The secret of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) success

The secret of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) success The secret of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) success Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a very well known restaurant in the world. It is rated at number 60 as the world most well known brand by BusinessWeek (McDonalds at number 9 and Nescafe, 23). Its history spans almost 80 years when it started at Corbin (Kentucky-USA), in the 1930s. During this period the United States was under The Great Depression with almost 25% unemployment rate. The hard time was probably one of the biggest factor in forcing Harland Sanders (The Colonel) to start experimenting with various mix of spices and herbs, trying to get the best formula for his recipe. (If we still remember the Asian Economic Crash 1997-2002, one of the last remaining business that kept going during the recession was the food industry). By 1939, the recipe was already perfected and the Colonel had expanded his restaurant to accomodate 142 seats. This was a fairy large restaurant, the size is equivalent to several tennis courts. However there was one problem. The WAITING time! It took almost 30 minutes for the chicken to properly cooked. Turn the gas bigger and you risk of having the chicken cooked on the outside but still red with blood inside. Saved by the Pressure Cooker Thanks to technology, in 1939 pressure cooker was introduced. Pressure cooker allow liquid to boils at higher temperature. Water for example normally boils at 100 degree Celcius, but with a pressure cooker the sealed lid doesnt allow air or liquid to escape and enable water to boils higher at 125 celcius. This significantly shortened the time for cooking and as an added advantage, the nutrients (hence the taste) are retained making the food more delicious. Since the boiling point is much higher, this would also kill more germs and make the food last longer. It should be noted that The Colonel spotted the pressure cooking technique just weeks after it was introduced. This means he was always looking for ways to improve the taste and the time it takes to cook the famous kentucky fried chicken. Time means money Every minutes saved means less time waiting and more satisfaction to the customers. This would also encourage a first time buyer to become repeat customers. The Colonel is also a smart guy. He can read the writing on the wall. By early 1950s, he probably heard rumours that an Interstate Highway is going to be built BYPASSING his town. This could have a devastating effect on his business. He is now probably under serious dilemma. When the Interstate was finally opened in 1955, it caused a huge diversion of traffic away from his town. Owning a big percentage in a small town VS Owning a small percentage in a large country. Seeing an end to his business, the Colonel auctioned off his operations. Confident with the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel started travelling from town to town franchising his recipe. He visited countless restaurants, promoting his recipe by cooking fried chickens for the owner and the workers. The first franchise was awarded to Pete Harman of Salt Lake City. A handshake agreement stipulates a payment of a nickel to the Colonel for each chicken sold. This is one of the real strength of the franchise system. It provides a stream of money albeit the sum is initially very small. Building a franchise network is like building a pipe for money to flow to you. In the beginning, the cost is huge because you have to set the infrastructure, digging the earth, linking pipes, bypassing obstacles etc. In the beginning the volume of water flow (money) in your pipe is also dismal. After a few years of hard work, the effort will start to bear fruits. A penny here, a penny there, ten pennies from this town, a hundred pennies from that city, a thousand pennies from this district, ten thousand pennies from that state and it happen EVERY DAY! Before long it started to make a huge impact on your income. The KFC secret recipe: Does it matter? It is an open secret that the KFC is made of a mix of 11 herbs spices. Using modern spectrometer, we can blast the Colonel spice with X-ray photoelectron or burn them with a specially designed gas and study the result. With a database of results made with similar technique using all spices herbs known to mankind, it would take just weeks before we could identified the exact names and percentage of those 11 spices. However, DOES IT MATTER Does it really matter to know the exact names and compositions of those spices? An average businessman would think the secret recipe is so valuable and willing to pay millions for a copy of it. A genius businessman would not pay even a penny!! It is the franchise system, not the spice recipe. Have you been to a night market (pasar malam) and tried the fried chickens sold by the hawkers? Have you ever been to a small restaurant or a foodstall and found out that the fried chicken was so crispy and delicious Then you were wondering why this small time businessman did not make a fortune out of his secret recipe! The next time you visited the restaurant again, did you notice that:- sometimes there was nobody to take orders sometimes it was closed without properly giving a notice in advance sometimes the table was in a mess and nobody to clean even after 5 minutes you were seated sometimes the sink was dirty and choke full with food residual. sometimes the fried chicken was overcooked, and at other times it was undercooked. sometimes the fried chicken was too hot and at other times it was not so spicy. What is the point? The secret recipe represent only a small percentage of the success of the KFC franchise. If I were to give a percent, it may not represent more than 20% of the total success. THE SUCCESS IS DUE TO THE FRANCHISE SYSTEM!! In a franchise system, everything is documented and there are strict rules for running the business. For example: The chicken must be cooked in a pressure cooker and left for 15 minutes The size of each of the chicken parts must at least 8 cm wide and weight 300 grams The chicken must be marinated overnight The age of the chicken when they were slaughtered must be between 60-70 days The minimum size of the restaurant must be 2460 feet The color of the logo, the chair and the table must be yellow and the floor is dark grey. The toilet must be cleaned every 3 hours. The sink must be cleaned every 30 minutes The windows must be cleaned every morning Food left unsold after 15 minutes must be discarded. The worker must wear company-shirt and trousers. No jeans, corduroy or leather. 5% of gross earning must be used for local advertisement 1% of gross earning must be used for national level advertisement 3% must be used for RD to develop new recipes local brand. The food must also be offered in discounted packages (e.g 2 chicken, 1 fries, 1 glass of pepsi) The food can be ordered seperately / ala carte but no discount applies. The restaurant must have air-condition. This long list of standard operating procedures is actually the key to the success of the franchise. The long list is actually an accumulated wisdom and know-how the franchise system have developed after a few decades of operation. Finally we found the holy grail!! THE SECRET RECIPE of KFC SUCCESS IS ACTUALLY THE WHOLE FRANCHISE SYSTEM!!

