Poem ‘About His Person’ Essay

â€Å"How does Armitage make the poem ‘About his Person’ particularly moving to you†. The poem ‘About his Person’ is a poem about a man who commits suicide. We are not given exactly how or why straightforwardly but we are given the items he had on him when he did it. It’s through the items we get to understand why he did it. Armitage makes this poem moving through doing that and also using other techniques. One way in which Armitage makes the poem moving is by letting the reader piece together the story behind his possessions. This can be shown when it says ‘No gold or silver but crowning one finger’. This suggests he was recently divorced due to his ring on his finger not being there and because of that reason he could have killed himself. Another way in which Armitage makes the poem moving is by letting the items speak for themselves. This can be shown when it says ‘Five pound fifty in change exactly, a library card on its date of expiry’. These words say exactly what they mean. He has only  £5.50 to his name and an out of date library card. He has barely enough money to live on, to buy the daily essentials like food and water but not even enough to pay rent for an accommodation. This is why it is particularly moving as it shows us the conditions he was living in. Armitage also makes the poem moving by using random objects to make what happened seem unplanned. For example it says ‘But beheaded in his fist, a shopping list’. This makes the poem moving as it shows that he had only recently decided to kill himself that day as he had a shopping list in his hands which most likely would have been the shopping he might of done that very day he killed himself. By including this he makes the poem moving as it makes us think what tragic event must have happened to him in that very same day for him to kill himself. The use of a short reflective sentence at the end of the poem also helps to contribute to making thi s poem moving. For instance it says in the poem ‘That was everything’. This helps to make it moving as this short sentence indicates that his life is now over, just like that. It makes us feel sorry for him as it just happened quickly and that everything he had, had basically disappeared. This is why is makes it moving. Armitage also uses 2 line stanzas which are short and sharp to make the poem moving. This can be shown when it says ‘A final demand, in his own hand’. This is moving because the sentences are short and sharp so that it sticks in the readers mind about what is happening, and creates food for their thoughts. They have to figure out what is happening in each stanza. It also has a great detail of sorrow in each stanza about why he did it, which also helps to make the poem moving. Another way Armitage makes the poem moving is by using rhymes and half rhymes. This is apparent in the poem when it says ‘A postcard stamped, unwritten but franked’. This makes the poem moving because he received a postcard that he had received from someone but blank. Which shows that someone had not made up their mind about what to say to him but he could of recognised the writing on the address and knew who it was from like a calling card, which could of drove him to his suicide. By including this it makes the poem moving, as it makes us feel sad. Overall this poem is very moving as it is explaining why this man killed himself, through the items he had on him. This was done by many ways, through rhymes and the way it was written, and is very moving.

Psychology Adjustment

Thomas Wisnewski Psychology of Adjustment Jurgens 6 December 2012 In my class Psychology 2101 I was asked to write about three major events that occurred during my lifetime for class. I have thought about this almost all semester and it was a constant struggle just to think of even one event that I would have liked to share. This class has shown me that almost everybody has their problems, some that cope with them well, and others that still struggle to figure a path that will lead them to happiness. I myself have personal issues that I have learned from.This paper will describe the three events and how they have impacted my life. During the paper I will do my best to put these events in chronological order. I come from a military family. My dad was the military man and my mother was from Korea. They had married when my dad was stationed in South Korea between the late 80s and early 90s. Being in a military family had resulted us in moving a lot. I have moved between many states whil e my dad was in the military, but I had actually loved it. I loved traveling between place-to-place and seeing all kind of new things.Travelling was just really interesting to me because there was always a time where I could experience something new. One of the places that I moved to and stayed for quite a while was in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I had always thought this place was an amazing. Most military brats know that making friends is not the easiest thing to do. We understand by the constant moving that we have to make new friends and lose the ones we made from a place before. This was normal, but getting older I realized that I was getting a bit tired from the constant moving and wanted to stay in one place for a while.As far as I can remember I have learned a lot living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I learned to ride my first bike there and enjoyed the beautiful weather. In Colorado I had also met my best friend. My best friend’s name was Joshua Vialpando and we had almost done everything together. We would always have the same teachers in school and then of course we would hang outside of school constantly. The guy was always there for me when I ever had a problem and I would try my best to be there for him. Joshua had always struggled in school, but I would always catch on things a bit quicker and help him out when he needed it.This was my first real friend that I have made that I could actually see being there later in my life during adulthood. Of course as time went by it was time to pack my bags and move to a different state. For the first time in my life I realized that I did not want to move and that moving somewhere new had no appeal to me. I wanted to stay and just hang with my best friend and do whatever new activity would cross our minds. I felt like that moving somewhere new would change me somehow and that I would not be able to make a friend that was like him.I felt as if I was going to be lonely, or probably feel a bit different from everyone else. I was losing a friend and it felt like I was losing the world that I had gotten use to and I did not want to experience a new one. This first event gradually leads up to my second event when I moved to Augusta, Georgia. It took me a four-day trip by RV to make it to Augusta. I knew that by moving here I would have to start over again, new school and hopefully new friends as well. In school before I was never really made fun of or teased at all for being who I am.For the first time in my life I was being teased for being Asian American. Children would constantly come up to me and make â€Å"oriental† noises like â€Å"ching chong chong† and other terms like that. I feel as if in Colorado it was more racially diverse, while moving here to Georgia there was just simply mostly white and black. I remember my very first day of attending class in Augusta and I remember after school I had ended up crying. I did not understand why the other kids would make fun of me because I had never experience this issue before. Augusta, Georgia was the place that my dad decided to retire in.I knew from that point that this place would be my new permanent home and I would not be able to go anywhere else new again. I hated the new place I was living in and I hated going to school. This point on I had lost contact with my best friend in Colorado and I had felt lonely just as I had originally thought I would feel. I had felt this same way all the way to almost between the end of middle school and the start of high school. One day while riding the bus home from school. A guy that sat behind me I said â€Å"hey. † This is the point where I had met my friend Stephen Brinson.Stephen had become almost like a brother to me. He was like a part of my family and even my parents seen it that way as well. This is when things seemed to get better for me, slowly but gradually I would deal with my problems. I no longer felt as lonely as I did before because I had met someone that I could talk to and seemed to have the same interests as me. I have known Stephen for a while now and he is still my best friend today. He is the only person I honestly probably see and talk to most of the time. In my first two years of high school I was not popular at all. In fact, I was probably more of a geek than anything.It was the last two years of high school that I had finally felt a difference. I never realized how many people I knew. I had actually become pretty popular at the end of my high school career. I was known for my talents and nominated for everything. I feel that Stephen was a part of this change because we had made that change together. Stephen was also a pretty big geek in the beginning of high school as well, but we both decided to make this change together. I feel if I have never met him, then that change would have never occurred and I could probably be in a situation that I hate.I learned that it is not about where I go, but the peop le that I do things with. I still today tend to not make a lot of friends, but a few is all I need to be happy. I learned that being made fun of is nothing and it is something that I can overcome. In the end it has made me stronger as a person and I tend to think back at a hard time and laugh about it. I laugh at it because I realize where I am now and I am proud of that alone. My last event is about my sister and mostly my mother. My mother is pretty strict mom and she pushes us very hard especially when it comes to education.The way she pushes my sister and I does not seem very reasonable and at times very unfair. My sister and my mother would argue a lot, but one day it had got to the point where I had come home and my sister had about nine knives that she held up to her neck explaining that she just wanted to kill herself. I remember me sneaking up behind her and taking all of the knives out of her hand to make sure that she would not harm herself. From that point on I tend to k eep a barrier between my mother and I. This barrier is the only one that I can see fit for dealing with her because my mother knows exactly how to tick you off.I do believe that my mother’s ways did help me during school because I had focused and did well many times until the start of high school. In the beginning of high school I tended to rebel against her because I wanted to show her that I did not really care. It was about a year into high school that I realized it was not for my mother, but for myself and that I should actually be doing a whole lot better. My mom did not even attend my high school graduation because she believes I was not high enough ranked. I ranked in the top 10 percentile of my high school, which I thought was pretty good.I do not tell her absolutely anything unless it is completely needed. There is nothing about my personal life that she really knows because she will just argue about how everything I am doing is completely wrong. The barrier is the o nly way I believe that I can enjoy my life and not bother hers. The barrier is not just for myself, but a little part of it is for her as well. It keeps us both sane instead of in a state of constant rage. I believe that I will always have this barrier between her because she will never really sit down and understand why I do the things I do.She does not want to hear what I have to say and just believes that nothing is right compared to her. By creating this barrier between her and I. It has changed me as a person. I realize that I create barriers between other people because I tend to not trust others very quickly. Even when I get into a relationship with a significant other I create some type of barrier and the girl will never understand me completely. I always end up telling them that they just do not get it but I know that because of this barrier I put up. It makes it hard to understand me.I am trying to work on this because I have met someone that I would really love to fully u nderstand me and I fully understand her. It is a work in progress, but I believe in the end it will be worth it. Today, I no longer feel as lonely as I once did. I feel satisfied with how things are going in my life today. I think that I have it all. I might not have the perfect family, but I do love my family. I do not think that anyone has a fairytale. This class has shown me so much and has given me different perspectives on how I can deal with the everyday stress of life.Things just seem a lot better than they did before and I can really only thank myself for this. I feel if I never wanted things to change then they would not have, but I had accepted others with positive inputs in my life and let the ones with negative inputs go away. I thought that this class was an interesting course and that anybody regardless if they are psychology major or minor should take this class because they could also learn something from it as well. It is a different experience than the normal class room, but that is exactly what makes it so good.

