The Hostage Drama Essay Sample free essay sample

Squashed in the Attic The scene of the drama is Levels High Community College in the little town of Ruskaxe. a 100 stat mis or so north of New York. Karla is an attractive 19-year-old sophomore Biology major. Jimmy is Karla’s ex-boyfriend and a 3rd twelvemonth Sports Science Student and the current captain of the campus football squad. Dean Ferry is Karla schoolmate and a long term secret supporter of hers. Having broken up with Jimmy for rip offing on her at will with the football groupies. Karla starts warming up to Dean. a male child whose attending she has been dodging all along. Dean is more than pleased that Karla is eventually get downing to see the visible radiation. so to talk. The two could now be seen about everyplace in campus and in the eventides you could wager they would be at the squash tribunal where Dean would be learning Karla a fast one or two. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hostage Drama Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But unbeknownst to the two is that Jimmy is firing with enviousness seeing as is Karla seems happy with Dean. Jimmy entreaties to Karla to comeback to him but it is a small late in the twenty-four hours as Karla has taken a particular liking to Dean and frailty versa. Huming with retaliation. Jimmy bargains Dean’s cell phone and uses it to entice Karla to the squash tribunal over and so ties her up and takes her to the Attic. But unknown to Jimmy. Dean’s phone is attached to a tracking device and he is able to track it to in the dent of clip to nail Jimmy’s caput. The drama message can non be unostentatious and I like it all the more for it. And as it is there is an implicit in lesson in a drama. Mentions Rwandet. R. ( 2003 ) .Squashed in the Attic. Nairobi. Longhorn Publishers.

History of the Mexican Revolution

History of the Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910 when the decades-old rule of President Porfirio Dà ­az was challenged by Francisco I. Madero, a reformist writer and politician. When Dà ­az refused to allow clean elections, Maderos calls for revolution were answered by Emiliano Zapata in the south, and Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa in the north. Dà ­az was deposed in 1911, but the revolution was just beginning. By the time it was over, millions had died as rival politicians and warlords fought each other over the cities and regions of Mexico. By 1920, the chickpea farmer and revolutionary general Alvaro Obregà ³n had risen to the presidency, primarily by outliving his main rivals. Most historians believe this event marks the end of the revolution, although the violence continued well into the 1920s. The Porfiriato Porfirio Dà ­az led Mexico as president from 1876 to 1880 and from 1884 to 1911. He was an acknowledged but unofficial ruler from 1880 to 1884 as well. His time in power is referred to as the Porfiriato. During those decades, Mexico modernized, building mines, plantations, telegraph lines, and railroads, which brought great wealth to the nation. It came, however, at the cost of repression and grinding debt peonage for the lower classes. Dà ­azs close circle of friends benefited greatly, and most of Mexicos vast wealth remained in the hands of a few families. Dà ­az ruthlessly clung to power for decades,  but after the turn of the century, his grip on the nation started to slip. The people were unhappy: An economic recession caused many to lose their jobs and people began calling for change. Dà ­az promised free elections in 1910. Dà ­az and Madero Dà ­az expected to win easily and legally and was therefore shocked when it became evident that his opponent, Francisco I. Madero, was likely to win. Madero, a reformist writer who came from a wealthy family, was an unlikely revolutionary. He was short and skinny, with a high-pitched voice that became quite shrill when he was excited. A teetotaler and vegetarian, he claimed to be able to speak to ghosts and spirits, including his dead brother and Benito Jurez. Madero didnt have any real plan for Mexico after Dà ­az; he simply felt that someone else should rule after decades of Don Porfirio. Dà ­az fixed the elections, arresting Madero on false charges of plotting armed insurrection. Madero was bailed out of jail by his father and went to San Antonio, Texas, where he watched Dà ­az easily win re-election. Convinced that there was no other way to get Dà ­az to step down, Madero called for an armed rebellion; ironically, that was the same charge that had been trumped-up against him. According to Maderos Plan of San Luis Potosi, the insurrection would begin on November 20. Orozco, Villa, and Zapata In the southern state of Morelos, Maderos call was answered by peasant leader Emiliano Zapata, who hoped a revolution would lead to land reform. In the north, muleteer Pascual Orozco and bandit chieftain Pancho Villa also took up arms. All three rallied thousands of men to their rebel armies. In the south, Zapata attacked large ranches called haciendas, giving back land that had been illegally and systematically stolen from peasant villages by Dà ­azs cronies. In the north, Villas and Orozcos massive armies attacked federal garrisons wherever they found them, building up impressive arsenals and attracting thousands of new recruits. Villa truly believed in reform; he wanted to see a new, less crooked Mexico. Orozco was more of an opportunist who saw a chance to get in on the ground floor of a movement he was certain would succeed and secure a position of power for himself (such as state governor) with the new regime. Orozco and Villa had great success against the federal forces and in February 1911, Madero returned and joined them in the north. As the three generals closed in on the capital, Dà ­az could see the writing on the wall. By May of 1911, it was clear that he could not win, and he went into exile. In June, Madero entered the city in triumph. The Rule of Madero Madero barely had time to get comfortable in Mexico City before things got hot. He faced rebellion on all sides, as he broke all of his promises to those who had supported him and the remnants of Dà ­azs regime hated him. Orozco, sensing that Madero was not going to reward him for his role in the overthrow of Dà ­az, once again took up arms. Zapata, who had been instrumental in defeating Dà ­az, took to the field again when it became clear that Madero had no real interest in land reform. In November of 1911, Zapata wrote up his famous Plan of Ayala, which called for Maderos removal, demanded land reform, and named Orozco Chief of the Revolution. Fà ©lix Dà ­az, the former dictators nephew, declared himself in open rebellion in Veracruz. By the middle of 1912, Villa was Maderos only remaining ally, although Madero did not realize it. The greatest challenge to Madero was none of these men, however, but one much closer: General Victoriano Huerta, a ruthless, alcoholic soldier left over from the Dà ­az regime. Madero had sent Huerta to join forces with Villa and defeat Orozco. Huerta and Villa despised one another but managed to drive off Orozco, who fled to the United States. After returning to Mexico City, Huerta betrayed Madero during a standoff with forces loyal to Fà ©liz Dà ­az. He ordered Madero arrested and executed and set himself up as president. The Huerta Years With the quasi-legitimate Madero dead, the country was up for grabs. Two more major players entered the fray. In Coahuila, the former governor Venustiano Carranza took to the field and in Sonora, chickpea farmer and inventor Alvaro Obregà ³n raised an army and entered the action. Orozco returned to Mexico and allied himself with Huerta, but the â€Å"Big Four† of Carranza, Obregà ³n, Villa, and Zapata were united in their hatred of Huerta and determined to oust him from power. Orozcos support was not nearly enough. With his forces fighting on several fronts, Huerta was steadily pushed back. A great military victory might have saved him, as it would have drawn recruits to his banner, but when Pancho Villa won a crushing victory at the Battle of Zacatecas on June 23, 1914, it was over. Huerta fled to exile, and although Orozco fought on for a while in the north, he too went into exile in the United States before too long. The Warlords at War With the despised Huerta out of the way, Zapata, Carranza, Obregà ³n, and Villa were the four most powerful men in Mexico. Unfortunately for the nation, the only thing they had ever agreed on was that they did not want Huerta in charge, and they soon fell to fighting one another. In October of 1914, representatives of the â€Å"Big Four† as well as several smaller independents met at the Convention of Aguascalientes, hoping to agree on a course of action that would bring peace to the nation. Unfortunately, the peace efforts failed, and the Big Four went to war: Villa against Carranza and Zapata against anyone who entered his fiefdom in Morelos. The wild card was Obregà ³n; fatefully, he decided to stick with Carranza. The Rule of Carranza Venustiano Carranza felt that as a former governor, he was the only one of the â€Å"Big Four† qualified to rule Mexico, so he set himself up in Mexico City and began organizing elections. His trump card was the support of Obregà ³n, a genius military commander who was popular with his troops. Even so, he did not fully trust Obregà ³n, so he shrewdly sent him after Villa, hoping, no doubt, that the two would finish each other off so that he could deal with the pesky Zapata and Fà ©lix Dà ­az at his leisure. Obregà ³n headed north to engage Villa in a clash of two of the most successful revolutionary generals. Obregà ³n had been doing his homework, however, reading up on trench warfare being fought abroad. Villa, on the other hand, still relied on the one trick that had carried him so often in the past: an all-out charge by his devastating cavalry. The two met several times, and Villa always got the worst of it. In April of 1915, at the Battle of Celaya, Obregà ³n fought off countless cavalry charges with barbed wire and machine guns, thoroughly routing Villa. The next month, the two met again at the Battle of Trinidad and 38 days of carnage ensued. Obregà ³n lost an arm at Trinidad, but Villa lost the war. His army in tatters, Villa retreated to the north, destined to spend the rest of the revolution on the sidelines. In 1915, Carranza set himself up as president pending elections and won the recognition of the United States, which was hugely important to his credibility. In 1917, he won the elections he had set up and began the process of stamping out remaining warlords, such as Zapata and Dà ­az. Zapata was betrayed, set up, ambushed, and assassinated on April 10, 1919, on Carranzas orders. Obregà ³n retired to his ranch with the understanding that he would leave Carranza alone, but he expected to take over as president after the 1920 elections. The Rule of Obregà ³n Carranza reneged on his promise to support Obregà ³n in 1920, which proved to be a fatal mistake. Obregà ³n still enjoyed the support of much of the military, and when it became apparent that Carranza was going to install little-known Ignacio Bonillas as his successor, Obregà ³n quickly raised a massive army and marched on the capital. Carranza was forced to flee  and was assassinated by supporters of Obregà ³n on May 21, 1920. Obregà ³n was easily elected in 1920 and served his four-year term as president. For this reason, many historians believe the Mexican Revolution ended in 1920, although the nation suffered from horrible violence for another decade or so until the level-headed Lzaro Crdenas took office. Obregà ³n ordered the assassination of Villa in 1923 and was himself shot to death by a Roman Catholic fanatic in 1928, ending the time of the â€Å"Big Four.† Women in the Revolution Before the revolution, women in Mexico were relegated to a traditional existence, working in the home and in the fields with their men and wielding little political, economic, or social clout. With the revolution came an opportunity for participation and many women joined up, serving as writers, politicians, and even soldiers. Zapatas army, in particular, was known for the number of female soldaderas among the ranks and even serving as officers. Women who participated in the revolution were reluctant to return to their quiet lifestyle after the dust had settled, and the revolution marks an important milestone in the evolution of Mexican womens rights. Importance of the Revolution In 1910, Mexico still had a largely feudal social and economic base: rich landowners ruled like medieval dukes on large estates, keeping their workers impoverished, deep in debt, and with barely enough basic necessities to survive. There were some factories, but the basis of the economy was still mostly in agriculture and mining. Porfirio Dà ­az had modernized much of Mexico, including laying train tracks and encouraging development, but the fruits of all of this modernization went exclusively to the rich. A drastic change was obviously necessary for Mexico to catch up with other nations, which were developing industrially and socially. Because of this, some historians feel that the Mexican Revolution was a necessary â€Å"growing pain for the backward nation. This view tends to gloss over the sheer destruction wrought by 10 years of war and mayhem. Dà ­az may have played favorites with the wealthy, but much of the good that he did- railways, telegraph lines, oil wells, buildings- were destroyed in a classic case of â€Å"throwing the baby out with the bathwater.† By the time Mexico was once again stable, hundreds of thousands had died, development had been set back by decades, and the economy was in ruins. Mexico is a nation with tremendous resources, including oil, minerals, productive agricultural land, and hard-working people, and its recovery from the revolution was bound to be relatively speedy. The biggest obstacle to recovery was corruption, and the 1934 election of the honest Lzaro Crdenas gave the nation a chance to get back on its feet. Today, there are few scars left from the revolution itself, and Mexican schoolchildren may not even recognize the names of minor players in the conflict such as Felipe Angeles or Genovevo de la O. The lasting effects of the revolution have all been cultural. The PRI, the party that was born in the revolution, held onto power for decades. Emiliano Zapata, the symbol of land reform and proud ideological purity, has become an international icon for just rebellion against a corrupt system. In 1994, a rebellion broke out in Southern Mexico; its protagonists called themselves the Zapatistas and declared that Zapatas revolution was still in progress and would be until Mexico adopted true land reform. Mexico loves a man with personality, and the charismatic Pancho Villa lives on in art, literature, and legend, while the dour Venustiano Carranza has been all but forgotten. The revolution has proven to be a deep well of inspiration for Mexicos artists and writers. The muralists, including Diego Rivera, remembered the revolution and painted it often. Modern writers such as Carlos Fuentes have set novels and stories in this turbulent era, and films such as Laura Esquivels Like Water for Chocolate take place against the revolutionary backdrop of violence, passion, and change. These works romanticize the gory revolution in many ways, but always in the name of the inner search for national identity that continues in Mexico today. Source McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. Basic Books, August 15, 2002.