Abstinence-Only vs. Comprehensive Sex Education Essay -- Sex Education

Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the U.S. in the early 1980s the issue of sex education for American youth has had the attention of the nation. There are about 400,000 teen births every year in the U.S, with about 9 billion in associated public costs. STI contraction in general, as well as teen pregnancy, have put the subject even more so on the forefront of the nation’s leading issues. The approach and method for proper and effective sex education has been hotly debated. Some believe that teaching abstinence-only until marriage is the best method while others believe that a more comprehensive approach, which includes abstinence promotion as well as contraceptive information, is necessary. Abstinence-only program curriculums disregard medical ethics and scientific accuracy, and have been empirically proven to be ineffective; therefore, comprehensive sex education programs which are medically accurate, science-based and empirically proven should be the standard method of se x education for students/children in the U.S. The primary argument which most advocates for abstinence only education have is that sex before marriage is immoral, not appropriate and that abstinence is the only completely effective method of preventing teen pregnancy and STI contraction. These advocates also emphasize that condoms are not a sure-fire way of preventing pregnancy and STI contraction. Many of the proponents for abstinence-only education believe that educating youth with information concerning sex and contraception will embolden them to become to begin or increase sexual activity. Such advocates accredit the lowering of teenage pregnancy to abstinence only education (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13). Some abstinence-only proponents also de... ...y Practitioner 84.6 (2011): 6. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. Sonfield, Adam. "Sex Education Remains Active Battleground." Contraceptive Technology Update 1 Mar. 2012. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. "Teen Pregnancy Prevention Focusing on Evidence: Ineffective Abstinence-Only Lessons Being Replaced with Science." The Nation's Health Apr. 2010: 1+. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. Thomas, . "Abstinence-Only Sex Education Statistics - Final Nail in the Coffin." Open Education: Free Education for All. N.p., 5 Jan 2009. Web. 4 Apr. 2012 "US Government Should Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Education: Virginity Pledge Ineffective." Reproductive Health Matters Nov. 2009: 223. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. "Washington Watch: Advocates Seek Support for 'Real' Sex Education." Contraceptive Technology Update 1 June 2009. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.

