10 Amazing Examples of Convergent Evolution

Native American Women s Literature Class - 883 Words

It is 9:15 a.m. Tuesday morning, and Brittanee Ramallo walks into an African-American women’s literature class with her khakis, button down shirt, tie and vest on. She may be small in height, but her presence makes up for it. Ramallo, a senior studying integrated language arts, shares her views on family, racism, the justice system and students in the heated debates in class. Behind every word she speaks is passion. Ramallo, a New York native, moved to Kent, Ohio to pursue her love in criminal justice, but after beginning her core classes, she couldn’t clear the thought of teaching out of her mind. Ramallo said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher, similar to her mother, and when the opportunity to teach a creative writing class in the Summit County Juvenile Detention Facility surfaced, she jumped at it. She said the position was â€Å"a little bit of both worlds†. â€Å"I taught an hour class and I loved it,† said Ramallo. â€Å"I have eliminated that from possibilities of what I would want to do because I didn’t have a lot of time with them.† Ramallo said her ultimate goal is to impact her future students by not only teaching them, but building relationships with every child. She said it is important to lay that foundation. â€Å"It is amazing how complex kids are,† Ramallo said. â€Å"When you’re in the classroom you’re with these kids more than their parents are..Teachers are such a lifeline for kids.† Teaching middle school students During the fall semester of 2015, Ramallo taughtShow MoreRelatedWomen Of The Shadow Of Men As Second Class Citizens1493 Words   |  6 PagesWomen have lived in the shadow of men as second class citizens for centuries. However, in many countries and tribes, some women have been looked upon as equals, instead of existing in the shadows waiting on men. Then again, several tribes and countries such as the United States of America’s Native American, African American, Euro-American, and Africa’s countries Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Rwanda, Ghana, and Sierra Leone have overcome obstacles to create strong, able female leaders that rule universitiesRead MoreOppression in Cuckoos Nest1621 Words   |  7 Pagesfrank C, Survey of Literature and Comp. – Block 5 May 10, 2011 An Omnipresent Oppression Oppression is an omnipresent force which has fed on ignorance and hatred and affected the lives of the less fortunate and powerless. Through literature people are able to express their feelings and attitudes regarding an amalgam of elements. An example of this exists in the two texts, â€Å"One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,† and â€Å"The Life Your Save May Be Your Own;† in both texts we see a clear correlationRead MoreThe Influence of History on American Literature Essay1546 Words   |  7 Pagesbe After the Fact†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is how Stephan Crane introduced his harrowing story, â€Å"The Open Boat,† but this statement also shows that history influences American Literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection among literary works from different periods. The connection is that History, current events, and social events have influenced American Literature. Authors, their literary works, and the specific writing styles; are affected and influenc ed by the world around them. Authors have long used experiencesRead MoreFemale Voices of 1865-19121728 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract In this essay I will discuss and analyze the social forces that influenced American women writers of the period of 1865 to 1912. I will describe the specific roles female authors played in this period and explain how the perspectives of female authors differed from their male contemporaries. INTRODUCTION As the United States was continuing recovering from the Civil War and embracing the expansion of the West, industrialization, immigration and the growth of cities, women’s roles inRead MoreThe Effect of Cultural and Historical Situations on American Literature 1173 Words   |  5 PagesBrattoli †American literature is almost always tied to historical and social events of the era in which it was written.† There is a connection between literary works from different time periods. This connection is how history, current events and social events have impacted American Literature. Literary works and writing styles have been affected and influence by the world around us. This is seen in many of the works assigned for this class. Read More The Presentation of Native Americans In Childrens Literature1615 Words   |  7 PagesThe Presentation of Native Americans In Childrens Literature In the 1970s the seed of change began to grow in childrens literature. Because American Indians and knowledgeable cultural anthropologists became authors of childrens books, Native American people and culture is now being seen in a more true and distinguishing light. Literature is immensely important when it comes to learning. There are four areas of development that literature takes a huge part in. The first area is languageRead MoreAnalysis Of Moby Dick 1401 Words   |  6 PagesA vengeful man, a native, and a man seeking enlightenment board a whaling vessel; this isn’t a joke, this is the United States of America throughout history and the members of the Pequod. Moby Dick is not just a tale about a whaling venture gone awry, it is a metaphor for what America was and is. The Pequod represents the country and government, while the 30 crew members (Melville 430; ch. 126) represents the United State citizens. This would have not been possible to consider in Melville’s timeRead MoreEssay about Influences that Have Shaped American Literature1001 Words   |  5 PagesInfluences that Have Shaped American