Economic Factors Of Food Deserts - 1936 Words

Abstract This paper studies the economic factors of food deserts in America. Determining aspects of food store locations, supply and demand, food pricing, income, and consumer preferences are discussed as some of the economic causes of food deserts. Ten articles are used to support this paper with unique standpoints on this topic. Subjects that these articles examine are consumer demand, healthful food pricing, business opportunity costs, effects of low income, heterogeneity and homogeneity of food choices, and the effects of low income. This paper should demonstrate that food deserts result from supply and demand, income, determinability of food market locations, and demand preferences. Keywords: Economic theory, Demand, Supply, Consumer Preferences, Poverty and low income, heterogeneity and homogeneity food The Economical Causations of Food Deserts Currently in America, people are faced with the problem of food insecurity and inadequate food resources. This social issue has forced people to succumb to food standards of low grocery store access and income instability of purchasing nutritious food. Aside from low income being a factor to people living in food deserts, there are also several economic factors that influence where food deserts occur. In this paper, the causes of food deserts are examined through the economic scope of determinability of supermarkets locations, supply and demand, and consumer preferences. Defining Food Deserts The U.S Department ofShow MoreRelatedThe Food Of Food And Its Effects On Health And Health1429 Words   |  6 Pages The term â€Å"food desert† was first defined by a British Low Income Project team as â€Å"areas of relative exclusion where people experience physical and economic barriers to accessing healthy foods†. (Reisig and Hobbiss). This description is in reference to the recent shift of food retailers away from urban areas into suburban developments. This is significant because it illustrates that where you live has a direct influence on access to food, and consequently, the quality of food readily availableRead MoreFood Of A Food Desert1745 Words   |  7 PagesBarrera Geography Matthew Piscelli November 19, 2014 Food Deserts One huge problem that the United States faces today are the large numbers of food deserts. A food desert, according to the United States department of Agriculture, is a neighborhood that has a difficult time getting quality and affordable food to their home. This means that people are not properly being fed and getting the nutrition needed for a healthy diet. The good quality food that is needed to maintain this balance is not nearRead MoreThe Current Food Of Food707 Words   |  3 PagesThe current food system is highly market oriented and has many flawes that impact people in negative ways. The system contains problems starting form the production stage (farm labor issues) to the distribution ( food insecurities ). The current food system is primary driven by commodity rather than what people in communities want or need. In other words, because of globalization the food system provides customers with goods without asking the needs and want of the people. For instance, many cit iesRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Food Deserts And Food Insecurity Essay1680 Words   |  7 PagesThe Social Determinants of Food Deserts and Food Insecurity Diverse groups in American society are often the most marginalized and therefore the most vulnerable to issues that undermine the fair and uncomplicated pursuit of health and wellbeing. One of those issues is the lack of access to affordable healthy food and, in many cases, the inaccessibility to food in general. Areas where affordable and healthy foods are largely unavailable are called food deserts and the members of the diverse groupsRead MoreLow Income Residents : The United States Department Of Agriculture1420 Words   |  6 Pagesvery little access to healthy food items are commonly known as â€Å"food deserts†. Definitions of this term may very but the phrase was first used in 1990 by researchers in the United Kingdom. â€Å"Food deserts† became a popular word in the United States by 2003 to describe certain areas of Mississippi that were nowhere near supermarkets. The United States Department of Agriculture recognized â€Å"food deserts† as regions with very little access to affordable and nutritious foods, predominantly communities withRead MoreObesity and Food Deserts1293 Words   |  5 PagesThe issues of obesity and food deserts are important, and many people have questions about these topics. What makes this important though? To dig even deeper, what are the significant factors of both topics? The answer to the most pressing subject of modern times will now be determined. Why is the topic really that important? Essentially, who is it important to? A person has traditionally been considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight. Also, the recent peakRead MoreThe Problem Of Childhood Obesity1199 Words   |  5 