Reading assignment Essay Example for Free

Reading assignment Essay The common house mouse, Mus musculus, is a model organism for human diseases. As such, it has been recently utilized in QTL mapping to see which genes may contribute disproportionately to disease states. Unfortunately, because of its high rate of inbreeding and bottleneck effect when it was first developed as a model organism, it displays a high level of linkage disequilibrium such that QTLs can span 20-40 cM, containing hundreds of genes. This is a problem on two levels: One, while this resolution is great relative to the â€Å"double crossovers† of Morgan’s flies, it leaves much to be desired in terms of quickly discovering traits that contribute to disease states. Two, using inbred lines such as mouse decreases verisimilitude—we’re trying to see how diseases work in humans, we should use animals with same genetic variance as humans. This is especially relevant because mice colonized the world with humans, and as such may show similar patterns of gene evolution and population structure. These authors found that QTL maps can be made to the resolution of 1 cM (about 100 kB in M. musculus) by using the wild conspecifics of these lab mice. In doing so, they also found that wild mice have much lower rates of LD, comparable to humans. They do show a lot of homozygosity, which the authors attribute to some inbreeding and previous bottlenecks. The authors suggest that using wild mice to develop finer mapping resolution for QTLs, especially because they can use the same SNPs that they use for laboratory mice. That is to say, we can use the same tools available to us in lab mice on wild mice for experiments more relevant to populations of humans, as opposed to individuals. Questions: 1) Wild mice have a lot of homozygosity. Would wild mouse populations (new world field mice, etc. ) show less homozygosity, and can we use them in these experiments when homozygosity somehow impedes the resolution of the mapping? 2) The text keeps saying that African populations are in a state of high linkage disequilibrium, and I’m assuming it is because they are in reproductive isolation. If mice are commensal with Africans as they are with other human populations, do they exhibit the same LD? Can we then use them as a model to look at disease states and disease traits in Africans?

Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay -- Papers

Letter From Birmingham Jail The American civil rights movement through the 1950's and 60's was a turning point for our country as a whole. Probably the most influential leader of that time was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King became a leader because of his ability to captivate crowds with his powerful speeches. One of the most important letters he wrote was while he was incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter was to eight fellow clergymen that were from Alabama. The "Letter From Birmingham Jail" was in response to some criticism from the clergymen. King calmly tries to state his purpose for his crusade for civil rights in the south. He uses three rhetorical strategies in his letter like: facts, allusions, and questions to inform the clergymen about what he and his people are dealing with as a whole "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" said King in his letter (page 317). King asks his readers questions about him and his people's actions and then answers them in an intelligent and strong willed manner. He asks, "Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" (page 318). King asked the questions that the clergymen would have asked him. By asking those questions, then he can answer the questions that are main points in his letter that clarify some of the actions that have been enforced in the south. This was a strong rhetorical strategy for King to persuade ... ...tegies such as facts, allusions, and questions almost as perfectly as can be used in a letter. He made his reasons concise and straight to the point. Do I think he could have written a better letter? Not at all, that was the best letter I have ever seen in my life. Martin Luther King Jr. was a well educated man of great promise a couple more years. This letter was an excellent account of his powerful words that he can produce and a good example of his extreme intelligence. I am going to leave you a question to think about. How could the country as a whole have been different with Martin Luther King Jr. around this world a couple years longer? Bibliography: The Dolphin Reader- Lee Sulton 1997

Did Racism Precede Slavery?

