Black Vision Essay Research Paper Ralph Ellison

Black Vision Essay, Research Paper Ralph Ellison was born in Okalahoma, March 1, 1914 he was the grandson of black slaves in the South. His life was full of achievement he attended Tuskegee University from 1933-1936. In 1936 he moved to New York where he met the novelist Richard Wright, and subsequently became associated with the Federal Writer? s undertaking. Ellison achieved international celebrity with his release of? Invisible Man? in 1952 in the undermentioned twelvemonth the novel won the national book award. Ralph Ellison passed off in 1994, but he left behind him a bequest of African American civilization that many had non seen earlier. In many of Ellison? s works he writes about the Black image in America, or the? black vision? . Ralph Ellison? s black vision humiliates the black race, makes them experience inferior, segregates them, but still Ellison has hope for America, and he believes that the black race should cover with the? black vision? independently. This is best proven by the short narrative? Flying Home? , a critical essay written on Ellison, and a powerful statement given by Ralph Ellison. The affecting short narrative? Flying Home? is the narrative of an injured black pilot who lies on the land in physical hurting, as he deals with the hurting of deriving credence in a white society. Todd expresses his feelings on siting the old black adult male? s ox into town in this extract: ? Yes, and humiliation was when you could neer be merely yourself, when you were ever portion of this black ignorant adult male? 1 Ellison expresses here through the pilot that white America will neer be accepting of inkinesss. Blacks are viewed as being on a lower platform, while the Whites hold some type of high quality over them. Todd does non desire to be associated with the old adult male because the old adult male represents to Tom all that is incorrect with Black America. He is non good educated, hapless, and speaks ill ; Tom sees this as the g round why inkinesss are non genuinely accepted into society. Therefore he refuses to be associated with him in anyhow giving the medical assistance he genuinely needs. Another ground Todd does non wish to sit into town is he does non wish to be recognized for his defect. Todd feels that when he makes a error a white individual will non keep it against merely him, but instead his full race. Therefore Todd and the remainder of black America can neer have true equality because of the nescient attitudes of the white people. Through? Flying place? Ellison shows the rough universe of the? black vision? of America. Todd is Ellis on? s tool for depicting the black vision of America. Furthermore? Flying Home? and a critical essay on Ellison prove that although the vision of inkinesss in America is unfair, it is something that Ellison thought African Americans must cover with. A critic of Ralph Ellison? s work Ernest Kaiser wrote an essay called? Negro Images in American Writing? . In this essay Kaiser writes? To Ellison Negro life in America is simply portion of the general human status of western adult male to be mastered separately by each Negro as a adult male. ? 2 In this review of Ellison? s? black vision. ? Kaiser clearly states Ellison? s position on the adversities of black life in America. Ellison best represents the ideals of the? black vision? in? Flying Home? . In one peculiar scene where the old black adult male describes his vision of Eden is really symbolic of the? black vision? . ? There I was sho? but they tole me I better come down cuz us colored folks had to have on a particular type of harness when we flew. That was how come they wasn? T wingi ng. Oh yes an you had to be excess strong to wing with one of them harnesses. ? 3 When the old black adult male goes to heaven he sprouts wings, but is supposed to utilize them with a harness. This is symbolic of Ellison? s? black vision? , and how a black individual must larn to cover with battle. To wing with a harness a black adult male must hold excess strength. Just as on Earth for a Blackman to digest the? black vision? in America a black adult male must be mentally strong, must hold great endurance, to set up with the battles of humbleness, stereotypes, and dual criterions placed upon their shoulders. Ernest Kaiser clearly states the fact that Ellison believes the? black vision? should be dealt with on an single degree. Ellison proves this in the short narrative? Flying Home? Although Ellison? s? black vision? is mostly seen in? Flying Home? , Ellison still remains optimistic about America in general. Ellison is ounce quoted stating? If the universe has potency to resuscitate and do us free, it besides has the power to blind, imprison, and destroy. ? 4 Ellison believes that the universe including America is capable of fantastic things. At the same clip it is besides capable of all the things the black vision has accomplished. The? black vision? embarrasses the black American society, it is degrading, and condescending towards inkinesss, but Ellison supports that the black race trade with the issue themselves, and maintains a positive attitude for hope of get rid ofing racism. 320