Essay --

In the world of animals, those at the top of a dominance hierarchy are more beneficial than low-ranking animals1. However, the costs associated with being at the top of a hierarchy remain controversial1. Different studies reported contradictory findings on whether dominant or subordinate animals experienced greater stress levels2-3. Furthermore, Sapolsky4-5 suggested that hierarchy stability could potentially influence the stress levels experienced by high-ranking olive baboons. Given the results from previous literatures, Gesquiere et al.1 created a research question asking how do male savannah baboons (Papio cynocephalus) respond to rank-related stress during stable and unstable hierarchy? They hypothesized that high-ranking males would exhibit higher levels of testosterone and glucocorticoid only when a hierarchy was unstable1. From this hypothesis, they predicted that during the month with unstable hierarchy, the high-ranking male savannah baboons would exhibit greater fecal testosterone (fT) and fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) levels than other males within the hierarchy; however, such phenomenon would not be observed during the month with a stable hierarchy1. To test this prediction, they conducted a long-term study on wild savannah baboons in Amboseli, Kenya1. Over a 9-year period, ecological, behavioral and physiological data including fT and fGC were collected monthly from 125 adult males1. General linear mixed models (GLMMs) were used to predict the de pendent variables, fT and fGC, based on predictor variables including individual rank, hierarchy stability, and an interaction between the two1. Gesquiere et al.1 defined a stable hierarchy as the month when the males with the highest 3 ranking were the same as those in the p... ...nction9. However, a parasitic load in an individual was not only associated the individual immune function but also with how likely it is exposed to the infectious agents9. Hence, parasitic load would not be an accurate indicator of individual immune function9. In contrast, leukocyte count, which was used in another study to investigate immune function, could serve as a better indicator than parasitic load10. In conclusion, going beyond the study conducted by Gesquiere et al., the proposed experiment is significant because it can provide more insights into whether or not suppressed immune function is another potential cost for being at the top of the dominance hierarchy. Also, using leukocyte count as an indicator of immune function instead of parasitic load, the proposed experiment can further elucidate the contradicting findings reported by different literatures. Essay -- In the world of animals, those at the top of a dominance hierarchy are more beneficial than low-ranking animals1. However, the costs associated with being at the top of a hierarchy remain controversial1. Different studies reported contradictory findings on whether dominant or subordinate animals experienced greater stress levels2-3. Furthermore, Sapolsky4-5 suggested that hierarchy stability could potentially influence the stress levels experienced by high-ranking olive baboons. Given the results from previous literatures, Gesquiere et al.1 created a research question asking how do male savannah baboons (Papio cynocephalus) respond to rank-related stress during stable and unstable hierarchy? They hypothesized that high-ranking males would exhibit higher levels of testosterone and glucocorticoid only when a hierarchy was unstable1. From this hypothesis, they predicted that during the month with unstable hierarchy, the high-ranking male savannah baboons would exhibit greater fecal testosterone (fT) and fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) levels than other males within the hierarchy; however, such phenomenon would not be observed during the month with a stable hierarchy1. To test this prediction, they conducted a long-term study on wild savannah baboons in Amboseli, Kenya1. Over a 9-year period, ecological, behavioral and physiological data including fT and fGC were collected monthly from 125 adult males1. General linear mixed models (GLMMs) were used to predict the de pendent variables, fT and fGC, based on predictor variables including individual rank, hierarchy stability, and an interaction between the two1. Gesquiere et al.1 defined a stable hierarchy as the month when the males with the highest 3 ranking were the same as those in the p... ...nction9. However, a parasitic load in an individual was not only associated the individual immune function but also with how likely it is exposed to the infectious agents9. Hence, parasitic load would not be an accurate indicator of individual immune function9. In contrast, leukocyte count, which was used in another study to investigate immune function, could serve as a better indicator than parasitic load10. In conclusion, going beyond the study conducted by Gesquiere et al., the proposed experiment is significant because it can provide more insights into whether or not suppressed immune function is another potential cost for being at the top of the dominance hierarchy. Also, using leukocyte count as an indicator of immune function instead of parasitic load, the proposed experiment can further elucidate the contradicting findings reported by different literatures.

