Buffalo ’66 (Directed by Vincent Gallo) Film Essay

Buffalo ‘66 (Directed by: Vincent Gallo) Buffalo ‘66 is Gallo’s ode to his childhood and hometown. Like most artists he writes from what he knows. Having moved to New York from an early age (around 17), for his directorial debut he went back to the city where he grew up, and even shot scenes in his real parents’ old house. Buffalo made him what he is, and still resonates deeply in him. He had enough emotional distance when he made the movie to be able to find the humor in it, but watching the movie it’s clear that his past still haunts him, â€Å"It’s an open wound†(1), as Roger Ebert describes it in his review. Spite, resentment, revenge and anger seem to fuel Gallo’s energy; they’re his motivation to create. He is infamous for his public antics, his idiosyncrasy and statements like â€Å"’I stopped painting in 1990 at the peak of my success just to deny people my beautiful paintings. And I did it out of spite.â₠¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  A one man army, nobody praises and hypes Gallo more than Gallo himself. He’s never short of bravado and macho, like a kid forever competing with everybody else to be the coolest, most hands-on and authentic. And yet in his art, his stories and songs, we see a fragile man, haunted by his past, broken by the hardships of love. He presents himself that way, his heart perennially broken and sad, looking for revenge or closure. He’s a bitter man, but he is sad in style, of course. His looks and sense of fashion and â€Å"cool† are integral to understanding what he does and where he is coming from. His cult of personality, gigantic ego and vanity inform his work a great deal; it’s his approach, what makes him different. Gallo is an artist that operates as an outsider, but looks like a rock star. He understands that to stand out, to be noticed, an artist has to create his own hype, his own legend; his persona is as much a creation as his work. Which is why he likes to keep people guessing, and building a mystery around him. Provoke people and they’ll pay attention, elaborate on your own past, make things up, and you’ll appear more interesting. Consider the scene in Buffalo ‘66 where Ben Gazzara’s character performs â€Å"Fools Rush In† for Layla (Christina Ricci). The voice we hear is actually an old recording of Vincent Gallo’s father singing the classic song. In 1998, after the release of the movie he told Village Voice journalist Jerry Talmer that he himself had recorded his father, praising his own engineering skills: â€Å"So 10 years ago,† says 36-year-old Vincent, â€Å"I’m drivin g across the country in a car with one hundred of my cassettes, and at the end of the B side of some punk-rock thing there’s this old, dirty, sun-baked tape, and I hear that â€Å"Fools Rush In† and I’m stunned at my father’s talent and my 13-year-old engineering skills. And that’s the inspiration for the whole movie†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (2) In 1992 though, he wrote an article for Sound Practices magazine where he tells a different story: â€Å"I remember my Grandma’s house. It was small and it had a smell, not a good smell or a bad smell just a certain smell. There was no TV, no radio – just this old wind up 78 machine with this big metal horn that had flowers painted on it. Underneath in a shelf, she had 9 records: three by Domenico Modugno- you know, the guy who wrote Volare, four Caruso records, and her two favorites – one by Dean Martin and one by my father singing â€Å"Fools Rush In†. Before my Pops went to prison, he was a nite club singer. He got to record one single.†(3) Wouldn’t he mention the fact that he recorded his father’s single at age 13 on an article for a DIY sound magazine if it was true? And if his grandmother was listening to it on vinyl, clearly it wasn’t a homemade recording. But even if he’s contrived, small minded and petty, he seems to be self aware enough to be able to not only talk about it straight, but to also make art out of it, and if a movie like Buffalo 66 ultimately works is because Gallo can find the humor in his own story and persona. He has to be poking fun at himself and anyone with his outrageous provocations and massive trolling. Just look at his website, where he offers himself for $50,000;(4) or his claims that he’s a republican, and that Bush is a great man. Through his work he can transcend himself and reach out to other people: â€Å"I’m clearly a small-minded person, with my own petty grievances. Hopefully, my work transcends my own petty grievances and small-minded nature. It’s best for me to remain small-minded on an emotional level and broad-minded on a conceptual level. It doesn’t matter whatever it is that makes me do my work. Neurosis, obsession, wanting people to like me, wanting my parents to feel bad for underrating me, making a lot of money, power, and social status, wanting girls to like me or just to meet one girl on a job. All of this doesn’t matter as long as the work that I do to achieve these small-minded needs is a lot more interesting than me and my reasons for making it.†(5) But if the starting point, the initial motivation to do art was revenge, he’s past that, he says: â€Å"One begins one’s adult life trying to conquer the voices and the demons and the hang-ups of one’s childhood emotional life. At a certain point for me, I became actually interested in what I was doing to take this revenge. I became more interested in the activity and the result and the objects I was making out of these motivations so I became more preoccupied with what I was doing than what he was thinking and that happened gradually. At about the age of 30 I was finally more preoccupied with my work than with what my father thought of my work. At this point I have very little interest in proving him wrong, I am more interested in the work.†(6) He is an artist who identifies himself as a working man, a â€Å"hustler†; he doesn’t want to be seen as some delicate poet: â€Å"I don’t identify myself as an artist in that way, like a pre conceived concept of what it means to be an artist. That’s what a bunch of TV actors who finally get a movie job like to think of themselves. I’ve done so many different things. I’ve done a million different things for money. I’ve done a million things to have impact into culture. I’ve done a million things for love and approval and social status. So when I said ‘I hustle’ I was trying to describe the basic premise of what motivates me to do all these different things, and it’s certainly not poetic and anybody who tells you that it is for themselves is full of shit.† â€Å"I’m not a young poet. I’m a working person.†(6) The Buffalo shown in the movie is the one Gallo remembers, the one he describes in interviews. â€Å"It’s miserable. It’s a failed city living in a delusion of grandeur. It’s a regressive unambitious fat ass city with a bunch of real pricks who are controlling things like the newspaper and things like that. Some peop le are very charming there, and I’ve banged a lot of cute girls there, but I would say that it’s an unpleasant place and it certainly has had impact into my personality hang-ups and my personality struggles.†(6) This resentment and unresolved issues with his past are all over the film. Was he looking for closure by making it? Did he find it? One of the central themes of the movie is the relationship the main character Billy Brown has with his parents. They don’t think much of his son, football is more important to his mom than his kid. She regrets having Billy, she lost a game the day she had Billy. According to Gallo, the character of the father (played by Ben Gazzara) is just like his own father.(2) Even though there’s plenty of humor in the scenes involving the parents, it’s evident that Gallo holds a great deal of resentment towards them and his whole upbringing. What is unclear though is the way he resolves it, the way he deals with it. Why would Billy Brown bother going to the lengths of kidnapping a girl and taking her home to his parents to try to impress them, when they couldn’t care less. Nothing in the movie makes much sense if you try to rationalize it, because the story is more about emotions than reason. But that’s what makes it feel urgent and alive, and how the moments of humor and fantasy make sense. We don’t get to know the other, real side of the story. Gallo went back to his hometown to make this movie, shot scenes in his own childhood house and used an old recording of his father singing. How is his relationship with his real parents, what did they think of the movie, what was it like when Gallo came home shoot it, how did that affect their relationship? What about his old neighborhood, old acquaintances, how did that all play out, and how did that ultimately affect Gallo himself? These are all questions we cannot answer, and of course you don’t have to know all the details of an artist’s personal life to understand his oeuvre, but in cases like Gallo, life and art are so intermingled that you’re always aware that you’re only seeing half the picture. He has a problem with people seeing Buffalo ‘66 as an autobiographical movie, for he feels that it takes credit away from all the work he did in it (writer, director, composer, star): â€Å"I feel that when you or anyone else refers to that film as â€Å"autobiographical† what you are really doing is creating a sense or an idea that I didn’t really write the script. It sort of wrote itself. And since I am playing myself, I’m not really acting and since I’m not really acting and the script wrote itself then the film sort of directs itself. Well, it wasn’t autobiographical, it’s a real screenplay and a real performance and a real soundtrack.