Bloodlines Chapter Thirteen

I answered and found Eddie on the other end of the line. â€Å"I’m downstairs,† he said. â€Å"Ready to practice some self-defense before it gets too hot.† â€Å"You’re going to have to do it without me,† I said. I had a feeling Eddie was taking his promise to Clarence about training us very seriously. I felt no such obligation. â€Å"I’ve got a ton of homework to do. That, and I’m sure Ms. Terwilliger’s going to make me do a coffee run today.† â€Å"Well, then send Jill down,† said Eddie. I glanced over to the cocoon of blankets on her bed. â€Å"That might be easier said than done.† Surprisingly, she managed to rouse herself enough to brush her teeth, take aspirin for a headache, and throw on some workout clothes. She bid me farewell, and I promised to check on them later. Not long after that, Ms. Terwilliger called with her coffee demand, and I prepared myself for another day of trying to fit in my own work with hers. I drove over to Spencer’s and didn’t even notice Trey until I was standing right in front of him. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger’s?† he asked, pointing to the caramel sauce cappuccino. â€Å"Huh?† I looked up. Trey was my cashier. â€Å"You work here?† He nodded. â€Å"Gotta make spending money somehow.† I handed him some cash, noting that he’d charged me half price. â€Å"Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look so great,† I told him. He looked tired and worn out around the edges. Closer inspection showed bruises and cuts as well. â€Å"Yeah, well, I had kind of a rough day yesterday.† I hesitated. That was a leading comment, but there was no one in line behind me. â€Å"What happened?† I asked, knowing it was expected. Trey scowled. â€Å"That asshole Greg Slade wreaked havoc in football tryouts yesterday. I mean, the results aren’t up yet, but it’s pretty obvious he’s going to get quarterback. He was like a machine, just plowing guys over.† He extended his left hand, which had some bandage-wrapped fingers. â€Å"He stepped on my hand too.† I winced, remembering Slade’s out-of-control athleticism in PE. The politics of high school football and who was quarterback weren’t that important to me. True, I felt sorry for Trey, but it was the source behind the tattoos that intrigued me. Keith’s warnings about not causing trouble rang back to me, but I was unable to stop myself. â€Å"I know about the tattoos,† I said. â€Å"Julia and Kristin told me about them. And I get now why you were suspicious of mine – but it’s not what you think. Really.† â€Å"That’s not what I’ve heard. Most people think you’re just saying that because you don’t want to tell where you got it.† I was a little taken aback by that. I was pretty sure Julia and Kristin had believed me. Were they actually spreading around the opposite? â€Å"I had no idea.† He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. â€Å"Don’t worry. I believe you. There’s something kind of naively charming about you. You don’t seem like the cheating type.† â€Å"Hey,† I scolded. â€Å"I’m not naive.† â€Å"It was a compliment.† â€Å"How long have these tattoos been around?† I asked, deciding it was best to move in. â€Å"I heard since last year.† He handed me my coffee, thinking. â€Å"Yeah, but it was the end of last year. School year, I mean.† â€Å"And they come from a placed called Nevermore?† â€Å"As far as I know.† Trey eyed me suspiciously. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just curious,† I said sweetly. A couple of college kids dressed like rich hobos got in line behind me and regarded us impatiently. â€Å"Can we get some service here?† Trey gave them a stiff smile and then rolled his eyes at me as I moved away. â€Å"See you around, Melbourne.† I headed back to Amberwood and delivered Ms. Terwilliger’s coffee. I wasn’t in the mood to stay leashed to her all day, so I asked if I could go elsewhere if I kept my cell phone handy. She agreed. The library had too much activity and – ironically – noise for me today. I wanted the solitude of my room. As I was cutting across the lawn to catch the shuttle, I spotted some familiar figures behind a cluster of trees. I changed direction and found Jill and Eddie squaring off in a small clearing. Micah sat cross-legged on the ground, watching avidly. He waved at me as I approached. â€Å"I didn’t realize your brother was a kung-fu master,† he remarked. â€Å"It’s not kung fu,† said Eddie gruffly, never taking his eyes off Jill. â€Å"Same difference,† said Micah. â€Å"It’s still pretty badass.† Eddie feinted, like he was going to strike at Jill’s side. She responded fairly quickly with a block, though not quite fast enough to match him. Had he been serious, he would have hit her. Still, he seemed pleased with her response time. â€Å"Good. That would deflect part of a hit, though you’d still feel it. Best is if you can duck and dodge altogether, but that takes a little more work.† Jill nodded obediently. â€Å"When can we work on that?† Eddie regarded her with pride. That expression softened after a few moments of study. â€Å"Not today. Too much sun.† Jill started to protest and then stopped herself. She had that worn-out-from-the-light look again and was sweating heavily. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, as though begging it to give us some cloud cover. It remained unresponsive, so she nodded at Eddie. â€Å"All right. But we’re doing this tomorrow at the same time? Or earlier maybe. Or maybe tonight! Could we do both? Practice tonight when the sun’s going down and then again in the morning? Would you mind?† Eddie grinned, amused at her enthusiasm. â€Å"Whatever you want.† Smiling back, Jill sat down beside me, getting into as much shade as possible. Eddie regarded me expectantly. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Aren’t you supposed to learn to throw a punch?† I scoffed. â€Å"No. When would I ever need to do that?† Jill nudged me. â€Å"Do it, Sydney!† Reluctantly, I allowed Eddie to give me a quick lesson on throwing a punch without injuring my hand in the process. I barely paid attention and felt like I was mostly providing entertainment for the others. When Eddie finished with me, Micah asked, â€Å"Hey, would you mind showing me some ninja moves too?† â€Å"They have nothing to do with ninjas,† protested Eddie, still smiling. â€Å"Come on up.† Micah leapt to his feet, and Eddie walked him through some rudimentary steps. More than anything, it seemed like Eddie was sizing up Micah and his capabilities. After a while, Eddie grew comfortable and let Micah practice some offensive moves to get rid of an attacker. â€Å"Hey,† protested Jill when Eddie landed a kick on Micah. Micah shrugged it off in a guy kind of way. â€Å"No fair. You wouldn’t hit me when we were practicing.† Eddie was caught off guard enough that Micah actually got a hit in. Eddie gave him a look of grudging respect and then said to Jill, â€Å"That was different.† â€Å"Because I’m a girl?† she demanded. â€Å"You never held back with Rose.† â€Å"Who’s Rose?† asked Micah. â€Å"Another friend,† explained Eddie. To Jill, he said: â€Å"And Rose has had years more experience than you.† â€Å"She’s had more than Micah too. You were going easy on me.† Eddie flushed and kept his eyes on Micah. â€Å"Was not,† he said. â€Å"Were too,† she muttered. As the boys sparred again, she said quietly to me, â€Å"How am I ever going to learn if he’s afraid of breaking me?† I watched the guys, analyzing what I knew of Eddie so far. â€Å"I think it’s more complicated than that. I think he also just believes you shouldn’t have to take the risk – that if he’s doing a good enough job, you shouldn’t have to defend yourself.† â€Å"He’s doing a great job. You should have seen him at the attack.† Her face got that haunted look it did whenever the attack that had driven her into hiding was mentioned. â€Å"But I still need to learn.† She lowered her voice even more. â€Å"I really want to learn to use my magic to fight too, not that I’ll get much practice in this desert.† I shuddered, recalling her display from the night before. â€Å"There’ll be time,† I said vaguely. I stood up, saying I had to go get some work done. Micah asked Eddie and Jill if they wanted to get lunch. Eddie said yes immediately. Jill looked to me for help. â€Å"It’s just lunch,† said Eddie meaningfully. I knew he still thought Micah was harmless. I didn’t know, but after seeing how infatuated Jill was with Lee, I figured Micah would have to make some pretty aggressive moves to get anywhere. â€Å"I’m sure it’s fine,† I said. Jill looked relieved, and the group headed off. I spent the day finishing off that miserable book for Ms. Terwilliger. I still thought having to copy the archaic spells and rituals verbatim was a waste of time. The only point I could see for it was that if she ever did need to reference them for her research, she would have an easy computer file to check and not risk damage to the ancient book. It was evening by the time I finished that and my other homework. Jill still wasn’t back, and I decided to use the opportunity to check on something that had been bothering me. Earlier in the day, Jill had mentioned Eddie defending her in the attack. I’d felt from the beginning that there was something strange about that initial attack, something that they weren’t telling me. So, I logged onto the Alchemists’ network and pulled up everything we had on the Moroi rebels. Naturally, it was all documented. We had to keep track of important events among the Moroi, and this ranked pretty high. Somehow, the Alchemists had gotten pictures of the Moroi Court, with protesters lined up outside one of the administrative buildings. Dhampir guardians were easy to pick out as they mingled and kept order. To my surprise, I recognized Dimitri Belikov – Rose’s boyfriend – among those doing crowd control. He was easy to spot since he was almost always taller than everyone around him. Dhampirs look very human, and even I could admit that he was pretty good-looking. There was a rugged handsomeness to him, and even in a still photograph, I could see a fierceness as he watched the crowd. Other protest pictures confirmed what I knew. By far, most people supported the young queen. Those against her were a minority – but a loud and dangerous one. A video from a human news show in Denver showed two Moroi guys nearly getting in a bar fight. They were shouting about queens and justice, most of which wouldn’t make sense to a human observer. What made this video special was that the guy who’d filmed it – some random human with a cell phone camera – claimed he’d seen fangs on both men in the argument. The videographer had submitted his recording claiming he’d witnessed a vampire fight, but no one gave it much credibility. It was too grainy for anything to show up. Still, it was a reminder of what could happen if the Moroi situation spun out of control. A status check showed me that Queen Vasilisa was indeed trying to get a law passed so that her rule was no longer dependent on there being at least one other person in her royal family. Alchemist experts guessed it would take three months, which was about what Rose had said. The number loomed in my head like a ticking time bomb. We needed to keep Jill safe for three months. And for three months, Vasilisa’s enemies would be trying harder than ever to get to Jill. If Jill died, Vasilisa’s rule would end – along with her attempts to fix the system. Yet none of this was what had really driven me to research. I wanted to know about Jill’s initial attack, the one that no one talked about. What I found wasn’t much help. No Alchemists had been there at the time, of course, so our information was based on what Moroi sources had reported. All we knew was that â€Å"the queen’s sister had been viciously and severely attacked – but had made a full recovery.† From what I’d observed, that was certainly true. Jill showed no signs of injury, and the attack had occurred a week before she came to Palm Springs. Was that enough time to heal from a â€Å"vicious and severe† attack? And was an attack like that enough to make her wake screaming? I didn’t know but still couldn’t shake my suspicions. When Jill came home later, she was in such a good mood that I couldn’t bear to interrogate her. I also remembered too late that I’d meant to research the case of Clarence’s niece and her bizarre death by throat-slitting. Jill’s situation had distracted me. I let the matter go and called it an early night. Tomorrow, I thought drowsily. I’ll do it all tomorrow. Tomorrow came much more quickly than I expected. I was woken out of a heavy sleep by someone shaking me, and for a split second, the old nightmare was there, the one about Alchemists carrying me away in the night. Recognizing Jill, I just barely stopped myself from screaming. â€Å"Hey, hey,† I scolded. There was light outside, but it was purplish. Barely after sunrise. â€Å"What’s going on? What’s the matter?† Jill looked at me, face grim and eyes wide with fear. â€Å"It’s Adrian. You have to rescue him.