Influences On Government Essays - Elections, Political Terminology

Influences On Government Our governmental system is influenced by a number of "inputs" and factors that shape the outcome of political movements and decisions. These "inputs" include public pinions, political parties, interest groups, and the influence of mass media. They influence our government directly as well as indirectly. Not to mention, that our government also uses these "inputs" for its own benefit. The main issue that forms governmental decisions in a democracy is of course the public opinion. In order to be eligible to run for an office in our governmental system, one must be elected by the people or a representative thereof, and to achieve this task one must listen to and obey the public's opinion. Therefore, the theory of democracy is most purely applied through election on behalf of the public opinion. Another important factor in our system of government are of course our political parties. Parties enable the citizen living in a democratic society to establish a connection to governmental action and lead policy-making to his benefit or liking. Furthermore, a citizen can participate in society quite easily, since 2 party platforms which clearly indicate a parties goals and preferences. However, this democratic ideal does not always prevail. Parties can be influenced or even manipulated by people who contribute great amounts of funds to the party to have their own personal political wishes fulfilled which do not necessarily have to benefit society as a whole (power elite theory). Interest groups account for an additional 'mover' in Washington. This political devise provides a supplement to our citizens broad area of interests. Since the American People can only choose between two main parties. Therefore, certain issues might not come to political debate. Interest groups fill this gap and thus withhold the theory of democracy. Yet, 'Big Business' has also found this devise to help fulfill its political needs. Once again politics is influenced by a small amount of citizens, that own about two thirds of our nations worth. Interest groups have grown more influential over the years and created a pluralistic society, in which people's everyday issues and interests are brought to the attention of our governmental system. However, since there is a rapid growth in interest groups and political action committees, the competition among groups might become so extensive that demands on politicians might be to high and hence, our system would come to a halt or gridlock and nothing would be achieved anymore. Last but not least mass media provide another 'input' to our system of government. The media provide the people with information they need to be able 3 to make sensible political decisions. In formation on election debates current poles help the public to stay in touch with the policy-makers in Washington.

