The Complete Persepolis and The Sand Child Essay

The Complete Persepolis and The Sand Child - Essay Example In comparison to the first book of Tahar Ben Jelloun’s trilogy, The Sand Child, it talks about the story of a young girl, Zahra, who is raised as a man, Ahmed. As her father’s eagerness to have a son as his heir arises, it has been decided that the 8th kid will be a son. Zahra’s identity crisis emerges since her early years when the natural emotions of a girl come into surface. As she conceals her true identity in accordance to her father’s image, a tyrant figure, she becomes distorted as she realizes and enjoys the advantages of being a man but at the same time empathizes with the society’s cruelty to women – her true identity. This paper compares and contrasts the most important theme in the two novels – identity. In Search of Identity Marjane, being a daughter to liberal parents, grows up as someone who thinks outside the box. In the early part of the first book, The Story of a Childhood, she has conversations with an imaginary frie nd that looks like God and tells him that she would be the ‘last prophet.† She announces one day in school that she would be it but all laugh at her and her parents have been Last Name 3 summoned to discuss the incident. Her parents instantly defend her to her teachers. In this scene, it will be noticed that Marjane’s parents do not succumb to the Islamic doctrine, which gives a good background on Marjane’s character and defines their family as modern. ... As a result, she rebels on the deeply-rooted Islamic society and professes herself of being different. It is explained that she wears her veil sideways with her sneakers on, giving a punk image, which makes the Guardians of the Revolution question her. â€Å"The reason for my shame and for the Revolution is the same: the difference between social classes. (Persepolis, 33) In this quote, Marjane rebels on the idealism of her parent’s political stance and the reality of their social class. She realizes the class divisions at a very early age when she discovers that Mehri, her maid, cannot be with the man she in in love with due to their class difference. She feels a great deal of disagreement in herself from this fact, which affects makes her identity revolt from the class conflicts. Marjane’s life is a study of inconsistencies and contradictions. She is torn between her â€Å"avant garde† lifestyle and her family’s loyalty to their motherland and everythin g it entails. Her parents have been fighting for the poor for the longest time and yet they also have been holding on to their class distinction. She strongly defines herself as someone born in a religious heritage yet her family is secular. These contradictions during her coming of age make her feel a sense of disenfranchisement from the only land she knows. As the story progresses, Marjane finds her identity in the midst of all political chaos. As she continuously enjoys the privileges of her Last Name 4 family’s she finds herself in rebellion towards those fanatics of the current Shah regime. She hits her principal for trying to take her jewelry from her and proclaims the truth behind the lies her professor is professing to her

Men and Women in Business Society Essay Example for Free

Men and Women in Business Society Essay It is said that in nowadays we live in a modern and developing world where people have unlimited opportunities for development.Widely supported statement is the one which says that the individual success fully depends on the individual abilities and skills.Although it is true,still there are some prejudices which reflect on us and our choice.In our more tolerant community(compared to the past) discrimination is unacceptable but unfortunatelly it still exists. More particularly we will pay attention to one popular belief in the sphere of business according to which men are better leaders than women. Where does this statement come from?What are the differences between businessmen and businesswomen?We will compare men and women in the business society and we will try to find out the truth. It is not a secret that men and women have some significant misunderstandings in their way of thinking and character. As it is said-Men are from Mars and Women from Venus. But lets take a closer look at what exactly show the surveys and statistics.According to them in tensed situations men are more cold-blooded while women are subordinated to emotions.Women are more insecure and prefer to do the things on their own,while men would rather give the task to someone else.That is why because unlike women,men feel comfortable giving orders to other people.Men prefer using competition to cooperation,in the contrary women prefer cooperation to competition because women really appreciate their social contacts on their working place.In difficult moment men accept that obstacle as ‘’problem-solution’’while women-‘’situation-reaction’’.For men taking risks is a question of profits. They ask themselves-‘’What will I win taking this risk?’’For women taking risks is a question of sacrifice or ‘’What is the price of this risk?’’, ‘’What will I have to sacrifice taking it?’’Women accept success as happy concurrence of circumstances while men in case of success take merit to themselves. From all mentioned above we come to a conclusion that women are more emotional and they pay more attention to their feelings-Business as a game of interests does not tolerate such behavior. That is why the sensibility of women and their subordination to criticism are perceived as disadvantage. In spite of all statistics and statements of psychologists my personal opinion is that we do not have to make a difference between a man and a woman. In spite of all supporting the thesis that men are better business leaders we-women know that the best way, in which men can obey to the women, is to remain them to belive that they are the leaders.So weather men are better business leaders or we women let them(in purpose) believe so is still a question with no answer.