Death of a Salesman (Bernard)

In ‘Death of a Salesman’ written by Arthur Miller, Bernard is shown as a tremendously memorable character. Throughout the play, his contradictions to Biff, poor judgments of him and his parent- like personality are well presented. By using the character, Miller tries to convey the moral messages and develops an attention grabbing plot First, Bernard’s contradictory character compared to Biff, makes him memorable. Bernard is literally everything that Biff is not. Biff is a high school football star while Bernard is just an ordinary and unpopular student.Biff is more likely to be immoral while Bernard truly worries and being realistic about him. For instance, Bernard says ‘Listen, Biff, I heard Mr. Birnbaum say that if you don’t start studyin’ math he’s gonna flunk you, and you won’t graduate. I heard him! ’ The quote shows Bernard is very aware of Biffs’ gloomy future and also somehow predicts substantially different futures of those two characters. The audiences may feel a sense of relief toward Bernard as he is the only one, who actually shows the real world and eventually becomes successful than any other characters in the play.By using the character Bernard, Miller tries to convey the message of success has got nothing to do with the glorious past. In fact, Biff fails to seek his own career and live a life that is totally opposing to Willy’s expectations. Furthermore, the fact that Bernard was one of the underdogs makes the character memorable. In the play, most of characters did not expect Bernard to be prosperous and used to mock him with his sophisticated outlooks. A good illustration of this is when Willy says ‘That’s just what I mean.Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. ’ It clearly shows Willy’s pessimistic opinions to Bernard’s future. The phrase ‘five times ahead’ also portrays Bernard is treated as a sort of failure which is the most unlikely word to describe his future career. Mockeries about Bernard continue with other characters. For example, as he tries to find Biff and teach him some math, Happy tauntingly says ‘Let’s box, Bernard! ’ He makes fun of Bernard by looking his overly academic attitude.Audiences feel a sense of sympathy toward Bernard due to harsh judgments on him. However as the play continues, they soon find out that Bernard is the only character who achieved triumph in the play. By using Bernard’s underrated pasts, Miller highlights the insignificance of judging and prejudice. Willy’s huge astonishments to sophisticated Bernard also supports Miller’s message. Lastly, Bernard’s realistic characteristics make him memorable. In the play, he is one of the few solid people. Unlikely to unstable Willy, Bernard app roach the world in a more realistic way.For example, he says ‘â€Å"Just because he printed University of Virginia on his sneakers doesn’t mean they’ve got to graduate him. Uncle Willy! The quote portrays Bernard’s sensible characteristics which attempts Biff to choose the right path. By mentioning ‘Uncle Willy! ’ Bernard also tries to change Willy’s ignorant attitude towards poor academic achievements of his son as well as his impracticable definition of success. His humble characteristics and giving some realistic advices to Willy also differentiate him from other characters. For instance, Bernard replies ‘How are you?Good to see you. ’ as Willy enters his office. It strongly contrasts with Howard ruthless treatments that Willy has received. The audiences probably feel impressed to Bernard’s warm and sensible personality. Those personalities technically make Bernard to perform a parental role instead of overly ide alistic Willy who just expects unrealistic dreams to happen. To conclude, Miller’s wide use of Bernard make the character very significant and memorable, Miller also use this character to convey his moral messages of success and judgments to audiences.

