Fragile X Syndrome Case Study Health And Social Care Essay

Fragile X Syndrome Case Study Health And Social Care Essay From seven years old, Michaels speech was still rather incoherent, he spoke very quickly and under his breath and didnt make much eye contact. Only up until the last couple of years his speech has improved and is much clearer, although he still tends to perseverate and get stuck on a subject and repeat the same thing over and over. Michael has a sister 2 years older and in 1992 they were both referred to the genetics clinic in the Royal Childrens Hospital by our pediatrician as they both presented with significant developmental delays and the doctor suspected some genetic condition may be at the root of the problem. Tests were performed, even an X-ray on Michaels head as they noted he had rather dysmorphic features, but nothing proved positive and there was no known reason for their problems. ______________________________________________________________________________The patient presented in the above case study is a classic case of Fragile X-Syndrome, the most frequent cause of inherited mental retardation. Patients presenting with this syndrome are affected in various facets of functioning, including intellect, emotion, behavior, and physical characteristics. The cause of the syndrome involves the expansion of a single trinucleotide gene sequence on the X chromosome. Other disorders that are placed in this category include Huntingtons Disease, Kennedy Disease, Dentatorubralpallidoluysian atrophy, and Friedrichs ataxia. This consequently results in the failure to express a protein that is required for normal neural development, and coded by the FMR1 gene. Because it is an X-linked disorder, cases are seen in all carrier males and in 35% of carrier females. Because of the subtle nature of signs of the syndrome and difficulty in diagnosis, all children with mental retard ation should be tested for Fragile X syndrome and family members are advised to undergo genetic counseling in order to decrease the recurrence of Fragile X in the family. Etiology The abnormality of the chromosome presented in Fragile X syndrome is found on the Xq27.3 site and commonly used as a diagnostic marker for the syndrome [1]. In most cases, the expansion of the single trinucleotide gene sequence includes 50 to 200 CGG repeats at the site and these repeats are passed down from generation to generation [1]. In comparison, the number Mathew 2 of repeats in a normal individual is between 6 and 50. Due to the increasing expansion of the trinucleotide gene sequence, there is methylation of the DNA which in turn silences the FMR1 protein [3]. FMRP plays important roles in learning and memory, and also appears to be involved in development of axons, formation of synapses, and the wiring and development of neural circuits. Diagnosis Because there is no clinical diagnostic criteria, scoring systems have been developed to select individuals for Fragile X Syndrome [4]. It can also be diagnosed using molecular genetics testing of the FMR1 gene. One method of diagnosis is based on chromosomal study to present the chromosome under special folic acid deficient culture conditions [3]. There are two different types of molecular DNA tests. The screening tests are polymerase chain reaction based. Additionally, they need to be confirmed using Southern blot hybridization [5]. It is important to diagnose affected patients as early as possible to provide early intervention and supportive care (i.e., specific developmental therapy and an individualized education plan) and to inform parents for further family planning [4]. One half of families in a 2002 survey reported having an additional child with fragile X syndrome before the older affected child was diagnosed [4]. Family history collection should include questions about other family members, with particular attention to developmental delay, mental retardation, and psychiatric disorders [4]. In addition, a family history of women with premature ovarian failure and men with FXTAS should be ascertained. A positive family history in a proband with developmental delay should prompt consideration of genetic testing of the FMR1 gene [4]. The American College of Medical Genetics recommends testing, regardless of family history, for all males and females with mental retardation of unknown etiology [4]. Therapy/Treatment Treatment is supportive, requiring a multidisciplinary team and including anxiety-reducing measures, behavior modification, and medications to manage associated psychiatric disorders. Individual education plans are necessary for school-age children [2]. Although several Mathew 3 medications have been proposed to treat fragile X syndrome, none of them are supported by ]good evidence [2]. While there is no current cure for the syndrome, there is hope that further understanding of its underlying causes would lead to new therapies. Currently, the syndrome can be treated through behavioral therapy, special education, and when necessary, treatment of physical abnormalities [2]. Persons with the fragile X syndrome in their family histories are advised to seek genetic counseling, to assess the likelihood of having children who are affected, and how severe any impairments may be in affected descendants [2]. The Fragile X syndrome been the subject of numerous studies, and recent investigations have addressed the question of whether this disorder is amenable to either prenatal diagnosis or to treatment with folic acid [3]. In a previous study, the effect of oral folic acid therapy (10 mg/day) in a blind study of 14-year-old monozygous twins with the fragile X syndrome was examined [3]. They reported on eight patients with psychotic-like symptoms. Seven were improved by therapy with I M 5-formyltetrahydrofolate (folinic acid) at doses of 0.5 mg/kg body weight for a period of a few weeks [3]. Three patients had an almost total recovery from psychotic-like symptoms [3]. One 14-year-old boy who was severely hypotonic and disinterested in his environment became responsive and able to sit and crawl after 2 months of therapy with folic acid in doses of 1 mg/kg day [3]. Harpey also reported some success with therapy with intramuscular folinic acid and hydroxocobalamin by mouth [3]. In a recent re port, a male fetus was diagnosed as having fragile X and the mother was started on a regime of folic acid 2 mg/day [3]. After delivery, the baby was treated with 1 mg/day of folic acid. On evaluation at 6 weeks of age, the baby was described as having a dolicocephalic head, long ears, a flattened malar area, enlarged testes, and a high frequency of fragile X chromosomes (20/60 cells). Two studies attempted controlled trials of folate in the fragile X syndrome, and one of these has been reported in some detail [3]. Brown conducted a double-blind crossover study in which two brothers with the fragile X syndrome were treated with either intravenous folic acid (1.6 mg/kg daily as a single dose) or saline placebo for 8 days [3]. Following the controlled trial, the brothers were maintained on 10 mg/day of oral folic acid for 3 weeks. Over 6 weeks, the dose was increased to 500 mg/day for the younger brother and 1,000 mg/day for the older brother, and then both Mathew 4 brothers were maintained on 1,000 mg/day from 1 month to 5 months after the onset of the study [3]. Because this disorder is a very common cause of familial mental retardation, and because of the in vitro effect of folate in decreasing expression of the fragile site, one may be tempted to attempt folate therapy in these patients. However, two studies to date have failed to demonstrate any abnormality of folate metabolism in cultured cells from patients with the fragile X syndrome [5]. Therefore, we urge continued caution in the expectation of beneficial results and advise against routine use of folate therapy in patients with established mental retardation and the fragile X syndrome [5]. Because there is no cure for Fragile X syndrome, the hope is that future investigations into the underlying causes that will further lead to new therapies.

A Historical Look at U.S. GAAP Essay

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the historical development of generally accepted accounting principles through its contributing sources from 1930 to the present. U.S. Businesses had been using double entry accounting since the 1800s yet no uniform accounting practices had been introduced until the American Institute of Accountants (AIA) recommended to the New York Stock Exchange in 1932, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ five broad principles of accounting which have won fairly general acceptance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , (Zeff, 2005, para. 4). In which, the terms â€Å"fairly present† and â€Å"in accordance with† were first used followed up with â€Å"generally accepted accounting principles†. Later, a sixth principle was approved. These recommendations were based on the three assumptions that all business transactions were apart from the business owner, all transaction currencies measured in the US dollar, the assumption of time and the matching principle. Thus establishing a foundation of which all future accounting principles are based. The AIA formed the Committee on Accounting Procedures (CAP) to publish Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB) on GAAP under the authority of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) created by the Securities Act of 1934. The CAP was later reorganized into the Accounting Principles Board (APB) that issued Opinions between 1959 and 1973. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has been the source for private sector generally accepted accounting principles since 1973. Input by the private sector has been crucial to the development of GAAP since 1930. Historically, GAAP is influenced by the business condition and public interest. The Great Depression left the public with little faith in the private sector. Although the knowledge and experience of businesses would be consulted for standards; businesses were not trusted to set and regulate accounting standards. A common practice in the 1920s was to adjust asset values upward to the highest market value arguably misleading investors prior to the 1929 crash (Zeff, 2005, para. 10). In response, CAP and the SEC strongly mandated historical cost accounting as the acceptable basis of reporting. Shortly after, the U.S. was brought into WWII directing the CAP’s focus to issues pertaining to war time accounting. In addition, the CAP addressed the issues of the exclusion of unrealized profit from income, the use of capital surplus to offset losses, and notes and accounts receivable from officers, employees, and affiliated companies. The most notable item during the CAP’s tenure summed up was its ARBs issued in response to congress’s decision permitting companies to use the LIFO inventory method. This was a rare instance that tax policy influenced GAAP and was initially directed to companies purchasing natural metals because the FIFO method was equated to higher income taxes due to the time lapse between the asset’s acquisition and sale (Zeff, 2005). The method was available to all industries in 1939. While CAP was praised for addressing questionable reporting practices prior to the crash; it was mostly labeled as weak by critics for failing to set a uniform accounting framework to mitigate comparability issues. At the advice of the AIA, now known as the AICPA, the Accounting Principles Board replaced the CAP. ARB 43 was quickly published to