Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Is A Huge Problem Among Today...

Charles M. Menne Composition Mrs. Vidden 14 January 2015 Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse in Professional Sports Anabolic-androgenic steroids are a huge problem amongst today’s athletes. The use of these drugs has been around for many years in sports. Understanding anabolic-androgenic steroids and why people take them is needed in the process of trying to eliminate them from professional sports. Also, players knowing and understanding how the negatives of anabolic-androgenic steroid use outweigh the positives will hopefully help new players who are looking for an edge on the competition to refrain from the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Along with the harmful side effects players can experience from anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse, it also hurts the integrity of professional sports as a whole. Allowing players access to intervention programs and treatment can help to curb the widespread use of AAS. My goal in this paper is to show what anabolic-androgenic steroids are, why they impact sports in a negative way, and why they give professional athletes an unfair advantage and shouldn’t be a factor in sports. Anabolic-androgenic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs has always been a forbidden thing in sports, but have just recently come into the spotlight again. According to Machado and Cortez-Pinto, â€Å"Anabolic–androgenic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, the main male sex hormone† (280). Athletes mainly take anabolic-androgenic steroids toShow MoreRelatedEssay on Use of Steroids in Baseball4327 Words   |  18 PagesUse of Steroids in Baseball Since Major League Baseball all-star Ken Caminiti openly admitted to Sports Illustrated to have used steroids during his career, steroid use as a muscle and performance enhancer has been uncovered and become a big issue Major League Baseball is wrestling with. The â€Å"ongoing and delicate subject, baseball’s dirty, little secret that is no secret anymore,† is a huge and growing problem (Curry B20). Now that light has been shed on the issue, critics are beginning toRead MoreDrugs Are Bad Or Bad?2007 Words   |  9 PagesDrugs are bad, Mmkay? What doesn t kill us makes us stronger right? Well that s what athletes of this generation believe. They think if steroids or human growth hormones don t kill us and cause us to become stronger then it s totally worth it. Performance enhancement drugs are very harmful to a person s body and can cause huge Problems in an individual s life. Someone can have just a hint of these substances in their system from that time they tore a muscle and needed that edge to come back

The Collapse of Communism in the USSR, Central, and...

The collapse of communism in the USSR and Central and Eastern Europe Before we move on to our essay on to analyse The Collapse of Communism in USSR and Central and Eastern Europe and the reasons behind its collapse, we should discuss and understand the definition of Communism. â€Å" Communism is a social system in which all the resources, economic activities are owned by state or country. † It is a system in which wealth is dispersed equally among the people and there is no private ownership of the resources and wealth. The state owns and controls resources and property. Soviet model of communism was based on these ideals, all the opposition parties were banned only who shared the communist ideals were allowed. Complete power was into the hands of the Communist party. In 1917, the Soviet Union witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution which overthrew the czarism and a communist state was born. The Central and Eastern Europe nations followed USSR and adopted communism, with their leaders directly under the command and control of the Soviet Union. Communism was doomed from the start due to the moral weakness of human mankind and the corruption of its leaders. The first reason which played role in the failure and collapse of communism was the fact that the Communist partys domination was illegitimate from the beginning. Eastern European countries did the revolution have the supp ort of more than a minority of people, yet this minority retained absolute control. The communistShow MoreRelatedCollapse Of The Soviet Union Inevitable1334 Words   |  6 Pages Final Draft: Collapse of the Soviet Union Was the collapse of the Soviet Union inevitable? Kenneth Mejia U.S. History Period 5 5/18/201 Throughout history, war has been the most common resort for nations to solve problems or show off their strength. 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And if the USSR would break through these political barriers, the rest of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and even India would be in peril. In other words- there would be an obvious dominance of Communism, which could not be allowed, as it would disrupt the growing idyll of capitalism and democracy. The only way that Greece and Turkey may be saved is with the intervention of the USA. USA had to contribute to the suspension of communism, because GreatRead MoreThe Legacy Of A Free Market Economy Essay2380 Words   |  10 Pagesto revive their country. This opposition was enabled by another policy of Gorbachev’s–Glasnost, which allowed the citizens to openly criticize the government. This growing discontent due to the handling of domestic issues by Gorbachev impacted the collapse of the Soviet Union by further debilitating the economy and raising opposition to the Soviet model as the people saw it no longer was prosperous nor able to sustain the needs of the nation and its citizens. Thus, while external factors played a roleRead MoreThe Soviet Union Responsible For The Consolidation Of Communism1776 Words   |  8 Pageswhat extent was the Soviet Union responsible for the consolidation of communism in Eastern Europe in the period 1945-1953? Introduction During the aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union was primarily responsible for the consolidation of communism in Eastern Europe. †¢ It was in the spring of 1948 that the Soviet Union had aggressively pushed for the imposition of Communist rule in most East European nations o Eastern Europe under Communist rule was comprised of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, PolandRead More The Collapse of the Soviet Union Essay1011 Words   |  5 PagesThe Collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was a global superpower, possessing the largest armed forces on the planet with military bases from Angola in Africa, to Vietnam in South-East Asia, to Cuba in the Americas. When Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, nobody expected than in less than seven years the USSR would disintergrate into fifteen separate states. GorbachevsRead MoreCold War Final Essay1456 Words   |  6 Pagesconcluded and another one just begun. Even though there was not a direct military campaign between two key adversaries, the Cold War continued roughly about 45 years. It is named Cold because there was no actual fighting took place, but both the U.S. and USSR were bulking up their militaries to attack as if they had been or infiltrated or attacked. 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The Second World War left the majority of European states in serious economic trouble; ‘economies were suffering with open and repressed inflation, disruptive food and raw material shortages’, and the destruction of industry from bombing left production stagnant, consequently leading to the collapse of trade and widespread commodity hoarding in Europe. The political state of the continent was therefore volatile, as Europe cooperation struggledRead MoreThe Perestroika Reform And Glasnost Policy Programs1716 Words   |  7 Pageslead to the collapse of the Soviet Union and failure of communism in Eastern Europe. This essay will focus on how the Perestroika reform and Glasnost policy programs as well as other external and internal pressures contributed to the failure of communism under Gorbachev. The aim of the Perestroika and Glasnost reforms was to restructure and strengthen the Soviet political and economic system and provide more freedom and democracy within the Soviet Union while strengthening Communism. However, these