Leadership and Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Essay Example There are numerous ways in which Joe can apply the social learning theory to improve the employees’ performance. Social learning theory demonstrates that people may learn through observation not only because it is the easiest way of learning but also because it provides people with a means to witness the consequences of behaviors demonstrated by others so that they can modify their own behaviors from their willingness to attain similar results; â€Å"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do†. This imparts the need for Joe to create awareness among the employees about the strategies of improving the sales volumes that have worked for the employees in the company in the past. A potential way to help the employees observe this is by displaying charts with the graphs showing the sales made by employees opposite their respective names and a table demonstrating the secrets of success as revealed by the respective successful employees. This would not only help the employees observe and learn, but the charts would also serve as a reward for the successful employees since they would feel acknowledged by the leader in a good way. According to the social learning theory, learning and behavior are not only influenced by the environmental and external reinforcement, but also the intrinsic reinforcement plays a great role in providing people with such internal rewards as satisfaction, pride, and a sense of achievement.

Personality and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personality and Leadership - Essay Example The present research has identified that leadership solves the complex problem and issue of how to control and organize the collective effort. It involves putting people in order so that they can perform a common goal or duty. Effective leadership ensures that institutions are able to achieve their goal and visions while keeping in line with their mission. Leadership ensures organization effectiveness and efficiency. Because of good leadership organization such as universities, hospitals, corporations, governments, and armies are able to thrive. The success in organizations as a result of leadership boosts the psychological and financial well-being of people. The main objective of leadership is to ensure that people collectively achieve common goal and aspirations. It is a tool that ensures group and individuals thrive and survive. Leadership involves keeping things in order whenever they go astray. It involves motivating and encouraging people to work towards the common or set objec tives. It entails maintaining and building of teams which are effective. It does this by encouraging people to work towards a common objective and goal. It discourages selfishness and ensures collective benefits and achievements. Leadership encourages corrective responsibility of a team as people are encouraged to work as a team. It ensures people are watching each other’s back. People are able to seek guidance and assistance from others because of the team spirit caused by leadership. When misused, leadership becomes a tool of destruction. Leaders use the authority they have to push for their personal intentions and objectives. Leadership gives few people authority who can use the chance to dictate and ruin other people’s lives. Leadership only involves pursuing the objectives and intentions of the few people who have the leadership roles. It promotes laziness as people act upon instructions and supervision. With leadership, people get used to being pushed. It makes p eople depend on other people’s effort in order to get something done.

Zha Scapegoat Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Zha Scapegoat - Assignment Example ReneÃŒ  Girard’s theory of scapegoat is a theory based on the origins of sacrifice. The theory advocates that historical collective murders arise at the commencement of primitive ritual sacrifice. Rituals and myths memorize and disguise these distressing, violent origins (Girard 92). A fundamental concept in the thought of Girard is that of contagion. Markedly, both the mythic falsification of collective murder and contagious transfer are well illustrated in Girard’s scrutiny of the symbol of Oedipus. According to ReneÃŒ  Girard, the attribution of evil and crime to an innocent individual is neither motiveless nor arbitrary, but is a reaction to the actual social risk. However, in the collective murder, the instantaneous cause is the breakdown of the social order. The breakage is provoked by famine, war, plague, or any other major social disaster. During this situation, every person turn out to be the enemy of all: the rich against the poor, neighbour against neighbour, brother against brother. According to ReneÃŒ  Girard the scapegoat comes in as a safety value in the condition of spiralling violence whereby every person resorts to retribution so as to attain what is rightfully theirs. The conflict of all against all, the violence that looms to pouch t he community, is revolutionized to a war against one person. ReneÃŒ  Girard denotes that with the death of the scapegoat, the violence cycle ends. The title of the film ‘The Wrong Man’ recognizes one of the main persistent themes in Hitchcock’s work that is the theme of the innocent man or the mistakenly accused. The film tells a story of the erratic arrest and incarceration of Balestrero. This occurred after he was wrongly identified as the thief of an insurance company office aside from other several stores. The basis of the film is on a true story, the factual life case of Christopher Balestrero. As evident