† Bloodlines Chapter Thirteen I answered and found Eddie on the other end of the line. â€Å"I’m downstairs,† he said. â€Å"Ready to practice some self-defense before it gets too hot.† â€Å"You’re going to have to do it without me,† I said. I had a feeling Eddie was taking his promise to Clarence about training us very seriously. I felt no such obligation. â€Å"I’ve got a ton of homework to do. That, and I’m sure Ms. Terwilliger’s going to make me do a coffee run today.† â€Å"Well, then send Jill down,† said Eddie. I glanced over to the cocoon of blankets on her bed. â€Å"That might be easier said than done.† Surprisingly, she managed to rouse herself enough to brush her teeth, take aspirin for a headache, and throw on some workout clothes. She bid me farewell, and I promised to check on them later. Not long after that, Ms. Terwilliger called with her coffee demand, and I prepared myself for another day of trying to fit in my own work with hers. I drove over to Spencer’s and didn’t even notice Trey until I was standing right in front of him. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger’s?† he asked, pointing to the caramel sauce cappuccino. â€Å"Huh?† I looked up. Trey was my cashier. â€Å"You work here?† He nodded. â€Å"Gotta make spending money somehow.† I handed him some cash, noting that he’d charged me half price. â€Å"Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look so great,† I told him. He looked tired and worn out around the edges. Closer inspection showed bruises and cuts as well. â€Å"Yeah, well, I had kind of a rough day yesterday.† I hesitated. That was a leading comment, but there was no one in line behind me. â€Å"What happened?† I asked, knowing it was expected. Trey scowled. â€Å"That asshole Greg Slade wreaked havoc in football tryouts yesterday. I mean, the results aren’t up yet, but it’s pretty obvious he’s going to get quarterback. He was like a machine, just plowing guys over.† He extended his left hand, which had some bandage-wrapped fingers. â€Å"He stepped on my hand too.† I winced, remembering Slade’s out-of-control athleticism in PE. The politics of high school football and who was quarterback weren’t that important to me. True, I felt sorry for Trey, but it was the source behind the tattoos that intrigued me. Keith’s warnings about not causing trouble rang back to me, but I was unable to stop myself. â€Å"I know about the tattoos,† I said. â€Å"Julia and Kristin told me about them. And I get now why you were suspicious of mine – but it’s not what you think. Really.† â€Å"That’s not what I’ve heard. Most people think you’re just saying that because you don’t want to tell where you got it.† I was a little taken aback by that. I was pretty sure Julia and Kristin had believed me. Were they actually spreading around the opposite? â€Å"I had no idea.† He shrugged, a small smile on his lips. â€Å"Don’t worry. I believe you. There’s something kind of naively charming about you. You don’t seem like the cheating type.† â€Å"Hey,† I scolded. â€Å"I’m not naive.† â€Å"It was a compliment.† â€Å"How long have these tattoos been around?† I asked, deciding it was best to move in. â€Å"I heard since last year.† He handed me my coffee, thinking. â€Å"Yeah, but it was the end of last year. School year, I mean.† â€Å"And they come from a placed called Nevermore?† â€Å"As far as I know.† Trey eyed me suspiciously. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just curious,† I said sweetly. A couple of college kids dressed like rich hobos got in line behind me and regarded us impatiently. â€Å"Can we get some service here?† Trey gave them a stiff smile and then rolled his eyes at me as I moved away. â€Å"See you around, Melbourne.† I headed back to Amberwood and delivered Ms. Terwilliger’s coffee. I wasn’t in the mood to stay leashed to her all day, so I asked if I could go elsewhere if I kept my cell phone handy. She agreed. The library had too much activity and – ironically – noise for me today. I wanted the solitude of my room. As I was cutting across the lawn to catch the shuttle, I spotted some familiar figures behind a cluster of trees. I changed direction and found Jill and Eddie squaring off in a small clearing. Micah sat cross-legged on the ground, watching avidly. He waved at me as I approached. â€Å"I didn’t realize your brother was a kung-fu master,† he remarked. â€Å"It’s not kung fu,† said Eddie gruffly, never taking his eyes off Jill. â€Å"Same difference,† said Micah. â€Å"It’s still pretty badass.† Eddie feinted, like he was going to strike at Jill’s side. She responded fairly quickly with a block, though not quite fast enough to match him. Had he been serious, he would have hit her. Still, he seemed pleased with her response time. â€Å"Good. That would deflect part of a hit, though you’d still feel it. Best is if you can duck and dodge altogether, but that takes a little more work.† Jill nodded obediently. â€Å"When can we work on that?† Eddie regarded her with pride. That expression softened after a few moments of study. â€Å"Not today. Too much sun.† Jill started to protest and then stopped herself. She had that worn-out-from-the-light look again and was sweating heavily. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, as though begging it to give us some cloud cover. It remained unresponsive, so she nodded at Eddie. â€Å"All right. But we’re doing this tomorrow at the same time? Or earlier maybe. Or maybe tonight! Could we do both? Practice tonight when the sun’s going down and then again in the morning? Would you mind?† Eddie grinned, amused at her enthusiasm. â€Å"Whatever you want.† Smiling back, Jill sat down beside me, getting into as much shade as possible. Eddie regarded me expectantly. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"Aren’t you supposed to learn to throw a punch?† I scoffed. â€Å"No. When would I ever need to do that?† Jill nudged me. â€Å"Do it, Sydney!† Reluctantly, I allowed Eddie to give me a quick lesson on throwing a punch without injuring my hand in the process. I barely paid attention and felt like I was mostly providing entertainment for the others. When Eddie finished with me, Micah asked, â€Å"Hey, would you mind showing me some ninja moves too?† â€Å"They have nothing to do with ninjas,† protested Eddie, still smiling. â€Å"Come on up.† Micah leapt to his feet, and Eddie walked him through some rudimentary steps. More than anything, it seemed like Eddie was sizing up Micah and his capabilities. After a while, Eddie grew comfortable and let Micah practice some offensive moves to get rid of an attacker. â€Å"Hey,† protested Jill when Eddie landed a kick on Micah. Micah shrugged it off in a guy kind of way. â€Å"No fair. You wouldn’t hit me when we were practicing.† Eddie was caught off guard enough that Micah actually got a hit in. Eddie gave him a look of grudging respect and then said to Jill, â€Å"That was different.† â€Å"Because I’m a girl?† she demanded. â€Å"You never held back with Rose.† â€Å"Who’s Rose?† asked Micah. â€Å"Another friend,† explained Eddie. To Jill, he said: â€Å"And Rose has had years more experience than you.† â€Å"She’s had more than Micah too. You were going easy on me.† Eddie flushed and kept his eyes on Micah. â€Å"Was not,† he said. â€Å"Were too,† she muttered. As the boys sparred again, she said quietly to me, â€Å"How am I ever going to learn if he’s afraid of breaking me?† I watched the guys, analyzing what I knew of Eddie so far. â€Å"I think it’s more complicated than that. I think he also just believes you shouldn’t have to take the risk – that if he’s doing a good enough job, you shouldn’t have to defend yourself.† â€Å"He’s doing a great job. You should have seen him at the attack.† Her face got that haunted look it did whenever the attack that had driven her into hiding was mentioned. â€Å"But I still need to learn.† She lowered her voice even more. â€Å"I really want to learn to use my magic to fight too, not that I’ll get much practice in this desert.† I shuddered, recalling her display from the night before. â€Å"There’ll be time,† I said vaguely. I stood up, saying I had to go get some work done. Micah asked Eddie and Jill if they wanted to get lunch. Eddie said yes immediately. Jill looked to me for help. â€Å"It’s just lunch,† said Eddie meaningfully. I knew he still thought Micah was harmless. I didn’t know, but after seeing how infatuated Jill was with Lee, I figured Micah would have to make some pretty aggressive moves to get anywhere. â€Å"I’m sure it’s fine,† I said. Jill looked relieved, and the group headed off. I spent the day finishing off that miserable book for Ms. Terwilliger. I still thought having to copy the archaic spells and rituals verbatim was a waste of time. The only point I could see for it was that if she ever did need to reference them for her research, she would have an easy computer file to check and not risk damage to the ancient book. It was evening by the time I finished that and my other homework. Jill still wasn’t back, and I decided to use the opportunity to check on something that had been bothering me. Earlier in the day, Jill had mentioned Eddie defending her in the attack. I’d felt from the beginning that there was something strange about that initial attack, something that they weren’t telling me. So, I logged onto the Alchemists’ network and pulled up everything we had on the Moroi rebels. Naturally, it was all documented. We had to keep track of important events among the Moroi, and this ranked pretty high. Somehow, the Alchemists had gotten pictures of the Moroi Court, with protesters lined up outside one of the administrative buildings. Dhampir guardians were easy to pick out as they mingled and kept order. To my surprise, I recognized Dimitri Belikov – Rose’s boyfriend – among those doing crowd control. He was easy to spot since he was almost always taller than everyone around him. Dhampirs look very human, and even I could admit that he was pretty good-looking. There was a rugged handsomeness to him, and even in a still photograph, I could see a fierceness as he watched the crowd. Other protest pictures confirmed what I knew. By far, most people supported the young queen. Those against her were a minority – but a loud and dangerous one. A video from a human news show in Denver showed two Moroi guys nearly getting in a bar fight. They were shouting about queens and justice, most of which wouldn’t make sense to a human observer. What made this video special was that the guy who’d filmed it – some random human with a cell phone camera – claimed he’d seen fangs on both men in the argument. The videographer had submitted his recording claiming he’d witnessed a vampire fight, but no one gave it much credibility. It was too grainy for anything to show up. Still, it was a reminder of what could happen if the Moroi situation spun out of control. A status check showed me that Queen Vasilisa was indeed trying to get a law passed so that her rule was no longer dependent on there being at least one other person in her royal family. Alchemist experts guessed it would take three months, which was about what Rose had said. The number loomed in my head like a ticking time bomb. We needed to keep Jill safe for three months. And for three months, Vasilisa’s enemies would be trying harder than ever to get to Jill. If Jill died, Vasilisa’s rule would end – along with her attempts to fix the system. Yet none of this was what had really driven me to research. I wanted to know about Jill’s initial attack, the one that no one talked about. What I found wasn’t much help. No Alchemists had been there at the time, of course, so our information was based on what Moroi sources had reported. All we knew was that â€Å"the queen’s sister had been viciously and severely attacked – but had made a full recovery.† From what I’d observed, that was certainly true. Jill showed no signs of injury, and the attack had occurred a week before she came to Palm Springs. Was that enough time to heal from a â€Å"vicious and severe† attack? And was an attack like that enough to make her wake screaming? I didn’t know but still couldn’t shake my suspicions. When Jill came home later, she was in such a good mood that I couldn’t bear to interrogate her. I also remembered too late that I’d meant to research the case of Clarence’s niece and her bizarre death by throat-slitting. Jill’s situation had distracted me. I let the matter go and called it an early night. Tomorrow, I thought drowsily. I’ll do it all tomorrow. Tomorrow came much more quickly than I expected. I was woken out of a heavy sleep by someone shaking me, and for a split second, the old nightmare was there, the one about Alchemists carrying me away in the night. Recognizing Jill, I just barely stopped myself from screaming. â€Å"Hey, hey,† I scolded. There was light outside, but it was purplish. Barely after sunrise. â€Å"What’s going on? What’s the matter?† Jill looked at me, face grim and eyes wide with fear. â€Å"It’s Adrian. You have to rescue him.†