Pagesdefined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to the 95th percentile in children, is a continually growing epidemic in this country. There are several factors causing obesity, with poor diet and physical inactivity being two of the major contributors. The policy problem that will be addressed is the lack of access to healthy food in certain areas of the community. Addressing this problem will improve the health status of a specific population (obese children). Addressing it may also helpRead MoreThe City Of Compton s Struggle With Providing Fresh1609 Words   |  7 PagesCompton is the next step in stopping this food desert that the city is experiencing. Informing the people of how to cook the food being purchased would therefore in turn increase demand and only then can the food desert of Compton is reduced. Reducing the food desert problem for the city of Compton would result in healthier living styles and a reduction of obesity and diabetes that come with a food desert problem. LOS ANGELES FOOD DESERTS A food desert is a community that doesn t have sufficientRead MoreFood Insecurity And Measurements Used1681 Words   |  7 PagesFood Insecurity and Measurements Used To understand food insecurity, one first needs to grasp the concept of food security. Food security is present when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and healthy food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy lifestyle.1 So, food insecurity is when this source of healthy nutritious food is limited or unattainable, causing food deprivation and malnutrition.1 Food insecurity is a phenomenonRead MoreFood Deserts : What Is The Solution?853 Words   |  4 Pagesfundings, we can prevent food deserts, support programs needed for the people, and include psychological coverage. Consuming copious amounts of unhealthy foods is believed to be the main cause of obesity. This statement is true because of the existence of food deserts. In the article â€Å"Food Deserts: What is the problem? What is the solution?† by The Science Letter, it is determined that food deserts are when â€Å"Poor people eat poor diets in part because fresh, healthy food is not accessible in areas

What Are the Effects of Poor Communication in a Project

Faculty of Business Department of Management and Project Management Baccalaureus Technologiae Project Management Project Research IV Lecturer: L. Jowah RESEARCH METHODOLOGY PROPOSAL TABLE OF CONTENTS Hypothesis - The matrix management structure hinders the project manager when executing a project. 1 Research Question 1 Topic 1 KEY WORDS 1 CONCEPT DEFINITIONS 1 2 CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM ORIENTATION 2 1.1 INTRODUCTION 2 1.2 BACKGROUND TO STUDY 3 1.3 PROBLEM FORMULATION 4 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 5 1.4.1 Primary objective 5 1.4.2 Theoretical objectives of the study 5 1.4.3 Empirical objectives 5 1.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 6 1.5.1 Literature review 6 1.5.2 Target population 6 1.5.3 Sample selection and method of†¦show more content†¦Projects are usually led by a project manager who is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project. However the project manager has to interface with the line management, according to Kerzner (2006:7). Projects are performed by people and managed through people, so it is essential to develop an organisation structure which reflects the needs of the project (Burke, 2007:304). Organisations use project management to bring key people together to achieve specific goals (Palmer, 2002:101-105). According to Gido Clements (2003:336-339), Conflict can arise from poor or organisational issues can cause conflict in a project. ambiguous project communication, lack of information sharing, or failure to make timely decisions. Problems caused by conflict include: confusion; waste of time, money and opportunity; diminished productivity; de-motivation of individuals and teams; internal conflicts and power struggles and ultimately project failure (Box Platts, 2005:370-387). 2 Due to the numerous working interfaces, complicated networks, and diversified team members of a large project, coordination efficiency among members of the team is vital to the project’s success (Cheng, Su You, 2003:70-79). One of the simplest, yet most effective things upper management can do isShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"The Art Of Communication Is The Language Of Leadership†1627 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The art of communication is the language of leadership† James Humes In a project setting, the project manager is the center of communication from almost every aspect of the project. The project manager has the most information about the project, know what needs to be done, and is contact with the contractors, team members and stakeholders on a regular basis. Communication from the leadership level is so important because it sets tone for the entire project. â€Å"Communication by project managers needsRead MoreCauses of Project Failure1147 Words   |  5 PagesPROJECT