Bill of Rights Essay Example for Free

Bill of Rights Essay The English Bill of Rights was a document that set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do. It consisted of many rules and regulations that are, today, very useful. For example, one rule that applies to the laws in America today is â€Å"The people have a right to petition the government and to have a fair and speedy trial by a jury and their peers.† This rule applies to the government today because in the constitution that we have it currently states, in the Sixth Amendment, that all persons accused of criminal wrongdoing has the right to a speedy trial. Also, another important rule that is still used today is â€Å"The people should not be subject to cruel and unusual punishment or to excessive fines and bail.† This law is the eighth amendment in the United States constitution. The United States amendment states, â€Å"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.† The punishments that were considered cruel, at the time, that put this law into place was burning at the stake, crucifixion, or breaking of the wheel. Interesting enough, the United States supreme court held the use of excessive physical force against a prisoner may constitute cruel and unusual punishment even if the prisoner didn’t suffer any severe injuries. These laws and regulations were not only so important in present life, but also in colonial North America. A major cause of the American Revolution, in fact, was that the colonist felt they were being deprived of these rights. If it wasn’t for these rules being set into place during this time period, laws and life in America could’ve been very different and would have changed the way life is today.

MGMT Methylation Status and Glioblastoma Multiforme Outcome

MGMT Methylation Status and Glioblastoma Multiforme Outcome ABSTRACT Background: O6 – methylguanine-methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation has been associated with increased survival among patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) who were treated with various alkylating agents. We examined the relationship between MGMT methylation status and clinical outcome in newly diagnosed GBM patients treated with BCNU wafers (Gliadel ®). Methods: MGMT promoter methylation in DNA from 122 newly diagnosed GBM patients treated with Gliadel was determined by a Quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay (QMSP) and correlated with overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Results: The MGMT promoter was methylated in 40 (32.7%) of 122 patients. Overall median survival was 13.5 months (95%CI: 11.0-14.5) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 9.4 months (95%CI: 7.8-10.2). After adjusting for age, KPS, extent of resection, temozolomide (TMZ) and radiation therapy (RT), newly diagnosed GBM patients with MGMT methylation who were treated with Gliadel had a 15% reduction in hazard of death compared to patients with unmethylated MGMT (Hazard ratio: 0.85, 95%CI: 0.56-1.31). Patients aged over 70 with MGMT methylation and treated with Gliadel had a significantly longer median survival of 13.5 months compared to 7.6 months in patients with unmethylated MGMT (p=0.027). A similar significant difference was also found in older patients with a median recurrence-free survival of 13.1 versus 7.6 months (p=0.01) for MGMT methylated and unmethylated, respectively. Conclusions: Methylation of the MGMT promoter in newly diagnosed GBM patients who were treated with Gliadel followed by RT and TMZ, was associated with significantly improved survival compared to the non-methylated patient population with similar treatment. For the elderly population, methylation of the MGMT promoter was associated with significantly better OS and RFS. INTRODUCTION Glioblastome multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor, with a median survival of less than two years [1]. To date, only two different alkylating agents have been shown to be consistently associated with prolonged survival – temozolomide (TMZ) and the locally delivered BCNU wafers (Gliadel) [1-3]. Gliadel wafers (Eisai Inc. for Arbor Pharmaceuticals, LLC) are implanted and locally deliver Carmustine (also known as (1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1- nitrosourea (BCNU)) at the site of tumor resection, allowing for a higher concentration of local chemotherapeutic doses while minimizing systemic adverse effects [2-4]. These wafers provide a controlled- release form of local chemotherapy for approximately 3 weeks [4, 5]. Methylation of the MGMT promoter in gliomas was found to be an important predictor of the tumor responsiveness after several cytotoxic regimens [6], including BCNU treatment [7]. It was found that expression of the DNA repair protein, O6 – methylguanine-methyltransferase (MGMT), results in GBM resistance to alkylating agents. Alkylating agents cause cell death by binding to DNA, most commonly to the O6 position of guanine, and forms cross-links between adjacent DNA strands. This cross-linking of double strand DNA is inhibited by the cellular DNA-repair protein MGMT. In this study, through a unique analysis of 122 patients with newly diagnosed GBM who were treated with Gliadel, we retrospectively examined the association between MGMT promoter methylation status and survival. METHODS Patients and Tumor Specimens We retrospectively reviewed 185 patients with newly diagnosed GBM who received Gliadel after tumor resection, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA, between July 1997 and December 2006. Of these patients, only 122 patients had stored samples that were available for MGMT analysis. The clinical, radiological and hospital course of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. Age and gender were recorded, as well as Karnofsky performance score (KPS) at time of diagnosis, tumor location, time to recurrence and dates of death were recorded. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the time of surgery to death, and recurrence free survival (RFS) was calculated from the time of surgery to time of recurrence or censored at the last time of follow-up. GBM was histologically confirmed in all cases. Extent of surgical resection was determined based on a postoperative MRI performed Treatment Algorithm Gliadel wafers were typically not implanted in patients after tumor resection when the tumor largely extended into the ventricles or was multifocal. DNA Extraction After initial patient de-identification, all original histologic slides from the GBM specimens were reviewed to reconfirm the diagnosis of GBM by a senior neuropathologist (PB). A representative block with tumor was retrieved for DNA extraction. Histologic slides from the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue were obtained. One representative slide was stained with HE and the tumor was marked by the senior neuropathologist (PB). An additional five correlating unstained 10 micron slides were also obtained. The tumor cells in the unstained slides were microdissected according to the marked HE stained reference slide. DNA was extracted from paraffin embedded tissue after xylene deparaffinization. The microdissected tissue was digested with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 200ug/mL proteinase K (Roche, Nutley, NJ) at 48 °C for 48 hours, followed by phenol/chloroform extraction and ethanol precipitation of DNA. Extracted DNA was dissolved in either LoTE (2.5 mM EDTA, 10 mM Trisâ⠂¬â€œHCl [pH 8]) or distilled water. Bisulfite Treatment Extracted DNA was subjected to bisulfite treatment, to convert unmethylated cytosine residues to uracil residues. Briefly, 2  µg genomic DNA from each sample was treated with bisulfite using the EpiTect Bisulfite kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Converted DNA was stored at -80oC. Methylation Analysis Bisulfite-modified DNA was used as a template for fluorescence-based real-time PCR. Amplification reactions were carried out in triplicate in a final volume of 20  µL that contained 3  µL bisulfite-modified DNA; 600 nmol/L concentrations of forward and reverse primers; 200 nmol/L probe; 0.6 units platinum Taq polymerase (Invitrogen); 200  µmol/L concentrations each of dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP; and 6.7 mmol/L MgCl2. Primers and probes were designed to specifically amplify the promoter of MGMT and the promoter of a reference gene, ACTIN B; primer and probe sequences and annealing temperatures are provided in Table 1. Amplifications were carried out using the following profile: 95 °C for 3 min followed by 50 cycles at 95 °C for 15 s and 60 °C for 1 min. Amplification reactions were carried out in 384-well plates in a 7900 sequence detector (Perkin-Elmer Applied Biosystems) and analyzed by a sequence detector system (SDS 2.2.1; Applied Biosystems). Each plate included patie nt DNA samples, positive controls (Bisulfite-converted Universal Methylated Human DNAStandards (Zymo Research) in serial dilutions 20ng to 2pg) and molecular grade water was used as a non-template control. The ÃŽ ²-actin gene was used to normalize and act as an internal loading control. The methylation ratio was the ratio of values for the gene-specific PCR products to those of the ACTIN B and then multiplied by 1,000 for more efficient tabulation. Statistical Methods The overall survival (OS) time was defined from the date of initial diagnosis of the disease (surgery) to the time of death or censored at the time last known alive. The recurrence-free survival (RFS) was counted from the date of initial diagnosis of the disease to the time of disease recurrence or censored at the time last known alive and recurrence-free. Probabilities of OS and RFS were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method [15] and compared using Log-rank test. Confidence intervals were calculated using the method of Brookmeyer and Crowley[14]. Cox proportional hazards model [16] was used to estimate the association between OS or RFS and MGMT methylation status, treatments and well known prognostic factors. Schoenfeld residuals were used to test the proportionality of factors in Cox proportional hazards models. Radiation status was treated as a stratification factor in the Cox regression model. TMZ has FDA approval for newly diagnosed GBM patients aged between 18-70. Subgro up analyses were performed for patients who were aged over 70. All p values were two-sided. All analyses were performed using the Statistical Analysis System, version 9.2. MGMT was considered as promoter methylated if the methylation ratio was higher than 8, and unmethylated if below 8. RESULTS Patient Population Six hundred patients with newly diagnosed GBM underwent craniotomy between 1997 and 