character in the story was Rainsford, due to his change in his approach of sympathizing with his prey. For instance, â€Å"‘Who cares how a jaguar feels?’† (Connell 1). This was his remark to his associate, Whitney, who pitied the jaguar, along with the rest of the victims in every hunt. Rainsford shrugged off the idea of empathy, stating that he was a hunter, and not a huntee. Eventually, â€Å"At daybreak Rainsford, lying near the swamp, was awakened by a sound that made him know that he had new things to learn about fear† (Connell 14). Throughout the arduous days in the game, Rainsford finally understood the world of a huntee. The experience firsthand led him to a form of sympathy or at least respect for his prey. Although the author was not clear about Rainsford maintaining his hunting lifestyle after this encounter, it can be concluded that he portrayed a dynamic character through his conflicts in the jungle. General Zaroff’s love for hunting truly had no limits, which brought forth the slaughter of countless men, in addition to his own death. In many ways, love knows no end, as portrayed in the title of the praise song by Hillsong. However, Rainsford’s aspiration for hunting was altered by the challenging experience of living as a prey, therefore illustrating a dynamic character, as opposed to General Zaroff, who remained the static character undeterred by his conflicts.

America Needs Its Nerds Essay

The socially and physically inept, the outcasts, often associated with computers and books- these characteristics constitute the stereotype of the average geek. Students are afraid to reveal their identities in an environment among their peers because of the fear of being an outcast among the idolized jocks. In an excerpt from â€Å"America Needs Its Nerds† Harvard student and writer Leonid Fridman expresses his disgust for the unjust treatment of individuals who are essential to our country- the geeks. He addresses the American public with a call to action to put geeks into their deserved positions, giving them hope and motivation to express their own identities. Fridman utilizes irony when discussing how even Harvard students are being picked on, as well as the compare and contrast between America’s discouraging treatment of the nerd to East Asia and China’s praising of them, to represent how the fear of social rejection has forced these mistreated intellects t o hide their academic capabilities. Leonid Fridmen is disappointment with the fact that even at Harvard, one of the top Ivy League colleges, students are still picked on because of their levels of intellect. It is ironic that even at one of the top colleges in America where nerds and geeks dominate the realm of the school that â€Å"anti-intellectualism is rampant†. Social standing competes with intelligence even at the most academic institution, showing America that students are â€Å"ashamed† of their intellect because of the negative stereotypes society degraded them with. Fridman also employs irony when referring to â€Å"get[ting] wasted at parties† by describing how nerds avoid damaging their brain and bodies, but are punished socially for not  physically hurting themselves. Fridman’s call to action addresses the American public as being erroneous in their actions of idolizing the nonintellectual while demeaning the studious intellectuals when he compares America’s academic values to those of East Asia’s. In America, athletes and celebrities are rewarded and more prevalent in society then those interested in pursuing academics. With these characteristics of our society, it is impossible to â€Å"compete in the technology rate† or be a â€Å"leading political and cultural force† with other countries who encourage academics rather than reject the individuals who excel in it. Fridman’s belief of demeaning the intellectual is a continual paradigm in our society today. In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected to be the Governor of California; however, it was primarily for his name recognition as a body builder and film star, lacking any experience working in government. Although Schwarzenegger lacked the intellectual knowledge he needed, he was elected because the public idolized him. The public is more interested in the media and athletics and neglect to realize the important impact researchers and intellects have on our world. Colleges pay college athletic coaches more than the professors working at an institution. Americans pay more on professional sports then they do to fund cancer research or education. As USA Today wrote, â€Å"You can get a Nobel Prize at your university and you won’t get anywhere near that attention. And so I think between the public and the media, they are telling us what they value.† The public is involved, and often times addicted, to athletes or social media and reject the academically motivated as outcasts from the ideal society. Unfortunately, this public is unaware of the capabilities of academic achievement and the progress it has brought us in our world.