†(5) He might have a point, but as a viewer it’s very difficult to separate the character of Billy Brown from the persona of Vincent Gallo, especially if you know anything about him. Billy Brown is just like the Vincent Gallo you read in interviews: jumpy, never relaxed, easily offended, perpetually at war with everybody, never hesitates to throw threats and snark, brag about his many talents or dismiss the work of others. Except of course Billy Brown is a pathetic nobody and Vincent Gallo a model and multidisciplinary artist. His movies and art are confessional, but in a very capricious way, we are always reminded that he does things his way. Everybody knows that film auteurs are the ones that do what they want and are stubborn enough to get complete control, it’s just that Vincent Gallo makes really sure you are aware of this at all times. In 2004, around the time his second movie The Brown Bunny was released in America, Gallo told Ebert that he’s an entertainer: â€Å"Film has a purpose. It’s not art. Real art is an esoteric thing done by somebody without purpose in mind. I’ve done that in my life and I’m not doing that making movies. I’m an entertainer. I love all movies. I don’t divide them up into art films, indie films.†(7) But he makes movies for himself. About himself, by himself, for himself. The obvious proof being Promises Written in Water, his third feature. Premiered in 2010 at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, it has not been showed since, and Gallo says he has no plans to release it to the public, so that it is â€Å"allowed to rest in peace, and stored without being exposed to the dark energies from the public.†(8) He was invited to screen it this year at the Whitney Biennial in New York, but he didn’t bother to show up. His movies are made from his very specific point of view, always just his. It’s all about finding sympathy for him the lead. The world revolves around him, everything transformed by his view. His female characters are concepts, fantasies, vague and elusive; we never really get to know who they are. Christina Ricci’s character in Buffalo 66 is more than willing to cooperate with him from the beginning. He doesn’t hold a gun against her, doesn’t need to use much violence (except verbally) to persuade her. By the end of the movie it’s her that’s begging him to return. It’s like Billy Brown is so used to antagonizing with everybody that he doesn’t even know how to deal with someone who actually likes him. A self-professed perfectionist, he wants to control as much as possible in his movies, equaling his directorial app roach to the carefully constructed classic Hollywood musicals: â€Å"When I made the movie, in my mind I was making a classic musical. So when Ben Gazzara sings, or when Christina Ricci does her tap dance, or in the bedroom scene where we kiss, it’s choreography. Those are musical numbers like in those old Hollywood musicals.†(2) He insisted director of photography and camera operator Lance Acord that the film be shot on 35mm reversal stock, a very rare old type of film stock that created many problems during production. Gallo got the idea from an Italian jeans commercial he had previously worked on with Acord. â€Å"The director wanted the spot to look like an old print of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film Pierrot Le Fou†, recalls Acord, â€Å"With Vincent as the Belmondo character. I chose to shoot with reversal to obtain that faded look you see in older prints, while still maintaining strong saturation in the primaries.†(9) The other key visual references for the look of the film were the NFL Films feature presentation of the 1969 Jets Vs. Colts championship game, and the look of old pictures, according to Acord, â€Å"the kind you might find in a suitcase under a table at the flea market. Some were nudes of someoneâ €™s girlfriend, probably lit with Photofloods and shot on Kodachrome. The girl was reclining on an avocado couch, against a brown curtain and a dull orange rug. There is a sincerity and purity in the crudeness of the technique that somehow makes work like that very revealing and powerful. We tried to bring some of that to the movie.† As for the NFL movie, apparently Gallo was taken by his father as a kid to see its production. It was shot on high-contrast reversal Video News film, and made a strong impression on Gallo. (9) The visual components of the film include the use of the picture-in-picture technique, which consists of a small window of footage superimposed over a larger window at the same time(11) (in the beginning of the movie, after Billy is released from prison, he lays on a bench in the street while the screen fills with small windows with different scenes that show us his time in prison, and later on as he sits on the table with his parents, complimentary windows appear a couple of times to show us painful moments from Billy’s childhood); the use of Japanese filmmaker Yazujiro Ozu’s â€Å"Tatami shots† (Christina Ricci’s car plates read â€Å"OZU†(12)), in which the camera is placed at a low height, at the eye level of a person kneeling on a tatami mat, so that the audience is on the same visual level as the characters sitting, to place the viewer right into whatever conversation is going on(11) (the dinner sequence with Billy, his parents and Christina Ricci sitting at the table); and the striking 3D-like virtual pan in the moment where Billy enters the strip club and imagines killing the owner and then turning the gun on himself. Lance Acord got the idea from French director Michel Gondry, who had employed a technique where â€Å"A circular still-camera array was simultaneously triggered, â€Å"freezing† the subject from multiple angles. The resulting frames were then sequentially morphed and animated to create a virtual pan and 3-D effect†. Instead of using still cameras, Accord used a movie camera to produce the stills, moving the camera around the actors as they stood still holding their positions. Blown-glass pieces resembling splashing red liquid where attached to Gallo’s head so that they resembled blood coming out of his head to help achieve the effect of a moment frozen in time.(9) Somewhere between John Cassavetes (or that school of 60s-70s American realism) and art films, Buffalo ‘66 can feel overcrowded with visual motifs and ideas, at times style overcoming substance, but the overall mood and tone of the film are well maintained. The emotions and the urgency of Billy Brown’s character (and Gallo’s performance) feel real enough to go beyond the pose. He even has enough perspective to be able to laugh at himself. Roger Ebert argues that the movie doesn’t offer a payoff, a real resolution. â€Å"Buffalo ‘66 isn’t really about endings, anyway. Endings are about conclusions and statements, and Gallo is obviously too much in turmoil about this material to organize it into a payoff.†(1) But the movie actually ends on a positive note; he’s opting to be optimistic, embracing the possibility of love. After envisioning a fatal ending to his story, he backs out and chooses a happy ending, and that is a resolution. Bibliography 1) Ebert, Roger. â€Å"Buffalo ‘66†. Review. Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago) 7 Aug. 1998. Print/ Online. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19980807/REVIEWS/80807 0302/1023 2) Tallmer, Jerry. â€Å"Vincent Gallo and Buffalo ’66†. Interview with Vincent Gallo. New York City 1998. Online. http://www.siegelproductions.ca/filmfanatics/gallo.htm. 3) Gallo, Vincent. â€Å"Mono Mia†. Article. Sound Practices Magazine. Summer 1992. Print/Online. http://www.drowninginbrown.com/dib_sp.htm 4) Vincent Gallo’s website. http://www.vgmerchandise.com/store/home.php 5) Kaufman, Anthony. Vincent Gallo. Interview. Soma Magazine. November 2001. Print/ Online. http://www.vincentgallo.com/writing/AnthonyKaufman.html 6) Taylor, Lee. â€Å"The Cover Star: An Interview with Vincent Gallo†. Flux Magazine. UK, No.9, Oct/Nov 1998 Print/Online. http://www.galloappreciation.com/print/flux.html 7) Ebert, Roger. â€Å"The whole truth from Vincent Gallour†. Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago). August 29,2004. Print/ Online. http://www.galloappreciation.com/index2 .html 8) Lim, Dennis. â€Å"R.I.P. ‘Promises,’ It Was Nice Knowing You†. New York Times (New York Edition) June 8, 2012. Print/ Online. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/movies/vincent-gallo-keeps-promises-written-inwater-off-screens.html 9) Oppenheimer, Jean. â€Å"Playing a Risky Stock on Buffalo 66†. American Cinematographer. July 1998, Vol. 79 Issue 7, p32. Print/Online database Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson) 10) Video Glossary. Online. http://www.video-editing-made-easy.com/video-glossary-p.html 11) Criterion. â€Å"The Ozu Shot: Tokyo-ga and Late Spring† Criterion film essay. Online. http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2257-the-ozu-shot-tokyo-ga-and-late-spring 12) Internet Movie Data Base. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118789/trivia

