Counterterrorism and home grown terrorist

The problem posed by terrorism has received serious attention not only in this country but also in the international community. It poses a real menace and challenge to the nation peace and security, harming the life, dignity and safety of the innocent people. This also weakens the economy and put dangers in all aspect of the states activity. The September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D. C. killed citizens from 83 countries and (according to the United Nations estimates) cost the global economy at least 350 billion dollars.Terrorism is proving to be the dark side of globalization, and because of it, new challenges to the country have emerged. In order to deal with such a complex phenomenon, it is essential to shape a comprehensive and nuanced strategy. The nation should take serious position against terrorism no matter when, where and what forms it occurs, or whom it is targeted. All agencies of the government, local or national, including every individual should st ep up their cooperation in preventing and combating terrorism. How serious a threat is homegrown terrorism in the United States?Experts say it is quite likely that the next terrorist attack will not be the work of well-trained al-Qaeda operatives sent from abroad, but rather that of an American citizen. As al-Qaeda leaders focus more of their energy on trying to inspire others to commit acts of terror, most security and counterterrorism officials believe their message will resonate with at least some small number of Americans. Such fears tend to focus on American Muslims, and experts say this is logical given recent events in Europe.Yet the American Islamic community also has proven one of the government’s best resources for preventing the emergence of homegrown Islamic terrorists. Richard A. Falkenrath, New York City’s deputy police commissioner for counterterrorism, recently told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that the possibility of a ‘homegrownâ€℠¢ terrorist attack against New York City or any other American city is real and is worsening; it is hard to anticipate the motives or actions of a homegrown terrorist.Yet despite the high probability of a homegrown terrorist attack, experts say such an event is likely to have a relatively small impact when compared to attacks by conventional terrorist networks but it should be cautioned that self-radicalized individuals and groups can become far more dangerous when they reach out for support from more established terrorist networks. BODY: I. Combating Terrorism: To combat the terrorism, expert stresses the need to grasp two aspects of terrorism: Its root causes and its technological Complexity.The root causes of terrorism, both domestic and international, are varied and complex. One set of factor is essentially ideological and includes religious and ethno nationalistic extremism. Second is the technological complexity, the new terrorist are distinguished by their general ability to use new information and communication technologies. They are also fully able to exploit technology to enhance their illegal transnational activities (Banlaoi, 2004). II. Three factors that must be considered in dealing with terrorism:First, it must involve the gradual and painstaking winning of the hearts and mind of disaffected peoples, great patience and endurance is required. Second, the political nature of the campaign against terror suggests that such a comprehensive strategy cannot be pursued without full cognizance of the potential negative consequences of any action contemplated. Thirdly, a comprehensive strategy must be implemented within a substantive multilateral framework, and ensure the fullest regional participation.There should be four key of such a strategy, socio economic, coercive, political and technical. Socioeconomic measures, poverty and extreme socioeconomic marginalization are root causes of terrorism. These may be the result of either deficient domestic poli cies or powerful globalization processes. Hence developed countries should increase trade, investment and aid linkages with developing countries to enhance their capacities for good governance.Coercive Measures, Strong legal enforcement measures such as freezing of assets and detentions of individuals suspected of complicity in terrorist plots, are the first line attack in the campaign against terror. Political Measures, terrorist by definition fight for a political cause, perceived as ‘just’ or otherwise. Terrorist groups also often feed upon political issues for support/ such as grievances and opposition to illegal and armed occupation, oppression, and abuse and denial of civil and political rights.Technical Measures, It is vitally important that the capacity of the terrorist to plan, fund and implement their activities must be targeted (Banlaoi, 2004). III. The country’s practical measures against terrorist are the following: (1) Identification of terrorist,(2 ) Location and tracking identified terrorists, (3). apprehension of identified terrorist, (4). Prosecution of the identified terrorist and (5), Punishment of the guilty terrorist (Marchetti,1976) IV. Anti terrorism program: A. There are four (4) basic program components associated with the anti terrorist program.The prevention which focuses on international initiative and diplomacy to discourage foreign states from supporting terrorism second is deterrence which emphasizes protection and security and efforts-essentially target hardening-to discourage terrorist acts, thirdly, the reaction, this consist of operations in response to specific major acts of terrorism and lastly is prediction, this includes intelligence and counterintelligence efforts in continues support of the three other program components B. The specific anti-terrorist measures developed and used in fighting terrorismIncludes close international screening of all airlines and passengers for metallic objects, tighter se curity of diplomatic installations, compilation of watch list terrorist, adoption of measures to sow dissention within terrorist group thru black and gray covert operations. V. Ways to fight Terrorism: A. There follows a general measures in fighting terrorism, this are protection of terrorist targets. The terrorist commonly attack strong points such as airports, communications and national offices.Another is the need to expand intelligence gathering in order to initiate particular course of action and forestall the plan of the enemy. The community must also be train for trouble; this will be possible by preparing them to any unusual occurrence like terrorist attacks. The country should improve international cooperation and negotiate flexibly. Others are don’t rule rescues, lean on terrorist allies, order selective reprisals, crack down on unsafe airports and tighten airport and seaport security. B.Psychological operations (PSYOPS) approaches in countering terrorist threats. 1 . Widespread educational program directed at audience in the affected areas will expose threat to stability and the quality of life by those threat groups 2. High visibility amnesty and â€Å"secret witness† programs could directly attack the organizational integrity and solidarity of those threat groups. 3. Target the rivalries and jealousy existing in those threat groups. 4. Develop constructive relationship among the various disputants to enhance high level diplomatic talks. C.To develop terrorism counteraction plans and programs, it is necessary to conduct threat studies, to provide an understanding of the capabilities and intentions of terrorist groups, Vulnerability surveys, to reveal the weakness that terrorist can attack and Analysis of all the effects of terrorism. D. PSYOPS doctrine prescribes the use off â€Å"Propaganda Analysis† to determine the effects of activities, programs or campaigns. The basic approaches in this procedure are analysis of Source, Con tents, Audience, Media, and Effects (SCAME). Propaganda is the primary vehicle of psychological warfare.It includes any activity that affects emotion, attitude and behavior of a target audience (Marchetti, 1976) HOME GROWN TERRORISM: Scott Redd, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in a written statement to the Senate that the emergence of home-grown terrorist groups is posing â€Å"real challenges† for U. S. authorities despite law enforcement successes at disrupting potential attacks. Most security and counterterrorism officials believed that the next terrorist attack will not be the work of well-trained al-Qaeda operatives sent from abroad, but rather that of an American citizen.The White House’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism says the main terrorist threat today comes from those who â€Å"exploit Islam and use terrorism for ideological ends. † Experts say individuals who are likely to adopt a terrorist ideology share several qual ities: youth, unemployment, feelings of alienation, a longing to feel self-importance, and a need to be part of a group. Religion can be compelling to such individuals, who are then prone to exploitation by deceitful religious leaders. R. P.Eddy, senior fellow for counterterrorism at the Manhattan Institute, says, â€Å"If you think of any ethnic community in this country†¦there are people of all stripes. † However, he suggests counterterrorism efforts should pay close attention to Muslim communities in the United on lessons from the attacks in Madrid in 2003 and London in 2004, which originated in Muslim communities. The White House’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism says that the main terrorist threat today comes from those who â€Å"exploit Islam and use terrorism for ideological ends.† Experts say individuals who are likely to adopt a terrorist ideology share several qualities: youth, unemployment, feelings of alienation, a longing to feel self -importance, and a need to be part of a group. Religion can be compelling to such individuals, who are then prone to exploitation by deceitful religious leaders. The relationship between American Muslims and homegrown terrorism. Though many of the homegrown terrorists identified in the United State especially since the 9/11 attacks have been Muslims, it is important to note that religious motivations are not present in all instances.It is suggested that counterterrorism efforts should pay close attention to Muslim communities in the United States, where al-Qaeda’s message of radical Islam is more likely to resonate. How have Muslim communities in the United States responded to the growing concern over homegrown terrorists? By and large, American Muslims express great concern over the prospect of homegrown terrorists in their midst. To this end, members of Islamic communities have worked to establish good relationships with U. S. officials, particularly on the local level.Huss ein Ibish, executive director of the Hala Salaam Maksoud Foundation for Arab-American Leadership, says in terms of counterterrorism efforts, â€Å"Most of the major successes the government claims within the United States have actually involved cooperation with the local Muslim communities. How have U. S. officials reacted to the prospect of homegrown terrorists? Experts judge government responses as mixed. Generally speaking, the local approach proves most effective. Eddy says local police are the best tool the government has for preventing homegrown terrorists.Good community policing—establishing relationships and keeping abreast of trends in a neighborhood â€Å"based on common interests other than terrorism†Ã¢â‚¬â€underpins any effort to detect a homegrown plot. Eddy views officers as â€Å"first preventers and not just as first responders,† but it remains incumbent on political leaders to support them as such Home-grown cells were a new domestic phenomeno n for which the FBI and law enforcement agencies had no â€Å"baseline† for measuring the scale of the problem CONCLUSION: Terrorism is a crime committed by a handful of extremist elements and should not be ad equated with any specific ethnic group or religion.Under no circumstances should double standards in applying this principle be allowed. To fight terrorism effectively requires efforts to address its ideological, socioeconomic and political root causes. This should involve strategies aimed at currently solving both current problems and identifying permanent solutions in the long run. An important prerequisite in this connection is to resolve the question of development and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. The so called war on terror is not just a war that can be won by sole reliance on military and coercive measures.Recommendation: The country should review and strengthen national mechanism to combat terrorism. Efforts in suppressing sources of funds must b e doubled. The country needs to continuously deepen seeking cooperation from allies’ country in enforcing anti-terrorist program and practices. Develop regional capacity building programmed to enhance existing capabilities to detect, monitor and report terrorist acts and plans. Strengthen cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels in combating terrorism in a comprehensive manner and affirm that at the international level.Convene a high level of ad-hoc experts group as the lead to anti terrorism that will continue to focus on the preventions and control of terrorism. To better deter and prevent potential acts of terrorism at home, the state should enact law that will restrict the movement of those who pose a terrorist threat to the community to include organizations which advocate terrorism. Holds accountable all public and private organizations abetting terrorism; Calls for greater vigilance and concrete measures against all possible terrorist supplies, m aterials and finances.The country should designate Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security as the lead to anti terrorism. Americans had to accustom to new security measures that complicated their travel, work, and recreation. United States agencies rearranged their priorities, and local governments scrambled to make preparations for potential terrorist attacks, possibly involving biological, chemical, or even nuclear weapons. References Banlaoi, 2004, War on Terrorism, Rex Bookstore Inc. , Recto Avenue Desker, B. , and Kumar R. ,( 2002) Forging an Indirect Strategy in Southeast Asia.† The washington Quarterly, Volume 25, No. 2 Dulles, A. , (1972) The Craft of Intelligence, New York, wermer paperback, Marchetti, V. (1976), The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, New York, Pell Agam, H. ,(2001) â€Å"Measure to Eliminate International Terrorism† New York, Paper Back. Ganor, B. (2003)Defining Terrorism: Is One Man’s Terrorist Another Man’s Freedom Figh ter†, http://terror. host. net. kg Homer, D. (2003) The Rise of Complex Terrorism, http//www. Foreignpolicy. com http://counterterrorism. org/mt/pings. cgi/3655 .