DEFINITION A project is defined as a unique set of co-ordinated activities with a finite duration, defined cost and performance parameters and clear outputs to support specific business objectives. [pic] IT-PROJECT DEFINITION An IT-enabled project is any business change activity, including programmes and projects, where the use of IT is critical to its success. WHEN A PROJECT FAILS? †¢ Not meeting project goals, delivering requirements †¢ Not delivering valueRead MoreThe Construction Industry Has Been Plagued By Rework Problem1030 Words   |  5 PagesChina (Ye et al., 2014), Hong Kong (Palaneeswaran, 2006); or project type, such as residential, industrial and commercial building projects (Josephson and Hammarlund, 1999), building projects (Josephson and Hammarlund, 1999), engineering projects (Burati et al., 1992), transport projects (Abdul-Rahman, 1995; Nylà ©n, 1996), as cited by Love (2002a, 2002b). This paper is motivated first, by the adverse effects of rework on construction projects. Rework has been acknowledged as being the primary factorRead MoreCompany X Problem Analysis Essay1608 Words   |  7 Pages Through extensive analysis from the customer satisfaction surveys, and research from the satisfaction task force, Company X found three major problems areas. The companys programs reflect poor quality, the development times are taking longer than the projected due dates and a small portion of employees are discrediting the company name and values. Each of these problems has contributed to the main problem; the increasing rate at which CompanyRead MoreProject Management Practices : The Criteria For Success Or Failure871 Words   |  4 Pagesin a successful and failed project. The first article is â€Å"Project Management Practices: The Criteria for Success or Failure† by: Iman Attarzadeh and Siew Hock Ow. In this article the authors discuss the top ten factors for a successful and a failed project. The second article that I located was, â€Å"Top 10 Main Causes of Project Failure† by: Rosanne Lim. In this article, Lim discusses the ten factors that cause a projec t to fail. The top ten factors for a successful project are, user involvement, executiveRead MoreCompany X Problem Analysis Essay1470 Words   |  6 Pagescompanys programs reflect poor quality, the development times are taking longer than the projected due dates and a small portion of employees are discrediting the company name and values. Each of these problems has contributed to the main problem; the increasing rate at which Company X is losing customers and revenue. Defining problem and goals Customers do not want to buy a product that is defective. Through thorough analysis, Company X has attributed the poor quality of its programs asRead MoreWhat Does Good / Bad Communication Look Like A Network?1137 Words   |  5 PagesWhat Does Good / Bad Communication Look Like In A Network? There are, or have been, a number of scholars who have deployed SNA for researches in the communication domain. Their works may be summarized in Table 3. And, as will be reviewed briefly below, several existing studies have demonstrated that SNA metrics and sociogram characteristics could serve as leading indicators of the quality of communication. Loosemore (1998) conducted a case study of a construction crisis to challenge the view thatRead MoreAnalysis Of Aaron s Communication Interaction998 Words   |  4 PagesThe purpose of this memo is to discuss Aaron s communication interaction, his professional ethics, examples of negative effects of poor communication, and how the KEYS process can help Aaron to communicate more efficiently. In order to complete this, we must be aware of which behaviors of Aaron s were wrong, and how to correct them. In each of my four answers, I will provide a sufficient response with a solution. In the end, I will discuss my closing thoughts. Confrontation is something that shouldRead MoreAnalyzing The Following Compound Risk : Unstable Requirements With Tight Budget Will Likely Cancel The Project1499 Words   |  6 Pagesthe project. Discuss the dependencies that exist between the two risks. Communication is an important part of our everyday lives. Without communications skills, it is extremely difficult to preform many simple tasks. With one person describing to another the function to perform, there needs to be clear description of the task at hand. When dealing with software projects, it is imperative that the end user convey their requirements of the software to the developer. Effective communication skillsRead MoreCase Study : Current State Assessment1183 Words   |  5 Pagesmandatory before any actions are taken. Issues faced by Fitness One 1) Training †¢ Inadequate and poor quality training: System related issues are not addressed in a substantive way due to poor quality of training. 