The Hilton Hotel, Heathrow

The Hilton Hotel, Heathrow the objective of this assignment to shows the how the organisations in hospitality use the marketing strategies. This assignment presenting evaluation of the marketing introduction about Hilton Heathrow hotel, their loyalty programme, their public relations, e-marketing, viral and guerrilla marketing, segmentation marketing, network and customer relationship marketing strategies porters five forces. Definition of marketing as following: According to Philip Kotler:- marketing strategies are the combinations of all important marketing goals into a comprehensive plans, it should be from marketing research and its centre of attention should be right marketing mix to achieve maximum profit and sustainability for the organisation. Hilton Hotel and resorts is a Hospitality industry founded by Conrad Hilton in 1919 in Cisco, Texas (U.S) and has 540 hotels in 78 countries. Its first brand was opened in Business travel and leisure travel are the two marketing emphasis the company is focusing on. Hilton Hotel and Resorts are mostly located in city centres, near airports etc for the easy access for the customers. This assignment is on Hilton Hotel (HHonours) near Heathrow Airport; within Heathrow area they have three branches. Easy access from all terminals Heathrow central and terminal 5. It has partnership with different airlines and car rental companies. It just 6 minutes walk away from T4 and 10 minutes away by courtesy shuttle bus from T5. Hilton London Heathrow Airport hotel Exterior (http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-heathrow-airport-LHRAPTW/index.html) Marketing: marketing strategy plays a vital role to success for business. Marketing in Hospitality industry is one of the main elements to increase profits and success of the business and it is playing very important role in hospitality. It helps the organisation to get success through understand their customers, what they want, their needs; priorities and demand from the organisation and what are their expectation level from customer service point of view, leisure and infrastructure etc. It is really easy these days through internet. The organisation can also put surveys on internet, blogs, websites, social media, etc. For example Hilton hotel is available on face book where anyone can like, comment and post their views and also customers can check their updates, offers etc. http://xzamcorp.com/quality-blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Facebook-Hilton-Hotels-Resorts.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/hilton) Marketing Mix Marketing mix is a mixture of four fundamentals product, price, place and promotion. That actions used to satisfy the wants of an organisations target market and at the same time achieve its marketing objectives. (Stanton) 1994. http://www.marketingteacher.com/image/content/mmix.gif Product- this feature of marketing mix is including planning, developing and producing the right category of products and services in the market by an organisation. In short words what is the quality of the product, size of the product? How is it looks like, design of the product, value of the product, about packaging, testing and range etc? At Hilton Heathrow hotel they have swimming pool, twenty four hour fitness centre then for relaxation they have sauna bath and steam room and beauty salon as well. They have artificial beach terrace. They have contemporary spacious room, executive lounge, executive rooms and suites. Hilton is the foremost globally friendliness company spanning the housing sector from luxurious full services to extended stay suites hotel. They mostly attract to business people as a luxurious hotel in the market. Price- To fix a right price of product is a most difficult task. Price of the product should be reasonable and affordable so organisation can sell their product easily and successfully in the market. There are lots of steps between set the right price for example: determination of unit price of the product, pricing policies and strategies, discounts, credits, cost, terms of delivery, payment, competitive price credit policy etc. Hilton hotel is quite expensive and luxurious hotel, their prices are high but still flexible according to the seasons. They give some discounts on special occasions. Place- It is called distribution channels, storage and warehousing, coverage channel, inventory management, selection channel, distribution logistics etc. Management of organisation is responsible to choose and deal with distribution channels so customers can get the product at right place at right time. They should develop physical distribution. Wholesalers and retailers are most important channels which are used for physical distribution of goods. Hilton hotel is near London Heathrow airport which is only give direct acees to the terminal 4 airport by walk and shuttle bus to terminal 5. This hotel offers fully equipped business centre of 2,590 square metre banquet hall for special events. Business conference for up to 300 guests of 30 meetings rooms. Promotion- the fourth p is promotion it does include determination about direct marketing, sales promotion, advertisements, publicity, exhibitions, public relations activity etc. Most important tools are advertisements and sales promotion which are used to promote the sale of products of