Dramatic situations Essay

Examine carefully your chosen scene and discuss how well in your view Shakespeare succeeds in presenting good theatre with a variety of dramatic situations in order to entertain his audience. Shakespeare wrote ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ towards the end of the 16th century. The play was aimed at all social classes, meaning that there had to be humour in the play to suit everyone’s taste. The scene that I have chosen to examine is Act 5, Scene 2. Which is the last scene of the play. This scene follows on from Act 5, Scene 1 where Katherina has just reluctantly kissed Petruchio and Petruchio feels very pleased with the way everything has turned out. It then enters Act 5, Scene 2, where Lucentio is welcoming everyone to the banquet, which was being held to celebrate the three marriages. I chose to do this scene because I think that this scene rounds the play off nicely as nearly all of the characters are there in it and there are a variety of dramatic situations. After Lucentio has finished welcoming everyone Petruchio says â€Å"Nothing but sit and sit, and eat and eat! â€Å". If I was directing the play I would make Petruchio butt in with that straight after Lucentio has finished talking because I think that he is saying it quite sarcastically, as he was wanting to draw attention to himself because previously in the play we learnt that he is quite mad character, for example when he turned up at the wedding he was wearing crazy clothes. I found that quite amusing but in the Royal Shakespeare production that we saw I don’t think they made him say it with enough expression, I thought that they would have made a bigger deal about it. To draw even more attention to himself I think he should say it quite loudly and stand up because the audience would be focused on him. I think that Shakespeare made Petruchio’s character quite a quirky one because all through the play he brings humour and it leaves the audience wondering what strange thing he will do or say next and it is all very unexpected. After that, on line 14 and 15 I think that the tone gets a bit more serious. On line 14 Baptista says â€Å"Paudua offers this kindness, son Petruchio† In the text there is no exclamation mark so if I was directing it I would make him say it in a stern, serious voice. Petruchio says after that â€Å"Padua offers nothing but what is kind† I think that when he says that he should again say it quite quickly and immediately after Baptista did because that brings out his ‘cheeky’ character and it is entertaining because there is an argument and this is an amusing way to start off quite a formal event.

Kona coffee Essay

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Presentation of the Kite Runner Essay