Deception in the Twelfth Night Essay

Deception is seen widely throughout the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Many characters are very clear about who they are and what their motives are, while some are more manipulative. Deception is shown through the clearness of Orsino’s character and the way Viola (Cesario) deceives people to play a man. Orsino is a character in the Twelfth Night that is considered much understood. He is very upfront about his actions and motives. This is portrayed in the way that Orsino loves Olivia and the way he will do anything it takes to get her to be with him. He makes it very clear that there is only one thing that he wants: to be with Olivia. As Orsino states his love in the play, â€Å"Oh, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, methought she purged the air of pestilence. That instant was I turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e’er since pursue me† (1. 1. 20-24). He is very upfront about who he is; as the count, he is better than the people around him and gets what he wants. The way that Olivia thinks so highly of him as a Duke, demonstrates how he is better than the people around him: â€Å"Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth. In voices well divulged, free, learned, and valiant; and in dimension and the shape of nature, a gracious person† (1. 5. 260-64). Orsino is a noteable character who is straightforward and determined to get what he wants. Viola (Cesario), on the other hand, is completely deceptive of who she is. Although she deceptively dresses as a man, Viola does it so that she can stay alive in Illyria. The Captain is the only one who really knows what Viola is doing. As the Captain says, â€Å"Be you his eununch, and mute I’ll be. When my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see,† (1. 3. 65-66) which he also knows the reasons of doing. Throughout the entire play, Viola has to lie about who she is, but hints about her secret occasionally, like when she speaks with Orsino: â€Å"I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers, too—and yet I know not†.   Viola is a main example of a character that is deceptive by their appearance in the Twelfth Night. Deception is being deceived or mislead by false appearances or statements. There are different kinds of deception in the Twelfth Night, by appearance or by Shakespeare’s word choice. Deception by appearance is an easily seen trait throughout different characters in the play. Orsino is a great example of someone who is the opposite of deceptive, whereas Viola is one of the most deceptive by her appearance and can be seen throughout the play the Twelfth Night.

Carbon Tax Conclusion

My final argument will be based on the effectiveness of this tax: The tax will have no significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions. It has been claimed that an Australian carbon tax will have no significant impact on the level of greenhouse gases in the earths atmosphere. This claim has been made on two bases. Firstly that it is unlikely to succeed in significantly reducing Australian greenhouse gas emissions and secondly, that even if these emissions were to stop completely this would have no useful effect on world greenhouse gas emission rates. Critics of a carbon tax for Australia argue that it will damage our economy without reducing climate change. The independent think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has stated that the proposed tax, although burdensome and damaging is not sufficiently large to force reinvestment in different forms of power generation. In a media released issued on March 2, 2011 and published in The Age, the IPA stated, The price itself, while severely harming the carbon-intensive, coal-based generators, would not force their premature departure from supply, which would be necessary to leave a gap for new gas generators. The IPA Review in September 2008 included the following response to Kevin Rudds proposed emissions trading scheme, Australia contributes 1. 1 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Our contribution is dwarfed by big emitters like the United States which contributes nearly 21 per cent, China which contributes 17 per cent, and Russia which contributes just over 5 per cent. All in all, there is no positive outcome for this tax, yes it is true that it reduces greenhouse gases, but things cannot always be solved with money. If we, as the Australian people want to make our environment cleaner, we should not just pay up to the government to clean our environment, we live in it, so we must put in some effort to prevent this ongoing issue. Thank you.

Employment Communication Portfolio Research Paper

Employment Communication Portfolio - Research Paper Example Highly experienced in giving guidance, motivation, and an up-to-date consultancy services to both clients and colleagues. Responsible for defining, documenting and collating functional scope. I was also involved in technical analysis, and problem solving as well as identifying, analyzing, tracking and managing clients and application data flow issue throughout the software system. Established both high and low level IP designs for EVDO, GPRS, MSS, value added services, charging system, IP radio access network for operators in Australia, Europe, North America and Africa, which include IP nodes such as SmartEdge and Juniper M-series routers, Juniper firewalls, and Cisco switches. Infrastructure team member responsible for developing and maintaining HP and Dell Servers or site, as well as troubleshooting and diagnosing software and hardware problems including LAN, WAN and remote systems. This application is in reference to your advert on the website mycareer.com.au for the vacancy of a Network Solution Architect. I am a highly organized, thorough and motivated professional, with more than 7-years of progressive experience in software development, monitoring architecture solutions for medium sized businesses and large companies. At present, I am working with Acer Computer Australia, based in Sidney, a well recognized and leading technology firms in Australia. Throughout my information technology project management experience both as a developer and architecture, I have been challenged on several occasions to establish creative architecture so as to turn needs into specific solutions. I am an individual who at all time endeavor to strike the balance between stylish design and practical simplicity in order to maintain consistency between structural elements. My most outstanding strength is my ability to approach solutions from a

BB Furniture Launches New Fire Resistant Products Essay

BB Furniture Launches New Fire Resistant Products - Essay Example BB Furniture Co., Ltd., shall also be promoting its corporate image by sponsoring fire emergency training programs of the departmnent in commercial and domestic settings taking advantage of the chance to build awareness about the fire-resistant products of the company. Hong Kong Fire Services Director Kwok Jing-keung acknowledged in his 2004 message that (Jing-keung, 2004) that the government's budgetary constraints continued to pose serious challenge although he admonished not to compromise the department's service standards. He outlined an alternative to trim expenditure and enhance cost-effectiveness as new fire-fighting appliances and equipment were procured as well as strengthening efficiency through fire-fighting programmes and rescue and risk management. He also noted over 65,000 volunteers from the community while leaders were appointed as Honorary Presidents for the Fire Safety Ambassador Clubs in local districts as early as 2005. fatalities in fires between the same period: 66 recorded deaths in 1996, 47 in 1997, 14 in 1998, 29 in 1999, and 20 in 2000. Likewise, there were 32 recorded deaths in 2001, 25 in 2002, 25 in 2003, 9 in 2004 and 15 in 2005. Injuries in fires are 618 in 2000, 468 in 2001, 515 in 2002, 434 in 2003, 451 in 2004 and 367 in 2005. The report also indicated various classification of fire emergencies that occurred between 2004 and 2005 (please see Appendix). All these data point out to the fact the fire accidents actually occur and frequency cannot be predetermined as well as the place and time it could happen. This makes precaution, proper training and safety campaigns very important. Role of BB Furniture As fire-resistant furniture, BB Furniture products shall serve as fire-retardant whenever is used in domestic, institutional or commercial settings as in school, church, businesses, among other places where people or the public gather. BB Furniture, in its public relations campaign as sponsor for fire safety training and mass awareness campaign

Race and Your Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Race and Your Community - Essay Example These forces all contribute to the racial attitudes of the people I know, as well as the leaders, in the small town where I live. Though I look like the majority, my heart and beliefs are a minority opinion. To begin this discussion, it should be noted that I believe that I live in a largely racist community. Minorities make up less than two percent of the total population, with just one percent African-Americans. Because of the low numbers of minorities, it is easier for the residents to carry on racist attitudes, while not ever confronting or experiencing any racial situations. Conversations are peppered with the N word and Latinos are usually referred to by using a racial slur. This is the acceptable attitude in this small town in the middle South. As a transplanted Caucasian Yankee, I was appalled and offended when I was first confronted by these attitudes, but as a newcomer I thought it would be a better strategy to keep my mouth shut and not talk out of school. Indeed, I often feel guilty for my silence and lack of courage. These attitudes have no doubt been handed down from the older generations to the children since the days of slavery. Yet, as I noted, there are no minorities t o be experienced first hand, and everything is simply learned through the social interaction of friends and families. As for me, I have always, and continue to feel, like an outsider when it comes to attitudes towards race. Though I look like 98 percent of the community, I have a very different attitude towards equality. I obviously cant know what a person of color feels when they hear a racial slur, but I know that it offends me and I am embarrassed to be in the company of people that use that language. This language also transfers to their other attitudes towards minorities in regards to their abilities, trustworthiness, honesty, or moral fiber. I am sure that I am also thought less of by these