organisations. The best way for advertising strategy, organisation should recognise the competitors what are they providing additional to customers. This will help to an organisation to do improvements into their values and to set marketing strategy. Promotional activities are free distribution of sample of product, contests etc. These types of tools are expressive which does help to beat the competition in the market to organisation. Advertisements are used to communicate and pass the information to customers and consumers about the features of product through television, internet, newspapers and magazines, radio, billboards, banners and posters etc. Limitations Doing advertisements or promotion is expensive tool but there is lots of advertisements on the television and internet so people can get fed up thats why mostly people ignore the advertisements on television they just skip the channels when the advertisements comes in front of them. Some people do not read the advertisements on newspapers and magazines. Now a days Hilton Heathrow hotel doing promotion by giving offer to customers because Christmas coming they are giving offer to celebrate Christmas at Heathrow with their attractive cuisine and enjoyment traditional or bollywood themed parties. Their coordinator will do the help to customer to organise party for superb occasion. At Hilton hotel in terms of the marketing mix model definitely the people, process and physical evidence are very important components of the marketing mix for service providers such as hotels. Marketing strategy to use by Hilton hotels as following: They give 20% off on advance booking on their best available rate. They do offer bed and breakfast on the weekend package. They give 1000 reasons to customers to love Hilton and earn thousands points on every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night stay. They are offering for Christmas party at Heathrow They are providing exclusive airport parking packages for up to 8 to 15 days. So customer can enjoy hassle free on their door step parking at London Heathrow airport Branding- branding is a unique name and identity of the company. It is a procedure of mark and stamp to the product with identify look, design and logo etc. So customers and consumers can get idea about the features of product from the name, look, logo, mark and design. Brand name or design should be attractive, which can attract to the customers. From brand name customers can recognise the product. When they give a symbol or name to the product organisation should always keep in mind there is lots of competitor in the market. Brand should be like that which is no one can copy it easily. Hilton hotel have very unique name. Hilton Hhonors have ten different brand which are as following: Waldorf Astoria hotels and resorts, Conrad hotels and resorts, Double tree inn, Embassy suites, Hilton garden inn, Hampton, Homewood suites, Hilton grand vacation and home 2 suites by Hilton. They have every type of hotel for example budget hotel luxurious hotel, business hotel etc. Customers can get know from the name about hotel for example Hilton hotels and resorts are quite luxurious and business class hotel. It is expensive. Customer loyalty- it is about to encourage the customer, attract towards brand, buy the product often and in extra amount. It is about satisfaction level of customers, confidence, and their needs and wants. Organisation should build relationship with customers using e-market via email, messaging on mobile phones, so customers can stay keep in touch with them. Organisation should give points to the customers on loyalty cards. They should show to customers to care for them what are their choices and what they do not want. Hilton hotel they have point system to attract the customers and encourage to stay with them. They have guest loyalty programme and they have membership level as following blue, silver, gold and diamond. First of all blue, which is just for enrolling. Second one is silver which is for four stays at hotel and 10 nights and then they have gold 36 nights or 16 stays and 60000 base points and the last one they have gold for 60 nights, 28 stays and 100000 base points. Customers can earn points on all their different brands in 91 countries and at nearly 3900 hotels. They can earn bonus points at airline for the same hotel stay. Customers can use their points on hotel stays, buying and receiving, on travel and transport, exchange with family and friends at dining. Customers can donate their points to supporting charities for non profit. Network and customer relationships marketing strategies- networking is an important factor for an organisation. Stakeholders and employees with employers and staff of an organisation should inter connect with each other. Marketing take place in public relationship. For an organisation should have good and strong relation with society to fight the competition in the market. They should build strong network into the market with stakeholders. Now a days every organisation have customer care department to sort out the problems of customers and they have call centres as well as they have online customer care facility via internet so customers can call them or email them regarding their problems. In an organisation network and customer relationship is how does effective staff deals with customers and employers with