Face to Face Skills for Customer Service

Face to Face Summer Erxleben MAR2305 December 17, 2011 Brandi Summers Face to Face The manner in which I handled this customer service call was unprofessional and handled very poorly. I did not answer the phone within three rings or use the proper greeting that the company requires. There were many things I could have done different in this situation. First and foremost I should have done my job and handled her situation right away. However, that was not the case. Since I did not, there were other ways I could have smoothed things over with Aretha and rectified the situation. I should have answered the phone according to the company’s guidelines of answering before three rings and using the standard greeting. I should have not discussed any personal issues that I was having with her or used those as an excuse as to why I did not return her phone call. I should have gone straight to apologizing for my mistake and resolving the issue. I feel as if Aretha was justified in how she treated me. She was frustrated and expressed it to me. I made her angrier over the situation by trying to excuse my actions instead of trying to find a resolution. Personal issues and priorities can sometimes effect customer service because employees can let the mood over them flow into the work environment. An employee could possibly treat a customer with anger or indifference because of these issues. They can also be distracted from performing their required tasks. It is important to separate your home life from your work life. There are times an employee will need to put on a smile and positive attitude even when faced with such issues.

Is the American Education System in Trouble Essay

Is the American Education System in Trouble - Essay Example Literacy's worth has changed and America has apparently become a "dropout nation". In answer to this dilemma, fingers are pointing to several aspects of America's education system; there are incompetent educators, obsolete curriculum, overcrowded schools and lack of funding for the system. It is an unending blame game where there is no winner and all are losers. Frank Salvato (2006) vividly mentions in an online article that: "It is ironic that liberal institutions of learning complete with accelerated courses in the humanities, sociology and ethics, are increasingly producing graduates who have no ethics, no understanding of morality and no mastery of the skills that can reasonably be described as the basics of education". Here, Salvato is clearly pointing to how dismal students are being taught even in the so called well established academes. Many have been calling out for an overhaul in the system to refocus its aim to teach or educate students on what is important and relevant. Old curriculum's and traditional teaching methods tend to be boring for students nowadays. Boredom leads to disinterest, which is one of the common reasons high school students drop out of their schools. The most obvious reason for dropping out of high school is poverty and poor academic performance. But even in suburban areas in America where money is not a big issue, parents and school authorities are finding it hard to keep kids at school. Often than not, students are not motivated to go back to school. Some dropouts choose to go direct to work and earn money instead of "wasting" time learning things they can learn themselves. Dropping out of high school has become so common especially since the law gives anyone who is 16 years old (or 18 years old in some states) the right to discontinue his/her education given that they have valid reason to do so. In fact, according to a recent PR News Today (2006) online article, 3,000 American students drop out of school for every school day and that most of them are poor readers. Moreover, only half of the high school graduates continue on to finish their college degrees. What most people tend to overlook is that dropping out of high school means minimum wage jobs and slim chances of going up the ladder. It's an almost certain way of being in a degenerative cycle, where dropouts rear children who choose to drop out of school eventually too. It is certainly a challenge for the school administrators, parents, and the society at large to make students realize that staying in school is the most important step they could take to improve their financial capacity in the future. In an online article by the Oprah Winfrey Show (2006) website, it was stressed that American students used to be among the best in the world about 20 years ago. Presently however, American students are lagging in academic rankings and even ranking behind poorer and smaller countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and India. There are also an increasing number of high school graduates who later find college level education hard to cope with. Their high school curriculum evidently did not train them to be apt to that level. Even more disappointing is that some who graduated top of their classes perform miserably in their college years. What happens if the American education system continues to fail The country and its

Organizational design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational design - Essay Example The second stage is relevant in detailing team or group roles, configurations, and staffing. At this point, the sizes of current units are identified and then specific tasks and objectives assigned to the teams and individual employees. This stage is crucial in that it helps outline challenges and opportunities in fitting together the organizational design. Once the management has identified the issues affecting them and assigned roles to different groups and individuals, the next stage is the transition and the implementation of the set plans. During the transition level, the organization identifies approaches necessary to the implementation of the plan. The management seeks to identify activities like the leadership training, staffing policies, and employee communication. Once the transition planning is achieved, the organization sequences the plan on a primary implementation timeline. Here the organization determines what needs to be done, by who, and when it should be completed. The management identifies employee empowerment needs and plans for the best approach to achieve them. The organization also develops a set of expectable employee roles and behaviors. At this point, skills are determined according to their levels of advancement. Training is then provided depending on the needs of individual employees to acquire the required skills. The employees are also guided on the best approaches so as to work mutually in the attainment of the organizational goals The management assesses the achieved performance against the expected goals and scorecards. The organization seeks to identify the changes arising from the new process and areas that need extra considerations. Once the organization has identified these sectors, then adjustments are made to the design. An example of an effective organization design process can be defined in the case of Toyota. Toyota is headed by people within the founder’s inner circle

Human Rights (answer question) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Rights (answer question) - Essay Example Bartolome presented a case that was meant to convince the Spanish authorities to permit him to try saving the remaining few Caribbean natives. This was achieved by an attempt to take them out of slavery and put them in sovereign towns (McGowen 260). Bartolome was greatly convinced that the slaughter and enslavement of the native populace was not only seen as a crime as defined by the church, but it was also a mortal sin. He often accompanied Ovando the Governor in his military trips and on one the trips he witnessed how the poor natives were being massacred. He also saw the appalling conditions the natives were kept. Bartolome asked for and managed to be given a section of Venezuelan main land for experiment which he wanted to demonstrated his believe on the issue that he was capable to appease the natives using religion and not weapons as it was the believe of Spanish (Sen 450) Question 2: Broader Implications of this finding Over many decades Bartolome incessantly propagated an ide ological ground that Indians held the right to their land and that the papal funding to Spain were meant for the soul conversion and not allocation of resources. Rising into a politically perceptive activist, Bartolome was in a position to influence a positive change including indemnifying the diplomatic entry into Guatemala by the Dominican Friars. He was thereafter, in 1544 named as Chiapas Bishop in Guatemala to be able to enforce the Emperor Charles New Laws that outlawed slavery and restricted the Indian ownership to a single generation (McGowen 265). This resulted to settlers objecting to the limits put in place and refused to follow the lead of the new Bishop. Casas was later forced to return to Spain because of his resistance to new laws by encomenderos and the conflict he faced with the Spanish settlers due to his pro Indian strategies and his activists religious positions. The work of Bartolome has been greatly uploaded by the advocates of human rights. He spent much of hi s remaining time in the Spanish courts where he had an enormous pressure over the Indians associated concerns. Bartolome took part in Valladolid debate where Juan Gines argued that Indians were less compared to human and therefore, needed the Spanish masters in order to make them civilized. On the other hand, Bartolome maintained his stand that Indies were completely human and that vanquishing them forcefully was unjustifiable. Casas was in the front line championing the Mexico and the Central American Indians, disagreeing with a held belief that Indians were beast the reason as to why they were enslaved. In his defense for the native Indian people, he held far-reaching implications for the strategies taken on by both the church and the Spanish Crown towards the state of slavery. This cautiously, but in an emotional manner changed the defense addresses concerns that included relationships between the differing cultures and races, the perception of colonialism and the notion of a jus t war (Sen 455). Question 3 Arendt was an academic Jewish who had fled from Germany to France and arrived in States in 1941 accompanied by his husband and her mother with illegal visas that they were given by Hiram, a US diplomat. Making an assumption of a society such as Germany’s Weimar republic , the united states or the France third