ESSAY There have been debates among scholars over whether racism preceded slavery or vice versa. Present an argument on this question using course materials (lectures, readings, film) While some argue that racism preceded slavery, I firmly believe that racism did not precede slavery. Before examining the reasons behind my opinion, it is important to note how race feeds into racism, and how slavery then latches on to racism. Race is a socially constructed idea through which a hierarchy largely stemming from the fairness of skin color is formed.As a result, different racial groups are formed with the White race occupying the top position of this hierarchy. Because of this skin-color based hierarchy, White people developed a sense of superiority and dominance over the Black people who lie at the bottom of this hierarchy. This perception of being superior and dominant over another race based on this hierarchy is racism. A connection between slavery and racism can then be formed when the White elites decide to only enslave the Black people when they feel their dominance and superiority is jeopardized in one way or the other.Therefore, the components of racism and slavery together form racialized slavery. Holistically speaking, a three-part system involving race, racism and slavery is effectively formed. While keeping components of this system in mind, it is also necessary to consider how money, productivity and social relations influence my view. When British settlers entered the New World, among their priorities was to hire relatively inexpensive slave labor to generate profits for them. While the freely available, local Native Americans were auditioned, the White settlers realized they had to look elsewhere.Native Americans died via diseases contracted by White settlers, and as a result were neither fully adaptable to slave labor nor productive. Instead, White settlers turned to indentured servitude. As discussed in lecture, indentured servitude saw White settlers import fellow British people and ordered them to work like slaves on cheap, 5-7 year contracts. However, this method of labor was not entirely successful since indentured servants too contracted diseases from settlers and died in numbers, while settlers also couldn’t dictate work conditions once their contracts expired.At this point, the frustrated White settlers wanted to bring in a people on whom they could place unlimited workloads to maximize productivity. This was when the British settlers turned to the African market. While the first British colonialists arrived in 1607, the first Africans were not brought in until 1619. (Week 3 powerpoint, â€Å"slavery-1†, slide 7) It is thus wrong to say that racism prompted and preceded the enslavement of Africans, since it was instead the failure of the Native Americans along with high mortality rates and contract laws of indentured servants that preceded and induced the enslavement of Africans.Moreover, the desire to becom e wealthier, not racism, convinced White settlers to enslave Africans. After failing with indentured servitude, White settlers imported Africans in pursuit of maximizing productivity and consequently receiving higher profits. As we discussed in class, planters in Virginia were aware of the rewards they could reap by enslaving Africans. Unlike the indentured servants contracts that limited the duration of work summoned by White settlers, enslaving Africans meant that planters could put no limits on the amount of work and time they ordered of them.Therefore, the more work you assign to slaves for much longer periods, the more productivity you get, and the more money your plantation gets you. On top of this though, planters also wanted more slaves to increase the supply of money they ultimately received. Accordingly, â€Å"state laws adopted the principle of partus sequitur ventrem- the child follows the condition of the mother regardless of the race of the father. † (Cannon, 19 93, p. 415) Thanks to this law, enslaved mothers gave birth to enslaved children who went on to become extra pairs of hands on plantations.In the case of children being enslaved because of their enslaved mothers, racism once again does not precede slavery. Since child enslavement holds â€Å"regardless of the race of the father†, (Cannon, 1993, p. 415) it is the mother’s status as a slave and not race that precedes and assigns the same title to her children. White settlers wanted enslavement to be cyclical, and it is for this reason why enslaved women were valuable; they produced and reproduced. Although African enslavement eventually became slavery as torture only applicable to Africans, racism does not precede slavery here.As more Africans were imported for enslavement purposes, the White elites’ fears exacerbated. Even though African enslavement was the principal answer to increased wealth for White planters, indentured servitude was not extinct. Friendships between Africans and lower-class Whites existed, and the White elites were concerned these alliances would undermine their summoning powers and provoke a class insurrection. It was at this juncture in 1660 that racialized slavery in Virginia (Week 3 powerpoint, â€Å"slavery-1†, slide 7), a product of components in the system, was only specific to the Africans.Not only did racialized slavery prevent a class conflict between Whites, but also brought racism to the fore. As a system component in this case, racism is a perception of superiority and dominance from the White elites’ to the Africans. Hence, racialized slavery again supports my view since it was the enslavement of Africans and their interactions with lower-class Whites that preceded and incited racism. One can easily get confused by racism and slavery, and claim that slavery would never have occurred without an onslaught of racism.However, the series of events involving White settlers, Native Americans, indent ured servants and imported Africans are most logical when we argue that racism did not precede slavery. If the White settlers were racists ever since they arrived in the New World, indentured servitude would never have existed. Without the interaction of Africans and lower-class Whites, racialized slavery would not have been legitimatized, and Black people would not have been historically associated with slavery the most.

