Legal Research

Samaritan Smith slipped and fell on shampoo that had spilled In the health and beauty department of the grocery store in question. Ms. Smith had suffered a broken hip from the incident and is going to be spending the next few months in physical therapy. Ms. Smith has no health insurance and is a single mother of a 2 year old boy. After our complaints were filed In the courts; the grocery store alleges that Ms. Smith had a duty herself to avoid the spillage, but was too distracted by her young son to notice. The store feels that Ms. Smith should be held just as responsible as hey are in the case.The question being presented today, Is If both parties Involved are equally responsible? Ms. Smith does in fact possibly hold some sort of comparative fault in this case. The grocery store did complete their scheduled aisle check Just thirty minutes before Ms. Smith slipped. INDO. Code Ann. 534-51-2-5 (WEST 1998) states that â€Å"In an action based on fault, any contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages for an injury attributable to the claimants contributory fault, but does not bar recovery†.There are several factors in that can place Ms. Smith with comparative fault. The biggest fact being that she was not paying attention, because she was dealing with her 2 year old son. It does not seem that the store is not at all responsible for the injuries she sustained. Yes, the aisle check was done at the scheduled time, but it was checked by an older gentleman that wore prescription glasses. As in Wall-Mart v. Wright, 774 EN ad 891 (2002) where Wright was found at comparative fault and awarded 30% less In damages, this too could be the case with Ms. Grants Ms.Smith states negligence on the grocery stores behalf, but she too had a duty to pay attention to her surroundings. The grocery store in question has documented proof of an aisle check being done at 1 p. M. The shampoo could have spilled anyt ime between 1:00 and 1:30 p. M. In conclusion Ms. Smith could very well hold some comparative fault if the grocery store can prove that she was distracted enough by her child, that she was unable to notice the spillage. [Where are the headings in your memo? I have no idea where your memo components are. ] Wall-Mart stores Inc. V. Got, 774 EN ad 891 (2002) Wright originally sued Wall-Mart for Injuries she sustained when she slipped and fell on a puddle of water in the â€Å"Outdoor Lawn and Garden Corral†. Wright insisted Wall-Mart was negligent in the maintenance and inspections of the premises. Wright was found at comparative fault for not doing her duty as an Individual and shopper and paying attention In an area of the store where it was common for water to be on the ground. Description Weighting Possible Points Points Earned Content Student located a statute from the appropriate Jurisdiction.The statute that the dent located is on the appropriate issue and applied to the fact situation. Student provided proper citation of statutes. Student located a case from the appropriate Jurisdiction that interprets the statute. 32 Sentence Mastery Sentences are consistently grammatical. Major sentence-level errors, including fragments, run-eons, and comma splices, are avoided. Sentences are graceful, I. E. , they can be read aloud without awkwardness, awkward pauses, or running out of breath. Language is rich, precise, and vivid. 6 Grammar and Mechanics Spelling is proficient. Spellchecker has been used to avoid egregious errors.Grammar and mechanics are sound, including mastery of the following key elements: subject-verb agreement; verb form; appropriate punctuation and capitalization; apostrophe use; appropriate word use. There are no extra words, and there are not missing words. Organization and Format Organization and structure are clear and easy to follow. Writing shows clear purpose and orderly transitions from beginning to end. Sentences consistently est ablish this organization and flow rather than interrupt it. Format meets PAPA guidelines and Bluebook rules as appropriate, including use of title pages.There is no playful experimentation with fancy fonts. It is written for the appropriate audience. Citation Style Writing shows both internal citations in the body of the text as well as a proper list of references at the end of the paper, following PAPA or Bluebook format. Citations appear consistently where needed, whether following quoted or paraphrased material in the text. Note: In papers requiring secondary sources, failure to provide any citation does not result in a deduction of 10% from the paper, but will result in a failed paper and a plagiarism investigation.Total: 100% 60] Possible Points [50] Points Earned Additional Instructor Comments: FRIAR for Samaritan Smith scenario Facts [Your own paraphrase of the facts of Smith's problem in one or two paragraphs. This goes to the Analysis section, so do not skimp. ] Issue [Your own statement of Smith's problem in a single sentence in yes or no format. For example, â€Å"Can Samaritan Smith recover for the damages she endured as the result of a slip and fall at a local grocery store where shampoo had leaked upon the floor? â€Å"] Rule The citations and holdings from the two cases you located (one in Unit Three and one

Drama Monologue – Blame It on the Dreams

Ever wish you could control your dreams? You know, you go to sleep and dream about whatever you want? Sometimes I think I could really FIX things if I could just dream them right. I guess that sounds pretty stupid. Like last week I had this huge test in English. I really like English, but there's so much to remember. I failed. And I know that stuff. That’s what makes me so mad. Who cares, right? It’s just a stupid test. But, here’s the thing. The night before, I dreamt I passed the test. I got an A. I remember sitting at the table, and I knew everything!Every vowel, every sentence, every character. They were all there. Floating around me like birds, or something. I didn’t end up seeing the answers, but I remember getting an A. Okay. Granted, there was a lobster sitting in the seat next to me, but it was a dream, remember. I heard about this thing called lucid dreaming. You’re meant to lie really still for as long as you can until you fall asleep, or something. Well, that sounds way too hard. I mean, I can’t sit still for five minutes, let alone lie still until I fall asleep. Sleep doesn’t just happen.You get into your PJ’s, get into bed, get all snuggly and warm, and then your brain decides to turn itself on and shout, â€Å"WOULDN’T THIS BE COOL IF THIS HAPPENED. I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THIS HAPPENED, OR EVEN THI–oh, you didn’t want to sleep, did you? † Yes, brain. Yes, I do. But, seriously, wouldn’t it be cool to control your dreams? You could dream about, oh I don’t know†¦ Marrying the richest person in the world and buying an island? That’d be nice. Unrealistic. But, nice. You could lay there for hours and hours just thinking about what you want to dream about?I could try that? Pony, pony, pony, pony, pony, pony, pony, pony, pony, po – oh, bother this. This won’t work. What was I thinking? This is all because of that stupid test. I hate failure. I hate it. If only there was a way to guarantee that you’d know the answers to every test you had to take in your life. I could cheat? No! Gosh, what was I thinking? I can’t cheat. I haven’t got a marker to write the answers on my stomach. *sigh* Stupid idea. I could get a marker? Argh! Wrong again. Where on earth would I get a marker that only I could see?That’s a cool idea. I wish I could dream about that. I just wish I knew how to pass every single test ever. *sigh* Hang on†¦ What if I study? I could study for a few hours every night, the week before the test? Ha! It’s brilliant. I can’t believe I never listened to my parents! They were right! I can’t wait to get started. I’ll start first thing tomorrow. I guess I’ll never be able to control my dreams. Oh well. *turns around and looks at ‘bed’* Is that me? But†¦ I’m me? How can I be laying there? I’m so confused, w hat’s going on? Wait†¦ Am I dreaming?