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Crowdfunding for Business and Corporations Law -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Crowdfunding for Business and Corporations Law. Answer: Introduction Crowdfunding is a method of financing a project by generating small amount of capital form a large number of peoples. Generally, the method of crowdfunding is used by entrepreneurs who cannot get funding from traditional sources. Crowdfunding method connects entrepreneurs and small financiers via the internet websites. The small financiers include family members, friends, relatives or other interested investors looking for small investments. In Australia, crowdfunding is a relatively modern concept introduced a few years ago. The government has enacted new regulations to promote crowdfunding for the small entrepreneurs. The reason for the growth in crowdfunding popularity is that small entrepreneur has interesting ideas but due to their large number, traditional investors cannot invest in each one of them. This essay will describe the procedure of crowdfunding to Howard Jones and evaluate whether it is better for him than traditional sources. Further, the essay will discuss various theories provided by experts and analyse the role of crowdfunding in various fields. The difference between various countries regulations will also be discussed in the essay. Crowdfunding Mechanism Most of the people have access to the internet which they use for their work, shopping, and entertainment. The modernisation of the internet allows people to learn and build new things. The number of entrepreneurs has grown significantly in past few decades due to the popularity of smartphones and internet-based services. Small businesses also use the internet to reach a larger audience and enchase their operations[1]. Increase in a number of entrepreneurs raises the requirement of funding for their operations. Traditional sources, such as venture capitalists, wholesale investors or banking corporations, cannot invest in all the entrepreneurs which left more of the small businesses without funding. Therefore, the crowdfunding procedure has gained popularity because it connects small entrepreneurs to the public. A large number of people spend a small amount of investment in the entrepreneurs project which helps them raise funding[2]. There are four different types of crowdfunding methods which entrepreneurs select according to their projects requirement. The reward-based method is based upon providing various incentives to the financiers, to attract their funding in the project[3]. Many NGOs uses donation-based crowdfunding procedure which allows people to donate to various social and charitable causes. The equity-based crowdfunding is used by small companies; they provide shares to the financiers as a reward for the investment provided by them. In lending-based crowdfunding, the funding provided by financiers is considered a debt which the company has to repay with interest[4]. To raise funding through crowdfunding method, entrepreneurs are required to follow certain guidelines. The entrepreneurs should provide all the necessary information regarding their project to the potential investors[5]. The information includes various aspects of the project such as price, investment requirement, time frame, specifications and incentives provided by the company to its investors. All such information must be correct and it must be accessible with the offer of crowdfunding. Commercial and Social Example There are various entrepreneurs who have used crowdfunding process to fund their projects. In Australia, there are several online websites which assist entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise funding for their projects such as Indigogo, Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and MyCause[6]. These websites connect public with entrepreneur and help them generate investment. In Australian, many small technology companies have used crowdfunding method to raise funding such as Ninja Block or KoalaSafe. Kickstarter websites help to fund more than 22 thousand entrepreneurs project through crowdfunding which raises more than $500 million in 2014. These online services assist small corporations and entrepreneurs in Australia to raise investment which eventually benefits the economy of the country. Pebble Time is one of the most successful crowdfunding projects that attract a large amount of attention worldwide with their smartwatch. The smartwatch provides various facilities to users such as calling, emails, fitness tracing a much more. The crowdfunding page of Pebble time raised more than $20 million through more than 80 thousand investors over Kickstarter website. Another successful example is Flow Hive, which is an Australian corporation which harvests honey. They introduced a new method of harvesting honey; customers can turn on the tap and fresh honey flow right out. In their Australian based crowdfunding campaign, they raised more than $12 million through public investors. These campaigns prove the significance of crowdfunding method for commercial purposes[7]. Many people and NGO take advantage of crowdfunding method by collecting charities for social causes; a good example is Saving Eliza campaign[8]. Eliza was 4 years old when