Beliefs Taken to the Extremes

Believing extreme faith is a fundamental characteristic of man. Faith in many things is a factor that helps people keep on living. Religion is one of the most powerful powers of human emotions, and these emotions often create dangerous situations. When people's religious beliefs reach an extreme level, innocent people may be hurt. There was an example of such a case in history. From the Inquisition in Israel to the battle in Ireland, the recent events in the World Trade Center, people have seen extreme religious beliefs. I think Christians argue that they believe extreme things. To become extreme. Even simple beliefs on monotheism can not be measured. In a sense, there are God, God, Almighty, omniscience, ubiquitous - creator of the universe. This is a belief that shakes the foundation of the earth. But who do you believe? In theology, many people believe it. But they do not believe in their beliefs. They will be questioned to believe what they believe. I believe in God. I believe in God. What does this mean, is there a god? How does this affect me? What does that mean for my reality? Believing extreme faith is a fundamental characteristic of man. Faith in many things is a factor that helps people keep on living. Religion is one of the most powerful powers of human emotions, and these emotions often create dangerous situations. When people's religious beliefs reach an extreme level, innocent people may be hurt. There was an example of such a case in history. Unlike professional sports, from university hearings to suicide bombers, college sports are very violent and unaffiliated by university stakeholders. Before 1850 there was nothing like university sports. College staff knows that students are seeking physical liberation, so the way to cope with the epidemic is through physical labor. They allow students to cultivate or cleanse debris from the university campus. University officials think this is positive as this gives the students body.

Gran Torino and Race Relations and Ethics Essay

Gran Torino and Race Relations and Ethics - Essay Example The movie has things to teach about ethics to people in the world. Racism is still very much an issue in today’s world(Bonilla, 2010), and Walt was as racism as anybody could be. He called the next door neighbors â€Å"gooks,† even after he came to love them and protect them. He called his barber a â€Å"Dago† and â€Å"Italian Prick.† It was obvious that he was a man who had a lot of bad feelings in his heart about people who are of different races. He was, perhaps, representative of many people who see people of different races as being somehow â€Å"other.† These people from Laos, who live next door, were people that Walt evidently felt were beneath him from the beginning of the film. However, Walt changed throughout the course of the film, and, soon, he was taking Thao and Sue under his wing. Walt went out of his way to bond with young Thao, showing him the ropes of carpentry, once he figured out that Thao had an interest in carpentry and tools, and making sure that Thao got to meet the barber and know how to converse with other men in a way that would be acceptable in America. When Sue was raped by some men who were relatives of Thao and Sue, Walt became protective of her and went to confront the men. In fact, all through the film, Walt comes to the aid and protection of these neighbors. It was feasible that Walt could have lived his life in an insular way, and stayed out of the way of the gang members who were harassing his next door neighbors.... What happens to our brother or our sister is what happens to us, and we have to make sure that we do everything that we can to help those who are oppressed. Walt learned this lesson, even though he personally had feelings for the Hmong that were not so flattering. There was some possible indication that Walt was also redeeming himself for things that happened during the Korean War – he implied that he killed some Korean men even though he wasn’t under orders to do so. So, this might have also given him his sense of ethics as well. My own personal feelings about what happened during the movie was somewhat mixed. While I understood the need for Walt to do what he did in the movie, it was also difficult to see. Yes, the gang members were harassing the family of Sue and Thao, and, yes, the black men were harassing Sue and there was the distinct possibility that they were going to rape her. So, in a sense, what Walt ended up doing at the end of the movie was extremely justif ied. In fact, he didn’t really do anything at all, except stand outside the house of the gang members and pretend that he had some kind of weapon on him. Considering that he had shown the gang members earlier that he had access to these types of weapons, it was reasonable for the gang members to assume that this was still the case, and that he, in fact, was packing heat when he went to visit the boys. Another point is probably the most important point to make about the movie – the movie portrays a society that is color blind, in the end. The surface of the people in the movie was that everybody is segregated and that Walt was somebody who didn’t want anything to do with

The writings of Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The writings of Augustine - Essay Example The political satires used in the writings of Augustine were aimed drawing a close relationship with the spread of Christianity in the western societies. Augustine was a Christian theologian who was concerned with showing the compatibility between the politics in the western society and the spread of Christianity. Augustine was the bishop of the Roman province in Africa. Augustine was a prolific writer and a strong proponent of Christianity. The writings of Augustine led to the spread of his increasing popularity and he was regarded as the father of the Church. The most important works of Augustine where he established a strong compatibility between the politics and Christianity are namely, City of God and Confessions. The age in which Augustine wrote his works resembled empiricism. The writings of the eighteenth century, however, reflected the growth of mercantilism. The growth of capital and the politics of the rulers showed that that they developed a strong urgency for the growth of capitalism which would help them to develop into stronger powers. The bold writings of Augustine that were produced in this age contained political satires that that unfolded the nuance and the political interests that created destructions and affected the spread of the religion of Christianity. Through his bold writings, Augustine expressed his deep concerns in showing the compatibility between the political environment and the spread of Christianity. â€Å"The worshippers of the many false Gods whom we worship by the customary name of pagans, blamed the Christian religion for the disaster and began to blaspheme the true God more sharply and bitterly than usual.† (Augustine,  Kries and  Fortin 1) After the conversion to Christianity, Augustine started to develop his own philosophies and theories based on the principle of the Christian religion. The tenure of Augustine as the Bishop in the Roman province in Africa saw the increase of slavery and influence of the politi cal interests in converting masses to religions of interests. This was heavily supported by the increase in capitalism and exploitation of human freedom. Augustine believed that by the grace of Jesus, the spirit of human freedom should be restored in the world and this should not be affected by the political measures in the western societies. The brave writings of Augustine in the area of politics and Christianity considering the socio-economic conditions of the eighteenth century have drawn perfect reconciliation of politics and Christianity which was driven by the attempts to restore humanity and curb the evil forces of power and politics. â€Å"Look at the Roman Republic which having changed little by little from the most beautiful and best, has become the worst and most disgraceful† (Augustine,  Kries and  Fortin 16). Augustine’s philosophy did not allow him to endorse the beliefs of the New Testament through ways of violence. Instead he believed that the true spirit of humanity lies in the peaceful politics that aims to take necessary steps for overall development of the society. Augustine also never wanted Christianity to dominate over the religious beliefs of other sections of the society. The reflection of these philosophies was done with the perspective to reconcile the political interests and the growth of Christianity. The reconcilement of politics and Christianity was the major concern in the political writings of Augustine as he realized that the holy spirit of man could develop in an environment which is peaceful and politically stable. Augustine showed deep concerns in reconciling politics and Chri

Electronic commerce purchase behavior Assignment

Electronic commerce purchase behavior - Assignment Example And these are to help to guide and provide important boundaries within which consumer motivations can be defined and utilised in discussions relating to online purchasing behaviours. Like most other fields, the field of online sales is generalised and critiqued appropriately through the segmentation of the markets and the identification of various interest groups and classes in the online buying population (Wu & Chou, 2011). The study indicates that databases are created as a means of providing links and procedures for the conduct of research and affairs in a given organisation and market in order to provide better and more predictable approaches and methods for data collection. There are two main variables that define the repurchase choices and decisions of people who purchase products and services on line: online relationship quality and perceived website quality (Zhanga, Fang, Wei, Ramsey, & McColee, 2011). These two variables culminate in perceived vendor expertise that builds a perceived reputation on the minds of consumers. That makes them repeat customers and clients in the organization. On the other hand, the risk and uncertainty provide a rationale for purchase whilst the intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation of the purchase lays the impetus for utilitarian value that guides purchase (Chiu, Wang, Fang, & Huang, 2014). In order to study consumer behaviour in e-commerce, some theorists identify that there are two main approaches to study and identify important factors that define the way consumer behaviour. The first is the theory of planned behaviour which relates to the actions and processes of previous e-commerce users (Del Bosque & Crespo, 2011). The second is the theory of technological acceptance which involves the new user who identifies the best approaches and systems that are used to guide the conduct of such persons (Del Bosque & Crespo, 2011). It was identified that third party support

The development of an export market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The development of an export market - Assignment Example The emphasis on the sports benefits of the drinks, as an improvement to water and as an aid to intense sports activities that is able to provide adequate hydration and nutrition even to the most demanding and most gifted athletes. It is worth noting that as a product range, the Lucozade brand benefits from insights and inputs from hard core research undertaken on behalf of the brand by universities, sports coaches, practitioners, and nutritionists, under the so-called Lucozade Sports Science Academy. Moreover, the brand is well-known for its marketing tag line, which is about replacing the lost energy from intense physical activities making use of Lucozade. That said, officially the classification is that of Lucozade being a soft drink brand (Answers Corporation 2013; GlaxoSmithKline Group of Companies 2013). In the United States, which is the chosen export market, key competitors in the segment of sports hydration drinks where Lucozade is bound to compete includes Gatorade and Power ade, with the former being the heavyweight brand with the greatest mind share and market share not only in the United States but in many parts of the world, and with the latter being the key competitor brand offered by Coca Cola (Carpenter 2000; Howard 2008; Competitor Group 2013). It is worth noting that those three brands mentioned above remain dominant in the world when it comes to sports drinks, with Lucozade in particular being the most dominant brand in the United Kingdom in terms of both value sales and sales by volume. Annual sales for Lucozade is estimated at 260 million British pounds. Its presence in other markets, on the other hand, is hampered by strong competition from Gatorade and Powerade, even as the overall market for sports drinks is forecasted to reach US 55 billion dollars by 2018, indicating a large opportunity for Lucozade to get a substantial piece of that pie from exporting activities. The US being a large and lucrative market for sports drinks, this export development plant for that export market has potentially great value for the brand and for GlaxoSmithKline. Other statistics meanwhile bolster the case for exports as a lucrative activity given that there is a relatively low penetration level for sports drinks in general, at just 50 percent, even as the segment grew by 64 percent for the five-year period from 2007 all the way to 2012. By product category, all three categories, hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic drinks experienced sustained growth in volumes and dollar value over that given period, with prospects for growth also promising moving forward to 2018 and beyond (Companies and Markets 2013). In the US, moreover, Gatorade and Powerade together account for virtually the entire market for sports drinks with Gatorade owning 69 percent of the market, and Powerade owning 30 percent of the market. Both companies spend heavily on advertising and marketing activities centered on getting star athletes to endorse the brands and produc ts. The trend towards a sustained growth in the sports drink sector is confirmed in the long term, in contrast to the general decline in soda consumption in the United States over the past several decades (Daily Mail Reporter 2013). Other estimates put the market share of Gatorade at an even larger percentage, 75 percent, with Powerade taking 20 percent and the rest of the players in the sports drink market taking up the remaining 5 percent, reflecting the overall dominance of

Peer Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Peer Assessment - Essay Example My experience as a peer assessor was an eye opener. For the first time, I felt like I was not the one being reviewed, but I was reviewing other students' work. This gave me a sense of pride and courage and it also enabled me to see the big picture. In marking my classmate's papers, I no longer saw myself as a victim of marking but rather a victory. The peer assessment gave me an insight of one of the functions of our tutors, which is to assess the students' academic performance.   Our peer assessment was based on our assessment tests for all the units that we sat in the semester. The move was aimed at getting us to interact with each other while improving our leadership skills (Cottrell 2010). For the first time, my classmates and I felt some sense of responsibility for our education. It dawned on us that our education depends on us and that we are all equally talented when given a chance to review our peer's work. The assessment came as an encouragement to the not-so-good students that they can be trusted to assess even the brightest students in our class. Every student was assigned a paper to mark, and the tutor would guide us through the marking of the papers. The instructors used this opportunity to go through the questions with us, in an attempt to revise the paper. The teacher would guide us through, reading the questions aloud, and one after the other. He would then ask a classmate to provide the correct answer, and we would have a brief discussion on each issue.