A Brief Introduction for Chinese Culture

A brief introduction for Chinese culture Cultural background China, as one of the four homes of the world’s earliest civilization, has a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years. Through centuries of migration, merging and development, it has formed a distinctive system of language, writing, philosophy, art and political organization, which came to be recognized as Chinese culture. It originated from Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasty, which was known as slave culture period. Xia culture represented the early Chinese culture and Zhou culture contributed to the form of more than 2000 years of feudalism culture in China.The May 4th Movement of 1919 was also an important date because it symbolized that it entered into a new culture period. In the spring and autumn and warring-states period, slave society gradually turned into feudalism society and a lot of thinkers sprang up with their immortal work. Among those, Confucianism was the most successful, which helped to build up the norms and values of Chinese people in the following centuries and also was used as a method for emperors to rule the country.However, after the fall of Qing dynasty, the last feudalism dynasty, Confucianism, which was seen as the product of feudalism society lose its dominant position. But its influence still lasts until now. Besides Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism also once played an important role in ancient Chinese. Nevertheless, nowadays most of Chinese are atheists. Buddhism is the biggest religion in China with a history of about 2,000 years. Then Muslim comes the second. It is popular within minority nationalities such as Hui and Uygur.Christianism and Catholicism are also believed in by some people. However, Taoism as indigenous religion has the fewest followers. Moreover, China is a multi-national country with quiet different 56 groups, in which Han has the largest population. Every group has its own language, customs, festivals and some fixed residence. In order to solve the prob lems of communication between groups and facilitates management, the government standardized language through popularizing mandarin, which is mostly based on Beijing dialect. Cultural valuesThe development of Chinese values can be divided into two phrases:the former is the traditional cultural values; the latter is modern cultural values, which is affected by the western culture since the 20th century. Confucianism is the core element in traditional values. Deeply influenced by Confucianism , Chinese people tightly adhere to the Doctrine of Mean and try to avoid conflicts. Afterwards, with time going by, Confucianism experienced improvements by combining with Taoism and Buddhism. In this period, Confucianism focused on human, for example, the relationship between human and human, human and nature and so on.Under the influence of the above factors, Chinese traditional values can be concluded into the following aspects: -believe in self struggle ‘Man’s determination can c onquer the nature’ is an old Chinese saying. Chinese people believe that through their efforts they can change their life. -emphasis on the art of tolerance Tolerance is another characteristic for Chinese nation. Chinese people won’t be easily infuriated by others. They are used to avoid conflicts and keep peace. It seems to be a little cowardly . But the truth is that many great men succeed because of temporary tolerance . -follow the majorityThis is still a serious problem in today’s society. Conformist mentality has proved to have negative effect on building up one’s confidence and independence. People are not willing to express its own opinion to keep conformity with the majority and become passive. -respect the old Respect for the old is a Chinese traditional virtue. Not like western individual consciousness, Chinese parents think it’s their duty to look after their children and do all that they can do for them. So when children grow up, they tend to be grateful for their parents’ contribution. As a result, the old enjoy a high position in the family.Moreover, since the old experience much more than the young, young people are willing to listen to their opinions when making decision. -collectivism This means that Chinese, in general, is a collective society that strives for harmony and group belonging, whether to family, friends, work, or country. The Chinese are more willing to suppress their own feelings and needs for the good of the group. This value has been passed down the Chinese culture from folklores where martyrs sacrificed their lives for their community or country ever since the dynastical eras 5,000 years ago.The arrival of western cultural value stroke Chinese traditional culture values and helped to discard some backward or bad parts of traditional values. Moreover, it also brought something new such as freedom, charity, democracy and etc. Cultural norms -saving face and losing face ‘Fcaeâ€⠄¢ stands for one’s position in a certain social group. It’s related to honor, good reputation or respect. Consequently, loss of face is not simply a form of embarrassment. Saving face is another concept. Chinese people respect a person who is friendly and who carefully avoids hurting the feelings of others.Loud, untactful or boisterous behavior is usually regarded as very poor taste. – greeting When meeting for the first time, a handshake is the most common greeting. In order to express some special esteem, to those elderly people or government officials, a slight bow might be given. -gift When visiting a family it is appropriate to bring a small gift, such as fruits, to the host, especially around New Year’s time. Gifts should be given and received with both hands. It is also a Chinese custom when receiving a gift to thank you for it and then place it to the side without opening it. eating  ·Chopsticks and a soup spoon are common eating utensils. Food is not passed around the table, but remains in the center. The host usually chooses the food for his guests and serves it to them from the central dishes on the table.  ·Refusing to drink is sometimes thought as dishonor to the people who toast to you. -relationship (guan-xi) Guan xi is a Chinese word which means relationship. One’s guan-xi, is an important factor in the individual’s social status. It is also an important Chinese business element.Having a right guan xi helps companies to minimize the risks, frustrations, and disappointments. Guan-xi relationship, like face behavior, is obligation between individuals for the purpose of maintenance of group integrity. -parents dominant Parents are accustomed to interfering children’s decision and sometimes just determine for them regardless of their own wishes. -look down on girls In some remote areas, the natives still prefer boys to girls. If a family has two children and they can’t afford the educatio n fees for both of them, the boy will have more chance to go to school.Ways of communication -nonverbal communication Chinese is a high context country. Nonverbal communication is as common as verbal communication. Nonverbal communication includes facial expression, tones of voice , gestures, and eye contact. They’re quiet important in Chinese daily life and sometimes it is even more powerful than the verbal interaction. Different gestures have different meanings. Due to different cultural background, even the same gesture has different meaning for people in certain context. -avoid speaking directly Speaking directly is often considered rudeness.Try to be â€Å"diplomatic† and tactful where possible, as the Chinese may be offended by directness in some situations. For example, it is a terrible thing to be criticized in public due to the fact that harmony is highly valued in Chinese society. -conversation tips Find some common areas to talk about such as family, sports and etc. Don’t verbally attack China and be careful about criticizing things there, as many Chinese will feel personally attacked by this. Avoid political arguments, as many Chinese feel reluctant to speak or explore their true opinion about the current government. saying â€Å"Thank you† â€Å"Thank you† is said a lot less than in the West. In a lot of instances, for example when someone opens a door for you or passes the soy sauce, saying â€Å"thank you† is seen as being over polite and without meaning, and is often met with requests for you not to be so polite (over-polite). -saying â€Å"Excuse me† â€Å"Excuse me† is not used as often in China. People are expected to give way naturally to one another on the street or when walking around, without anything being said.Interrupting somebody talking or doing something else to ask a question, make a request, etc. also happens regularly without any warning or apology. -compliments Be careful when complimenting someone’s possessions or somebody because they may think it’s a kind of flattering rather than appreciation. In conclusion, Chinese culture is based on the wisdom of Confucius and quiet different from western culture in many aspects. But nowadays because of the process of globalization, Chinese people are striving to learn from mainstream culture and improve and develop their own culture.

Music & Dementia Care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music & Dementia Care - Assignment Example The first paper by Gà ¶tell, Brown & Ekman (2002) covers how caregiver singing and background music affected the verbal communications between the caregiver and the dementia patient in an urban area of Sweden. The second paper, by Hammar, Emami, Engstrà ¶m & Gà ¶tell (2011), focuses purely on music therapeutic caregiving (MTC) and the experiences that caregivers had when considering the effect of MTC on patients with dementia. One of the major similarities between the two pieces of research is that they are qualitative in nature, and thus gather information designed to provide an in-depth look at human behavior (Merriam, 2009). Many of the strengths and weaknesses of the two papers are linked to this type of data-gathering. One issue with which qualitative research struggles is that it can be difficult and expensive to involve a lot of participants, and this research is no different; Gà ¶tell, Brown & Ekman (2002) focused on nine individuals whilst Hammar (2011) focused on six. This can make the results hard to generalize to the wider population and additionally makes the results more prone to various types of bias (Merriam, 2009). However, as the aim of the research was to uncover more detail about the relationship between music-related caregiving and dementia patients, this type of result is much more informative. Gà ¶tell, Brown & Ekman (2002) collected their data in two main ways. Firstly, the morning routine of the dementia patients was recorded (6-22 minutes). Following this, the caregiver was interviewed about how the morning session had gone. Later in the day, the caregiver and the researchers would look back over the video recording of the session to allow the caregiver to give further comment on the morning routine. Using this methodology is useful because it allows the caregiver to incorporate emotions and feelings that were felt immediately after the event and logical thoughts that occurred after a period time into their responses, giving a fuller account of the effect of music on caregiving.

Exhibits Of Liam Gillick Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exhibits Of Liam Gillick - Research Paper Example It is the light color wood work in a marvelous way to utilize the maximum space of the hall while maintaining the hall as the best discussion place. Following are the 5 snapshots of the â€Å"installation in the German Pavilion† in diversified angle to visualize the beauty of placement of meeting discussion table and shelves: Colorful discussion bench platforms with a group of reflecting colors on top was a master piece of Gillick, displayed in 2010. Discussion Bench Platform exhibition took 40 days to put forward the marvelous art. Comprising of series of a structure with a well composed top theme with a flat bench, visual and aesthetic sense of the artist is depicted in the light of applied modernism along with the functional beauty of the platform. Benches have aluminum varnishing in powder form which is indeed a pragmatic addition in open minded discussion platform. Following are the five views of the discussion bench platform in diversified angle to visualize the beauty o f placement and color combinations: Liam Gillick is one of his own kinds in its diversifying art structure ranging from graphic design, music, film, sculpture, curatorial project, critical themes to deep writing. A wide variety of evasions, tangents, distractions, and diversions are there in his art work that adds to the beauty of his projects. Instead of focusing on the relational aesthetic and principles of abstraction, Gillick put emphasis on the productive social interaction and the discussed themes portray the same cause in a practical way.

Business plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Business plan - Term Paper Example The Coffee Lounge would harness the closeness to the University of Colorado. The best tasting beverages in the Coffee Lounge will be prepared with ingredients of premium quality following stringent quality guidelines to ensure the satisfaction of the connoisseur. The store layout will reflect the ambience to the youth, who would throng during the day and in the evenings after the college. The menu and the advertisements will target customers for higher margin espresso drinks. Along with Espresso drinks, brewed coffee and teas will also be on offer. To go with these beverages, some snacks such as pastries, sandwiches and salads will also feature in the menu. These menu offerings could be savored while reading free books and magazines that are provided to the customers inside the Coffee Lounge. The menu of the Coffee Lounge will be developed around Espresso-based coffee drinks such as Lattes, Mochas, and Cappuccinos etc. These drinks will be on offer with skimmed, whole or soy milk. Each of these drinks is prepared with a ‘shot’ of espresso prepared in the machine by forcing hot water through ground coffee at high pressure. These ‘shots’ are combined with steamed milk with or without additives such as cocoa, caramel, etc. Our meticulous preparation techniques and trained personnel will ensure our competitive advantage. The promotion activity will begin in the University of Colorado campus, the malls and select buildings in the vicinity of the campus. The kick off for promotion would be two weeks prior to the opening of the Coffee Lounge. These will be accompanied by free post cards with endorsement of Coffee Lounge aimed at increasing the visibility of the coffee lounge. The Coffee Lounge will be close to the University of Colorado with a 2400 Sq.Ft. area. This accommodation will be acquired through a three year lease with a flexibility to extend. The hook

Enterprise Process Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Enterprise Process Management - Essay Example As the corporate world shifts to a complete cooperative model and competitors elevate their abilities to stay competitive, organisations must enhance their individual business practices and processes. Organisations also must share critical information to the major dealers, providers and customers. Furthermore, organisations must advance their abilities to create and communicate suitable and precise information. To accomplish these objectives, organisations are progressively revolving to enterprise process reengineering methodology (Umble & et. al., 2003). Based on this aspect, the report provides information about Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for effective enterprise process reengineering (EPR) particularly in automobile segment. Furthermore, the report also provides recommendations to the Chief Executive and Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company regarding accomplishment of those CSFs. The Concept of EPR EPR is defined as a necessary reconsideration and thorough reformation of business processes with a view to attain remarkable improvement such as minimisation of costs, enhancement of quality and service and increased speed, which are currently considered to be essential constituents to enhance the organisational performance. EPR is regarded as modality of accomplishing new radical procedure or organisational transformation in order to better satisfy the clients’ requirements. EPR helps to redesign the business and production procedure with a view to eradicate such functions that do not add value. The key features of EPR include the aspects that: It focuses on fundamental issues of organisation, rather than organisational departments It focuses more on process and less on people and organisational structures It attempts to go to the core of organisational process in order to make apparent changes by removing outdated activities and discovering new means of carrying out different activities It creates strong connection with IT (Sabau, 2005) EPR in A utomobile Segment Presently, automobile manufacturing organisations are confronting essential changes to their businesses with the appearance of new technologies and relocation of international supply chains. Besides, rapid improvement of IT and transportation system also have allowed the synthesis of local and national markets into an international one. Unpredictability and changeability in both, internal as well as external business environment is also experienced by several automobile organisations. Hence, in order to sustain, automobile organisations necessitate receptiveness and flexibility in the accomplishment of business and operational process. For customer orientation, turning ideas into final products has increasingly become an important component for gaining competitiveness in automobile segment. Only quality, technical complexity and price attractiveness are not sufficient for gaining success in today’s market. The products must be capable to fulfil the customer demands. Due to these reasons, automobile organisations are directed to incorporate every aspect of business functions ranging from customers to suppliers in the product life cycle phase. Furthermore, information and knowledge are