Strategic issues in banking and insurance Essay

Strategic issues in banking and insurance - Essay Example In developed world where most of the sector is de-regulated and enjoy substantial degree of freedom and autonomy, political influences may not be there however, in developing countries, this may not be the case. Developing countries do not have very well grown financial sector and most of the institutions are either directly owned or controlled by the government themselves or governments have the substantial share in them. This allows the government to largely influence the banks especially to engage into practices which may not be in direct interest of the deposit holders of those banks. The era after 9/11 have seen a new shift into the industry in terms of influence of political forces on it. The anti-money laundering rules, terrorist funding etc were some of the key strategic issues which put extra pressures on the banks and insurance companies to devise methods and strategies which can effectively help in tackling issues like illegal money laundering, channeling of funds through SWIFT etc to the supposedly terrorist organizations etc. The current economic trends especially the crisis emerged due to the subprime mortgages is considered now as one of the great strategic challenge faced by most of the players in the financial sector industry. Subprime mortgages are considered as the threat which has largely been created by the banks themselves as they tend to violate their own prudent lending policies in order to capture the market. This has therefore provided them an opportunity to earn at the cost of incurring high cost. â€Å"Sub-Prime lending typically has been characterized as lending at relatively costly interest rates and fees to credit impaired or otherwise high risk borrowers.† (Lax, Manti and Raca). Subprime loans are among the newly popular mortgage products, such as interest-only loans, for people with strained budgets, including first-time buyers. Homeowners increasingly use them to refinance and consolidate household debts

Expansion of The Federal Governments Power Essay

Expansion of The Federal Governments Power - Essay Example If the federal government is not powerful enough, then conflicts are expected between the federal and state governments. In order for the country to stay united, it is important for the federal government to be more powerful. These are the cases that occurred in the early 1800 during the expansion of the federal government’s power:In Marbury v. Madison (1803), which is one of the landmark cases, it was decided that if the congress violates a law of the constitution, the Supreme Court could go against it (Lively and Weaver). In the national bank case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) (Hall and Patrick) the court ordered that the establishment of a national bank would be acceptable by the interstate commerce clause. In Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) and Cohens v. Virginia (1821), it was announced that appeals submitted by state courts can be heard by the Supreme Court (White). The superiority of the federal government over state laws was confirmed in McCulloch and Barron v. Baltimo re in 1833 (Drakeman)The author states that the major issues that occurred in the expansion of the federal government were as briefly discussed above it is proven through these cases that every time there is a significant issue the government has to go an extra mile and it has to use its power in order to resolve it.Establishment of a federal commission under the President Obama to fight against sexual assault is taking the time for the implementation as the number of victims is very high, and most of the schools have failed.

Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 11

Business Plan - Essay Example An effective business plan will be able to describe the proposed venture in terms of the opportunities or threats of the products or services it offers, marketing forces, competition, business operation and its resources and financial projections (Leach & Melicher, 2008, p. 74). This paper is a brief business plan for Wonder-BAR and it presents the ‘what, where and why’ explanation of this business venture. Australia is one of the largest wine producer in the world since its wine exports have grown in an incredible place in recent years and the country has become market leader in the UK and the second largest in the US (Austrade, 2008). Australia’s larger population and experiences accelerated growth are always positive signs for most industries in the country. The wine and bar industries in Australia have greater growth potential due to mass production with emphasis on quantity with quality (Gruda, Vries & Marsman, 2011, p. 6). As Wonder-BAR will be concentrating on superior quality wines, the company will have greater opportunities and the company will be able to better seize this opportunity if it can meet specific as well as general customer-requirements for leisure, entertainment and natural charms. Wonder-BAR is proposing to introduce a new product in the brand name ‘Choc-Vine’, that will be prepared as a Chocolate Wine for meeting the needs of customers for s mall-wine treats. This will certainly attract large numbers of customers since these small-treat Chocolate Wines can be used as an alternative to sweets for people on the go and on the walk. The Wonder-BAR will be operating as a Limited liability partnership, because this form of business has various advantages such as limited liability, minimum management responsibility and direct pass through of profit and loss for taxation (CCH Australia Limited, 2008, p. 133-

Human resource planningorganisational culture Essay

Human resource planningorganisational culture - Essay Example In this paper, the researcher undertakes field work on the important elements and aspects of the human resource management unit of Hunts Transport. This research includes an exegesis on the human resource management elements of the company. In doing this, the following objectives are explored: In doing this research, the writer undertook a detailed fieldwork on the important elements and factors of the company. This was done through various methods of taking information on important components of the company through direct enquiry to attain primary data for the paper. The paper also involved a critical analysis of the findings in relation to important facts and figures that relate to human resource management. This is used to interpret the data and provide a detailed analysis of the way things are done in the company. From the analysis, conclusions and inferences are draw. Data is acquired through the collection of information and important elements and aspects that relate to the company. This is done in three parts. The first part involves a structured interview with the HR manager of Hunts Transport. The interview include an acquisition of information relating to important aspects of the company that define the human resource unit of Hunts Transport and its relation to other components of the business like the strategic plan of the company. These findings are subjected to further scrutiny in the second part which involves questionnaires that would be sent to a large percentage of the people in the company. This will be questions that would inquire about important elements and aspects of the application of the HR systems and how they relate to these individual members of the organisation. Finally, the research would involve a focus group interview that would take cross-sectional information about participants chosen from different units of

Countermeasures to Automobile-Exhaust Pollution Research Paper

Countermeasures to Automobile-Exhaust Pollution - Research Paper Example Pollution from vehicles is a universally acknowledged problem. However, it varies depending on the nation and its population. For example, pollution from cars contributes to between 50 to 90 percent of the total in urban areas. This may not be the same for rural areas. However, motor vehicles still present a disadvantage to the environment and human life. It is, therefore, prudent to develop countermeasures to automobile-exhaust pollution. Most of the world’s vehicles are operated on conventional hydrocarbons such as diesel and gasoline. By switching to fuel that maintains less pollution, the environmental impact of vehicles can be minimized. An alternative fuel technology that has the potential to meet this challenge is fuel cells. In this technology, hydrogen has maintained the best promise as a candidate to replace petroleum-based fuels. This technology utilizes hydrogen gas to create electricity. This electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy through an electric motor, which makes the wheels of an automobile to rotate. In this process, the emissions developed are pure water, Carbon (IV) Oxide and various oxides of nitrogen. This emissions are attributable to difficulties in storage and commercial production. Despite the release of oxides of carbon and nitrogen into the air, hydrogen fuel cells have a smaller footprint on the environment, when compared to conventional gasoline engines. However, suc h inefficiencies can be eliminated through use of concrete, as researched by a study at the University of Eindhoven (Yirka npp). The easiest method for manufacturing hydrogen gas at the moment requires mining fossil fuels, which has an environmental impact in its own right. However, new production techniques such as bacteria and biomass waste are expected to become conventional in the coming years. This will reduce the environmental impact of fuel cells, since the technology will lower oxides released into the air (Katsuhiko 3371). A hydrogen fuel cell works by the introduction of hydrogen at the cathode and oxygen at the anode. In the process, water is released out. Anions and cations from the cell are harnessed at the respective terminals, and energy is released. Hydrogen has a high energy content of around 150MJ/Kg or 61,100 BTUs per pound. This exceeds gasoline and its 20,900 BTUs of energy per pound. High energy content implies that less fuel is required to maintain the same am ount of power in engines, or to travel the same distances. Similarly, it has a higher efficiency when used in combustion engines. Advanced hybrid engines such as that of the Prius maintain an efficiency of about 40% (Potera 38). However, hydrogen has an efficiency of about 75% when used as the lone source of fuel. This efficiency means that greater distances can be covered with less consumption of energy. However, introduction of additional hydrogen fuel cell cars has been hampered by infrastructural issues. There are limited facilities that allow fuelling to conventional commuters within their localities (Katsuhiko 3369). There are many electric cars (EVs) on modern roads. Examples may be seen from Tesla’s roadster and the Nissan Leaf car. These vehicles release virtually no emissions to the environment, therefore are a solution to automobile-exhaust problems. This is attributable to their engines, which do not burn fossil fuels in order to release energy. Electric cars use sets of