restate all Accounting Research Bulletins and eliminate any superseded ARBs. The research driven APB published 31 opinions. The first few answered reporting questions regarding the investment credit per the Revenue Act of 1962 allotting businesses a credit for a â€Å"†¦specified percentage of the cost of certain depreciable assets placed into service after 1961† (FASB, 1962, para.1). The board concluded that the credit may be recorded as an offset to net income over the asset’s life or as a reduction in acquisition cost during the period it occurred. This is important because it is a conceptual precursor to today’s section 179 and bonus depreciation credits of which most small and medium sized businesses depend on and consider when determining capital investments. All opinions regarding credits and other tax reporting issues were later superseded by the FASB’s statement number 109, Accounting for Income Tax. Many of the APB’s remaining opinions dealt with emerging issues brought about by the postindustrial economy. For instance, the board developed guidelines for intangible assets such as goodwill, the equity method of accounting for common stock, accounting for employee stock options, the reporting of extraordinary items in the income statement, and set the criteria to use pooling of interest or the purchase method in business combinations. The most controversial accomplishment of the APB was its 1970 publication Basic Concepts and Accounting Principles Underlying Financial Statements of Business Enterprises. The board’s issuance of this as a non-authoritative â€Å"standard† rather than opinion was met with negative criticism as it failed to commit to any conceptual framework solutions and reaffirmed the fundamental disagreement among members on this topic. The board was soon after dissolved and replaced by the FASB with new, independent members in 1973. Nearly all APB Opinions were superseded by FASB statements (FAS) at different points in time. The FASB remains the authoritative source for private sector accounting practices today. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 restated the FASB’s position in setting accounting standards. The FASB does not have the authority to enforce standards. The responsibility has always been with managers to prepare and file financial statements in accordance to GAAP with the SEC. Auditors, overseen by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), issue opinions on the conformity and accuracy of the financial statements. The role of auditors has become increasingly crucial in the post Enron era. The FASB remains committed to addressing any deficiencies in the reporting process and meeting regularly with the PCAOB and SEC to prevent future financial disasters. Probably the most serious issues to date addressed by the FASB resulted from the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent financial crisis of 2008. According to Leslie Seidman (2011), chairman of the FASB, high profile controversy relating to the determination of the fair value of assets and liabilities in an illiquid market prompted the issuance of FAS 157, Fair Value Measurements. Effective November 2007, the standard expanded disclosure for fair value measurements and included changes in fair value practice â€Å"†¦ for certain entities† (FASB, 2006, para. 1). The FAS 133 released in January 2008 provided new and additional guidance on derivatives and designated a team within the FASB to assist with statement implementation. The FASB works to â€Å"harmonize† the previously mentioned standards and all others with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Discussion of international accounting principles has occurred for decades and an International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) has existed since 1973. It was not until the 1990s when globalization motivated the FASB to deliberate a strategic plan for international activities. In 2002, the FASB and IASB started collaborating to â€Å"converge† US GAAP and International Accounting Standards. A memorandum of understanding was released by the two boards in 2006 and amended in 2008. In 2011, the FASB sent a letter to the IFRS Foundation Trustees describing its views on many key issues. The FASB continues to balance long term IASB projects with its work on issues relating to US GAAP. REFERENCES Financial Accounting Standards Board. (1962). APB 2: Accounting for the â€Å"Investment Credit†. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/cs/BlobServer?blobkey=id&blobwhere=1175820900137&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2006). Summary of Statement No. 157. Fair Value Measurements. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/summary/stsum157.shtml Financial Accounting Standards Board. (2012). International Convergence of Accounting Standards –Overview. IASB-FASB Update Report. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/Page/SectionPage&cid=1176156245663 Seidman, L.F. â€Å"The Role of the Accounting Profession in Preventing Another Financial Crisis.† U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment [Testimony]. FASB. April 6, 2011. Zeff, S. A. (2005). The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces behind Professional Standards. The CPA Joural, Retrieve d from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm

Improve Your English †Learning Outside the Classroom Essay