An Exceptional Leader Lee Cockerell Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

An Exceptional Leader Lee Cockerell - Case Study Example Disney World was opened in 1971 inspired by the dreams of Walt Disney who wanted a theme park on the east coast that could supplement the Disney land in California (WDW, 2011). Lee Cockerell founded the Lee Cockrell LLC company. The company is a leadership, management and consulting company that specializes in leadership and management training with an emphasis on how to create world-class customer services through exceptional leadership. The company works on the principle that there are many products and services in the market which are very similar; it is only through the interaction between the employees and the customers that make the difference and gives the organization the competitive advantage (Horn, 2011). He speaks at various conferences, training people in a very simple down-to-earth style that relates to everyone listening to him. Lee has long experience in the hospitality industry and has worked with very many companies all over the world including the Hilton Hotels Corp oration, Marriot Hotels, and Resort before finishing off at the famous Walt Disney Company (Horn, 2011). It is after retiring that he formed his own company in order to share what he has learned all the years in the world’s biggest companies. ...Banks cannot lend them money because they do not have the experience to run the company and secondly is that they do not have security with which the banks can take in case they fail to repay the loaned money (Awogbenle & Iwuamadi, 2010). This becomes a big challenge and many people often fail to start businesses because of this problem. Cockrell was also faced with the same problem and this is well explained because of his poor background. He was just a farm boy and he did not have enough money that could help him start any business. Though he tried to seek for ways he did not get any far because of the same reasons explained above (Cockrell, 2008). Many people and companies face the same problem at the start but once they are runnin g they are able to secure funding from other sources such as banks and other financial institutions that help them in the running of the business. The second problem that faced Lee was the lack of managerial skills. Just like other entrepreneurs, many of them begin with very little knowledge of how to run a business. They lack the essential management skills that are very important in ensuring that people and other resources are managed effectively so as to produce outcomes (Crispen Chipunza, 2011). The result is usually disastrous with many of the businesses closing down because of poor management. Many examples exist in the world today of such business and there are also many examples of people who have failed because of lack of managerial and leadership skills. Lee saw this and decided to pursue a degree in management so that he could understand better how to run a business effectively.

THEFT FROM VEHICLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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ELECTRIC CART PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ELECTRIC CART PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS - Assignment Example These motors are powered with the help of battery packs, which are rechargeable. Electric motor offers several benefits compared to the use of internal engine combustion to power vehicles. These include zero emissions of air pollutants, fuel economy among several other benefits. Electric motors enhance the performance and greater efficiency of energy. The general costs used in maintaining and operating electric motor powered vehicles are low compared to the conventional fuel driven vehicles. Selecting as well as calculating the correct motor for the electric cart vehicle depends largely on the total weight of the vehicle, the area where the Cart will be used and the terrain of the area. If the Cart is to be used in a hilly or an area with mountains, the individual will require more engine horsepower than in a flat terrain. The speed of the motor is also dictated by the aerodynamics profile of the Cart before and after the conversion and its use. A simple cart used for commuting in a normal city traffic definitely requires a cheaper motor with less horsepower compared to the one to be used in winning races or have the fastest acceleration. Several other variables can be used in calculating the speed of an electric motor depending with its use (Chi-lan et al. 2011). The speed of an electric motor and vehicle largely depends on the battery pack voltage. Using a Direct Current (DC) motor, one hundred and forty-four (144) volts will be enough to drive the vehicle at a speed of seventy miles per hour. The available power that is stored in the batteries determines the total distance that the cart is able to go before recharging it. Power measured by calculating the voltage in the battery multiplied by the battery amperage multiplied again by the useful power that is available in the battery without damaging the cells. The chemistry of the battery is the one determining this figure. This does not indicate

HND in Business Accounting& Management Essay Example for Free

HND in Business Accounting Management Essay Operations Management explores the way organizations produce and distribute goods and services. Everything you wear, eat, sit on, use or read comes to you courtesy of the operations managers who organized its production and distribution. Goods such as automobiles, airplanes, computers and houses, must be produced, as do the services provided by hospitals, ski resorts, trucks, and airlines. Its the job of an operations manager to make sure these activities occur when and how they are planned. This explanation reflects the essential nature of operations management: it is the central activity in organizing things. Operations Management is the systematic development and control of the processes that transform inputs into goods and services. The operations function comprises a significant percentage of the employees and physical assets in most organizations. Operations Managers are concerned with each step in providing a product or service. They determine what should go into an operating system, such as equipment, labour, facilities, materials, energy, and information, to produce the output. Operations Managers are also responsible for critical activities such as materials management, capacity planning, purchasing, scheduling and quality. The importance of Operations Management has increased dramatically in recent years. Significant competition, shorter product and service life cycles, better educated and quality-conscious consumers, and the capabilities of new technology have placed pressures on the operations function to improve productivity while providing a broader array of high-quality products and services. Such like IEKA An organization that gets the binomial concept operations and business management right is more likely to experience short-term success and run efficient activities. The business might, for example, prevent errors in its record-keeping processes and rein in waste in money-eating mechanisms a perennial source of concern for top management. Given the importance of operational management, company principals may work with department heads and business-unit chiefs to draw up strategic blueprints and ask them to remain discreet about the companys operational tactics. The goal is not to convene a periodic top-level meeting and plot strategy in a warlike room, but to set sound procedures to make sure the architects of the companys blueprint keep mum about its objectives, resources and action plans. TASK2 Ikea because according to the specific market environment for the correct operation strategy, that was a huge commercial success.Ikeas household concept in the beginning of its creating had clear definition, that is: to provide a wide variety, beautiful and practical, ordinary people can afford the household articles for use.However, with the development of The Times, and constantly changing consumer demand, ikeas household concept also constantly enrich and perfect.Then, on the basis of the original, ikea household concept began with environmental factors.In particular, household concept of ikea is mainly in household concept of the masses.In most cases, expensive home furnishings is well-designed for a few people can afford to buy.From the early stages of creation, ikea will chose a different path, ikea decided to stand with most people.This means that ikea should meet the household needs of most people in the world, which meet with many different need, grade, dreams, and financial resources, at the same time hope to improve household needs and create a better life.In ikea, everywhere can see pasted on the wall of the ikea business motto: ikea will provide a wide range of design at a low price beautiful, fully functional household products, ensure that most people have the ability to buy.General household the management idea of success is based on partnership between ikea and customers.On the one hand, ikea ikea do the right thing to do.First of all, ikea designers and manufacturers to cooperate, in order to find out the use of the existing production process manufacturing furniture clever way.Then, ikeas purchasing companies around the world with the most appropriate suppliers of raw materials.Finally, ikea in global bulk purchase, ensure that ikea can get the lowest price.On the other hand, the customer do what they should do, namely through the ikea catalogue, visit the ikea store, choose furniture and customize the warehou se take delivery.Since most goods using tablet packaging, customers can easily to carry it home and assembled.In this way, customers can save a lot of cost.As a result, building with ikea low price, together create a better everyday life.Visible, ikea shows popular household concept for most people service business ideas.In high-end household take the high-quality goods in the 1950 s, ikea this breakthrough will surely shows its forward-looking strategies. Ikea is not just a product, it has its own retail system.Ikeas retail chain system adopted the operating strategy, in the global retail business through a wholly-owned crown stores and franchisees two modes of operation (blue and red group).As of August 31, 2003, 186 ikea stores in 43 countries and regions, including Europe, Asia, North America and Oceania region, ikea also continues to increase.There are 165 as a wholly owned stores, distribution in 29 countries and regions.In addition, in Australia, the united Arab emirates, Gre ece, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Iceland and Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and other 14 countries and regions, there are 21 franchise, except for the ikea group a franchisor to own and run.Ikeas chain operation has been a huge success, and thus a high international reputation for ikea.In 2004, ikeas operating income of 12.8 billion euros, net profit more than 1.1 billion euros, employs 84000 workers, as the worlds biggest household goods retailer.Low price strategy is refers to through continuous compression cost, thus reduce prices, to win the market strategy.Ikea has been that only provide beautifully designed, practical series of products is not enough, also should make most people can afford to buy, in order to for most people rather than a few people to create a better life.After all, money is not much can meet the needs of the household consumer satisfaction.Therefore, ikea emphasizes the low-price strategy in the management strategy.Low price strategy ikea is the core of the operating strategy, ikea has unusual significance.Both household concept, cost control and other aspects of management measures, in the final analysis is to ikeas low price strategy.The success of ikeas low price strategy mainly from the following several aspects: adhere to the principle of small profit, principle of small profit in business is braving the down the sharp weapon, but also an important guarantee of ikeas low price strategy to success.After 60 years of development, ikea has always unswervingly implement the principle.Low-cost system, guara ntee the normal way of thinking of most enterprises, first in terms of product design and pricing, however, ikea has a tradition, price the product first and then followed by the specific design, finally find suppliers according to the established design.So it will be in the system design ensures the ikea, low prices.Ikeas pricing method is also unique, often use price matrix method for new product pricing.Ikea has three price high, medium and low grade, four basic style, modern, country and young Swedish northern Europe.In order to identify market opportunities, which is responsible for the product will take in charge of the committees instructions, the existing product prices to fill him in grid, and then look for space.First start from the little space of committee instructions, for example, have been found in the high price of ikea products for a large number of independent kitchen island, but he has lost those suitable for apartment or office cheap kitchen supplies.Then, head of products through the investigation to determine the cost of the new product competition, the goal is to lower than competitors prices by 30% ~ 50%, in this way, the price of ikea point occurs.This is the product manager for the low price of products of ikea kitchen utensils and appliances.The pricing model is kill two birds with one stone, it reflected the ikea has always been the production of standard and sales of the original and cheap, and also contains all to determine the content of the device in the conceptual design . TASK3 Operational management deals with the nitty-gritty basics of how a company operates, such as keeping track of spending costs and cash flow as well as maintaining a supply line. Some of the best managers have been those who have found ways to make the basic operations of a company more efficient. Operational management requires knowledge of a constantly changing variety of data and variables, and skillful and flexible planning is required. Strategic management does not merely have to do with setting broad and lofty goals, but works to establish a plan over the long term that will work toward those goals. This involves taking into account such factors as competition and consumer demand. The most successful business visionaries have been able to establish very realistic pictures of the market and operate within the constrictions that they were given by the market. Strategic management takes a great deal of common sense. Despite the clear distinctions we are making it is also important t o understand that operational and strategic planning are interrelated and complementary decision processes, which must link to each other, inform and support one another for effective management of strategies. Operational planning is the day-by-day, week-by-week, and month-by-month planning for a myriad of local and functional activities; strategic planning sets the overall direction of your organisation as a whole, its destiny if you will. The decisions that constitute the strategic plan include what the enterprise is not currently doing, but should be doing. The choices of what to do imply other things that the organization deliberately chooses not do. The strategic plan embodies very big decisions with major consequences for the overall performance. Strategic and tactical planning are different in kind. The two forms of planning must be linked, and integrated, and must not be confused. About IKEA: IKEA is a privately-owned company founded in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad. He first started to sell pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, jewellery and nylon stockings and decided to add furniture in 1947. IKEA has now around 260 stores, much of which are located in Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia. Nowadays IKEA is known for selling modern and utilitarian furniture at low prices their vision is To create a better everyday life for the many people. IKEA motto is Affordable Solutions for Better Living. Their operations management are strongly focused on achieving this goal; they use their resources effectively to gain profit by developing a more economic way for the production of their wide range of service. This has involved them in working closely with their suppliers in order to control aspects of their business from the production line. Unlike most furniture stores, IKEA sells goods which need to be assembled by the consumer; this has enabled them to use space more efficiently in their warehouse. The company has developed methods to satisfy customers with their Unique Selling Point (show room, children’ area) and a wise use of technology (stock control, internet). TASK4 TASK5 The three-es that is economy, efficiency and effectiveness. MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY Efficiency can be measured in terms of the inputs required to generate the outputs. It is about the way in which work is completed. It is part of a manager’s job to help improve efficiency. For example, if the same work can be completed using less inputs or resources then efficiency has improved. Measuring efficiency means that the process followed to complete the work must be defined and then each part of the process studied to see what resources are required. This becomes the starting point or benchmark for measurement. Future work is then measured against the benchmark to see if it has taken more or less resource. Process changes are also measured to see if they are more or less efficient. It is also useful to measure one team’s efficiency against another and then adopt the most efficient methods as best practice– always assuming that effectiveness is maintained. MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS Effectiveness can be explained in terms of what is achieved. It is about whether targets are met or not. Performing effectively means that the right work is being completed. Managers are responsible for making sure that this happens. If a team is working really hard but not delivering what is needed, then they are not effective. Effectiveness is measured by setting out clear objectives before work starts and then evaluating whether the objectives have been met or not. MANAGEMENT ECONOMY Economy is the third element of the three Es model, covering the financial aspects of work being done. It could be argued that economy or finance is just one of the factors to consider when improving efficiency, but because finance is so important in today’s organisations, economy has become the third element. Economy is measured by looking at the cost of the resources consumed and the value of the output delivered. TASK6 The maximization of quality and productivity in each and every individual industry is the foundation of every economy aspiring to prosperity.Improve the companies income by making the production more acceptable to the customers: by providing longlife, greater usefulness, maintainablity,etc.Giving employees control includes giving them the power to make job-related decisions, the flexibility to organize their work in the way they find optimal, and the authority to find make improvements on how their job is done. Making this work requires providing employees with the training, coaching, and information they need to make intelligent decisions. Make Sure Supervisors Know How to Bring Out the Best in People Supervisors play a huge role in employee morale, performance, and stress level. Supervisors who know how to provide guidance, support, and encouragement minimize employee stress. Supervisors with poor management skills or with personal problems, not only cant help employees deal with stressful times, they themselves are a tremendous source of stress. The time and financial resources you invest in selecting and training managers will pay huge dividends in reducing employee stress, increasing productivity, and minimizing turnover.