Biology 1202 Notes Free Essays

Thursday January 17 Mastering biology course id=MBPOLLACK01639 Life first appeared on earth about 4 billion years ago Origin of life is a hypothesis not a theory Very little oxygen in early earths atmosphere Spontaneous generation of life- random formation of life Millions of species on earth, up to 100 million the expirement of miller and urey showed what? test question a few centuries ago: eople thought that new living things appeared all of the time(spontaneous generation of life) ex: mold growing on food in the mid 1800s Louis Pasteur refuted the theory of spontaneous generation of life he basically left something out but sealed it off and nothing grew on it, then he left it out without being sealed and stuff grew the cell theory- all existing cells come from pre-existing cells about 50 trillion cells make up the human body but all came from the single diploid cell formed from conception conditions on early earth: tmosphere- similar to Jupiter today, no free oxygen, frequent storms with lots of lightning, volcano eruptions, meteor impacts, UV light from the sun, no ozone layer earth before life arose: about 4. 6 billion years old, known because of radiometric dating of meteorites and moon rocks life arose about 3. 8 billion years ago, known because of chemical traces in the rocks, fossilized bacteria was found in rocks 3. We will write a custom essay sample on Biology 1202 Notes or any similar topic only for you Order Now 5 billion years ago no spontaneous generation now but must have happened then how to assemble a living thing: accumulation of organic molecules atalyze reactions reproduce from stored genetic info separate the living thing from the outside environment 3 domains of life- bacteria, archaea, eukarya proteins are needed to synthesize more DNA DNA is used to synthesize RNA which is used to make protein†¦DNA-RNA-Protein Ribozymes: RNA molecule that can catalyze reactions, especially those involved in synthesis and processing of RNA itself Conclusion- earliest cells used RNA to store info Ribozymes used to catalyze reactions Thursday January 24th Our species has been here for about 200,000 years PRINCIPLES OF EVOLUTION Theory- general explanation of natural phenomena, developed through extensive and reproducible observations Hypothesis- tentative explanation of observations, educated guess The origin of species was a book published in 1859 by Charles Darwin Main points of book: Evolution occurs in populations, not individuals Natural selection is the mechanism Observation 1-living things tend to reproduce as quickly as possible. Observation 2-constant population size over time (carrying capacity) Inference- competition for survival; differential reproductive success â€Å"I don’t like dogs. They all smell like dogs and poop on my lawn† variability in structures and behaviors all of this leads to natural selection, organisms best suited to an environment leave the most offspring evolution- the genetic makeup of a population changes over time, driven by natural selection evolution- a change in the allele frequency of a population over time study pakicetus slide 1/29/13 homologous structures suggest common ancestry some homologous structures look different today because of divergent evolution 300 million years ago is when we started to see the type of mammalian limbs similar to the structure today analogous tructures=convergent evolution analogous structure do NOT suggest common ancestry similar environmental forces select for similar structures in unrelated organisms vestigial structures- rudimentary form of and organ more fully formed in ancestor â€Å"evolutionary baggage† vestigial structures are a type of homologous structure WHAT IS DARWINS POINT ON EAR? ON TEST Developmental biology- the biology of studying organisms from the unicellular stage onward WATCH DARWIN VIDEO All living things have DNA and transcribe it into RNA using amino acids Artificial selection- insecticides, antibiotics etc. Know 3 types of natural selection 1. irectional selection 2. stabilizing selection 3. disruptive selection 1/31/13 evolution of populations GregorMendel- monk who did pea expirements and shed light on the rules of inheritance He worked at the same time as Darwin but his work was overlooked until the 20th century The modern synthesis(early 1940s) – a conceptual synthesis of Darwinian evolution, mendelian inheritance, and modern population genetics Evolution- a change in phenotypic constitution of a population owing to a situation on heritable variation among pheneotypes that changes the genotypic constitution of the population Phenotype- all expressed traits of an organism Genotype- the entire genetic makeup of an individual Evolution-a change in allele frequency in a population(change in the gene pool) Population genetics-examines the frequency, distribution, and inheritance of alleles within a population Hardy-weinberg equilibrium- the pop genetics theorem that states that the frequencies of alleles and enotypes in a population will remain constant unless acted upon by non-mendelian processes Allele frequencies- under strict mendelian inheritance, allele frequencies would remain constant from on generation to the next(hardy-weinberg equilibrium) If there is no change in allele frequency there is no evolution Biological species concept- a population whose members can potentially interbreed in NATURE to produce viable reproductive offspring Reproductive barriers- isolate populations from one another Speciation- the process by which new species form EXAM 1 Two requirement for speciation- reproductive isolation of populations(gene flow significantly reduced) and genetic divergence(divergent evolution) Tuesday feb 5 Convergent evolution- no common ancestor with that trait, similar environmental things caused the same evolution Divergent evolution- comes from common ancestors but over time the trait changes Proto means before External barriers Skin-physical barrier to microbial entry, inhospitable environment for growth; dry, dead cells at surface ; sweat/sebaceous glands secreting acids and natural antibiotics like lactic acid Mucuous mebranes of respiratory and digestive tracts well-defined; secretions have antibacterial enzymes Cilia-line the inside of trachea; epithelial cells-smokers cough is from lack of cilia Stomach; if microbes are swallowed, acids(low pH) and protein-digesting enzymes destroy them Lines of defense: Nonspecififc internal defense: Phagocytosis cells: white blood cells in extracellular fluid, amoeboid shape,destroy microbes by phagocytosis-search out bacteria, viral particles, cellular debris-produced in bone marrow. Target stuff that is not in your cells **questions about lymphatic system on exam natural killer cells- white blood cells that destroy body cells infected by viruses and cancerous cells by punching hole in them inflammatory response- caused by large scale microbial invasion through a wound istamine released in response to damage which leads to an increased blood flow at and around the wound in order to wash out the wound. Which leads to inflammation other chemicals- macrophages blood clotting fever= response to microbes establishing major infection. Low grade fever 100-102 can be beneficial slows down microbial reproduction enhances immune system immune response- reaction to specific type of microbe and provides future protection. Involves 2 types of WBC called lymphocytes-B cells and T cells B cells mature in bone marrow T cells are born in marrow but mature in thymus /26/13 humeral cells is same as B cells its called specific immune response because only the cell with the appropriate antibody responds 23,00 coding genes in our genome 3 types of amino acids- hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and ones that can make hydrosulfide bridges most proteins form well with other proteins an antibody is made of four different types of proteins so it takes 4 specific proteins for it to react? Immune system distinguishes self from non self by destroying cells that respond to the body’s own molecules Body randomly makes 100,000,000 different antibodies antigen can bind to 1 specific antibody epitope- the three different site where antibodies can bind on a single antigen allergies: type of immune response allergen-recognized as a foreign antigen and binds to B cell – coordinated by the humoral immunity response B cell makes plasma cells, releasing allergy antibodies into the bloodstream Antibodies bind to histamine-containing cells in connective tissue Cells release histamine causing inflammatory response such as mucus 1. irst exposure to pollen stimulates B cells to produce allergy plasma cell 2. plasma cells produce allergy antibodies 3. allergy antibodies bind to mast cells 4. re-exposure to pollen results in pollen binding to allergy antibodies on mast cells 5. binding f pollen stimulates mast cells to release histamine, triggering the inflammatory response allergy medication antihistamines others inhibit production of histamine producing cells people without allergies lack genes for allergy-causing antibodies, or produce less of the antibody ormation of a pimple acne develops as a result of blockages In follicles formation of a plug or keratin and sebum(made of fat and the debris of dead fat-producing cells) the natural occurring bacteria propionibacterium acnes can cause inflammation the white blood cells build up(forming a whitehead) and then destroy (by phag ocytosis) the bacteria to prevent infection chicken pox and shingles caused by same virus symptoms are very different after you have had the chicken pox, you become immune to the virus. It is impossible that you may have a slight reaction after re-exposure, such as a few spots and a slight fever. However, you will not get a full blown case of chicken pox more than once shingles: causing agent for herpes zoster is varicella zoster virus, a double stranded DNA virus most people are infected with this virus as children, and suffer from an episode of chickenpox the immune system eventually eliminates the virus from most locations, but it remains dormant in the ganglia adjacent to the spinal cord or the ganglion semilunare in the base of the skull How to cite Biology 1202 Notes, Essay examples