Project feasibility study report through Primary Research Assignment

Project feasibility study report through Primary Research - Assignment Example This paper will examine how the differences achieve different outcomes and goals between the various universities. By looking at the different universities, there will be different insight into the effectiveness of specific programs as well as the similarities that may be between different regions because of the expectations in design entrepreneurship for the current work force. Introduction Creating a different understanding of design entrepreneurship leads to specific careers and studies in the field. More important, it establishes distinct differences in how individuals receive training and what the outcome is of the education that is received (Reynolds et al, 2005: p 205). When looking at different concepts that are a part of design entrepreneurship as a part of the educational field, it can be seen that cultural and social influences directly impact those which are involved in this career field. More important, there are distinguished alternatives that are used by the teaching m ethods and expectations which are associated with various universities (Henry, Hill, 2005, p 98). ... ave individuals who have the capability to work as their own business while creating teams and working as leaders is one of the main proponents that is associated with this. From the entrepreneurship trends that are a part of society are also new economic standards and expectations that are leading to new types of training needed for those who are going through educational programs. Building ways to train individuals in legitimate areas then becomes a main proponent for the entrepreneurship. For those interested in design, this is furthered with the expectation that most who graduate with a degree will move into an entrepreneurial position, even while working in a specific career field or with a business. The nature of this work has made it pertinent for universities to establish a different option for individuals to understand how to work as design entrepreneurs (Kuratko, 2005: p. 577). Another concept which is specifically associated with entrepreneurship is based specifically on t he expectations for the changes in culture. The different universities which are now creating curricula for students are building on the global nature of a workforce as well as how this is directly associated with entrepreneurs. There is an understanding of how the universities can move to offer more options for a global corporate structure. At the same time, there is the need to understand how to create a different structure based on setting each university apart. Through current studies (Kothari, Handscombe, 2007, p 43), there is an understanding that universities are trying to educate students for a global work force. However, many are also using cultural differences as a way to create differences between the schools, specifically so there are distinctions for national prosperity as well

Coco Fusco Cultural Commentary Essay Example for Free

Coco Fusco Cultural Commentary Essay This performance was intended to mock Western concepts of the exotic but instead took on a different facade when most audiences did not realize it was a performance piece. Their cage became â€Å"a metaphor for [their] condition, linking the racism implicit in the ethnographic paradigms of discovery†[1]. Reactions and commentary received throughout a span of two years allowed Coco Fusco to gage an even stronger sense of â€Å"otherness† where she was looked upon as a specimen instead of a human being. Being dehumanized in such a form cannot be easy to handle even when taking into account the fictional situation she and Gomez-Pena were in. However, the prevalent â€Å"otherness† for Coco Fusco wasn’t exclusive to the performance piece; as a Cuban-American she had already encountered that denial of one’s actual presence within society. As a young child her family hid the reasons for and meaning of comments/looks made as a way of protecting her from the harsh realities. Even in later years when Coco Fusco returned from her study abroad trip to Paris, her family was exuberant by the thought of her speaking French. She anecdotes thinking that her â€Å"newly acquired French impressed everyone much more than [her] English ever had†[2]. This inadvertently established that languages of the Western world were superior to her vernacular Spanish. The implication was that if she relinquished the use of Spanish or even the hybrid Spanglish she would be more successful in life. In a reading covered by Professor Alba-Salas the author reaffirms this notion by saying that â€Å"those who achieve success have done so within social and educational systems that favor the use of English over Spanish†[3]. Coco Fusco’s family was consumed by the same fear most immigrant families have; the fear of being marginalized as the â€Å"other† and never really reaching the viable potential one can have. Soon after Coco Fusco comes to realize the immense â€Å"culture clash† she had been living. She realizes the implications of those stares and the thoughts brought upon by her speech. It is then when she takes in upon herself to at least attempt to dispel or even clarify the misconceptions of the population through her performances. In the Two Undiscovered Amerindians performance it is clearly seen how two conflicting cultures create animosity where the privileged, in this case the audience, attempt set the standard for the normative. Coco Fusco notes that as she and Gomez-Pena assume their â€Å"stereotypical role of domesticated savage[s] and many audience members [feel] entitled to assume the role of the colonizer†[4] where as to continue the already rampant cycle of discrimination. After a particular performance one young woman came back to share her discontent, claiming that Gomez-Pena was â€Å"ungrateful for all the benefits he had received thanks to multiculturalism†¦ Gomez-Pena responded that multiculturalism was not a gift from the white but a result of decades of struggle by people of color†[5]. In this discourse Gomez-Pena reinforces the idea of this â€Å"culture clash† in America and how the privileged still see themselves as that standard that enables them to pass judgment. Nevertheless both â€Å"culture clash† and this sense of â€Å"otherness† within communities creates a harmful effect in society but equally harmful is the alienation that appears as an outcome of their presence. The other tends to feel this alienation most when realizing there is disengagement between them and their society, work, and even at times themselves.