Axial age thinkers

Axial age thinkers Introduction It is evident that there have been radical changes in the political, religious and philosophical structures over time in the world history. One such transformational age was the axial age. Karl Jaspers, a famous German philosophy was the one behind the descriptions of the axial age.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Axial age thinkers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The axial age basically refers to the period between the 800 to 200BC (Morris 458). One of the significant attributes associated with the axial age was the spread of revolutionary thinking. The axial age was originally witnessed in the West, and further spread to Persia and India (Morris 460). The axial thinkers played a significant role in the determining of the nature of the philosophy of the post axial age. The revolutionary thinkers also had a great influence on religion, and they mostly shared common characteristics with respect to t heir places of origin. One of the profound and universal trends of the axial thinkers was their views towards religion and philosophy. The spiritual and philosophical frameworks that were laid by the revolutionary axial thinkers are still used in the present date (Freedman 234). The foundations of humanity during the axial age were laid by individual thinkers of the axis age. The Socrates, Plato and the Aristotle were greatly influenced by the teachings of the axial thinkers. The basic fact that all the axial thinkers had in common was the dire need to discover the basic ideologies of existence and their respective implications on human life (Achebe 67). Individual axial thinkers in China- Confucius China was a home to one of the many axial age thinkers: Confucius, Mo Tzu and Lao-Tse. The axial Chinese philosophers laid emphasis on the principles of ethical human existence (Freedman 243). This paper attempts to critically analyze the works of Confucius and how his philosophical pers pectives contributed to the transformations of the philosophical schools of thought, his implications on the on the ethical principles of human existence. Arguably, it is evident that Confucianism rose from the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism is considered as one of the world’s religion which originated from China and subsequently spread to Korea. It is based on ethical and philosophical perspectives of Confucius (Kung-fu-tzu), an axial age thinker. The works of Confucius focused morality, both at personal level and government level, the rightness in relation to social relationships, and justice. This ethical and philosophical value were soon integrated into Chinese culture, and as a result, gained dominance compared with other present schools of thought such as Legalism and Taoism (Freedman 249).Advertising Looking for term paper on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Confucius teachings were widely accepted, and as a result, spread further into Europe. Confucius teachings widely drew on the ethical and moral perceptions of the society; his teachings were and still widely accepted as a framework for religious and ethical issues in the society. Confucianism is considered to be more rational compared to the western philosophical perspectives; it draws a correlation in terms of Christian ethics (Morris 470). An account of the Analects reveals that Confucius laid much prominence on the value of study; as a result he was always viewed as the Greatest Master. Confucius tried to establish a correlation between the theory of life and implications on the society, he wanted his students to analytically and critically study themselves and try to relate with the outside world. In his philosophical work, he used scriptures to relate moral problems that were present during the axial age (Morris 475). The basic teaching of Confucius was based on individual morality and political morality; hi s argument was based on doing what is right rather than doing what is to ones advantage. Simply put, it was the practice which was based on reciprocity, which implies that one should not do to others what he does not want himself or does not want to be done to him. Ruling was to be based on moral example rather than ruling through the use of violence. Confucius was of the view that a ruler who deployed the use of force can be termed unsuccessful in his ruling practice. The Analects depicts that the job of a ruler is to govern, rather than killing. The Chinese rulers at the axial time did not obey this principle towards the exercising of leadership. Confucianism proposes a government system that is based on ruling by example (Morris 480). Confucius argued that the laws established by the government were meant to put people in line, but governing by virtue would make people to control themselves with or without the presence of the laws and punishments of the government. The principle of self control is paramount for individual development; this explains why the Chinese have been successful, whenever an opportunity presents itself to do so. Interestingly, the Confucian school of thought condemns the desire to make high profits; this was a negative influence to the prosperity of the Chinese people. Evidently, this principle has been ignored over time (Morris 483). Another teaching of Confucius was based on the limitations of morality. Morality in itself is a limitation to towards the realization of self interest. Confucius however states that morality should not serve as an excuse to deny oneself. It is based on the principle that, if you do not want it for yourself, then you should not do it for others. Whatever you like for yourself, you should do for others.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Axial age thinkers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A similar implication is depicted in the Analects of Confucius, which is referred to as the principle of mutual profitableness. The principle mutual profitableness is also practiced by the Japanese. Helping yourself and others is the Confucian philosophy and one of the characteristics of Chinese civilizations. The Confucian school of thought is hostile to the desire to make high profits; this is contrary to the principle of mutual profitableness and the principle of self interest (Morris 490). A critical aspect of the implications Confucius philosophy was that it later became a widely accepted religion among the Chinese. The Confucius aspect of religion was later disputed by Socrates, whose lifetime was after the death of Confucius. It is somewhat interesting to note that the Socrates philosophical projects concerning religion was rejected by the Chinese; this later saw Confucius being made a Chinese god, with every temple in almost every city being dedicated to him. Conclusion The Confucianism practices do not conform to the phil osophical perspectives of Confucius; however, his perspectives played a significant role in shaping the aspects of Chinese religion. The Confucius ethical and philosophical principles significantly affected Chinese cultural background (Freedman 240). It can be argued that Confucius principles gained dominance because its basis drew a correlation with the Chinese traditions. His political philosophies were based on ethical perspectives of leadership by virtue of example. Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann, 1996. Freedman, Russell. Confucius: the golden rule. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2002. Morris, Ian. Why the West Rulesfor Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.

Nevada State Senatorial Race Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nevada State Senatorial Race - Research Paper Example The contest for the Nevada State Senate relied on a single seat. The contested seat was District 9, in a contest that made Becky Harris (R) beat current Justin Jones (D). GOP anticipated that Jones election in favor of needing background scrutiny for personal gun sales would swing voters to select Harris (Ballotpedia, 2014). The Nevada State Senate hinged on a 20 state lawmaking chambers renowned by Ballotpedia personnel as being a battlefield chamber. The Nevada Senate had a disparity in partisan equilibrium between Republicans and Democrats of one seat, which led to 9% of the vacancies for voting in 2014 (Ballotpedia, 2014). In a review of the behaviors of Nevada’s Senators, I would say the behaviors do not match more to the parties’ rhetoric. This is because the powers bestowed on them surpass partisan conducts. The Constitution empowers the Senate the authority to endorse, by a two-thirds majority, agreements made by the administrative branch. The Senate has discarded comparatively few of the hundreds of agreements it has assessed, although several have failed in committee or been inhibited by the president. They may also alter an agreement or adopt amendments to an agreement (Unite States Senate, n.d). The head of state may also enter into administrative agreements with overseas nations not affected by Senate approval. The Senate has the solitary authority to conduct summons trials, essentially issuing as judge and jury (Unite States Senate, n.d). Since 1789, the Senate has convicted seventeen government officials, comprising two presidents. The Senate has constantly enviously guarded i ts authority to review and commend or reject presidential choices to implement and judicial branch seats. The Constitution empowers that the head of state shall nominate, and by and with the counsel and approval of the Senate, shall hire Ambassadors (Unite States Senate, n.d). In considering the above constitution responsibilities that senators