The Geography of Bliss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Geography of Bliss - Essay Example The gross national happiness index like the one in use in Bhutan is the real measure of happiness. Qataris wealth still fails to make them happy. Strong moral character has influence of the relationship and trust that people accord to individuals. Trust has been shown by studies to influence and increase happiness. Equally, stunted moral character compromises trust and as such reduces the index of happiness. United States of America would fit me for happiness. The idea that home is the place where happiness is found resonates with my sanguine nature. Travelling through the diverse economic and social landscape, the America presents would suffice in defining and making me happy. The fact that people quickly return to their state of happiness in spite of circumstance and condition keeps them from despair. This is made possible by the adaptation that people use in dealing with sad occurrences and in using the painful occurrences to inspire happiness. Iceland ranks the highest in happiness even in winter. The reason behind their happiness is their belief system that it is better for many people to share in suffering as it reduces the burden than few people to suffer intensely. Likewise, their belief that failure presents an opportunity to do something different inspires risk-taking, which is fun (Rich,

Medical Image Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Medical Image Marketing - Essay Example Reports are ready immediately, which reduces turnaround time and greatly increases the ability of the radiologist professional to self-edit reports. In one study, turnaround time was reduced from 20 hours to less than 6 hours. For the ordering doctor and the patient this means a quicker response to time sensitive medical issues. For the hospital and administration there is a cost savings involved over the traditional hand transcription, as it eliminates the need for contracted transcription services. RadWhere can be customized to utilize individual radiologist templates as well as a standard template set. It has an accuracy rate of 99 percent and is compatible with a wide variety of accents and foreign dialects. The ability of the radiologist to self-edit markedly decreases the time from the imaging to the final report, and the archiving and retrieval versatility makes the report available to large scale integrated systems (Industry-wide Focus on Cutting Transcription Costs). Computed Tomography (CT) Scan is an x-ray technique that uses digital imaging to create and reconstruct cross-sectional pictures of the heart. This system is used by doctors in the identification and treatment of heart disease and abnormalities. Traditionally, viewing inside the heart could be accomplished by cardiac catheterization, a slow and invasive process. CT scanning of the heart allows multiple cross section x-rays to be taken, which are then reconstructed into a 3 dimensional image. One of the obstacles to this process has been that the heart is in continual motion and the resulting image is reduced in resolution and accuracy. The Toshiba CT Scanner 64 Slice with Cardiac software overcomes these obstacles. Higher resolution imaging and enhanced software allows the CT operator to get high quality 3 dimensional images of hearts with rates as fast as 140 beats per minute. Toshiba states that the software "facilitates cardiac CT angiographic reconstruction when the heart is in the best cardiac phase with minimum motion" (Staffordshire General Hospital). Additionally, the Toshiba CT Scanner and software renders true cardiac function analysis, as a beta blocker is not required for its use. It has the ability to deliver sufficient resolution to image coronary arteries and soft plaque structures. Patient care quality is improved as the process is quick, non-invasive, and provides early warnings of problems that may exist within the cardiac system. Doctors benefit from the improved imaging and the ability to see the multi-dimensional rendering, which allows them to more thoroughly examine the heart's activities and the associated problems of plaque buildup (Staffordshire General Hospital). "On Guard": Chest X-ray CAD by Riverain Medical The most critical component driving improved prognosis in lung cancer patients is early detection. Riverain Medical has improved the ability of doctors to diagnose patients for lung cancer with it "On Guard" Chest X-ray Computer Aided Detection (CAD) technology. The system utilizes existing and traditional x-rays to aid the radiologist in locating and identifying early stage actionable nodules that may be early stage lung cancer. In addition, it interfaces with Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) technology to easily integrate into a hospital's existing system.

Plato and Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Plato and Aristotle Essay Plato and Aristotle both have been very influential as the ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle was a student of Plato and there are many similarities between these intellectual giants of the ancient world but there are also many things that distinguish them from each other. Aristotle was far more empirical-minded than Plato. First, Platos philosophy relegated the material, physical world to a sort of metaphysical second class. His contention was that the abstract truths of the mind-mathematical truths, moral and normative truths about ideals-are what really matter in life and in philosophy, and that the empirical world around us consists of merely poor copies of these ideals. By contrast, Aristotle did as much or more work in what we would today call science (physics, biology, etc. ) as in what remains a part of philosophy. While Aristotle certainly did important work in ethics and related areas, he concentrated as much or more on examining the material world. Plato can be read at times as being quite disparaging of science. This is not true of Aristotle. Second, the difference in the approaches and values of these two philosophers resulted in very different political philosophies. Platos political philosophy, which can be found principally in the Republic. For him, the just state is one ruled by ascetic philosophers who have been raised from birth not to value material reward or exclusive human connections, even with their own kin. They are the ideal of wise, objective, fair-minded, ultra-rational beings. In contrast to Platos utopian political philosophy, Aristotles political philosophy, which can be found principally in the Politics, has a large component of descriptive political science. When he does argue for certain political schemes, they tend to be incremental improvements on existing systems. Like his teacher Plato, Aristotles philosophy aims at the universal. Aristotle, however, finds the universal in particular things, which he calls the essence of things, while Plato finds that the universal exists apart from particular things. Aristotle makes philosophy coextensive with reasoning, which he also would describe as science. Note, however, that his use of the term science carries a different meaning than that covered by the term scientific method. For Aristotle, all science is practical, poetical or theoretical. By practical science, he means ethics and politics; by poetical science, he means the study of poetry and the other fine arts; by theoretical science, he means physics, mathematics and metaphysics. In general, Plato is the more extravagant thinker, the thinking outside the box type who was equal parts brilliant and bizarre in his ideas. Aristotle is more the cool, logical, dry, systematic thinker whose works tend to read like encyclopedias.

Malaria :: essays papers

Malaria Malaria is a potentially fatal illness of tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is caused by a parasite which is transmitted to human beings bitten by infected mosquitoes. The disease is widespread in Africa, and over one million people die of malaria every year on the continent. WHICH AREAS HARBOUR MALARIA? Within South Africa's borders the disease is encountered mainly in northern and eastern Mpumalanga, northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, and the border areas of the Northern and North West provinces. Considering South Africa's neighbours, malaria is also considered to be a threat to travellers visiting the lower lying areas of Swaziland, while it is encountered throughout Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and much of Botswana. Northern Namibia is also a malarious area. Within South Africa's borders, malaria transmission is at its highest during the warmer and wetter months of November through to April. From May through to October the risks of acquiring malaria are reduced. For a full size map and a list of game parks follow this link.(368K) HOW TO AVOID MALARIA Prevention of malaria relies upon adopting personal protection measures designed to reduce the chances of attracting a mosquito bite, and the use of appropriate anti-malarial medication. Both personal protection methods and anti-malarial medication are important, and neither should be neglected at the expense of the other. PERSONAL PROTECTION MEASURES Personal protection measures against mosquito bites include the use of an appropriate insect repellent containing di-ethyl toluamide (also known as DEET), the wearing clothing to conceal as much of the body as practical, sleeping under mosquito nets, and the spraying of sleeping quarters at night with a suitable pyrethroid containing insecticide, or the burning of an insecticide laden coil. If at all possible avoid being outdoors at night, when malaria carrying mosquitoes are more likely to bite. ANTI-MALARIA TABLETS (PROPHYLAXIS) There are a number of different types of anti-malaria tablets available. The exact choice of which to use depends both upon the particular area being visited, and the traveller's own medical history. Within South Africa's borders either a combination of chloroquine with proguanil, or Mefloquine (Mefliam) alone are the commonly used anti-malaria tablets. Chloroquine and proguanil are available without a doctor's prescription. Mefloquine (Mefliam) can only be obtained with a doctor's prescription. Because of the emergence of chloroquine resistant strains of malaria in South Africa, chloroquine should not be taken alone but should always be combined with proguanil. The adult dosage is two chloroquine tablets per week, starting one week before entering the malarious area. Proguanil may be started twenty-four hours before entering the malarious area, and two tablets must be taken every day. Both chloroquine and proguanil should be taken for four weeks after departing the malarious area, and both are best taken at