Today we’re going to look at ways of improving your English outside of classes. First of all, whatever you learn in class needs to be revised. Many English students learn things in class, and then forget it the next day. A good rule to follow is if you spend an hour learning something, you should spend another revising, and another practising. People often forget what they learnt yesterday! Also, it’s important to keep a record of everything you learn. I would keep a book for the classroom, and a vocabulary book as a minimum. It’s also a good idea to have a little book for the mistakes you make, or maybe different books for different types of English. You could have a book especially for slang for example. Of course it’s good to read outside of the class. Newspapers, books, e. t. c. are good. Again keep a record of what you learn so that you don’t forget. Should you learn every word? It depends on your level of English and your ambition. If you’re a lower level learner then you could perhaps try one of the special level books we keep in the school. But always be aware of the type of thing you are reading and adapt your learning to that. If it’s a technical book, don’t learn all the English, but choose words which you think you will need. Then we have listening. When you are studying listening you have to worry about two things- the vocabulary and your ear. You need to learn words of course, and by doing this you’ll improve your passive vocabulary. Generally, words which you hear are more important than words which you read. This is because we use a greater variety of words when we read than when we write. When you watch a dvd or do any kind of listening, keep an internet dictionary on your computer so that you can easily look words up. Internet dictionaries are great for this purpose. I recommend using BBC iplayer. Socialise. It can’t always be easy making native English speaker friends, but it is possible. Try to share interests and do things like sports with English speakers. However, it’s also very easy to make friends with other students, and some (but not all) will want to speak English a lot like you. For this you can use the ICE social programme. Avoid staying in groups of one nationality because they usually don’t want to speak English. Of course one of the best things you can do for your English is find a native English speaker as a lover! Buy a grammar book. I recommend the Blue Murphy book. It’s called intermediate but it’s quite advanced. The green book is really for proficient learners. Remember- a bit of English every day is better than a lot on one day.

Racism in Emergency Response Systems - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2370 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/02/05 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Racism Essay Did you like this example? Introduction It seems that police officers are always in the spotlight in the debate about racism in our first response organizations. For many, police brutality is a well known fact. For some, its a myth — that first responders always have their constituents best interest at heart. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Racism in Emergency Response Systems" essay for you Create order Whats important is to determine the facts; is there some statistical data that can shed light on and ultimately end the debate about whether racism exists in our emergency response systems? Are firefighters and paramedics also participating in the same kind of systematic racism that police officers are accused of? Despite varying opinions, there is statistical data that supports the fact that racism is alive and well in our emergency response systems in the United States. Besides statistical analysis that can be done to determine these realities, one can also learn from the outcomes of natural disasters in poverty stricken areas that affect majority people of color populations. This paper will explain the ways that racism in emergency response systems can be quantified, and will include examples of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, Hurricanes Katrina and Maria, The Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Chicago Police and Fire Departments. Flint, Michigan Water Crisis One sobering example of racism in emergency response systems is disaster relief and ineffective city planning. The United States â€Å"has an abysmal record when it comes to protecting people of color from environmental hazards stemming from dangerous industrial activity and harmful infrastructure† (Maxwell, Center for American Progress). We see this time and time again — it seems as though the areas that suffer the most from natural and industrial disasters are those inhabited primarily by people of color, and the data suggests that this is not a coincidence. Most people in the United States are aware of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan but easily forget about the sheer amount of people that are affected on a daily basis. Flint was once the thriving home of the nations largest General Motors plant. The city took a massive hit when General Motors began downsizing, since a large part of Flint’s residents were in some way employed by, and reliant on, the General Motors plant. Flint’s economic problems were so severe that â€Å"the state of Michigan took over Flints finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit† (CNN). In 2014, officials decided to divert â€Å"city water in an effort to save money but neglected to treat the water to prevent corrosion as it traveled through lead service lines† (Maxwell, Center for American Progress) this ultimately left more than 100,000 people in Flint exposed to toxic levels of lead in their water, making it essentially undrinkable. For months, â€Å"the state ignored the predominately black residents’ concerns and reassured them† that their drinking water was safe, despite â€Å"state employees receiving ‘coolers of purified water’† for their own consumption. Four years after the fact, many residents of Flint, Michigan have resorted to using bottled water for â€Å"drinking, bathing, and even flushing their toilets† with little effor t from local or federal government to rectify the damage. While the water in Flint, Michigan is reportedly safe to drink, the trust between constituents and their government has corroded. Furthermore, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan serves as an extraordinary example of the ways in which people of color are essentially ignored in times of crisis; many people wonder if the situation in Flint would have carried on for so long without remedy if the population there were affluent white people (for clarity’s sake, the population of Flint, Michigan is an estimated 57 percent black, 37 percent white) — a lot of people would argue that no, Flint’s water crisis would have definitely been fixed under those circumstances. Others are resistant to this idea, as they refuse to come to terms with the United States’ deeply ingrained racism. Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina is one of the most memorable and destructive events in recent United States History. Katrina was an incredibly strong hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in August of 2005. The hurricane wrecked havoc on many southern states, from central Florida to eastern Texas. The straw that broke the camels back in the case of Hurricane Katrina was the faulty engineering in the flood protection system — this is what lead to the images America remembers of Hurricane Katrina. â€Å"There were over 50 breaches in surge protection levees surrounding the city of New Orleans were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina; 80% of the city became flooded† (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education) At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane and the subsequent flooding, which made Hurricane Katrina the deadliest hurricane in the United States since 1928 (JBHE). The flooding and ocean water reached anywhere from six to twelve miles from the beach and the damages caused by the hurricane were estimated to be roughly $125 billion. It would be â€Å"five days before significant federal or state help arrived for the tens of thousands of blacks who were marooned in the city. A number of African-American political leaders charged that the response would have been far quicker had the victims been in the predominantly white cities of Palm Beach or Boca Raton† (JBHE). We also cannot forget that just a few short years before Hurricane Katrina, former â€Å"Klan leader and neo-Nazi† David Duke â€Å"carried the white vote in a [Louisiana] election for governor† (JBHE). Racism was still alive and well in Louisiana, and it became â€Å"most apparent when three days after the hurricane, armed police from the predominantly white blue-collar community of Gretna prevented a large group of black pedestrians† stranded in New Orleans from â€Å"crossing a bridge into their city† (JBHE). The Mayor of Gretna, Ronnie C. Harris, said that the city was â€Å"concerned about life and property† and that â€Å"it was quite evident that a criminal element was contained† in the group of people who were seeking asylum in Gretna. The flaws in the engineering of the flood protection system coupled with the inherent racism of the government and even surrounding cities makes evident the lack of sanctity of life when it comes to people of color. Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria is on record as â€Å"the tenth most intense Atlantic hurricane† (CNN World). It came ashore Puerto Rico on â€Å"September 20 with sustained winds of 155 mph, knocking out power to the entire island† (CNN World). At its worst, the hurricane caused catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the northeastern Caribbean. Total losses from the hurricane are estimated at upwards of $92 billions dollars. As of â€Å"August 2018, 3,057 people were estimated to have been killed by the hurricane with an estimated 2,975 of those deaths in Puerto Rico† (Vick, Kudacki). The aftermath of Hurricane Maria was exasperated by the United States governments slow response to the hurricane. Puerto Rico’s power grid was effectively destroyed by the hurricane which left millions of Puerto Ricans without electricity. Suan Juan Mayor Carmen Yulà ­n Cruz â€Å"relayed Puerto Ricans’ complaints that aid was not reaching them† to President Trump , who replied that â€Å"[Puerto Ricans have] thrown our budget a little out of whack †¦ such poor leadership †¦ they want everything to be done for them† (Vick, Kudacki). There was much debate about the extent to which Hurricane Maria was an American problem. This was particularly problematic of the United States government considering Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are all United States territories; Puerto Ricans are United States citizens with access to free travel throughout mainland U.S. However, even President Donald Trump was ignorant to the fact that he is the Chief of State of these territories, claiming that â€Å"[he] met with the President of the Virgin Islands† (Vick, Kudacki). Further, the aid that was sent to Puerto Rico was very poorly distributed by those providing aid. A hospital boat was sent to Puerto Rico, which had a capacity of 260 hospital beds. Over the 53-day period the hospital boat was docked, only 290 patients were serviced. T his illustrates an incredibly poor use of resources. Once again, we must ask ourselves if the color of Puerto Ricans’ skin played a role in the way the United States handled addressing disaster Hurricane Maria. Since Puerto Ricans speak a different language and look different from most Americans, do we simply forget they are Americans? It seems even the President wasn’t so sure. The Dakota Access Pipeline Another jarring example of the treatment of people of color in the United States is the Dakota Access oil pipeline. President trump â€Å"signed an executive order reviving the Dakota Access