INTRODUCTION This paper copes with the analysis of Hosseini’s Kite Runner using Marxism approach. Marxist theory mainly deals with the literary works and evaluates the works by the examining of its historical, social and economical background. Marxism evaluates the work how it is influenced by the time in which it was produced as well as social, political, economical sphere (Chowdhury, 2011). Thus, this paper will focus on: (1) The Marxist Approach To The Kite Runner; (2) The relationship among characters as a representation of the differences between social classes; (3) The relationship between Baba and Ali serve as a representation materialism versus spirituality; (4) Baba as the representation of economic power in his society in the period of time; and (5) Cultural and political hegemony as representation of situation in Afghanistan. 1.The Marxist Approach To The Kite Runner The marxist approach to literature is based on the philosophy of Karl Marx, a German philosopher and economist. His major argument was that whoever controlled the means of production in society controlled the society—whoever owned the factories â€Å"owned† the culture. This idea is called â€Å"dialectical materialism,† and Marx felt that the history of the world was leading toward a communist society. From his point of view, the means of production (i.e., the basis of power in society) would be placed in the hands of the masses, who actually operated them, not in the hands of those few who owned them. It was a perverted version of this philosophy that was at the heart of the Soviet Union. Marxism was also the rallying cry of the poor and oppressed all over the world (Kurtz). To read a work from a Marxist perspective, one must understand that Marxism asserts that literature is a reï ¬â€šection of culture, and that culture can be affected by literature (Marxists believed literature could instigate revolution). Marxism is linked to Freudian theory by its concentration on the subconscious—Freud dealt with the individual subconscious, while Marx dealt with the political subconscious. Marx believed that oppression exists in the political subconscious of a society—social pecking orders are inherent to any group of people. The four main areas of study are economic power; materialism versus spirituality; class conï ¬â€šict; art, literature, and ideologies. 2.The relationship among characters as a representation of the differences between social classes On the beginning of the novel, Hosseini briefly contrasted the high class layer from low class layer in several ways. a.From physical appearance of the characters. Baba and Ali. Baba and Ali are much different. Baba was a strong, and powerful man. â€Å"It was Rahim Khan who first referred to him as what eventually became Baba’s famous nickname, _Toophan agha_, or â€Å"Mr. Hurricane.† It was an apt enough nickname. My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would â€Å"drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy,† as Rahim Khan used to say. At parties, when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun† (ch.3). Ali was a weak, flawed and men. â€Å"But polio had left Ali with a twisted, atrophied right leg that was sallow skin over bone with little in between except a paper-thin layer of muscle†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (ch.2), in other hand, the novel states that â€Å"Ali’s face and his wa lk frightened some of the younger children in the neighborhood. But the real trouble was with the older kids (ch.2). Amir and Hasan Physically, Amir and Hassan were different. Though Amir was older than Hassan, but Hassan was stronger than Amir. Hassan can run faster than Amir. When they were running to catch the kite one day, Amir looked very tired. â€Å"They called him â€Å"flat-nosed† because of Ali and Hassan’s characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features. â€Å"For years, that was all I knew about the Hazaras, that they were Mogul descendants, and that they looked a little like Chinese people† (ch.2) Sofia Akrami and Sanaubar Sofia Akrami, Baba’s wife (Amir’s mother) was from a rich family. â€Å"When people scoffed that Baba would never marry well–after all, he was not of royal blood–he wedded my mother, Sofia Akrami, a highly educated woman universally regarded as one of Kabul’s most respected, beautiful, and virtuous ladies. And not only did she teach classic Farsi literature at the university she was a descendant of the royal family, a fact that my father playfully rubbed in the skeptics’ faces by referring to her as â€Å"my princess† (ch.3). Sanaubar, Ali’s wife, was a beautiful woman. â€Å"†¦ a beautiful but notoriously unscrupulous woman who lived up to her dishonorable reputation. Like Ali, she was a Shi’a Muslim and an ethnic Hazara. She was also his first cousin and therefore a natural choice for a spouse. But beyond those similarities, Ali and Sanaubar had little in common, least of all their respective appearances. While Sanaubar’s brilliant green eyes and impish face had, rumor has it, tempted countless men into sin, Ali had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, a condition that rendered him unable to smile and left him perpetually grimfaced. It was an odd thing to see the stone-faced Ali happy, or sad, because only his slanted brown eyes glinted with a smile or welled with sorrow. People say that eyes are windows to the soul. Never was that more true than with Ali, who could only reveal himself through his eyes†¦. â€Å"I have heard that Sanaubar’s suggestive stride and oscillating hips sent men to reveries of infidelity† (ch.2). b.Tribe’s difference. Hosseini exposes two different tribes between Pasthuns and Hazara in some points of view. ï‚ §Oppression of Pasthuns to Hazara. Pasthuns is a high class layer while Hazara is a low class layer. This can be shown from the citations as follow: â€Å"An entire chapter dedicated to Hassan’s people! In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras. It said the Hazaras had tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns had â€Å"quelled them with unspeakable violence.† The book said that my people had killed the Hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. The book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi’a’ (ch.2). The insulting to Hazara. As it has been pointed out that Hazara was low class layer, Hazara’s people were placed as a minority and they were mostly insulted by people around them. Ali, who belongs to Hazara, was chased by children around. â€Å"They chased him on the street, and mocked him when he hobbled by. Some had taken to calling him _Babalu_, or Boogeyman† (ch.2). Hassan, who was known as Ali’s son, was very often insulted by his neighbours when he walked with Amir. Amir says that â€Å"It also said some things I did know, like that people called Hazaras _mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys_. I had heard some of the kids in the neighborhood yell those names to Hassan. Amir’s teacher even said that â€Å"That’s the one thing Shi’a people do well,† he said, picking up his papers, â€Å"passing themselves as martyrs.† He wrinkled his nose when he said the word Shi’a, like it was some kind of disease (ch.2). Assef really hated Hazara people. In another occasion, when he met Amir dan Hassan, Assef strictly said to Hassan: His blue eyes flicked to Hassan. â€Å"Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.† He made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. â€Å"Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That’s my vision† (ch.5). Amir and Hassan, on one day walked around and met Assef on the way. Assef says to Amir â€Å"How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you?† he said, his voice dripping with disgust. Wali and Kamal nodded and grunted in agreement. Assef narrowed his eyes. Shook his head. When he spoke again, he sounded as baffled as he looked. â€Å"How can you call him your ‘friendâ₠¬â„¢?† _But he’s not my friend!_ I almost blurted. _He’s my servant!_ Had I really thought that? (ch.5). 