2006, at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. One hundred eighty five patients received Gliadel (30.8%) after tumor resection. Methylation specific PCR was performed in 122 of the 185 patients (66%) because 63 patients did not have sufficient paraffin embedded tumor tissue for MGMT analysis. The characteristics of the patients and type of treatments are shown in Table 2. The clinical course of forty patients who had methylation of MGMT promoter was compared to 82 patients without promoter methylation of MGMT. The similarity of distributions among patients characteristics, and treatments between MGMT methylated and unmethylated is also shown in Table 2. There was a slightly male predominance in both groups. The median age of the MGMT methylated group was 65.5 years compared to 60.5 years in the non-MGMT methylated group (p=0.59). Most of the patients in both groups had KPS score of ≠¤ 80 (p=0.67). Most of the patients in both groups underwent gross total resection (GTR) (85% vs. 74% in the methylated and non-MGMT methylated group, respectively), (p=0.19). Most of the patients in the MGMT methylated and non-MGMT methylated groups received post-operative radiation therapy (RT) (80% and 72% respectively). However, there were 31 patients (25%) without radiation treatment recorded in their medical chart. Only 33% and 29% of MGMT methylated and non-MGMT patients, respectively, were treated with TMZ due to majority of patients was treated prior to 2005 when RT+ TMZ became the stadnadrd of care for the newly diagnosed GBM patients. Overall Survival The Kaplan-Meier estimate of the median OS for the122 patients with newly diagnosed GBM was 13.5 months (95% CI: 11.0, 14.5). Median OS for those with MGMT methylation was 13.9 months (95%CI: 9.5, 17.1) compared to 12.9 months (95%CI: 10.9, 14.5) (p= 0.86) in patients non methylated. Univariate and multivariate association of survival with treatment factor, baseline prognostic factors, and MGMT methylation status are shown in Table 3. There was a 15% reduction in hazard of death (Hazard ratio: 0.85, 95%CI: 0.56-1.31) for patients with MGMT methylated tumor compared to those with MGMT unmethylated tumor after adjusting for age, KPS, extent of resection, TMZ and RT. A subgroup analysis was performed among 35 patients who were 18-70 years old and treated with Gliadel, RT and TMZ ( Gliadel+ Stupp’s regimen) [1]. The median OS was 19.8 months (95% CI, 14.5, 22.2) in this subset of patients. There was no statistically significant difference in OS among these 35 patients with MGMT pr omoter methylation (median OS:20 months,95% CI: 9.2, 37.0), compared to patients without MGMT promoter methylation (median OS: 18.9 months, 95% CI: 11.9, 22.2), (Table 4). Only two out of 30 elderly patients aged above 70 years were treated with TMZ, one was MGMT methylated and another was not. Among these elderly patients, those with MGMT promoter methylation showed a significantly longer median survival of 13.5 months (95% CI, 0.49, 17.1) compared to 7.6 months (95% CI, 2.9, 9.4) when the MGMT promoter was non-methylated (p=0.027). A similar significant difference in median recurrence-free survival was also found in elderly patients where the median survival was 13.1 versus 7.6 months (p=0.01) for MGMT methylated and unmethylated, respectively. The overall median recurrence-free survival was 9.4 months (95%CI: 7.8-10.2) for all patients. There was no difference in RFS between patients 18-70 years old with and without MGMT methylation. DISCUSSION In this study we investigated the significance of MGMT methylation status in a series of 122 patients with newly diagnosed GBM who underwent surgical resection and implantation of Gliadel wafers. The results of our series show a reduction in hazard of death for patients who were MGMT methylated compared to non-methylated. Interestingly, this effect was much more profound in the elderly group of 35 patients who were older than 70 years old when they were diagnosed with GBM. Elderly patients who were MGMT methylated had significantly better OS, compared to non-methylated (13.5 vs. 7.6 months respectively, p=0.027). The methylation of the MGMT promoter region leads to a reduced ability to repair DNA damage induced by alkylating chemotherapeutic agents [7]. Methylation of the MGMT promoter was found to be associated with responsiveness to alkylating chemotherapeutic agents such as temozolomide [6] and BCNU [7], and an increase in OS and progression free survival. The median survival of patients who received the combination of Gliadel, temozolomide and radiation therapy in our cohort ranged between 18.9 to 20 months, six months greater than that for the radiation therapy and temozolomide historic cohort [1] (Figure1). For patients younger than 70 years old, the median survival of the MGMT methylated sub-group was slightly greater that MGMT non-methylated. KPS in a known prognostic factor for patients with brain tumors [8]. Most of the patients in our study cohort had poor KPS of less than 80. Still, our results were in line with the report of Lechapt-Zalcman et al. [9] who assessed the prognostic impact of MGMT promoter methylation in patients with newly diagnosed GBM that received Gliadel in addition to radiation therapy and temozolomide. The OS of their study cohort was 17.5 months. Patients with MGMT methylation had a significantly longer OS of 21.7 months compared with patients without MGMT methylation who had OS of 15.1 months. Two recent phase III clinical trials in the elderly age of patients with malignant astrocytoma, the NOA-08 [10] and Nordic trials [11], demonstrated that temozolomide therapy alone was not inferior to radiotherapy alone, and methylation of the MGMT gene promoter was associated with a benefit from temozolomide. However, there is a concern that combination therapy of radiation therapy and temozolomide may be less active and less well tolerated in the elderly population [12]. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-26981/National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) CE3 trial have suggested that with increasing age, the relative benefit of addition of temozolomide to radiotherapy decreases and the patients suffer from increased chemotherapy-associated side effect such as neutropenia, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia , raised liver-enzyme concentrations infections and thromboembolic events. As opposed to systemic chemotherapy with its limitations, local delivery of Gliadel wafers may be promising in this subset of patients. Chaichana et al. compared 45 elderly patients who were treated with Gliadel to 88 elderly patients who did not receive Gliadel [13]. The survival for older patients who received Gliadel was significantly longer than for patients who did not receive Gliadel (8.7 months vs. 5.5 months respectively, p=0.007). The median survival of MGMT methylated in elderly patients in the current cohort was doubled. These results may support the use of Gliadel in this sub-population. Limitations There are several limitations to this study. Its retrospective nature carries a potential bias. Moreover, the time period of this study ended in 2006, only one year after temozolomide became the standard of care in the treatment of GBM, thus most of the patients were not treated with the combination of temozolomide and radiation therapy. Furthermore, because this is a tertiary referral center, there is a bulk of patients who were operated in this center, but received further neuro-oncology treatments elsewhere, near their home, and therefore, their complementary oncology treatment is not available. Still, this large and unique cohort of patients with newly diagnosed GBM who were operated in one tertiary center provide novel data that may assist in optimizing and personalizing the treatment for GBM patients.

Existence of God Essay -- Literary Analysis, Suma Theologica

In the â€Å"Suma Theologica,† by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Aquinas combines the doctrines of Christianity with Aristotelian philosophy, through the assertion that as a result of observation, utilization of the senses, and an empirical mindset, one can substantiate the existence of God. Aquinas holds the conception that in the quest for God’s existence, philosophy and theology are interwoven together and both play complementary roles. He infuses numerous theological doctrines, mainly from Saint Augustine, alongside Aristotelian ideals such as, the first mover, to corroborate his argument for the existence of God. Instead of basing his argument on human reason and rationality like his predecessor, Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Aquinas holds that it is instead through an empirical mindset that one is able to ascertain and comprehend the existence of God. Aquinas deems that all knowledge acquired originated from the experiences of our senses. He believes that by experiencing eve nts, the human being is aware of the fact that there exists an effect for every action that is undergone. Through this realization, Aquinas recognizes that there must exist a cause that triggered that event into existence, culminating in the conclusion that everything in existence must be characterized by a cause. This argument presented defines the cosmological argument, a belief that there is a first cause, which is God, who is seen as the source of the cosmos that sets in motion a cycle of cause and effect. To prove this argument, Aquinas presents five different variants, each with subtle distinctions that display two reoccurring themes, the importance of sense experience and the notion of causality, to prove the existence of God. In Aquinas’s first argument, he lin... ... cause and effect stopped at the Big Bang, as it does to claim it stopped at God. The Big Bang Theory, which has no previous cause, could have easily prompted the chain of cause and effect. Why must we presume the world to have a beginning and claim that the cosmos could not have been a cause of itself? Since Aquinas, at the time, does not fully understand the workings of the Universe, his claim that the infinite regression arbitrarily stopped at God, is misleading, since the regression could have stopped as the universe itself prompted the chain of cause and effect. I wholeheartedly agree that Aquinas’ cosmological argument proves the existence of an â€Å"uncaused cause,† however I believe that it fails in acknowledging other means of creation and holds no validation that the first cause attributes the characteristics of the God of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

The Importance of Romanticism in Literature Essay -- Literature Essays