Bacteria

Bacteria ? small prokaryotic microorganisms that can be found everywhere ? can cause disease. This may seem like basic knowledge today, but it was not in the past. In the 19th century, the spread of disease was believed to be either inherited, due to lifestyle choices, or a result of environmental factors; water and air-borne infections were not generally accepted, which was, in reality, the cause of a significant amount of diseases during that time period. In addition, their treatments were largely based on the change of location to an area with cleaner air along with the removal of the disease through blood, vomit, and feces. (Marsh, 2016) These beliefs started to disappear when scientists and physicians such as Robert Koch began to undergo breakthroughs. Koch had a significant number of discoveries that helped create and develop what we now call bacteriology such as discovering the bacteria responsible for anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) In fact, he is even considered the father of bacteriology. Without the research conducted and discoveries made by Robert Koch, the field of bacteriology would not be nearly as advanced and evolved as it is today. Robert Koch, born on December 11, 1843 in Clausthal, Germany, showed great intelligence throughout his life, even during its first few years; he taught himself to read by the age of five through newspapers and showed interest in biology in high school, foreshadowing the significant contributions he would go on to make in the field. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) Koch attended the University of GÃ ¶ttingen to study medicine during which he was influenced by the view of his anatomy professor, Jacob Henle, that infectious diseases were caused by living parasitic organisms which was published in 1840. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) This led to him developing a strong interest in pathology and infectious diseases as a medical student. (Famous Scientists, n.d.) Following him receiving his M.D. in 1866, Koch went to Berlin to study chemistry under Virchow and then worked in the General Hospital at Hamburg in general practice. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) Later on, he settled in the Province of Posen where he passed the District Medical Officer's Examination. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) After serving as a field surgeon in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, he served as the District Medical Officer in Wollstein from 1872 to 1880. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) As the District Medical Officer, he built a small laboratory that contained a microscope, a microtome, and a homemade incubator in which he began his study of algae and then pathogenic organisms. (Stevenson, 1998) The beliefs of the early 19th century, such as those mentioned previously, were all about to change. The germ theory was being developed by Louis Pasteur (Brought to Life, n.d.) who had shifted from studying fermentation to studying disease. (Ullmann, n.d.) However, the role of bacteria in contagious disease was uncertain, which is where Koch decided to begin his research. (Brought to Life, n.d.) Robert Koch made significant discoveries regarding the cause of three diseases that were prevalent at the time: anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera. His study of anthrax began when he noticed many of the farm animals in the Wollstein district, where he worked, were being infected by anthrax. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) The bacteria Bacillus anthracis had already been discovered, but Koch scientifically proved it was the cause of anthrax. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) He did this by infecting mice with the bacteria and observing it had contracted anthrax and had even passed it to other mice (Brought to Life, n.d.) In addition, while studying anthrax, Koch discovered the anthrax life cycle by growing cultures on an ox eye. The life cycle showed how the bacteria can turn into spores that can survive harsh conditions and then redevelop into the disease-causing bacteria years later. (Stevenson, 1998) Along with the anthrax research, Koch discovered the tubercle bacillus responsible for causing tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the method for growing pure cultures of it. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) He did this by developing and altering his method of staining to find a more efficient way to view samples. (Stevenson, 1998) The last disease Koch studied was cholera, and he discovered the vibrio that causes the disease, Vibrio cholerae, in Egypt where he was sent to observe the outbreak of the disease. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) The discovery of these bacteria had an immense impact on the medical field. First, the discovery of the cause for anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera led to the development of their vaccines, for had scientists not known for sure what caused those diseases, they would not have been able to develop the preventative measures. Also, Koch's work and research with anthrax produced the first definite piece of proof of the causal relationship between a specific microorganism and a specific disease, providing the basis of Koch's postulates. (Stevenson, 1998) He developed Koch's postulates which are four standards that must be met in order to determine the cause of an infectious disease ? another way he impacted the medical field. (Famous Scientists, n.d.) It was very useful because it was, and still is, a universal method for testing whether a specific bacterium causes a particular disease which also helped him discover the cause behind tuberculosis. (Hodkinson, 2015) It was for his work with tuberculosis that Robert Koch received a Nobel prize in 1905 in physiology or medicine. (Brought to Life, n.d.) This research conducted by Koch successfully provided proof for the germ theory, strengthening the understanding of disease. Without the work done by Koch to determine the bacteria that cause these diseases, many deadly diseases may have still been around decades after they should have been eradicated, for it was largely due to him that other scientists went on to figure out the causes of various other diseases.(Brought to Life, n.d.) While finding and determining the cause of these diseases, Robert Koch discovered more efficient methods for viewing bacteria. One of the methods is the process of heat fixing. In his paper published in 1877, Koch described his technique of preparing a thin layer of bacteria on a glass slide and fixing them by passing the slide over a flame, exposing it to gentle heat. (Stevenson, 1998) Moreover, Koch and his team developed methods of staining bacteria to improve its visibility under a microscope. (Brought to Life, n.d.) Along with that, he created a solid substance on which to grow bacteria. He reached the final product by first evaluating coagulated egg albumen, starch paste, and a clean slice of potato and then deciding on a broth solidified using gelatin or agar. (Nobel Media AB, 2014) These procedures greatly impacted bacteriology, providing scientists with more efficient ways to carefully study bacteria under a microscope and in the pure form. The processes of heat fixing and staining allowed Koch himself to discover the tubercle bacillus and have enabled scientists after that to make remarkable breakthroughs and discoveries. The creation of the solid medium using gelatin was an extraordinary achievement; it made it possible to isolate bacterial colonies. This was crucial during the research conducted, for pure cultures were necessary in order to isolate the bacteria and definitively carry out experiments. The development of all these procedures assisted Koch himself in his discoveries along with other scientists and physicians later on. Robert Koch, with the help of methods he developed including heat fixing, staining, and isolating colonies on a hard medium, successfully determined and proved the bacteria that cause anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera. All the discoveries and achievements have had a great impact in medicine, especially in bacteriology which is what it is today due to the work of Robert Koch.