3.The relationship between Baba and Ali serve as representation materialism versus spirituality. Materialism refers to desire for wealth and material possessions, while spiritualism refers to a philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being (Empi, 2009). Hosseini opposites two characters between Baba and Ali. Baba is materialism as stated in the novel that Baba says that â€Å"If there’s a God out there, then I would hope he has more important things to attend to than my drinking scotch or eating pork. Now, hop down. All this talk about sin has made me thirsty again† (ch. 3). Baba also just only interested to talk about business, politics and football as the central topics on conversation with his friends in his room one day as stated that â€Å"Baba and his friends reclined on black leather chairs there after Ali had served dinner. They stuffed their pipes–except Baba always called it â€Å"fattening the pipe†Ã¢â‚¬â€œand discussed their favorite three topics: politics, business, soccer† (ch.2). When Amir told Baba about religious teaching of Islam at school that they learnt about Qur’an, Baba said to Amir that â€Å"I see you’ve confused what you’re learning in school with actual education,† he said in his thick voice (ch.3). Baba also said to Amir that â€Å"You’ll never learn anything of value from those bearded idiots† (ch.3). In contrast, Ali is a religious man who had memorized the Koran†¦. (ch.3). In addition, it is cited that â€Å"Hassan’s father, Ali, used to catch us and get mad, or as mad as someone as gentle as Ali could ever get. He would wag his finger and wave us down from the tree. He would take the mirror and tell us what his mother had told him, that the devil shone mirrors too, shone them to distract Muslims during prayer. â€Å"And he laughs while he does it,† he always added, scowling at his son† (ch.2). Furthermore, Ali and Hassan were religiously to Islamic Teaching, and he never left for praying. One day Amir got up late and found â€Å"Hassan had already washed up, prayed the morning _namaz_with Ali†(ch.4). Hassan never missed any of the five daily prayers. Even when we were out playing, he’d excuse himself, draw water from the well in the yard, wash up, and disappear into the hut (ch.4) 4.Baba as the representation of economic power in his society in the period of time. In Marxist’ theory society is divided into two classes based economical point of view. They are the upper class/bourgeoisies and the lower class/labors/proletarians (Darma, 2013). Hosseini exposes the economic power characters in the novels in several points. ï‚ §Hoseini symbolizes Baba and Ali as the bourgeoisies and proletarians. Baba was a rich man. He has the most beautiful house in Kabul, while Ali’s house is small. It is stated in the novel that â€Å"Everyone agreed that my father, my Baba, had built the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some thought it was the prettiest house in all of Kabul† (ch.2). On the contrary, Ali was a poor man which worked only for Baba as a servant. His house was small and lied behind Baba’s house. The novel states that â€Å"On the south end of the garden, in the shadows of a loquat tree, was the servants’ home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father. (ch.2) ï‚ §Baba was a successful businessman. When people around doubted him on his success, he run a business and he became a successful merchant in Kabul as stated that â€Å"Baba proved them all wrong by not only running his own business but becoming one of the richest merchants in Kabul†¦ Baba and Rahim Khan built a wildly successful carpet-exporting business, two pharmacies, and a restaurant† (ch.3). Baba also built an orphanage by his own money to show his economic power. The novel stated that â€Å"In the late 1960s, when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage. I heard the story through Rahim Khan† (ch.3) â€Å"Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off the main strip of Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money (ch.3). Bourgeoisies way of life was identical to hedonism. It was stated in the novel that â€Å"In 1933, the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan, two brothers, young men from a wealthy and reputable family in Kabul, got behind the wheel of their father’s Ford roadster. High on hashish and _mast_ on French wine, they struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife on the road to Paghman (ch.4). 5.Cultural and political hegemony as representation of situation in Afghanistan. According to Encarta English Dictionary (2009), hegemony is authority or control: control or dominating influence by one person or group, especially by one political group over society or one nation over others. Hosseini describes the hegemony in culture and politics was presented in several way of his work’s The Kite Runner. a.Cultural Hegemony. The Pasthuns controlled Hazara by forbidding them to come to school. Hazara’s people were identical with iliteral and servant of Pasthuns. This was represented in the novel that Hassan will do anything whatever Amir asked him. Amir was very often asked Hassan to do something impossibly. It stated in the novel that â€Å"Eat dirt if I told you to,† I said† (ch.6). In addition, most Hazara people were servants, Amir says that â€Å"I remember one kid, Ahmad, who lived across the street from us. His father was some kind of doctor, I think. †¦Every morning , I watched from my bedroom window as their Hazara servant shoveled snow from the driveway, cleared the way for the black Opel† (ch.6). Afghans were independent people. Pasthuns controlled Hazara in all aspects. b.Political hegemony. This was represented in Assef statement that â€Å"â€Å"I’ll ask the president to do what the king didn’t have the quwat to do. To rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, kasseef Hazaras† (ch.5). In addition, Assef also ever told Amir that â€Å"For a lot of Hazaras, Iran represented a sanctuary of sorts–I guess because, like Hazaras, most Iranians were Shi’a Muslims. But I remembered something my teacher had said that summer about Iranians, that they were grinning smooth talkers who patted you on the back with one hand a nd picked your pocket with the other† (ch.6). REFERENCES: Chowdhury, M. A. U. (2011). The Kite Runner in the light of Marxism. Retrieved 25 January, 2013, from http://jottify.com/works/the-kite-runner-in-the-light-of-marxism/ Darma, Budi. (2013). Handout of Literary Criticism on Marxism. Presented on the P2TK class on Program Pasca Sarjana UNESA. Empi, Varun. (2009). Materialism Vs Spiritualism. Retrieved on January 24, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/varun_empi/varun-materialism Hosseini, K. (2003). The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books. Kuntz, K. Teaching Khaled Hosseini’s from Multiple Critical Perspectives. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.prestwickhouse.com/PDF/SAMPLE/305052.pdf Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Participation Discussion Questions - Essay Example ‘These laws protect the employees in matters such as compensation, working conditions, and retirement benefits. I agree with you that it is imperative for managers to have excellent knowledge of employment laws. Managers lower their business risk by complying with employment laws because a lack of compliance can lead to governmental fines, civil lawsuits, and a loss of brand value. If a corporation fails to comply with basic employment laws such as paying at or above minimum wage they can incur in damages beyond the potential fines. The customer can lose confidence in the corporate behavior of the company and switch to the competition. In the 21st century corporate social responsibility has become an important strategy to achieve business growth. The utilization of hiring practices that foster diversity has positive benefits such as improving creativity and gaining insight into other cultures. If an employee violates employment laws a manager must discipline the person and possible terminate employment if the violates warrants such punishment. Knowledge is power, thus education the workforce on employment will improve the quality and value of the human capital of a corporation. As you mentioned understanding employment laws is a two way process since both employer and employees are affected by them. Applying educational efforts in the corporate world to increase the knowledge of employees of employment laws is a sound investment. The overall business risk of an enterprise decreases as the employees become more knowledgeable of employment laws. Diminishing interpersonal conflict due to a lack of knowledge of employment increases the productivity of the workers. I liked your idea of creating handbooks with information regarding employment laws. Doing so is an initiative that provides documentation the workers can use to study on their own time about employment laws as well as reference

Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Literature review Example This will help to point out the differences and similarities that may exist between the two ideas that the different authors have. After taking up a job, majority of the new employees are very interested to learn more about their jobs and the firm that they are now working for. Induction or socialization is the process that is used t do this and aims at integrating the new employees into the firm and making them familiar with the details and the requirements of the job. It is therefore a process which involves employees being transformed from total outsiders to become members of the organization that are active and effective. This may be done in a program that is informal or one that involves a formal introduction. Since starting a new job is one of the most stressful experiences in life, an induction process that considers the anxieties and uncertainties that are associated with it as well as the needs of the new employees is thus very