Essay on Cloud Computing

Essay on Cloud Computing Abstract This paper explores cloud computing and its merits and de-merits which may help an organization in taking a wise decision either in favor of it or against it. Cloud computing is the buzz word now in the field of information technology. It is the concept of where an organization has its data and application hosted on a third party infrastructure. Sometimes the applications are designed and developed by the service provider and the company using it uses that application against its own data. There are several factors for deciding in favor of it as well as several factors that raise strong questions for its acceptance. It is totally based on the need of the organization, whether it leverages cloud computing or not. What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is Internet-based utility computing, basically shared resources, software and information that are used by end-users hosted on virtual servers. Some people term anything beyond a companies or users personal firewall to be in cloud (Knorr, Gruman, n.d., para. 2).Personal computing has evolved in three phases. The first phase was where the data and application was stored on a local desktop. The second phase is where the applications reside on a local server and utility software on the desktop along with the internet to provide valuable information. The third phase is where most of the data and software will reside somewhere on the internet. This phase is identified as cloud computing. Although more than 80% of world-wide computational data is being predicted to move into clouds in the next five to ten years, there are a number of unanswered questions which will decide the speed of development in this arena (Nelson, 2009, para. 1). It is a new concept in the field of inf ormation technology still trying to get acceptance, where-in the technological services/ applications are provided by a third-party. Cloud Computing Nomenclature From the days when use of internet started becoming popular, the network architecture diagrams show internet as cloud to hide the complexities from the end-user hence the name cloud computing. The applications/ software are provided as services which reside in data centers with server farms and redundant storage. End-users can access them via web browsers in laptops or hand-held devices. Google Apps, Facebook and salesforce.com are examples of cloud computing which are becoming very popular especially with the younger generations. A very basic example of cloud computing is a web-based email service like Gmail where the complexity of storage and presentation of user data is provided by a third party, and users are leveraging them by means of web browsers(Nelson, 2009, para. 12). Benefits of Cloud Computing Cloud Computing is a totally different paradigm of personal as well as corporate computing which drifts away from the traditional software business model. There are several positive factors for deciding in favor of moving to cloud computing. Some of the important favorable factors are discussed below. Entry cost for a business to set itself up in cloud is much less compared to traditional setup. Cost for running Information Technology (IT) business in cloud world can be visualized as operational cost. Organizations no longer need to shell out big amounts for hardware and software upgrades (Cunningham Wilkins, 2009, p. 3). They no longer need to worry about end of life for hardware/ software. Companies no longer need to spend huge amounts on buying new hardware for scalability. In short, infrastructure costs to get in to cloud are much lower than that for the traditional model. Pricing is generally based on usage options. Organizations do not need to maintain a workforce of IT people and can focus on strengthening their business domain knowledge. Organizations can use only applications which are suited for their need and not pay huge amounts on licenses for using a software suite. Most of the time buying a software suite is of lesser worth from the business perspective as only few features of the suite are really used and the cost associated with upgrades and licenses are expensive. With canned applications in cloud, business can decide and pay for only the applications that they need. Using virtualization as the main technology, additional computing resources can be added dynamically without having any downtime. By monitoring peak load and server usage, an application can be dynamically switched over to a virtual machine with greater computing speed or the current virtual machine can be augmented with more computing resources (Zhong, Wo, Li Li, 2010, p. 2). The organization using the application does not need to pay extra for the scalability feature. In virtualization, high performance servers are split into multiple machin es catering to different customers. Some of the popular products are VMware and XEN. With the infrastructure being located in multiple data centers and huge server farms, users can be productive anytime from anywhere in the world using web-browsers in laptops, desktops or hand-held devices. Business executives travelling to client locations need not carry hard copies and everything with them, as with a simple click of the mouse they can reach the information