Fluorescent and Nonfluorescent Cytosolic †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Fluorescent and Nonfluorescent Cytosolic. Answer: Introduction Wounds are common symptoms in skin caused by surgery or traumas. The coordinated process of wound healing restores functional barrier and epithelium integrity through blood coagulation, inflammation, in re-epithelialization caused by migration of keratinocytes, tissue formation by granulation and finally remodeling of the tissue. Integrins receptors play an essential role in all events of wound and scar healing by the forming and regulation cell adhesion (Weber et al., 2012). In this following report, we will design an experimental model in order to discuss the role of specific function-blocking integrin antibodies in healing and reducing the scars formed by burns through scarless invivo mechanism. During the process of wound healing the, cell interaction occurs with ECM molecules in the wound comprising the integrin receptors. Evidence has showed that integrins bind with various ECM molecules and alternately the various integrin heterodimers recognizes the ECM molecules management. Therefore, based on their specific overlapping and compensating functions, many integrin based knockout animals have displayed phenotypes of wound healing. Many extensive interactions are found in the different cells of wound healing. The major components that play a key role during the interactions are ECM proteins and integrins (Olczyk, Mencner Komosinska-Vassev, 2014). The functions of some of the specific integrin antibodies that play a vital role in wound healing are provided below: Integrin Expressed wound cells Ligands present in Wounds Cellular functions during wound healing Wound phenotypes present in animal models M2 Macrophages, NK cells, macrophages, neutrophils and T-cells Fibrinogen, plasminogen ICAMs, heparin, FN, LMs, COL I, uPAR, CCN1/Cyr6, CCN2/CTGF This integrin in mediates in leukocyte extravasations throughout the endothelium that promotes fibrinolysis and clears the fibrin clots aided by monocytes and neutrophils complied with uPar along with its ligand uPA Mediates the attenuation of deposited granulated tissue and re-epithelialization of wound found in Mintegrin knockout mice X2 Monocytes, dentritic cells macrophages and NK Fibrinogen, various ICAMs, COL I, OPN and heparin Involved in the mechanism of leukocyte extravasations No data available related to wound healing L2 Expressed in all leukocytes ICAMs, JAM-1 and lumican Causes the leukocyte extravasations throughout the endothelium No data available related to wound healing E7 T-lymphocytes and dentritic cells E-cadherin Also involved in leukocyte extravasations Involved in causing inflammation in skin lesions found in Eintegrin knockout model of mice but no data are available with respect to wound healing Source: (Koivisto et al., 2014) Thus, in order to understand the mechanism of the specific integrins tabulated above in the process of wound healing, an experimental model based on scarless in vivo is designed involved in healing the wounds due to burn. To experimental model was conducted through evaluation of three processes for proposing the animal model successfully in vivo such as indirect Immunofluorescence microscopy, Light microscopy and Western blot analysis management. In indirect immunofluorescence microscopy, light microscope combined with fluorescence microscope is used to identify the target molecules by visualizing the specificity of antibodies towards their antigen by marking with fluorescent dye such as fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (Atale et al., 2014). Another procedure that will be implemented in this experiment will be through light microscopy which is used to magnify small samples with the use of visible light and lenses (Tomer et al., 2014). And finally, western blot analysis will also be done to successfully evaluate the experimental study. In western blot proteins are detected and analyzed. The proteins are separated from the gel into a membrane through the process of electrophoresis and are specifically visualized (Eaton et al., 2013). 2-month-old male and female C57BL/6 mice will be taken. The body weight should be around 2540 grams. The male and female mice should be housed individually. The animals should have access to free drinking water and standard chow. They should be maintained on a cycle of 12 hours light and darkness. The study will be carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations by the Australian Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Laboratory Mice, Rats, Guinea Pigs and Rabbits. The protocol will be approved by Australianand New Zealand Society forLaboratory AnimalScience (Whittaker, 2014). A single surgery will be performed under Xylasine or Ketamine anesthesia, and all efforts will be maintained to reduce the animal suffering. In vivo scar healing experiment Even burn wounds will be ensured by shaving off the hair on the dorsum. The dorsum is considered as an ideal choice because it becomes difficult for the mice to reach the wound area and create further injuries in that region. The mouse will be placed on its back in a plastic frame template, and a window will expose a predetermined skin surface area. The exposed area from the template will be immersed in a water bath at 100C for 8 seconds. This will inflict a thickness burn (Domergue, Jorgensen Nol, 2015). The mice will be observed for any pain or discomfort signs and will be treated with buprenorphine if required. The temperature of water bath and the exposure time can vary. The healing process will be monitored and evaluated for many days during the first week under a slit lamp and then once every week. Unwounded skin from identical locations of WT and FMOD/animals were collected as controls. Tissue samples for histology will be bisected between two 40 nylon sutures and they will be fixed in 10% formalin (Wosgrau et al., 2015). After fixation, the samples will be dehydrated. They will be embedded in paraffin followed by and 5-m section cuts for HE staining. Indirect Immunofluorescence Microscopy For frozen sections, the tissues will be frozen in OCT, 5m sections will be cut.Indirect immunofluorescence (IF) will be performed. The primary antibodies will be used on the mounts incubated at 4C overnight: M2, L2 and E7. Secondary that is conjugated to either rhodamine or fluorescein will be used with blocking conditions. The incubation period of the sections will be 1 hour in room temperature. Donkey antihuman IgG or donkey antirat IgG will be used (Stelzer, 2015). Sections will be cover slipped DAPI mounting media followed by examination under a confocal microscope or fluorescence microscope with a digital camera. We will run negative controls where there was omission of primary antibodies. We will observe at least 3 tissues per antibody. The captured images on the confocal microscope will be evaluated with software for image analysis like Media Cybernetics, Bethesda, MD or Image Pro Plus v.7. The tissues will be fixed either in 4% paraformaldehyde for HE (hematoxylin-eosin) or Karnovsky's with strength for TEM (transmission electron microscopy). For TEM,the scarred tissues, 6090 ? thick will be cut on ultramicrotome and examined under an electron microscope. For HE, we will cut and stain 6-m sections. The sections will be examined under a light microscope that has a digital camera fitted with it. Western Blot Analysis Epithelial tissue will be scraped from the mice after scarring it in by using a water bath following euthanization management. The tissues will be subjected to flash freezing in liquid nitrogen. Furthermore, they will be processed for Western blot analysis. Eight sections of tissues will be used for each experiment. Tissues will be homogenized and lysed. Protein will be subjected to purification and assay using Biorad; Hercules, CA. Total proteins will be loaded in equal amounts on a nonreducing Tris-glycine gel (4%20%). The proteins will be transferred to an Immobilon-P or Millipore membrane which will be stained with Sigma or Ponceau S. This will check transfer efficiency (Taylor Posch, 2014). Membranes will be blocked with TBS containing 5% milk and probed with the primary antibodies M2, L2 and E7and will be incubated at 4C overnight. These membranes will be incubated with a secondary antibody that is conjugated with HRP at room temperature for 1 hour: donkey antihuman IgG (M2) o r donkey antirabbit IgG (E7). Chemiluminiscence with Millipore will be used to visualize immunoreactive bands. The same procedure will be repeated thrice. ImageJ v.1.5 software will be used to measure the intensity of the bands. Prism 5.0 will be used to plot the fold enhancement values. Conclusion Thus from the following discussion, an experimental design can thus be constructed in order to study the underlying mechanism of some specific integrins involved in improving the healing and thereby reduce the scar formed in burns. From this experiment it can be detected whether the specific integrins have been upregulated inside the epithelium during the healing of burn scars in mice. This will provide evidence for understanding the mechanisms of excessive scarring and wounds. It will help to design novel therapeutic approaches and interventions that will utilize integrins as targets for scar reduction. References Atale, N., Gupta, S., Yadav, U. C. S., Rani, V. (2014). Cell?death assessment by fluorescent and nonfluorescent cytosolic and nuclear staining techniques.Journal of microscopy,255(1), 7-19. Domergue, S., Jorgensen, C., Nol, D. (2015). Advances in research in animal models of burn-related hypertrophic scarring.Journal of Burn Care Research,36(5), e259-e266. Eaton, S. L., Roche, S. L., Hurtado, M. L., Oldknow, K. J., Farquharson, C., Gillingwater, T. H., Wishart, T. M. (2013). Total protein analysis as a reliable loading control for quantitative fluorescent Western blotting.PloS one,8(8), e72457. Koivisto, L., Heino, J., Hkkinen, L., Larjava, H. (2014). Integrins in wound healing.Advances in wound care,3(12), 762-783. Olczyk, P., Mencner, ?., Komosinska-Vassev, K. (2014). The role of the extracellular matrix components in cutaneous wound healing.BioMed research international,2014. Stelzer, E. H. (2015). Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy for quantitative biology.Nature methods,12(1), 23-26. Taylor, S. C., Posch, A. (2014). The design of a quantitative western blot experiment.BioMed research international,2014. Tomer, R., Ye, L., Hsueh, B., Deisseroth, K. (2014). Advanced CLARITY for rapid and high-resolution imaging of intact tissues.Nature protocols,9(7), 1682. Weber, C. E., Li, N. Y., Wai, P. Y., Kuo, P. C. (2012). Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, TGF-, and osteopontin in wound healing and tissue remodeling after injury.Journal of burn care research: official publication of the American Burn Association,33(3), 311. Whittaker, A. (2014). Animal research regulation in Australia-does it pass the test of robustness?. Wosgrau, A. C. C., da Silva Jeremias, T., Leonardi, D. F., Pereima, M. J., Di Giunta, G., Trentin, A. G. (2015). Comparative experimental study of wound healing in mice: pelnac versus integra.PloS one,10(3), e0120322.