The Importance of Romanticism in Literature In Wordsworth’s â€Å"The World is Too Much With Us† can be seen all the classic signs of the Romantic movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century well embodied, complete with a near-worship of nature (â€Å"Little we see in Nature that is ours†¦for this, for everything, we are out of tune†) that was perhaps an understandable reaction to not only the classicism of the prior era, but the sociopolitical realities of the day (such as the French Revolution), a sort of intellectualized version of the hippie movement of 1960s America. Clearly, Wordsworth here is taking a typically Romantic view of the social order and what remained acceptable norms even in religious view (â€Å"I’d rather be a Pagan†¦so might I†¦have glimpses that would make me less forlorn†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), and a kind of individual, internal, take on the acquisition of truth that echoed the ultra-romanticism of Wordsworth’s fellow Briton, William Blake, in his insistence that he create his own â€Å"systems† lest he â€Å"be ruled by another man’s.† Much of these ideas would appeal, at least in their simplest forms, to much of modern consciousness, rebelling as it does not only against conformity and convention, but the apparent subjugation of the individual by the increasingly dizzying swirl of corporate culture and technological globalization. It is interesting to read Emily Dickinson’s take, as it were, on Romanticism from some five decades after Wordsworth. Dickinson wrote in the wake of the industrial revolution (or at least its initial stages) and fell only somewhat short of Thoreau’s radical view of the railroad as emblematic of technology devouring the human person (â€Å"We do not ride upon the railroad,† Thoreau famously asserted, â€Å"but t... ...hey seen as an outgrowth of Divine effort or merely an existent truth defiant of explanation. In other words, Romantic ideals may manifest themselves where Romanticism is not thought to be hiding in part because, quite simply, many Romantic ideals are common to human existence. The same can be said, of course, of the ideals of non-Romantic movements, and indeed this is so. Readers must be cautious to avoid rejecting the proverbial baby along with the bathwater in the common tendency to reject some truths simply because they are stated by those one considers an ideological enemy. In light of the above, Romanticism undoubtedly speaks to many readers today – as it did in its various reappearances in history – because it offers one side of a balanced coin which considers the individual as well as the collective, and the wonder of nature as well as the reason of man. The Importance of Romanticism in Literature Essay -- Literature Essays The Importance of Romanticism in Literature In Wordsworth’s â€Å"The World is Too Much With Us† can be seen all the classic signs of the Romantic movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century well embodied, complete with a near-worship of nature (â€Å"Little we see in Nature that is ours†¦for this, for everything, we are out of tune†) that was perhaps an understandable reaction to not only the classicism of the prior era, but the sociopolitical realities of the day (such as the French Revolution), a sort of intellectualized version of the hippie movement of 1960s America. Clearly, Wordsworth here is taking a typically Romantic view of the social order and what remained acceptable norms even in religious view (â€Å"I’d rather be a Pagan†¦so might I†¦have glimpses that would make me less forlorn†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), and a kind of individual, internal, take on the acquisition of truth that echoed the ultra-romanticism of Wordsworth’s fellow Briton, William Blake, in his insistence that he create his own â€Å"systems† lest he â€Å"be ruled by another man’s.† Much of these ideas would appeal, at least in their simplest forms, to much of modern consciousness, rebelling as it does not only against conformity and convention, but the apparent subjugation of the individual by the increasingly dizzying swirl of corporate culture and technological globalization. It is interesting to read Emily Dickinson’s take, as it were, on Romanticism from some five decades after Wordsworth. Dickinson wrote in the wake of the industrial revolution (or at least its initial stages) and fell only somewhat short of Thoreau’s radical view of the railroad as emblematic of technology devouring the human person (â€Å"We do not ride upon the railroad,† Thoreau famously asserted, â€Å"but t... ...hey seen as an outgrowth of Divine effort or merely an existent truth defiant of explanation. In other words, Romantic ideals may manifest themselves where Romanticism is not thought to be hiding in part because, quite simply, many Romantic ideals are common to human existence. The same can be said, of course, of the ideals of non-Romantic movements, and indeed this is so. Readers must be cautious to avoid rejecting the proverbial baby along with the bathwater in the common tendency to reject some truths simply because they are stated by those one considers an ideological enemy. In light of the above, Romanticism undoubtedly speaks to many readers today – as it did in its various reappearances in history – because it offers one side of a balanced coin which considers the individual as well as the collective, and the wonder of nature as well as the reason of man.