oil pipeline, which jeopardizes the water resources of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe† (Maxwell). The events that occurred during the period of attempted protection of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its water source were reported on relentlessly, and the brutality by the hands of the government and armed personnel was ruthless. The country watched in horror as peaceful protesters were brutalized; many people were near fatally injured. The governments position on the matter of the Dakota Access pipeline was clear: they didn’t care about anything but money. In freezing temperatures, protests and indigenous peoples alike were sprayed with ice-cold water. It was very clear that those exercising their first amendment right to protest were not welcome at the construction grounds of the pipeline, and that the powers that be would stop at almost nothing to regain the land. President Trump’s blatant indifference to months of protests reemphasizes the administration’s position that Big Oil profits take precedence over the health of native people† (Maxwell). Furthermore, the incident at Standing Rock is just one of many of its kind. Standing Rock illustrates a failure to respond to problems that specifically face people of color. The Chicago Police and Fire Departments Despite having the same rights on paper, people of color in the United States have long been treated like second class citizens. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement (and the ensuing Blue Lives Matter movement) Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed a task force whose job was to determine if police brutality against people of color is a reality. Unsurprisingly, that task force gave â€Å"validity to the widely held belief the police have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color,† the task force wrote. â€Å"Stopped without justification, verbally and physically abused, and in some instances arrested, and then detained without counsel — that is what we heard about over and over again† (Davey Smith, The New York Times). The task force also found that â€Å"three out of every four people on whom Chicago police officers tried to use Taser guns between 2012 and 2015 were black. And black drivers made up 46 percent of polic e traffic stops in 2013† (Davey Smith). The black population in Chicago being only around 32 percent makes the number of police traffic stops disproportionately large for the black community. Despite the accessibility of this information, and despite the multiple studies done that prove that racism exists within our emergency response systems, many people choose to believe otherwise. This is the birthplace of the Blue Lives Matter movement, which, intentionally or unintentionally, completely dismisses and diminishes what the Black Lives Matter movement stands for. â€Å"Racism has contributed to a long pattern of institutional failures by the Chicago Police Department in which officers have mistreated people, operated without sufficient oversight, and lost the trust of residents† the task force found (Davey Smith). My own experiences with the fire department have given me a small but poignant insight into the culture of emergency response systems in Chicago. My father and my brother are both employed by the Chicago Fire Department, the former is a Lieutenant and the latter is a Paramedic. I’ve essentially grown up in a firehouse; I was dropped off at the firehouse after school when I was little if no one was home to watch me, and I’ve even spent the night over at the firehouse on a few different occasions (I’m not sure if this is allowed or not). I always knew the firehouse was a crude environment, but the boys (emphasis on boys) tried their hardest to maintain a certain level of decorum around me. However, I’ve overheard many things that shine light on the engrained and systematic racism that exists in firehouses (and, one can then assume, police departments as well and as has been statistically proven by the City of Chicago Task Force aforementioned). My father wo rked at Engine 76 for ten years, a firehouse stationed roughly at North Ave and Pulaski, essentially in the heart of West Humboldt Park. Humboldt Park is a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood. When a call comes over the radio at the firehouse, summoning the firefighters or paramedics, and sounds something like â€Å"insert something† the firemen, as if rehearsed, all say ‘Puerto Rican hysteria.’ And make jokes about how they should take their time getting suited up and in the truck. Whether they do move more slowly for a so-called ‘Puerto Rican hysteria’ call is something I cannot say (and perhaps the subject matter of a future paper). Just the other day, my dad was telling me a story about someone who said that ‘gypsies are his least favorite people to deal with.’ The point of these personal anecdotes is not to say that I think the people my father or my brother work with are terrible racists. The point is to say that I think the cul ture of the fire and police departments fosters a fraternity-like setting where racist ideas run rampant. Conclusion After taking a hard look at the state of emergency response systems in place in the United States and their reasonable in-deniability, one must wonder if people of color even have a voice in the so-called American democracy? Have our systems that are designed to serve and protect their constituents dehumanized people of color to such an extent that their lives carry no significance anymore? While many would consider this critical analysis of the systems in place anti-government or anti-police, it is clear that the only way to bring about real and lasting change is to take off our rose-colored lens and see at long last the true state of this country.