gateway. With infrastructure being maintained at multiple redundant sites, it gives more confidence to business organizations in regard to business continuity and disaster recovery. Nowadays in the industry, one of the buzz words is collaboration. Tools like sharepoint are becoming very popular where multiple people can work on the same document and access them without having to store the document locally and work on it and send it via email for edits by other users. With web 2.0 where everything is going to be on the internet, collaboration will be very easy and simple (Cunningham Wilkins, 2009, p. 4). Since the infrastructure for cloud computing is centralized and the client is a thin client like a web-browser or a WAP browser, the upgrade and maintenance of the system is much easier compared to the system where we require a desktop client connecting to a server where each client desktop needs to be upgraded when the server version is getting upgraded (Cunningham Wilkins, 2009, p. 3). Concerns with Cloud Computing As there is darkness after light similarly with the benefits discussed in the earlier sections there are a few concerns floating around with the acceptance and utilization of cloud computing. With the applications provided as service and being used by different customers, personalization seems to be one limitation. The characteristics are similar to a COTS product but if proper negotiations are made, product-based companies most of the time do allow customization. There is a serious concern with data being centralized and out of business control. Sensitive data will now be under the control of a third-party and according to some experts this is a compliance issue and some feel that this is probably going to be the end of confidential records management (Cunningham Wilkins, 2009, p. 7). When it comes to the disclosure policies, some people do not know where to draw the line and knowingly or unknowingly share vital information and with data out on the third-party space that concern be comes even more critical. With everything accessible through internet, business will be totally dependent on the network and the service providers infrastructure. Business will come to a halt if the network/ internet are down. As illustrated by Patrick Cunningham in his article (2009), currently in the IT world when we need to troubleshoot an issue, one advantage in our favor is that the application logs and the database are within the premises of the enterprise. With the shift to cloud, this aspect will be lost and thus special support or contract binding needs will be there between the service provider and the business for e-discovery. With business sensitive internal data being maintained by the vendor the dependency on the vendors unique API and proprietary interfaces could create a possible lock-in with the vendor. If under some circumstance the business is dissatisfied with the vendor, moving to a new vendor means data needs to be reformatted and converted which can be time co nsuming and expensive (Brandel, 2009, p.1). Return on Investment By moving to cloud computing companies can save huge amount of money. As illustrated by Raichura (2009), in couple of online articles please find below charts showing examples of savings that an organization can achieve by moving to the cloud. The first table illustrates the difference in cost of having infrastructure on premises versus having it in the cloud. The second table illustrates the cost saving considering storage, service, infrastructure and platform in the cloud. Conclusion After having discussed the merits and de-merits it clearly stands out that there is no one clear answer in favor or against of cloud computing. So far it seems that is going to be a hybrid solution from the corporate standpoint. Some critical, business sensitive applications will continue with the traditional business model till the concerns about privacy and legal matters are cleared from cloud computing whereas simple canned applications will become more and more popular in the cloud space. The concept and technology is here to stay but it still in its infancy and there is a long road ahead to get to maturity. References: Brandel,M.(2009).The Trouble with Cloud Vendor Lock in. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/488478/The_Trouble_with_Cloud_Vendor_Lock_in Cunningham, P. Wilkins, J. (2009). A Walk in the Cloud. Information Management (15352897), 43(1), 22-30. Retrieved from Computers Applied Sciences Complete database. Erdogmus, H, (2009). Cloud Computing:Does Nirvana Hide behind the Nebula? Knorr, E. Gruman, G. (n.d). What cloud computing really means. Retrieved from http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031 Nelson, M. (2009). The Cloud, the Crowd, and Public Policy. Issues in Science Technology, 25(4), 71-76. Retrieved from Computers Applied Sciences Complete database. Raichura, B.J. (2009). The cloud ROI Framework. Retrieved from http://www.infosysblogs.com/cloudcomputing/2009/06/the_cloud_roi_framework.html Raichura, B.J. (2009). The Economics of cloud computing. Retrieved from http://www.infosysblogs.com/cloudcomputing/2009/06/the_economics_of_cloud_computi.html Zhong, L., Wo,T, Li, J. Li,B. (2010). A Virtualization-based SaaS Enabling Architecture for Cloud Computing.2010 Sixth International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems. pp.144-149.