The Great Depression Essay Example for Free

The Great Depression Essay A large amount of literature including research and text books, exist on the subject of the Great Depression. It is considered by many economists as the worst economic crisis in American History. Statistics suggest that from the business cycle peak in 1929 to the trough in 1933, the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 39%. From 1929 to 1933, the unemployment rate rose from 3. 2% to 25% any may who had jobs were only able to work part-time. By 1933, 50% of American banks had failed. From 1929 to 1933, the consumer price index (CPI) fell by -25%. The Dow Jones industrial average fell -89. 2% between September 1929 and March 1933. Net investment was negative from 1931 to 1935 and the economy experienced a sharp decline in aggregate real income, then there were massive defaults and bankruptcies by business and households (Bernanke. S, 2004, White, 2009). But what caused the great depression? Or rather, why did the recession of 1929 turn into a depression? Calomiris (1983) remarks there is still very little consensus amongst economist on this question. Before Maynard Keynes (1936) General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, economist relied on the Classical approach both to manage and explain the Great Depression. However, the classical theory could not explain a lot of the data at the time; for instance, it could not explain the protracted unemployment (Keynes, 1936). This signified the need for a new theory of macroeconomics. Such a theory was provided by Keynes. The essence of Keynes theory is contained in the simple aggregate demand model. Keynes identified the collapse of the growth in the 1920s as part of the problem. In his opinion, the collapse of growth led to a reduction in investment opportunities and a downward shift in investment demand. The unprecedented levels of unemployment could also be explained by the collapse of aggregate spending. Keynes along with Irvin Fischer (1933) also identified the financial markets as important sources and propagators of economic decline during the Great Depression (Calomoris, 1983). However, the exact nature of this connection is still a hot topic of debate, and this is where much of the literature on the great depression can be found. According to Keynes theory of aggregate demand, monetary policy had no causal role in the Great Depression (Mishkin, 2007). Mishkin (2007 p 588) argues that this assumption was based on three pieces of evidence. He states that during the Great Depression; interest rates on U. S treasury securities were extremely low (Below 1%). To the early Keynesians, the low nominal interest rate meant that the monetary policy was easy – expansionary (Hamilton, 1987). The second assumption was underpinned by the lack of empirical evidence on the co-movement between nominal interest rates and investments spending. While the third assumption was based on the fact that surveys by macroeconomists carried on businessmen indicated that their decision to invest was not influenced by market interest rates (Mishkin, 2007). In 1963, Friedman and Schwartz published the Monetary History of the United States in which they outlined a theory implicating money supply as the major cause of the Great Depression. In their opinion, what transformed the recession of 1929 into a depression were the imprudent policies by the Federal Reserve, which led to the stock market crash; and to the waves of banking failures which reduced the money multiplier and the money stock (Bernanke, 1983a; Friedman and Swartz, 1963). The figure 1 below shows the close correlation between GDP and the money stock. Friedman and Swartz countered the Keynesians argument that interest rates on U. S. treasury securities and high grade corporate bonds were low was countered by the observation that interest rates on lower grade bonds rose radically during the peak of contraction (between 1930-1933) this indicated that monetary policy was tight (Mishkin, 2007). The second reason why the Keynesian assumptions were regarded as misleading on the question of the tightness of the monetary policy during the depression was that; in a period of deflation; the important interest-rate transmission mechanism is through the real interest rate and not the nominal interest rate, hence low nominal interest rates do not necessarily mean that cost of borrowing is low and that monetary policy is easy since public expectation of a reduction in price levels can increase real interest rates (Hiuzinga, 1986; Summers, 1984). A good example of how the real-nominal interest rate relationship affected the U. S. economy during the Great Depression was seen in the housing sector. Wheelock reports that even though the nominal value of mortgage dept peaked in 1930, deflation caused a rise in the real value of outstanding mortgage dept up to 1832. Thus the outstanding mortgage dept burden increased sharply during the contraction phase of the depression (Wheelock, 2008). Researchers also criticized the use of Structural Model evidence by Keynesians. Mishkin (2007) argues that the quality of this type of evidence is dictated by the goodness of the model used. Friedman and Swartz narrative on the Great depression was that the original trigger of the Great Depression was the, 1928, Federal Reserve attempt to contain inflated share prices at Wall Street which they attributed to speculative activity. To accomplish this, they raised the policy interest rate. This depressed interest-sensitive spending in areas such as construction and Motor industry. This in turn induced a drop in production and investments, which led to reduced hiring of workers by companies. The tightening of the monetary policy through the recession which begun in August 1929 precipitated the October 1929, stock market crash (Hamilton, 1987, Bernanke, 2002b). The stock market crash eroded the nation’s accumulated savings, leading to a reduction in aggregate demand. From 1930, the contracting economy triggered successive waves of widespread banking panics (Calomiris etal, 2003; Hamilton, 1987; Chandler, 1970). Bank failures and hoarding of cash increased both the currency deposit ratio and the reserve – deposit hence a decline in money stock; this added to the deflationary pressures (Bernanke, 2007b; White, 1984). They asserted that â€Å"failure by the Fed to reverse the decline in money stock with open market operations and loans to banks through discount windows added further pressure to the economy (Friedman, 1963). † According to them, the 1937 -1938 recession was triggered by the Fed’s attempt to stimulate lending by doubling of the required reserve – ratio, this had the opposite effect. Mishkin (2007) writes that the importance of this theory to most economists is that it opened a whole new connection between the financial sector and the macroeconomy. Another important contribution was that it suggested new research agenda; Calomiris (1993) summarized them thus: 1) Can the reduction in money stocks from 1930 to 1933 explain the bank failures or did they have a separate origin? 2) Was the demand for money stable given the low nominal short term interests rates in the 1930s or was there a liquidity trap 3) Could nominal price and wage rigidity offer an adequate explanation for the persistent stagnation during the 1930s? 4) Were policy failures by the Fed actions acts of omission or commission or did they represent the application of the old classical theories to new circumstances? 5) Were open market operations by the Fed, unaccompanied by reforms in the monetary and bank regulations, sufficient in reversing the 1930-1933 stagnation? Following the publication of the Monetary History, economist focused either on confirming Friedman and Swartz assertions or in researching the implications of their findings. For two decades, the focus was mainly on the first three questions. Unfortunately, economists restricted there inquiries within the framework of the sticky-price, IS-LM paradigm. This approach severely limited the search for alternative transmission mechanisms between financial markets and the macroeconomy (Bernanke, 1983). Support for the Monetarist theory has come from formal statistical tests which examined the correlations between money and aggregate spending (Mishkin, 2007) a number of researchers found that there was no liquidity trap during the 30s; therefore, money supply shocks could have had an important effect on aggregate output (Meltzer, 1963; Temin, 1989). Field argued that the pre-depression stock market boom increased money demand and that this was not offset by corresponding increase in money supply. This resulted in increases in the interest rates and in deflation (Field, 1984). Evidence corroborating Friedman-Swartz illiquidity hypothesis as the trigger of the bank failures came from data on bank suspensions aggregated at national or regional level, this data show a correlation between bank failures and turning points in indices of industrial production, the money supply, the money multiplier, interest rate, and deflation rate (Friedman, 1963; Wicker, 1980). According to White (1984, p 138), the first bank failures in the 1930 were not unique; rather, it was a continuation of the banking failures of the 1920s. Recently studies by Calomiris and Joseph (2003) have revealed a strong correlations between the characteristics of banks, the economic environment in which they operated and their chances of survival. The thesis that banks failures were not panic induced, but were a continuation of the bank failures of the 1920s, which were linked to bank overbuilding suggested a lesser role of bank failures as a transmission mechanism. Other critics â€Å"advocated additional exogenous expenditure shocks to explain the cause of the depression noting that the real money stock had not contracted during the early stages of the depression (Temin,1976; Bernanke,1983 ). † At the same time, some scholars argued that the reduction in money stocks during the initial stages of the depression was not large enough to trigger the depression (Meltzer, 2003) In short, economists realized that money shocks alone could not have transformed the recession into a depression. Thus, additional link were needed between the financial markets and the macroeconomy. Bernanke captured it this way in his 1983 research paper: â€Å"One problem is that there is no theory of monetary effect {per se} on the real economy that can explain protracted non neutrality. Another is that the reduction of money supply in the period seems quantitatively insufficient to explain the subsequent fall in output (Bernanke, 1983, p257)† The new paradigm shift came with the application of theoretical models of credit allocation under asymmetric information in imperfect markets to the Great Depression. Mishkin was the first to apply this model in his study of the impact of changes in household balance sheet and consumer spending during the Great Depression (Mishkin, 1978). He argued that â€Å"in the 1930s, the depressive effect of aggregate wealth reduction on consumption was compounded by the dept deflation which in turn reduced aggregate consumption demand. Using empirical evidence, Bernanke research suggests that the efficiency of credit allocation was reduced under imperfect market conditions of the 1930s and that aggregate demand was reduced by the resulting higher cost and reduced availability of credit (Bernanke, 1983). This process, in his opinion, can account for he protracted length of the great depression. Taken together, this new paradigm was not a rejection of Friedman and Swartz thesis, it merely showed that the monetary shock and other events in the early phase of the Depression prolonged the Depression through there effect on the institutional structure of the credit markets and the balance sheet of borrowers (White, 1984; Romer,1989). In short, macroeconomists have concluded that the tendency of banks to respond to deposit outflows and increased risk of loan defaults by freezing credit can aggravate recessions, magnifying declines in investment, production and asset prices (Calomiris, 2008) The focus on deflation and financial collapse throughout the world also suggested ways through which the depression was channeled to other countries. Currently, economists agree that the gold standard played an important role in transmitting the economic decline in America to the rest of the world (Campa, 1990; Bernanke, 2002b) under the gold standard; trade imbalances gave rise to international gold flows. In his analysis of international transmission of the American Depression, Kindleberger reasoned that that the stock market collapse and deflationary shocks triggered a liquidity squeeze, a reduction in bank lending and the international financial collapse of the 1930s i. e. the lack of access to credit forced less-developed countries to use up their gold and foreign exchange reserves; this forced them to sell old quantities of primary products at reduced prices (Kindleberger, 1973). He also noted that the depression was more protracted in countries which stuck to the gold standard The countries that abandoned gold pursued independent monetary policy and were able to rebound faster. International studies correlating adherence to the gold standard, deflation and continued economic decline have confirmed this argument (Bernanke and James, 1991; Eichengreen, 1992). Economists also believe that the enactment of The Smoot-Hawley Tariff which was supposed to protect American Farmers triggered a counterproductive wave of protectionist measures around the world, which worsened the depression (Draghi, 2009; Hamilton, 1987, Meltzer, 1963) Although most of these debates occurred after the Great Depression, scholars now agree that both inept fiscal and monetary