she suffered from Sanfilippo syndrome. Due to the effects of disease Eliza was not able to feed, talk or walk. The treatment of Eliza costs about $2.5 million, Elizas parents did not have this much money. Elizas father decides to ask for help from the public and uploaded few homemade video of Elizas condition. The money raised online was not enough for Elizas treatment. Those videos were seen by a filmmaker name Benjamin Von Wong, who decided to help Elizas parents. He directed a short film based upon Elizas condition and uploaded it to the internet with a crowdfunding page attached; the movie was called Saving Eliza. People started to raise money for Elizas treatment and currently, the campaign has raised more than $1.8 million[9]. This campaign shows that along with commercial purposes, crowdfunding can be used f or the social and charitable purpose as well. Crowdfunding Regulations There are several examples which show that crowdfunding is beneficial for entrepreneurs and economy of a country. There are several countries that have enacted regulations regarding the crowdfunding procedure to promote its usage. Recently, Australia has also implemented a provision to regulate the procedure of crowdfunding in the country. The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Act 2017 has been enacted which provide provisions regarding crowdfunding used by corporations. The regulations are focused on promoting crowdfunding while protecting the people from fraud[10]. The act amends several provisions of Corporations Act 2001 to provide various exemptions to corporations regarding the use of crowdfunding method. Many regulations of Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 have also been amended to provide exemptions to market operators. The act limits financiers from spending more than ten thousand dollars over one crowdfunding project annually[11]. The wholesale investors are not restricted from investing in crowdfunding projects, but their amount of investment has been limited by the law. Corporations having an annual turnover or assets capitalisation below $5 million can raise investment through crowdfunding. In case of other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, the restriction over crowdfunding project is not available. The Jobs Act 2012 provides regulations regarding the crowdfunding procedure of companies in the United States. The financiers are allowed to spend according to their financial status[12]. Most of the entrepreneurs in the United States use crowdfunding method to raise funding for their unique and different idea. The regulation of crowdfunding is conducted by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the government has introduced equity-based crowdfunding from 2016. According to the market experts in Australia, the regulations restrict entrepreneurs from generating large funding for their original ideas. The successful crowdfunding campaign such as Pebble Time was able to raise a large funding due to the lack of limits. Many experts criticised the regulations of government and provided that they are against the basis provisions of crowdfunding. According to Schulz and Mollica (2015)[13], the limits applied over crowdfunding process will reduce the development of crowdfunding process in Australia as compared to other countries. But, the steps taken by the government will help small entrepreneurs, such as Flow Hive to raise funding for their operations which help in the growth of Australian economy. Observation The popularity of crowdfunding method has grown considerably in between entrepreneurs and Small Corporation. It is a modern method for raising funding for the small projects by entrepreneurs. Many countries have implemented a legislative provision to promote and regulate crowdfunding method which helps in the development of their economy. Australia has also implemented new provision regarding the crowdfunding method to promote it in the country. Many experts have criticised the crowdfunding regulations, but most of them agreed that there was a need for proper legislation over crowdfunding process[14]. Legalising the process makes it trustable in between public which is beneficial for crowdfunding since the public is the key financiers in crowdfunding. While comparing with other countries, the regulations of Australia are relatively strict over the limits of investment. In the United States, crowdfunding policies are comparatively easier which is beneficial for the entrepreneurs. The maximum number of entrepreneurs in the United States uses crowdfunding to generate funding for unique and different projects. In Australia, the small-scale corporations and technology corporations use crowdfunding procedure for investment. Small corporations and entrepreneurs will be benefited by the regulations of crowdfunding procedure which eventually develop the countrys economy. The crowdfunding has benefited small corporations into growing their operations worldwide. Oculus Rift is a good example for understanding the influence of crowdfunding. Oculus