Activity Based Costing (ABC) Advantages and Disadvantages

Activity Based Costing (ABC) Advantages and Disadvantages Activity Based Costing which is popularly known as ABC system has been considered as an economic map of an organizations expenses and profitability based on organizational activities according to Kaplan R; and Cooper R. An activity is an event, task or unit of work with a specified purpose, for instance, designing a product, setting up machines, operating machines, and distributing products; by Horngren, Foster, Datar. According to Kaplan R.S Cooper R; ABC system came in the mid-1980s to meet the need for accurate information required by managers about cost of resources demanded by individual products, services and customers. It emerged as competition moved from local to global and from the efficient use of direct labour and machines. Absorption Costing also known as full costing is a traditional costing system developed in the 1900s, by which overheads incurred within a period were absorbed into the products by Kilgour D. The traditional absorption costing was introduced at a time when technology was simpler, competition was local, products were standard and not customised products and services, speed, quality and performance were not measurement for success in reference to Kaplan R.S Cooper R. Importance of Absorption Costing System or Activity Based Costing: According to Horngren, Foster Datar, the importance of a costing system should depend on whether the company is producing one type of product and therefore could allocate all overhead costs using one cost pool and one cost rate or whether the company is producing different kind of products and therefore need a system which could enable it apportion the total cost of resources accurately according to their usage of those resources. As companies began to expand and delve into producing variety of products, they began to notice that some products place more demand on their resources than others. It became important to absorb overhead when products which are not the same but required different production processes or jobs which although the use the same facility but at a length of time according to Terry L. To ascertain how to apportion overheads to products or services, traditional absorption costing involves two stages; the first stage is the allocation and apportionment and the second stage is the use of absorption rate to absorb overheads into products. Overhead Allocation: Terry L; overhead allocation is the assignment of all cost incurred to a single cost unit, centre account or time period. Overhead Apportionment: This is a case where the costs incurred could not be identified with only one cost centre therefore the cost is shared between the cost centres using that service, for instance, lighting cost would be shared between all the cost centres using a suitable basis, Terry L. It is important that the basis upon which costs are apportioned are relevant, fair and equitable; Terry L. Overhead Absorption Rate: This is usually calculated at the beginning of a period therefore it is based on budgeted costs and production volumes, AAT units 89. The formula is as follows: Total overheads of cost centre Total number of units of absorption base applicable to cost centre According to Terry L; before calculating absorption rate, the absorption base chosen has to reflect the characteristics of the given cost centre. The basis most commonly used are direct labour hours for a labour intensive cost centre and the machine hour basis usually used where the cost centre is highly mechanised. With exception of the above two basis, other basis include; Direct wages, Direct material, Prime cost and Cost unit. ABC System: Activity Based Costing began in a manufacturing setting but has been more service -oriented than product oriented. Service Industries as much as manufacturing industries need ABC system to connect the cost resources they supply to the revenues earned by the individual products and customers serviced by these resources in reference to Horngren, Foster Datar. ABC System has three key features are: (1) With the system all costs used by a product whether variable or fixed in the short-run or overheads(indirect costs)in the long-run are identified by creating cost pools as ABC is focused on long-run variable costs for instance as Terry L; said, costs for supporting activities like stock handling, production scheduling and so on. Cost Pool: Classifying all related costs to a particular activity together according to Terry L. (2) The second feature of ABC system is; An amount of an activity performed in each cost pool is recognised as a basis of allocation for instance, set-up hours as a measure of set up activity. Horngren, Foster, Datar. (3) The third feature is that costs in a cost pool can sometimes be traced directly to products. Horngren, Foster, Datar. The Differences Between Traditional Absorption Costing and Activity Based Costing. The differences between the two costing system are easy to notice. Below are lists of some of them: The traditional absorption costing was introduced at the time when technology was simple, there was only local competition and not global, when products were standard not customised, from Kaplan S.R Cooper R. ABC system emerged at the time when competition had become global and fierce and had shifted from the efficient use of labour hours and machines, by Kaplan S.R Cooper R. The traditional costing uses mostly two allocation bases to allocate overheads to products; direct labour basis for a labour intensive company and the machine hour basis for a highly mechanised company. These two bases would not capture the demand of a particular product on the resources of the organisation. There are no cause and effect relationship to an allocation base with the use of this method, Horngren, Foster, Datar. With ABC system, costs of activities within the organisation are more accurately measured because the cost pools are properly structured with specific activity cost allocation bases which became cost drivers for the cost pool. Cost Driver: factor influencing the level of cost from Terry L. In the traditional absorption system, absorption rates are based on predetermined figures thereby giving rise to under and over absorption of overhead. Under absorption arises when the estimated overhead is less than the actual overhead. Over absorption of overhead arises when the overhead absorbed exceeds the actual overhead ; from AAT Study text units 89. The measurement required to implement ABC system are costly as the system demands that management should estimate costs of activity pool, identify and measure cost drivers for the cost pools to serve as allocation bases; from, Horngren, Foster, Datar. The use of ABC system will require its activity cost rates to be updated regularly and a detailed ABC system consumes time, is difficult to understand and operate, Horngren, Foster Datar. Illustration : As an illustration of the differences between traditional absorption costing and activity based costing,with attention to set up activity, the effect of allocating all overheads using direct labour hours as against an ABC emphasis on individual activities, the name of the company shall be called Z. Z produces two kinds of lenses for an automobile company. The first product is a simple lenses, the second product is called complex lenses. Set ups involves trial runs, fine tuning, adjustments, wrong set-ups cause quality problems such as scratches . Each set-up requires different resources depending on the complexity of the operation. Complex lenses are produced in small batches because the mold has to be cleaned more often. Horngren, Foster Datar. According to Horngren, Foster, Datar, set-up data for simple lens and complex lens are: Simple Complex S3 lens CL5 lens Total (1) Quantity produced 60,000 15,000 (2) Lens per batch 240 50 (3) No of batches (1/2) 250 300 (4) Set-up time per batch 2hours 5hours (5) Total set-up hours (3)*(4) 500hours 1500hours 2000hours Direct manufacturing labour hours 30000hrs 9750hrs 39750hrs Z recognises total cost of set-ups comprising of allocated costs of process engineers, supervisors, set-up equipment of  £300,000. Solution: The table below shows how the set-up costs have been allocated to simple and complex lenses using direct labour hours and setup hours: Setup cost per direct labour hours: (300,000/39750)= £7.54717 Setup cost per setup hours: (300,000/2000)=  £150 Simple Complex Total S3 lens CL5 lens Cost allocated using direct labour hrs:  £7.54717* 30000;  £7.54717*9750  £226,415  £73,585  £300,000 Cost allocated using setup hrs:  £150*500;  £150*1500  £75,000  £225,000  £300,000 Implementing the Activity Based Costing System: The choice of implementing Activity Based Costing depends on the managers after evaluating the advantages and disadvantages, controlling the amount of details required and cost. ABC system enables management to see their existing and predetermined cost of activities and business processes which then equips them with knowledge of the cost and profitability of the various products, services, customers and operating units according to Kaplan S.R, Cooper R. There are several steps the company could take to change the existing costing system. These are: Step 1: List all the activities of the company performed by indirect and support Resources, for instance, material handling, schedule production and so on. Step 2: Find out how much the company is spending on each activity in the company. Step 3: Indentify the companys products, services and customers, Kaplan S.R, Cooper R. Step 4: Charge support overheads by their usage of the activity with emphasis on the Cause-effect relationship. Recommendation: ABC system is recommended since it provides more accurate product Costs. The system has been used successfully in some service industries Such as the Cooperative Banks to identify profitability, product mixes, Improve efficiency and satisfy customers, Horngren, Foster Datar.