policies transformed a normal business cycle into a depression. Since monetary contraction was part of the problem during the Depression. Currency devaluation and monetary expansions had to play a leading role in the recovery process. A number of commentators have shown that the American money supply increased by 42% between 1933 and 1937 and worldwide monetary expansion led to a lowering of interest rates and easy access to credit (Mishkin, 1991). Economists argue that since fiscal expansion can reduce expectation of deflation, they can reduce the cost of borrowing (Romer, 2009). Keynes theory that government spending, tax cuts, and monetary expansion are essential in countering recession can also be justified in light of historical evidence. Economists reason that the massive government spending, such as the New deal program {specifically Work Progress Administration (WPA) and Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)} reignited the economy (Calomiris and Mason 2003, Romer 1989, Temin 1989). In fact, the general consensus among scholars is that the economy â€Å"American economy began to recover with a new monetary expansion and spending in preparation for war (White, 2009b). † Concerning Banking sector reform, the view on the Bank Holiday is that it was a dramatic and effective remedy. The other reforms have also drawn support from Great Depression scholars (Blinder, 2008; Gapper, 2007; White, 2009b). These reforms saw the creation of a number of regulations and institutions, Banking Act of 1933 (commonly known as Glass Steagall Act) – the act prohibited commercial banks from underwriting of dealing in corporate securities. Insurance of bank deposits by FDIC was designed to prevent depression type bank runs. SEC regulated investment and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) guaranteed Residential mortgage loans. Collectively, scholars now believe that these regulations insulated America’s banking system from the booms and busts of the financial markets (Russell, 2008). Bernanke (1983 p2) â€Å"argues that only with the rehabilitation of the financial system in 1933-35 did the economy begin its slow emergence from the Great Depression. † The 2007 Economic recession The economic literature on the current recession is still limited, however adequate amount of literature exist on the impact of the down turn on the U. S. economy. The Economic Report of the President Jan, 2009 gives a comprehensive coverage of how the recession started; where it started and what is to be done. A large amount of literature can also be found on the causes of the crisis. among others. In terms of impact, the reports from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) indicates that from Dec 2007 to May 2009, America has had 57 bank failures; the unemployment rate has increased to 8. 9%; the economy has declined by – 3. 3% from the second quarter 2008 – first quarter of 2009; from Sept 2008 to may 2009, the federal government has increased the money stock by 125% and over the same period the biggest fall in the Dow Jones industrial stands at -53. 8%. The outlook is equally dire; most analysts have predicted a recession that may last up to two years (Roubini, 2009) Moody’s Investors Services (MIS), while further job losses are also expected have predicted increased foreclosures, while further job losses are also expected. But the impact has not been limited to America. The International Monetary Funds (IMF) World Economic Outlook published in Jan 2009 painted a bleak picture of the world economy in general: They predict that the real global growth will be close to zero; in the same report, growth in advanced world economies was projected at -2%. In his report, presented to the V Symposium on International Trade (Feb 20, 2009) Cline reported that the economic crisis in America has triggered a highly synchronized global recession, which has seen a contraction in all economies (see the Graph below showing global growth over 3 decades (Cline, 2009). Figure, 3 Showing the Synchronization of Global Recession Taken together, commentators are unanimous that, in term of severity, this recession is still mild vis-a-vis The Great Depression. Shiller (2009) writes that a lot of the upheavals in the economy have not been seen since the Great Depression. He cites the stock market volatility, the bank failures, the housing bust, the breakdown in intermediation, and the near zero interest rate. Besides the statistical comparisons, the current debate and research effort is focused on how the how the crisis started. The proximate consensus is that: the mortgage security backed housing boom in America it to blame and that the origination and distributions of this paper assets is at the heart of the problem (Markus; 2008; Grotty, 2009; Bernanke, 2009; Gapper, 2009) at the same time, researchers maintain that the crisis in the banking sector, was not independent, but resulted from distortions and incentives created by past policy actions. Blundell-Wignall, etal (2009), in there paper presented at a Reserve bank of Australia conference, averred that the current financial crisis is caused by global macro policies affecting liquidity and by very poor regulatory frame work. More specifically, economists recognize that any theory of causality, must, among other things, explain how the housing boom started, describe the factors behind the explosion of the residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS), how the banking crisis was triggered and the policy distortions that made it possible (Tett, 2007; Rajan 2009; Grotty, 2009). The findings of a number of researchers who have studied the causes of the current financial crisis in America conclude that the policy distortions started with gradual undermining of the Glass Steagall Act, from the 1980s; and the rise of the neo-classical theory of free markets (which advocates markets deregulation) Shiller (2005, p 43) argues that business cycles in the financial markets would not have been a major problem had banks been kept off the asset markets. The same argument is advanced by Summers (2008) who asserts that the deregulations in the banking sector exposed the banks to the bubbles and bursts of asset markets. Wray (2009) traces the poor regulatory framework in the U. S to the New Financial Architecture (NFA) which he claims is represented by a globally networked system of giant bank conglomerates and shadow banking system of investment bank, hedge funds and bank created special investment vehicles (SIV). In short, most scholars agree that the Riegle-Neal interstate banking and Branching efficiency Act of 1994 and the repeal of Glass Steagall Act in 1999 through the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Act played a crucial role in laying the foundation which led to this crisis (Mishkin, 2009, p 268; Grotty, 2009). Atkinson, Wigall, and Lee (2009) have also concluded that the Basel II accord on international bank regulation also opened an arbitrage opportunity for banks which led to the acceleration of off-balance-sheet activities. In the same paper, they claim that SEC 2004 decision to allow investment banks to manage there own risk was a major policy blunder. Soros puts it this way. â€Å"Since 1980, regulations have been progressively relaxed until they have practically disappeared. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦authorities could no longer calculate their risks and started relying on the risk management methods of the banks themselves (Soros 2008)† At the same time, scholars have concluded that the other root cause of the problem is traceable to the easy availability of credit. Diamond, etal (2009, p 615) argue that the policies affecting liquidity availed a lot of funds to the banks. The 1% federal interest rate, the % interest rate in Japan, the fixed exchange rate in china and large reserves of sovereign wealth funds are listed in his paper as sources of cheap credit which fueled the economic boom in America led to an inflation of prices around the world. The claims that interest rates were low are supported by statistics which indicates that real short term interest rates were negative from mid 2001 to mid 2005, given the modest values of inflation (Yellen, 2008) The low interest rates, in turn, ignited a housing boom. Fig, 3 shows the Case-Shiller house index from 2000-2008. According to Grauwe (2009), the doubling of US house prices from 2000-2006 was not underpinned by real changes in the U. S economy. In the same survey, he reports that between July 2006 and July 2007 the value of Dow Jones and the SP 500 rose by 30% while GDP increased only by 5%. Taken together, researchers have concluded that the collapse of the real estate market in 2006 was the origin of the crisis. The rising foreclosures turned the credit boom into a bust. however, economist have at the same time stated that the severity of the housing market bust has been compound by the weakness inherent in the financial system (Calomiris, 2008; Rajan; 2009; Bookstabber, 2007) namely; use of bank deposits for speculative activities- this operation was made possible though special investment vehicles (SIV) sometimes called shadow banking; new financial innovations – derivative products like Credit Defaults Swaps (CDS) and Collateral Dept Obligations (CDO): they have been described as complex and overly opaque; failure of rating agencies to properly calculate the risks embedded in this instrument; and failures by regulators and supervisors. Some have added that the formulas used to compute the level of risk in this instrument was questionable and that the development of riskier higher order CDOs tended to magnify the systemic risk (Volcker, 2008; Veneroso, 2007; Soros, 2007; Rajan 2009 b). Sorros (2008) argues that the new types of mortgage-backed securities central to the boom were too complex and opaque to be priced correctly. Grotty (2009 p 40) also argues that these instruments encouraged fraud since most investors did not even know what they were buying. That when the risk inherent in these products became apparent in 2007, investors pulled back from structured products in general, banks had to re-absorb the losses incurred by their off balance entities – SIV, straining there balance sheets in the process. Moral hazard problems and adverse selection worsened with time lending to a credit freeze which led to a slow down in economic activities around the world (Mishkin, 2007, Folkman etal, 2007; Dornbusch etal, 2000) Concerning solutions, most policy makers agree that to reverse the recession, there is need for closely coordinated intervention at global level and that efforts must focus simultaneously on fiscal, monetary and financial stability policies. The underlying assumption is that restoring confidence in the prospects for employment and income and returning to balanced growth are the only way out of the recession (Draghi, 2009). Strong expansionary fiscal policies, with measures to support demand and safeguard banking and financial system have been instituted throughout the western world. The $ 800 billion dollar stimulus plans in America has been seen as bold policy initiative, although many economist are worried about its repercussion on the national dept. The proponents of this plan see it as the best way to either create jobs or prevent job losses (Romer, 2009). At the same time, most central banks around the world have rapidly lowered there interest rates. Draghi (2009) argues that in the initial stages of a crisis, rapid disinflation should not be allowed to turn into a deflation. To keep the banks afloat, central banks have injected large quantities of money into the system; in some instances, they have bought corporate dept to keep financial institution afloat. Russell (2009) notes that reactivating financial intermediation is also essential since capital requirements cannot be satisfied by the state alone. To achieve this goal, economists agree on three basics steps. The need to guarantee liabilities to stop bank runs; taking the banks through a stress test to identify the banks with solvency problems and ring-fencing the problematic securities or transferring them to separate entities such as bad banks followed by recapitalization (Wheelock, 2009; White, 2009, Draghi, 2009) are possible ways of unfreezing bank lending. At the same time, economists agree that a solution to the housing crisis is necessary. Lastly economists have pointed out that there is a need to reform securitization, credit rating agencies, poor risk modeling and underwriting standards, as well as corporate governance lapses (Krugnall etal, 2008). Some economist has also concluded that massive failure in corporate governance in some companies reflects poor incentive structures for decision, thus bank reforms should be extended to corporate remuneration practices (White, 2009; Blinder, 2008, Crotty, 2009) Reference Bekaert, G, Harvey, C. R. , 2005, â€Å"Market Integration and Contagion,† Journal of Business, Vol. 78, (No. 1), pp. 39–96. Bernanke, B. S. , 1983. Nonmonetary effects of the financial crisis in the propagation of the great depression. American Economic Review 73, 257–276. Bernanke, Ben (2002). On Milton Friedmans Ninetieth Birthday, at the Conference to Honor Milton Friedman, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, November 8. www. federalreserve. gov. (accessed on May, 10, 2009) Blinder, Alan, 2008. What Created This Monster? , New York Times, 23. Bookstabber, R. , 2007. The next financial crisis starts here, Financial Times, August 23. Calomiris, W. C. , Mason, J. R. , 2003. Fundamentals, panics, and bank distress during the depression. American Economic Review 93 (5), 1615–1646. Calomiris, C. W. , Financial Factors in the Great Depression. The Journal of Economics Perspectives, Vol 7 (2) pp 61-85.