Analysis of Literary Devices of Jane Eyre

Analysis of the Theme of Jane Eyre and its Literary Devices Jane Eyre is an outstanding and meaningful novel which was written by Charlotte Bronte who didn’t have a fascinating appearance, a perfect figure and a glorious family and who had the similar fate with the heroine of the novel. The essay is focused on the first chapter, life at Gateshead, in which it tells us the little Jane Eyre’s miserable and menial life at Gateshead and that her cousins and Mrs. Reed treat her badly. In this chapter, the author intends to show us Jane Eyre’s resistance toward their torture and scolds. In order to demonstrate the motif, the author uses some gothic characters and depicts evil images of persons who bully Jane Eyre. Firstly, many gothic elements are adopted in this chapter in order to set the fundamental tone and manifest what a cruel and miserable life little Jane Eyre leads. It uses many delicate and horrified words to depict the weather, the season and some other things concerning the environment. Not only does it makes us feel that it’s really bad weather, but also we can feel Jane’s emotions and feelings at that time, upset, hopeless and so on, which will incite her resistant power. Secondly, Bronte is an expert in depicting characters’ images. We can find many vivid figures in front of us via reading the chapter. Take Jane’s cousin, John, as an example. From the novel, we can see that John’s mother spoils and dotes on him and she satisfies his demands no matter how ridiculous they are. Because of those, he shapes a naughty, arrogant and capricious personality. Jane is a poor girl whose parents are dead, so she has to live with her aunt. John always teases and bullies her, for she is a fragile and obedient stranger in his eyes. And what is much worse is that his mother always gives a cold shoulder to little Jane. As time goes by, John’s maleficences become more and more violent. One day, little Jane can’t stand it and she resists. She says: â€Å" you are like a murderer, you are like a slave-driver, you are like the Roman emperors. † It uses metaphor and parallelism to depict a vivid figure of John in front us. Figures of speech made the image brighter and clearer. Third, the setting of the chapter is dark, miserable and depressive. At the beginning of the chapter, a cold, dark and rainy evening was presented in front of us, which give readers a depressive impression. The description sets the basic tone of the chapter and implicates the terrible environment in which little Jane live. In this chapter, the author intends to present Jane’s resistance to life to readers. Its dark, cold and miserable setting implicates Jane’s poor living condition and her fragile emotion, which hide the foreshadowing of her resistance. Also gothic elements employed in the chapter deepen the theme. And depictions of each character promote the development of the theme.