Language Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Language Portfolio - Essay Example This research is scattered across a number of different areas of inquiry and is of varying depth and quantity, ranging from expert opinion and linguistic analyses that is not accessible to practitioners, to a very few descriptive studies of classroom practice. A review of practical situation is needed to determine what the difference between general and academic language is. This difference can be traced when to examine different samples of text written in different style. In order to meet my research objective I will analyze language in both general and professional academic contexts, showing both differences and similarities of the language. These ideas will be incorporated into my own use of language. The main purpose of my study is to analyze language across the 3 genres. These genres include: vocabulary, grammar, style and treatment of evidence. In the course of my research I will compile different kinds of texts. Then I will compare these texts from the point of vocabulary, gra mmar, style and treatment of evidence. Finally, I will relate findings to my own language and will show how it is possible to apply my findings to my own writing. Professional language/General language Vocabulary The main purpose of business report is to inform or analyze rather than to dazzle your reader with exceptional jargon or complexity of your sentences. It means that there is no space for any kind of creative, adjective-filled prose in your report. You task is to put everything that belongs to business report. You can use â€Å"you,† but you should avoid â€Å"I† as well as long sentences or contractions. When choosing vocabulary for your task you should not forget that all that needed is to provide people with objective, non-emotive, and factual language. Consequently, there is no space for loaded words. In Appendix B you will find a sample of business report. The title of this report is Your Strategic Style Distribution. The first thing I would like to pay yo ur attention to is the use of generalizations lie â€Å"most†, â€Å"all† and etc. Academic business report also has its own technical words. When to read through the text in Appendix B, you will find the following specialized words: â€Å"I Opt†, â€Å"The RI†, â€Å"Reactive Stimulators†, â€Å"Hypothetical analyzer†, â€Å"The logical processor† all these words add special meaning to the text. When reading through this text you can get the idea that you are reading through academic research report simply because of language use. Grammar Punctuation is a crucial factor in ensuring that what you can reach your reader. Grammar should be the main focus of your assignment. Proper grammar use can help to make things clear and straightforward. It is strongly advised to avoid too long sentences. Instead you have to break your text into smaller units. Returning to appendix B you will see that the text does not contain long sentences. Instea d, all sentences are relatively short and clear. In order to understand my point, simply read the passage below: â€Å"In the â€Å"I Opt† survey measures the amount and kind of information a person considers before responding to new ideas, issues, goal/or processes. By understanding our strategic style(s) we are better equipped to increase our personal productivity and interactions with co-workers, family and friends. The following sections describe some of the ways this knowledge might be used for your benefit. (Smith, F . ,1983) Style Having dealt with

Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Communications - Essay Example It serves as a communication therapy discussing three major themes in communication issues: indicators, findings, and therapy (Reich 153). As with everyone who experienced family talk, it is easy to see how it can go in circles. Family members argue about little trivial matters that sometimes merely started as normal conversations. We hear every single type of complaint like â€Å"she doesn’t like to apologize,† or â€Å"I didn’t do anything wrong so I shouldn’t say sorry,† or â€Å"mom always criticizes everything I do,† or â€Å"he doesn’t appreciate what I do.† (Tannen 5-6) Every single individual experienced times when they tried to say something good yet ended up being misunderstood. This is a commonplace happening, but usually harder when family members or people who are close to each other are involved (Noller and Fitzpatrick 17). It is like giving a person a gift of a nice scented-lotion and, instead of a â€Å"thank yo u,† receive a response that they were offended because it means they smell bad or need more grooming. The real meaning of the message wrapped in the niceness of the gift is taken as a negative hint for the correction of their errors. Even if that was never the message the sender wants to give, the distorted interpretation creates a negative impact upon the relationship of the sender and receiver (Tannen 11-3). No further proof is needed for this pathology of communication problems shown in this scenario and other scenarios similar to this. There is evidence in almost every daily interaction people have with others, and usually, although unfortunately, the closer people are with each other, the greater chances there are for miscommunication (Tannen 21). The author’s intention is to explain the process of conversation, to which interpretation plays a great role. People should not read a single message in one specific context. Most communication process, particularly betwe en those who are closely related to each other, involves a lot more than mere words (Noller and Fitzpatrick 19). In interpreting the sender’s meaning, one should be familiar with all the other aspects of communication. This is the only solution for the issue of misinterpretation. The underlying message --- the meta-message --- has greater effect in communication, whether negative or positive (Tannen 7-8). In the third chapter of the book (67-93), Tannen explores meta-messages in several spoken lines people use, and the differences of these meta-messages in conversations between people in close relationships. Tannen states that the meta-messages in intimate relationships is different because of control continuum and connection continuum (Tannen 11). In the overall message of the third chapter, the solution for miscommunication is simply acknowledging that everything heard and said are potentially vague. The appropriate process in deciphering the message, therefore, is to disam biguate by looking at the core of the message. However, the issues in this process are that a speaker at times intentionally creates the meta-message, or unintentionally create the meta-message, or the receiver imagines a meta-message. This makes the interpretation of meaning a not so simple task, and unless one is able to read minds, the possibility of misunderstanding is big. Therefore, paying attention is important (Reich 153). Even to one who has not studied the art of communication, ideas regarding the surface meaning

How Nafta has been framed since inception Research Paper

How Nafta has been framed since inception - Research Paper Example While discussing treaties and agreements, it is essential not to leave out the diverse types of agreements which are considered the most important and imperative. Some of these essential conformities include International Investment Agreement, International Taxation Agreements and most importantly Trade and Commerce Agreements. The most widespread term that we see when trade agreements are discussed, is â€Å"NAFTA†. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is one of the most important accords signed by the American government. This agreement has been shared with the governments of two most central bordering areas of the United States i.e. Mexico and Canada. This agreement came into power on January, 1994. The administrative centers of this agreement are in Mexico City, Ottawa, and Washington, D.C. NAFTA was signed between President George H. W. Bush of US, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada and Mexican President Carlos Salinas. Following were the advantages and motivations of the generation of this agreement: NAFTA was signed by the three countries to amplify the trade the trade process so that more and more items could be imported and exported to and from these countries. It was about time that the trio apprehend and grasped the magnitude of trade for their realms. As Tamarkin and Bayer have clarified that â€Å"The lifeblood of global connections is world trade. There is evidence of human trading from prehistoric times.† (288) and this specifies the importance of trade and dealing for countries. As far as the area of benefit is concerned when it comes to the state of Mexico, signing this agreement was important because the NAFTA agreement ostensibly eggs on superior colonization among the trio. The increased immigration from Mexico to the US has become even more of a flashpoint. Although this is not the case when it comes to the relationship between Canada

In Act I of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; Essay

In Act I of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; there is interplay in an absurd world between light and dark. Using examples from the play, which one achieves primacy in Act I - Essay Example This however does not bother them. They are transported to Hamlet’s castle after their meeting the player on his stage. In a span of time they switch into old English speaking and are interacting with other characters in the play soonest Shakespeare unfolds the story around them. Once alone, the duo is back to modern English speaking even as the player acts in the Hamlet story without their recognition that they are characters in it. Cleverly, Shakespeare does not distinguish them always treating them as a pair without either of them having a name to their identity. Hamlet forges a letter to the King of England that leads to the duo being hanged because of the revelation of their purpose of life which is similar to the story. From his performance knowledge, the player understands and strives to indirectly explain to the duo, but they do not understand their role in the happenings or even the plays purpose (Stoppard, Pg.105). Out of the duo, there is one who is smart and the other stupid though until the play ends, none of them understands the happenings in the play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can be any two persons, and this makes the play one of absurd existentialism. By going through life without full knowledge of our roles, our existing purposes and working hard yet being pushed by life to give up and let things happen in and around us. We do not fully understand how we are part of a greater story that we can see even if anyone tried to lay it bare before our eyes we may not see. To determine if light and dark achieve primacy in Act 1, we see that with the constant coin flip by Guildenstern and the same repeated results shows the difference of the play from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dynamic and comprehensive and are only in play to support roles. In that, essentially the play is not about them they are simply being controlled and this is they show while on stage attempting to discover the stage