Battle of the Coral Sea in World War II

Battle of the Coral Sea in World War II The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought May 4-8, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945) as the Allies sought to halt the Japanese capture of New Guinea. During the opening months of World War in the Pacific, the Japanese won a string of stunning victories which saw them capture Singapore, defeat an Allied fleet in the Java Sea, and force American and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula to surrender. Pushing south through the Dutch East Indies, the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff had initially desired to mount an invasion of northern Australia to prevent that country from being used as base. This plan was vetoed by the Imperial Japanese Army which lacked the manpower and shipping capability to sustain such an operation. To secure the Japanese southern flank, Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, commander of the Fourth Fleet, advocated for taking all of New Guinea and occupying the Solomon Islands. This would eliminate the last Allied base between Japan and Australia as well as would provide a security perimeter around Japans recent conquests in the Dutch East Indies. This plan was approved as it would also bring northern Australia within range of Japanese bombers and would offer jumping off points for operations against Fiji, Samoa, and New Caledonia. The fall of these islands would effectively sever Australias lines of communication with the United States. Japanese Plans Dubbed Operation Mo, the Japanese plan called for three Japanese fleets sortie from Rabaul in April 1942. The first, led by Rear Admiral Kiyohide Shima, was tasked with taking Tulagi in the Solomons and establishing a seaplane base on the island. The next, commanded by Rear Admiral Koso Abe, consisted of the invasion force that would strike the main Allied base on New Guinea, Port Moresby. These invasion forces were screened by Vice Admiral Takeo Takagis covering force centered around the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku and the light carrier Shoho. Arriving at Tulagi on May 3, Japanese forces quickly occupied the island and set up a seaplane base. Allied Response Throughout the spring of 1942, the Allies remained informed about Operation Mo and Japanese intentions through radio intercepts. This largely occurred as a result of American cryptographers breaking the Japanese JN-25B code. Analysis of the Japanese messages led the Allied leadership to conclude that a major Japanese offensive would occur in the Southwest Pacific during the early weeks of May and that Port Moresby was the likely target. Responding to this threat, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, ordered all four of his carrier groups to the area. These included Task Forces 17 and 11, centered on the carriers USS Yorktown  (CV-5)  and USS Lexington  (CV-2) respectively, which were already in the South Pacific. Vice Admiral William F. Halseys Task Force 16, with the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8), which had just returned to Pearl Harbor from the Doolittle Raid, was also ordered south but would not arrive in time for the battle. Fleets Commanders Allies Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher2 carriers, 9 cruisers, 13 destroyers Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo TakagiVice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue2 carriers, 1 light carrier, 9 cruisers, 15 destroyers Fighting Begins Led by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, Yorktown and TF17 raced to the area and launched three strikes against Tulagi on May 4, 1942. Hitting the island hard, they badly damaged the seaplane base and eliminated its reconnaissance capabilities for the coming battle. In addition, Yorktowns aircraft sank a destroyer and five merchant ships. Steaming south, Yorktown joined Lexington later that day. Two days later, land-based B-17s from Australia spotted and attacked the Port Moresby invasion fleet. Bombing from high-altitude, they failed to score any hits. Throughout the day both carrier groups searched for each other with no luck as cloudy skies limited visibility. With night setting in, Fletcher made the difficult decision to detach his main surface force of three cruisers and their escorts. Designated Task Force 44, under the command of Rear Admiral John Crace, Fletcher ordered them to block the probable course of the Port Moresby invasion fleet. Sailing without air cover, Craces ships would be vulnerable to Japanese air strikes. The next day, both carrier groups resumed their searches. Scratch One Flattop While neither found the others main body, they did locate secondary units. This saw Japanese aircraft attack  and sink the destroyer USS Sims as well as cripple the oiler USS Neosho. American aircraft were luckier as they located Shoho.   Caught with most of its aircraft group below decks, the carrier was lightly defended against the combined air groups of the two American carriers. Led by Commander William B. Ault,  Lexingtons aircraft opened the attack shortly after 11:00 AM and scored hits with two bombs and five torpedoes. Burning and nearly stationary,  Shoho  was finished off by  Yorktowns aircraft. The sinking of Shoho led Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Dixon of Lexington  to radio the famous phrase  scratch one flattop.   On May 8, scout planes from each fleet found the enemy around 8:20 AM. As a result, strikes were launched by both sides between 9:15 AM and 9:25 AM. Arriving over Takagis force,  Yorktowns aircraft, led by Lieutenant Commander William O. Burch,  began attacking Shokaku  at 10:57 AM. Hidden in a nearby squall,  Zuikaku  escaped their attention. Hitting Shokaku  with two 1,000 lb. bombs, Burchs men caused severe damage before departing. Reaching the area at 11:30 AM,  Lexingtons planes landed another bomb hit on the crippled carrier. Unable to conduct combat operations, Captain  Takatsugu Jojima  received permission to withdraw his ship from the area.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Japanese Strike Back While the US pilots were having success, Japanese aircraft were approaching the American carriers.   These were detected by  Lexingtons CXAM-1 radar and F4F Wildcat fighters were directed to intercept.   While some of the enemy aircraft were downed, several commenced runs  on  Yorktown  and  Lexington shortly after 11:00 AM.   Japanese torpedo attacks on the former failed, while the latter sustained two hits by Type 91 torpedoes.   These assaults were followed by dive bombing attacks which scored a hit on  Yorktown  and two on  Lexington.  Damage crews raced to save Lexington and succeeded in restoring the the carrier to operational condition.    As these efforts were concluding, sparks from an electric motor ignited a fire which led to a series of fuel-related explosions. In a short time, the resulting fires became uncontrollable. With the crew unable to extinguish the flames, Captain Frederick C. Sherman ordered Lexington  abandoned. After the crew was evacuated, the destroyer USS  Phelps  fired five torpedoes into the burning carrier to prevent its capture. Blocked in their advance and with Craces force in place, the overall Japanese commander, Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, ordered the invasion force to return to port. Aftermath A strategic victory, the Battle of the Coral Sea cost Fletcher the carrier Lexington, as well as the destroyer Sims and the oiler Neosho. Total killed for the Allied forces was 543. For the Japanese, the battle losses included Shoho, one destroyer, and 1,074 killed. In addition, Shokaku was badly damaged and Zuikakus air group greatly reduced. As a result, both would miss the Battle of Midway in early June. While Yorktown was damaged, it was quickly repaired at Pearl Harbor and raced back to sea to aid defeating the Japanese.