VR decided to raise funding for their virtual reality headset called Oculus Rift, which gained a huge amount of attention from the public. The company rose a funding of $2.5 million using crowdfunding process. In 2014, Facebook decided to buy the company to acquire their virtual reality technology for $2 billion[15]. In 2015, the projects of crowdfunding have raised more than $34.4 billion for various entrepreneurs. Australian entrepreneurs are expecting the same enthusiasm from the public as well. There have been few successful crowdfunding campaigns in Australia such as Flow Hive, Ninja Block, and KoalaSafe, but compared to other countries the numbers are significantly low. The provisions established by the Australian government have been criticized but they will assist the progress of crowdfunding in Australia[16]. The regulations are formed to protect the capital of public from scam or fraud, but it restricts genuine entrepreneurs from generating large investment. For future development, the steps of Australian government will improve the countrys economy. Howard Jones has an original idea of increasing the life of batteries, which can be beneficial for a large number of people. Howards idea has potential to generate large amount through crowdfunding procedure. The legislative provisions passed by Australian government will asset Howard in rising large funding. In case of traditional sources, Howard can only collect funding from one method and the large investment corporations prefer to control the decisions of projects in which they invest their capital. Howard can lose the right for making decisions regarding his own company. Crowdfunding will automatically attract interest financiers to invest in Howards project. The decision-making power will also remain with Howard in crowdfunding process. Therefore, Howard should select crowdfunding procedure over traditional sources. Conclusion From the above report, it can be concluded that crowdfunding has gained popularity due to the modernisation of technology. A large number of people are opening their businesses which require funding; the traditional sources of funding are not able to invest in such businesses. Crowdfunding provides an alternative route to entrepreneurs by generating capital from the public. The entrepreneurs and public are connected over online websites, over which the information regarding entrepreneur are available. Interested people can invest a small amount in the project, which later provides various rewards to them. The Australian government has formed various provisions to regulate the procedure of crowdfunding and promote it in the country. Crowdfunding provides capital to entrepreneurs to start their businesses which eventually develop the countrys economy. Howard Jones should select crowdfunding method for generating investment because it provides various rewards to him. Howard will be able to generate large amount through crowdfunding than compared to traditional courses. The power for taking a decision in the project will be available to him; therefore, Howard should select crowdfunding as a method for raising investment. Bibliography Books/Article/Journals Bruton, Garry, et al. "New financial alternatives in seeding entrepreneurship: Microfinance, crowdfunding, and peer?to?peer innovations."Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice39.1 (2015): 9-26. Cordova, Alessandro, Johanna Dolci, and Gianfranco Gianfrate. "The determinants of crowdfunding success: Evidence from technology projects."Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences181 (2015): 115-124. Eastwell, Michelle, Jessica Dale, and Felicity Dunstone. "Crowd-sourced equity funding is coming to Australia."Governance Directions69.7 (2017): 411. Fitzpatrick, Jeff, et al.Business and corporations law. LexisNexis Butterworths, 2011. Frydrych, Denis, et al. "Exploring entrepreneurial legitimacy in reward-based crowdfunding."Venture Capital16.3 (2014): 247-269. Fumagalli, Danielle C., and Arvin M. Gouw. "Focus: Personalized Medicine: Crowdfunding for Personalized Medicine Research."The Yale journal of biology and medicine88.4 (2015): 413. Hui, Julie S., Michael D. Greenberg, and Elizabeth M. Gerber. "Understanding the role of community in crowdfunding work."Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work social computing. ACM, 2014. Khadem, N. "Crowdfunding in Australia a step closer."The Sydney Morning Herald(2014). Manzoor, Amir. "Crowdfunding for Non-Profits."Handbook of Research on Emerging Business Models and Managerial Strategies in the Nonprofit Sector(2017): 152. Mollick, Ethan. "The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study."Journal of business venturing29.1 (2014): 1-16. Royal, Carol, and G. Sampath S. Windsor. "Microfinance, crowdfunding, and sustainability: A case study of telecenters in a South Asian developing country."Strategic Change23.7-8 (2014): 425-438. Stanko, Michael A., and David H. Henard. "How crowdfunding influences innovation."MIT Sloan Management Review57.3 (2016): 15. Stumm, Tony. "The rebirth of crowd funding in Australia!."Governance Directions69.2 (2017): 96. Valanciene, Loreta, and Sima Jegeleviciute. "Valuation of crowdfunding: benefits and drawbacks."Economics and Management 18.1 (2013): 39-48. Weinstein, Ross S. "Crowdfunding in the US and Abroad: What to Expect When You're Expecting."Cornell Int'l LJ46 (2013): 427. Others Schulz, Leigh and Mollica, Domenic. ASK THE EXPERT The regulation of crowdfunding in Australia: where are we and whats to come?. Australian Banking and Finance. Retrieved from https://forms.minterellison.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Publications/Articles/Aus-banking-and-finance-law-bulletin_leigh-schulz-anddomenic-mollica_aug2015.pdf