Lars Von Trier Essay Example for Free

Lars Von Trier Essay Lars Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, the son of Inger Trier (nà ©e Hà ¸st, 1915—1989). He had believed that his biological father was Ulf Trier (1907—1978), until his mother revealed to him on her deathbed that he had been conceived as a result of an affair she had with her employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann. His mother considered herself a Communist, while his father was a Social Democrat, and both were committed nudists,[5] and the young Lars went on several childhood holidays to nudist camps. They regarded the disciplining of children as reactionary. Trier has noted that he was brought up in an atheist family, and that although Ulf Trier was Jewish, he was not religious. His parents did not allow much room in their household for feelings, religion, or enjoyment, and also refused to make any rules for their children,[6] with complex results for von Triers personality and development.[7] He began making his own films at the age of 11 after receiving a Super-8 camera as a gift and continued to be involved in independent moviemaking throughout his high school years.[3] In 1979, he was enrolled in the National Film School of Denmark.[8] His peers at the film school nicknamed him von Trier. The name is sort of an inside-joke with the von (German of or from used as a nobiliary particle), suggesting nobility and a certain arrogance, while Lars is a very common and Trier not an unusual name in Denmark.[9] He reportedly kept the von name in homage to Erich von Stroheim and Josef von Sternberg, both of whom also added it later in life.[10] During his time as a student at the school he made the films Nocturne and The Last Detail, both of which won Best Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools.[11][12] In 1983 he graduated with the 57-minute Images of Liberation, which became the first Danish school film to receive a regular theatrical release.[13] Europe trilogy After graduation he began work on the very stylized crime drama, The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element 1984), which won a technical award at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film was Epidemic (1987), which was also shown at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. The film is partly a dark science fiction-tale of a future plague epidemic, and partly chronicles two filmmakers (played by Lars von Trier and screenwriter Niels Và ¸rsel) preparing that film, with the two storylines ultimately colliding. For television von Trier directed Medea (1988), which won the Jean dArcy prize in France. It was based on a screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer and starred Udo Kier. He completed the Europe-trilogy in 1991 with Europa (released as Zentropa in the U.S.), which won the Prix du Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival[14] and picked up awards at other major festivals. In 1990 he also directed the music video for the worldwide hit Bakerman by Laid Back.[15] This video was reused in 2006 by the English DJ and artist Shaun Baker who did a remake of Bakerman. Zentropa and The Kingdom In 1992 he and producer Peter Aalbà ¦k Jensen founded the movie production company Zentropa Entertainment, named after a train company in Europa, their most recent film at the time.[8] The reason for doing this was to achieve financial independence and to have total creative control. The production company has produced many movies other than von Triers own as well as television series. It also has produced hardcore sex films: Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999), HotMen CoolBoyz (2000) and All About Anna (2005). In order to make money for his newly founded company,[16] he made The Kingdom (Riget, 1994) and The Kingdom II (Riget II, 1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital, the name Riget being a colloquial name for the hospital known as Rigshospitalet (lit. The Kingdoms Hospital) in Danish. A projected third installment in the series was derailed by the 1998 death of Ernst-Hugo Jà ¤regà ¥rd, who played Helmer, one of the major characters. Dogme 95 In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement which they called Dogme 95. It would however take a while before the first of these films appeared, and at this point many thought of the concept mainly as a radical idea with no future.[citation needed] In 1996, von Trier conducted an unusual theatrical experiment in Copenhagen involving 53 actors, which he titled Psychomobile 1: The World Clock. A documentary chronicling the project was directed by Jesper Jargil, and was released in 2000 with the title De Udstillede (The Exhibited). Von Triers next film, Breaking the Waves (1996), the first film in von Triers Golden Heart Trilogy, won the Grand Prix at Cannes and featured Emily Watson, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Its grainy images and hand-held photography pointed towards Dogme 95. The second was The Idiots (1998), nominated for a Palme dOr, which he presented in person at the Cannes Film Festival notwithstanding his dislike of travelling. Dancer in the Dark (2000) was the final component of the trilogy. As originator of the Dogme 95 concept, which has led to international interest in Danish film as a whole, he has inspired filmmakers all over the world.[17] Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the Dogme 95 Manifesto and the Vow of Chastity together with their fellow Dogme directors Kristian Levring and Sà ¸ren Kragh-Jacobsen shared in 2008 the European Film Award European Achievement in World Cinema. Explicit images Von Triers use of sexually explicit images in The Idiots (1998) started a wave[citation needed] of arthouse mainstream films with unsimulated sex, such as Catherine Breillats Romance (1999), Baise-Moi (2000), Intimacy (2001), Vincent Gallos The Brown Bunny (2003) and Michael Winterbottoms 9 Songs (2004). In 1998, Lars von Trier also made history by having his company Zentropa be the worlds first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films. Three of these films, Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999) and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature All About Anna (2005), were made primarily for a female audience, and were extremely successful in Europe, with the first two being directly responsible for the March 2006 legalizing of pornography in Norway.[18] Women too like to see other people having sex. What they don’t like is the endless close-ups of hammering bodyparts without a story. Lars von Trier is the first to have realised this and produced valuable quality porn films for women. — Stern No. 40, 27 September 2007[19] Lars von Triers initiative spearheaded a European wave of female-friendly porn films from directors such as Anna Span, Erika Lust and Petra Joy, while von Triers company Zentropa was forced to abandon the experiment due to pressure from English business partners.[20] In July 2009, womens magazine Cosmopolitan ranked Pink Prison as No. 1 in its Top Five of the best women’s porn, calling it the role model for the new porn-generation.[21] Lars von Trier would return to explicit images in his self-directed Antichrist (2009), exploring darker themes. 2000s In 2000, von Trier premiered a musical featuring Icelandic musician Bjà ¶rk, Dancer in the Dark. The film won the Palme dOr at Cannes.[22] The song Ive Seen It All (which Trier co-wrote) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. The Five Obstructions (2003), made by Lars von Trier and Jà ¸rgen Leth, is a documentary, but also incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films. The premise is that Lars von Trier challenges director Jà ¸rgen Leth, his friend and mentor, to remake his old experimental film The Perfect Human (1967) five times, each time with a different obstruction (or obstacle) specified by von Trier.[23] He then directed two films in his announced U.S. trilogy: Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman and Manderlay (2005), starring Bryce Dallas Howard in the same role – as Grace. Both films are extremely stylized, with the actors playing their parts on a nearly empty soundstage with little but chalk marks on the floor to indicate the sets. Both films had huge casts of major international actors (Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, etc.), and questioned various issues relating to American society, such as intolerance in Dogville and slavery in Manderlay. Controversy erupted on the 2004 set for Manderlay when actor John C. Reilly walked off the Trollhà ¤ttan, Sweden, set in late March. Reilly walked off the film when he learned that an upcoming scene involved the slaughter of a donkey for food. The films producer says the animal—who was old and not expected to live much longer—was killed off-camera by a certified veterinarian, in accordance with Swedish law. Reilly was replaced by Zeljko Ivanek.[24] The U.S. was also the scene for Dear Wendy (2005), a feature film directed by von Triers Dogme-brother Thomas Vinterberg from a script by von Trier. It starred Jamie Bell and Bill Pullman and dealt with gun worship and violence in American society. In 2006, von Trier released a Danish-language comedy film, The Boss of it All. It was shot using a process that von Trier has called Automavision, which involves the director choosing the best possible fixed camera position and then allowing a computer to randomly choose when to tilt, pan or zoom. It was followed by an autobiographical film, De unge à ¥r: Erik Nietzsche sagaen del 1 (2007), scripted by von Trier but directed by Jacob Thuesen, which tells the story of von Triers years as a student at the National Film School of Denmark. It stars Jonatan Spang as von Triers alter ego, called Erik Nietzsche, and is narrated by von Trier himself. All main characters in the film are based on real people from the Danish film industry,[citation needed] with the thinly veiled portrayals including Jens Albinus as director Nils Malmros, Dejan ÄÅ'ukić as screenwriter Mogens Rukov and Sà ¸ren Pilmark in an especially unflattering portrayal as sex-obsessed school principal Henning Camre. Von Triers next feature film was Antichrist, an art film about a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping a return to Eden will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage; but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse. The film, which includes sexually explicit content, stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where the festivals jury honoured the movie by giving the Best Actress award to Gainsbourg.[25] The Cannes Film Festival Ecumenical Jury, which gives prizes for movies that promote spiritual, humanist and universal values, also honoured the film with a special anti-award; a spokesman for the jury described it as the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world.[26] In 2010 the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported on their website that the film production company Zentropa is reportedly making more revenue from suing movie pirates in Germany that have downloaded Antichrist illegally than from box office and DVD sales, demanding a payment of around 1,300 euros per download to avoid legal action.[27] 2010s Von Triers latest work is Melancholia, a psychological disaster drama;[28] shot between 22 July and 8 September 2010 at Film i Và ¤sts studios in Trollhà ¤ttan, Sweden,[29] and with exteriors in the area surrounding the Tjolà ¶holm Castle.[30] Magnolia Pictures has acquired the distribution rights for North America.