The Red Pony: Death and Rebirth Essay -- Red Pony Essays

The Red Pony:Â   Death and Rebirth The pony still lay on his side and the wound in his throat bellowed in and out. When Jody saw how dry and dead the hair looked, he knew at last that there was no hope for the pony . . .he had seen it [the dead hair] before, and he knew it was a sure sign for death." In Steinbeck's The Red Pony. death played an intricate role in the life of Jody, an adolescent farmer's child. With the reoccurring theme of death's association with violence, we are eventually enabled to discover that from one such horrific incident, a rebirth of life can be formed. In Steinbeck's classic tale of a young boy's coming of age and his initiation into manhood, this sense of life and rebirth played harmonious roles together. As a typical ten year old boy in a western farming village, Jody basically~y felt the need to justify his manliness, and to prove to his parents that he alone could handle immense responsibilities that others of his own age couldn't. To test this exact faith, a horse, named Gabilan, was handed to Jody by his stem father, ironically called Carl Tifflin instead of "dad." The horse, in fact, proved to be Steinbeck's reoccurring message throughout the remainder of the novel. Testing the patience between man and horse, and also the boy's great love for the beastly animal, it is learned of the need to develop discipline in order to cope with life and with death and the violence associated with it. With the death of the horse came the arrival of an old Mexican man, who too so happened to be coming to the crossroads of his life. The man claimed to be coming to the mountain region to die in the place where he so happened to have been born. Jody's immediate reaction to Gitano, as he was called, appear... ...y now must correlate into his own life. All of Jody's experiences surrounding the violent death of his treasured horse, Gabilan, served to prepare him for an eventual balanced acceptance of life and death. Realistically, Jody knew that the pony was going to die: "When Jody saw how dry and dead the hair looked, he knew at last that there was no hope for the pony." But however prepared he appeared for the death, he still had to assert some resistance to it. This is expressed when he "bashed" the head of the "buzzard straight" as retribution for harming his loved animal. This gory attack on the buzzards at the end of the story indicated his irrational, emotional rejection of the violent aspects of nature. This aspect is what the death of the Red Pony helped Jody to realize, for although his friend had passed, a new rebirth of insight into maturity had entered his mind.

The Eyes Motif in the Works of D.H. Lawrence :: Biography Biographies Essays

The Eyes Motif in the Works of D.H. Lawrence D.H. Lawrence's short stories The Shadow in the Rose Garden, The Prussian Officer and The White Stocking possess an eyes motif. This motif, along with a variety of other motifs, are used throughout the works of the author and adds depth to the stories. "The Shadow in the Rose Garden" possesses an eyes motif. The eyes as a "window to the soul" is an ever present reference in this work. First, Lawrence notes the "china-blue eyes" of Mrs. Coates, who is a "delightful, erect old lady." (70) Later, when the young woman sits down on the bench in the garden in front of the white roses and sees the man in front of her, she notices his eyes. Lawrence write: "She looked up, blanched to the lips, and saw his eyes. They were black, and stared without seeing. They were not a man's eyes" (73). The young woman was greatly disturbed by the man whose eyes "stared without seeing." After they began talking, the young woman noticed that his eyes "were the glistening, strange black eyes that she had loved" (74). This deranged man she was talking to reminded her of a man she once loved, who is not her husband because Lawrence makes reference to "his brown eyes" (75). Therefore, Lawrence writes, "Her eyes searched him, and searched him, to see if he woul d recognize her, if she could discover him. 'You don't know me?' she asked, from the terror of her soul, standing alone" (p.74). These lines incorporate the theme of the eyes as a 'window to the soul.' The young woman tries to reach the disturbed man's soul by searching his eyes. The eye motif in "The Shadow in the Rose Garden" can also be found in "The Prussian Officer." Many references are made to the eyes of the older Captain and the younger orderly in "Officer." Lawrence describes the character's eyes when he writes,"The eyes of the two men met, those of the younger sullen and dark, doggedly unalterable, those of the elder sneering with restless contempt" (5). This comes after the orderly becomes more aware of his Captain's affections and starts to show off with his girlfriend a little more. Future lines in the story also carry the theme of eyes as a "window to the soul": "The withering smile came into the Captain's eyes .

A Space for Intersexuality Essay -- Intersexuality Essays

A Space for Intersexuality In the video Hermaphrodites Speak, many of the individuals present stated that they felt something was missing and wished to convey to others that the surgery is unnecessary and a violation of their bodies, that something is now missing from their lives. In my paper, I will be looking at the circumstances and policies surrounding the birth reassignment surgery to which they are referring. In addition, I want to examine how this relates to our need for categories, specifically the gender categories of male and female. Why is it that we need to perform surgery on babies with ambiguous genitalia in order to somehow make them fit into these black and white gender categories? What would be the consequences of allowing hermaphrodites to make their own decisions regarding their individual sexuality? How problematic is it if they don't fit into a concrete category, and who is it that feels this is a problem? Inspired by the intersexual character of Cal/Callie in Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex, I decided to turn to the dictionary (Oxford English Dictionary Online) to see if perhaps the definitions of "intersexual" and "hermaphrodite" had changed since the book was published. I was curious to see what the accepted, supposedly educated, view on intersexuals and hermaphrodites was these days. When I looked up the meaning of "intersexual" in the Oxford English Dictionary, I was surprised to see that there was no independent listing of the noun form of the word but only the adjective which was defined as: 1. Existing between the sexes 2. Biol. Typified by or having both male and female characteristics; having some characteristics proper to the other sex. Also absol. as n., an intersexual individual. Aha! There wa... ...surgeries for people born with an anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female." Maybe we should listen to what individuals and families dealing with intersex believe is a step in the right direction for society, that the problem of intersexuality is not one of gender but of stigma and trauma. It is not intersexuality and intersexuals that are the problem but normality and mainstream society that must be "fixed." Works Cited: 1. Oxford English Dictionary Online http://www.oed.com/ 2. Blackless, Melanie, Anthony Charuvastra, Amanda Derryck, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Karl Lauzanne, and Ellen Lee. 2000. How sexually dimorphic are we? Review and synthesis. American Journal of Human Biology 12:151-166. Available from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issuetoc?ID=69504032 3. Intersex Society of North America http://www.isna.org/drupal/