The Theme of Black Leadership in Invisible Man Essay -- Ralph Ellison,

     Ã‚   Ralph Ellison's interest in effective black leadership is directly reflected in Invisible Man. The characterization of Bledsoe in the beginning of the story is that of a ruthlessly self-serving black leader (McSweeny). In chapter five, a "mythic model" for black leadership is outlined in the eulogy of the founder of the college, which is given by Homer A. Barbee (McSweeny). While Invisible Man is residing in the apartment of Mary Rambo, she drills into his head the importance of leadership and responsibility. In chapter thirteen the anger of the crowd watching the eviction begins to rise, and as one onlooker observes that "All they need is a leader" (Ellison 274). These events lead to Invisible Man's first act of leadership when he delivers a spontaneous speech to the crowd. Invisible Man comes to realize that the fundamental problem confronting a potential black leader is the lack of an infrastructure (McSweeny). He states, "...we had no money, no intelligence apparatus, either in government, business or in labor unions; and no communications with our own people excep...

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz Question: Do you think The Wizard of Oz provided Americans with the hope that their dreams could come true, or do you think that the movie might have made Americans even more upset with their own reality? Every human being faces their own demons and troubles. We try to escape them – some do it through their own battles, but most of us just want to forget, even if it is for a little while. After our moment in paradise is over, we can face our burdens with a new strength provided by escapism. Movies, books, music, poetry and art were just a few ways for artists to express themselves and for the audience to get lost in.This audience mostly consisted of middle-class average Americans, who worked hard and long. Escapism was very popular during the time of the Great Depression in the US. During the day people would work hard for their money, fight for their survival and try to keep their heads up through all of the difficulties, but during the evening they would sca tter around town just to find someplace to relax. Most Americans would go around town and search for folks with similar interests. People would always love to go to bars and have a few drinks, exchange stories and laugh.The motion pictures, though, have always been a silent awe – sitting there and enjoying the entertainment unfold before your eyes was pretty magical, even for our day and time in the 21st century. The Wizard of Oz was a hit movie that came out in 1939. The light colorful drawings and the flamboyant set kept the viewers satisfied and yearning for more. Since it was one of the first movies with color, it was quite the success. The special effects in the delightful motion picture kept the audience growing bigger and bigger.Special effects were used in the movie quite often, which seem pretty silly to our 21st century technologically advanced brains, but in fact seemed very impressive at the time. Because of all these technical improvements from the previous movie s and taking a few steps forward in development, the film was also one of the most expensive made at the time. Produced by Lions Gate Entertainment, the movie cost an awful lot for the Great Depression era – about 2 million dollars. The motion picture paid off its large bill in time, even if it wasn’t as big of a hit at first.Because of its light theme and enjoyable melodies, the musical soon gained its place in the media. To us now, the movie seems a bit too dramatically done and very silly, but at that time it was really wonderful. The lightly careless way it just swept up your thoughts and mind was amazing, it kept the audience’s attention for the whole show. Forgetting your daily life was now much easier, especially because of the catchy tunes in songs. Lyrics were very simple and fitting, the actors dramatic enough to keep it entertaining but not worrisome.The obnoxious way Dorothy was portrayed may seem very annoying to us now, but during the Great Depress ion era it was very amusing and quite fitting. Due to the actors being very talented and skillful, the film was enjoyable. Even if The Wizard of Oz has absolutely nothing to do with the Great Depression, it has an implied meaning suitable for all times. All of the characters went on searching for something more, but in the end realized that what they were looking for was with them all along. A great disappointment at the end of the film might seem the Great Wizard. He happens to be a fellow man from Kansas, just like Dorothy.That symbolizes how simple and modest even the best of things can be. By processing this information of hidden meanings, the audience slowly learned from the movies they watched. They began to realize certain values in life, began to see things differently. â€Å"That’s a horse of a different color† says the guard of Emerald City once Dorothy arrives, and now that quote is very fitting. Even if the audience didn’t look deep enough into the c haracters to find the hidden meanings and ideas, it was still a very entertaining film. Its simplicity and the humorous story truly did help the average American with escapism.The movie has a charismatic effect on its viewers, making it very hard not to sing along or at least laugh at the characters. It swept you away from the first minutes of song and special effects. Musicals always have the effect of moving the audience’s emotions. Due to the color change once Dorothy arrives to Munchkin Land, the movie is quite breathtaking for those times. The Great Depression was most definitely affected by movies like this; they made people’s lives easier and more bearable. Now the demons and troubles Americans faced came easier, since entertainment served as a distraction.