[31] The film was in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[32] Von Trier announced that after finishing Melancholia he hopes to begin production of The Nymphomaniac, a two-part film about the sexual awakening of a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg).[33] The director explained how he got the idea for the upcoming project: my DP on [Melancholia], Manuel Claro, at one point voiced a surprising prejudice. He urged me not to fall into the trap that so many aging directors fall into – that the women get younger and younger and nuder and nuder. Thats all I needed to hear. I most definitely intend for the women in my films to get younger and younger and nuder and nuder .[34] The announced cast includes Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd, Shia LaBeouf, Willem Dafoe, Connie Nielsen, Jamie Bell, Jens Albinus, Jesper Christensen and Nicole Kidman. Phobias Von Trier suffers from multiple phobias, including an intense fear of flying.[35] His fear of air travel frequently places severely limiting constraints on him and his crew, necessitating that virtually all of his films be shot in either Denmark or Sweden, even those set in the United States or other foreign countries. Von Trier has had a number of his films featured at the Cannes Film Festival over the course of his career, and each time has insisted on driving from Denmark to France for the festival and back. On numerous occasions von Trier has also stated that he suffers from occasional depression which renders him incapable of performing his work and unable to fulfill social obligations.[36] Filming techniques Lars von Trier has said that a film should be like a stone in your shoe. In order to create original art he feels that filmmakers must distinguish themselves stylistically from other films, often by placing restrictions on the filmmaking process. The most famous restriction is the cinematic vow of chastity of the Dogme95 movement with which he is associated, though only one of his films, The Idiots, is an actual Dogme 95 film. In Dancer in the Dark, jump shots[37] and dramatically-different color palettes and camera techniques were used for the real world and musical portions of the film, and in Dogville everything was filmed on a sound stage with no set where the walls of the buildings in the fictional town were marked as lines on the floor. Von Trier often shoots digitally and operates the camera himself, preferring to continuously shoot the actors in-character without stopping between takes. In Dogville he let actors stay in character for hours, in the style of method acting. These techniques often put great strain on actors, most famously with Bjà ¶rk during the filming of Dancer in the Dark. Often he uses the same regular group of actors in many of his films: some of his frequently used actors are Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd. He is heavily influenced by the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer[38] and the film The Night Porter.[39] He was so inspired by the short film The Perfect Human directed by Jà ¸rgen Leth that he challenged Leth to redo the short five times in feature film The Five Obstructions.[40] Trilogies Von Trier has on occasion referred to his films as falling into thematic and stylistic trilogies. This pattern began with his first feature film, marking the beginning of The Europa Trilogy, though he claims a trilogy was not initially planned, instead being applied to the films in retrospect. The Europe trilogy illuminated the traumas of Europe in the past and future. This trilogy includes The Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1987) and Europa (1991). The Golden Heart trilogy was about naive heroines who maintain their golden hearts despite the tragedies they experience. This trilogy consists of Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000). While all three films are sometimes associated with the Dogme 95 movement, only The Idiots is a certified Dogme 95 film. The USA: Land of Opportunities trilogy follows the character of Grace, and is set in a stylized American past. Von Trier has stated he was inspired to make a trilogy about the United States as a reaction to Americans at the Cannes film festival who said he had no right to make the Dancer in the Dark,[8] which was often viewed as being critical of a country he has never been to (and has no intention of ever visiting, due to his phobia of travel); however, von Trier himself has stated in interviews he did not intend it to be a criticism of America, saying the film takes place in a fictional America. Von Trier proposed the films as ‘a series of sermons on America’s sins and hypocrisy’[citation needed], inspired by the fact that American movie makers have made many movies about places across the world to which they have not travelled. All three movies will be shot in the same distinctive style, on a bare sound stage with no set and buildings marked by lines on the floor. This style is inspired by 1970s televised theatre. The trilogy will consist of Dogville (2003), Manderlay (2005) and the so far not produced Washington. The Depression Trilogy consists of Antichrist, Melancholia and the yet to be completed, Nymphomaniac. All three star Charlotte Gainsbourg and deal with characters that deal with depression or grief in different ways. This trilogy is said to represent the current depression that von Trier himself is currently going through. The Kingdom (Riget) was planned as a trilogy of three seasons with 13 episodes in total, but the third season was not filmed due to death of star Ernst-Hugo Jà ¤regà ¥rd shortly after completion of the second season. Biological father In 1989, von Triers mother revealed on her deathbed that the man who he thought was his father was not, and that she had had a tryst with her former employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann (1909–2000),[41] who descended from a long line of Roman Catholic classical musicians (his grandfather was Emil Hartmann, his great grandfather J.P.E. Hartmann, his uncles included Niels Gade and Johan Ernst Hartmann and thus Niels Viggo Bentzon was his cousin). She stated that she did this in order to give her son artistic genes.[42] Until that point I thought I had a Jewish background. But Im really more of a Nazi. I believe that my biological fathers German family went back two further generations. Before she died, my mother told me to be happy that I was the son of this other man. She said my foster father had had no goals and no strength. But he was a loving man. And I was very sad about this revelation. And you then feel manipulated when you really do turn out to be creative. If Id known that my mother had this plan, I would have become something else. I would have shown her. The slut![43] During the German occupation of Denmark, Fritz Michael Hartmann worked as a civil servant and joined a resistance group (Frit Danmark), actively counteracting any pro-German and pro-Nazi colleagues in his department.[44] Another member of this infiltrative resistance group was Hartmanns colleague Viggo Kampmann, who would later become prime minister of Denmark.[45] After four awkward meetings with his biological father, the man refused further contact.[46] The revelations led von Trier to attempt to erase the connections with his stepfather by converting to Catholicism, and to rework his filmmaking into a style emphasizing honesty.[3] I dont know if Im all that Catholic really. Im probably not. Denmark is a very Protestant country. Perhaps I only turned Catholic to piss off a few of my countrymen.[43] In 2009, he declared, Im a very bad Catholic. In fact Im becoming more and more of an atheist.[47] Controversy at 2011 Cannes Film Festival On 19 May 2011, Cannes Film Festivals board of directors declared von Trier persona non grata for comments he made during a press conference for his film Melancholia the day before, an unprecedented move for the film festival.[48][49] Responding to a question by The Times film critic Kate Muir about his German roots and his comments in a Danish film magazine about the Nazi aesthetic, von Trier claimed to have some sympathy for and understanding of Adolf Hitler,[50] and then jokingly claimed to be a Nazi himself:[51][52] Von Trier at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. What can I say? I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely. Hes not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, Im not for the Second World War, and Im not against Jews. I am of course very much for Jews, no not too much, because Israel is pain in the ass, but still how can I get out of this sentence. — Press Conference for Melancholia, Cannes, 2011[53][54] Referring to the art of Nazi architect Albert Speer, von Trier added: he had some talent that was kind of possible for him to use during Ok, Im a Nazi. Then, to Toronto Star film critic Peter Howell, who questioned whether Melancholia could be an answer to Hollywood blockbusters and asked von Trier if he could â€Å"envision doing a film on a grander scale than this†, von Trier replied: On a grander scale? Yeah. Yeah thats what we Nazis, we have a tendency to do things on a greater scale. Yeah, maybe you could persuade me into the final solution with journalists. Hours later, von Trier released a brief statement of apology about his comments at the press conference: If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologise. I am not anti-semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi.[55] The next day, the festival directors held an extraordinary meeting, deciding his remarks were unacceptable, intolerable and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival. [] The board of directors condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately.[55] Afterwards, von Trier held a news conference of his own in Danish. His first remark to the Danish journalists was: If any of you journalists will beat me, so just do it. I will enjoy it. He went on to say that The Holocaust is the worst crime that ever happened. I have nothing against Jews. I have a Jewish name, and all my children have Jewish names. He admitted that his remarks about the Nazis had been misguided, saying It was really stupidly done and it was in the wrong forum. At the press conference with Danish journalists, there were no problems, but I do not think the international journalists understand my Danish humor. But he also said he was proud to have been kicked out of the Cannes festival: I am proud to have been declared persona non grata. It is perhaps the first time in cinematic history, it has happened. I think one reason is that French people treated the Jews badly during World War II. Therefore, it is a sensitive topic for them. I respect the Cannes festival very highly, but I also understand that they are very angry at me right now.[56][55] Speaking to other news outlets he said that his comments were very sarcastic and very rude, but thats very Danish. He also added, I dont sympathize with Hitler for one second.[57] In the October 2011 issue of GQ, von Trier is quoted in an interview saying he was not really sorry for the comments he made, only sorry he didnt make it clear that he was joking. He added, I cant be sorry for what I said—its against my nature.[58] On 5 October 2011, von Trier was interviewed by police in Denmark about his remarks at Cannes. Afterwards, he announced that he had decided from this day forth to refrain from all public statements and interviews.[59] Honours Von Trier was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog on 14 January 1997.[60] Ten years later von Trier decided to hand back the prize, saying that the Danish royal family are just simple people of bad quality.[61]