employees. Hilton hotels have network and customer relationship strategy to using point system and social media. Customers can earn points with them and they can use their points on lots of things with them on travel transports etc. They are using digital technology for example electronic media Customers can stay keep in touch with them using social media. Hilton Hotel Company appreciates the value of its staff and uses internal marketing to retain them and make them feel valued. At the Hilton organisation management realises that the companys team member added value and quality to the business. In fact it is the people working for the organisation that makes the Hilton hotels corporation such an international success. A hotel is an actual physical product, but a lot of the experience of visiting a hotel relates to the service offered by its staff to the customers. At Hilton hotel organisation management realises that staff treat customers with about same degree of respect as they themselves are treated by their employers. If staff are not treated and valued well they in turn will not respect or treat customers very well. Obviously this is very bad for an organisation. The Hilton hotel corporation invests a lot of time and money in its staff. It takes training and staff development very seriously. It involves staff in all aspects of it s marketing plans and strategy so that everyone knows what is going on and how they make contribution. Organisation gives rewards to its staff for effort with awards and promotion. It includes its staff by allowing them access to extranet which is also share with its business partners. Management offers a comprehensive befits packages to its staff, including: medical, dental and vision care coverage, life accident and disability insurance, the Hilton stock purchase plan, the flexible work arrangement. Other benefits including vacation and holiday pay plus and special privileges when staff stays at Hilton hotels. At the Hilton group management really try to retain good staff and do everything possible to make working for the Hilton hotel organisation rewarding and satisfying experience. Marketing communication activities and strategies-marketing communication is a way which is used by an organisation to change the behaviour of stakeholders towards product. They present to product into the market in such way, people can get information about the product from designing, promotion, exhibitions, advertisements, newspapers, magazines, mobile phone marketing etc. Marketing communication can be develop by direct marketing and indirect marketing. Personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, public relations these are all marketing communication. Those all tools are used for communication about product, which tells to public about the features of product. Organisation use marketing communication to achieve the market objectives and target sales. Communication is messages between one person to other person and in marketing it is between seller and buyer. With Hilton hotel customers can stay keep in touch with them using social media. E-marketing- e-marketing is an internet marketing, which is also called as an online marketing, web-marketing. Now a days every organisation use electronic technology for advertisements to gain the objectives. Technology plays a vital role for an organisation such computer based technology. Organisation create their websites, they send information about products online. Internet offers unique opportunities for organisation and customers to communicate with each others. It is a good way to build relationship with each other. Companies do promotion by direct email, advertisements on internet, by text messaging on mobile phones as well. People can know about the organisations and their manufactured goods to visit on their websites through internet. Organisation can do advertisements through social media for example: face book, twitter etc. On other hand some people do not trust on online information. These types of people prefer to go to the organisation personally so they can get information about the product from someone face to face. Hilton hotels and resorts have their own website so people can get easy access with them using internet. They have join in option on their webpage so people can create their account over there. Hilton hotels have account on face book as well so people can follow them using social media. They do their updates on their website and on social media regarding their discounts, offers, whats new at hotel etc. Thus people can get information through online using internet. Guerrilla marketing activities and strategies- this type of strategy is a weapon for marketers and it is not very expensive it is low cost strategy. Guerrilla marketing is a unusual methods of promotion. This type of marketing does not focus on sales just focus profits, on primary success. It does expect highest results from minimum resources. But sometimes these methods of marketing represent the false image of brand, which is not good to get success for an organisation and survive for long time in the future. Viral marketing- it is blog marketing, forum marketing, email marketing and article marketing. This type of marketing is passed from one person to another person for example messengers are used for viral marketing. Social media is the best way for viral