How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples

How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples Tools are only as good as your ability to use them. That much is true. However, without the right tools, it’s impossible to do your job well. That’s why modern marketing teams must be thoughtful and strategic about how they build their marketing technology stacks. By aligning the right tools and technologies with each step in your marketing process, you can ensure you’re well-equipped to work efficiently and effectively to tackle tough challenges. In this post, we’ll cover three key points: What should an effective marketing stack include? What does a marketing stack look like when it’s mapped out? Which tools should your business consider adopting? Plus, we’ll give you the inside scoop on the exact marketing tools and technologies we’ve used to build into North Dakota’s fastest-growing startup. See ’s Marketing Technology Stack has quickly grown into the industry’s preferred marketing calendar solution. Here are some quick stats highlighting our growth: More than one million unique monthly page views. More than 200,000 email subscribers. More than 60,000 total social media followers. How did we do it? By executing an agile marketing strategy with the right tools and technologies (including our own). Want to see which marketing tools uses today? Snag our free infographic and take a look.How to Build an Awesome Marketing Stack With Real Life Examples by @brebergstromWhat Is A Marketing Technology Stack? According to Optimizely, a marketing technology stack is: A grouping of technologies that marketers leverage to conduct and improve their marketing activities. Why Does My Organization Need A Marketing Stack? Modern marketing is nearly impossible to do well without tools. By choosing the best technologies for each task and area of need, marketing departments can give themselves the edge over competition while working more effectively and efficiently. What Does A Marketing Stack Look Like? The specific tools that make up a marketing technology stack may vary from one organization to another. Each tool in your stack needs to fulfill a specific obligation, like letting your social media strategists post content more often for example. A typical marketing tool stack will look something like this: What does a #marketing stack look like?What Tools Make Up A Full Marketing Stack? A marketing tool stack is usually made up of one or more tools across multiple categories. Here are all the different types of tools we’ll cover in this post: Table of Contents Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools Customer Support Tools Email Marketing Tools Social Media Marketing Tools Marketing Project Management Tools Social Listening and Brand Monitoring Tools Landing Page Tools Content Management System (CMS) Tools Analytics Tools SEO Tools Online Advertising Tools Video Tools Automation Tools Content Curation Tools Keep reading to learn more about the different tools in each of these categories. DID YOU KNOW: makes it easy to plan and execute every project on one leading marketing calendar solution? Start your free trial or schedule a demo today. CRM Tools Customer relationship management (CRM) tools allow organizations to track detailed customer data and maintain relationships with them. Source: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/d27b1c65-986e-4a4f-a491-5e8eb23980be/entry/2017_CRM_Statistics_Show_Why_it_s_a_Powerful_Marketing_Weapon?lang=en If you’re looking for a CRM, check out these options. Salesforce Salesforce  offers an array of marketing software solutions, including their popular CRM, with features like account and contact management, social customer service, and order management (to name a few) SalesForce helps businesses connect with customers. Infusionsoft Infusionsoft  is another versatile platform. Users can focus on customer and data management, lead scoring, and segmentation features. Infusionsoft also offers a mobile app for on the go work. Hubspot CRM Hubspot CRM  is a free tool from Hubspot. Organizations can manage their pipeline in a visible calendar, create enriched contact records for consumers, and set up personalized email sequences. Pipedrive Pipedrive  focuses on giving your customer support and sales teams a visual pipeline that lets them manage their deals, plan and organize their tasks, as well as keep track of their progress. Microsoft Dynamics Microsoft Dynamics  offers a suite of business intelligence applications that offers pre-built and custom solutions to gather and analyze consumer data (and a whole lot more). Searching for a #CRM? Check out these five recommendations: Customer Support Tools Your customer service team will need technology, too. Since customer support and marketing teams often work closely together to identify common problems customers often have, we’ve included some options here. Sources: https://www.groovehq.com/support/customer-support-statistics https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2013/12/31/why-omnichannel-strategy-matters/ Intercom Intercom  is a customer service messaging tool that allows your CS team to access your customer requests through multiple channels. They also have a built-in team inbox and powerful analytics. Zendesk Zendesk  focuses on giving users the ability to connect directly to customers to solve problems, as well as live chat options to address issues the second they appear. Freshdesk Freshdesk  allows users to work in a team inbox to manage all incoming tickets, agent collision detection to make sure multiple people aren’t working on the same ticket, and custom ticket status help keep your representatives on track. Desk.com Desk.com  is part of the Salesforce platform that is focused purely on customer support. Its features include multi-channel assistance, case management, and mobile support. TeamSupport TeamSupport  is a collaborative customer support system. Users can build customer and contact databases, create notes and alerts for each customer and it has system that lets you know the distress level of your client. Looking for customer support software? @offers five recommendations here. Email Marketing Tools Email marketing tools are an essential tool in your marketing stack. On the fence about email marketing? Maybe these three statistics will change your mind. Sources: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2016/01/70-email-marketing-stats-you-need-to-know/ https://blogs.constantcontact.com/email-marketing-stats/ https://marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/customer-communication-by-channel MailChimp Mailchimp  has an easy to use interface, advanced analytics and the ability to integrate with other apps. As one of the most popular options on the market, MailChimp might be the tool you’re looking for, especially if you’re just getting started. Emma Emma  is another email marketing platform that offers the ability to create targeted messages, list segmentation, and A/B test newsletters. Aweber Aweber  is an email marketing platform that utilizes drag and drop editorial functions, an RSS to email tool that will automatically create an email for your new blog posts, and autoresponder follow-ups that send your emails to your audience at the right time. Get Response Get Response  is a multi-feature tool. Some of its abilities include built-in design templates, dynamic content that helps personalize your emails and automated autoresponders to help send your content to your consumers at the right time. Campaign Monitor Campaign Monitor  is able to build smart segments and data collection to help you give a personalized approach to your emails. There’s even marketing automation features that can help you customize the email journeys. Is your favorite #email #marketing tool on this list? Social Media Marketing Tools Social media is a staple in most every marketing plan, and the right tools can help you get it done in less time without pulling your hair out. Sources: https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/chart/channels-preferred-by-age-groups# https://www.statista.com/topics/1538/social-media-marketing/ https://www.vendasta.com/blog/163-stunning-social-media-stats-to-savor#generalstats HootSuite Hootsuite  is a social media marketing platform that gives it’s users the ability to scale their plan based on how much content they send on their channels. Some of Hootsuite’s popular features are bulk scheduling, RSS feed integrations, and social analytics. Buffer Buffer  users can set a posting schedule, queue content, and check how their posts are doing with built-in analytics. Sprout Social Sprout Social  includes features for planning campaign content, engaging directly with your audience through the app and the ability to identify brand advocates. Meet Edgar Meet Edgar  is a strictly social media marketing tool. Its features revolve around everything automated content scheduling to an unlimited content library and category based scheduling.   is a powerful all in one marketing calendar that allows marketing teams to plan, publish, and measure content, projects, and campaigns. That includes robust social media scheduling and analytics features. First offers a drag-and-drop calendar that you can use to schedule social media content, from one-off posts to entire campaigns. Recommended Reading: What is the Best Social Media Scheduling Tool on the Market? Marketing Project Management Tools Marketing project management can seem like an impossible task. But, with the right tools, you can make it a snap. Here are some stats on why project management is so important. Wrike Wrike  is a project management tool offering real-time status updates, resource and workload management, and the ability to collaborate across teams. Asana Asana  allows teams to create custom projects, control who sees what tasks, and see the progress of projects at a glance. Basecamp Basecamp  is a team based tool that sorts  your co-workers into categories who are then given their projects, task lists and more based what team they’re on.   knows how difficult it can be to juggle multiple marketing campaigns. Our calendar lets users create different content pieces that are grouped together under one project title. From their users can give feedback, check on progress or ask questions without getting lost in an email chain or having to wondering when a deadline is coming up. Take a look at how our own team uses for marketing project management (skip to 48:00 ... or watch the entire webinar recap, we promise it's good stuff):Trello Trello  is a kanban-style tool with customizable boards, lists, and cards that allow users to see at a glance the status of their project, share updates and communicate directly in the app. See what makes @ideal for marketing project management (plus find 60+ more #marketing... Social Listening and Brand Monitoring Tools Dropping in on conversations and seeing what your audience and others have to say about your brand is a vital part of maintaining the story of your organization. With the right tools, your social media team can eliminate the tedious task of tuning in manually. Here are a few more statistics to show you why your marketing tool stack should have a monitoring tool: Sources: http://upfrontanalytics.com/social-listening/            https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-listening/ Mention Mention  is a social listening tool that lets users monitor discussions around their brand on social and the web. Talkwalker Talkwalker  lets you monitor the conversations happening about your brand on over 150 million websites with customizable alerts and real-time response capabilities. Google Alerts Google Alerts  is an easy way to set up keyword or topic related alerts that send links directly to your email address. BrandWatch Brandwatch  lets users monitor the conversation about their brand with custom reports and demographic data about their audience and share of voice data which allows you to see how much of the conversation your brand is dominating. Buzzsumo Buzzsumo  has features that create custom alerts for content around keywords, authors, and domains. This gives a brand a chance to see what their customers are talking about and what types of content they’re consuming the most of. If you're not using #social listening tools, you're missing the conversation around your #brand.... Landing Page Tools Landing pages are the bread and butter of your website and building them correctly can make or break your organization. A tool can help make that process easier. Check out these three statistics on why you need a landing page tool. Sources: https://marketingexperiments.com/lead-generation/registration-form-optimization-steps https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33756/Why-You-Yes-You-Need-to-Create-More-Landing-Pages.aspx?__hstc=191390709.b583dbed445186745ec403c45a67fd37.1510202030766.1510246731441.1511490465214.4__hssc=191390709.1.1511490465214__hsfp=1105613783 https://marketingexperiments.com/lead-generation/registration-form-optimization-steps Unbounce Unbounce  allows marketers to create landing pages without having to code by having multiple templates to choose from. Plus, they integrate with a ton of other tools. Leadpages Leadpages  has created features like mobile-friendly templates and drag-and-drop customization options. Instapage Instapage  is a landing page tool with the ability to create custom fonts, generate heat maps and it integrates with multiple platforms. Build landing pages quickly and easily with these three recommended tools: @unbounce @Instapage... Content Management Systems (CMS) There are a lot of content management systems out there. How do you pick the best one for your business? It all comes down to balancing budget with your unique requirements. Let’s look at some popular options, from free and open source, all the way up to commercial enterprise solutions. Contentful Contentful  is a CMS that has a rich editor interface, multi-language options, and a full media library. WordPress WordPress  lets users build everything from blogs to full-blown websites with 100s of themes to choose from. Expression Engine Expression Engine  has features like the ability to publish in multiple locations, community management tools, and flexible content types to name a few. Adobe Experience Manager The Adobe Experience Manager  has the ability to create mobile content and marketing campaigns as well as managing multiple sites. Hubspot Hubspot  allows businesses to create, edit and manage their blog content, landing pages and more all in one spot. Find the perfect #CMS for your organization (and get 60+ more #marketing #tech recommendations... Marketing Analytics Tools As a marketer, you want to be able to prove that efforts that you are putting forward are having a positive effect on your business. Having an analytics tool allows you to see what’s working, and what isn’t. Here are three reasons to show you why you should have an analytics tool in your marketing technology stack. Clicky Clicky  gives users features like heat maps and on-site analytics which are updated in real time. Google Analytics Google Analytics  has the ability to build, segmentation options, custom reports and gives it to users in real-time. Plus, integrates with Google Analytics and bit.ly to make tracking social media referral traffic easy. Piwik Piwik  has options customizable dashboards, goal conversion tracking, content tracking and site search analytics just to name a few. Kissmetrics Kissmetrics  is another analytics app that allows users to build customizable reports based on metrics and KPIs that your organization wants to track. It will enable users to A/B test almost anything as well as track activity on your website. Adobe Analytics Adobe Analytics  is another powerhouse tool from the Adobe software team. Its features include advanced segmentation, activity maps and the ability to build and see customer fallout and flow movements. DID YOU KNOW: includes robust content, social media, and team productivity analytics features? Start measuring performance here. SEO Tools Search engine optimization tools are a powerhouse when it comes to getting your organization in front of potential consumers. Targeting the right keywords at the right time can help increase the conversion potential of your audience. In case you need any more reasons to have an SEO tool check out these three statistics. Sources: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/14416/100-Awesome-Marketing-Stats-Charts-Graphs-Data.aspx https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2276184/no-1-position-in-google-gets-33-of-search-traffic-study https://www.searchenginejournal.com/24-eye-popping-seo-statistics/42665/ Moz Moz  makes it easy to do keyword research, track rankings, monitor inbound traffic, gather backlink data, crawl your site, and more. Ahrefs Ahrefs  includes features for backlink analysis, keyword research, and more. Raven Tools Raven Tools  has built an SEO auditor, a link manager, and the ability to monitor your competitors from one place. SERPs.com SERPs.com  includes access to a keyword rank checker, a keyword research database, and Google location changer. SEM Rush SEM Rush  allows users to conduct SEO research using keyword difficulty tools, backlink analysis, and a keyword research database. Which #SEO tool is your favorite: @Moz @ahrefs @semrush @serpsapp or @RavenTools ? Online Advertising Tools Online advertising has become a massive tool for marketers because of its necessity. Without a tool it becomes nearly impossible for your team to execute your ads well. Why? Because of all the different moving parts. Check out these statistics on why you should be involved with online advertising. Sources: https://www.invespcro.com/blog/effectiveness-online-advertising/ https://www.statista.com/topics/1176/online-advertising/ https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics WordStream WordStream  helps users manage multiple online advertising channels including Facebook, Google, and Bing as well as being able to handle online advertising for companies if they choose. AdRoll AdRoll  let’s customers create ads with CRM data, expanding the reach of your ads and options to personalize ads for your audience. SEM Rush SEM Rush  has some PPC functionality including the ability to manage and optimize keyword lists using Google Ad Words. Adwords Performance Grader WordStream created a free Adwords Performance Grader  which allows users to grade things like account activity, click through rates and wasted spend through their AdWords account. Adstage.io Adstage.io  is an all in one tool that tracks your organization's paid search and social search across multiple channels. It also builds automated custom reports that users can download at any time.