Ocean Park Of Hong Kong

Ocean Park Of Hong Kong This report is about Ocean Park of Hong Kong one of the largest amusement ocean park in the Orient and even in the world. In this report we are going to cover such topic as strategy concepts of Ocean Park, external and internal environment of organisation and its corporate, business-level and international strategy. On base of data collected well give our recommendation and advice to CEO and Board of Ocean Park of Hong Kong about Parks strategy to the next 10 years (from 2005 to 2015). The main aim of this report is to provide in-depth strategic analysis to CEO and Board members. Thus, this work is focused on challenges, opportunities and threats of organisation, its culture and economic aspects, strengths and weaknesses of organisation, core competency of ocean park in order to help to improve it in anticipation of arrival of Hong Kong Disneyland. Strategy concepts and vocabulary -Mission (Strategic purpose, not specified) Ocean Park provides all guests with memorable experiences that combine entertainment and education, while inspiring life long learning and conservation advocacy. Our aim is to maintain a healthy financial status, while striving to deliver the highest standards of safety, animal care, products and guest service.http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/vision.html -create all activities for perfect family holiday -increase involvements of visitors in environmental issues and lives of animals -Goals and objectives to fulfill its mission Boost the number of annual visitors from four million in 2004 to five million by 2010 To make a 0,5 per cent contribution to Hong Kongs gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 (page 7) -Vision (More specified) http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/vision.htmlOcean Park aspires to be a world leader in providing excellent guest experiences in a theme park environment connecting people with nature Become number one marine-based park for each family not only from Hong-Kong but also from mainland China. To be main attraction for all tourists, who visit Hong-Kong -What performance measures would you use to determine the success of Ocean Park? -It is the hometown favorite. It had been a long-time favorite of several generations ((its been operated for more 28 years). Many local people were sympathetic to Ocean Park. People who had visited the park as children were now bringing their own children to visit the park. Its reputation even extended into mainland China. It had become a fixture of Hong Kongs cultural heritage. (p.5) -The number of visitors in 2004 is 4 m of people (with daily maximum capacity 35,000 people). -Total revenue in 2004 was 536, 2 HK$ m comparing to 428,3 HK$ m in 2003, surplus for 2004 year was 95,7 HK$ m comparing to deficit 4,1 HK$ m in 2003. recognizability of new brand (Whiskers became a household name in Hong Kong) -Who are the various stakeholders in Ocean Park organization (how might they impact on its purpose and mission)? Stakeholders, who help to achieve parks purpose and mission: Hong Kong government, Home Affairs Bureau and the Tourism Board, employees of Ocean Park corporation, its visitors (customers). Interfere with achieving parks purpose and mission: Activist groups (certain environmental groups and animal rights activists) forbid of buying and transportation exotic animals to park, trade associations and unions (bus companies and taxi drivers) forbid in building a mass transit railway (MTR), competitors regain market share. External Environment -Conduct a PESTEL analysis for Ocean Park, identify the key driving forces for change facing Ocean Park; Rank key driving forces based on their predictability and potential impact on Ocean Park, then develop some scenarios and identify implications of these scenarios for Ocean Park. PESTEL: Political: Government support Improving relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China Promotion of tourism the easiness of the restrictions and promotion of the free travel of China in 2003 that helped to inject a new life to the tourism industry of Hong Kong environmental law Economic: Growth and development of the global amusement park industry Disneylands arrival Increasing number of mainland visitors Increasing standards of living in midland China Raise and spend HK$5.55 billion Social: Major events and activities (peak seasons and holiday themes: Chinese New Year, Easter Holiday, Summer Holiday, Halloween and Christmas) Media, advertisement and publicity, required for these special events Change of demographic (Population growth rate, age distribution, size of families) Increasing the cost of labor and more guarantees for employees Negative affect of Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outcome Technological: Development of the amusement machinery industry Increasing popularity of new technologies for consumers (internet, mobile, digital camera) Amortization of park equipment Developing of new transport system (for example, a mass transit railway (MTR)) Research and development activities (creating of new park amusement) Environmental: Opposition from certain environmental groups about the importation of wild animals to Ocean Park Expenses on maintenance of exotic animals Protests of animal rights activists against relocation of animals Climate change (rain season in spring, hot in summer, typhoons in summer) Legal: Approval of Town Planning Board for hotel, Legislative Council for MTR station. Restrictions on mergers Employment laws Key driving forces and their ranking : 1)Global changing in tourism for Hong-Kong and Asia-Pacific region (development of tourism in region) 2)Raise and spend HK$5.55 billion from private and government loans to revamp parks well-worn product line (approval of development plan) 3)Disneylands arrival worldwide success of main competitor-Disneyland, coming to Hong Kong (Disneys success or failure) Binary table of scenarios for Ocean Parks key drivers (in decreasing order of their impact on park): Development of tourism in region Approval of development plan Disneys failure Scenario + + + Successful scenario + + + + Middle scenario + + + + + Failure scenario -Define Ocean Parks industry and conduct a five forces analysis: Which are the dominant forces in the industry? How may the five forces change? What are the underlying dynamics which are driving these five forces, and how may the five forces change? What are the impacts on key competitors and on Ocean Park? What can be done to influence the impact of the five forces? Five forces analysis for amusement park industry: 1) Threat of New Entry In terms of the amusement park industry, the entry barrier is high due to the need to invest large amount of financial resources (for park equipment, human resources maintenance), a lot of time required for parks planning, construction, development and launching, a lot of licenses and legalization required (safety, sanitary, security etc.). In addition to the amusement park required land for a full scale development. This factor is important because Hong Kong has a high land price real estate market. Re-write in own words!!!!! 2) Threat of Rivalry: It is important to consider that with lack of differentiation, visitors choice will greatly over the price and service, thus causes pressure for the intense price and service competition. Due to high threat of rivalry, Ocean Park is implementing different plans and activities such as redevelopment and introduction of new attractions in order to catch the attention of the visitors and differentiate themselves from rivals. There are no rivals with exactly the same range of products. Disneys arrival is only expected. Re-write in own words!!!!! 3) Threat of Substitution: (where this information from I like this point!)) The main threat of substitution is Hong Kong Disneyland Wetland Park, a new international theme park and an educational park (Appendix 2) Apart from this, there are other forms of substitution. From the education side, Hong Kong residents can switch to go to Cultural Centre, Mai Po Wetland, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. For entertainment purpose, they can visit the Karaoke, Cinema, Game Centre, or have a day trip to China. 4) Bargaining power of buyers (visitors): (where this information from I like this point!) -Tourists Tourists have a low bargaining power as long as must see image successfully built-up and the Park cannot be replaced by other substitutes. Therefore, Ocean Park focuses to build up this image especially in Asia. Local residents The buying power of local resident is high since they have many choices as mentioned above. The switching cost is relatively low. Also, Hong Kong people like new experience and their loyalty to the product are generally low. The Park, therefore, launched difference programs like Big Five events with difference theme each year to bring new excitement and experience to them. Besides, special discount in low season and year pass intent to attract 5) The power of suppliers. Suppliers have quite high power. Thus, construction elements of amusement rides are huge and complicated, thats why park is highly tied with supplier. Otherwise, this market is developed and the choice of suppliers is become greater now. While constructing buildings (hotels, etc) with particular contractor park cant easily change to another contractor because of high switching cost). The situation with the exotic animals is such as Ocean Park can buy in particular country only. Which are the dominant forces in the industry? The dominant forces in the industry are: rivalry, buyers and substitutes. How may the five forces change? Looking forward, the five forces will change in this way: -Rivalry will increase with Disneys arrival; -Buyer power will increase slightly; -Substitute threat will also increase; -Entry threat decrease dramatically; -Supplier power will also decrease. (Exhibit 2.5 p.72) What are the underlying dynamics which are driving these five forces? Aftermath of economic crises and increasing in number of suppliers will decrease supplier power. Disneys arrival decrease entry threat in entertainment park industry. Developing of new technologies will affect rising of substitutes. Also competitors with new technologies will gain (in this aspect Disney has an advantage) Disneys arrival increase demands in diversification of Ocean Parks products. Ticket price advantages (185 HK$ for adult ticket at Ocean Park compared to 295HK$ for the same ticket at Disney). The main rival (Disney) is also same market oriented (families with children). What are the impacts on key competitors and on Ocean Park? Five forces much more affect Wetland park Ocean Parks key competitor, located at the northern part of Tin Shui Wai, in Yuen Long than Ocean Park itself, because Wetland parks products are less differentiated. It has a 10,000m2 visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World, and a 60-hectare Wetland Reserve. (http://www.wetlandpark.com/en/aboutus/overview.asp). Arrival of other competitor Disney and its substitutes doesnt affect much Ocean Park because it has its its own niche. What can be done to influence the impact of the five forces? More differentiation of new products, directed mainly to Chinese native culture will affect rivalry, substitutes and buyers. Unique high-quality products and services also will influence buyers. For seeking suppliers big impact will have Internet and special web-sites with best quality of service, characteristics, recommendations and prices. Conduct a strategic group/space analysis for Ocean Park There are 2 key competitors for Ocean Park: First one is mentioned above Hong Kong Wetland Park. It is a conservation, education and tourism facility, consisted of large visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World and a Wetland Reserve. This park provided visitors with opportunities to observe wildlife, awareness and understanding the values of wetlands throughout the East Asian Region and beyond, wetlands conservation. So, its mainly about wetlands. The Hong Kong Wetland Park is also going to be a world-class ecotourism facility to serve both local residents and overseas tourists.