marketing. People can join to Hilton hotel to create an account on their website so Hilton organisation can send them direct email regarding their products, promotions, discounts, new packages etc and they can follow them using facebook and tweeter as well. Public relationship strategies:-Public relation strategies are one of the promotional Mix (advertisement, personal selling, sales promotion, corporate image and Exhibition). According to Bill bernbach:- People cant believe you if they dont know what you are saying and they cant know what you are saying if they dont listen to you, and they wont listen to you if youre not interesting. Any news, planning, presentation, job advertisement etc organisation wants to give to public and any feedback organisation want from public different media such as speaker opportunities (conferences, seminars, public forums), trade show support (press appointments, private demos), public launch, magazines, newspaper, (articles, report), TV, internet, PR blogs (such as face book, twitter, online Pr) etc. Public relationship is a relationship of sharing information relation to organisation not only between organisation and customers; it is also with employees, staff, consumers, general public, competitors etc. Public relation plays a very important role and its essential to make public aware and up-to-date about new policies, procedures, jobs, vacancies etc. Hilton hotels to create public relation they promote their organisation through media news on the news papers, television, internet, magazines, articles etc. They share their information there. So people can know about them. Hilton global media centre users stand for 85 languages English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, and Japanese etc. Segmentation marketing: segmentation of marketing is a procedure which is focus on a group people whose have common expectations, needs and wants. Market segmentation is first action to apply the strategy of marketing. When segmentation applied, then organisation recognized the groups of customers with appropriate marketing mix so as to arrangement the product , brand, place, promotion, physical evidence and environment etc. Market segmentation aims at one or more homogeneous groups of customers and the marketers try to develop different marketing mix for each segment. The purpose of this segment is to satisfy them all. There may be different demands in different market segments. Marketers may produce higher sales in markets where they have monopolistic conditions by segmentation. The step towards developing a segmentation is to locate base for segmenting the market. There are different variables which are used for this purpose. The variables relates to consumer demographics, geographical, psychographic and behaviour. Bases of market segmentation as following: Geographic segmentation Demographic segmentation Psychographic segmentation Behavioural segmentation Value based segmentation Geographic segmentation- this segmentation focus on the area, the capital size, its majority whether town, city, or country and the (type of weather warm, cold, muggy, dry, windy) because it does matter a lot in segmenting the market on the basis of geographic segmentation. The most important benefit of this segmentation basis that is reflects physical location of the market. Demographic segmentation- it divides the marketplace on the base of period of time, era, gender, marital status, earnings, education, culture, family unit, family life cycle, profession, religious conviction and ethnic group. Demographics as a base for segmentation is working as a proxy for finding similarity in behavioural patterns. Psychographic segmentation- this base of segmentation is widely used by marketers. A persons life style, social class, cultural and personality rest at his mind. But this basic instinct can be tapped by marketers when they appeal for their products. However the geographical or psychographic segmentation is mind level. It might not click for marketers. Behavioural segmentation- here the geographical, demographical or psycho graphical boundaries do not approach jointly but become more relevant for marketing. The clients and customers are segmented on the base of their behaviour in the course of require inspiration, awareness, knowledge participation, attitudes, events, profit, user position, usage charge, loyalty rank and consumer willingness period. Behaviour segmentation is based on the consumer response to his requirements. Value based segmentation- the promotion idea prescribes that segmentation have to the result of competition connecting the goods quality and the needs or wants of the customers or clients. The marketers have to in actuality segmenting their clients so as to separate persons who give the for the most part to their profits. The marketers are required to compute total lifetime value of their customers and discount it to arrive at the net present value. Michael porters five forces: with porters five forces marketers can do strategic analysis of an organisation. They can find out the way how organisation attracts to different industries. Porters five forces does work as a guide to an organisation before enter to market. Michaels five forces are as following: Industry rivalry Power of buyer Power of supplier Threats of substitute Threats of new entry Industry rivalry- if enter into