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Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant (Harper et al, 1991) neurodegenerative disorder characterized by involuntary movements, cognitive loss, and psychiatric problems as described by Martin and Gusella (1986). These symptoms are related to the death of medium spiny projection neurons in the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the cortex (Reiner et al, 1988). In later stages of the disease, even areas such as the hippocampus and hypothalamus gets affected as well (Kassubek et al, 2004). Huntington’s disease has a prevalence rate of approximately 1 in 10,000 Caucasian populations (Harper et al, 1991).Patients with Huntington’s disease most typically display a choreic movement disorder involving involuntary writhing movements observed by George Huntington himself. The age of onset of Huntington’s disease seem to be normally distributed around the average age of 35 to 42, with small number of cases developing in patients younger than 20 years of age or older than 60 years of age (Andrew et al, 1993). The majority of juvenile patients, whose disease onset are at age 20 years or less, have inherited the paternally defected gene (Andrew et al, 1993).Patients usually died within 15 to 20 years of disease onset. Gusella et al (1983) first determined the location of the genetic mutation in Huntington’s disease to be the short arm of chromosome 4. It was after another 10 years did the researchers of The Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Group (1993) able to discover that a gene in chromosome 4 containing a trinucleotide repeat of CAG was abnormally expanded in diseased individuals. The IT15 (interesting transcript 15) gene, dubbed the huntingtin gene by the group, codes for the huntingtin gene.This CAG repeat, which translates into a poly-glutamine stretch, is highly polymorphic among the population ranging from 11 to 34 copies on normal individuals. However, in individuals with Huntington’s disease it expanded to more than 42 repeats and increasing to upwards of 100 (The Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Group, 1993). This provides evidence showing that the mutant huntingtin protein seems to be toxic to its native cells and confers a disease state to individuals with an extended length of repeats. There is also a correlation between the CAG length and disease onset as shown by Andrew et al (1993).The mutated elongated huntingtin protein is cut by enzymes into fragments and the fragments begin to form abnormal clusters, neuronal intranuclear inclusions (NIIs), inside cells. These clusters can also act to recruit normal proteins to adhere together as well (Davies et al, 1997). This was originally thought to cause the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease. However, more recent studies have shown that the presence of NIIs is actually a coping response to the toxicity of mutant huntingtin proteins and acts to prolong the life of the cells and reduce intracellular mutant huntingtin in neighbouring neurons (Arrasate et al, 2004).The exact function of the wild-type huntingtin protein are unclear, however many efforts have been made in understanding its native functions. Nasir et al (1995) showed that homozygous huntingtin homologs in mice died before embryogenesis could occur and that heterozygotes displayed similar deficits as diseased human patients. Wild-type huntingtin is also crucial for establishing and maintaining neuronal identity, especially in cortex and striatum (Reiner et al, 2001).Current data can provide the conclusion that normal huntingtin protein has actions important for development in mammals. In vitro, wild-type huntingtin have been shown to act to protect brain cells from apoptotic stimuli, such as serum deprivation, mitochondrial toxins, or the transfection of death genes (Cattaneo et al, 2005). Wild-type huntingtin protein, not mutated, stimulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production by acting at level of Bdnf tra nscription. BDNF is very important for survival of striatal neurons (Cattaneo et al, 2005).Intracellularly, huntingtin protein has been found to associate with various organelles such as the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi complex (Cattaneo et al, 2005). It has also been found in neurites and at synapses, where it associates with vesicular structures and microtubules (Li et al, 2003). This characteristic has been shown to enhance vesicular transport of BDNF along microtubules (Gauthier et al, 2004). On a similar note, huntingtin interacts with a number of cytoskeletal and synaptic vesicle proteins that are essential for exo- and endocytosis at synaptic terminals.Wild-type huntingtin binds directly to the Src homology 3 domain of postsynaptic density protein 95, which binds NMDA and kainite receptors. This activity is decreased in mutant proteins and can lead to overactivation or sensitization of NMDA receptors (Cattaneo et al, 2005). Aside from the toxicity of the mutated huntingtin protein, the loss of normal huntingtin protein also seems to add to the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease. Presence of only mutant huntingtin protein results in massive apoptotic cell death in the testes of male mice (Leavitt, 2001).However, no apoptosis can be seen in testes of mice expressing human mutant huntingtin when wild-type huntingtin is expressed as well (Leavitt, 2001). It was also seen that in mice, the absence of wild-type huntingtin protein led to a worsening of striatal atrophy and neuronal loss, and a significant decrease in neuronal cross-sectional area compared to mice that had wild-type huntingtin present (Cattaneo et al, 2005). Huntington’s disease still remains incurable to this day. However, many treatments are available for treatments of its symptoms.Chorea, the hallmark of the disease is a major target for many treatments. Such drugs include dopamine-depleting agents, dopamine antagonists, benzodiazepines, glutamate antagonists, ac etylcholinesterase inhibitors, dopamine agonists, antiseizure medications, cannabinoids, lithium, deep brain stimulation and fetal cell transplantation (Frank and Jankovic, 2010). One notable drug currently in use is Tetrabenazine, which is the only US FDA-approved drug for treatment of Huntington’s disease (Frank and Jankovic, 2010).The drug acts by reversibly inhibiting the central vesicular monoamine transporter type 2, this cause a depletion of dopamine (Bagchi, 1983). The main area of effect for tetrabenazine is in the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the nucleus accumbens, all areas known to be responsible for the major pathology of the disease. The Huntington Study Group (2006) was able to demonstrate the efficacy of tetrabenazine in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Subjects who received tetrabenazine showed a change from the baseline in the maximal chorea score of the UHDRS.Compared to the baseline, treatment resulted in a reduction of 5. 0 units in chorea compa red with a 1. 5 unit reduction for the placebo group. A second symptom targeted for treatment to allow patients to function normally is the psychiatric problems. Dopamine receptor blocking agents are commonly used as anti-psychotics in order to treat psychosis associated with Huntington’s disease (Frank and Jankovic, 2010). There are many ethical issues that have been associated with Huntington’s disease patients, in particular pertaining to the application of genetic testing.The expanded CAG repeats associated with Huntington’s disease (Gusella et al, 1983) are used as a predictive testing to determine the risk of a person for developing inherited HD gene. The debate of ethics with respect to genetic testing for Huntington’s disease seems to lie on several major factors including: autonomy, beneficence, confidentiality, and justice (Huggins et al, 1990). The question remains whether or not the current use of genetic predictive testing is ethical. Autonom y refers to the respect for the individual’s right to make an informed decision about an action that may have a profound effect on his or her life.The patients should feel no pressure from physicians or institutions with regards to their decision for genetic testing. Also, they should also have a full understanding of the consequences and implications of their decisions. This would require physicians to provide all the necessary information to the patients so that they are informed about the testing. If a woman refuses to get tests done for her baby even though her relatives are with her insisting on getting it performed, the physician cannot allow the testing to be performed.Beneficience is summarized by the phrase â€Å"first do no harm† (Huggins et al, 1990). This is an important factor when the results of the test may reveal genetic information about oneself. This implies not only avoiding harm to patient but also preventing harm to other individuals, which may inc lude family members of patients. Due to the genetic characteristics of Huntington’s disease, family members can be both directly and indirection influenced by the results of the test.If for example a pregnant woman decides to get an ultra sound for her baby in order to find out if the baby has spina bifida, and upon confirmation by the physician decides that she wants to give birth at home as opposed to in a hospital where the baby could be treated correctly in order to minimize the risk of the disease. The physician should take any action he can in order to avoid any risk to the health of the baby. Confidentiality with genetic tests applies the same as with any other form of personal information. It should not be disclosed to any other third parties, which includes family members as well.For example, if two siblings were to go and receive a CAG repeat test at the same time and one sibling asks the physician about the results of the other sibling. The physician cannot disclos e any information or they will violate the confidentiality of the patient. Justice simply means equal access to health services and information to all. This also includes long-term support and guidelines for testing as a medical service so that the service is not difficult to obtain if needed. For example, even though Cystic Fibrosis is mostly only prominent in Caucasians, the testing should still be offered to regnant women of other ethnicities as well. Other ethical dilemmas still exist with current genetic testing technologies. One particularly pertaining to Huntington’s disease is whether or not the information is obtained even though there is no cure for the disease. In diseases such as phenylketonuria (PKU), after newborn screening, dietary interventions will allow the individuals with the condition to lead healthy and normal lives (Lea et al, 2005). However, for Huntington’s disease, even after knowing that the disease will affect the individual what can be done ?Therefore, would it be better to not know at all? By testing and finding out that an individual has the mutation that will eventually lead to the development of Huntington’s disease, the individual can attend to the initial development of symptoms and as a result may be treated much earlier. This can result in a more favourable prognosis. Similarly, the individual can live more cautiously as to prevent further exacerbation of their condition. On a more subjective level, the individual may use the knowledge to live a more fulfilling life knowing that he or she may not live as long as the rest of the population.Conversely, the information can also be used negatively. There can be a lot of discrimination in terms of applying for employment and health insurance. This information would also impact the ambition and life goals of the individual, the amount of psychological harm that comes with eventually developing an incurable and lethal neurodegenerative disease is extremely larg e. Similarly, would they still pursue to have a family and children if they knew that they had a very high risk of dying at a young age? This particular issue should be resolved by following the ethical factors listed before.As long as the individual is informed, are being prevented from harm, information not shared with any third party members, and has access to healthcare services, then being tested for Huntington’s disease will be ethically correct. This knowledge will give them insight on how to live the rest of their life. Another dilemma that has Harper, P. S. , Morris, M. J. , Quarrell, O. , Shaw, D. J. , Tyler, A. , and Youngman, S. (1991). The epidemiology of Huntington’s disease. J. Med. Genet. 89: 365-376. Martin, J. B. , and Gusella, J. K. (1986).Huntington’s disease: pathogenesis and management. N. Engl. J. Med. 315: 1267-1276. Andrew, S. E. , Goldberg, Y. P. , Kremer, B. , Telenius, H. , Theilmann, J. , Adamn, S. , Starr, E. , Squitieri, F. , Lin, B. , Kalchman, M. A. , Graham, R. K. , and Hayden, M. R. (1993). The relationship between trinucleotide (CAG) repeat length and clinical features of Huntington’s disease. Nat Genet. 4: 398-403. The Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Group (1993). A novel gene containing a trinucleotide repeat that is expanded and unstable on Huntington’s disease chromosomes.Cell. 72: 971-983. Gusella, J. F. , Wexler, N. S. , Coneally, P. M. , Naylor, S. L. , Anderson, M. A. , Tanzi, R. E. , Watkins, P. C. , Ottina, K. , Wallace, M. R. , Sakaguchi, Y. A. , et al. (1983). A polymorphic DNA marker genetically linked to Huntington’s disease. Nature. 306: 234-238. Reiner, A. , Albin, R. L. , Anderson, K. D. , D’Amato, C. J. , Penney, J. B. , and Young, A. B. (1988). Differential loss of striatal projection neurons in Huntington disease. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 85: 5733–5737. Kassubek, J. , Gaus, W. , and Landwehrmeyer, G. B. (2004).Evidence for more w idespread cerebral pathology in early HD: and MRI-based morphometric analysis. Neurology. 62: 523-524. Nasir, J. , Floresco, S. B. , O’Kusky, J. R. , Diewert, V. M. , Richman, J. M. , Zeisler, J. , Borowski, A. , Marth, J. D. , Philips, A. G. , and Hayden, M. R. (1995). Targeted disruption of the Huntington’s disease gene results in embryonic lethality and behavioral and morphological changes in heterozygotes. Cell. 81: 811-823. Cattaneo, E. , Zuccato, C. , and Tartari, M. (2005). Normal huntingtin function: alternative approach to Huntington’s disease.Nat Rev Neurosci. 6: 919-930. Li, J. Y. , Plomann, M. & Brundin, P. (2003). Huntington’s disease: a synaptopathy? Trends Mol. Med. 9: 414–420. Reiner, A. , Del Mar, N. , Meade, C. A. , Yang, H. , Dragatsis, I. , Zeitlin, S. , and Goldowitz, D. (2001). Neurons lacking huntingtin differentially colonize brain and survive in chimeric mice. J. Neurosci. 21: 7608-7619. Gauthier, L. R. , Charrin, B. C. , B orrell-Pages, M. , Dompierre, J. P. , Rangone, H. , Cordelieres, F. P. , De Mey, J. , MacDonald, M. E. , Lessmann, V. , Humbert, S. , and Saudou, F. 2004). Huntingtin controls neurotrophic support and survival of neurons by enhancing BDNF vesicular transport along microtubules. Cell. 118: 127-138. Leavitt, B. R. , Guttman, J. A. , Hodgson, J. G. , Kimel, G. H. , Singaraja, R. , Vogl, A. W. , and Hayden, M. R. (2001). Wild-type hungtingtin reduces the cellular toxicity of mutant huntingtin in vivo. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 68: 313-324. Davies, S. W. , Turmaine, M. , Cozens, B. A. , DiFiglia, M. , Sharp, A. H. , Ross, C. A. , Scherzinger, E. , Wanker, E. E. , Mangiarini, L. , and Bates, G. P. (1997).Formation of neuronal intranuclear inclusions underlies the neurological dysfunction in mice transgenic for the HD mutation. Cell. 90: 537-548. Arrasate, M. , Mitra, S. , Schweitzer, E. S. , Segal, M. R. , and Finkbeiner, S. (2004). Inclusion body formation reduces levels of mutant huntingtin an d the risk of neuronal death. Nature. 431: 805-810. Frank, S. , and Jankovic, J. (2010). Advances in the pharmacological management of Huntington’s disease. Drugs. 70: 561-571. Bagchi, S. P. (1983). Differential interactions of phencyclidine with tetrabenazine and reserpine affecting intraneuronal dopamine.Biochem Pharmacol. 32: 2851-6 Huntington Study Group. (2006). Tetrabenazine as antichorea therapy in Huntington disease: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology. 66: 366-72 Huggins, M. , Bloch, M. , Kanani, S. , Quarrell, O. W. , Theilman, J. , Hedrick, A. , Dickens, B. , Lynch, A. , and Hayden, M. (1990). Ethical and legal dilemmas arising during predictive testing for adult-onset disease: the experience of Huntington disease. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 47: 4-12. Lea, D. H. , Williams, J. , and Donahue, M. P. (2005). Ethical issues in genetic testing. J. Midwifery Womens Health. 550:234-240.