Human Genome Project Essay

One of the most challenging questions that have been left unanswered to this date is that regarding human evolution and geography. From the sociological point of view, it has long been known that specific populations can be differentiated from each other based on their religious backgrounds. On the other hand, forensic science employs language in grouping human population. In the field of human genetics, there is currently credible information that facilitates the understanding of how the entire human population evolved through time. The recent completion of the Human Genome Project resulted in the generation of the actual deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence of a human cell, with the hope that every disease could be associated to a particular gene in the sequence. Alongside this discovery, other genetic features have been uncovered in the DNA sequence, including small nucleotide polymorphisms which serve as signatures to specific biological phenomenon. In Olson’s chapter entitled â€Å"God’s people: A genetic history of the Jews,† the evolution of this population was described in terms of selection, environmental factors, adaptation and migration (Olson 107). The chapter supported this description with reports generated from haplotype reconstruction and tracing of Aaron’s Y chromosome. Through DNA sequencing analyses, it is now possible to reconstruct the origins and migrations of specific populations based on the presence or absence of genetic markers in the human genome sequence. The most interesting part of the chapter is that genetic changes in the Samaritan population can be correlated to their historical account, including the time when these individuals were under persecution by the Roman government. This historical event resulted in a significant decrease in their population size. In response to the change in population size, the Samaritans underwent what is genetically termed inbreeding, which is simply the action of consanguinity. Despite common notions that consanguinity results in serious health risks, this population survived through thousands of years. One major observation among the Samaritans is that these individuals physically appear similar and this is mainly due to inbreeding. Interestingly, the expected medical diseases that are commonly brought about by intermarriages did not develop in the next generations and this may be due to the selection against these defective genotypes. Another process that could be associated with this scenario is the bottleneck effect, which selectively retains the beneficial genes to the next generation. Today, it has been estimated that approximately 13 million Jews are living in the Middle East. The contemporary Jews are technically grouped into Ashkenazi or non-Ashkenazi, based on their ancestry through regions around Europe. These individuals are a good population to follow in terms of genetic history, since this population carries a natural history of migration and evolution through time. The non-Ashkenazi Jews are considered as the highly migratory subpopulation, resulting in a diverse culture. On the other hand, the Ashkenazi Jews generally remained in the same region, thus preserving their genetic makeup. This geographical history thus resulted in the identification of specific genetic mutations and diseases that are inherently observed among members of this population. The chapter also attempted to describe the effect of founding mutations, which are initial mutations that have occurred early in time during the migratory and settling era of the population. The subsequent generations of this population resulted in the presence of the same diseases and mutations, the most possible explanation for this is that these formerly de novo mutations have been fixed in the genome sequence of the offspring. It should be understood that genetic mutations occur in germ cells, as well as in somatic cells, and these have the propensity to be passed on to the next generation through the genetic laws of independent assortment and segregation. The analysis of sequences derived from mitochondrial DNA have also revealed that the founder mutations reported among the Jews were transmitted through a matrilineal route (Behar 2062). Using mitochondrial DNA tracking, genetic analysis can generate estimations of the time of fixation of a specific genetic mutation in this population. The continuous geographical changes of the members of this population further exert its impact on the genetic fixation and phenotypic frequencies of these mutations, resulting in the current genetic conditions of this group. The genetic pool of the Jews thus reflects a microenvironment wherein genetic changes, alongside environmental effects and migration could be correlated with each other. There is still great debate with regards to the