Graduation Speech: Is County High the Best School in America? :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening students, faculty, staff, family, and friends. I was NOT surprised to see County High School missing from Newsweek's list of the Top 100 High Schools in America for 2012. The magazine based their ranking on Advanced Placement scores and Ivy League acceptances. In the accompanying article on high school life, the journalist attempted to find the real worth of a high school education. Certainly, the excruciatingly painful 3-hour-long tests cannot sum up an entire four years of experience as a high school student. Speaking from personal knowledge, I can tell you those tests are in no shape, manner, or form fun. The journalist posed a most interesting question regarding modern education, asking, "What happened to time for fun, football games, and memories of life in high school?" Surely if national rankings were based on the overall academic, athletic, and social experience of young adults, County High would find its name at the TOP of the list. In my mind, the perfect kind of high school experience takes place here at County High. Looking back on the past four years, I have done my fair share of complaining, but I wouldn't have wanted to complain about anything else with anyone else. We've pleaded with teachers and staff to let us into football games, basketball games, and school dances without our school ID's, simply because we didn't feel like carrying them. We've managed to sneak water bottles, milk shakes, and French fries out of the cafeteria, while also managing to get caught every now and then. We've argued that our pink and tan polos actually resemble shades of orange and white, and when it came to a senior class trip, we simply couldn't bear 180 more days without one. Over the past four years, I hope you have tried to find the best in every situation and look for the best in every person. To me, County High has been the greatest place to experience high school, and you, my classmates, my friends, my best friends, you have made the past four years enjoyable and survivable. I honestly couldn't have asked for a more intelligent, more talented, and more promising group of people to spend four entire years of my life with. Where else can you sign out of school early with 30 classmates simply to spend a sunny afternoon on the beach? Where else is there a basketball-player who refers to himself as "Big Mac" and a Prom Queen who answers to "Fatty McFat-Fat? Graduation Speech: Is County High the Best School in America? :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address Good evening students, faculty, staff, family, and friends. I was NOT surprised to see County High School missing from Newsweek's list of the Top 100 High Schools in America for 2012. The magazine based their ranking on Advanced Placement scores and Ivy League acceptances. In the accompanying article on high school life, the journalist attempted to find the real worth of a high school education. Certainly, the excruciatingly painful 3-hour-long tests cannot sum up an entire four years of experience as a high school student. Speaking from personal knowledge, I can tell you those tests are in no shape, manner, or form fun. The journalist posed a most interesting question regarding modern education, asking, "What happened to time for fun, football games, and memories of life in high school?" Surely if national rankings were based on the overall academic, athletic, and social experience of young adults, County High would find its name at the TOP of the list. In my mind, the perfect kind of high school experience takes place here at County High. Looking back on the past four years, I have done my fair share of complaining, but I wouldn't have wanted to complain about anything else with anyone else. We've pleaded with teachers and staff to let us into football games, basketball games, and school dances without our school ID's, simply because we didn't feel like carrying them. We've managed to sneak water bottles, milk shakes, and French fries out of the cafeteria, while also managing to get caught every now and then. We've argued that our pink and tan polos actually resemble shades of orange and white, and when it came to a senior class trip, we simply couldn't bear 180 more days without one. Over the past four years, I hope you have tried to find the best in every situation and look for the best in every person. To me, County High has been the greatest place to experience high school, and you, my classmates, my friends, my best friends, you have made the past four years enjoyable and survivable. I honestly couldn't have asked for a more intelligent, more talented, and more promising group of people to spend four entire years of my life with. Where else can you sign out of school early with 30 classmates simply to spend a sunny afternoon on the beach? Where else is there a basketball-player who refers to himself as "Big Mac" and a Prom Queen who answers to "Fatty McFat-Fat?

Mike and Marty Scanlon Essay

People often have difficulty believing that Mike and Marty Scanlon are brothers, let alone twins. The two men bear a resemblance, but the similarity ends there. Marty Scanlon was always a quiet, well-behaved child. He excelled in all his academic subjects throughout his school years, although he was shy and had few friends. Marty would always be polite to people, but he generally preferred to keep to himself. After college, Marty became a successful network administrator for a large financial company and married his longtime girlfriend. A dedicated family man, Marty spends most of his free time doing home improvement projects and looking after his two children. Mike Scanlon, on the other hand, could never be described as shy. He was the student that teachers dreaded having in their classroom: boisterous, unruly, and indifferent to authority. Mike had many brushes with the law throughout his high school years, for crimes ranging from vandalism to public drunkenness. Mike dropped out o f high school to take a job as an oil-change technician at a local garage; he spends most of free time and money at local bars- at least the ones that haven’t banned him for starting fights. Mike’s current legal trouble surrounds two of his ex-girlfriends, who are independently taking him to court for child support. Mike is unfazed, however; he laughs with his friends that they’ll never get a dime from him. 1. How would Freud explain the personality differences between Mike and Marty? 2. How would you rate Mike and Marty on the Big Five personality traits? 3. Given that Mike and Marty are twins and share some of their genetic makeup, how would you explain the pronounced differences in their personalities? What role, if any, does temperament seem to be playing? 4. Which of the two brothers seems more likely to be achieving self-actualization, and why do you think so? 5. Do Mike and Marty appear to have different levels of intelligence, or do they show intelligence in different ways? Why do you think so?