Important Acts for Americans with Disabilities and Immigration Reform - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 778 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/07/01 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Immigration Reform Essay Did you like this example? American with disabilities struggled to fit into society before the 1990s. Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. Of 1973, banned any discrimination toward any person because of race, ethnicity, and/or sexual based, but it didnt specifically speak for Americans with disabilities in particular (Mayerson, 1992). It wasnt until almost 17 years later that the American Disabilities Act (or ADA) became a law in 1990 (Thompson, 2015). This Act marked one of the first civil rights laws that addressed the needs of people in American with disabilities. According to Thompson, author for the JAMA Network, more that 50 million Americans with disabilities in American that are protected under this law (Thompson, 2015). The ADA prohibits discrimination in all areas of like that pertain to public such as employment, education, transportation needs and any area that is open to the general public. The ADA recognizes a disability defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits 1 or more major life activities, such as walking, talking, and caring for oneself independently. This law was put into place to protect people with any of these types of impairments and give them resources for quality of life. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Important Acts for Americans with Disabilities and Immigration Reform" essay for you Create order Before the ADA became a law, people that had disabilities throughout American were being excluded and segregated from their communities. Unfortunately, the mentality for people with disabilities was that they should be institutionalized or taken out of general public. It took several people throughout time to achieve this law to protect the disabled in America. With this law, Americans with disabilities were given resources such as handy-cap parking close to public buildings and other accessibility standards, equal medical care, community service aids and employment. The ADA enables people with disabilities to live their lives with pursuit of happiness and activity without the barriers of being shunned by their communities and government. Immigration Reform Control Act (or IRCA) of 1986 became a law in order to reduce financial burden of providing public assistance, including health care, and educational services to non-citizens in the United States. This act was also referred to as the 1986 Amnesty Act. This act made it illegal for employers to hire any person that was determined as an illegal or unauthorized immigrant. Before this law was initiated, several unauthorized immigrants were able to apply and accept legal status in the United States. Anyone that had done this before 1986 was granted amnesty, hence the name, and were allowed to stay if they had obtained documentation prior to the 1986 IRCA. Under IRCA, eligible legalized aliens may apply for permanent residency within a 1-year period after they are first eligible (Kusserow, 1990, p. 1). This act promotes assistance for people under this act be assisted with State public assistance just like any other person, with the understanding that no new programs be initiated specifically for this minority. The State may create or initiate any program to promote educational needs for eligible legalized people. Practices much like this were seen as good practice. The government conceded in organizing four categories of good practice to augment implementation of these programs and procedures under the IRCA. These four categories include guidelines for administration, systems to identify eligible legalized aliens, controls for distribution of funds, and innovated approaches to education (Kusserow, 1990). Identifying eligible legalized aliens consists of a working group for resolving issues, making sure that general services are available, and keeping accurate reporting systems while keeping a contact point that is of neutral party (Kusserow, 1990). Systems to identify eligible legalized aliens defines the use of identification numbers given to verify eligibility. Recording keeping data of ensure that people under this act have communication resources when needed. Keeping controls of distribution of funds enforces a financial threshold for eligible legalized aliens during a certain period of time, while having an automated system of disbursement of funds to each eligible person, and keeping effective communication between State agencies and operating agencies (Kusserow, 1990). Lastly, education is seen as an opportunity for these minority people to become educated, lawful permanent citizens (Kusserow, 1990). Programs designed to continue education and to provide opportunities for these individuals were put in place in attempt to help facilitate employment chances and educational chances. People rally for minorities such as Americans with disabilities and immigration reform to help achieve a better life for everyone. The importance of the laws may not seem to affect us all but they do. The United States is often referred to as the land of the free. It is this way because of people that are passion about causes such as these and are willing to fight for them to be seen under the governments eye. Because of these people that refused to be silenced, protective laws have been put in place for both.