The Journey of Two American Girls

The Journey of Two American Girls Laura Logan ENG125: Introduction to Literature (AFG1301A) Instructor: Carla  McGill February 4, 2013 How can an African American and a Hispanic girls be treated different when they are the same type of person? I chose the theme of race and ethnicity when I selected the poems â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl† by Patricia Smith and â€Å"Child of the Americas† by Aurora Levin Morales. I am a Hispanic person with an African ancestry. I speak fluent Spanish and English and have experience life from both sides of the continent.The poems show how African American and Hispanics American girls lives were affected based on their race and ethnicity. The life of the African American girl life was affected because of her race and racism; while the life of the Hispanic American girl life was (not) affected because of her ethnicity. While both the African American and Hispanic American girls were born on American soil, racism affected the African American girl’s way she lived her life while ethnicity (heritage) played a major role in Hispanic American girl’s life.The poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl† is about a nine year old African American girl who life was immensely affected by racism and the fact that she was a girl did not help her either. The thing that I notice was missing is where is the girl’s parents during the time she was growing up; maybe it was the author intent not to mention the girl’s parents. Growing up is tough enough as a black girl, you add the absence of parents and throw in racism, this girl does not have a chance to live a successful life. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, racism has two meanings.First, racism is, â€Å"The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. † Second, racism is, â€Å"Discrimination or prejudice based on race. † The African American girl health was effected by racism, she was conditioned to be ashamed of her skin color, the texture of her hair and ethnicity. In her mind she think the only way the coccasion people will except her is if she look like them. According to Bhui, (2002) Racism is a fundamental cause of disparities in health.Its myriad effects and links to other forms of social stratification lead to it being both obvious and masked. Its boundaries are indistinct because it is internal as well as external, individual as well as ecological, and shunned while being an integral part of dominant culture ideology. Its investigation is important and yet part of the spider’s web that traps the best thinkers of ethnic minorities in contemplation instead of action and this brings us to the final paradox, understanding racism is a prerequisite of beating it (p. 3). I get the feeling that the black girl not only felt that at nine she was not finished, but perhaps she coul d into a different person other than the person she was then. The African American girl definitely had mental heath issues, she wanted white skin and blue eyes, something that was accepting of the culture of that time. According to Smith (1991) â€Å"It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished,† writes Smith, â€Å"like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong. † (line, 4).According to Smith (1991) the â€Å"black girl† she refers to in her poem is feeling the awkwardness of her newly changing body and the hope of something different and maybe better to come (p 283). Some people would say that the African American girl understands her body, but I would say that she is not ready for her body changes perhaps because of who she is or want to be and that is to look like the other girls in the society in which she lives. The life of the Hispanic girl in the â€Å"Child of the Americas† is so different from that of the black girl in the â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl†.I stated that I have live on both sides of the Americas, and like the Hispanic girl in â€Å"Child of the Americas† by Aurora Levin Morales, According to Dictionary. com ethnicity is ethnic  traits, background, allegiance, or association; relating to or characteristic of a human group having racial, religious, linguistic, and certain other traits in common; relating to the classification of mankind into groups, especially on the basis of racial characteristics; denoting or deriving from the cultural traditions of a group of people.I must say that I have experience little to know racism. In the Hispanic society we are free mentally and physically to be want ever we want to be without restrictions being place on us girls. The Hispanic girl understand who she is and where she comes from. The one thing I notice about the two poems is that the author in this poem mention the girl’s m other and grandparents, which indicates that there is a support system in place to deal with life situation. The Hispanic girl unlike the African American girl was proud of her body and her light-skinned mestiza.Morales (1986) states that I am a child of the Americas, a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean, a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroads. I am a U. S. Puerto Rican Jew, a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known (p. 278). (Morales, 1) shows that this girl knows who she is and accepts that she is different than what she may see everyday. She is proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, proud to be of multi-racial descent, proud to be from the islands.She knows where she comes from and where she has is going. In â€Å"Child of the America’s†, the girl proudly states she is, â€Å"a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean†. (Morales, 2) The girl in this poem lets us know from the beginning that she is a girl of mixed race. She is strong and confident in her abilities. She enjoys life and appears to be well educated and well versed. Her social class could be middle class to wealthy with parents that worked their way out of poverty. â€Å"A product of the ghettos of New York I have never known†. Morales, 5)    â€Å"I speak English with passion: it's the tongue of my consciousness, a flashing knife blade of cristal, my tool, my craft†. (Morales, 7, 8) I remember when my daughter was in elementary school and she took a knife to school for protection and she was the tallest student in the school. Patrica Smith, the author of the poem â€Å"What’s it like to be a Black Girl† discusses the challenges the African American girl has with identifying the changes her body is going through as she is growing up. The African American irl does not appear to know what is going on, or perhap just do not want to face the future because of who she is, the color of her skin, the texture of her hair and the color of her eyes. Smith (1991) states that â€Å"It’s finding a space between your legs, a disturbance at your chest, and not knowing what to do with the whistles, it’s jumping double dutch until your legs pop, it’s sweat and Vaseline and bullets, it’s growing tall and wearing a lot of white, it’s smelling blood in your breakfast. † (p. 278).According to Myers (2002) African American women noted lower satisfaction with professional lives, differential and negative treatment from colleagues, and greater feelings of isolation on campus. Such isolation carries with it important implications: Literature shows that the rate of promotion and tenure among African American women is slower than that of African American men and white women. Isolation and lack of effective mentoring processes are direct influences in these low promotion and tenure rates as well as low retention rates among African American women in academia (Williams- Green and Singh, 1995).The state of mine she was in due to racism and her lack of support from her family especially a father figure, made it very hard for her to be a good judge character when it came to her selecting or being selected by the male persuasion. The Hispanic girls life is total contrary to the African American girl’s life. My young life was very similar to the Hispanic girl. She was very aware of her growing up and her body changes. She had a support around her as she was growing up and she was deeply rooted in her heritage and proud to shake it and speak her mind when needed.It even sounds like the Hispanic girls even like literature as she like the singing of poetry. Morales (1986) indicated that Spanish is my flesh, Ripples from my tongue, lodges in my hips: the language of garlic and mangoes, the singing of poetry, the flying gestures of my hands. I am of Latinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent: I speak from that body p. 278). The author kind o f implies that the Hispanic girls enjoys having a good time dancing and living the Latinoamerica life style.The poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl† the girl is continually getting older and bigger and changing her clothing, to wear white clothing trying to look like the society who is showing racism toward her. She want to wear white like a new bride, which symbolize purety. She has seen a lot of racism in her life and based on the fact she want to be Caucasian or at least look like them. She only see African American in a negative way. The mood of the black girl is somber and sad because every phase in her life there is know one for her to talk to or lift her spirits.The Hispanic girl in the poem â€Å"Child of the Americas† is happy about where she came from, like me, she is probably bilingual and loves the fact that she is Puerto Rican and unlike most Hispanics she is Jew. Accoring to Morales (1986) the girl is a U. S. Puerto Rican Jew, a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known. An immigrant and the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants. I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness (p. 278). The Hispanic girl can relate to more than one culture and have multiple races to identify with; she has many races and loves them all.The African American life will aways be in termoil and does not know how to resist a man when they are not right for her. The first man that reaches out to her, she just gave in to him without any resistance. On the other hand, the Hispanic girl life was all line up for, like most Hispanic women she was determined in life and had the will power to resistance a bad situation and move away from it. The Hispanic girl was very secure about who she was and what she wanted to become and had the support of her family, unlike the black girl who