Time Warner Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Time Warner Case Study - Research Paper Example Such a situation may progressively lead to market monopoly. It is obvious that a monopolistic market environment may hurt the interests of buyers, suppliers, and new market entrants. Sometimes, mergers adversely affect the feasibility of integrated organizations also if the business becomes too large because of the merger. Under such circumstances, the merger process may cause the firms to incur higher unit costs. Similarly, often huge mergers result in employee termination, which in turn, would contribute to growing unemployment issues. In short, thoughtless mergers would threaten the economic uplift of the country and, therefore, government regulation is essential in a market economy. 2. It is observed that the US government has constantly intervened in the country’s market process over the last decade, especially after the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The US government identified that accounting fraud was the root cause behind a series of corporate failures in the count ry. Hence, nowadays the US government greatly intervenes in the country’s market process on the belief that those restrictions would put a check on illegal and unfair business practices. In addition, the US debt crisis also persuaded regulators to exercise more control over the country’s market process. ... As Perry and Dell (2010) pointed out, investigations discovered that the US bank collapses were partially attributable to inefficient government control over its market operations. Policymakers believe that government intervention in the market process would assist the country to overcome the impacts of debt crisis and, thereby, promote sustainable economic growth. 3. An organization or an industry would face some additional complexities if it needs to expand its business sector by means of capital projects rather than merger strategy. Acquisition strategy is an alternative to merger and this method demands huge amounts of money. If the Time Warner proceeds with the acquisition strategy, the firm would be forced to raise huge capital in order to acquire another firm. In addition, organizational change associated with the acquisition strategy may sometimes raise potential managerial challenges to the organization. New venture expansion is another strategy for self expansion and it req uires the firm to raise abundant potential sources of capital. In case of large venture projects, Time Warner alone cannot fund its operational requirements and, thus, the firm may be forced to depend on debt financing practices. However, such policies would adversely affect the financial viability of the firm and consequently threaten the long-term sustainability of the organization (Debt financing). Furthermore, other capital projects based on self-expansional strategies may raise a series of operational difficulties to the company while entering an overseas market. It has been identified that the level of uncertainty is higher under self-expansion strategies based on capital projects other than merger process. 4. When the industry is confronted with government

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

US Criminal Justice-Incarceration - Essay Example Locking up the criminals and isolating them from the society would prevent them from committing more crimes. Moreover, incarceration would introduce the criminals to criminal lifestyle, which they would never like to adopt for themselves. However, there are other people who do not agree with these views. They believe that incarceration changes nothing, the prisoners are just â€Å"locked up† and the â€Å"key is thrown away†. According to them, this system does not do enough good to the society. The present essay examines the different approaches in regards of incarceration, analyze the present situation, and provide a viable conclusion at the end. In USA, the policy of criminal justice has been shaped under the guidance of President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1969). According to Samuel Walker, this commission issued a report called â€Å"The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society†, which had ground breaking effects. The report had over two hundred recommendations, which developed a comprehensive approach in fighting and prevention of crime in the United States. This involved a system that required coordination among the courts, law enforcement agencies, and correctional agencies. Incarceration is an important instrument in relation to the activities of the correctional agencies. Actually, incarceration would effectively do the following: However, people who are against incarceration have their own arguments. According to Hide Yamatani and Solveig Spjeldnes, â€Å"The Second Chance Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-199) is a federal recognition that the decades old strategy of locking up the criminals in the name of public safety has been disastrous.† In this context, elimination of racial discrimination and disparity in regards of recidivism among the people who are exposed to the social services during their imprisonment is critical indeed. Hence, â€Å"seamless, intensive, and comprehensive