the market is very easy it means there is very high competition. Then customers can change their mind easily to go one from another. When competition is high in the market then there is not much difference into the products which are customers getting from the companies. All competitors using same strategies, and they have same sizes of product. If situations are like this as mentioned above then it is very hard to leave the industry for an organisation because they have been already spent lots of money. Hilton hotel has number of competitor near Heathrow which are as following Marriott hotel, Renaissance hotel, Ramada hotel, etc. They are also big organisations, but Hilton hotel has his own unique identity and popularity in the market as a luxurious hotel. Power of supplier- to get success for an organisation bargaining power of suppliers is a most important side. Supplier provides raw material to an organisation. If they are the only supplier for firm and there is no power of substitute of that raw material and there is no alternative option, they can refuse to provide raw material to an organisation. In that case supplier has much power. Power of buyers- customers can change their mind easily if they have another offer in same price and they go from one to another to get the product. Customers have the power to give pressure to the firm to change the price of product. Power of buyers come when there is not much difference between the product and they can get same product with low price. When customers buy the product they are very possessive about price of the product and they do comparison as well. Mostly business people, couples, and families are customers of Hilton hotel. Threats of substitute- if organisation provides such products which is already have in the market so there is threat of substitute is high. Because customers have another option. They can get another product. Threats of new entry- for an organisation to enter into new market are a bit risky because there are some barriers for entrance but for big organisation it is not much risky. When an organisation enters into the market looks at following points: do they earn profit or how fast, will government give them approval to do business, do they have enough supplier for outputs of their products. Recommendation As we know around Heathrow airport there lives mostly Asian community Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis etc. it is suggested to Hilton Heathrow hotel they should give them some discounts and offers on their special festivals and occasions. For example to Muslims on their special festival Eid they should offer them discounts on their parties. To Indians they should also give offers and discounts on their special occasion diwali like Christmas they offer special packages and discount for special event. Conclusion As everyone knows hospitality is a huge industry in the market and Hilton hotels have their own unique name and identity in the market. According to the above mentioned strategies in the assignment marketing mix, branding, loyalty programmes, network and customer relationship marketing strategy, marketing communication activities and strategy, e-marketing, public relations, guerrilla and viral marketing, marketing segmentation and Micheal porters five forces, which were applying to the Hilton hotel they are doing best things to beat the competitors and they are doing their promotion in best ways such as their loyalty programmes. Hilton hotel is a luxurious and expensive and they mostly attract to business people and families so mostly customers of Hilton hotels are business people, families, couples and this hotel doing everything to do their best in the market. They are using digital technologies for example electronic media according to the demand of modern era.

Superstitions speech -- essays research papers

I’m doing my speech on superstitions. Wulp wish me luck, break a leg, knock on wood. Superstitions, what are they and where did they come from? Are they true are they false or is there some sort of reasoning behind them? Or are they simply just a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. I mean †¦.. awww man (meeoow) there goes a black cat man talk about bad luck it just took off with any luck that I had, (gosh darn – click fingers well lets see if its true†¦Mrs Maslen whadda ya reckon am I gonna get an A for this or what? C’mon c’mon you can tell me. Damn you cat (shake fist meeooow). Where did that superstition come from? For heavens sake how pathetic is it! Anyways for most people these are simply old wives tales and silly misconstrued stories, happenings and events. But for others these are real, they believe every word of these. For centuries people have been fascinated by these superstitions. Superstitions have bewitched, bemused and befuddled the minds of millions, billions of innocent people. Because believing superstitions is simply showing ignorance and fear of the unknown. This is why so many people have fallen into the traps and beliefs that are superstitions, taboos. These superstitions have been deeply influential in history. You look back in history and you’ll find them 600, 700 back in time. To me superstitions are simply beliefs or practices with no rational substance to them, for instance, ok a bird, if a bird flies into the house it is a sign of death. Now in all honest...