Interpersonal Deception Theory: Example Case

Interpersonal Deception Theory: Example Case In the daily life, we are always having social interactions and communicate with people.  Therefore, we will be faced through a variety of conditions or circumstances faced by either consciously or unconsciously which has involved ourselves into what is called Interception Deception Theory which has been stated by David Buller and Judee Burgoon. Interpersonal Deception Theory means is trying to explain how is the individual make the interactions with the real lie or perceived in the conscious or unconscious while they are involving in the face to face communication. Communication would not be static because it has been influenced by not only ones goals itself, but it is also by how the interaction context. By sending the message and it was affected by the conduct and the message of receiver and vice versa. Furthermore, deception is different from the truth communication which means that intentional fraud requires more significant cognitive resources than the truthful communication, does the sender involved in the falsification creates a fiction, concealment hides a secret or equivocation dodges the issues. Buller and Burgoon define as a message knowingly transmitted by a sender to foster a false belief or conclusion by the receiver. (Buller and Burgoon, 1996: 203-242) The processes to establish a good relationship with the boyfriend, friends, family, leaders or lecturers are not always smooth as envisaged.  Therefore, we must be smart to choose the way for good relation which has been existed previously. Every person in this world will have a lied to a particular purpose, which namely was the target, maintaining their goals or saving their face themselves. Deception needs an effort and hard work. The liar has to be continued to deal with its task which was very complex in managing their lie strategy. If the lie have been too much, so there will be a leaking and this leak will affected to the non-verbal behavior. Lie will also create feelings of guilt and doubt which will be seen from the actions or behavior. The succession of the lie is also depends on the suspicion of the respondent. The respondent usually has the feelings that can be easily detected by the liar. The suspicion will be in the fact and fiction. According to Buller and Burgoon (1996:203-242), Communication senders attempt to manipulate messages so as to be untruthful, which may cause them apprehension concerning their false communication being detected.  Simultaneously, communication receivers try to unveil or detect the validity of that information, causing suspicion about whether or not the sender is being deceitful. (Buller, D.B., and Burgoon, J.K. (1996), Interpersonal deception theory Communication Theory, 19966:203-242) Interpersonal Deception Theory means that there are times when someone must lie. Lying is a manipulation of information, but someone who wants to lie should have a strategy which could be falsification, concealment and equivocation. According to Buller and Burgoon (1996:203-242), there are three aspects of deceptive messages which are: The central deceptive message, which is usually verbal. Ancillary message, which includes both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication that often reveals the truthfulness of a particular message.   Inadvertent behaviors which are mostly nonverbal and help to point out the deceit of the sender through a term called leakage. (Buller, D.B., and Burgoon, J.K. (1996), Interpersonal deception theory. Communication Theory, 6, 203-242) Example case: There is a university student who has been in a relationship with her boyfriend since 5 years ago, and there is unexpected thing happens. The mother of her boyfriend had been in the verdict of a breast cancer by doctor when she had her healthy check up. Since the girl has been in a relationship for five years, she is so closed with her boyfriends family. She has been treating by her boyfriends parents like their own daughter, because they have their closed relationship so she is calling his boyfriends parents as Mom and Dad. The girl is taking care of her boyfriends mother because of their relationship and also because her boyfriend is the only child in the family so there was not any person who can take care of her mother except the girl. They went to Singapore continually to do the surgery and chemotherapy treatment and radiotherapy treatment. The girl always accompanies them to do all the things and helping them to go through the healing process. And since the girl is also a student in a university and she still having the class at that time, so sometimes she have to skipped the class in order to accompany her boyfriends mother and she told to her lecturers that her mother is having a breast cancer and she have to go to Singapore quite often to accompany her and the lecturers give their permission to her. And later on, the lecturers found out from the girl classmates or gossip that the girl is not telling the truth about the mother who was the girl says as her mom, it is not her biologic mother but her boyfriends mother. The girl says that is because she is calling her boy friends mother as my mom. In this case, it can be considered as interpersonal deception based on the three aspects of deceptive messages from Buller and Burgoon. There are two aspects that related with the case above which are: The central deceptive message, which is usually verbal means that there are miss communication between the girl and the lecturer. It has been misunderstood verbal communication in which she said her mom who according to her is the mother of the boyfriend who was she considered as her own mother that maybe it could be misunderstood by the lecturer who thinks that her mom was to show the biological mother  of this girl. So, there is a miscommunication and misunderstanding via verbal communication way between the girl and the lecturer which can be considered as interpersonal deception by the lecturer. And the other aspects is Ancillary message, which includes both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication that often reveals the truthfulness of a particular message which means that v erbally, the girl said she is going to accompany her mom to have her medical treatment and care.  This girl is no intention to defraud or lie to the teacher by saying her mom who is the mother of her boyfriends mother as her own mother due to their close relationship between the girl and her boyfriends mother is already very close which causing the girl has been considered as child  of their own.  Furthermore, by the non verbal, the girl also gave evidence in the form of letters from the doctors who assume to write which it was true that the girl is coming to accompany her mother to having the medical treatment and medical care. Theoretical Perspective Interpersonal deception theory is a fraud which based on theoretical views of interpersonal communication.   Therefore, Buller and Burgoon assume that fraud is as an interactive process between sender and receiver. In contrast with previous studies of deception that focused on the sender and receiver individually, Interpersonal deception theory focuses on the dyadic, relational and dialogic nature of deceptive communication. The behaviors between the sender and receiver are dynamic, multifunctional, multidimensional and multimodal. (Buller and Burgoon, 1998) Dyadic communication  refers to communication between two people. A dyad is a group of two people between whom messages are sent and received. Relational communication refers to communication in which meaning is created by two people simultaneously filling the roles of both sender and receiver. Dialogic  activity refers to the active communicative language of the sender and receiver, each relying upon the other within the exchange. MANIPULATING INFORMATION: THE LANGUAGE AND LOOK OF LIARS Basically deception is hoax fraud information. Liars always use the falsification, concealment or equivocation to complete their lie. Fraud is usually done on the basis of motive to deceive. Usually a person who will commit a fraud has at least three goals which is to complete a certain task, to establish or maintain the relationships with the respondents, and to save their face or maintain the image of one or both parties. In our daily life, we always communicate to each other. The way that every individual communicate is different. The language that used was also different in accordance with the objectives to be achieved, so that sometimes some people think that the need to commit fraud. Based on Buller and Burgoon, they assume that the motivation and interpersonal identity fraud inherent in stimulating the text over the mark as a less honest communication. Although sometimes the respondents did not know or see any signs of deception, in theory there are four characteristics that reflect the strategic objectives, which are: Uncertainty and vagueness If the girl does not want the lecturer know about the truth that her mom who is not the girl biological mother, the girl will probably to keep the answer secretly and shortly. No immediacy, reticence and withdrawal If the lecturer suddenly say that the mother who the girl was accompany and taking care for the medical treatment and medical care is not her biological mother, the girl will probably wish that it is better that she do not tell anything to her friends. The girl might silent to hear the lecturer opinion about her statement. Disassociation The girl will give the explanation to the lecturer about the miscommunication and misunderstanding from the word her mom that the girl stated. The girl has been treating by her boyfriends parents like their own daughter, because they have their closed relationship so she is calling his boyfriends parents as Mom and Dad. Image-and relationship-protecting behaviour When the people want to do a fraud, they usually will acknowledge the existence of non-verbal leakage which will provide the signs that the words they communicate are lie. Based on Buller and Burgoon, It seems that smile might be a simple all-purpose strategy applies to cover lies.   (Buller and Burgoon, Interpersonal Deception Theory, 1996) People who want to know a clear way to separate the truth from the fraud can be through the four strategic signs that will give the right way to get honesty.  In the world of communication, it is not easy because almost all communication is intentional, goal directed, and conscious. Buller and Burgoon adopt the term leakage to refer to unconscious nonverbal cues that signal an internal state. IDTs explanations of interpersonal deception depend on the situation in which interaction occurs and the relationship between the sender and receiver. Over half of their 18 propositions involve the important distinction between strategic and nonstrategic activity. (Buller and Burgoon, 1996) Sender and receiver cognitions and behaviours vary systematically as deceptive communication contexts vary in (a) access to social cues, (b) immediacy, (c) relational engagement, (d) conversational demands, and (e) spontaneity. During deceptive interchanges, sender and receiver cognitions and behaviours vary systematically as relationships vary in (a) relational familiarity (including informational and behavioural familiarity) and (b) relational valence. Individual communicators also approach deceptive exchanges with their own set of pre-interaction factors, such as expectancies, knowledge, goals or intentions, and behavioural repertoires that reflect their communication competence. IDT posits that such factors influence the deceptive exchange. Compared with truth tellers, deceivers (a) engage in greater strategic activity designed to manage information, behaviour, and image and (b) display more nonstrategic arousal cues, negative and dampened affect, non-involvement and performance decrements. Context interactivity moderates initial deception displays such that deception in increasingly interactive contexts results in (a) greater strategic activity (information, behaviour, and image management) and (b) reduced nonstrategic activity (arousal, negative or dampened affect, and performance decrements) over time relative to non-interactive contexts. Sender and receiver initial expectations for honesty are positively related to degree of context interactivity and positivity of relationship between sender and receiver. Deceivers initial detection apprehension and associated strategic activity are inversely related to expectations for honesty (which are themselves a function of context interactivity and relationship positivity). Goals and motivations moderate strategic and nonstrategic behaviour displays. As receivers informational, behavioural, and relational familiarity increase, deceivers not only (a) experience more detection apprehension and (b) exhibit more strategic information, behaviour, and image management but also (c) more nonstrategic leakage behaviour. Skilled deceivers appear more believable because they make more strategic moves and display less leakage than unskilled deceivers. Initial and ongoing receiver judgments of sender credibility are positively related to (a) receiver truth biases, (b) context interactivity, (c) and sender encoding skills; they are inversely related to (d) deviations of sender communication from expected patterns. Initial and ongoing detection accuracy are inversely related to (a) receiver truth biases, (b) context interactivity, (c) and sender encoding skills; they are positively related to (d) informational and behavioural familiarity, (e) receiver decoding skills, and (f) deviations of sender communication from expected patterns. Receiver suspicion is manifested through a combination of strategic and nonstrategic behaviour. Senders perceive suspicion when it is present. Suspicion (perceived or actual) increases senders (a) strategic and (b) nonstrategic behaviour Deception and suspicion displays change over time. Reciprocity is the predominant interaction adaptation pattern between senders and receivers during interpersonal deception. Receiver detection accuracy, bias, and judgments of sender credibility following an interaction are a function of (a) terminal receiver cognitions (suspicion, truth biases), (b) receiver decoding skill, and (c) terminal sender behavioural displays. Sender perceived deception success is a function of (a) terminal sender cognitions (perceived suspicion) and (b) terminal receiver behavioural displays. (Buller and Burgoon, Interpersonal Deception Theory, 1996) THE RESPONDENTS DILEMMA: TRUTH BIAS OR SUSPICION? According to Burgoon and Buller (1996: 203-242) that respondents tend to think of interpersonal messages truthful, complete, direct, relevant, and clear-even when the speaker is lying. So no matter what you might say about the girl is accompanying her mother for the medical treatment and medical care, the lecturer probably will believe the girl. Whatever the reason for the assumption of veracity, Buller and Burgoon are convinced that whatever is said by people close to you, then the respondent would still believe the words despite occasional doubts. The experts of the theory found that whatever is said by people who close to us and that we love, friends and family will be hoping to get the honesty and truth of the spoken words. Although sometimes a strong truth and valid bias between each other face to face interaction, people also can doubt our word.  