Cell-Permeable Stapled Peptides from HIV1 Gene Products

Cell-Permeable Stapled Peptides from HIV1 Gene Products Cell-Permeable Stapled Peptides Based on HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitors Derived from HIV-1 Gene Products Introduction HIV-1 Integrase (IN), is necessary enzyme for the replication of the virus into the host cells. It catalyzes the integration of viral DNA into the genome of host cells. The mechanisms employed by the enzyme are strand transfer and 3†²-end processing reactions. The enzyme is vital for the virus life cycle and as a result it is a target for anti-HIV-1 drugs. It is reported from previous studies that HIV-1 protein Vpr has inhibitory effect on Integrase activity. The inhibition is a result of protein-protein interactions. Specifically Vpr interacts through its C- terminal domain. Results from previous studies indicate that the active petptide inhibition motif is peptide 1 (Figure 1). Figure 1. Amino acid sequences of peptides 1 and 2, and outline of the study. Regarding the SAR studies, E-K pairs were introduced in i and i + 4 positions to increase the helicity, by forming salt bridges. In the same study to peptide 1 was added an octa-arginine tail, the purpose of which was to improve, cell permeability. The presence of the octa-arginine tail however resulted in increase of cytotoxicity of the peptide. The hypothesis on which the current study was based is that by finding a different way to improve cell permeability without the 8-R tail the cytotoxicity of the peptide would decrease. The idea was to make the peptide more lipophilic, by adding hydrophobic groups on the external of the a-helix, and at the same time improve its helicity. An available method to achieve that is the use of a-helix stabilized peptidomimetics. Specifically, hydrocarbon stapled peptides, in which a hydrocarbon link is formed between successive turns, via a ring closed metathesis (RCM) reaction, were used. By having a hydrocarbon linkage between positions i and i+4 in the a-helix, the helicity is improved because the two positions are covalently bound via the hydrocarbon chain, and simultaneously the lipophilicity and cell permeability of the peptide is increased because of the presence of a hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain on the external part of the a helical structure. In Figure 1 is presented an outline of the study. Design and synthesis of the peptides The lead peptide sequence used was sequence 1 (Fig.1). From previous studies it was known that residues: Phe12, Ile13, Phe15, and Ile17 are vital for IN inhibition activity. Stapling was performed between i and i+4 positions by avoiding substitution of these residues. Protected linear peptides were constructed by Fmoc-solid phase peptide synthesis. The RCM reactions of the protected linear peptides were performed on the resin by treatment with ruthenium-mediated Grubbs second catalyst in 1,2-dichloroethane. All hydrocarbon and all ether stapling was performed, however the first technique resulted in higher yields as it’s presented in Table 1. After RCM, the peptides were deprotected, acetylated, and cleaved from the resin. Purification of the stapled peptides was done by HPLC. However it is not the purpose of this paper to present experimental details. Table 1. Sequences of Designed Stapled Peptides and Their Conversion Yields of RCM Reactions CD Spectroscopy of Linear and Stapled Peptides. CD Spectroscopy was used to analyze the secondary structures of the synthetic stapled peptides, 3S−9S and 11S. Linear peptides, 4L−6L, 8L, 9L, and 11L, were used as control (Figure 3). Negative peaks at 208 and 222 nm, are characteristic for ÃŽ ±-helical structures. All stapled peptides, except 3S, formed ÃŽ ±-helices. The corresponding linear peptides on the other hand including compound 1 showed a broad negative peak around 215 nm, which indicates a ÃŽ ²-sheet structure. It is obvious that stapling of the linear peptides leads to the formation of ÃŽ ±-helices. Figure 3. CD Spectra of stapled peptides (left) and corresponding linear (right). Integrase (IN) Inhibition Assays and MT-4 Luc Assays (anti HIV). The next step was to determine the potency of the synthesized peptides using integrase inhibition assays. IC50 values were determined for stapled and linear compounds regarding both 3-end processing and strand transferring reactions (Figure 4 Left). Anti HIV activity was also screened for all peptides using MT-4 Luc Assays (Figure 4 Right). Figure 4. IC50 Values (Left). MT-4 Luc Assay (Right) All compounds had integrase inhibition activity, however lead compound 2 was way more potent. Regarding the MT-4 Luc assays compound 6S showed similar anti HIV activity as lead compound 2 at concentrations higher than 2.5 um. Compound 8S also showed significant activity at concentrations higher than 5 um. 6S and 2 have almost the same level of anti-HIV activity in cells, however 2 has much higher IN inhibitory activity in vitro than compound 6S. Imaging Experiments Stapled and linear peptides were labeled with fluorescein and imaging experiments were performed to examine their cell permeability. The stapled peptides 6S and 8S demonstrated improved cell permeability compared to the lead compound and the linear peptides. Octaarginine tail functional role investigation. The next step was to study the functional role of the (Arg) 8 tail, besides influencing cell permeability. By using 6S and 6L as lead compounds, a new set of peptides was synthesized (Figure 5). Specifically conjugates of 6S with octaarginine (17) and with the quartet repeat of arginine and glutamic acid (18). For 6L, with the quartet repeat of arginine and glutamic acid (19), and the conjugates of 6S with tetra-arginine (20), penta-arginine (21), hexa-arginine (22), and hepta-arginine (23). IC50 values were determined for the new set of peptides and also MT-4 Luc assays were performed. The presence of the octaarginine tail is necessary for the inhibitory activity however it still makes the peptides cytotoxic. Different lengths in the Arg tail were also examined. Still the octaarginine (17) conjugated peptide is the most potent but compounds 22 and 23 had good potency and lower cytotoxicity than 17, so those compounds were selected as lead compounds for further development. DNA binding experiments were also performed to examine the role of Arg8 tail, and the results indicate that 17 has high DNA binding affinity and that might influence the high inhibition activity of the peptide. Conclusions and Critical Review Stapling caused a significant increase in ÃŽ ±-helicity and cell membrane penetration, and in the expression of potent anti-HIV activity in cells. Stapling and the addition of octa-arginine caused cell membrane penetration. Stapling by itself did not involve cytotoxicity while incorporation of octa-arginine into the structures increased the cytotoxicity of the compounds. Generally it was a well-organized paper. It had good flow of information and background information was provided. The hypotheses were not stated but were easy to understand. The experiments and the data supported the conclusions and the concepts. The figures and the graphs were interpretable and accurate in supporting the conclusions related to them. However there are several interesting points to be addressed. The first point is the configuration of the new double bond formed. It would be interesting to see if the configuration of the double bond would affect the secondary structure and the helicity of the peptides. Another question that need to be addressed is why the stapled peptide 3S did fold into b sheet structure unlike the other stapled peptides which formed a helices. It would be interesting to examine the role of the substituted amino acids of 3S, in the folding of the peptide. Regarding the role of the octaarginine tail, the DNA binding experiments indicate that the octaarginine conjugated peptide has affinity for DNA binding. However it is unclear how exactly the tail affects the potency and the cytotoxicity. Further experiments are necessary to clarify that. I would suggest some NMR experiments to investigate the binding. First 1H-15N HSQC may be performed to the (Arg)8 fused peptide before and after binding with DNA. That would show which residues are involved in binding and would give data to determine the specific interaction. References: Nomura, Wataru, et al. Cell-Permeable Stapled Peptides Based on HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitors Derived from HIV-1 Gene Products. ACS chemical biology 8.10 (2013): 2235-2244.