Neural Tube Defects

Human birth defects, today, continues to be a highly investigated research. There remain many convoluted combination of genetic and environmental factors that can cause birth defects. While some conditions are easily repaired through surgery, neural tube defects (NTDs) present problems even after surgery. Many steps can be taken for the pregnant mother to prevent any chances of birth defects. There are two major ways of preventing NTD. First, a daily dose of folic acid is known to prevent NTD and other birth defects during pregnancy. Second, surgical in utero, or â€Å"in the uterus†, repair of NTD improves the chances of patient mortality (Finnel et. al, 2013). Despite of medical and technological advances, we know very little about how folic acid acts on NTDs. And as previously mentioned, even after surgical repair, the chances of a successful or normal birth are unknown. This research paper investigates the role of folic acid and its role in neural tube defects. We discuss recent research to find our answers. Overview of embryology and NTDs. Neural tube defects are often developed during early embryonic development. During embryogenesis, the defects arise when the flat sheet of cells that rolls up but does not close shut to form a hollow central nervous system. There are two common conditions: NTDs that are restricted to the cranial region are referred to as anencephaly. It is characterized by failure of the rostral (head) portion of the neural tube to close. This result in an absence of thee brain, skull, and scalp. Defects that occur along the audal, or tail end, of the neural tube are called spinal bifida. More commonly occurring than anencephaly, spinal bifida affects structures through which the minenges and the spinal cord protrude. When both the cranial and the caudal portions fail to close, this extremely rare and lethal NTD is called craniorachischisis (Aldoori et. al, 2008; Finnel et. al, 2013). Epidemiology Annually in the United States, there are approximately 3000 pregnancies affected by spinal bifida or anencephaly. This number can easily be reduced by half by a folic acid supplement. The highest rate occurs in Hispanic populations because they have low folic acid levels in their diet. The current prevalence of NTDs as a collective is approximately 1 in every 2000 births. Although the prevalence rates vary from country to country, it is clear that there are three aspects that control the development of such conditions: genetic, environmental, and nutrition. The most common and difficult to account for are the affects of environment and nutrition on the growing embryo, specifically diabetes, obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption (CDC, 2011). The biology of NTDs The complex nature and the process of neural tube closure have temporarily halted our understanding of folic acid and its interactions during NTDs. As a collection of many autonomous and region-specific cells, many researchers suggest that along with the lengthening of the neural tissues, the epidermis also provides a guiding force to help fold and close the neural tube. This fusion links two neural folds into a sheet covering the outer portion hollow neural tube. Furthermore, the closing process of the neural tube occurs at multiple sites along the rostrocaudal axis, or head to tail axis, instead of progressing from one end to the other in a continuous motion (Finnel et. al, 2013). Another complication occurs when the cells that help close the neural tube differ regionally along the neural tube. This causes irreversible and incurable conditions like spinal bifida and anencephaly. What we know now is collectively from amphibians and chick embryos. These studies provide a deeper understanding of how an embryo morphs, the cells involved, and the mechanism through which the regional cells cause NTDs and other conditions (Finnel et. al, 2013). Folic acid and NTDs According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is recommended that a daily dose of 400 microgram of folic acid be prescribed to females at least one month planning for pregnancy. The question of how folic acid acts on the NTDs is still very unclear. However, the research conducted helps to clarify that some cellular activity may be involved. Research studies using mice suggest that this may start from the biosynthesis of DNA, RNA, and other structural proteins and lipids. â€Å"Therefore, deficits in folic acid metabolism could affect cell proliferation, cell survival, transcriptional regulation, or a host of other cellular reactions; defects in any of these processes could disrupt neural tube closure† (Finnel et. al, 2013). Mutations in mice were studied using genetics and environment. In these experiments, several mutations of mice were compared using various biomarkers. The genetic approach sought for alterations in the pathway of mutations when there was a deficiency of folic acid. The environmental study researched the responsiveness, of genes and its environment and the external environment (predominantly nutrition), to folic acid in hopes of surfacing mechanisms through which folic acid promotes neural tube closure (Finnel et. al, 2013). To summarize, there is a very poor understanding of how folic acid promotes neural tube closure and very little insight into distinctly clarifying the specific pathways that folic acid prevents the aforementioned NTDs, regardless of the three factors. The continuation of research using mice (because they have a very similar neural development as humans) provides hope to find the various â€Å"developmental processes and molecular pathways can be related in terms of folic acid responsiveness and to gain molecular insights into optimal interventions to prevent NTDs† (Finnel et. al, 2013). Nutrition and supplements As mention before, the recommended daily dose of folic acid is 400 micrograms (or 0. 4 milligrams). This can be easily achieved by eating breakfast cereals (serving sizes may vary), flour (breads and pastas), white rice, and cornmeal. It is also strongly recommended that women who are breastfeeding or are on birth control continue to take their daily dose of folic acid unless directed by their physician (Women’s Health, 2010). Many supplements today contain a blend of vitamins and minerals to help sustain the body and many have a 100 percent of the recommended daily dose, including folic acid. As one passes the child-bearing age, the dosage is maintained along with sufficient amount of vitamin B12 for overall good health (Women’s Health, 2010). NTDs are most common in women who don’t have adequate amounts of folic acid, including the Hispanic population and those without adequate medical aid. The mechanism through which folic acid reacts with the embryo is unclear. A deficit of folic acid, initially, results in spinal bifida and anencephaly and could cause other defects, including stillbirths. An excess of folic acid causes nerve damage to the parent, which could potentially translate to the embryo. Although much research has already been done, the animal studies provide a bright outlook to solving this dilemma.