The lecturer may also suspicious of the doubt that the girl say after listening to gossip or news about the reality that the word her mom was not according to the girl biological mother. Buller and Burgoon define a suspicion as state of doubt or distrust that is held without sufficient evidence or proof. (Buller and Burgoon, Interpersonal Deception Theory, 1996) Phosphotransferase Systems: Regulations and Types Phosphotransferase Systems: Regulations and Types Abstract Not a single specific class of antimicrobial agent during the past few decades has yet been discovered leading to development of the new improved drugs for humans. Regardless of the enhanced existing class potency, the requirements for the new agents of anti-microbes continue. The purpose of this study was to explore the PTS system, its regulation and different PTS systems and to investigate catabolite repression and virulence factors in different bacteria especially Escherichia coli and it’s relation with the PTS system. Extensive literature was identified for this purpose to examine the ways through which the PTS system makes antimicrobials and antibiotics. For the discovery of new agents, the PTS or bacterial phosphotransferase system offer a possibility to offer new opportunities. This type of system offers an entry vehicle into the initiation of metabolism pathways and infecting bacteria for such agents. These agents are found to be active on both the sessile and growing forms and due to the eukaryotic lack of the counterparts of PTS these analogues are thought to be non-toxic for the animal host. INTRODUCTION Bacteria often live in inhospitable environments and numerous other bacteria are live in places with no oxygen. Hence, there options for generating the energy are limited. There are many clever ways developed by bacteria that may live off whatever is available and it tends to exploit these best advantage resources. In 1964 Kundig, Ghosh, and Roseman highlighted a novel system of sugar phosphorylation in one of the novel phosphorylating sugar system in Escherichia coli. It is a key transport system type which is exclusively found in the world of prokaryotes and the best-known group translocation system, a process in which an organic molecule such as glucose is transported to the cell while being chemically modified. The exclusive features of this phosphotransferase system comprise of phosphoenolpyvate (PEP) as the phosphoryl donor for phosphorylating sugar and the three vital catalytic entities present termed as Enzyme II, Enzyme I, and heat-stable, histidine-phosphorylatable protein HPr. The PTS system is responsible for the transport of sugar across the membranes of the bacteria as per the subsequent reaction: PEP (in) + carbohydrate (out) – pyruvate(in) + carbohydrate –phosphate (in) The system of phosphotransferase is often catalyzed by the concomitant sugars phosphorylation as well as hexitols and it usually regulates the response mechanisms dependant on the carbohydrate availability (Postma, et al.1993). It is a very complex system as it often acts as an environmental sensor and therefore requires performance of a numerous functions to sense and successfully delivering a desirable carbohydrate. Typical bacterial cells make many similar transporters that all stand ready to import whatever sugars are available. A complex regulatory network makes a decision which transporters are switched on and used at any given time. The PTS is also a very energy-efficient system when compared to the other transport systems in the cell. Many transporters use ATP to power the import of nutrients, but PTS uses a molecule of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP-one of the intermediates in glycolysis) instead, to power the PTS reaction and provide the phosphate. This pre-phosphorylation of sugars primes them for entry into the energy production pathways (Kotrba, et al. 2001). In E.coli the PTS system is made up of two general cytoplasmic proteins: Enzyme I and a heat-stable protein (HPr). Both participate in transport of all PTS carbohydrates. The substrate-specific protein – Enzyme II consists of three functional domains: IIA, IIB (cytoplasmic and hydrophilic) and IIC (membrane-bound and hydrophobic) (Prescott, 2002). The Enzyme II domains are specific only for one or a few carbohydrates (Postma, et al 1993). However, in the PTS fructose transport of E. coli Enzyme I and HPr are fused together with central M domain and it is specific for this particular transport only (Reizer Saier, 1997). Figure 1 represents the constituents of the PTS system. Figure 1. Components of the bacterial PTS system: phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), Enzyme I (EI), heat-stable protein (HPr), and Enzyme II (EIIA, EIIB, EIIC). Figure illustrates two examples of the PTS system in E. coli: glucose-specific and mannitol-specific. In this project I would like to present a review of literature on the PTS structure, role and regulation. I would like to show the connection between virulence and the phosphotransferase system in different bacteria and finally to examine the ways in which we can use the PTS system to create new antimicrobials and antibiotics without targeting the commensal organisms within the host. PTS structure Enzyme I Enzyme I (EI) is one of the two universal compounds at the entry point of the PEP-dependent sugar phosphotransferase system. The EI monomer consists of three structurally independent domains which are separated by long linkers (Fig. 2): N-terminal protein-resistant region (EIN) and the PEP-binding C-terminal domain (EIC) and linker helix that separates them (Margques et al, 2006). The N-terminal region is responsible binds HPr,and the C-terminal region which consists of the initial acceptor of the phosphoryl group (His-190) which binds PEP (Oberholzer et al, 2005). EI can appear as a monomer and a dimer (EI-P) but only a dimeric form can be phosphorylated (Chauvin et al 1994). It has been recently shown that magnesium and PEP influence both forms of EI but it remains unclear how a change from monomer to dimer activates an ability of EI to autophosphorylate (Patel et al 2006). Experiments on gel filtration showed that EIN which does not dimerize lacks a PEP-binding site but is still able to accept phosphaote from HPr in reversible phosphorylation (Chauvin et al 1996). Figure 2. Diagram of the Enzyme I model showing N- and C terminal domains with linker helix (Marques ate al, 2006). EI catalyses the first step in the PTS cascade. The activity levels of EI will determine the phosphorylation state of all PTS components, therefore it plays a key role in regulatory functions of PTS (Patel et al 2006). Low molecular heat-stable protein (HPr) HPr (histidine containing phosphocarier protein) is a single-domain cytoplasmic protein with molecular mass of 9kDa. Its main function is to accept the phosphoryl group from EI. Recently it has also been found that HPr acts as a intermediate in the signaling cascade that regulates transcription of genes which are related to the carbohydrate-response system. Those functions both involve reactions of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, but at a different sites (Maurer et al 2001). The structure and function of HPr has been studied in the wide range of organisms. It was purified, inter alia, from: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus lactis, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus pyogenes. HPr consists of four-stranded antiparallel B-sheet and L-helixes (two long and one short) set at one side of B-sheet (Fig.3). Interestingly the amino acid sequence in HPr protein differs among the species however, it shows similarity in secondary-structure elements and its tertiary fold (Hahmann et al, 1998). Figure 3. Structure of the HPr by Feng et al, 2001. Enzyme II complexes Enzyme II complexes are specific to one or few carbohydrates and consist of two hydrophllic domains: IIA and IIB, and one membrane-bound hydrophilic domain IIC. All three domains can be fused together in a single polypeptide chain or exist as two or three chains that interact with each other (Saier Reizer 1992). The first EII domain that was described was the II Man complex in E. coli which was later illustrated as EIIA and EIIB (Kundig Roseman, 1971). IIA domain carries the first permease-specific phosphorylation site and becomes phosphortlated on anhistidine residue by HPr. Domains IIA and IIB are similar in size and usually consists of 100-160 amino acids residues. IIC domain can form 6-8 transmembrane helixes and has around 350 residues (Kotrba et al 2001). The phosphoryl group is transferred from IIA to histidine or cysteine residue on IIB domain, depending on the carbohydrate transported. The third domain IIC is a substrate- specific site that develops a translocation channel for the sugar to be taken up through the membrane. Some specific transporters, like Mannose family in E.coli, possess another membrane-bound protein IID(ebi.ac.uk many references) Recognition of specific carbohydrate by IIC is not fully understood, yet. Although it is known that a certain motif, [Gn]-[Iv]-[Tsn]- E, plays a role in sugar identification. This highly conserved motif is shared among the IIE families and is located in the loop which is faced towards exterior of the cell and may be a part of the sugar-binding site (Robillard Bross 1999). Also, a glutamate residue located in the most conserved part of IIC GITE sequence (Chang et al 2005) is involved in phosphoryl transfer to the bound sugar ( Lengeler et al 1990). Families of PTS Enzyme II A bacterial cell may contain many PTS EII complexes, each exclusive to a different sugar. Most of those complexes share a number of characteristics: three domains IIA, IIB and IIC organized as free or fused structures which can be coupled by linkers and/or arranged in a different order (Lengeler, 1990). Four superfamilies have been described according to the evolutionary status (Saier et al., 2005): Glucose-Fructose-Lactose (Glu-Fru-Lac); L-ascorbate D-galactitol (Asc-Gat); Mannose (Man); Dihydroxyacetone (Dha). The Glu-Fru-Lac and Man super families are well-described. They are well incorporated with the PTS and are not able to transport carbohydrates by any other mechanism (Saier et al., 2005). D-Fructose is the only sugar that is taken into glycolysis reaction without rearranging its carbon backbone. Many bacteria lack other permeases but most possess fructose-specific PTS permease. It has been proposed that D-fructose was ubiquitous and specific to primeval organisms (Saier, 1977). In E .coli the multiphosphoryl transfer proteins (MTPs) were found in fructose-specific EI-like and HPr-like domains. MTPs are domains that display homology to modular proteins encoded by genes of some proteobacteria (Reizer Saier, 1997). The IIA Fru-like domain with central M domain of unknown function, phosphorylates IIB domain which is fused with another IIBC domain (Kotrba et al., 2001). It is the only example of protein with two IIB domains fused with IIC. In glucose permease of E. coli, EIIGlc contains protein IIA Glu encoded by crr gene and the IIB Glu encoded by pts gene. EIIA phosphorylates EIIB at a cysteine residue which is fused to EIIC through a linker (Postma et al., 1993). Other superfamilies like Asc-Gat have been characterized from genetic and biochemical view fairly recently (Nobelman Lengeler, 1996; Hvorupet al., 2003) and can act as secondary carriers depending on their specificity. Enzyme II complex of DHA family displays some similar mechanical characteristics to ATP-dependent precursor and PEP- dependent complex. Role of the PTS in chemotaxis Phosphotransferase system is well known of its ability to perform many different functions (Table 1). The role of PTS in chemotaxis has been described in 1974 by Alder and Epstein. They studied glucose transporter as chemoreceptor by using mutants lacking galactose binding protein. Mutants lacking EII glu but not EII Man did not move towards D-glucose and mutants lacking EII Man not EII Glu carried out movement with the specificity for D-mannosamine. Therefore, enzymes II work as recognition elements for specific chemoreceptors however the exact interaction between PTS and receptor-mediated signal remains unclear. Table 1. Functions of the PTS. In E. coli and many other bacteria, sensory centre is composed of chemoreceptors: kinase CheA and n adapter protein CheW that are organized in group which increase the signal through communication between those protein. Studies in vivi showed that signal from PTS is sent directly to the chempreceptors ChA and CheW through mediated interactions of EI and perhaps EIIA Glu (Neumann et al., 2012). The participation of EI and EIIA Glu in chemotaxis is reflects the importance of those components in other functions. The phosphorylation status of EI is associated with the rate of uptake of sugars. Phosphorylation of EIIA Glu is affected by the uptake of other sugars, not only glucose, maltose and trehalose because of the reversible reactions that occur within the PTS (Lengeler Jahreis, 2009). Regulation of PTS sugar uptake Thursday 20/03 3.1 Inducer exclusion and catabolite repression in E. coli 3.2 Global regulation of CCR 3.3 CCR and inducer exclusion in other bacteria Saturday 22/3 3.2 role and regulation by the EIIA Glu PTS protein in enteric bacteria 3.3 The Mlc transcription factor regulated by EIICBGlc in enteric bacteria 3.4 Regulation by HPr-Ser –P on low G+C Gram positive bacteria Sunday 23/03 Carbon metabolism and virulence in bacteria 4.1 Enterobacteria – E. coli 4.2 Vibrio cholera 4.3 Klebsiella pneumonia 4.4 Clostridium difficile PTS as a potential target for drug therapy Conclusion References (124)