An In-Depth Analysis of David Suzuki Essay

With a booming voice David Suzuki broadcasted to the world; â€Å"The human brain now holds the key to our future. We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space; a single entity in which air, water, and continents are interconnected. That is our home† (as cited in Huggan, 2008, p. 188). This quotation of Suzuki is very insightful to his personality as it displays the seriousness and passion that he places on protecting the environment and his belief that humans are the key to saving our planet. At the age of 76 he has many accomplishments: a vast and encompassing education, a 30-year broadcasting career, and developing a successful foundation. In order to achieve such success Suzuki had to be an effective leader, he did this through his confidence, locus of control, intelligence, Theory X leading and utilizing his personal power. Suzuki is an outstanding teacher; he attains this through being an exceptional leader. On March 24 in 1936 in the port city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Sestu and Kaoru gave birth to a beautiful baby boy: David Suzuki. It was unknown at the time what a monumental day this was for the world. In years to come, Suzuki would flourish to be a prominent activist and environmentalist. Suzuki’s growth into his leadership roll took years of education. In 1961 he completed a PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago. Following his education he authored 52 books. Among these books was the famous textbook â€Å"Introduction to Genetic Analysis† which was published in 1976 (Huggan, 2008, p. 188). The textbook was so successful it was translated into seven other languages: Italian, Spanish, Greek, Indonesian, Arabic, French, and German. Alongside his writing career, Suzuki has also been a very successful broadcaster. He started on the television show Suzuki on Science, where he educated children on biological and environmental sciences. He continued to do radio shows as well as television. In 1979, Suzuki hosted the very popular television series The Nature of Things which was viewed in over 40 nations. Through this series Suzuki was able to bring light to a great number of serious issues and educate people on environmental concerns. In 1985 the hit series A Planet for the Taking averaged 1.8 million views per episode providing him with a large audience to warn the many flaws in society. Over the past thirty years of broadcasting, Suzuki has become a well know â€Å"Canadian campaigner and activist† (Huggan, 2008, p. 188). 2 Not only is Suzuki a successful writer and broadcaster, but in 1990 he launched the David Suzuki Foundation. His foundation is one of his most recognized humanitarian accomplishments. The mission of the foundation is to â€Å"protect the diversity of nature and humanity’s quality of life† (Huggan, 2008, p. 188). It is through the phenomenal work of this foundation that David Suzuki became â€Å"recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology† (Huggan, 2008, p. 188). The foundation has had many projects focusing on climate change, health, wildlife and habitat, and fresh water. Suzuki is always expressive about his vision for his children and grandchildren’s worlds. Through the foundation, he is trying to create â€Å"sustainability with in a generation† (Marchant, 2008, p. 44). Suzuki wants everyone to take ownership for his or her actions and the effect they will have on the future. The theory that he preaches is that if we can make our own generation sustainable, and each generation does the same, then the world will flourish and all our descendants will have a future (Marchant, 2008, p. 44). The David Suzuki Foundation is still growing at an exponential rate 22 years after its conception. A leader can possess many qualities, traits, and styles. David Suzuki demonstrates successful leadership as he directs the public and his organization along the path of saving the environment. Of the nine traits of effective leadership, he clearly displays self-confidence, locus of control, integrity, and intelligence. Suzuki is a Theory X leader who uses personal power to influence his followers. Suzuki’s self-confidence is evident through his style of speech. Through his bold style and particular choice in words his â€Å"self assurance in [his] judgement† is evident (Lussier & Achua, 2011, p. 38). When asked about the future by Rothschild, he bravely stated that â€Å"if there are still human beings around, they’ll curse us for two things: nuclear weapons and TV† (2008, p. 53). His conviction and belief in the possibility of humans being extinct proves the confidence he has in his judgement of the destructive path the world is on. Suzuki’s assurance is also very evident when he refers to himself later in the interview as being part of the â€Å"most distinguished group of scientists† (as cited in Rothschild, 2008, p. 53). This is a very clear demonstration of his confidence. In a 2003 interview with David Leibl, Suzuki made the brash statement that â€Å"if we carry on it is going to get a hell of a lot worse† (p. 18). Through his word choice of ‘hell’, you can feel his pure conviction and strength behind his words. In all the speeches given by Suzuki his confidence seeps out of every word, this makes him an easy man to trust and follow. The traits of Suzuki’s locus of control and integrity are both very prominent by the way he takes ownership as a part of the environment’s degradation. When discussing the current climate he does not exclude himself from everyone but uses statements such