Effects of Advertising Essay Example for Free

Effects of Advertising Essay Advertising may have some good points, as we know, but advertising is really just a necessary evil. Advertising has its own fair share of negative effects. While some are obvious to those with a more scrutinizing eye, most of advertising’s potentially harmful facets go undetected. How do you think advertisements have affected consumers or What are the negative effect of advertising? Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade its viewers, readers or listeners to take some action. Why should an ad be negative The main functionality of an ad is to convey the reason for existence of a brand / product and entice customers to buy. The visuals are a form of expressing the communication and making it is human as possible. How its shown or televised, printed is a subjective matter. Ideally we should be asking whether the communication is correct or not. Is it misleading the consumer Is it showcasing something and you are landed with something else Negative effects of ad would be when the communication is wrong, which seldom happens. Its really only in cases of Insurance ads, funds or generally speaking finance vertical ads. Keeping these hazards in mind even these corporates have started issuing a disclaimer immediately after the ads. Cold drink companies are using aero stunts for their ads and also staking claim that the stunts are performed by qualified experts and hence not to be done by normal unqualified people!! Ads will not really be negative, unless there may in some cases like the Red Bull ad where the content is quite derogatory where the man drinks Red Bull flies and opens his fly on top of the bird because the bird shat on him thats going too far with the tag for Red Bull. So I do not really find any negative effect of advertising per se!! Today advertising plays a dominant role for each and every product. Sometimes it becomes nuisance for the viewers, especially when watching the favourite programes in TVs and during this time the ad will not be of much effective as they will be nelected by the viewers by switching over to another channel for watching some other show. The basic objective of all ad campaign in TV channels is to reach the public immediately. Here the question is up to what extent the ads are effective and are sucessful.. we cant say 100%. o the advertisers should plan their capaign to get the milage to the greater extent. But it is true that the ad related to the children is very well watched by them and are enjoyed by the children. For every action, there is an opposite and an equievalent reaction. Hence the advertisers have to make a strategic planning on their timing and the money spent for the ad should not go waste. In other words thei ad capaign should regulated. The ad should not turn to irritate the viewers and it should not also exaggerate. It should be simple to showcase their products qualities and applications. I believe currently that advertising has become so powerful and so subtle that we accept most of it without thinking. It is our environment. We buy shirts and bags with large logos and show off most of us own a TV, the programs that exist are there only to get us to see ads. Our newspapers are covered in ads and we still call it news. My point is that advertising is in no way positive. It creates want in a society that doesnt understand the true meaning of Need. Fr. Kavanaugh was on the mark when describing the effects of advertising on society. Our moral values are being degraded by the bombardment of impropriety by the media. Adler would be quick in pointing out the reason why these messages have such a negative effect on people. There are two main tactics advertisers use to sell their product: either imply that their product will bring about the achievement of a particular (usually real) good, or make their product the object of desire, therefore making it an apparent good to people. The problem with associating products with the achievement of a good lies more in the realm of truth than in good, because it lies in whether or not the product can truly live up to its claims. The relation between a product and statements, therefore, they are directly misleading the public. The other subjective thing, it would seem to be acceptable for advertisers to qualify represent in other words, Calvin Klein products are now in and of themselves associating more importance to the product than to the good involved, like a society to advocate proper moral values in their advertising, or at least not The effects of 2 People see advertisements all around the globe that attempt to lure consumers to buy products. Advertisements are placed in newspapers, magazines, schools, and on billboards everywhere. According to marketing consultants Stan Rapp and Tom Collins, on a typical day, an average American sees over 5,000 advertisements a day (Gay, 1992). Many questions arise about these advertisements, such as â€Å"Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes? Does it create conformity? Does it create insecurity in order to sell goods? Does it cause people to buy things that they really don’t need? †(Alexander Hanson, 1993, p. 240). Advertisers use specific methods to target teen consumers, but these methods are not always successful or ethical. Advertising is giving the general public information about new goods and trying to increase overall sales, which increases the efficiency of the nation’s economy. It is supposed to be a significant way of getting the point across about a product and create motivation for people to buy. Advertising alone, however, does not get customers. It simply catches consumers’ attention, gets them to walk up to a shelf, and make an impulsive purchase. However, getting the customer back requires a more creative marketing approach. There are several ways to research consumers’ behaviors, likes, and dislikes. The most popular method is tests and surveys, both before and after a product is introduced. Telephone surveys are very common, but they take several thousand calls to get a substantial number of responses to work with. Along with those, written questionnaires and samples, either handed out in stores or sent by mail, are effective tests to see if consumers like a product or not. The reactions to the samples, results of questionnaires, and number of participants are all recorded as The effects of 3 a part of the researching process to come up with effective ads. All of this data collected also has other purposes, such as information on warranties and which groups to target for certain products. Companies also check whether the ads are being productive by means of comparing the money made and number of sales during periods of advertising to those during a time of no advertising. Some companies even allow average consumers to preview a commercial to get a response. As a result, companies learn what consumers want before wasting money on useless ads. A well-known advertising strategy is making consumers feel insecure and creating fears that can be overcome by buying. Advertising reveals the latest fashions and the new popular novelties on the market. It exhibits perfect individuals wearing the new styles and looking good. Consumers observe this perfection and envy it. Therefore, they go out and buy in hopes of reaching perfection. Furthermore, being an accepted member of society has become very important to most individuals. For instance, the presence of body odor on individuals makes them an outcast in society. Advertisers use this knowledge to their advantage by developing ads that show a person using deodorant and being recognized as popular. Fear also works into the whole advertising process. Due to the fear by consumers that they will not fit in, they pay close attention to the new ads for the new looks, which gives advertisers more drive to make their ads portray the ideal person. Advertisers also insure that ads are simply informational, but many disagree and believe that they are definitely persuasive. According to Douglas Kellner, a professor of philosophy, as early as the 1920s, advertising critics argue that ads began to persuade Americans, due to the new invention of the assembly lines and the concept of corporations, that buying material The effects of 4 goods was the thing to do. They tried convincing people that spending hard-earned dollars on items that could be hand-made was the new accepted behavior that would enhance their lives (Alexander Hanson, 1993). Likewise, critics of the advertising industry argue that it connects products with preferred emotions, such as happiness and popularity. For example, beer commercials often show a man after a hard day’s work enjoying an ice-cold beer to relax him. They also argue that ads give people the impression that products can give them talent. Take athletics, for example. Nike ads are accused of implying that their shoes will give a consumer athletic ability. Michael Jordan is shown in a television commercial dunking a basketball, wearing a new style of Nike shoes. Consequently, kids are going to want the same pair to be â€Å"like Mike† (Wolf, 1998, n. p. ). On the other hand, advertising agencies say that they just give the consumers up-to-date information. They show change in their ads because they know that is what consumers want and to fulfill the needs of the general public, change. Thus, persuasive strategies are considered techniques used by advertisers to get consumers to buy. Teenagers have become top consumers in today’s society, so advertisers have focused on getting their business. According to Simmons Market Research Bureau of New York City, teens bought 25% of all movie tickets and 27% of all videos, totaling $6. 6 billion. In 1998, teens spent $1. 5 billion on jeans, almost twice as much as in 1990, and $3 billion on sneakers, almost four times more than the amount spent in 1997 (Tulley, 1994). Another reason teens are being targeted is the fact that there are many more teens in America today than the past Generation X. The current number is even expected to grow in the next decade, giving advertisers more reason to target them. Winning teens over as customers, today, means possible long-term customers, The effects of 5 which equal big profits. The majority of teens also have part-time jobs or some type of income. With the possibility of the minimum wage raising once again, teens have come to possess a lot of buying power. According to the Teenage Research Unlimited, teenagers spent $140 billion in 1998, which is 14 percent more than in 1997 (Berkowitz Evangelista, 1999). Teens are able to spend their money more freely because they do not have the responsibilities of adults. They even have a greater influence on household spending, as their role in the spending of their parents’ money continues to grow. For instance, it is not unusual for a parent to send their teenager to the grocery store for them, giving them complete control of brand choice. Thus, teenagers are becoming big targets for advertisers due to their growing consumerism. Why are teenagers such big targets in the advertising industry? The answer is simple: They are different. Advertisers view them as a constant changing generation with optimistic outlooks. They want to show individuality by their clothes and possessions, yet fit in with their peers. Their optimism comes from the good rate of job placement after college, the good position of the nation’s economy, and the very low unemployment rates. Teenagers can basically strive for any career with a good chance of being successful. They like to feel good about themselves, so they buy new materials to produce that feeling. Teens are continuously purchasing new items to keeps up with the changing trends. Therefore, advertisers use their view of teens to create ads. With this in mind, advertisers devise specific ads, using a variety of tactics, to appeal to these changing teens. Although marketers each have their own unique techniques, they all use original, flashy, and funny ads to reach the teenage audience. They make posters with college age students that create a fun and happy image. Television commercials include music with The effects of 6 good beats and bizarre images because that is what gets the attention of teens. For example, the Gap’s swing dancing commercials were a big success among teens. They bought their clothes and accessories from the Gap because they could relate to it. That is one reason Gap is ranked as the number one casual clothes store among teens. Advertisers use celebrities to endorse products because teens admire and look up to them. Since teens are still trying to find themselves, advertisers try to create ads and brands that will survive past the finding years of teenagers, so they will have them as future customers. Due to the change in today’s teens, advertisers target them much more. Another controversial subject with advertising is that fact that teenage smoking is on the rise. According to TIPS (Tobacco Information and Prevention Source), at least 6,000 people try a cigarette for the first time each day, all of which are under eighteen years old. There are at least 4. 5 million smoking adolescents in the United States. From 1988 to 1996, the number of adolescents, ages twelve to seventeen, who are daily smokers, has increased by 73 percent (http://www. cdc. gov/tobacco/initfact. htm). Teenage smoking has obviously increased in the United States. As a result, tobacco advertisements are being blamed for the increase use of tobacco by teenagers. Many advertising critics argue that tobacco ads do indeed influence and contribute to the number of teenage smokers. Most teens, however, disagree and believe that their peers are the number one factor in their decision to smoke. Since image is very important to teens, they evaluate what image their smoking friends portray. If they want that image too, they may also take up the habit of smoking. A teen’s attitude towards cigarettes is a considering factor, ranking above advertising that leads to teen smoking. It is obvious that if one has a negative attitude The effects of 7 towards cigarettes, he or she will be less smoke. However, if individuals openly accept cigarettes, they may end up as a smoker. Also, those around cigarettes on a daily basis are more likely to be persuaded to smoke than individuals who are not around cigarettes. In the opinions of teens, tobacco ads do not play a big role in their decision to smoke. Advertisers use a variety of tactics to target particular groups, such as teens, to market their product. There are many views on advertising. Despite the many opinions that advertising is manipulative, a waste of money that could go towards other issues, and a bad influence on human beings, there is no true way of proving it has a bad effect on people. It is simply intended to reveal the benefits of products that consumers want. It is vital to many businesses, as some would be unable to survive without a way of making their products known. Although advertising is accused of influencing consumers to buy things they do not need, they have the choice to buy. It is up to the consumer to make wise choices and develop shopping skills that are intelligent.