IMF, World Bank And Africa Essay -- Economics Banks African Essays

IMF, World Bank And Africa An avid viewer of television has seen the commercials portraying shortages of food and mass starvation in Africa. Yet in these times of relative prosperity, little is heard of Africa’s debt problem. Although the total debt of all African countries combined is small in comparison to that of the United States, millions of people suffer as a result. However, it is not until these countries have difficulty repaying their loans that the international community begins to take notice. Many African countries are currently in such debt that all new loans are used to repay old loans in a attempt to salvage any credit rating a country might have (George, 13). Because many banks, particularly in the United states, have invested as much as 100 percent of their shareholder’s equity in these less developed countries (LDCs), the chances of a country defaulting on a loan sends tremors through the economic world (George, 39). Eventually the countries are recognized as a poor credit risk and can no longer get loans. This is where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank come into the picture. The structural adjustment programs of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have had greater negative effects than positive on the African countries that have adopted them. This essay will examine the adjustment programs themselves and the political, social and economic effects adjustment programs have had on the countries that have accepted them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The IMF began as an organization whose purpose was to encourage international trade and discourage protectionism while assisting in the â€Å"correction of balance payments disequilibria† for those countries who required short-term assistance (World Bank, 7). The World Bank’s sister organization, the IMF, attempts to promote economic growth in certain countries through loans granted for specific development projects. Membership in the World Bank requires membership in the IMF. Recently the two organizations have been acting in concert and often institute very similar policies. Members of the IMF are designated a yearly quota according to their economic standing, and are required to put down an initial percentage in gold, the remainder of which is payable in domestic currency. The LDC is allowed to draw on this quota and even surpass it providing that it agrees to certain go... ...arnounis, Chris C. The Debt Dilema of Developing Nations. West Port: Ovoum Books. 1984 George, Susan. A Fate Worst than Debt. New York: Grove Press. 1998 Harsch, Ernest. â€Å"After Adjustment†. Africa Report. 34(May) 1989 Hodd, Micheal. Africa, the IMF and the World Bank†. African Affairs. 1987 Korner, Peter and Gero Maass. The IMF and the Crisis: A Guide to the Third World. New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd. 1984 Kronsten, Gregory. â€Å"The IMF in Africa: Factor of stability or Unrest?†. The World Today. 1987 Lawrence, Peter .ed. World Recession & The Food Crises In Africa. London, 1986 Mittleman, James H. and Donald Will. â€Å"The International Monetary Fund, State Autonomy and Human Rights†. Africa Today. 1987 Nowzad, Bahram .ed. The Macroeconomics Effects of Fund-Supported Adjustment Programs†. International Monetary Fund Staff. Washington D.C. 1990 Prendergast, John. â€Å"Blood Money for Sudan: The World Bank and the IMF to the Rescue†. Africa Today. 1989. The World Bank: Questions and Answers. Washington D.C. The World Bank. 1976. The World Bank Annual Report 1986. Washington D.C. The World Bank. 1986. http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/africa/wsfws/3_1imf.html

Environmentally Safe Ethanol :: Environment, natural resources, fossil fuels

Environmentally Safe Ethanol In order to fund conservation of the natural environment, the federal government should increase gasoline tax by one dollar per gallon. How does this statement make you feel? Does it make you want to argue about how unfair this is, especially when gas prices are climbing to higher and higher rates? Would you say that this is an unfair claim because it is unclear where your tax money would go? I agree. This plan seems to have a good general idea, but there are details left out. I think the first priority should be to sort out where these extra resources would be used. It seems too vague to fund conservation of the natural environment. There are so many ways that this tax could benefit natural resources. When I was trying to decide on how to narrow this claim to more specific terms, I started to think about what kind of environmental problems affect me the most. The first word that came to mind was pollution. There are many parameters for a suitable environment for life. These include temperature, pressure, salinity, acidity, water and good oxygen content. Any type of air pollution could dissolve these parameters. It seemed that air pollution is such a large environmental problem that I knew my search should be narrowed. I chose to discuss pollution caused by cars because raising the gas tax and prices are part of my claim. I went to the Internet and ran a search for "car pollution," and found a large amount of information. It became even clearer to me that car pollution is a major problem for our environment. According to The Environmed Research Inc, driving a car is the most polluting act an average citizen commits (2001). Vehicle engines emit many types of pollutants into the air, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulates, sulfur dioxide and lead. All of these can pose environmental risks and health risks. Most of these pollutants rise from the engine. These emissions are related to the fuel type and the temperature of the fuel combustion. At low speeds, and when engines are at idle, the products of incomplete combustion dominate. When the speeds are heightened, however, impurities like nitrogen are oxidized to nitrogen dioxide, which creates pollution. All of the pollutants mentioned above are known as trace gases. Some of these trace gases can even release completely new gases into the atmosphere (Environmental Effects, 2001).

Catherine II :: essays research papers

"Women fell under her spell as well as men, for underlying her engaging femininity was a masculine strength which gave her the courage to present a bland and smiling mask in the face of the greatest tribulations." Sophia Augusta Frederica was born into a small Prussian kingdom in 1729. Her hometown was in Stettin, Germany. Her birth was a great disappointment to her parents, her father, Prince Christian August of Anhalt- Zerbst and her mother, Johanna Elizabeth, daughter of the prince of Holstein – Gottorp. Both parents had hoped for a son. After they did finally have a son, she was neglected even more. Although, when her parents discovered that she had a good memory, they encouraged her to study religion, history and geography. Besides learning, Sophia also became more interested in hunting and riding horses rather than what were considered more feminine past times and was somewhat of a tomboy. Throughout her life, her mother only spoke to her to criticize her. Her father cared very much for her, but was too engrossed with his military work to show her much affection. She spent much time with her governess who taught her to question everything and everybody and to trust her own common sense. Her guidance from her governess and her ability to be independent at a young age helped her to later become a strong leader. At a very young age, she wished to marry her second cousin, Peter Ulrich, who later changed his name to Peter Fyodorvich. Elizabeth I of Russia chose her to marry her son, Peter Fyodorvich. Catherine prepared for the role of czarina by studying the Russian language intently. Love played no role in her thoughts to marry Peter; Catherine was only interested in the throne. As a strict Lutheran, Catherine’s father was very unhappy about Catherine marrying a Russian Orthodox. Her father wrote her letters begging her not to abandon Lutheranism. Catherine was determined to gain the respect of the Russian orthodox, so when she became deathly ill, she called for a Russian orthodox priest instead of a Lutheran. She won the trust and sympathy of Russia. On June 28, 1744, Catherine was baptized into the Russian orthodox faith. The next day she and peter Fyodovich had an elaborate betrothal at the Cathedral of St. Sophia. She married Peter in August of1745, and their marriage was a disaster from the beginning. Peter was very immature and spent most of his time playing with toy soldiers. 2/1/952 "The marriage was a complete failure. The following eighteen years were filled with deception and humiliation for her." Peter hurt Catherine deeply when he told her of women in the court that he loved

A Roman Senator and the Ides of March

A Roman senator heard a rumor of an assassination attempt against Julius Caesar. There were two things in his mind: 1) if the assassination succeeded, should be declared legitimate by the Roman senate, and 2) assuming Julius Caesar is a power hungry tyrant, should the assassination a matter of public policy be endorsed by the Roman Senate.Now this senator approached the Great Forum to explain his views of Julius Caesar. In his mind, Caesar is a tyrant inclined to destroy the Roman aristocracy. Although Caesar conquered lands for Rome, it does not suffice to declare him â€Å"dictator for life.† In his thoughts, if Caesar was a true leader of the Roman world, he must learn to relinquish power when required by the state.The Roman senator approached one of the benches of the Roman Senate, and began to talk. He concealed his thoughts about Caesar in metaphors and ironies, offering the Senate both the opportunity to criticize Caesar (in the form of satire) and the chance not to be killed by Caesar. Now came the Ides of March: the day of Caesar’s assassination. A senator born from a noble Roman family, this senator decided to join Brutus and Cassius.Before the assassination, he argued that â€Å"killing Caesar should be thought off as an honorable duty to the state.† Only an assassination can save the Roman Republic from the sting of a new â€Å"kingship.† Then appeared flashes of Pompey in his mind: the true champion of the Roman Republic. The Ides of March to him was his greatest achievement; that is, the means to liberate the Roman world from the bonds of a tyrant.Work CitedGibbon, Edward. The Roman Republic. Ed. By Nero A. Saunders. London: London Publishing House, 1790/1967.

Internet Activities 9.1 and 10.2 Essay

1. What are the key benefits of implementing a supply chain solution such as SAP? The key benefits that any company would achieve from using systems typically like the SAP supply chain solutions include the following: †¢ A quicker response for changes occurring in the market †¢ Having higher margins than the competitors by saving on operational costs †¢ Transparency of information in the business which would lead to a smaller cash recover cycle †¢ Increased synchronization in the business and its operation. The business will be able to set it priorities in an organized fashion †¢ The ultimate result of using such systems would be an increase in the satisfaction of the customers as the system can provide for customization. †¢ The company will also be able to track and monitor the compliance of the company with the regulations in the markets it is operating in. In short the business is able to synchronize the supply of the company with the demand in the market, be more responsive to the changes in the market pertaining to price and supply/ demand fluctuations as well as have a reliable and efficient network which can monitor the supply chain 2. What are the likely challenges in implementing a supply chain solution? The biggest challenge faced by the company in implementing a supply chain solution is to integrate it with the existing business processes at the company. All business tend to be somewhat different in their operation and the business language, but when using a software solution for the supply chain, then the business processes relating to the supply chain activities have to be exactly the same as required by the software. Otherwise the business would have discrepancies existing between the supply chain activities and the supply chain reporting and records stored by the software. In this case the efficiency of the system and the process is sacrificed. Exercise 10. 2: 1. In what ways does Volkswagen’s website illustrate the characteristics of integrated marketing communications? The characteristics of an integrated marketing communication are that it is coherent, consistent, has continuity and is complementary. The website for Volkswagen shows that the different methods of communication like, getting a quote online, emailing the company, registering for a certified car, finding the nearest show room etc, all is integrated on the website and communicated to the customer. Similarly all the messages on the website about the uniqueness of the cars are not contradictory and therefore supporting consistency in communications. The WebPages are continues in their format and play on the same message again and again which is â€Å"when you are in a Volkswagen, it is in you†. The color scheming, the format of the WebPages and the messages and content displayed on the site supports each other and is complementary in nature 2. How does Volkswagen go beyond its own communications to create its unique identity? Volkswagen has been able to differentiate itself from its competitors by handing the design board over to the customer. Using the website the customers can design their own personalized VW and Beetle cars. This provides for extensive customization to the products. The company also invested in a transparent manufacturing plant in Dresden to show the customers how their automobiles are made. The company has also advanced in the R&D function by inviting customers to come to the factory and design the car they want. This interactive and two way communication through the website as well as on location has enabled the country to establish its unique spirit while going beyond the scopes of an automobile manufacturer. References 1. SAP Supply Chain Benefits, available at: http://www.marketing-online.co.uk/ch8.pdf