as; â€Å"if we don’t make the right decisions now, we’re going to determine the future of humanity† (as cited in Rothschild, 2008, p. 53). In this statement, he includes both himself and the public as part of the problem. This demonstrates an internal locus of control by stating that people’s actions produce the future outcome. According to Lussier and Achua (2011), integrity is closely related to honesty (p. 39). When speaking with Leibl, Suzuki stated †Å"we depend on clean air, clean water, clean soil and clean energy† (2003, p. 18). This raw statement displays his honesty through its simplicity and lack of embellishment. By being clear and factual his sincerity and truthfulness is incredibly visible; this builds trust in his followers and allows Suzuki to be the effective leader that he is. In order to be a successful leader, one must be knowledgeable. The â€Å"cognitive ability to think critically† is Lussier and Achua’s definition of intelligence as it pertains to leadership (2011, p. 40). Suzuki is a great leader because his extensive education. As an academic, Suzuki comprehends the scientific world and all of its current research, however his intelligence extends beyond that and allows him to portray all that he learns in a straightforward way to the public. In discussion with Leibl, Suzuki states that â€Å"we’ve changed the biological and physical make up of the plant† (2003, p. 18). Through this simple sentence he was able to convey the severity of the research in a way everyone could understand. He is able to apply environmental science to real life problems and educate the public. Suzuki’s intelligence is also apparent through his frustration that the public â€Å"no longer thinks about the interconnectedness of everything† (as cited in Leibl, 2003, p. 18). As an environmentally conscience and intelligent figure, he considers all his choices and their effect on the bigger picture. Before getting into his car to drive to the store, Suzuki considers the ramifications then decides to ride his bicycle (Leibl, 2003, p. 18). Through his understanding of the scientific world and his ability to translate it to the public Suzuki’s intelligence is an essential asset to his leading capabilities. Suzuki leads with a slightly more traditional style. He has a â€Å"negative, pessimistic view† of his followers, which is Lussier and Achua’s definition of a Theory X leader (2011, p. 110). Suzuki’s little respect for others’ intelligence is evident by his exclamation that â€Å"limitless resources are a fools dream† after Marchant presented him with an economist’s prediction of space being a future resource (2008, p. 44). He then proceeded to explain his theory of preserving our current environment. His complete disregard for an alternative plan proves Suzuki’s feelings of superiority to his followers and need to micromanage the tasks. In another instant, Suzuki questions the scientific competency of Americans. He stated, â€Å"the fact that in America you’re still arguing over issues like intelligent design versus evolution is a sign of scientific illiteracy† (as cited in Rothschild, 2008, p. 53). Suzuki’s statement was both disrespectful and pessimistic toward the Americans. Suzuki is very progressive when attacking environmental issues, however his leading style reflects his age as he is a traditional Theory X leader. When leading, one must have influence over his or her followers. Suzuki uses personal power to control and motivate his followers. His authority derives from his persona, as â€Å"charismatic leaders have personal power† (Lussier & Achua, 2011, p 110). A typical tactic of influential speaking is to use repetition. When interviewed by Marchant, Suzuki said â€Å"let’s look ahead a generation. Let’s imagine a Canada where air is clean†¦.Let’s imagine a Canada covered in forest† (2008, p. 45). His speech was very charismatic through its positive uplifting nature, the repetition, as well as through the inclusive ‘let’s’. Another proven tactic of creating influence is to build community with your followers. When speaking with Rothschild, Suzuki claimed â€Å"I’m one person. I’m not going to save the world and change its direction. But if there are millions and millions of insignificant people like me †¦ there could be a irresistible force† (2008, p. 53). This declaration is very significant as is binds people through creating a mutual goal and builds momentum behind his cause. Through his use of repetition, community building, and uplifting word selection, Suzuki’s charisma is evident. With a deep routed passion, Suzuki tackles environmental issues though educating the public of the changes they must make. In his lifetime, he has achieved greatness through his extensive education, 30-year broadcasting career, and developing a thriving foundation. Suzuki excels as a leader because of his confidence, locus of control, intelligence, Theory X leading, and demonstrating hi s personal power. References Huggan, G. (2008). Suzuki on Suzuki. Canadian Literature, (197), 188-189. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Leibl, D. (2003). The Venerable David Suzuki. Canadian Dimension, 37(1), 18. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Lussier, R. N., & Achua, D. B. A. (2011). Leadership (Custom Edition). Toronto: Nelson Education. Marchant, J. (2008). Special beyond growth: Interview with David Suzuki. New Scientist, 199(2678), 44-45. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Rothschild, M. (2011). David Suzuki. Progressive, 74(12), 53-54. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.