genetic history of the Jews. As Olson has indeed mentioned in his writing, all human beings are similar in the genetics aspect and being a Jew is simply based on how an individual feels about himself. This maybe true, yet in time there will still be more information that will be gathered from genetic assays on different populations around the world. The current information that has been established is that there are three founding mutations that have been identified in the Jews and each mutation reflects the origin or migratory pattern of each subgroup. However, the exact direction or genetic drift of each migratory pattern still needs to be further investigated. There is a need for a comprehensive genotyping of more individuals of each human population in order to fully understand the historical, as well as geographical account of human evolution and speciation. Each existing population must have been derived from an original group of individuals that existed in time. 2. The article entitled, â€Å"Jewish legacy inscribed on genes† authored by Karen Kaplan describes the account of Gregory Cochran regarding the genes of Jewish individuals (Kaplan 3). One of his claims is that Ashkenazi Jews are more prone to serious medical disorders due to the common mutations that afflict this specific population. One of the highly publicized medical disorders that commonly occur among Ashkenazi Jews is Tay-Sachs disease, a neurological childhood condition that leaves an individual disabled and complications result in difficulty of these individual’s to lead normal lives. Another common genetic disorder affecting Jews is Canavan disease, which involves the deterioration of the brain tissues, resulting in both morbidity and mortality in young Ashkenazi Jewish children. Niemann-Pick disease is another serious medical condition that is often reported among this specific human population and this disease is associated with the significant accumulation of fats in the particular organs such as the brain. Unfortunately, these aforementioned medical disorders result in mortality of an Ashkenazi Jew at a very young age. Another medical disorder that occurs frequently among Ashkenazi Jews is torsion dystonia, which is a movement disorder that involves changes in the tissue consistency of the brain. The accumulation of plaques in the brain results in the involuntary jerking and twisting of parts or even the entire body of the afflicted individual. Cochran claims that these common medical disorders affect Ashkenazi Jews in particular through a specific genetic makeup that still has yet to be uncovered. It is also of interest to know that these common disorders are of neurological origin, which means that the central nervous system of an individual is affected. Thus, these disorders can either affect the brain, the spinal cord, or any of the smaller neural cells that are connected or associated with the nervous system. In order for the public to better understand his claim, Cochran even compared this association to that of sickle cell anemia, which is a severe blood disorder that is commonly observed among African Americans. This genetic blood disorder results in the difficulty to transport oxygen to the rest of the parts of the body, as the red blood cells are distorted in shape, from the normal ovoid shape to that similar to a sickle. Comprehensive scientific research has established that a specific mutation is responsible for the generation of a sickle cell-shaped red blood cell, which in turn is commonly present in individuals of African American descent. Another claim of Gregory Cochran is that despite such serious medical disorders that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, a positive observation is also significantly present in this human population. Cochran claimed that Ashkenazi Jews are highly intelligent, as shown by intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of children of this ethnicity. He thus proposed that the predisposition of Ashkenazi Jews to mutations in gene associated with brain conditions also results in a high level of intelligence. Kaplan’s article further supports Cochran’s claim of intelligence and gene mutations with the historical accounts of how Jews lives through the centuries. The activities mainly involved migration, trading and other forms of business, all of which were highly successful. Kaplan supported Cochran’s claim by saying that these business transactions can only survive if the individuals involved were highly intelligent and since most of the activities were led by Ashkenazi Jews, then it is also likely that the intelligence â€Å"phenomenon† may have existed early on. Unfortunately, the claims of Cochran still need to be tested on a large population of Ashkenazi Jews before this can be proven and accepted. As Kaplan accounts in her Los Angeles Times article, the