Managing High Performance Work Teams

Relationship to ManagementIn order to facilitate optimal efficiency in an organization, there are a lot of factors to consider first like the financial stability, economic and market stability, and internal stability. As for the scope of this paper, all of the discussion will give emphasis on the role of internal stability on the success of an organization.  Internal stability may originate on how well the key persons of an organization work with respect to one another, like for instance, the organizational structure or the type of managerial strategy that is being implemented by the management.Actually, there are two approaches in managing an organization namely: first, letting the employees to use their creativity in handling various situations concerning the company without the supervision from the top officials; and the existence of a manager to supervise and delegate task to the employees. From the said two management approaches, it is the former which is more efficient and ef fective especially if the employees has enough skills and responsible enough to handle various tasks concerning the entire organization. In this regard, the idea of High Performance Work Teams arises.High Performance Work Team is basically comprises of two or more individuals working together in order to attain specific goals or objectives (Barkman, 1993). Oftentimes, this type of groups works independently without the need of supervision coming from any of the top officials for they have enough skills and talents to almost handle the tasks of a manager. Moreover, this kind of group has the ability to perform at the highest level even for an extended period of time.Most of the organization nowadays uses High Performance Work Team in order to manage an organizational conflict which concerns various department of an organization or just to maintain and develop good working relationship among members. Just like what has been discussed a while ago, High Performance Work Team can almost take the place of a manager since the group can even handle the facilitation of meetings and develop goals and plans. This is how flexible High Performance Work Team is.On the other hand, effective leadership also plays a vital role for the attainment of harmonious working environment and relationship among the members of the organization (Bolen, 2001). Leaders are the one responsible for delegating the task and solicit ideas from its members and collaborating those ideas into a more efficient and effective ideas. It is also the leaders who take the initiative to influence its members to perform their responsibilities and the one responsible for motivating all the members of the organization.Furthermore, one of the qualities that a leader must posses would be the ability to determine long term opportunities in order to provide the organization sustainable development (Clark, 2007). In other words, a leader must visualize the future of the organization and do not just focus on what i s currently at hand in the short run. Short run goals are being handled by a manager but when it comes to visualizing the long term welfare of the organization it is the job of a leader.In this regard, it is clear that a leader and a great manager, may it be an individual or a group of people like High Performance Work Team, plays a vital role on the stability and success of the organization at present and in the near future. This is the reason why they are very important key person in the management team of an organization for they are the one who drives the entire organization towards the attainment of their set goals and objectives.Pioneer Sector/sActually both private and government sector already implements High Performance Work Team; but it is the private sector that pioneered High Performance Work Place General Electric, Kraft Foods and Exelon. In the U.S. alone, High Performance Work Team gain acceptance in the corporate world during the 1980s when Boeing, Digital Equipment Corporation [presently known as HP] among others, adopted the said managerial strategy.With the said implementation of High Performance Work Team to the said identified organization, there exist major changes happened especially in organizational culture and merging of the goals of the organization with the social needs of the individuals. In just a few years after High Performance Work Team was presented to the corporate world, it already reached quantum leap in business result in the entire key success dimension together with the customer, employee, shareholder and operational value added dimensions.On the other hand, there is no exact date when effective leadership was really started entering into the idealism of the corporate world. But one thing is for sure, it is not only in the private sector where effective leadership is being implemented, even in the government sector it is also being widely used.Successful Company through HPWTOne of the possible organizations that successf ully mastered High Performance Work Team will be the Kraft Foods. At present, Kraft Foods leads the industry of branded foods and beverages locally and internationally. With its strategy of exploring the international market during the years wherein the domestic market was already becoming saturated, Kraft Foods was able to boost its profitability and market influence.Moreover, in order to successfully penetrate their target market, Kraft Foods entered merging, buy other food companies in the industry, and make partnership with other food companies from other countries. This market entrance strategy works well so far for the company based on their market position and influence.Because of the diversity caused by the identified market entry strategy of Kraft Foods can hinder the attainment of optimal efficiency and effectiveness of the entire personnel of the company, the Kraft Foods executives resulted to implementing High Performance Work Team which was comprised by representatives from different departments of a given branch of Kraft Foods to resolve diversity conflict and simplify the organizational structure in such a way wherein all of the employees of the company can work in harmony with one another.Diversity related issues and complexity of the organizational structure of Kraft Foods caused inefficiency in executing various operational procedures and strategies of the company as well as the depreciation of the performance of every employee due to their diversity (findarticles.com, 2005) and (Hopkins, 2005). The reason why the members of the High Performance Work Team of Kraft Foods came from the different departments of the company was to be able to have equal representation of voices of various groups of individual working in the company so that at the end of the day, whatever the solution will the High Performance Work Team arrive every welfare and interest was put into consideration.True enough, by the start of 2005, the efficiency and effectiveness o f Kraft Foods improved which can be seen on the profitability level of the company and the fact rate of its expansion in the market which made the company among the top multinational companies around the globe. With the simplification of the organizational structure and solving the diversity related problems of the company through the use of High Performance Work Team, business transaction has been executed faster and the harmonious working relationship among the members of the company provide enough motivation for every employee to perform their task to their full potential.On the other hand, the CEO of Kraft Foods, Irene Rosenfeld, was able to provide the company sustainable growth by the time the domestic market started to become saturated to their product line and visualizes the entry of the company to the international market. In this regard, the effective leadership comes into the picture of Kraft Foods’ success for the past years.Not only this, Rosenfeld was able to sp ot the diversity related issue problem and immediately find a solution to the said organizational conflict which is one of the tasks of a leader for an effective leadership of its members. With the existence of Rosenfeld to Kraft Foods, there is no doubt that the company successfully implemented not only High Performance Work Team but also the Effective Leadership.ReferencesBolen, M. (2001). Effective Leadership. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1334Clark, D. (2007). Concepts of Leadership. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.htmlfindarticles.com (2005). Kraft Foods Announces Additional Simplification Initiatives. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://findarticles.com/?noadc=1