Literature There have been a number of influences that have shaped American literature. From the time that Western Europeans founded the country to the inclusion of Native American lore to the contributions of such literary giants as Mark Twain and Carol Sandburg, the composition of American Literature has been both constant and ever changing. In deed as much as America, itself, is a melting pot of diversity within a cultural concern, so too is this considerableRead MoreAnalysis Of Louise ErdrichLove Medicine1241 Words   |  5 PagesWorld Literature Since the very start of the colonisation of America, there has always stood the problem of dealing with the indigenous people of the land. After the first attempts in the eradication of the population, the policy was changed to integration by the American government, and it is this integration and mending into the white communities that caused disenfranchisement throughout the modern Indian reservations. Louise Erdrich’ Love Medicine looks at Native AmericanRead MoreBiography of Sandra Cisneros1459 Words   |  6 Pagesrole of strong female roles in literature is both frightening to some and enlightening to others. Although times have changed, Sandra Cisneros’ stories about Mexican-American women provide a cultural division within itself that reflects in a recent time. The cultural themes in Cisneros’s stories highlight the struggle of women who identify with Mexican-American heritage and the struggle in terms of living up to Mexican culture – as a separate ethnic body. The women in Sandra Cisneros’ stories are

David Vetter free essay sample

On September 21, 1971, an infant was born with severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID). The child was David Vetter III, third child of David Joseph Vetter Jr. and Carol Ann Vetter. The first child was Katherine and the second child (also named David Vetter III), died after seven months â€Å"Doctors said that the baby boy had been born with a defective thymus, a gland which is important in the functioning of the immune system, due to a genetic condition, SCID. Each further son the couple might conceive would have a 50% chance of inheriting the same condition. † (Montgomery, South, Wilson, 2006). However, a group of doctors told the Vetters that if they had another child with SCID, the child could be placed in a sterile isolator until a bone marrow transplant could be performed, using the older sister, Katherine, as a donor. The couple was eager to have another child, so, believing that after a short treatment their child could live a normal life, they decided to go through another pregnancy Medical Indications The hospital staff has made a heroic effort to create germ free conditions. After less than twenty seconds of exposure to the world, the baby is placed in a plastic isolator bubble that will protect him from disease. However, after the birth of David, it was discovered that Katherine was not a match, thus removing the possibility of the transplant. There had been no discussion of what would happen in this case, or how long the prospective child would remain in the bubble. The question we now have to ask is what is to be done baring the transplant? How long should or could the young boy survive in this isolation bubble. The ethics of keeping the child alive and isolated for the purpose of research is troubling to say the least, but what other steps can we take? In retrospect, the biggest ethical problem was the failure to plan for the worst-case scenario. In what seemed like an instant, the isolator had gone from a stopgap measure to Davids permanent home. Little more than an inflated balloon, the isolator was fed with a constant flow of filtered air. Comprised of a 5-foot by 3-foot living chamber, it was connected to an even smaller supply bubble. David had to be handled through thick black neoprene gloves, spaced at intervals throughout the isolator. Everything he ate, wore, or touched had to be sterilized with pericidic acid and placed inside steel capsules inserted through a system of air locks. Even Davids doctors were not certain it would hold up. Patient Preferences The initial decision came before David’s conception. This leaves little room or option for the patient, even though at his death at age 12, could he be responsible for his own medical decisions. The original doctors had agreed that they would stop treatment any time David and his family requested it. David was an intelligent and resourceful boy who had access to tools that could have opened up the isolator. David always had the power to step out into the world whenever he wanted. These types of decisions are made by parents for their children every day. Many types of genetic disorders can be detected before birth of a child and only the parent can make the decision to abort or not, the child ends up with a preordained destiny in these regards. Quality of Life Some information suggests that David was clearly terrified of the germ-filled world, does this mean he wanted to continue life in a bubble, maybe a question we can never answer. A psychiatric report indicates that David suffers from severe mood swings, has reverted to thumb sucking and obsessive rocking, and will probably encounter difficulties in his impending adolescence. He went through almost his entire life without human touch and normal interaction. This role of nurturing is very intrinsic to a child’s development, and a lack of nurture may have drastic affects. Children who are not nurtured, and who are socially isolated, may become physiologically and psychologically deformed. Contextual Features The ethics of keeping the child alive and isolated for the purpose of research is troubling to say the least, but what other steps could have been taken? Current bioethics makes equivalence between ending extraordinary life-saving care and never