was not sure of who she was and how she was going to get there.The poems were completely opposite when it came to the style as th ey sent different messages to the reader. The style is the mood or attitude reflected in a literary work. The â€Å"What it’s like to be a black girl†, the style is that of confusion, uncertainty, and sadness. She doesn’t understand what’s happening to her body or just do not want to except it because of the racism she has face in her life and why she look like the people who are mistreating her because she does not have blonde hair and blue eyes.The style of â€Å"Child of the America’s is that of a proud heritage, love of self, and accepting who you are and proud to be what you are. She loves who she has become and where she comes from. She understand her body and uses it to her advantgage. The biggest difference I see in the two girls is that one had no family support and really know heritage to fall back on and the other had great support and how they saw themselves. in the way they perceive themselves. The black girl did not know that black i s beautiful and to be proud of your heritage and who you are.She is lacking role models that she can live or look up. Unfortunate she lived in an era where racism was allow to thrive, which lead to discrimination because of the color of her skin. The poem â€Å"Child of the Americas† by Aurora Levins Morales is about social diversity. It is about a person like myself coming from Central America. I was born in Panama, where we did not experience racism until I came to the United States. According to Morales (1) I am a child of the Americas, a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean, a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroads.Like the character in the poem I to am the child of the Americas, except my skin in dark brown and I am proud of my Spanish heritage and teach it to my children. I have African in me, but I am not accepted as an African because I speak fluent Spanish and English. African American do not accept me as an African American because I spea k Spanish. Morales (18) also indicates that â€Å"I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish. I was born at the crossroads and I am whole† (p. 278).Racism is a belief in racial superiority:  the belief that people of different races have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or inferior. Racism affected how minority girls were treated and the lack of a good quality education. It seperates us from our fellow man. Rather than trying to improve our society or our nation we are spend more time aruging with or neighbors who are of a different ethic background. Racism divides us instead of bringing us closer together. We then create cities seperated by race, and prefer to stay in our own city with fellow people of our race.The country becomes further divided, one group of people on one side and another group of people on the otherside. Prejudice is a irrational dislike of somebody:  an unfounded hatred, fear, or mistrust of a person or group, especially one of a particular religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual preference, or social status. People had a preconceived notion about African American people which had a negative affect the girls of that culture. The African American girl experienced prejudice based on the fact of her being a person of color, not because of her actions.The theme in the poem â€Å"What it’s like to be a black girl†, is that of confusion, uncertainty, and sadness. The theme of â€Å"Child of the America’s is that of hope, loving your self for who you are.. The poem â€Å"Child of the America’s† did not display any racism or prejudice even though that is not the case for an minority girl in the middle nineteen hundreds in which I experience. The Hispanc girl was just the opposite, there were no boundaries place on her because of her skin color and what ever she dream she wanted to become she could of without prejudice.Her family taught he r to be proud of her Hispanic heritage, to be very prideful of the fact that she is bi-lingual and from the island of Puerto Rico. I was raise to very proud of where I am from and do not forget my family heritage. According to Morales this girl is proud of her Hispanic background and her religious affiliation (1 – 6) I am a child of The Americas, a light-skinned mestiza of the Caribbean, a child of many diaspora, born into this continent at a crossroads. I am a U. S.Puerto Rican Jew, a product of the ghettos of New York I have never known (p. 278). The girl in the poem â€Å"Child of the America’s† proudly explain that Spanish is in her flesh as Morales (1986) states that In recognition of the Spanish influence and in credit of the land that used to be part of the America from which people of Spanish and American descent have intermingled and shared their culture. Spanish influences such as religion, tradition, and food are treasured by Latin Americans who are v ery proud of their heritage. They are Americans (n. p. Morales also indicated that the girl was proud of the other countries she was a part of to include Africa, Europe. We all know that soon that will be a minority of people from America because of it is a melting pot and their will be no typical American because Americans came from a melting pot of culture. Their multiple cultural heritage, tradition, and influences and there are a combination of people to form the American culture. The African American girl seem to be unaware of the changes her body was going through, perhaps because of her situation she was into.In the poem, â€Å"What’s it like to be a Black Girl†, Smith (8) talks about the things that are happening with the girl’s body, as she is developing. â€Å"It’s finding a space between your legs, a disturbance at your chest, and not knowing what to do with the whistles (p. 283). The Puerto Rican girl was very aware of her body and proud to s how it off and with the African American girl it was the total opposite perhaps because of the way she was treated and not allow to grow up without restriction place on her through racism and prejudice.One might wonder how will that affect her mindset as she get older, if I am mentally free in my mind to do what I want to do, my whole outlook on life will be different. The poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl† Smith says,† the girl is getting bigger and taller and want to wear white clothing to supplement how she is feeling and while wearing white clothing everyone will accept her. The white clothing represent the good things in her life and black represent everything that is bad in her life.The African American girl, now a women and married at the end of the poem, her life appeared headed for trouble because of the upbringing she had. There seem to to be know one lift up the girl when she was going through the trouble time of her young life and all the o bstacles that was in her way. The disparity between the two girls is very obvious in the way they saw themselves. It was very sad that the African American girl did not have a good role model to tell her that black is beautiful and be happy with who you are. It would of been nice for her to have a big sister she could of looks up.The poem never really identified a support person she could count on even though we know there was someone there for her. Living in the 1950‘s was already rough for all minorities, especially before the Civil Rights Movement. The girl in â€Å"Child of the America’s†, seem to always have a great support net around her at times and you could see it in her attitude and the way she carried herself. The question I will continue to ask myself is who or what is responsible for the way minority girls viewed themselves? One girls seem to have a good support group around her and the other one did not.What cause the struggles of an African America n girl an a girl who is from the territorial of the USA so differently? The racism and prejudice minority had a major affect on how African American and Hispanic girls viewed themselves. The big question is who or what affected the girls the most in their growth from a young girl to a young woman. References: Clugston, R. W. (2010) Journey into Literature. Bridgeport Education: San Diego, CA. http://www. 123helpme. com/view. asp? id=122370 http://mybestessays. com/what-its-like-to-be-a-black/ http://leecustodio. hubpages. om/hub/Child-of-the-Americas-An-analysis-on-a-Poem Difference Between Ethnicity and Race http://www. differencebetween. net/science/nature/difference-between-ethnicity-and-race/ Racism and Mental Health Bhui, K. , (2002) Racism and Mental Health. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Denton, N. A. , & Villarrubia, J. (2007). Residential segregation on the island: the role of race and class in puerto rican neighborhoods. Sociological Forum, 22(1), 51-76 Myer s, L. (2000) Broken Silence: Voices of African American Women in the Academy: Westport, CT: Greenwood PressStyle in poetry involves the method which a poet uses to convey meaning, tone, and emotion in his/her poem. Content, now, gets a little more tricky. Content is idea-based and means: What the artist meant to portray, what the artist actually did portray and how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages. Additionally, content includes ways in which a work was influenced–by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist's use of hallucinogenic substances–at the time it was created.All of these factors, together, make up the content side of art. Form means: The elements of art, the principles of design and the actual, physical materials that the artist has used. Form, in this context, is concrete and fairly easily described–no matter which piece of art is under scrutiny. What type of prejudices did minority girls went through in the mid nineteen hundreds. Who or what is responsible for the way minority girls viewed themselves? How was the struggles of an African American girl an a girl who is from the territorial of the USA so differently?The racism and prejudice minority had a major affect on how African American and Hispanic girls viewed themselves. The big question is who or what affected the girls the most in their growth from a young girl to a young woman. pointed out or The young African American girl felt as though she had to dye her hair blonde and wear contacts to be excepted by the society of that time. She is growing up trying to live a life as someone else what her to look without truly knowing herself and her heritage.