Earth Liberation Front Essay

With over 600 criminal acts resulting to more than $100 million in property damages, the Earth Liberation Front has been dubbed as the most active and destructive domestic terrorist group in the United States by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Unlike international terrorism, mostly carried out by Muslim radicals seeking â€Å"Holy War† with America, domestic terrorism falls under the category of special interest extremists according to the FBI, the lead agency in counterterrorism. Special interest extremists conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of society, including the general public, to change attitudes about issues considered important to their causes. These groups occupy the extreme fringes of animal rights, pro-life, environmental, antinuclear, and other movements (FBI, 1999, p. 20). The ELF conducts random economic sabotage by destroying facilities and industries involve in logging, genetic engineering, energy production and auto making to prevent the exploitation of the natural environment. The group believes that in order to preserve the earth’s ecological balance they have to tear down the U. S. capitalist economic system that continually abuses nature for profit. James F. Jarboe, FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, testified in 2002 before the U. S. congress describing the ELF as the top domestic terror group which could become a serious threat to nuclear sites. In 2005, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security branded ELF as the most aggressive terrorist element among the radical environmental movement. Members, who call themselves â€Å"Elves†, engage in a new brand of hostility named eco-terrorism. They are committed to defend their cause by all means necessary through direct actions and revolutionary violence. Due to the autonomous nature of the movement with no formal chain of command, law enforcement agencies admitted that they have difficulty in infiltrating the group despite several major arrests and indictments. The FBI alleged that William C. Rodgers was the leader of the group. He was arrested in December 2005 but committed suicide while in jail using a plastic bag. ELF’s base of operation is mainly located in Canada, United Kingdom, and United States. Origin: ELF originated in 1992 in Brighton, England devoted to protect and save the environment. It was established by a more radical group of activists known as Earth First who thinks that criminal acts like economic sabotage would better advanced its cause rather than legal protests. The name was derived from another movement Animal Liberation Front (ALF) who likewise use the same method in promoting their ideals of liberating the animals from abuse. The two organizations forged alliance in 1997 and have claimed more than 1,200 criminal acts causing over $100 million in property damages for the past 15 years. Members employ illegal direct actions by using arson in confronting companies and practices they see as abusive and immoral. With such tactic they hope to impose economic loss or cripple business operations. ELF surfaced in America in 1996 by burning a U. S. Forest Service truck in Oregon’s Willamette National Forest and spray-painted the building with anti-logging slogans. Since then, ELF continued attacking big businesses year after year becoming the most wanted terrorist group. The movement is funded by wealthy benefactors and other allied organizations sympathetic to its cause like the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Organization, Ideology and Tactics: ELF is an underground movement with a decentralize structure. It is a loose network of small groups or individuals who sympathize with the movement. Anyone can be a member as long as he or she simply follows the ELF’s guidelines: to inflict maximum economic damage on those profiting from the destruction and exploitation of the natural environment, to reveal to, and to educate the public about the atrocities committed against the earth and all species that populate it and to take all necessary precautions against harming life (Rosebraugh, 2004, p. 18). The group is practically invisible with no official members, leaders or spokesperson. In this manner, they can continue to freely fight for their cause without the fear of being imprisoned and this practice has been proven to be very effective. The group is rooted in an ideology that considers all living organisms on earth possess moral rights and deserve equal care as the humans. In addition, the ELF also believes in deep ecology favoring the rollback of civilization and restoring the environment damaged by selfish interests brought about by the industrial age. This philosophy maintains that modernization has created endless injustices on the planet that will lead to the destruction of human existence on earth and the extinction of wildlife habitat. ELF recognizes that the environmental movement has failed to bring the message across and brought about changes in preserving the environment. The legal protests did not catch the attention of the public and the government but instead laws have encouraged many big businesses to profit from the exploitation of the earth’s natural resources. Members of the group believe that it is within their rights to protect the environment and enforce the natural law. They accomplish their mission in many innovative tactics or techniques. Their primary weapon is arson burning various properties, research laboratories, vehicles, equipment, and buildings. They would use crude incendiary devices like candles that are attached to a plastic jugs filled with gasoline. They use booby trapped letters with poisoned razor blades and issue death threats to exploiters. Members also engage in vandalism by spray painting their targets as well as break windows and glue locks. In addition, the ELF advocates â€Å"monkeywrenching,† a euphemism for acts of sabotage and property destruction against industries and other entities perceived to be damaging to the natural environment. â€Å"Monkeywrenching† includes tree spiking, arson, sabotage of logging or construction equipment, and other types of property destruction (FBI, 2002,  ¶10). Their main goal is merely to channel public attention to their cause and not kill people. So far of all the criminal acts the group committed there has been no single human casualty reported. The group has become effective in their campaign while eluding authorities because of its leaderless resistance. Leaderless resistance is a technique by which terrorist groups can carry out violent acts while reducing the risk of infiltration by law enforcement elements. The basic principle of leaderless resistance is that there is no centralized authority or chain-of-command. The various cells are linked by shared ideology but otherwise are autonomous, for the most part unconnected and unknown to each other (Leader & Probst, 2004, p. 2). Before an attack is executed, the group plans carefully its every move. Members would thoroughly study the target with video and photo surveillance, conduct intelligence gathering, and research the industry. In 2001, the ELF came out with a handbook entitled Setting Fires with Electrical Timers: An Earth Liberation Front Guide. The 37-page manual details how to assemble an Old-Fashioned Kitchen Timer and a SCR Digital Timer complete with instructions, tips, diagrams, materials, and tools needed. It advises members on the rules of a successful arson, where to place incendiary devices, and fuel requirements to burn down a building. Currently, ELF has launched a nationwide campaign of arson against genetic engineering and genetically modified organism activities. The group believes that these actions, genetically alternating life forms, are types of oppression and destruction. In its Illegal Incidents Report: A 25 Year History of Illegal Activities by Eco and Animal Extremists, the Foundation for Medical Research in Washington, D. C. noted that both ELF and its partner ALF were responsible for 529 attacks against research facilities, universities, drug discovery companies, and various organizations from 1981 to 2005. The assaults were made up of vandalism (45%), theft (23%), harassment (15%), arson (10%), and bombing (7%). According to U. S. law enforcement, radical environmentalism currently poses the most visible homegrown threat to the national security of the United States. As recently as June 2004, the FBI designated â€Å"eco-terrorism†Ã¢â‚¬â€the use of or threat to use violence in protest of harm inflicted on animals and the world’s biosphere—as the country’s number one militant challenge emanating from inside its own borders (Chalk, Hoffman, Reville, & Kasupski, 2006, p. 47). Criminal Activities: This shadowy movement has unprecedented record of criminal activities that continuously threaten American society and democracy. Their history of violence expands across the U. S. hitting various institutions such as government, private citizens, education, and other forms of development. In 1997, ELF burned down the Bureau of Land Management horse corral in Oregon and on the following year set fire on a ski resort in Vail, Colorado that resulted in $12 million in damages. The group set seven separate fires destroying three buildings and damaging four chairlifts. The FBI considered this event as the most destructive act of eco-terrorism in U. S. history. In 1999, ELF radicals were involved in the burning of an 8,000 square-foot structure of the Boise Cascade logging company in Monmouth, Oregon and the destruction of the Agricultural Hall of the Michigan State University. In September 8, 2001, the group burned a McDonald outlet in Tucson causing $500,000 in damages. In 2003, this extremist set fire on a housing complex that was under construction in San Diego knocking down a five-storey building and a 100-foot crane. The damage was estimated at $50 million. Six weeks later, they burned three other houses that were being built within the area. In addition, the ELF assaulted three car dealers in Southern California setting ablaze 40 Hummers and SUVs amounting to $2 million in damages. The group vandalized the cars by painting the words â€Å"Fat Lazy Americans†. They did the same in Los Angeles where 125 sport utility vehicles were also vandalized and burned inside auto dealer shops and along the neighborhood. According to FBI investigations the ELF were responsible for attacking vehicle dealerships and construction sites. In February 2005, the group burned down a new Pinewoods apartment complex in Sutter Creek, California with an incendiary device leaving a graffiti that said â€Å"We Will Win – ELF†. Five months after, the same group torched two homes that were under construction in Whatcom County, Washington causing $100,000 in damages to the other house while the other one was destroyed. They also vandalized and damaged a number of construction equipment. The arson campaign went on in 2006 with the burning of more houses. In Camano Island, Washington, the ELF set fire on a 9,600 square foot trophy house worth $3 million. In its official communication made in 1997, the ELF declared their struggle to free all species in the planet. We are the burning rage of this dying planet. The war of greed ravages the earth and species die out every day. ELF works to speed up the collapse of industry, to scare the rich, and to undermine the foundations of the state. We embrace social and deep ecology as a practical resistance movement. We have to show the enemy that we are serious about defending what is sacred. Together we have teeth and claws to match our dreams. Our greatest weapons are imagination and the ability to strike when least expected (Pickering, 2007, p. 10). Operation Backfire: In response to the attacks, the FBI initiated in 2004 Operation Backfire intended to investigate acts of terrorism by the ELF. It put together several independent investigation bodies from the agency’s Portland, Oregon field office and rounded up suspected eco-terrorists. Seven people were arrested in four different states. They were Stanislas Meyerhoff, Chelsea Gerlach, Daniel McGowan, Darren Thurston, Kevin Tubbs, William Rodgers, and Kendall Tankersley. In addition, five others were taken into custody namely Jonathan Paul, Josephine Overaker, Rebecca Rubin, Suzanne Savoie and Joseph Dibee. Federal prosecutors together with U. S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales indicted in 2006 11 suspects with 65 counts of conspiracy charges to commit arson in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado and California. Many of those apprehended turned informants for the government. The arrests and indictments were the outcome of a nine-year old investigation on the series of arsons in America where the ELF claimed responsibility. The operation is on going around the country. Those participating in the investigation besides the FBI are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Eugene Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, the Oregon State Police, the U. S. Forest Service, the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Department of Justice and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. Some of those arrested have been convicted of the crime in U. S. Federal Courts. They are as follows: Stanislas Meyerhoff – 13 years, Kevin Tubbs – 12 years 7 months, Chelsea Gerlach – 9 years, Kendall Tankersley – 3 years 10 months, Suzanne Savoie – 4 years 3 months, Darren Thurston – 3 years 1 month, Daniel McGowan – 7 years, Jonathan Paul – Sentencing in abeyance, Joyanna Zacher – 7 years 8 months and Nathan Block – 7 years 8 months (DOJ, 2007,  ¶4). Other suspects were released on bails while some were placed on restrictions pending their trial. A few decided to cooperate while the rest remain imprisoned. Operation backfire was highly criticized because of coercion and paid informants. Other sectors called the bold move unconstitutional but Atty. General Gonzales argued that such acts only constitute violent criminal activity, which may violate the right of every U. S. citizen. Conclusion Terrorist groups like the ELF are anti-progress and as long as development continues they will not stop their modus operandi in terrorizing the public and businesses, which already have incurred heavy losses. The scenario is extremely dangerous and alarming. It is imperative that authorities and intelligence organizations have to assess the threat and study the behavior of these terrorists who are becoming more advanced and knowledgeable in their strategies. There is a need for effective counterstrategies to detect and prevent acts of terror at the same time proper allocation of resources in order to efficiently combat these adversaries. As a loose organization, ELF could become even more dangerous because its members do not follow any rules. The group constantly poses great risk to the country’s democracy, endangers American lives and undermines the constitution that guarantees protection to the citizens. There is also possibility that such group could turn violence as a way of life and spread its corrupt ideals to the younger generation, which is already affected by media violence. For the government to combat this kind of domestic terrorism, it has to take more proactive actions in preventing further destructions to the economy. While doing so, its programs should remain within the framework of freedom without violating one’s constitutional rights. Authorities must strengthen their intelligence network to prevent arson attacks. Though the ELF has its right to voice their concerns, they must be contained and stopped immediately. References FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). (1999). Terrorism in the United States 1999. Counterterrorism. 30 Years of Terrorism: A Special Retrospective Edition. Threat Assessment and Warning Unit Counterterrorism Division. Report. Federal Bureau of Investigation Rosebraugh, C. (2004). Burning Rage of a Dying Planet (P): Speaking for the Earth Liberation. Lantern Books, New York. Leader, S. H. & Probst, P. (2004). The Earth Liberation Front and Environmental Terrorism. Retrieved December 2, 2007, from http://cjc. delaware. gov/PDF/ELF%20ALF%20article. pdf Chalk, P. (2006). Trends in Terrorism: Threats to the United States and the Future of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. RAND monograph series. RAND Center for Terrorism Risk Management Policy. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. ISBN: 0833038222 Pickering, L. J. (2007). Earth Liberation Front 1997-2002. Arissa Media Group; 2nd ed. , New York. FBI. (2002). Testimony of James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI Before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. http://www. fbi. gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202. htm DOJ (Department of Justice). (2007). Final Sentencing Hearing Held in Case of Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front for Acts of Eco-Terrorism in Five Western States. Press Release. Retrieved December 2, 2007, from http://portland. fbi. gov/dojpressrel/2007/elfsentencing080307. htm