report of Cochran was an outright reject in the first journal that he and his collaborator, Harpending, submitted to. However, another journal that supports theories without substantial experimental evidence, Journal of Biosocial Science, published their claim. The claim of high intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews needs to undergo comprehensive investigation first before it can be fully accepted in the field of science. Similar to the genetic establishment of the neurological diseases that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, this claim was further strengthened after several years of scientific research in genetic laboratories. Patients positively diagnosed with the neurological disease were checked with regards to other clinical features. In addition, their DNA was extracted and the specific genes responsible for generating the disease were sequenced. In case a DNA mutation was identified in the genes, these were compared to other patients’ DNA sequences. Any other common features among thousands of patients were correlated and compared, thus resulting in what has now been established as a predisposition of the disease in this human population. It is thus important that the same meticulous type of investigation be conducted with regards to intelligence. However, the search for the answer to this claim may be more difficult because intelligence has been established to be influence by several factors. Scientists and psychologists have earlier established that the multi-factorial origin of intelligence makes any effort in tracing the source of intelligence to be ultimately difficult. Intelligence can not simply be generated through the genes because environmental factors can also affect an individual’s condition, including his mental state. There are a number of twin studies that have been conducted for several decades that employ the procedure of separating each of the twins are bringing each individual up in a different environment. Since the genetic makeup of twins is entirely the same, then any claims on intelligence genes can be validated in such experimental conditions. Unfortunately, twin studies have proven that a child who was brought up in an environment filled with violence and anger tend to be poorly developed in intelligence. On the other hand, the twin sibling who was raised in an environment that was filled with love and support grew up into a very intelligent and mature individual. It is thus difficult to prove Cochran’s claim that Ashkenazi Jews are far more intelligent than other human populations, because there are so many factors to consider before one can claim that a specific entity influences that state of thinking. Another issue that would emanate from such claim is that other cultures and ethnicities would perceive such proposal as a form of discrimination or indifference to other human populations. Claiming or even proving that a certain human population is highly intelligent does not help in the global cooperation between countries. In addition, the establishment of this claim will not save lives, just like the other efforts that employ genetic technologies in screening for specific mutations that would tie a particular phenotype to a particular genetic sequence. Proving the high levels of intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews will only spark anger and outrage from other cultures. It is thus good that Cochran feels that there is no need to prove his claim through the use of experimental evidence. It would also be safe and for the best of the rest of the world to leave Cochran along with his claim and let other people speculate on his unsupported claim. The application of genetic analysis on human population has been regarded as a novel and revolutionary addition to the methods in studying human evolution and speciation. The information that can be generated by this technology can be very sensitive and effective, yet there is still a need to employ human intervention and compassion with regards to which specific questions need to be addressed. Genetic analysis in connection to medical disorders can be very helpful in diagnostics and treatment, as well as for saving lives, but genetic screening other social factors such as intelligence will only spark bias among individuals around the world. Works Cited Behar, D. M., Metspalu, E. , Kivisild, T. , Rosset, S. , Tzur, S. , Hadid, Y. , Yudkovsky, G. , Rosengarten, D. , Pereira, L. , Amorim, A. , Kutuev, I. , Gurwitz, D. , Bonne-Tamir, B. , Villems, R. and Skorecki, K. â€Å"Counting the Founders: The Matrilineal Genetic Ancestry of the Jewish Diaspora. † PLoS ONE 3 (2008): 2062-2087. Kaplan, K. â€Å"Jewish Legacy Inscribed on Genes? † Los Angeles Times 18 April 2009. Olson, S. Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins. San Francisco: Harcourt Publishers, 2003.