french revoluion essays

french revoluion essays The French Revolution last from 1789 to 1799. This war had many causes that began the revolution. Its causes ranged from the American Revolution, the economic crisis in France, social injustices to the immediate causes like the fall of Bastille, the Convening of he Estate-General, and the Great Fear. As a result of this revolution there many effects , immediate and long term. The immediate effects were the declaration of rights of man, abolishing of olds reign, execution of king and queen, the reign of terror, and war and forming of the citizen-army. The long term effects were the rise of Napoleon, spread of revolutionary ideas, growth of nationalism, and the The contributing factors to the French Revolution was the economic crisis in France. The French government had undergone economic crises, resulting from the long wars waged during the reign of Louis XIV, the losses incurred in the French and Indian War, and increased indebtedness arising from loans to the American colonies during the American Revolution. The American Revolution showed that they got economical and political freedom from Britain. This liberalism sparked many revolutions in Europe ,but in France the ideas of the Enlightenment and liberalism were put to their fullest test. The French people wanted rights and would later get these. Another reason was that the old regime was ineffective and it abused its power. The immediate causes of the French Revolution were that the Estate-General had to convene. Increasing political pressure and being faced with the total collapse of its finances, the Old Regime began to unravel. Almost immediately tempers arose regarding voting procedures in the upcoming Estates-General. In its last meeting, voting had been organized by estate, with each of the three estates meeting separately and each having one vote. In this way the privileged classes had combined to outvote ...

Medical Apartheid Essay Example

Medical Apartheid Essay Example Medical Apartheid Essay Medical Apartheid Essay The radio show concerning the medical apartheid discussed the history of medical tests conducted on African Americans from colonial times until present. It Is disturbing how much many doctors were able to get away with when Inhumanly testing on black people. Even up until the sasss It was common practice to conduct medical tests specifically on black people. Medical Apartheid was a disturbing practice In America that many doctors Justified by suggesting that these African Americans would not have received any medical care If It were not for their testing. These medical professionals were presented with many ethical questions, however, not ethical dilemmas because the Issues with what they were dealing with had a clear right and wrong. Up until recent times Inhumane medical tests have been conducted on African Americans and were justified through a common belief that the people being tested had no other means to receive medical attention. This common belief is most certainly outrageous and is not based on reality. The reality is that these tests were based on racism. Many of these medical professionals were racist and were exerting heir power over the other race through medical testing. Because these medical professionals could take advantage of uneducated African Americans they were. There were no ethical dilemmas involved with the medical apartheid, however, there were serious ethical questions. There were no ethical dilemmas because to constitute an ethical dilemma one must have to choose between right and right. In the medical apartheid there was a clear choice between right and wrong. One neurosurgeon conducted brain surgeries on African American boys in an attempt to figure out what parts of the brain were causing behavioral problems. The surgeon would remove parts of the brain Just to see if it would cure the problem, not because it was based on medical fact. Many of these medical professionals were able to trick their African American patients into thinking that they were being cured because most of the patients were uneducated and placed too much trust In their unethical physicians. For example, there was much testing on a group of African American men who had syphilis. The men believed their doctors were curing them of their disease when In reality their doctors believed that black people Inherently had syphilis and there was no reason o cure them, even though there was a cure available. In the end, there were no ethical dilemmas Involved with the Issue of medical apartheid because there was no dilemma; It was a clear choice between right and wrong. Although, medical professionals who conducted these Inhumane experiments justified their actions by saying that their patients would not have been treated AT It were not Tort teen, It Is quilt clear Tanat not Dealing treated at all was ten better option. The underlying theme of the medical apartheid in America like the apartheid in South Africa was racism and control over others.