Mansfield Reformatory

Mansfield Reformatory The Mansfield Reformatory was built in the year 1886 and was originally built with intentions of humanely rehabilitating first-time offenders. The reformatory was initially applauded for creating a positive step forward for prison reform. It was later in 1978 that the reformatory’s legacy was one of abuse, torture, and murder. It had been denounced for â€Å"brutalizing and inhuman conditions†. Violence among inmates was an everyday way of life. Tales have been told of inmates being sliced by shanks, beaten by soap bars and even thrown from six-story high walk ways.These tragic deaths were all trigged from petty grievances. It has been told that on one occasion after a riot; approximately one hundred and twenty inmates had been confined for several days in â€Å"the hole† with only twenty rooms to hold these prisoners. One room consisted of a toilet and a bunk and was not spacious by any means. During this time at least one inmate had been m urdered and hidden in the corner of the room under bedding material for the several days to follow. The â€Å"sweat box† was a special type of torture used on African American inmates and Caucasian prisons escaped this punishment.Along with the murders of countless prisoners, a prison farmer and his family, the warder and his wife also had died at the Mansfield Reformatory. After ninety-four years of operation, 154,000 inmates had passed through its gates as a working prison. Eventually in the year 1990 the Mansfield Reformatory was shut down. Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society (MRPS) took over ownership and unsealed the prison to the public. Tours, over-night ghost hunts and ghost walks are now help on a regular basis at the reformatory.Since opened to the public as an attraction it has been considered among ghost hunters as the most active haunted place in the United States. Paranormal investigators have captured numerous EVPs, standing for electronic voice phenomen a which generated noises that resemble speech, have reports of unexplained cold spots and equipment malfunctions. The reformatory has earned itself much attention and has been the set for four movies including Harry and Walter Go to New York, Tango and Crash, Air Force One, and The Shawshank Redemption. Not to mention Godsmack made this he scene for their â€Å"Awake† music video and Marilynn Manson has done photography inside this spooky building. The history inside the walls of the Mansfield Reformatory makes it an interesting place to tour first hand. Tours are held on Saturdays and Sundays, there are four guided tours to choose from. The West Tower Tour includes a tour from the guard tower. From a higher perspective you can see the view of the cemetery where prisoners have been buried and assigned number is marked on their headstone. This tour takes you through the Big Dig, which is the underground tunnel system. This torn consists of excessive stair climbing.The East Cel l Block Tours travels through the length of the east cell block, the world’s largest freestanding steel cell block. A visit to the Catholic Chapel and insight on the living quarters is also part of this tour. The Hollywood Tour shows the office of the warden in the Shawshank Redemption, the Parole Board Room and Andy Dufresne's escape tunnel. Hazard a trip into the sinister â€Å"hole. † View the 1886 West Cell Block used as a Russian prison in Air Force One. This tour also involves extensive stair-climbing. The Behind the Senses Tours ventures behind the scenes allowing access to areas not open to the general public.There is also a view of the West Attic and where guides share stories of inmate punishment. Guides will also take the tour through â€Å"The Yard† where Andy and Red would sit and talk also from the Shawshank Redemption. Admission for all tours is five dollars per person plus an additional fee of nine dollars per adult or seven dollars per child, se nior, college students and military veterans. These tours are full of history and interesting facts. You can still see props left behind after filming had finished. I encourage everyone to take a tour and see for you what an amazing experience it is.