Race & Ethnicity: Effects on Life Essay

Ethnicity and race has had a big influence on peoples’ every day life choices. In some way or another, most people will be judged according to their color of their skin or their ethnic background. We live in a society full of different races and cultures affecting the way we interact with each other, as well as influencing our views on equality and differences among the many different races in our society. Often influential media groups and social standards shape our beliefs, also affecting how we interact with cultures different from our own, and how various groups interact with each other. Race and ethnicity may be defined as a type of grouping or classification based on a persons origin of birth and includes their racial appearance, language, religion and culture. Ethnicity can be defined as a social construction that indicates identification with a particular group who share common cultural traits, such as language, religion and traditions. Terms like ethnocentrism, racism, stereotyping, and ethnicity can affect our health status, our economical status, and just basically our status in society. Race defines who we are, and in some cases it is the root of discrimination problems. Individuals dislike other people because they do not like how they are; whether it is physically or the way they think and act. We look at people and experiences through race and culture. I was raised with family that had introverted personalities. This is one of the reasons why my personality is also like that. I grew up recognizing differences in races and ethnicity and it never affected my way of being, I simply saw everyone the same, with the same potential and equal opportunity. I have been taught by the spoken and unspoken ways of my parents, teachers, friends; I have simply grown up recognizing what is wrong and what is right among society. I was born in California but both my parents are Mexican, which makes me Hispanic. My experiences of racial profiling or prejudice due to my ethnic background or my Hispanic look have not been too common or extremely racist. My high school was about 99.99 percent Hispanic student body, so there was very little if any racial tension among students. It was when we would go out of that part of town that I would actually see racial comments made and shown by others. I was involved in the baseball team and tennis team at my  high school, and I would see some sort of labeling or stereotyping aimed at me and my teammates when we would play in other schools with Anglos or Blacks. Since we were one of the poorest schools in the city they would automatically assume we weren’t adequately prepared to be playing a team like them. Their stereotypes of us would make them think that we didn’t speak English and our playing abilities would be very novice since we didn’t have the tools or money to afford good equipment or a coach at a young age. However, I will admit that we would also judge them as being too cocky, and with the conventional ‘white people’ stereotypes. Though most of the time we were right because these were rich kids with almost everything handed to them. Being in the minority has its disadvantages, but people, specifically students can be smart and use those stereotypes to their advantage. I honestly never paid attention to my lack of resources, instead I knew that if I wanted something I was going to try and get it. A big misconception that surrounded our school or the part of town that I lived in was that we were not going to make it to college, in fact, we would be lucky if we actually graduated from high school. The name of our high school was very much and icon or a symbol. I knew some friends that wouldn’t give out the name of our school because they were afraid of being labeled a â€Å"loser† in some way. Basically, going to my school meant that we were low IQ destined to work at low paying jobs, simply because many were Mexican immigrants or first generation American born. For our advantage, now a day being in the minority can actually help you enroll into colleges of your choice and get scholarships to help pay for college. Perceptions play a great roll on judging others; many times it is influenced by race and ethnicity. It is clear to me that if lived in a more diverse part of the city; my experiences would be the very different. As society grows more with different cultures, races and ethnics, tension grows and people start disliking others ways of being that are not like theirs. But it is important to understand that it is not healthy to have prejudice feelings towards others, it only makes one bitter.