Employee Retention and Interviewing Essay Example for Free

Employee Retention and Interviewing Essay When Southwest Airlines wants to hire employees, they tend to have 142,000 applicants. They obviously want to choose the person who will suit their organizational culture the best. To achieve this objective they need to ask the right questions when interviewing the applicants. These questions should be such that they provide a clear picture as to which applicant will be best for the job and the organization as a whole. You can use behavioral-based job interview questions to help you select superior candidates. Ask interview questions that help you identify whether the candidate has the behaviors, skills, and experience needed for the job you are filling. (Top job interview questions to help you select the Best, Susan M. Heathfield) Before starting the interview the interviewer should describe the essential functions of the job and ask the interviewee if he can perform those functions with or without accommodations. (http://www. alllaw. com/articles/employment/article13. asp) The first competency question should be related to the ability to recruit and interview applicants, ‘how often during your last job did you need to interview applicants and describe a situation in which the first impression of the applicant could have altered your judgment. ’ Through this question the interviewer may get an idea of the prejudices the person might or might not hold. Southwest Airlines need to make sure that their employees do not discriminate against certain races and are able to handle all sorts of situations hands on. The second question is related to the employee’s ability to perform reference checks on potential employees. ‘When a former employer was not willing to provide information about a potential employee, how did you handle the situation and perform the necessary reference check? ’ this question will help the Airlines figure out if the employee is responsible enough to go through the necessary procedure or would overlook some things and carry on. The third question is about the employee’s ability to plan and conduct regularly scheduled organizational orientation programs. Tell me about an incidence where last minute changes were made in the orientation plan, these changes were not known to you. How did you cope with these lat minute changes? ’ this question will help identify the employee’s capabilities in a chaotic situation. For airlines these situations are quite common and such a characteristic will be beneficial for the organization. The fourth question is connected with the employee’s ability to prepare and explain HR policies and procedures. ‘Tell me about a situation where there was a revision in the company policy and the employees did not take the change well. What did you do? This will help the employer or interviewer for Southwest Airlines find out the opinion of the employee about some policies and procedures that may be adopted by the company or already exist within the company. The fifth question is about the employee’s ability to develop and maintain up-to-date job descriptions. ‘How many job descriptions have you developed in your time as an employee here at Southwest and what were some of the major difficulties you faced while carrying out your work? ’ this question will help understand if the employee will be able to assess the applicant’s capabilities and send him to the department that suits him best. The sixth question for the employee should be based on his ability to administer a compensation program and monitor salary increase recommendations to ensure compliance with merit increase guidelines. The question here will be, ‘what is your view on performance appraisals, are they necessary or not, do they motivate employees to do better on the job? ’ This question will help understand what the employee’s are expecting and what benefits they want for the jobs they perform on a weekly or daily basis. By asking these questions from the existing employees, the top management at Southwest Airlines will know the sort of employees who will be screened out from the 142,000 applicants. The number of employees they actually need is 4000, thus the company needs to be careful as to who they hire and retain. By interviewing the interviewers beforehand the organization is making sure they hire the right people. Also, when your interview questions ask the applicant to tell you about behaviors and actions she has actually demonstrated in the past, your selection process will improve.