12 Angry Men

The movie twelve angry men was a movie about different people from backgrounds, races, and religions. They were all different and being in a group dynamics class we learned about how personality affects people and other things that people tend to do. The judge in the beginning of the movie showed some non verbal behavior, which is sending a message without using words but things like facial expressions and body movements. The judge in the beginning was hunched over meaning he was not very alert and seemed to be a passive man.The foreman is supposed to be the leader of the jury’s and according to his behaviors he is. He communicates well which is a key role to being a leader. The foreman functions as a leader because he listens well and also tries to give out ideas to the rest of the jurors. He has the ability to look at the situation in other perspectives. In making these hard decisions the jurors need to have perception checks, to make sure they are not jumping to any conclus ions. This is the life of a kid and their decision depends on his life.The conflicts that arise in the jurors room where productive to the situation at hand. The conflicts were solved in a good manner and beneficial to the case and getting everyone to feel confident about whether the kid was guilty or not. The jurors had assumptions about â€Å"those people† and â€Å"slums† which influenced the way they felt about the case. Their assumptions about those things influenced the way they thought about the case initially, the perception of the facts was altered because of having some type of bias.The juror’s assumptions had to do with the cultural and social diversity of the jury. The jurors based on how they lived their life, thought differently from the ones who were different from them based on the way they lived their lives. There were a lot of details to the case, and some jurors did not quite remember what others did. Some jurors remembered things that others did not due to selective listening. Most of the jurors listened to things that held more meaning to them than others.During the whole case the jurors did not know each other’s names and there is an importance to this, the importance is that being in the case it is supposed to be a strictly business environment. They are there to do one job and that is to make a decision. The twelve angry men is a reflection of how people act together and how their behavior can affect others. The movie is a good example of things we have learned in class. 12 angry men 12 Angry Men, originally a play in 1954, then made into a movie in 1957, has easily stood the test of time.   In an era when the studios and the public were more inclined towards major Technicolor productions with multimillion dollar budgets, over 90% of the movie takes place in a single a setting; the jury deliberation room where, in real time, the viewer is given a no nonsense approach to the many aspects of group decision making, standing up alone for one’s beliefs and overriding the ideology of the day concerning minorities and the poor in order to see the truth; the truth the majority of the twelve jurors did not wish to see. Also, how group process comes into play within the diverse make up of the jurors: How each juror acts differently in the group than how we are led to believe they would act alone. 12 Angry Men tells the story of twelve jurors thrust together in a hot and humid room on a New York summer evening to deliberate on the guilt or innocence of an eighteen year old Hispanic boy with a troubled past.   He is accused of stabbing his father; a man with whom he has had a contentious relationship for years.   The accused is fighting an uphill battle towards an acquittal: the eye witness account of his neighbors, a court appointed public defender whose apathy towards this case is mirrored by more than one of the jurors and his race which seems to be a major strike against him in the mind of some of the jurors, specifically juror #10. From the onset, it seems like an open and shut case with the accused being sentenced to death for the murder of his father. But if that were the case, 12 Angry Men, with its study of human contrasts, inconsistencies and prejudices, would have been long forgotten. Instead, 12 Angry Men is a testament to the notion that standing up for ones beliefs that have come from an unbiased and methodical overview of the facts, even if those beliefs are contrary to the vocal majority, is honorable and that such prejudices which cloud those facts are an impediment to every citizen in a democratic society. Being forced to listen to six days of testimony while at the same time being paid only three dollars a day for their services, it is easy to see how some or most of the jurors at the beginning of deliberations, seemed apathetic towards the great responsibility they have to give the accused their undivided attention while deciding his guilt or innocence. This is the case for a number of jurors; specifically juror #7 who is preoccupied with making the Yankee/Indians game later that day. He feels rushed by the proceedings and desires quick deliberations followed by a unanimous guilty vote. He feels that the accused is guilty but most likely would have voted the way of the majority if that meant that he could have gone to the game, gone home or just been anywhere other than in the courtroom for any additional length of time.   He does not see and cannot be affectively reminded about the awesome power he has to either put a man to death or to set him free. The issue of the guilt or innocence of the accused should be paramount in his mind but sadly, it is not. Juror #5 is not the only one who shrinks from his responsibility. Juror #12, the well dressed and jovial salesman feels that the accused is guilty but when pressed to explain his reasoning, cannot and quickly changes his mind when pressured to do so. Juror #12 is preoccupied with his job and maintaining a light atmosphere in the jury room; almost oblivious to the matter at hand.   Juror #2 is in many ways, the same as juror #12 except for the fact that his personality is not nearly as outgoing but in the same way, lacks convictions and is content to go with the crowd. He does not take his civic duty seriously and is afraid to stand up against the crowd unlike juror #8; the lone dissenter at the beginning of the film. Also, juror #2 does not seem to be able to explain why he feels that the accused is either innocent or guilty. This is contrary to jurors #3,#4 and #10 who at the start of the movie, have no qualms about putting the accused to death and detailing exactly whey they feel that the boy should be worthy of such a fate. The remaining three holdouts all have different reasons why they think the boy is guilty; some are legitimate concerns while others are rooted in prejudice against the poor and minorities. Although misguided, the above mentioned jurors had the conviction to state specifically why they thought what they did and to be perfectly willing for a time and to stand up to what is becoming a numerous and vocal majority as the movie progresses. Jurors #2, and #10 are either too preoccupied to be bothered by the tremendous power they have over the accused, or are too timid and will go with the majority. For that reason, he is among the jurors that did not take their civic responsibility as seriously as they needed to. Jurors #5, #9 and of course #8 are polar opposites of the above mentioned jurors.   At the beginning of the film, only juror #8 votes for the innocence of the accused.   Or rather there is reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused in his mind. But juror #8, by his own admission, reluctantly stands alone in defiance to the other eleven jurors. He does not do this while void of fear. It is seen on his face, in his mannerisms and even when he is willing to vote with the majority if after a short deliberation and a second vote, he is still the lone dissenter. Juror #8 is skeptical about many aspects of this boy’s life; his childhood and especially the system that would allow such a boy to fall through the cracks and almost invite this type of behavior (had be been guilty) and feels that an intense and methodical discussion is warranted before he is to vote for the guilt and subsequent death of a fellow human being. This type of moral fortitude, courage and attention to duty goes rewarded by juror #9; the oldest juror who once he has a companion, has no trouble standing up to the intense verbal ridicule of the majority, specifically juror #3,#7,#10. By this act, the group process’s momentum slowly starts to shift away from rendering a guilty verdict to instead empowering those timid jurors who have doubt as to the guilt of the accused but were too afraid to speak as they knew that they could not handle the onslaught levied against them by jurors #3 and #10. The jury room consists of polar opposites when it comes to their fulfillment of their duty in this matter. It is not the specific vote that they cast that makes them the most different, but in the way that they came to that decision. Each juror possessed a different decision making process concerning how they voted, how quickly they changed their vote and how resistant others were to let â€Å"one of them† go free. It is very rare for twelve different people to be completely impartial and void of any prejudices. This was the case especially for juror #3. He is the last of the jurors to change his vote to not guilty and in order for him to do so, a great deal of internal and personal problems and frustrations must be overcome for him to change his vote. Juror #3 is a traditional, hard nosed individual who taught himself to be tough as well as his son, remarking that when his only son was nine and walked away from a fight, it make him sick and he resolved to make a man out of his son. At the time of the trial, his son is twenty two and it is safe to say that they have a contentious relationship for the past few years. The son, most likely, resisted the intense tactics of his father and they have not spoken in years.   This has caused the father a great deal of pain and this pain served as the main source of the father’s hatred for the accused.   Juror #3 sees a correlation between the accused and his son and exerts little effort to disguise that bias. The accused had a troubled relationship with has father as well. Juror #3 sees both the accused and his son as being ungrateful to their fathers and feels that there should be consequences for this disrespect. He seems to have no power over his son for if he did, they would be reconciled or at least there would be visits between them. But he does have power over the accused to put him to death for what his hatred tells him that the boy must obviously be guilty.   The accused stands for everything that juror #3 hates and coupled with his tough exterior, is the last to submit to letting the accused go free. On the opposite end of the spectrum are jurors #11, 5 and 8. Juror #11 is a watch maker from Eastern Europe. Even though he is Caucasian, he is conscious of his ethnicity and the prejudices that come with being from a different country. He sympathizes with the accused and how his ethnic background puts him at a disadvantage in almost every aspect of daily life in 1950’s America. At the beginning of the movie, he agrees with the majority regarding the guilt of the accused but the racist generalizations made by jurors #7 and 10 are very effective in showing   juror #11 that there are certain prejudices in play that need to be examined. Along with the methodical explanation by juror #8, the watchmaker changes his vote to not guilty and does not waver for the rest of the movie despite intense pressure from juror #7 and #10 to convince him of the contrary and to play on the fears the watchmaker has of being different. Also motivated by the obvious shift in the group process away from the ideology that encourages a guilty verdict, the above mentioned jurors do all that they can to slow the momentum.   The way in which the watchmaker comes to his decisions in a non biased, sympathetic and dutiful process and is willing to absorb ridicule against the prejudices of jurors # 3 and 10; some of the same prejudices which force them to be the last to change their vote, is honorable and worthy of mention; second only to that of juror #8, the lone dissenter. The movie wastes no time in pointing out who will emerge the leaders in the jury room. One would think that naturally, the foreman would be selected as the leader and that the proceeding would be run under his watchful eye.   But that is not the case. The foreman has no such ambition and is quick to offer his seat to anyone who thinks that they might be able to do a better job once an argument arises on how the deliberations would be conducted. By the simple yet courageous action of juror #8 to vote not guilty by a show of hands, while knowing that such an action would be the source of ridicule, quickly makes him as one of the leaders in the jury room. Juror #8 becomes the leader by not only being the sole dissenter in the face of ridicule but in the way that he reacts to that ridicule; through a quiet, confident and respectful resolve which earns him not only respect from people who are not used to such treatment, but also converts to his call for a complete examination of the facts. It is this unbiased and caring demeanor that helps his argument to have legitimacy unlike the boisterous juror #3 and #10 whose demeanor steadily helps them to lose converts until they are the only ones left. On the other end of the spectrum are jurors #3 and #10. It is obvious that they have ulterior motives in seeing the accused gets the electric chair.   They are tough on crime, short on compassion and frequent on racist generalizations which cloud their mind and sour their soul with such hatful rhetoric. These prejudices come busting out towards the end of the movie when jurors #3 and #10 are the most desperate as they are now left alone with the intense eyes of jurors who at the beginning of their deliberations, supported their discriminatory ideology by voting for the guilt of the accused. Once the support has been eroded, their actions, like the actions of juror#3, set them apart as they infamously emerge as the other leaders in the jury room. The fact that juror #3 allows his frustrations with his son to come into play with his judgment towards the guilt of the accused and that he his mannerisms are so over the top, helps him emerge as the other main leader in the jury room. His prejudice lies in the age of the accused being close to that of his own son with whom he has had a troubled relationship and a troubled past. Juror #3 may or may not hate his son but he is very discouraged and displeased with the way that things have gone in their relationship and vents his frustration towards the accused. The prejudice of juror #10 lies not in the age of the accused by rather in his race. The accused is a Latino who grew up in the poor tenements of New York where crime runs rampant and juror #10 feels that the accused is guilty by association since he came from such squalor and with a troubled past. However, juror #10 is not nearly as vocal in his suspicion of juror #5 who grew up in a similar atmosphere simply because the juror is white. It is more the race of the accused than where he grew up that seems to motivate juror #10 into the assumption that the boy is guilty. At first, it is the outspoken demeanor of juror #10 that helps to set him apart from the other jurors in a leadership role. But his leadership emerges in more infamous ways as he vocalizes his racist assumptions of the accused in one final and desperate outburst as he desperately tried to win back converts to his cause. He uses such words as â€Å"those people† and â€Å"you know how they are† and finally, the accused is â€Å"one of them.