Excellence Redefined :: essays research papers

Excellence Redefined   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1980’s has been called the â€Å"me† generation, the decade of materialism, and was responsible for the greatest number of mergers and takeovers in the history of the US market. People were transformed by the power of money, and tried to take advantage of the opportunities in the stock market. The stock market has never guaranteed a profit, but there were those willing to take the risk. People have lost millions from speculating on what was supposed to be a â€Å"sure thing† in the stock market. People would bet their children’s college fund, and their retirement money on a stock tip, only to find bankruptcy the next day. But the growing desire for power and money caused people to achieve success by any means necessary, regardless of the legality. Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken bet their money, but they always seemed to win, even when others would lose. It turns out that they had many â€Å"sure things,† only with one problem : they were all illegal. Boesky and Milken characterize the rest of the financial world at the time, and Wall Street is the movie that exemplifies the such attitudes of the 1980’s from Oliver Stones accurate point of view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Boesky and Milken had a great system. They would befriend executives in â€Å"blue chip† companies or merger and acquisition lawyers , hoping they would be given information regarding takeovers and mergers of companies before the common public. When Boesky and Milken received such information, they would strategically buy a massive amount shares in a particular company, and simply wait for the corporate announcement to drive the price of their stock up. In an effort to alleviate the Securities and Exchange Commission, Boesky and Milken spread their purchases over a period of time, and each was funded by different offshore and domestic banks to misrepresent the number of buyers. When a company would makes its corporate announcement about the merger, the public would then begin buying the shares, causing the price to skyrocket. Boesky and Milken had purchased the stock so long ago and at such a low price that their profit expectations were quickly met, so th ey wanted to sell everything they had at the same time everyone wanted to buy. Because they owned such a massive amount of stock, there was no liquidity in the market in the market as Boesky and Milken were willing to sell for much less than the market value, and their profits soon became the loss of the public.