beginning it. That is, removing David from the bubble later in life should be morally equivalent to never having put him in it in the first place. More than 90 percent of infants diagnosed with SCID are now successfully treated with bone marrow transplants. Long-term isolation is no longer offered as a treatment option. One of David’s Doctors â€Å"William Shearer† told the press, Davids life was important, but his greatest contribution medically was his death, because with this information, we will be able to treat other children with this disease. Shearer was prescient, but those who thought he was suggesting that David was more valuable dead than alive easily misinterpreted his statement. The key modifier was medically. Although Davids life support system was revolutionary, new procedures were already superseding them, and no other children were likely to be raised in bubbles. Davids autopsy and blood sample, however, helped researchers understand and repair the immune systems of other children with the same affliction. Case Analysis: David was born lacking the cells needed to fight infections. Therefore, he can get sick and die from ailments most people would not even sneeze at. Once, placed in the bubble, it would be impossible to judge which options should or even could have been taken to prevent the situation prolonged for 12 years. In retrospect, the biggest ethical problem was the failure to plan for the worst-case scenario. It was not until Davids autopsy that the cause of his death became known. Katherines bone marrow had contained traces of a dormant virus. Once inside Davids defenseless body, the virus had spread rapidly, producing hundreds of cancerous tumors. Proof that a virus can cause cancer was probably the most important of the many medical insights that emerged from Davids case. If these discoveries had done little to help David, they would help to treat thousands of immune compromised children in the future. Yet some continued to question whether David himself had borne too high a price for the advancement of medicine. Kept alive for almost 13 years by experimental research, David lived with an incurable disease for his father, who desperately wanted a son, and for the scientists who salivated at the thought of studying him. He did not live for himself.

Margaret Thatcher Leadership free essay sample

Once known as the most unpopular woman in Britain, Margaret Thatcher revived a nation that was in a state of chaos. She was the first woman elected Prime Minister of the country and the only in the 20th century to serve three consecutive terms which was the longest since 1827. Through her extraordinary vision she brought forth radical changes, not just in her country but worldwide. She had a profound and permanent impact on politics and even changed her own Conservative Parties outlook. Through challenging all ideas that were commonplace, she set a catalyst movement for the end of the twentieth century. Her groundbreaking views on monetarism and privatization manifested into one of Britains biggest contributions to political economics in the world. Transforming a defunct socialist society would prove no easy feat for this revolutionist, but through a unique turn of events a leader rises. She was also the most divisive PM of the century, earning both great reverence but also deep hatred from the divided public, particularly for her treatment of trade unions. When a young Denis Thatcher asked a bright and astute young woman to marry him, she made it very clear that she was a very different woman than most. The future Prime Minister of England had decided that she was not going to live a life through her husband. She was determined to make a difference in the world, and that she did. Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain, known for her hard-edged leadership style and her uncompromising political views. The Iron Lady (2011) is a film that takes a look at the leader in present time suffering from old-age dementia and, through flashbacks, explores the nature of her power and its impact on self and others. This film renewed interest in Thatcher and acts as a great basis to evaluate her leadership styles and the effectiveness of her leadership. Early Life of Margaret Thatcher: Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13th 1925 in Grantham to Alfred Roberts, who was a grocer, lay preacher and local mayor. She developed an early interest in politics and, when studying chemistry at Oxford, became president of the Oxford Conservative Association (the Conservative being one of Britain’s main political parties). She graduated in 1946 and worked for four years as a research chemist, but she studied law when not in work and became a barrister in 1954. In 1951 she married Denis Thatcher, having two twin children by him. Early Political Life: Thatcher first stood for Parliament in 1950, but won her first election campaign in 1959, winning the seat of Finchley in London, which she held until she retired in 1992. She rose within the ranks of the Conservative Party, holding a variety of positions, and entered the Shadow Cabinet in 1967. In 1970 she became the Minister for Education, advocating an increase in spending on education and the creation of more comprehensive schools, but she rose to public prominence after cancelling a programme providing free milk to primary school children which led to the nickname Thatcher the Milk Snatcher. Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister: When Conservative Party leader Edward Heath lost two General Elections in 1974, Margaret Thatcher became the only cabinet minister prepared to challenge him for the leadership of the party; she was in practical terms the candidate of disaffected right wing MPs. She won, surprisingly, by 130 votes to 119, though she only gained one vote from her Shadow Cabinet colleagues. She led the party in opposition and then in the 1979 elections, winning largely because the opposition was so divided and unpopular, and because of a series of major strikes the winter before; hers was the lowest margin of victory since 1922. Margaret Thatchers First Term: Britain’s economy in 1979 was in a poor state, and Thatcher’s first term in office saw her and her chancellor adopt an economic theory known as Monetarism, while stripping away government regulations on business and subsidies. Many inefficient businesses failed as a result, leading to a rise in unemployment and inflation doubled. This she countered with a rise in taxes and a change in the money supply, bringing both a sharp fall in inflation and opposition from economists and the public. The Falklands War and a Second Victory: At this point the Thatcher government was deeply unpopular. Then, Argentina invaded the Falklands, a British island in the southern hemisphere. The ensuing Falklands War, which Thatcher ran victoriously with great patriotic fervor, boosted the popularity of her government hugely, leading, along with deep division among the Labour Party (the main political opposition), to the Conservatives winning a large majority at the General Election in 1983. Thatcherism: the Policies and Style of Margaret Thatcher: Critics have accused Margaret Thatcher of lacking a unified set of policies for much of her rule, but a set of practices and ideals have become identified with both her and her government: these are known as Thatcherism. The Thatcher government set about privatizing most of the industries run by the government, including water, electricity and the trains, selling them off relatively cheaply to new private companies. She also clamped down heavily on trade unions, passing laws designed to curb strikes, closed shops and sympathy strikes. One of the pivotal events of her government occurred in 1984: the Miners Strike. Britain’s miners protested the government closure of â€Å"uneconomic† pits. Thatcher organized Britain around the striking miners and forced them back into work with no concessions. Other aspects of Thatcherism included selling council houses to tenants, reducing social service expenses, limits on print money and a dislike of growing European federalism. She also lowered taxes. A fierce, combative approach, a strong individualism and other aspects of her personal style became closely identified with her politics. The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher and the Cold War: Forging a close relationship with US President Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher expressed a strong anti-communism and portrayed the USSR as an evil which should be opposed; she has been criticised for firmly keeping the Cold War alive by this approach until Gorbachev arrived in Russia to end it. However, she received Gorbachev warmly. A 1976 speech from before she became Prime Minister, in which she roundly condemned communism, earned her the nickname The Iron Lady in the Soviet media, and the west soon adopted it. Third Office and Defeat: In 1984 Margaret Thatcher narrowly survived the IRA bombing of a hotel in Brighton, part of a larger campaign by the IRA for a united and independent Ireland which was, in turn, part of the larger political unrest and violence over British controlled Northern Ireland. The bombing earned her some sympathy from the British public; indeed, her second term had strongly polarised the UK, and her victory in the General Election of 1987 revealed a nation deeply divided, with almost no Tory support in inner cities. Her third term was marked by two chief friction points: a strong opposition to European Union, which divided her party, and the Community Charge, otherwise known as the Poll Tax, which was so unpopular it caused riots in the streets. With the economic situation worsening in 89-90 – there was recession and high unemployment and Thatcher undermined by the poll tax, there were doubts within the party whether Thatcher could win a fourth election. A more pro-European member of the Conservative Party called Michael Heseltine challenged Thatcher for leadership of the party. Thatcher won more votes than Heseltine, but was four votes short of outright victory and was pressurized by the party into resigning. In 1992 she left her parliamentary seat and became Baroness of Kestevan, taking a place in the House of Lords, as well as speaking publicly round the world. Her influence was felt for some time afterward, often to the frustration of her successors. In 1995 she became a member of the Order of the Garter. A series of minor strokes caused her to retire from public speaking in 2002, and she died in 2013 at the age of 87 from a stroke. Leadership Styles â€Å"The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers† Drucker (1998 cited in Edwin 2006 p. 340) Margaret Thatcher exhibited certain personality traits in her political persona such as aggressiveness self-confidence, dominance pragmatism ambition and a strong moral belief of how things should be. Klenke (1996) Trait Theory and Directive Leadership People who have been labelled as great or effective leaders have very different qualities. (Doyle and Smith, 2011) Margaret Thatcher demonstrated an ability to navigate a cut-throat world of British politics. (Wade, 2002) According to Doyle and Smith (2011) Directive leadership is characterized by leaders taking decisions for others and expecting followers or subordinates to follow instructions. In comparison the former Tory Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken stated MT’s relationship with her colleagues never involved her exerting power over the cabinet. (Morton, 2012) Margaret Thatcher has said; â€Å"I shant be pulling the levers there but I shall be a very good back-seat driver†. (igreens. org, 2006)