Induction of Beta Galactosidase in E.Coli | Lab Report

Induction of Beta Galactosidase in E.Coli | Lab Report Aim: To study the effects of IPTG, lactose, glucose, chloramphenicol, rifampicin and streptomycin induction on the units of beta-galactosidase of E.coli Introduction In 1961, a special group of units that able to control its beginning and ending of transcription activities by undergoing induction process was discovered by Jacob and Monod. This special enzyme is known as Lac operon which is group of genes that arranged in sequences of promoter region, operated region and structural genes that found in the Escherichia Coli. Promoter region is the site where the RNA polymerases binds to and initiate the transcription process while the operated region in the operon is the site where the regulatory protein such as inducer and repressor bind to and stimulate the genes to turning on or off the transcription process. Lac operon made up of three specific lac genes; there are lac Z, lac Y and lac A and they can be found in the structural genes of the operon. At the end of the transcription process, Lac Z gene can be encoded into ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase which is an enzyme that used to hydrolyze lactose molecules into allolactose molecules fist then further into glucose and galactose which are the monosaccharide molecules (Kathryn Grace Patterson, 2009). Allolactose is the intermediate product when ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase used to catalyses the reaction of converting lactose to glucose and galactose. According to Miiller-Hill, Rickenberg Wallenfels, allolactose is a natural and effective inducer to trigger transcription process to occur (1964). lacY encodes into ÃŽÂ ²-galactoside permease which playing the role in transporting lactose molecules into the cell while lacA is converted into ÃŽÂ ²-galactoside transacetylase through transcription process which is an enzyme that involved in adding an ac etyl group (CH3) from acetyl coenzyme A to the 6 position of the ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase (Xing Guo, Wang, Laurence R. OlsenSteven L. Roderick, 2002). As the inducer such as allolactose (natural inducer) or IPTG, Isopropyl ÃŽÂ ²-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside which is an artificial inducer binds to the operated region and deactivated the repressor protein. Hence, repressor protein generated by the lac I gene cannot binds to the operated region which stimulates the RNA polymerases to bind to the promoter region and start the transcription process which is positive control mechanism. On the other hand, negative control mechanism occurs when active repressor protein binds to the o-site (operated region), it blocks the RNA polymerases binds to the p-site (promoter region) and thus no transcription can take place. IPTG acts as the inducer due to its structure is similar to the allolactose. o-nitrophenol ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase Isopropylthiogalactosidase (IPTG) ortho-Nitrophenyl-ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase  which known as ONPG is used to measure the ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase enzymatic activities in this experiment which show a yellow colour when ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase  presence. ONPG has a similar structure as lactose which also catalyze by the beta-galactosidase enzyme to form galactose + O-nitrophenol whereas the O-niotrophenol responsible to the colour changes. When the intensity of yellow colour increases, the rate of enzymatic activity also increases. Hans Noll and Joseph Orlando also mentioned that o-nitrophenol-beta-galactosidase is hydrolyses by ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase enzyme but not for IPTG molecules (Hans Noll Joseph Orlando, 1960). Hypothesis: a) IPTG activates beta-galactosidase enzyme at most effective effects. b) The rate of beta-galactosidase enzymatic activities depend on the time of induction. Materials and Methods: Part A: Time course of induction of ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase by IPTG Induction of the ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase enzyme. Two different sets of culture condition were investigated. One set in the condition with IPTG (5mM) and another set in the condition of adding water as the control experiment. 15 labeled microfuge tubes which contain 100  µl of the CTAB solution which used to kills the E. coli cells and lyses the cells to release the contents including ÃŽÂ ² -galactosidase were prepared and placed in the ice bath. 2.5ml of actively growing Escherichia Coli K12 was transferred into two separate 50ml conical flasks and covered with the foil immediately and then immersed in the temperature of 37  °C shaking water bath. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l of water was added into the control flask and note the time as t=0 and then transferred 200 ÃŽÂ ¼l of the E. coli culture out immediately into the microfuge tube which labelled as 0c tube, mixed well and stored in the ice bath. The same procedure for another set of conical flask but 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l of IPTG was used inst ead of water. After that, two conical flasks were placed in the shaking water bath to maintain the temperature constant at 37 °C.The previous two steps were repeated for preparing the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 30 and 45 minute time points for the induction flask and 15 and 45 minutes time points for control flask. ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase activity of each sample was ready to be observed after addition ONPG and Na2CO3 which used to stop the assay activity by changing the pH value to 11. (School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, 2012). ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase Assay. 15 sample of microfuge tubes were placed in the 37 °C water bath for 5 minutes to reach thermal equilibrium. Addition of 200 ÃŽÂ ¼l of 3mM ONPG into each sample at every 30 intervals and addition of 300 ÃŽÂ ¼l of 1M Na2CO3 into the microfuge tube followed by order after exactly 5 minutes of time of ONPG induction to deactivate the ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase enzyme activities. The time of ONPG induction was recorded. All samples were centrifuged for 5 minutes and then 300 ÃŽÂ ¼l of supernatant of each sample was taken out and read the absorbance under 414nm with 300 ÃŽÂ ¼l water used as the blank. (School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, 2012). Part B: Characteristics of the induction of ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase Exactly same procedures in the Part A were carried out but several different of conditions were tested in this experiment following by: *A. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l of IPTG (5 mM) and 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l of water (this is to keep the culture at close  to the same concentration for all alternatives) *B. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l lactose (20 mM) + 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l H2O. *C. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l IPTG (5 mM) + 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l glucose (20mM). *D. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l IPTG (10 mM) + 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l glucose (20mM).. E. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l IPTG (5 mM) then, after the 10 min sample is removed, add 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l  chloramphenicol (200ÃŽÂ ¼g/ml). F. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l IPTG (5 mM) then, immediately after the 10 min. sample is removed,  add 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l rifampicin (250 ÃŽÂ ¼g/ml). G. 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l IPTG (5 mM) then, immediately after the 10 min. sample is removed,  add 250 ÃŽÂ ¼l streptomycin (500 ÃŽÂ ¼g/ml) . Note: At zero time point, all materials were added into set A, B, C and D while the antibiotic that used in the set E, F and G was added after 10 minutes time points sample has been taken out. (School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, 2012). Discussions: From the graph shown in the figure 2, it can clearly see that the units of beta-galactosidase per ml of bacterial culture show a positive results when IPTG used in the induction but no response when water used instead of IPTG. The longer the IPTG induction time, the greater the units of beta-galactosidase per ml of bacterial culture produced. It can be explained that, IPTG acts as the inducer which depressed the repressor protein into inactive form by undergoes conformational change in the shape of the repressor protein that prevent them from binding to the operator region. Thus, the RNA polymerases can bind to the promoter site without any obstacles, transcription of lac operon occurs. Therefore, it can be concluded that inducer is playing a significant role in inducing of beta-galactosidase enzyme. Model data provided by the coordinator was used instead of the raw data because there is induction timing error when transferred the sample which causes the failure of the group results as it can notice that there is a sudden decrease in the value of the beta-galactosidase per ml of bacterial culture produced during 12 minutes in the figure 1. Based on the information provided in the part B experiment, the highest value of unit of beta-galactosidase produced was observed when IPTG was presence in the culture environment. An increasing trend of response with lower efficiency of effect were shown in the lactose, IPTG (5mM)+glucose and IPTG (10mM)+ glucose induction. However, as rifampicin, streptomycin and chloramphenicol added into the culture samples, a increasing concentration of beta-galactosidase enzyme at the beginning of experiment until 10 minutes then the reactions started to maintain at the constant level. The observations can be elucidated that when both IPTG and lactose were used as the inducer, they play the similar mechanism but the only reason that causes lactose had lower performance is IPTG will not be broken down during reaction whereas lactose will be degraded or used by the cells. As the rate of lactose degradation increases, the concentration of inducer in the culture decreases. In addition, glucose and galactose were formed after hydrolysis of lactose molecule. Glucose molecule is more preferred than the lactose molecule by the E.coli. Hence, a lower performance was shown when lactose was used as the inducer and IPTG always the best choice of inducer to use in the experiment. Since the glucose molecules involved in the experiment, a mechanism named as catabolite repression can be used to illustrated the other two IPTG (5mM)+glucose and IPTG (10mM)+ glucose conditions. Catabolite repression is a mechanism that represses the transcription process by introducing glucose molecules into the reaction since E.coli is more preferred glucose than IPTG while IPTG is essential for switching on the reaction. When the concentration of glucose molecule increases, the level of cyclic-AMP becomes lower. CAMP is required to start the transcription process as it is needed to binds with the Catabolite activator protein (CAP protein) and form an active complex which promotes RNA polymerases binds to promote region. Therefore, if cAMP level is low, there is inactive complex produced it unable to deactivate the repressor protein so repressor protein will bind to o-site and inhibit the occurrence of the transcription process. On the other hand, if the glucose molecule is absence, the high level of cAMP permit the transcription process to take place due to the cAMP binds to the CAP protein to form cAMP.CAP complex and deactivated the repressor protein, transcription takes place. Since the glucose is the preference substrate so when concentration of IPTG increases, it also will not affect the result when glucose is supplied. CTAB solution which also defined as the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and used in the experiment to remove the E.coli cells and also destroyed the membrane of the E.coli cells in order to release ÃŽÂ ²-galactosidase enzyme that needed for the experiment from its content. E. coli is the source of the beta-galactosidase enzyme in the experiment. In the IPTG+ chloramphenicol culture condition, there was only IPTG inside the sample at the first 10 minutes and induction of enzyme was occurs but after Chloramphenicol was added the units of beta-galactosidase of bacterial culture remain constant due to the reason that Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic that inhibit the protein synthesis process and growth of E.coli (Ambrose,P.J,1984). The polypeptides synthesise of the RNA in the E.coli was hindered when added Rifampicin (Campbell, E. A et al, 2001). Rifampicin changes the shape and structure of the ribosomes which makes the lyses of the ribosomes (Sippel Hartmann, 1968) and also preven ts RNA polymerases from binding to promoter region. After streptomycin was added into the culture sample, Streptomycin inhibits growth of the E.coli by leading to misread the mRNA and protein synthesize disturbance when low amount of streptomycin provided (Modolell,  Juan, 1969). Hence, induction of beta-galactosidase activity was prohibited. Nevertheless, high quantity of Streptomycin added will even cause the death of E.coli.