Racial Unity Through Ceremony Essays - Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko

Racial Unity Through Ceremony Racial Unity Through Ceremony Over the years, after wars and famine, peace-time and floods, few things have persisted to survive. Society, art, and other intangible objects as these are survivors of two millennia of human progress. Intelligent concepts and premises have also survived, as have emotions and morals. Even as these outstanding examples of humanity have survived, so have some less affirmative ideals lived on through our fore-bearers. Cultural, ideological, religious, and political supremacy are still abound today, as much as they were 50, 100, and even 5,000 years ago. In a shorter context, racism, the cockroach of human mentality, is still alive. It is the immortal insect that will live on as long as people tell their children to stay away from strangers, and others as equally unknown and different from the norm. Actively, society attempts to do away with it, while unconsciously, and quite willingly, hand feed its mandibles ourselves. There are, however, ever so few individuals in the world, that work to illustrate these infesting notions, and bring them to light, utilizing some of the constructive assets of the psyche, mainly arts and literature. One such person is Leslie Marmon Silko, a Native American author, and a target of such racist practices. In her book Ceremony, the topic of race and culture differences are dealt with thoroughly, as are the views that humanity should band together, or should accept that they are already tied together by fate, and face the problems that face every man. She utilizes inherent prejudices to draw lines between specific character groups, such as half-breeds, full-bloods, and quite otherworldly personalities, and then turns the readers intolerances about, bring to their notice that there are all characters are important to the web. Quite simply, Silko re-educates the reader by displaying equality through inequality and interconnection, while carrying them across time, planes of existence, and through their own minds. Within the structure of Ceremony prose and poetry, story and narrative, are shaped to fit the challenges of Silkos vision of racial equality. Her world of special consciousness is, in a very special word from the book, fragile. The old man Kuoosh explains the meaning of fragile to Tayo, who is seeking (almost constantly) an understanding of the implications of ritualized vision, and the meanings of his own tormenting visions. Kuoosh uses language with particular care, the narrator explains, as he reveals the meaning of story in a story Tayo is grouped with the reader as he hears the explanation: The word he chose to express fragile was filled with the intricacies of a continuing process, and with a strength inherent in spider webs woven across paths through sand hills where early in the morning the sun becomes entangled in each filament of web. It took a long time to explain the fragility and intricacy because no word exists alone, and the reason for choosing each word had to be explained with a story about why it must be said this certain way. That was the responsibility that went with being human, old Kuoosh said, the story behind each word must be told so that there could be no mistake in the meaning of what had been said; and this demanded great patience and love. (Silko 36) For Silko the responsibility that went with being human is expressed through the clarity of the story. Great patience and love are demanded of the story-teller not only so that there could be no mistake in the meaning, but also as a reflection of the full significance of the act of storytelling. Such as action interpenetrates the story-teller with other story tellers before him, showing that he is one and the same as every man before him, and with the intricacies of a continuing process of art. In a world of vision no word exists alone, that is to say, that each word is also just as important as the next; equal. Each word is caught within the fragile web of humanity to meaning, and each serves to reveal that very process of interconnection through its expression. Tayos quest, though representative of his contemporaries, whether black or Native American, is more than allegorical. His is a journey within the metaphors that extend