Study of In-vivo Analgesic Activity | Experiment

Study of In-vivo Analgesic Activity | Experiment A) ANIMALS Swiss albino mice (20-25 g) of either sex were used for study of in-vivo analgesic activity. Animals were kept under standard laboratory conditions i.e. temprature is 24  ± 2 °C and relative humidity is 60-70%. The study protocol was approved by the institutional animal ethics committee (IAEC) before experiment (Approval No. 1452/PO/a/11/CPCSEA). Albino-Swiss mice were taken from Laboratory Animal House, Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Lalpur, Rudrapur (U. S. Nagar) and used for the study. The animals were procured from IVRI, Bareilly (U.P.) The animals were kept in polypropylene cages and maintained on balanced ration with free access to clean drinking water. All experimental procedures were conducted in accordance with the guide for Care and use of laboratory animals and in accordance with the Local animal care and use committee. All of the animals were left for 2 days in the laboratory for acclimatization before the day of experiment and on the last day they were giv en water only. Minimum of 6 animals were used in each group. Wistar rats of either sex weighing (150-200 g) were used for studying in-vivo anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activity. Swiss albino mice of either sex weighing 20-25 g were used for in-vivo analgesic activity. Animals were maintained under standard laboratory conditions (24  ± 2 °C; relative humidity 60-70%). Study protocol was approved by the institutional Animal Ethics Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision on Experiments on Animals (IAEC, Approval No. 1452/PO/a/11/CPCSEA) before experiment. Wiatar Rats and Albino-Swiss mice from Laboratory Animal House Section, Department of Pharmacology, Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Lalpur, Rudrapur (U. S. Nagar) were used in the study. The animals were procured from IVRI, Bareilly (U.P.). Minimum of 6 animals were used in each group. B) ACUTE TOXICITY STUDIES The acute oral toxicity studies were performed to study the acute toxic effects and to determine minimum lethal dose of the synthesized compounds. Swiss albino mice of either sex weighing 20-25 g were used for the study. The aqueous solution of compounds were administered orally to different groups of over night fasted mice at the doses of 30, 100, 300, 1000 and 3000 mg/kg body weight. After administration of the compounds, animals were observed continuously for the first three hours for any toxic manifestation. Thereafter, observations were made at regular intervals for 24 hrs. Further the animals were under investigation up to a period of one week. The dose calculated for the synthesized compounds are as following- I) ANALGESIC ACTIVITY A) Method 1: Hot plate method Heat is used as a source of pain. Animals were individually placed on the hot plate maintain at constant temperature (55 °C) and the reaction of animals, such as paw licking or jump response was taken as the end response. Analgesic drugs/compounds increases the reaction time. The method was first described by Eddy Leimbach (A cut off period of 15 sec is observed to avoid damage to the paw). The compounds were dissolved in the Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (0.5% suspension). Control, standard and test compounds were given per orally to the animals and the reaction of time of animals at 15, 30, 60 120 min interval was noted on the hot plate after drug administration. The method of Eddy and Leimbach using techno heated plat analgesic apparatus was used. The standard drug Diclofenac Sodium (50 mg/kg) was used reference drug for comparison. The result was tabulated in Table. Results were expressed as means  ± S.E.M. Statistical significance was analyzed using the one-way analysis of vari ance followed by Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test where p B) Method 2: Acetic Acid Induced Writhing Method Analgesic activity was determined by calculating total number of writhings, following intraperitoneal (I.P) administration of 0.6% (0.1 ml/10g) acetic acid in mice .7 Albino mice of either sex (25-30 g) were used. Synthesized compounds (QAA-04H-04S) were administered intraperitonealy (0.5 ml) as a suspension in sterile 0.9% DMSO solution as vehicle. Diclofenac (10mg/kg) was used as the standard drug under same conditions. Acetic acid solution was administered intraperitonealy 30 min after administration of the compounds. 10 min after intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid solution, the number of writhings per animal was recorded for 20 min. Control animals received an equal volume of vehicle. Results of percentage Analgesic activity of compounds were calculated using following formula and the results are shown in table. % Analgesic activity = No. of writhings for control – No. of writhings for test compound *100 No. of writhings for control II) ANTI-PYRETIC ACTIVITY STUDIES: Albino rats of Wistar strain of either sex weighing between 170-190g were used. For induction of fever in rats, 20% w/v of brewer’s yeast in distilled water was administered by subcutaneous injection. All animals were induced pyrexia by injection of 10 ml/kg of brewer’s yeast solution under the skin in between the shoulder blades. The site of the injection was massaged in order to spread the suspension beneath the skin. Basal rectal temperature was measured before the injection of yeast, by inserting digital clinical thermometer to a depth of 2 cm into the rectum. The rise in rectal temperature was recorded 19 hours after yeast injection. The different groups of febrile rats were orally administered with the respective drugs and rectal temperature was recorded 30, 60, 120, 180 and 300 minutes post treatment. Decrease in rectal temperature post treatment indicated antipyretic effect. The difference in body temperature was recorded. III) ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY: The anti-inflammatory activity of compounds on carrageenin-induced rat paw oedema was determined according to the method described by Winter et al. (1962). The experimental animals were divided into ten groups, each containing five animals. First group received sterile normal saline (0.85% NaCl) assigned as control and the second group received standard drug Ibuprofen (20 mg/kg b.w., p.o.). The 3rd to 10th groups were administered the test compounds (at a dose of 20 mg/kg b.w, suspended in 10 ml/kg of 2% gum acacia) orally. After 30 min of administration of test compounds, 0.1 ml of 1% (w/v) carrageenin was injected subcutaneously in the subplantar region of the left hind paw. The right paw served as a reference to non inflammed paw for comparison. The initial paw volume was measured within 30 sec of the carrageenin injection by plethysmometer. The relative increase in paw volume was measured in control, standard and test compounds at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 h after the carrageenin injection. The difference between initial and final readings was taken as the volume of oedema and the percentage inhibition by the compounds was calculated using the formula (Kouadio et al., 2000): % Inhibition = 1-Ãâ€" 100 where dt is the difference in paw volume in the test compound-treated group and dc the difference in paw volume in the control group. IV) ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY Antimicrobial chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of many infectious diseases. However repeated and irrational use of some antibiotics result in resistance i.e., ineffectiveness of drug against the microorganisms. In the recent past, the emergence of drug resistance to antibiotics is more. This situation stimulated us to prepare new series of antimicrobials. The principle use of antibiotics is to help the body fight bacterial and/or fungal infections. The course of an infection is often linked to a race between the pathogen’s ability to grow in the host tissue and the tissue’s ability to capture and destroy the invading pathogen. Antibiotics are given to weaken or kill some of the invading Pathogens; hopefully, the body’s tissue can then destroy the rest. The effectiveness of an antibiotic is preliminarily determined by the size of the zone of inhibition, but zone size varies according to how easily the antibiotic diffuses through the agar, the type of medium used and many other factors. If a clear zone appears in which there is No microbial growth around the disk, it is called as the zone of inhibition, even though killing may have occurred in this zone. (A) Antibacterial Activity: In our current study, antibacterial activity was carried out by the agar diffusion method. Here the responses of the organisms to the synthesized compounds were measured and compared with the responses of the standard drugs. The standard reference drugs used in the antibacterial screening were Norfloxacin and Gatifloxacin. For antibacterial activity 2 gram positive bacteria i.e. Enterococci, Staphylococcus aureus and two gram negative bacteria i.e. Escherichia coli Shigella species were taken. Petridishes, cork borer, beakers, glass syringes and test tubes were sterilized by dry heat sterilization at 160 ºC for 1hr in hot air oven.All the synthesized compounds were dissolved in DMF to make the concentrations of 40 µg/ml. Preparation of nutrient agar media: Preparation of the bacteriological media involves the following steps:- All ingredients were dissolved in distilled water by boiling. The pH of the medium was determined with a pH meter and adjusted if necessary. The medium so prepared was sterilized by autoclaving at a temperature of 121 ºC for 15mins. Preparation of agar plates: The sterilized nutrient media was cooled to 45 º-46 ºC and inoculated with respective suspension of micro-organisms. They were mixed well and 200ml each of inoculated media were transferred into separate petridishes. They were allowed to cool at room temp. Until the agar medium completely solidified. Bores were made using cork borer and 0.1ml solution of test drug and control solutions were separately added to each bores. The sterile discs of standard reference drugs were placed on the surface. The petridishes were kept for 2hrs to allow the drug to diffuse into the agar media. A sterile atmosphere was maintained during the entire process by carrying out the work under Laminar Air Flow bench. All the plates were incubated for 24hrs at 37 ºC. At the end of incubation period, diameters of the zone of inhibition were measured and recorded. (B) Antifungal Activity: The antifungal activity was carried out by agar diffusion method. The responses of the fungal microorganisms to the synthesized compounds were recorded and compared with the standard reference drugs. Two fungal strains namely Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus were taken for the study. Petridishes, cork borer, beakers, glass syringes and test tubes were sterilized by dry heat sterilization at 160 ºC for 1hr in hot air oven. Each sample compound was dissolved in DMF to make the concentrations of 40 µg/ml. Clotrimazole and Amphotericin B were used as standard dugs. Media for fungi: Sabouraud Dextrose Agar : 65g procured from Himedia, Mumbai Distilled water : 1000ml Preparation of agar media: The preparation of the media involves the following steps:- Sabouraud Dextrose Agar was dissolved in 1000ml of sterile distilled water by boiling. The pH of the medium was determined with a pH meter and adjusted to if necessary. The medium so prepared was sterilized by autoclaving at a temp. of 121 ºC for 15mins. The sterilized nutrient media was cooled to 45 º-46 ºC and inoculated with respective suspension of fungal organisms. They were mixed well and 200ml each of inoculated media were transferred into separate petridishes. They were allowed to cool at room temp. Until the agar medium completely solidified. Bores were made using cork borer and 0.1ml solution of test drug and control solutions were separately added to each bores. The sterile discs of standard reference drugs were placed on the surface. The petridishes were kept for 2hrs to allow the drug to diffuse into the agar media. A sterile atmosphere was maintained during the entire process by carrying out the work under Laminar Air Flow bench. Then the plates were incubated at 25 ºC for 48hrs. The zone of inhibition was measured and recorded. V) IN-VITRO ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY Method followed: In vitro inhibition of albumin denaturation: Denaturation of proteins is one of the causes of inflammation. Production of auto- antigens in certain rheumatic diseases may be due to in vivo denaturation of proteins. A number of anti-inflammatory drugs are known to inhibit the denaturation of proteins. Mizushima and other have employed protein denaturation as in vitro screening model for anti-inflammatory compounds. Materials: Bovine serum albumin (sigma) Buffer tablets (7.4 pH) DMF Ibuprofen (standard) Distilled water (q.s.) METHOD: The test compounds were dissolved in minimum amount of dimethyl formamide (DMF) and diluted with phosphate buffer (0.2M, pH 7.4). The final concentration of DMF in all solutions was less than 2.5%. Test solution (1ml) containing different concentration of drug was mixed with 1ml of 1mg/ml albumin solution in phosphate buffer and incubated at 27 ºÃ‚ ±1 ºC for 15 min. Denaturation was induced by keeping the reaction mixture at 60 ºÃ‚ ±1 ºC in water bath for 10 min. after cooling, the turbidity was measured at 660nm in spectrophotometer. The percentage inhibition of denaturation was calculated from control where no drug was added. And compared against standard (Ibuprofen).