Impact of EU Fixed Term Work Directive: Scientific Research

Impact of EU Fixed Term Work Directive: Scientific Research Employment/Policies for Scientific Researchers: Is the EU Fixed Term Work Directive of any Assistance to Scientific Researchers in the UK? Introduction This dissertation proposal proposes to examine the impact of the new EU Fixed Term Directive on contract researchers throughout the UK. Its scope and potential for impact is quite wide, yet its workability and prospective effectiveness remains to be seen. Its aim is to increase levels of stability, consistency and equality among employees within Europe, which are employment conditions, from which scientific researchers on short term contracts in the UK have arguably been distanced from due to the nature of their employment. Also, the legislation is aimed at making research work between member states easier to access for EU citizens. The legislation also aims to make the EU a more attractive work destination, for, for example Chinese scientists who have a lot to contribute to European academia. The legislation applies to both private and public sector actors, and will also impact firms and universities employing researchers. The wider socio-political environment, the continued concentration of power with the European Commission and the growing influence of European Institutions upon actors operating at member state level will be examined in the writer’s proposed research, as this will ultimately contextualise both the final recommendations of the research and the processes of the proposed research as it unfolds. The proposed research will examine the research question from a primary data collection angle, and accordingly data will be collected in relation to how many individuals in the UK work as scientific researchers, and these individuals will be asked to contribute to the research by articulating their views on the potential workability and usefulness of the Directive. Also, employers, such as universities, public laboratories and firms will be approached in an effort to gather information from a wide variety of actors who will experience the impact of the new legislation. Data will be collected from other actors with expertise on the issues which relate to the employment of scientific researchers within the EU. The Research Question The research question will address the potential workability and usefulness of the new EU Fixed Term Directive; how it may be critiqued and how it may be improved. The research question will be addressed using primary and secondary research. The research question will be assessed qualitatively, and quantitatively, in an approach known as methodological pluralism. The next section will examine the background and aims of the EU Fixed Term Work Directive in a more in depth way, and it will give details on what literatures will be used and why. Review Literatures which give detailed background on the new Directive and literatures which provide background on the wider role of the EU will be used to create a point of reference for the study, and as they will help the guide the writer in identifying where gaps in the literature exist, and where research will best be concentrated. The literature which has been relied upon by the EU to gather background information in relation to the situation of scientific researchers on short term contracts is not an exhaustive body of research, and it is anticipated that this proposed research will add to this literature. The European Commission has become a deeply influential body[1]. Accordingly, its proposals in terms of legislation and social policy within the sphere of employment law have become fundamentally important for both employees and employers operating within Europe[2]. Therefore, the European Commission’s recent indications that it wished to address what it termed the ‘abuse’ of fixed term contracts, ‘through their continued use’ had many legislative and political consequences for employers and employees operating within the European Union[3]. In terms of operationalising their concerns, the Commission has recently called for all European Union member states to desist from what the Commission regarded as ‘short-term’ contract misuse through engaging in collective bargaining or through the implementation of domestic legislation. Many of the UK’s estimated 40000 researchers[4] will be impacted by the new EU Fixed Term Directive which proposes to ensure that fixed term contracts, under which many of these employees work, are made permanent after a period of four years. Also, the Directive requires that employers offer contract researchers equal terms of employment, compared with those enjoyed by permanent staff, in relation to departmental committees and maternity leave provisions[5]. However, the Directive allows employers to extricate themselves from having to implement the Directive, in circumstances where they can show specific and objective reasons for doing this[6]. Other criticisms of the new legislation are that it does not go far enough to prevent or discourage the ‘misuse’ of short term contracts, since contractual periods of any length are still legally enforceable under the legislation. Also, as the chairman of the Association of Researchers in Medicine and Science, Stephen Hopkins has commented, contracts may be terminated before the expiration of the four year period[7]. Also, it is unclear how much of an impact the legislation would have upon scientific researcher’s whose contracts are tied to external sources of funding and are therefore terminable upon the expiration of funds. However, the functions and circumstances of scientific researchers within the UK remain understudied and obscure. For example, there is little data which tells us what the exact number of researchers who are working on short term contracts, in the academic community is, and accordingly the extent of the impact of the new legislation is unclear. It would therefore be sensible to attempt to gauge these figures, and accordingly the proposed research will address this gap in the literature on this subject. Also, since the legislation is relatively new, little literature is available on the viewpoints of individual scientific researchers, and due to this, in particular the relevance of the proposed research can be seen to be even more sharply defined. These perspectives will allow the new legislation to be evaluated with reference to the views of those who are constrained and impacted by it. Ogbonna and Noon (2001) gives us further insight into the concept of ‘equality’ and equal opportunities with the context of the European Union: ‘There are two separate aspects to evaluating the effectiveness of equal opportunities policies†¦The liberal approach aims to provide equality of opportunity, and relies on fair procedures, bureaucratic processes, and a sense of justice being seen to be done. The emphasis is on the principle of recognising individual merit, rather than on any notion of providing social justice in relation to under-represented or disadvantaged groups. The radical approach is interested in equalising outcomes, and thus emphasises the fair and equal distribution of rewards, and positive discrimination†¦[8]’. As we have seen explained in previous sections, the new Directive is predicated upon a desire to offer contract researchers working within universities greater job security and more equal rights compared with other categories of professionals, like veterinary surgeons and doctors whose rights have been embodied prescriptively through EU legislation, particularly within the last five years. The research will therefore, also address literature on how the new legislation will impact upon the concepts of equality and equal opportunities within the EU. Research Design As has been explained, the focus of the research will be methodologically pluralistic in nature. This means that both qualitative and quantitative methods[9] will be relied upon to implement the proposed research. Qualitative research regards reality as a subjectively evolving social construct, whereas quantitative research is more specific and confirmatory. The meaning and application of both disciplines can be illustrated with reference to these two quotations: ‘Historians have always analysed documentary evidence, much of it non-quantitative data such as correspondence, as their primary source material, and through oral history methods have added in-depth interviewing to their repertoire†¦Organisational theory has been based largely on case studies created from an amalgam of observation, documentary material and interviews†¦[10]’. ‘Quantitative research is frequently referred to as hypothesis-testing research (Kerlinger, 1964)†¦Characteristically, studies begin with statements of theory from which research hypotheses are derived†¦[11]’. Therefore, the research design of this project will draw from both of these disciplines to construct the research framework, and gather primary information. Qualitative data will be primarily relied upon to gather the primary data needed for the operationalisation of the research. Semi-Structured interviews (this involves information exchange usually on a one to one basis) and focus groups[12] (these are groups interviews, usually led by the researcher) will be used to gather the qualitative data from research scientists working within the UK and surveys will be used to gather data in respect of the numbers of individuals the new legislation is likely to affect. Experts such as representatives of the European Industrial Research Managers Association, and the Association of Researcher in Medicine and Science will be interviewed. Within the qualitative arm of the study, semi-structured interviews will be mainly relied upon for practical reasons, since logistically, conducting focus group interviews, when dealing with a niche community like scientific researchers, and representatives from those actors who employ them like universities might be difficult to organise. The research design is pluralistic in nature, since this will provide a holistic context from which to examine the topic of employment law and policy in the context of scientific researchers. GANNT Chart/Discussion of Implementation The project will be implemented over approximately a three month period. The writer anticipates that they will implement the project alone. Various resources will be needed, such as access to libraries, equipment and respondents. The implementation of the research, and the time-scales which certain aspects of the research design must accord with may be represented diagrammatically in the following way: Chapter Headings Introduction: Background to the Study Literature Review: The EU Fixed Term Directive and the Role of the EU Commission Methodology Results and Discussion: New Models for Evaluating the Employment Circumstances of Scientific Researchers Conclusion Evaluation of Possible Problems and Barriers to Completion. The research project will be limited and constrained in many ways, as is the case with every research initiative. Resources with which to implement this project are finite and there is a very limited time scale to work within. Accordingly, the project design must be cogent and well-organised if the implementation of the research is to run smoothly. The writer does anticipate that the problem of representation may be a barrier to the implementation of the research design. Any research which claims to survey a group of individuals, and then seeks to comment upon the situation of a group of individuals in similar circumstances, imputes that the research is representative of those individuals and of that group, yet, there can be problems with the concept of representation. Therefore, the writer must ensure that representation bias is not introduced within the research design by over-reliance on the views of any particular age, gender or ethnic group. Also, a relatively large sample must be taken to ensure that trends which are discerned are not just random occurrences or anomalies[13]. Observance of ethical research methods will help to facilitate the research, since respondents are more likely to be willing to participate if they know that the information they impart will be used ethically. Therefore, matters such as confidentiality and informed consent will need to researched in detail and absorbed within the research design. However, these barriers to completion and potential problems will only thwart the prospective research if they are not addressed and recognised before the research is conducted. Also, they will need to be made reference to in the writing up of the research since to ignore potential barriers to completion in the write-up of one’s research is to, by default, suggest that they have been eliminated or are not relevant. This could therefore lead to the research indirectly being biased. Therefore, the writer will give an honest account of how problems have been identified and addressed throughout the research. Also, if the writer needs to travel to conduct research, journeys will be planned in advance and cost will therefore be minimised. Overall, therefore this proposed research will evaluate the usefulness and prospective workability of the EU Fixed Term Work Directive, by gauging the opinions of those most likely to be affected by it. Bibliography Books Benz, C. and Newman, I. (1998) Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press. Place of Publication: Carbondale, IL. Darlington, Y. and Scott, D. (2002) Qualitative Research in Practice: Stories from the Field. Publisher: Allen Unwin. Place of Publication: Crows Nest, N.S.W.. Frankfort-Nachmias, C. and Nachmias, D. (1996) Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Publisher: Arnold Publishers. Place of Publication; London. Noon, M. and Ogbonna, E. (2001) Equality, Diversity and Disadvantage in Employment. Publisher: Palgrave. Place of Publication: Basingstoke, England. Roberts, I. and Springer, B. (2001) Social Policy in the European Union: Between Harmonization and National Autonomy. Publisher: Lynne Rienner. Place of Publication: Boulder, CO. Article Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. 1 Footnotes [1] P151. Roberts, I. and Springer, B. (2001) Social Policy in the European Union: Between Harmonization and National Autonomy. Publisher: Lynne Rienner. Place of Publication: Boulder, CO. [2] P16. Noon, M. and Ogbonna, E. (2001) Equality, Diversity and Disadvantage in Employment. Publisher: Palgrave. Place of Publication: Basingstoke, England. [3] P1. Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. [4] P1. Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. [5] P1. Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. [6] P1. Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. [7] P1. Payne, D. (2002) New Job Security for UK Researchers on Short Term Contracts? The ELSO Gazette. Issue 12. [8] P16. Noon, M. and Ogbonna, E. (2001) Equality, Diversity and Disadvantage in Employment. Publisher: Palgrave. Place of Publication: Basingstoke, England. [9] See Chapters One and Two of: Frankfort-Nachmias, C. and Nachmias, D. (1996) Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Publisher: Arnold Publishers. Place of Publication; London. [10] P2. Darlington, Y. and Scott, D. (2002) Qualitative Research in Practice: Stories from the Field. Publisher: Allen Unwin. Place of Publication: Crows Nest, N.S.W.. [11] P19. Benz, C. and Newman, I. (1998) Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press. Place of Publication: Carbondale, IL. [12] P19. Benz, C. and Newman, I. (1998) Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press. Place of Publication: Carbondale, IL. [13] P19. Benz, C. and Newman, I. (1998) Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press. Place of Publication: Carbondale, IL.