European Law Free movements of goods (EU project) Essay

European Law Free movements of goods (EU project) - Essay Example This paper aims at critically discussing the implication of this statement through the use of decided cases and other resources. Dassonville also referred to as Procureur du Roi v Benoà ®t and Gustave Dassonville was a case that took place in the European Court of Justice. Dassonville was focused at reversing the provisions of the Royal Decree and the arguments of Procureur du Roi regarding the selling of spirits in Belgium. Belgian Act of 1927 indicated that destinations of spirit’s origins are subject to the government and such destinations of origin are officially adopted1. The Royal Decree of 1934 indicates that it is prohibited on pain of penal sanctions to display, import, display for sale, or transport for the purpose of sale, or delivery, spirits that bears a designation of origin duly adopted by the government if the spirits are not accompanied by official documents that indicate the right to such destination. Notable aspect to note is that the destination of origin Scotch whisky has been adopted by the Belgian Government. The implications of these provisions are clearly depicted in Dassonvil le case. Gustave Dassonville, an established wholesaler based in France and Benoit his son who was the business manager situated in Belgium, imported Scotch whisky which they referred to as Johnie Walker and Vat 69. Gustave had purchased the brands from the French distributors2. In order to ensure that they are sold in Belgium and that they are in line with the Royal Decree, Gustave affixed labels that had the printed words â€Å"British Customs Certificate of Origin†. This was then followed by hand written notes of the date as well as the number of the French excise bond on the permit register. The excise bond was the official permit adopted by French as the method of accompanying brands that bearded a destination of origin. However, the French government does not require a certificate that indicates the

Project Law and Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project Law and Evidence - Essay Example Goodwin was tried and found guilty of both offences on 31 May 2006. Whilst the defense case is that Goodwin may have been guilty of burglary, the prosecutions case was that Goodwin also shot victim, in an execution style, and then stole from him.Much of the case against Goodwin relied upon scientific evidence. This consisted of three main items found at the scene of the crime. Firstly the prosecution produced evidence of a cigar stub; found a few feet from the basement window, within which the victim was discovered. Secondly, the police had discovered the defendants palm print on the inside of a window through which the intruder entered the property. Both of these items of evidence were connected directly to Kevin Godwin through the scientific method of DNA testing. As he had a previous conviction, a DNA sample from the defendant, they were able to directly link the DNA to Goodwin. The third item of evidence from the crime scene was a boot print, which the prosecution claimed matched a pair that Goodwin owned and was wearing on the day of the murder, however they could not confirm the exact size, only that the design was consistent with Godwin’s boots. At the defendant’s home the police found a gun and a humidifier that belonged to the victim. They also found other physical evidence of stolen property at a later date, being two other guns from the victim’s collection. Thus we find there are two types of evidence submitted in this case, scientific, being the DNA and physical.

Family Gathering as a Time for Joy and Celebration Essay

Family Gathering as a Time for Joy and Celebration - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that as both of the author's and his friend's families gather together at Thanksgiving, and, really, no other time except maybe Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving will be the example that will be used to illustrate what the author means. First, there are similarities that must be pointed out. Both of them have large extended families, and both of them see the members of the extended family on Thanksgiving. The food at these gatherings is traditional. Turkey, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, stuffing, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and gravy. With her family, there is pot-luck, where guests bring a dish, and typically the dishes are of the dessert variety. So, one year the gathering had carrot cake and fruit salad to go along with the other offerings, while somebody else brought a small casserole to serve. The author’s family is much the same, although his mother makes all the main courses. There is another difference, and that is that the author’s family buys the processed and canned stuff, whereas her family does not. So, instead of real potatoes being used in the mashed potatoes, their mashed potatoes are from a box. Her mashed potatoes are actual potatoes which are put into a food processor with butter and sour cream to whip them up. The author’s gravy is from a jar; her gravy is made from scratch, from animal drippings, wine, and flour. The author’s sweet potatoes are from a can; hers are made from actual sweet potatoes which are roasted and put through a food processor. The author’s cranberry sauce is from a can; hers are real cranberries, boiled and sweetened. The author’s pumpkin pie is made from canned pumpkin pie filling; hers is made from actual pumpkins. The author used to think that her mother was Martha Stewart, but her mother insists that it is just as easy to make food homemade then to buy it from a can. At any rate, the author spent one Thanksgiving with her, and he has to say, the difference in the two meals is amazing. The author wishes that his mother had as much energy as hers when it comes to preparing meals. While the menus are the same, except that her family’s menu is made from scratch and theirs isn’t, there is a large difference in the atmosphere. The main reason for this is because the author’s family typically gets drunk at Thanksgiving. And by family, he means everybody, from age 14 to age 90, partakes in the festivities. One year, a guest brought a large bottle of Petron Tequila, and everybody did shots. The author didn’t do shots because he doesn’t like tequila, but he was the exception. The author doesn’t remember a family gathering where people did not end up throwing up, dancing manically, and screaming at each other for little or no reason. Because hard alcohol is a staple at these gatherings, things get pretty loose. By the end of the evening, the music is blaring, and people are dancing around the living room while others are passed out on various couches. Some people are hanging on everybody, telling them how much they love them, while others are crying. People start skinny-dipping in the hot tub. If it weren’t for the tension that inevitably marks these gatherings, these gatherings would be pretty fun. On the other hand, her gatherings are much more subdued, although not boring.   Wine and beer are served to the guests, but no hard alcohol.   This makes for much less blatant drunkenness, yet people still have a good time.  

Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel

Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel This report is based on my internship at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel. My internship commenced from 6/10/2010 to 15/01/2011. This is a five star luxury hotel which is situated at the heart of Kuala Lumpur which is also known as The Golden Triangle area. I was assigned to few different departments in the hotel such as The Lobby Lounge, Carlton Gourmet, Housekeeping and Front Office. I have gained more knowledge and also widen my network with people from all walks of life. I also feel that The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel is a great place to gain experience as I have acquired about new techniques and skills which I have never known. Furthermore, being able to work in one of the worlds most prestige hotel really gave me a chance to test my skills and ability to cope with the harsh environment of the hoteliers life. In my report, I will include my working experience with The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel, my views during training and overall success of the hotel. Company Profiles The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. was founded in August, 1983 following the purchase of The Ritz-Carlton, Boston and the rights to the name Ritz-Carlton throughout the United States. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. maintains its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the Company was officially formed in 1983, its history and traditions date back to the 1800s. Regarding the famous logo of the Ritz-Carlton, the crown was a symbol of British Royalty and the lion was actually the logo of an insurance company. The founder of the Ritz-Carlton hotels, Cesar Ritz decided to combine the two symbols together and in 1968 the logo was redesigned from a normal looking tamed lion to a look that was more elegant and yet sophisticated. This has made a change in direction for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. in the years to come. The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel in particular is owned by a company called YTL CORPORATION BERHAD. YTL stands for YEOH TIONG LAY. This company is one of the biggest corporation in Malaysia and it is very well known for its award winning world class hotels and resorts such as JW MARRIOT , THE RITZ-CARLTON,PANGKOR LAUT AND VISTANA KUALA LUMPUR . Located within the famous Golden Triangle district, The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur has won multiple 5 Star Awards with its 250 guest rooms including 30 suites, 25 meeting rooms totaling up to 30,000 square feet and four exceptional restaurants such as The Lobby Lounge, Carlton Gourmet, Cesar and award winning Li Yen. Map to The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur Hotel. C:UsersVINCENTDesktopritz-carlton_map.jpg The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel is located at No. 168, Jalan Imbi 52100 Kuala Lumpur. It is interconnected with Starhill Galery and the J.W. Marriot Hotel. This hotel is situated at a very strategic place because it is near to shopping malls such as Pavilion, Lot 10, Sungei Wang and the Menara Times Square. TYPES OF FACILITIES Facilities at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel include a general swimming pool and also a personal swimming pool for every penthouse. The operation hours for the general swimming pool are from 6.00 A.M to 8.00 P.M. The hotel also provides a gymnasium which runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The hotels Jacuzzi, Sauna and Steam Bath operate from 6.00 A.M to 10.00 P.M daily. Massage and Spa services are available at Spa Village which is one of Malaysias most renowned Spa centre. Their signature treatments are the Sensory Exploration and Campur Campur. Spa Village also has their own private swimming pool catered for Spa guest and residence only. Their operating hour is from 9.00 A.M to 9.00 P.M. All of the above facilities mentioned are located on the 4th floor of the hotel wing. A Business Center can be found on the 1st floor of the hotel wing which caters mostly for businessmen, Internet users and gift shop for guest. Meeting room which can fit up to 6 person maximum is available for rental for RM 120++ per hour .As for the Suites Wing site, there are 25 more meeting rooms available for rental. For hotel guest who needs to use the internet, Internet usage is chargeable at RM 40 per hour. Other services such as fax, printing, photocopy and binding is also available at the same floor. In addition, hotel guest who wants to buy souvenirs such as postcards and hotel amenities, a gift shop is available also at the business center. Business center is open from Monday to Friday at 8.00 A.M to 10.00 P.M and Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays at 9.00 A.M to 5.00 P.M. This is a luxury hotel so therefore the facilities are very limited. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Mr. Stephen Andrew Cokkinias (General Manager) Ms. Aishah Khalid (Rooms Division Manager) Mr. Paolo Savi (Rooms Manager) Mr. Carlos De La Barra Lascurain (Director of Food and Beverage) Ms. Cheryl Loo Su-Ann (Director of Sales) Ms. Lim Chui Fung (Director of Human Resources) Mr. Joshua Lim (Suite Wing Manager) Ms. Katrina Ong Peik See (Financial Controller) Mr. Vincent Wong (Maintenance Manager) ~DEPARTMENTS~ Organizational Chart for Carlton Gourmet Outlet Manager Assistant Manager Waiter (x3) Chef (x2) Waitresses (x1) Steward (x1) Cashier (x1) This is the organization chart for Carlton Gourmet. With revenue of more than RM 80,000 a month this outlet has really pushed its limits and raised the standards. Carlton Gourmet is a very relaxed yet refined place to be at. The operation hours are from 7.30 A.M. to 6.00 P.M. This outlet concentrates mainly on breakfast, lunch and high tea. The morning shift crew which consists of the Manager, one chef and two waiters and one cashier whose shifts start at 7.00 A.M. to 3.00 P.M. As for the afternoon shift crew it consists of the Assistant Manager, one chef, and three waiters whose shifts start at 10.00 A.M. to 6.00 P.M. Only the steward stays from the start of the operation till the end. For breakfast, it is a semi-buffet selection which consist of a continental bar and a selection of Eggs and Omelets or From the Griddle. The continental bar consists of items such as fruits, salads, compote, cereal and many others. In the Eggs and Omelets menu there are six different types of selection to choose from which are two eggs any style, western omelet, smoked salmon omelet, egg white omelet, eggs benedict, and corned beef hash with two eggs. All of those six choices will come with a hash brown. As for the From the Griddle menu, you could choose from the silver dollar pancakes or French toast with Belgian waffles. The breakfast menu will only be served from 7.30 A.M. to 10.30 A.M. after that continued by the lunch menu until 6.00 A.M. which serves a variety of salads, pastas, sandwiches and wraps, sausages and from the grill such as burgers and grilled meats. At Carlton Gourmet, a variety of snacks, drinks, pastries, bakeries, chocolates and tea are sold there. They use the finest coffee from Italy which is illy coffee and serves a range from cappuccino to latte or even espresso. Sunkist oranges are used to make juices for the guest and in a day almost a whole box of oranges will be used. Carlton Gourmet also specializes in hamper packing. Hampers for occasions such as Arab Season, Hari Raya, Christmas, and Chinese New year will be packed for the hotel and suite guests. Roughly 200 hampers are handmade by the staff of Carlton Gourmet for each and every occasion mentioned. This are the duties needed to be carried out by the morning shift crew: Collect petty cash money from Accounts Department Collect newspapers and In House Details from Front Desk On all the lights in the outlet Overturn the coffee cups Prepare milk and butter for each table Prepare the breakfast semi-buffet bar Collect bakeries from Cesar restaurant Prepare Mise-en-place Count and send all their dirty napkins to laundry during their lunch break Fold all clean napkins and store in cupboard And most importantly attend to the guests This are the duties needed to be carried out by the afternoon shift crew: Collect bakeries and pastries from J.W. Marriot Clear morning setting on table to replace with lunch setting Ensure the drinks stock is at par Serve guests and make drinks Peel oranges for juices Wipe dry cutleries, cups, glasses and saucers Do table setting for the next day breakfast Sweep and mop the floor during closing time Arrange bills into orderly manner Log off cashier and return money back to Accounts Department Ensure all the lights are off except the entrance light Ensure all doors are locked and return keys back to Security Department My experience at Carlton Gourmet I have been training at this Food and Beverage outlet since 06/10/2010 to 17/10/2010. Working for two weeks at the Carlton Gourmet has given me an inside look on how to run a small yet successful dining outlet. The experience that I have gained over the days working there had made me a more knowledgeable person. Although this outlet is small and not really busy during normal days, I still managed to input a huge amount of working skill in me. Learning the different types of pastries and bakeries from names such as chicken pie, to names that my tongue cannot even pronounce, this is the one place where I learnt about food from all over the globe. This outlet normally caters to suite wing guest rather than hotel guests. There are many long term guests at the suite wing so one of my hardest challenges was one- remembering their names and how to address them correctly, two- remembering their room number and how many complimentary breakfast do they have, and three- remembering their food and drink preferences. For example, Ms. Mink Ong is a lady who is in her late 40s and she owns three shops at the Starhill Gallery. Every morning roughly around 10.00 A.M. she would come to Carlton Gourmet and no questions asked, she should be served her croissants and fresh cut of papaya (with a bowl of hot water for her to wash it in). After eating her fruits, clear her soiled plates and serve her one cup of coffee and a small jug of hot milk. What I have realized and noticed is that the little things that you take initiative to care about the guest make a very big difference. Because other than the staff of the hotel, the guests are also the ones who could make or break the revenue of the hotel and eventually the pay that goes into our pockets. Organizational