(ttp://www.wetlandpark.com/en/aboutus/mission.asp) Compare to Disneyland and Ocean Park, Hong Kong Wetland Park has different facilities and product range (such as themed exhibition galleries, a theatre, a souvenir shop, an indoor play area), provide different services and thus, like Disney and Ocean Park, has its own niche. The range of facilities provided is the narrowest among 3 parks. Thus, Wetland Park cant meet demand of those visitors, who are looking for excitements and extreme pleasure, which can be found on a rides at 2 other parks. Who are the main visitors? Is it local or global? Is it has the lowest range of facilities than Ocean Park and Disney? Much lower prices. The second one arriving in a nearest future The Hong Kong Disneyland. After 28 years of operating as a near monopoly, Ocean Park would soon have to compete with one of the biggest names in the entertainment and theme park industry. Moreover, Disneyland targets the same group of parks customers families with children. It has well-known brand and reputation. Its the world leader in terms of entertainment. Several of Disneys characters (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh) were household names all over the world, including in Hong Kong. Thus, Ocean Parks mascot, Whiskeys, appear lackluster by comparison. Image, which Disney company holds almost for a century (The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923) and Disneyland itself (first park was opened in 1955) for half a century (compared to 28 years of Ocean park) helps to attract visitors not only from Hong Kong and midland China, but also from different part of the globe, especially those who are from the USA and Europe. Among other advantages of Disneyland are: location: it could be reached in just 10 minutes from Hong Kongs airport and less than 30 minutes from downtown Hong Kong. -at least 5.6 million people were expected to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland during its first year of operation (compared to 4 million of Ocean Park expected visitors). -the price claimed to be the least expensive among the five Disney amusement parks throughout the world. -the area of Disneyland is 310 acres compared to 215 acres of Ocean Park. -5 times greater investment than for Ocean Park. -Expected economic effectiveness is 3 billion more. -world-renowned innovation -high customer service standards Strategic groups within the entertainment and theme park industry in Hong Kong Broad Ocean Park Geographical Scope Global Product range Disneyland Narrow Wetland Park Local Conduct a market segment analysis for Ocean Park: How is the market segmented? How could it be segmented? Where would you position Ocean Parks products and services? Where would you position the competitors products? Ocean Park is a part of entertainment and theme industry. Its market is families with children. Disneyland future competitor applies to the same market. Despite this, Ocean Park has its own niche visitor from midland China. Internal Environment -What resources and capabilities does Ocean Park have? Resources (what a firm has): 1)Tangible: -financial suppliers of money (private and government loans) expected HK$5,6 billion investment; HK$145 billion economic effectiveness; surplus from operations in 2004 was HK$182,2 million on revenues of HK$536,2 million ; -physical Sea World, marine life and real animals:35 rides and attractions; 3 hotels; favorable and convenient location on the southern side of Hong Kong Island; wide range of new activities, such as the Abyss Turbo Drop thrill ride, seasonal and special events, popular water-related activities, interactive activities with animals, edutainment programs, successful Sea Jelly Spectacular and so on. 2)Intangible: long-time reputation of park with government, customers, -new brand sea lion named Whiskers; -cultural heritage of Hong Kong -great number of repeated visitors 3)Human: -37,100 employees, their skills and knowledge; -Thomas Mehrmann, new CEO of Ocean Park, and his previous experience at US-based Six Flags Corporation; Natural and wild life focus (Interactive activities with animals) Recreation and education Capabilities (what a firm can do) -New products, facilities and services development capability continually adding new features and attractions (such as: a new roller coaster, a subzero Ice Palace, 7.6 million liter aquarium with an underwater restaurant, extra 33 animals species, the number of rides doubled to 70), so, become a nearest future one of the best marine-based theme park with strong connection with nature; -Keeping park attractions fresh, novel and exciting, while minimizing costs; research and development, marketing and sales capabilities: plan to refurbish and rename Ocean Parks 2 major areas (the Lowland and the Highland), new hotels to be developed, including a five-star boutique, spa-type hotel this redevelopment plan would be completed in 2012!! recommendation part too!!, plan to open offices in the major urban areas of Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai to enhance promotional activities in Hong Kong and attract more mainland visitors -new incentive compensation, that linked employee compensation to the financial performance of park -What might be the competence of Ocean Park? Core competences resources and competences which are both valuable to customers and difficult to imitate -distinctive work culture, with its own norms and practices -local market loyalty -unique SmartFun Annual Pass program -cultural aspect (cultural heritage of Hong Kong), orientation on specific market segment-mainland Chinese visitors, -long-term reputation, distinct Chinese characteristics -powerful brand -customer trust -primary focus of OP on real nature and wildlife in contrast to Disneys strengths in cartoon characters, castles, virtual reality and fantasy -focused on education and the live animal attractions one of the key elements that will differentiate it from Hong Kong Disneyland when it opens in 2005. (from Echos articles) -cost and differentiation of product (continually adding new features and attractions as well as price advantage over Disney encouraged visitors to return to the park) -The aerial tram that takes visitors from the entrance side of the park over a hill to the rest of the attractions has become a Hong Kong tourism icon-is it still true (from Echos articles) Competitive advantage is explained by the distinctiveness of its resources and capabilities, by offering customers greater value by means of lower prices or greater benefits and service Competitive Advantages of Ocean Park over Disney: -long-time reputation, -hometown favorite, -cultural heritage of Hong Kong, orientation mostly on visitors from midland China -first-mover advantages -no need to engage in high-profile advertising and publicity, rely more on word-of-mouth -more diverse and wide range of products (including Sea World, marine life, real animals plus 35 rides and attractions) price advantage: the admission price for Disneyland is expected more than twice higher for child and one and a half higher for adult than price of Ocean park. And visitors from mainland China are very price sensitive. SmartFun Annual Pass program with unlimited admission to the park for its holders within a year, and discounted prices for food, souvenirs -Infrastructure 3 hotels had been constructed comparing to 2 at Disney. -orientation not only on entertainment, but also on education of visitors, differentiating by focusing on ecology and conservation issues -recognizable brand -In addition to all the American fun at the park, traditional Chinese holidays are still observed (Chinese New Year) -Disney has its characters, but we have flexibility to mix and match and bring in other entertainment (from Echos articles) -Does Ocean Park build its strategy on its resources, capabilities and competences? Yes. Importation of more species Water/Sea-related construction Hotel-better recreation -Are they sustainable? How can they be developed? Sustainable to some extent, but with some limitation. For example, it may face the opposition from environmental group. They cant relay only on resources, capabilities and competences-they need to be developed, innovated and refreshed, because they may begin to look dated and shabby for their visitors. SWOT Analysis Positive impact Negative impact Internal environment Strengths -Diversified and wide range of amusements (thrills, animals, seasonal and special events) -product line revamp -Highly linked with culture of mainland Chinese visitors, knows their demands and behavior -the main, oldest and most famous amusement park in the country (long-time reputation, hometown favorite), -cultural heritage of Hong Kong, -28 years of operating as a near monopoly -no need to engage in high-profile advertising and publicity, rely more on word-of-mouth -strong business connection to the local government (support from the government of Hong Kong and mainland China) -renovation of the parks brand image -mascot as a brand -previous experience of Thomas Mehrmann (new CEO of Ocean Park) in theme park industry (at US-based Six Flags Corporation) -local market loyalty -positive image of park Weaknesses -Located on a hills-hard to get to some riders-thats why visitors experienced rides only once. -different facilities are old and un-attractive and need renovation -a lot of activities depend on weather-ask Echo about it -no substantial capital investment External environment Opportunities -focusing on delivering mainland Chinas visitors as well as foreign visitors -development of new transportation South Island Line (when-check case-and ask Echo about it) that would cause convenience and fast access direct to the Park for the foreign and local visitors. -plan to build a mass transit railway (MTR) station to connect OP to the subway grid -the development and improvement of the amusement machinery can impact the services and features of the organization and its relationship to their foreign visitors. raise the standards of park with Disneyland arrival fostering sponsorships plan for building new hotels (boutique and spa-type) orientation on luxury tourism new market segment Threats -economical instability (such as the Asian financial crisis of 1999-2001, lasted for 3 difficult years for OP ), outbreak of different diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 (Both these factors can affect number of visitors and their buying behavior, worsening the park financial situation) -arrival of Disneyland Hong Kong -OP was situated on valuable real estate: it could be shut down and its land could be sold off for other recreational or commercial purposes. Recommendation p.6-7!!! (recommend to use this business connection for future purposes, such as building a subway line for the visitors (itll happen in 2007). Say, in 3 years Build a mass transit railway (MTR) station for connection to the subway grid. Till 2015) (recommend to start innovation process, it will take about 6 years). Say, in 5 years