Who Should Be Blamed For The H :: essays research papers

During Hitler’s reign as Fuhrer of Nazi Germany from 1933-1945, millions of innocent citizens of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and those of Jewish religion and race were executed. Hitler, although masterminding the plan of the perfect human race did not kill these people, rather ordered their deaths. In the early to mid-1940s death camps such as Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Birkenau were created for the eventual extermination of the inferior peoples of Europe. Hitler commanded members of the Nazi party such as commandants, and SS troopers were ordered to follow through in the execution. The question is now, who is to blame for all of these deaths?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is impossible, in my opinion, to place the blame for all these deaths on one man’s shoulders. It is understandably argued that the soldiers and such were merely carrying out orders, yet they had the choice whether to follow through or not. The murderers claimed to be afraid to disobey the ever-powerful Fuhrer in fear of their own life. Yet, I still believe that no one can be ultimately forced to do something they do not want to. All humans have a choice to make decisions and follow their own path, which these men did not choose to do. For this, I believe the men should suffer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, Amon Goeth was Commandant of Plaszow, a work camp for Jews and Poles. Although, not a death camp specifically, thousands of men and women were executed within its confines. As leader of the camp, with direct orders from Hitler, he was expected to take part in the systematic elimination of the inferior peoples. Although only doing his job, he deserved punishment for his wrongdoings, as did all the other â€Å"butchers† of the camps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctors were also under order of Hitler. They were used to perform experiments on the selected such as fertilization, immunization experimentation, and operations. These people were tortured and suffered blindness, immobility, among many other things. Once again, although these doctors were under order I believe that they should have suffered for what they had done to the prisoners.

Tragic Irony in Shakespeares Macbeth :: Free Essay Writer

The Tragic Irony of Macbeth  Ã‚   There are many types of irony used in Macbeth. Without the irony, the tragedy would not be quite so tragic. One type of irony used in Macbeth is verbal irony. This is when a character says one thing and means the opposite. Examples of this are when Macbeth says to Banquo, â€Å"Tonight we hold a solemn supper, sir, And I’ll request your presence (III, i, 13-14)† or when he says â€Å"Fail not our feast (III, i, 28).† Verbal irony makes the play more tragic because, if the reader understands the irony of what a character is saying, then the reader can see the true nature and intentions of the character. Another type of irony Shakespeare used is the irony of a situation. This is when the results of an action or event are different than what is expected. One example is when Macduff is speaking with Malcolm about the tragedies in Scotland, not knowing that his family has been murdered. He says: â€Å"Let us rather Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men Bestride our down-fall’n birthdom. Each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds As if it felt with Scotland and yelled out Like syllable of dolor (IV, iii, 4-7).† Macduff, ironically, is remarking on new widows howling, not aware of the fact that he is a widower. This presents a great deal of irony to the reader, as well as a tragic situation. Dramatic irony is also used in Macbeth. This type of irony is when there is a contradiction between what characters of the play do, and what the reader knows will happen. In Macbeth, an example is the pleasantry with which Duncan, the King, speaks of Inverness. This pleasantry is a facade, because little does Duncan know, but the plot to murder him is being hatched and will be carried out here at Inverness. How ironic for the reader, and how tragic, to hear Duncan say: â€Å"This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself Unto our gentle senses. (I, iv, 1-3).† Finally, irony of Fate is used. This is when a result defeats the purpose of an event. For example, because of Macbeth’s reaction to seeing Banquo’s ghost in Act III scene iv is so dramatic and violent, he casts suspicion onto himself, instead of gaining