† The phrases are used at the beginning of the movie and assumed as fact in the mind of juror #10 mostly due to the fact that his only opposition is from juror #8 who is not being taken seriously and is no threat to him. However, when the group process shows that juror #10 is in a shrinking majority and will soon be a lone standout, along with juror #3, the same phrases are used desperately but to no avail. The main source for the drama in the jury room is the requirement that their decision must be unanimous. If for the simple fact that everyone must be in agreement in either sending the accused to his death or setting him free, there would have been no screenplay to begin with. The jurors might have argued the merits of the case but with there being no need for a unanimous decision, juror #8 would have known that unless he could win six more converts in what would have to be a short amount of time, the deliberations would soon be over. The ulterior motives of jurors #3 and #10 would never have seen the light of day. The lack of conviction displayed by jurors #1 #2 and #12 would never had been recognized and the heroic actions of juror #8 and to a lesser extent juror #9, would never had sparked such heated yet important and necessary debate within the jury room. Every man left the jury room a little different than when they first came. Jurors #2, #5, #11 and #12 may have been emboldened in their private lives and to let future injustices not slide as easily as they may have had in the past. Jurors #3, #10 and to a lesser extent #7, recognized their prejudices and may have exerted some effort to confront these problems. The phrase â€Å"group process† refers to the behavior of people in groups, such as task groups that are trying to solve a problem or make a decision. 12 Angry Men has numerous and obvious examples of group process. It is the fact that twelve men must come to a unanimous decision that such examples can be shown. If there were only one or two jurors and/or a unanimous decision did not have to be achieved, any aspect of group process would have been absent. The jurors can be grouped into three main groups: those who are strongly in favor of giving the accused the electric chair, those who are willing to go along with the majority and those who are strongly in favor of being oblivious from the glaring prejudices and racist assumptions and quickly latch onto the moralist; juror #8 and then #9. Jurors #2 #5 and #11 are beneficiaries of group process.   They cannot do alone what is made easier in a group once jurors #8 and #9 have voted for the innocence of the accused. Alone, they could never have done what #8 and #9 had done: stand up to vocal ridicule and to do it alone. But once the first step has been made towards an attempt to judge the facts and not the race, age or background of the accused, jurors #2, #5 and #11 are relieved to vote their consciousness instead of giving into the pressure levied against them by specifically jurors #3 #4 and #10. The negative aspects of group process would have been guilty for defective decision making if it hadn’t been for the fact that juror #8 has the courage to vote for the innocence of the accused. 12 Angry Men will continue to stand the test of time since it speaks eloquently on many different areas: that prejudices are an impediment to everyone in a democratic society and that standing up for a belief, despite knowing the dangers of such a stand, is honorable and should be recognized as courageous. But also, people do in groups what they wouldn’t do in private. Individuality within a group of strong opinions comes at a price and that price is most often ridicule and misunderstanding. If at the beginning of the movie, the foreman had taken a secret vote, juror #8 may not have been the lone dissenter. The jurors that did not put a great deal of value in the democratic process of trial by jury and didn’t feel that a daily salary of $3 was not worthy of their methodical analysis of the facts, were content to go with the majority, no matter what that decision said. But for the jurors who made it a point to shift group process away from a guilty verdict based on racist assumptions and in light of strong ridicule and little monetary compensation, this movie will continue to be studied and appreciated for years to come.       12 Angry Men Twelve Angry Men 1. How do you think you might have acted as a juror in this case ? How would you had interacted ? I think i would have started off with being calm but stressed i mean I would probably feel very burdened, because just by choosing one option you can change someones life. And as fas as interacting goes i would be casual but if something unexpected happens and i do have an outburst then it happens every one loses it at some point. 2.At the beginning of this movie the jurors vote 11 to 1 to convict the defendant and send him to death for murder; yet by the end of the movie they vote to acquit him, to set him free. What are the events that led the jurors to change their minds so radically and set the defendant free ? Describe the process. 1)The knife could be bought or have been found by anyone 2)The murderer knew how to use a pocket knife and the count have known. 3)When they re-enact the old man walking/limping from his bed to the door outside it takes them more then 15 seconds to get to the outside door.And the old man swore it had taken him 15 seconds. 4)The old man and the lady say that they heard the boy screaming at his father saying â€Å"I'll kill you† but that doesn't really mean he actually killed him since people say that phrase all the time but don't really mean it and that was proved when juror number three has and outburst and say's â€Å"I'll kill you† to juror number eight. 5)How could the old man and the lady have heard the boy screaming when you can't even hear yourself thinking over the el train. )The jurors start doubting the lady's eyesight since she did not have her glasses on and maybe just assumed that it was the boy staying his father. 3. Why is juror number nine (old Man) a real hero ? Explain this using examples. 1)Because he is the first to agree with juror number eight , deciding that there is not enough evidence to sentence the young boy to death. 2)He openly describes juror number ten's racist attitude. 3 )When he agrees that the old man could have maybe justified to what he heard and saw the night of the murder so he's name could be recognized. 4. Explain number three's anger against the accused.He's anger towards the accused is because he's relationship whit his son was very similar to the accused and the defendant. So based on the fact that he hasn't seen his son in the past two years and the negative relationship he's had with him he decides to declare the accused guilty because he thinks that the boy dose not deserve to live because he killed his own father. 5. Explain the impact of the closing scene in the jury room between number eight and three. Juror number three breaks down after his outburst while every one is leaving juror number eight stays back and tries to console him without communication. . Explain the following (refers to the play). a) â€Å"Innocent until proven guilty† Until you have no strong evidence against the accused, the accused is declared guilty. b) â€Å"Reasonable doubt† Something that could possibly prove the accused guilty. c) â€Å"Burden of proof† The biggest/important proof to prove the accused guilty or not guilty. 7. Explain the title. The title explained how these twelve men are frustrated and stressed and have this burden of declaring the accused guilty or not guilty. 12 Angry Men MODULE TITLE: – STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT DATE ASSESSMENT SET AND LOADED ON TO STUDENT PORTAL:- 13th February 2013 DATE ASSESSMENT TO BE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTTED:- SUBMISSION METHOD/MODE:- Online via turnitin, in person Group Oral presentation —————————————————————————————————————- Assessment Type: An Individual Assignment and a Group presentation Individual Assignment Word limit -3000 words Assignment One is based on the Harvard Business Review Case Study on Facebook. Study the case carefully and the recommended sources in the reading list. Attempt the following tasksTask A Using relevant analytical frameworks critically analyse the strategic capability of Facebook (1500 words, 12. 5%) Task B To what extent could prescriptive models of strategy be used to explain the strategic success of Facebook? (1500 words, 12. 5 %) Total weighting for Assignment 1: 25% Individual Assignment: Marking Guidelines 100 marks = 25% weighting †¢ Critical discussion and application of relevant models and concepts on strategic capabilities to understand the competitive advantage of Facebook (25 marks) †¢ Critical examination of conventional strategic management models to explain the success Facebook (25 marks) Discussion of contemporary models/ studies such as complexity theory, chaos and positive returns economics that may give an insight into Facebook’s explosive growth (25marks) †¢ Academic protocol – quality of academic references, the presentation of these and the overall structuring and format of the business report (25 marks) (Total 100 marks=25%) ——————————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Group Assignment Assignment Brief Task A Using relevant strategic management concepts, conduct an analysis of the film: â€Å"12 Angry Men† ( Dir.Sidney Lumet. Orion-Nova, 1957. Film) and discuss the implications of your findings for decision making in a business organisation. (Max: 1000 words or 5 slides) Task B The Board of Directors of a medium-sized company of your own choosing have recently attended a conference on contemporary developments in strategic thinking. They were particularly impressed by the Blue ocean concept. As consultants, critically discuss the ways in which the Board could shift its current strategy in oder to open up new market possibilities and to create sustainable value for its current and new stakeholders. 2000 words or 10 Slides) . Group presentation guidelines †¢ Studen ts are required to fully participate in and contribute to the development of the Group Presentation. Non-participation and/or non-attendance will result in restriction of marks for this aspect of assessment †¢ The group size will be determined by the module leader and module teaching team and will normally be in the range of 6-8 group members (normal maximum). In specific circumstances this may be varied. †¢ The formal Group Presentation will be delivered by a maximum of three members of the group.The other group members will be required to answer questions put them by assessors at the end of the presentation. †¢ The absolute maximum presentation period is 20 minutes. This will be timed and there will be NO extensions to this time period. Student Groups are strongly advised to rehearse their presentation to ensure that the time period is strictly adhered to. †¢ Presentations will be stopped by the lecturer/assessment team at the end of 20 minutes †¢ Presenta tions are followed by Questions which are required to be fielded by/responded to by all the members of the group.The absolute timed period for questions is 10 minutes. †¢ Both times are required to be strictly adhered to. †¢ There is a stipulated Maximum of 15 power point slides in the 20 minute presentation. †¢ Students are required to be aware and are formally advised of all maximum times which will be cut off times with no exceptions. †¢ Power Point printouts with the individual texts provided for the presentation by each student are required to be handed in to the assessment team/lecturer at the time of the presentation immediately before the commencement of the presentation and will be retained by the lecturer/assessment team. The contribution to the Group Presentation is deemed to be equivalent to 3000 words from each student. †¢ The Assessment Weighting for this aspect of the group assessment is 25% (all students in the particular group are awarded th e same percentage) Group Presentation Evaluation Criteria 100 marks= 25% weighting Organisation †¢ Topic clearly stated †¢ Structure and scope of presentation clearly stated †¢ Topic developed in order stated †¢ Speakers summed up main points in conclusion 10 marks Content Knowledge of subject (background of company and storyline of film and their relevance to module) †¢ Application and discussion of relevant conceptual models †¢ Clarity of business concept for Blue Ocean †¢ Implications of analysis for strategic decision-making and company selected †¢ Speakers in control of subject matter 30 marks Confidence †¢ Speakers look relaxed and confident †¢ Professionally dressed †¢ Maintain eye contact †¢ Engage with audience and display awareness of audience response 10 marks Speech †¢ Varied paced †¢ Use of conversational style avoiding jargon and long-winded â€Å"bookish† xplanation of relevant concepts †¢ Appropriate volume †¢ Clear pronunciation and articulation †¢ Accurate grammar 10 marks Visual Aids †¢ Clear and legible †¢ Introduced at right time †¢ User-friendly, easy to follow and not too much information †¢ Impact on audience †¢ Creativity and novelty 10 marks Timing †¢ Well-timed presentation †¢ Time divided appropriately between tasks 10 marks Discussion management and handling of questions †¢ Respond confidently to questions †¢ Deflect difficult or irrelevant questions 20 marks (Total 100 marks= 25%)Students are required to fully participate in and contribute to the development of the Group Presentation. Marks will be restricted for non-participation and/or non-attendance. Module Learning Outcomes to be Assessed:- Upon successful completion of the assessment, students will be able to: Assignment 1 (Individual): †¢ analyse the aims, concept and role of strategic management Assignment 2 (Group Assignment) †¢ critically analyse how the different perspectives of social science disciplines inform strategic management †¢ evaluate the debates surrounding contemporary strategic issues 12 Angry Men The movie twelve angry men was a movie about different people from backgrounds, races, and religions. They were all different and being in a group dynamics class we learned about how personality affects people and other things that people tend to do. The judge in the beginning of the movie showed some non verbal behavior, which is sending a message without using words but things like facial expressions and body movements. The judge in the beginning was hunched over meaning he was not very alert and seemed to be a passive man.The foreman is supposed to be the leader of the jury’s and according to his behaviors he is. He communicates well which is a key role to being a leader. The foreman functions as a leader because he listens well and also tries to give out ideas to the rest of the jurors. He has the ability to look at the situation in other perspectives. In making these hard decisions the jurors need to have perception checks, to make sure they are not jumping to any conclus ions. This is the life of a kid and their decision depends on his life.The conflicts that arise in the jurors room where productive to the situation at hand. The conflicts were solved in a good manner and beneficial to the case and getting everyone to feel confident about whether the kid was guilty or not. The jurors had assumptions about â€Å"those people† and â€Å"slums† which influenced the way they felt about the case. Their assumptions about those things influenced the way they thought about the case initially, the perception of the facts was altered because of having some type of bias.The juror’s assumptions had to do with the cultural and social diversity of the jury. The jurors based on how they lived their life, thought differently from the ones who were different from them based on the way they lived their lives. There were a lot of details to the case, and some jurors did not quite remember what others did. Some jurors remembered things that others did not due to selective listening. Most of the jurors listened to things that held more meaning to them than others.During the whole case the jurors did not know each other’s names and there is an importance to this, the importance is that being in the case it is supposed to be a strictly business environment. They are there to do one job and that is to make a decision. The twelve angry men is a reflection of how people act together and how their behavior can affect others. The movie is a good example of things we have learned in class.