Shakespeares Othello - Why did Othello Marry? :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Why did Othello Marry? Why did Othello marry is a complex question, the obvious answer would be that he loves Desdemona, but why does he love her and why does his love turn to hate so quickly in Act III scene 3 requires much thought and consideration. Othello likes people to be plain and open because that is what he himself is, he has grown to become his image, he is only on the surface, he hides nothing because that is his image, to only have one side, the military side. Thus Desdemona also seems to him very open, he likes her because he thinks she is like him however when he finds that she might be hiding something from him then he stops loving her. At the same time Othello needs a wife to complete his image, she is the proof that he is a successful general and Christian and he can show her off as such. Othello loves or thinks he loves Desdemona for many reasons, not least because he thinks she is like him. He thinks it will be a good relationship because she seems to be in his eyes just like a soldier thus like him so that he attracted her while telling her tales of his battles as seen in Act I scene 3: "She loved me for the dangers I has passed". He talks to her as he talks to a soldier using images of war and might: "May the winds blow till they have wakened death, And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas". Because she comes with him to the wars, she becomes even more in his mind one of his soldiers so that after he comes back to Cyprus he greets her with: "O, my fair warrior". Othello can not cope with anybody who is different from him, who he cannot understand so that because he sees so much of himself in Desdemona he loves her. She is his "hard bright surface" because she reflects his image when he looks at her. She is commanding, smart and self-confident which he sees as his own best qualities. She shows how commanding and smart she is when she first answers her father in Act I scene 3: To you I am bound for life and education; My life and education both do learn me How to respect you.

Averting Problems in the New Millennium Essay -- Technology

Averting Problems in the New Millennium As we approach the end of this century, many people have raised concerns regarding the serious issues surrounding the Y2K problems. Although no one knows precisely what will happen on January 1, 2000, the general opinion is that Y2K related problems will cause failures of basic services including utilities, water and phone service. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that the Y2K problems will have more of a positive effect on our society because it has caused us to analyze more carefully, the data and the technology we rely on in everyday situations. In addition, the new millennium will usher an era of tremendous opportunities for technological advancements in our society. In other words, the current preparations to avert a Y2K crisis, has given us an advantage which will minimize technological breakdowns in the future and create new technology which will ensure a relatively smooth transition into the new millennium. The main focus of our concerns regarding the Y2K crisis is the fact that we know precisely when it is scheduled to begin and "this appointment with destiny cannot be postponed or avoided" (Jeffrey 10). During the past eighteen months, we have been bombarded with extensive information in the media regarding the Y2K problem including predictions on how it will impact our society. This problem can be traced back to approximately forty years ago, when programmers in the fledging computer industry made a fateful decision to save memory and space by recording year dates with only two digits. Unfortunately, no one anticipated that these early computer programs and mainframes would still be using these systems in 1999. As a result, this technological glitch may cause compute... ...other utilities, hopefully for short periods and the worst case scenario, could be a few weeks. However, these incidents will not translate into doomsday proportions and will not mean the "end of the world" as we know it. There is less reason to panic over Y2K because unlike the many natural disasters that we experienced in the United States we were able to proactively address this crisis. I am certain that we will witness one of the best New Year's Eve celebration in this century as the Waterford crystal ball is expected to drop and glow " 2000" in brilliant lights and the city lights will stay on. Works Cited Gould, Stephen Jay. Questioniung the Millennium. New York: Harmony Books, 1999. Seymour, Jim PC Magazine. "The Year 2000 Countdown" New York: April 1999. Jeffrey, Grant R. The Millennium Meltdown. Toronto: Frontier Research Publication, Inc., 1998.

Euthanasia Essay: Assisted Suicide and Killing Cripples :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide and Killing Cripples This desire to get rid of mentally and physically different people runs like a thread through human history. The Alaskan Inuits killed impaired kids at birth, as did the Masai of Africa and the Woggeo of New Guinea. Greeks in the fourth century BC used to expose (leave out in the weather to die) their disabled infants. China's rulers are soon to impose laws to "stop the prevalence of abnormal birth." This is not about stopping the birth of able-bodied people capable of performing massacres in Tiananmen Square. No, apparently that is quite OK. By "abnormal," they mean disabled people. "China," says the Xinhua News Agency in Beijing, now has "10 million disabled people who could have been prevented through better controls." The Bible doesn't help much either. In Leviticus 21:18 for example, some twelve impairments - from restricted growth to ruptured testicles, are listed as being unacceptable to God whilst in 2 Samuel 5:8 He orders that those who are blind and lame "shall not come into the home." Darwin's theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest gave these ancient attitudes a new lease on life. In the capitalist jungle of Victorian England, social Darwinism and eugenics were soon invented to scientifically prove that, if the weakest went to the wall, such was the inevitable price of progress. Why bother to change society for the better when you had a scientifically legitimate way of getting rid of those who couldn't keep up, who fell by the wayside? In 1907 Indiana was the first of 30 American states to legalize the sterilization of a variety of disabled people and other "undesirables," and similar laws were passed in Germany (1933-4), Canada (1928), Denmark and Sweden (1929), Finland (1930) and Iceland (1930). It was of course in Germany that the lust for our blood was taken to its logical conclusion. Under the National Socialist Party, the 1933 Law on the Prevention of Congenitally Impaired Progeny and the 1935 Marriage Health Law legalized involuntary sterilization and required doctors to report known disabled people to the Sterilization Courts. But it was Hitler who really set the ball rolling to sweep us off the face of the earth. On September 1, 1939, he issued a directive giving authority to "certain physicians to be designated by name in such a manner that persons who, according to human judgement, are incurable can, upon a most careful diagnosis of their condition of sickness, be accorded a mercy death.