Role of E6AP in Malignancies and Tumorigenesis

Role of E6AP in Malignancies and Tumorigenesis INTRODUCTION Leukemia is a malignant hematological disorder characterized by proliferation of abnormal white cells that infiltrate the bone marrow, peripheral blood and other important organs. Leukemia arising from myeloid cells is known as Myeloid Leukemia which may either be chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and/or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a complex disease caused by mutations, deregulated gene expression and epigenetic modifications leading to increased proliferation and decreased differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Several important molecular markers have been discovered in AML to better characterize patients. C/EBPÃŽ ± is an important regulator of Granulopoiesis. Several groups have reported mutations in the C/EBPÃŽ ± gene in a subset of patients with AML presenting with normal karyotypes. A significant percentage of AML patients without chromosomal translocations have demonstrated abnormalities in C/EBPÃŽ ± protein or function, suggesting that loss of transcriptional control is a common mechanism of leukemogenesis. Even in the setting of other proleukemogenic genetic abnormalities, such as the (8; 21) translocation, C/EBPÃŽ ± has been demonstrated to be aberrantly regulated, in this case by down regulation of expression. Functional alterations of C/EBPÃŽ ± in AML include mutations of the C/EBPÃŽ ± gene and deregulated expression of C/EBPÃŽ ± by chromosomal translocations. Further, post-transcriptional or post-translational suppression of C/EBPÃŽ ± has been demonstrated to be involved in hematopoietic malignancies. AML is also characterized as, a malignant disease of hematopoietic system in which cells accumulate in an undifferentiated state due to mutations that prevent their normal differentiation and allow undifferentiated cells to survive and proliferate. The molecular changes that occur in AML usually lead to either abnormal cell proliferation (FLT3 and Ras mutations) or block in differentiation (AML1/ETO, PML/RAR alpha, C/EBPalpha mutation s) or suppression of apoptosis (bcl2 overexpression). Despite of block in differentiation, native AML cells often show some morphological signs of differentiation that allow a classification into different subsets, and further differentiation may be induced by exposure to various soluble mediators, e.g., all trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and several cytokines in t(15;17). All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a derivative of vitamin A and it affects cellular development including haematopoiesis, in particular granulocytic differentiation. ATRA could induce a dose-dependent differentiation of HL-60 promyeloblasts to mature, functioning neutrophils. ATRA induces growth inhibition, differentiation, and apoptosis in cancer cells, including acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). In APL, expression of promyelocytic leukemia protein retinoic acid receptor (PMLRARÃŽ ±) fusion protein, owing to the t (15; 17) reciprocal translocation, leads to a block in the promyelocytic stage of differentiation. E3 Ubiquitin ligases are a large family of proteins engaged in the regulation of protein turnover and activity through a multistep proteolytic cascade, called ubiquitination. Ubiquitination of a target protein involves 2 distinct steps: covalent attachment of multiple ubiquitin molecules to the protein substrates and degradation of the polyubiquitylated proteins by the 26S proteasome system. The first step is mediated by a cascade of 3 enzymes: ubiquitin activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (E2), and ubiquitin ligase (E3) [1, 2]. Ubiquitin is a 76-amino acid polypeptide that is highly conserved among eukaryotic organisms. It is first activated in an ATP-dependent manner via binding to E1 through a thioester bond between a cysteine residue at the active site of E1 and the C-terminal glycine (G76) of ubiquitin. Activated ubiquitin in an E1-ubiquitin complex is then transferred to E2, which also participates in the formation of a thioester bond between its active site cy steine residue and the G76 of ubiquitin. Finally, ubiquitin is covalently attached to the target protein through an is opeptide bond between the G76 of ubiquitin and the ÃŽ µ-amino group of an internal lysine residue of the target protein, in a reaction catalyzed by E3 ligase. Subsequent to the linkage of ubiquitin to the target protein, a polyubiquitin chain is formed in which the C-terminus of each ubiquitin moiety is linked to a specific lysine residue (most commonly Lys48) of the previous ubiquitin to form K48-linked polyubiquitylated conjugates which are rapidly recognized by the 19S regulatory subunit of the 26S proteasome and degraded by the 20S core particle [1-3]. There are approximately 600 E3 ligases in the human genome that can be classified into 3 major types the N-end rule ubiquitin ligases; HECT-type; and the RING-type, on the basis of domain structure and substrate recognition[1]. The N-end rule ubiquitin E3 ligases target protein substrates bearing specific destabilizing N-terminal residues, including Arg, Lys, His (type I) and Phe, Trp, Leu, Tyr, Ile (type II)[1]. The second type HECT (homology to E6AP C-Terminus) E3-ubiquitin protein ligases, found from yeast to humans range in size from 80kDa to more than 500kDa. They are characterised by the HECT domain, a C-terminal region of approximately 350 amino acids in length with significant similarity to C-terminus of E6AP. Unlike RING E3s which act as scaffolds facilitating interaction between E2s and substrates, HECT E3 ligases form an intermediate thioester bond with the ubiquitin C-terminus through an evolutionarily conserved cysteine residue before catalyzing substrate ubiquitination. Hence, HECT E3s play a direct catalytic role in the final attachment of ubiquitin moieties to target proteins. The N-terminus is highly variable and may be involved in substrate recognition. On the basis of distinct amino acid sequence motifs within the N-terminus, human HECT E3s can be classified into 3 sub-families: HECT E3s with RLDs (RCC1-like domains, termed as HERC (HECT and RCC-1like domain E3s), HECT E3s with WW domains (called Nedd4/Nedd4- like E3s), and HECT E3s that neither contain RLDs nor WW domains (called SI(ngle)- HECT E3s). E6AP, the prototype of HECT E3 family belongs to the third sub-family of HECT E3 ligases [3-5]. The third and the largest type of E3 ligase is the RING (Really Interesting New Gene) family. RING-based E3 ligases are specified by over 600 human genes surpassing 518 protein kinase genes. These are characterised by a classic C3H2C3 or C3HC4 RING finger domain with a characteristic linear sequence Cys-X2-Cys-X9-39-Cys-X1-3-His-X2-3-Cys/His-X2-Cys-X4-48-Cys-X2-Cys, where X can be any amino acid. The RING domain provides a docking site for the E2 enzyme, which mediate transfer of ubiquitin to the substrate, facilitating assembly of mono- or polyubiquitylated conjugates via different lysine residues of ubiquitin. The resulting modifications have a diverse range of biological functions, from proteasome-dependent proteolysis (Lys48- and Lys 11-linked polyubiquitin) to post-translational regulation of protein function, structure, assembly, and/or localization (Lys 63 and other linkages)[1, 6]. E3 ligases can also be classified into single subunit E3s (e.g. Mdm2, Cbl) and multi-subunit complexes (APC, SCF). E3 enzymes bind their target substrates through various protein-protein interaction domains (e.g. WD 40 repeats). However, for substrate recognition post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation or proteolytic cleavage are required[7]. The modified motif in the substrate is called degron. There are many different types of degrons (e.g. phosphodegron, PEST). Once modified, a degron in a substrate might be recognized by a specific E3 ligase, which forms the basis for its subsequent ubiquitination[8]. Through ubiquitin-mediated covalent modification of diverse range of cellular proteins, E3 ubiquitin ligases regulate several cellular functions or biological processes such as cell cycle progression, Oncogenesis, signal transduction, transcription regulation, DNA repair, endocytois, transport and development via proteolytic or non-proteolytic mechanisms [2, 9]. A direct molecular link between cell-cycle control, Oncogenesis and E3 ubiquitin ligase activity was supported by several clinical findings and wealth of experimental data on E6AP, SKP2 and FBW7, Nedd 4-1, Pirh2, CDC20, CDH1 and also on other E3 ligases [3, 10, 11]. Understanding the physiological role of E6-AP, the founding member of the HECT E3 family, is of interest because inactivation of UBE3A gene encoding E6AP has been associated with Angelman Syndrome, a hereditary neurological disorder. Moreover, in the case of cervical cancer, the E6/E6-AP complex not only targets p53 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation, but also targets other proteins, which is necessary for HPV-induced cervical carcinogenesis[12]. E6-AP forms a stable complex with the adaptor protein E6. The dimeric complex binds to and targets p53 for ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, thus eventually interfering with the negative growth regulating activities of this tumor suppressor protein [13-15]. In addition, the expression of E6-AP protein is decreased in human invasive breast and prostate cancers compared with their adjacent normal tissues. This down-regulation of E6-AP is accompanied by the elevation of ER in breast and AR in prostate carcinomas[16]. Furthermore, in vivo data fro m E6-AP-knockout animals indicated that the expression levels of ER and AR are increased in E6-AP-null mammary and prostate glands, respectively, when compared with that of normal control animals, suggesting that E6-AP modulates the protein levels of ER in breast and AR in prostate glands [17]. E6AP, a 100-kDa cellular protein is a member of functionally related E3-ubiquitin-protein ligases defined by the domain homologous to the carboxy terminus hect domain.20 E3 ligases ubiquitinate and degrade several regulatory proteins including p53, p27, promyelocytic leukemia retinoic acid receptor ÃŽ ± and others, which serve as tumor suppressors and cell-cycle inhibitors. E6AP promotes C/EBPÃŽ ± ubiquitination leading to its proteasome-mediated degradation and thus functional inactivation. E6AP negatively regulate Granulopoiesis by targeting C/EBPÃŽ ± for degradation via ubiquitin proteasome pathway. Promyelocytic leukemia tumor suppressor (PML) has been recently identified as a target of catalytically active form of E6AP. PML tumor suppressor is essential for the formation of PML nuclear bodies. Recent studies have implicated role of PML and PML nuclear bodies in the regulation of growth inhibition, senescence and apoptosis. PML is down regulated in multiple human cancers and experimental data has correlated reduced PML activity and expression to E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of E6AP, regulating protein turnover and activity[18]. Recently, Annexin I involved in the inhibition of cell proliferation, regulation of cell differentiation, anti-inflammatory effects, cell death signalling, carcinogenesis has been identified as a novel target of E6AP in addition to classical substrates, including p53 tumor suppressor, PDZ domain-containing protein scribble, a transcriptional repressor of the gene encoding hTERT[19]. In addition, studies have also implicated the role of E6AP ubiquitin ligase activity in ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Peroxiredoxin1 and presumably open avenues to investigate the functional link between lack of E6AP expression and stability of Peroxiredoxin 1with regard to the pathogenesis of Angelman syndrome[20]. p53 is targeted for proteasomal degradation by mdm2 which is a p53 target gene containing E3 ubiquitin ligase activity[21]. While mdm2 targets p53 for degradation, mdm2 is self -ubiquitinated and degraded. Cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p21waf/cip, another p53 target gene, is degraded by proteasome and GSK3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3) mediated phosphorylation [22]. Rb (Retinoblastoma) protein is a tumor suppressor and negatively regulates G1/S transition by interacting with E2F transcription factor. Rb protein is degraded in an ubiquitin dependent manner [23]. In addition, free E2F is also degraded in ubiquitin dependent manner by the 26S proteasome. Thus, collectively HECT domain containing E3 ligases are important for homeostasis of protein levels and defects in their function may lead to various diseases including cancer. Thus, wealth of experimental data and clinical findings identifying many substrates targeted by E3 ubiquitin ligases, indicate that the deregulation of Ubiquitin proteasome system in cell cycle control is tightly linked to malignancies and tumorigenesis. Due to the above relevance and role of E6AP in malignancies and tumorigenesis The project is based on the expression, purification and validation of GST tagged protein that is GST- E6AP. The current study includes Cell culture: HL-60 cells, a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line. HL-60 cells treated with 1uM ATRA for 0,24 and 48 hours. GST- E6AP Protein expression and purification: GST-E6AP Pull down: Objectives: 1) Expression of GST and GST-E6AP plasmids in BL21 strain of E.Coli 2) Purification of GST and GST-E6AP proteins from BL21 strain of E.Coli 3) Validation of expression through western blotting 4) To detect GST-E6AP protein interaction with whole cell lysates of HL-60 cells treated with 1ÃŽ ¼M ATRA for 0, 24 and 48 hrs GOMTI NAGAR EXTENSION, LUCKNOW

The Quintessential American Woman Essay -- American Women Henry James

The Quintessential American Woman The American woman is a mystery that has yet to be solved. She is an ever-changing poem that sparks interest in those who are unaccustomed to her mysterious ways. The American women fascinated many authors, including Henry James. To express his enthrallment, James employed his literary talent to create Daisy Miller. Daisy exudes the vast depth of the entity of the American woman, which originally captured James’ attention. John Hay, a contemporary observer of American manners and mores stated of the American woman, â€Å"Her conduct is without blemish, according to the rural American standard, and she knows no other† (qtd. in Fogel 52). James’s Daisy Miller depicts the innocence of the American woman, with its accompanying crudeness. It is through Daisy Miller, and her contradictory characteristics of purity and crudeness that James presents and depicts his American woman to the world. â€Å"Pure† is defined as â€Å"chaste; virgin† in the American Heritage Dictionary (681). This describes one half of the American woman in the Jamesian perspective. Daisy Miller’s character is depicted as the epitome of pure. This purity particularly lies in Daisy’s ignorance of proper social behavior. Daniel Mark Fogel wrote in his critical analysis of Daisy Miller, â€Å"In America, women were under somewhat less rigid control than they were in England or Europe, in part because of the comparatively high degree of social mobility in the United States and the concomi...