Identification Of Homologous Of Known Food Allergens Biology Essay Essay Example

Identification Of Homologous Of Known Food Allergens Biology Essay Essay Example Identification Of Homologous Of Known Food Allergens Biology Essay Essay Identification Of Homologous Of Known Food Allergens Biology Essay Essay The cause of immune response in worlds is protein which is a nutrient allergen. The aim of this study is to find the utility of bioinformatics in designation of homologues of known nutrient allergens, such as major peanut allergen Ara h1. The allergen informations was identified from published diaries and from Medline and Embase databases. Those databases were combined with text word and MeSH header scheme. The study focussed on assorted, nutrient allergen databases and bioinformatics tools which are utile in the designation of possible nutrient allergens. The usage of bioinformatics tools is to compare the protein structures which are going more of import because more structural information is available in each twenty-four hours. The bioinformatics are used to look into the structural and functional relation between known nutrient allergens and those relationships can be used to place fresh nutrient allergens. Bioinformatics does non 100 % accurate on happening fresh allergens. Howe ver, with the usage of bioinformatics, cross-reaction between proteins analyzed and immunotherapy could be developed. The allergens are proteins which are immune to heat during cookery, acid in tummy and digestive enzymes. The allergen proteins can come in the blood stream and causes an immune response. Food allergic reaction is a hypersensitivity province. Contact with a nutrient allergen activates the plasma cell ( lymph cells ) which produces the allergen specific immunoglobin E ( IgE ) antibody. IgE molecules so attach to the surface of the mast cells. Mast cells are specialised which contains histamine and heparine. The binding of IgE to mast cells causes an immunological memory and when individual is exposed to the same allergen 2nd clip, the IgE antibodies presented on the surface of mast cells become activated releasing histamine which is responsible for the symptoms related to the nutrient allergic reaction ( Kindt, T.J. et Al, 2007 ) . The symptoms of allergic reaction occurred due to exposure with nutrient allergens are: itchiness, swelling of lips, coughing, runny nose besides the allerg ens can do asthma and can ensue in anaphylaxis which is a sudden bead in the blood force per unit area ( Bupa, 2008 ) . Food allergic reaction is one of the major increasing wellness jobs both in kids and in grownup. Some of the nutrient allergens are derived from ; peanuts, wheat, milk, eggs and soy. These allergens affect 8 % of babies and immature kids ( Samson, H. , 2005 ) . Harmonizing to the surveies of Jenkins et Al. ( 2005 ) ; Ferreira et Al. ( 2004 ) and Mari, A. ( 2001 ) , common antigenic determinants of different beginnings may ensue in clinical nutrient allergic reactions. For illustration ; Ara h1 is a major peanut allergen protein where its IgE reactive antigenic determinants from its peptide sequence was identified by Burks et Al. in 1997. Subsequently, comparing the IgE antigenic determinants of Ara h1 helped to place similar allergen antigenic determinants in other nutrients like tree nuts and leguminous plants ( Lopez-Torrejen, 2003 ) . Designation of similar allergenic antigenic determinants by comparing the possible allegens with known nutrient allergens is really of import beca use the allergens have conserved sequences within the antigenic determinants. For this ground, after the designation of reactive antigenic determinants, bioinformatics tools can be used to place other related proteins associated with similar reactive allergic reaction and to specify more specific interventions. For illustration, in the survey Bolhaar ( 2004 ) the patients with allergic syndrome to apples are besides sensitive to birch pollen. This is due to the similarity between Bet v1 allergen and the Mal d1 protein from apple. The specific immunotherapy incorporating Bet v1 infusions is able to diminish the sensitiveness of apple protein Mal d1. The purpose of this study is to place the allergenic nutrient homologues of allergenic proteins and comparing the protein sequences, antigenic determinants and construction of known allergens by utilizing bioinformatics tools. Methods The relevant nutrient allergic reaction surveies and nutrient allergen databases identified from Medline and Embase databases. Medline and Embase are bibliographic databases which contains over 16 million and 20 million diary articles severally. The database was combined with text word and MeSH heading hunt scheme. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez? db=mesh ) The text words were allergens , nutrient allergens and nutrient allergens databases . Besides, the hunt was supplemented by analyzing specific reappraisal articles and bibliographies. Further articles identified by utilizing retrieved articles. Table 1 shows the flow chart of the hunt scheme. Using this scheme, a entire figure of 34226 hits were obtained from allergens hunt standards. By seeking Food allergens 6085 hits were obtained when Allergen database was searched 196 hits were obtained. Food allergen database hunt standards produced 66 hits. The consequences were searched once more by excepting non-bioinformatics stuffs which was ended up with 14 relevant databases and 22 relevant articles. Table: 1 Flow chart of hunt scheme. Allergens: Entire hits 34226 Food allergens: Entire hits 6085 Allergens databases: Entire hits 196 Food allergens databases: Hits 66 Databases with relevant result: 14 Articles with relevant informations: 22 Consequences Allergen Databases There were14 databases identified which contains sequences and information about the allergenic proteins. Table 2 shows these databases. Table: 2 Website name Web-site nexus Information available All Allergy hypertext transfer protocol: //allallergy.net/ Genbank accession Numberss of allergens IUIS hypertext transfer protocol: //www.allergen.org Genbank accession Numberss of allergens Allergome hypertext transfer protocol: //www.allergome.org Name callings of allergens, and links to PubMed A ; sequence databases CSL hypertext transfer protocol: //www.csl.gov.uk/allergen/ index.htm Name callings of nutrient allergens with links to Genbank NCF hypertext transfer protocol: //www.iit.edu/~sgendel/fa.htm Name callings of nutrient allergens with links to Genbank S.t.p. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ifrn.bbsrc.ac.uk/protall/ Biochemical, structural, and clinical informations InformAll hypertext transfer protocol: //foodallergens.ifr.ac.uk/ Food allergens, antigenic determinants, sequences, links to literature FARRP hypertext transfer protocol: //allergenonline.com/asp/public/login.asp Allergens, sequence links to Genbank, and a FASTA hunt ADFS hypertext transfer protocol: //allergen.nihs.go.jp/ADFS/ Allergen sequences, WHO allergenicity regulations utilizing FASTA SDAP hypertext transfer protocol: //fermi.utmb.edu/SDAP Allergens sequences, protein type, IgE epitopes aggregation, tools for sequence and antigenic determinant comparing ALLERDB hypertext transfer protocol: //sdmc.i2r.a-star.edu.sg/Templar/ DB/Allergen Allergens, a BLAST hunt, and implements the WHO allergenicity regulations WebAllergen hypertext transfer protocol: //weballergen.bii.a-star.edu.sg/ Potential allergenicity of proteins utilizing motives found by a ripple algorithm AlgPred hypertext transfer protocol: //www.imtech.res.in/raghava/algpred Predicts allergenicity with MEME/MAST motives Allermatch www.allermatch.org/ WHO allergenicity regulations utilizing FASTA Table 2 shows the name and nexus of allergen databases besides, bioinformatics tools to find allergenicity. These databases give indicant of allergenic protein. For illustration International Union of Immunological Societies ( IUIS ) contains the names, genbank accession figure and information of allergens. Most of these databases do non hold cross database for cross indexing could be Allergome. It contains allergenic, clinical, biological and structural informations. The Allergome database has no bioinformatics tool but contains allergen MEME sequence motives which are strongly related with allergen. Swiss Prot, PIR, and Genbank contain protein sequences where CSL and Biotechnology Information for Food Safety databases use those sequences to supply list of allergens. Some databases provides direct comparing of allergen sequences by bioinformatics tools and permit the usage of WHO guidelines for foretelling allerginity ( WHO 2001 ) .On the other manus some databases such as FARRP and ADFS enable to seek lists of allergens, protein sequences and a FASTA hunt for related sequences. ALLERDB database contains allergen sequences and BLAST hunt can place the sequence similarities. SDAP Database SDAP ( Structural Database of Allergenic Proteins ) ( hypertext transfer protocol: //fermi.utmb.edu/SDAP ) is one of the biggest nutrient allergen databases. The difference of SDAP database from other databases is, it uses bioinformatics tools to compare allergenic proteins. Some bioinformatics tools enable to compare protein sequences to place allergens due to similar IgE antigenic determinants of the known allergen and proteins ( Schein, 2005 ) . By utilizing SDAP hunt in allergenic proteins, fresh allergenic proteins could be identified. The hunt is rapid and it depends on the sequence similarities, 3D construction and known allergenic antigenic determinants. SDAP database compare the allergen sequences in different methods. The in-house bioinformatics method provides designation of the sequence similarities and links to other big databases ( Swiss Prot and Gen bank ) . By utilizing BLAST and FASTA protein hunt tools, resemblances of the amino acerb sequences of the allergens could was determined. Besides, Pfam grouping is available for the allergens in SDAP which identifies the protein similarities. Bioinformatics tools identify the related IgE antigenic determinants, in this manner the user map the IgE incorporating peptides onto 3D theoretical accounts of allergens. SDAP besides contains IgE adhering antigenic determinants of the allergenic proteins. The antigenic determinant sequences identified by in vivo binding experiments which is adhering of the short peptide sequences to solid stage. The edge peptides assumed to be antigenic determinants ( Li,2003 ) . SDAP database includes information about IgE antigenic determinants of some allergens such as ; peanut ( Ara h1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3 ) , hen egg ( Gal d 1 ) , Polygonum fagopyrum ( Fag e 1 ) , English walnut ( Jug r 1 ) , soya bean ( Glym glycinin G1 and G2 ) , shrimp ( write a 1, pen i 1 ) etc. Comparing Allergenic Protein Sequences Using FASTA Tool The similarity between protein sequences and other allergen sequences might do cross-reacting. This similarity can be identified by the usage of the bioinformatics tool FASTA ( Pearson, 1990 ) . A FASTA tally for sequences consequence in an end product which shows the similar allergens in SDAP including their E-value . Table 3 shows the FASTA hunt in SDAP database Jun a 3 allergenic protein sequence was used. E-value is the statistical significance of the lucifer hit and it shows how many lucifers expected to happen indiscriminately utilizing the same sequence in a database of a given size. Lower the E-value, higher the lucifer. Harmonizing to the tabular array 3, Cup a 3 is the most similar allergen to Jun a 3. Cup a 3 is cypress tree allergen. The tabular array 3 besides shows several vegetable and fruit allergens. Based on the FASTA alliance, individual with a cedar pollen allergic reaction may develop allergenic symptoms due to ingestion of apples or cherries ( Breiteneder and Millis, 2005 ) . Table:3 FASTA hunt utilizing the Jun a 3 protein Number Allergen Sequence Beginning Sequence Length spot mark Tocopherol mark 1 Jun a 3 P81295 cedar pollen 225 311.0 1.0e-86 2 Cup a 3 CAC05258 cypress 199 272.9 2.7e-75 3 Cap a 1w CAC34055 bell Piper nigrum 246 167.5 1.7e-43 4 Lyc vitamin E NP24 P12670 tomato 247 161.2 1.4e-41 5 Cap a 1 AAG34078 bll Piper nigrum 180 136.2 3.4e-34 6 Mal d 2 CAC10270 apple 246 77.0 3.0e-16 7 Pru av 2 P50694 cherry 245 75.1 1.2e-15 8 Act c 2 P81370 Chinese gooseberry 29 36.0 7.9e-05 Table 3 shows FASTA end product in SDAP. Jun a 3 used as an allergen. The consequences show Jun a 3 proteins. They are aligned harmonizing to low E-scores . Pfam Families Pfam is a protein database ( hypertext transfer protocol: //pfam.sanger.ac.uk ) . Protein households are represented harmonizing to multiple sequence alliances and Hidden Markov Models ( HMMs ) . The protein map is identified by active spheres and the interaction of spheres. Active spheres are in the protein that means by placing the active domains the maps of the protein can be understood. The Pfam database is held at: Wellcome Trust Sanger in UK, Howard Hughes Janelia Farm Research Campus in USA and Stockholm Bioinformatics Centre in Sweden. Two entries of Pfam are ; Pfam-A and Pfam-B. Pfam-A contains protein households and Pfam-B contains extra database which can be used in the designation of conserved parts when no lucifer observed from Pfam-A. Consorting different types of allergens into Pfam group is of import because in this manner the individuality of similar proteins with different names can be determined. Besides, Pfam information specifies the functional similarities of the proteins ( Schein et al. , 2006 ) . Entries into SDAP database are assorted into suited Pfam group and the similar allergens to other proteins identified in the Pfam mixture. Table 4 shows 18 common allergenic Pfam households. The widest allergen household is PF00234 which is protease inhibitor/ seed storage/ LTP household incorporating 34 allergens. Novel allergens might be introduced to an bing Pfam household or they might be introduced into a new Pfam household harmonizing to their multiple sequence alliance and HMM profile. Family name Pfam codification Number of Allergens LTP family/Protease inhibitor/seed storage PF00234 34 Profilin PF00235 27 EF manus PF00036 23 Pollen allergen PF01357 20 SCP-like extracellular protein PF00188 19 Bet V I household ( Pathogenesis-related protein ) PF00407 16 Cupin PF00190 15 Tropomyosin PF00261 15 Lipocalin /cytosolic fatty-acid binding protein household PF00061 12 Rare lipoprotein A ( RlpA ) -like double-psi beta-barrel PF03330 12 Globin PF00042 9 Pectate lyase PF00544 9 Papain household cysteine peptidase PF00112 8 60s Acidic ribosomal protein PF00428 8 Subtilase household PF00082 7 Thaumatin household PF00314 7 Pollen proteins Ole vitamin E I household PF01190 7 Ribonuclease ( pollen allergen ) PF01620 7 Table 4 shows Pfam-A allergen households from SDAP. Discussion The cross-reactive proteins have similar sequence and construction but they differ in their beginning. Pfam group has a restriction because it contains both allergenic and non-allergenic proteins together therefore it is hard to choose allergenic proteins from the others. The cross-reactive allergens in the WHO counsel shows deficient sequence individuality ( 35 % ) ( WHO guidelines ) . On the other manus, the IgE binding belongingss reduced due to protein mutants ( de Leon et al. , 2003 ) . For illustration Bet v 1 protein which has 98 % sequence individuality do non cross-react ( Hartl et al. , 1999 ) . Some bioinformatics tools recognise whether the protein is allergenic or non due to allergenic motives. For illustration Web Allergen determines the poteintial allergenic motives ( Riaz et al. , 2005 ) . The IgE binding sites of the possible allergenic motive must be proved to verify the allergen. AlgPred ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.imtech.res.in/raghava/algpred/ ) gets aid of BLAST hunt and support vector machines ( SVM ) to place the allergenic antigenic determinant motives. Besides, it permits MEME/MAST allergenic motives hunt. The MAST has ability to turn up the IgE binding sites on the protein. AlgPred gives chance to find allergens utilizing combination of SVM, BLAST, MAST and IgE antigenic determinant. Harmonizing to the Schein et Al. ( 2006 ) there are some jobs in separating whether the tropomyosins are allergenic or non-allergenic because of their similar sequences. Some studies have evidenced the protein allergenicity by utilizing bioinformatics and experimental processs. Motifs are sequences where the sequences are conserved in related proteins. IgE binding is characterized by conserved sequence motive in allergenic proteins ( Brusic and Petrovsky, 2003 ) . Decision The nutrient allergens cause an immune response in worlds. Some isoforms of the nutrient allergens where point mutant occurred does non demo allergenic belongingss. The usage of bioinformatics tools is to compare the protein structures which are going more of import because more structural information is available in each twenty-four hours. The study focused on some of the hunt tools used in bioinformatics which can be used to look into the structural and functional relationship between known allergens. Those relationships can be used to place possible novel allergens. Bioinformatics does non 100 % accurate on happening fresh allergens. However, with the usage of bioinformatics, cross-reaction between proteins analyzed and immunotherapy could be developed ( Shein et al. , 2006 ) .