Chart for The Lobby Lounge Outlet Manager Supervisor Bar Captain Bartender Server (X4) This is the organization chart for the Lobby Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur. With revenue of more than RM 120,000 monthly, this is an outlet where working standards had to meet with quantity and quality. The operation hour for this outlet is from 10.00 A.M. to 1.00 A.M. Morning shift staff and trainees starts at 9.00 A.M. to 3.00 P.M. The afternoon shift trainee comes in at 3.00 P.M. to 11.00 P.M. where by the afternoon shift staff comes in at 5.00 P.M. to 1.00 A.M. The manager of this outlet only comes in from 11.00 A.M. onwards. This outlet can be quite slow in the morning because normally all the guests that comes in will only have tea or coffee. But when he sun sets and night approaches, usually the Lobby Lounge will be packed with guests. At the Lobby Lounge, we serve a variety of FOURTHY different types of tea which are broken down into 4 categories which are Black Tea, Fruit Tea, Green Tea, and Herbs Tea. All of the teas are imported from different countries such as Europe, USA, China, Japan, India and many other places. The bar consists of more than 30 brands of wine. The liquor served at the bar is based on a full bar set up which has vodka, rum, whisky, cognac, gin, liqueurs, and bitters. We have more than 20 different types of whisky brands ranging from single malt whiskies to blended whiskies. As far as beverages goes, we serve our famous Afternoon Tea. It is a very exquisite English tea tradition carried out by English people back in the days. It starts from 3.00 P.M. to 5.00 P.M. from Mondays to Saturdays. There is this watch/ jewelry shop in Starhill Galery named Mouawad. They signed a one year contract for us to deliver the Afternoon Tea set to their shop everyday from Mondays to Saturdays. Usually the Afternoon shift staff will send it to them. We also have an occasion called The Sunday Roast. It is a very elegant event which is strictly conducted by our FB Director Mr. Carlos De La Barra Lascurain. This event only takes place on every Sunday and no staff can take off for this weekend event. The Sunday Roast starts from 11.00 A.M. to 3.00 P.M. which will be accommodated by a three-piece jazz band consisting of a grand piano, double bass and a saxophone. This event is serves a semi-buffet style. With one main course to choose from which could either be the Angus Prime Black Beef, Scottish Salmon or Darling Roast Lamb. The main course will be placed on a portable trolley which the chef will push to a guests table and cut in front of them. As for the buffet counter, it consists of cheese from around the world, sausages, chocolates, salads, puddings, seafood, soup and sushi. The Afternoon Tea will not be served on this day. This are the duties needed to be carried out by the morning shift crew: Take petty cash money from Accounts Department at 2nd floor Opening of cash register Set up the bar and arrange all the alcohol beverages. Wipe all the glass tables and bar top. Prepare Mise-en-place and garnishes for drinks. Arrange magazines and daily newspapers. On the coffee machine. Ensure enough hot water is boiled for tea. Make welcome drink (to be placed at hotel wing lobby). Do cigar and cigarette inventory. Ensure all cups and glasses are clean and arrange neatly on shelf. Collect ice cubes for bar from main kitchen (Cesar, 1st floor). Tidy up the pillows and sofas. Write down inter-transfer list for Afternoon Tea. Send soiled napkins to laundry at 3rd floor. Collect Afternoon Tea from cold kitchen and pastry kitchen. Send a set of Afternoon Tea wit cutlery and plates to Mouawad by 2.30 P.M. Serve guest. Do inventory for sales closing. Do handover of cash register to afternoon shift staff. This are the duties needed to be carried out by the Afternoon shift crew: Do 2nd cigar and cigarette inventory of the day. Check for stock of bottled beer and juices. Light tea-light candles at 7.00 P.M. and to be placed on each table. Dim down the lights at 7.00 P.M. Push out the cup cake trolley. Ensure enough hot water is boiled for tea. Serve guest. Do closing of cash register. Do inventory for sales closing. Hand over petty cash money to Accounts Department (in an Elsafe) Bundle up all customer receipts of the day and placed at pigeon hole at Accounts Department. Clean up for next day. My experience at The Lobby Lounge I have been training at this Food and Beverage outlet since 18/10/2010 to 06/11/2010. My experience at the Lobby Lounge was a fantastic one. I felt very comfortable when I was doing my internship there. Yes there were some rough and pressured times but the staff at the Lobby Lounge felt like a little family to me. Everyone was so knowledgeable regarding the beverage that was sold at The Lobby Lounge. I had the privilege to study cocktail and mocktail making by the bartender. I also learnt how to pour a perfect glass of beer by the Captain. I also learnt how to make Latte and Cappuccino. I learnt about the different types of alcohol, wine and its origins too. There was abundant of things for me to learn in so little time. I also learnt that standing behind the bar and being a bartender, one has to have a very joyful and friendly attitude. Because for the guest sitting at the bar counter, they expect to be conversed with. There was this one time where this guest name Josh from the US came to the bar everyday to have a few drinks because he felt comfortable sitting and chatting with me. Working front of the house meant you have to have a positive attitude and attend to guest professionally while thinking What would I want if I was in the customers shoes?. As for the way of serving food and beverages to the guest, I learnt that the method practiced over there was Serve from the right, clear from the right. Many things I learnt at Tunku Abdul Rahman College, did not really apply to the work method in this outlet. But still, I was very thankful because now I know different ways of serving a guest/ customer. Having done my internship here at The Lobby Lounge thought me that I would WANT to be in this line of duty. Serving and mingling with the customers and guest of the hotel. It was a great pleasure working with my little family at The Lobby Lounge. They are the best at what they do. Organizational Chart for Front Office Front Office Manager Assistant Front Office Manager Duty Manager (X6) Guest Service Assistance (X 11) Concierge (X3) Bell Men (X9) Rooms Controller Door Man (X5) This is the organization chart for the Front Office Department at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur. Basically this department is broken down into 3 groups which are Concierge counter, Bell Counter and the Reception. Only for the Bell counter (which includes the Door Men) and the Reception group operates continuous on a 24 hours basis. As for the Concierge, it only operates from 7.00 A.M. until 11.00 P.M. As for the working shifts in this department, only four shifts are provided which are: A.M. Shift 7.00 A.M. to 3.00 P.M. P.M. Shift 3.00 P.M. to 11.00 P.M. Night Shift 11.00 P.M. to 7.00 A.M. Relief Shift 12.00 P.M. to 8.00 P.M. My experience at Front Office My intern at this department began from the 7th of November 2010 to the 12th of December 2010. I had five weeks in this department and first week of this department started off at being a Door Man and a Bell Man. Being a Door Man is quite simple because all you have to do is open and close the lobby door for the guests as they walk in and out of the hotel, call for taxi which are on standby opposite the hotel for the guests and sometimes help the Bell Man to carry some luggages. Being a Bell Man has thought me to be sharp on the job because we had to tag and watch after guest luggages. We had 2 types of tags. One was for the Arrival Tag whereby when the guest checks into the hotel, the name and room of the guest will be written on the Arrival Tag so that the Bell Man can bring the luggages up for the guest. As for the Departure Tag, it could be used for either during guest check out or storing the luggages for guest. Then came to the second week of being at Front Office where I spent two whole weeks at the concierge counter. I really gained a lot of information about Malaysia that I did not even know about. Did you know that the Petronas Twin Tower serves a luxury lunch and dinner at the 86th floor which overlooks the city skyline? Well now I know. Being in the concierge had widened my knowledge regarding the little wonders that Malaysia has to offer and I had to learn about almost anything and everything in Kuala Lumpur regarding all the tourist sights. Every day, the staff at the concierge counter has to print out the arrival and departure list some guest arrive at the hotel with their own mode of transport but for those who like to be pampered, a Mercedes Limousine transport can be arranged for the guest but for those who wants a more cheaper but yet luxurious alternative, a VIP Train Service can be arranged to pick up guest all the way from the airport to KL Central followed by a limousine pi ck up directly to the hotel. Wai Kong Tours is a tour company where by it works in conjunction with the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur Hotel. Wai Kong Tours would provide the concierge counter with their broachers for us to promote their tours for them. What would happen is, if the guest would want to go for a tour from the broacher, we (the concierge) have to ask Wai Kong Tours whether there is any available tour that the guest wants for that that day. Because sometimes the tours may be full and the policy for Wai Kong Tour is that if a guest wants to go for a certain tour, it has to be two person and above. Basically being in the concierge meant you had to have a vast amount of knowledge regarding the area that surrounds you, not only that but also have knowledge about the operating hours of tourist locations and new promotions. For the first few days when I was in concierge, I was even too scared to answer the phone. But as the days progressed, I started to gain a certain amount of confidence in myself. As for the staff of the concierge, hats off to them because they are the ones that thought me a lot. After my training at the concierge, I moved on the reception counter where I was to be as a Guest Service Assistant. I had to learn the HIS System and learn how to check in guest. To check in a guest, I had to fill in their particulars on the registration card (which will be printed by the afternoon shift staff the day before). Guest particulars included their home address, mobile number, e-mail address, double check the name, credit card details (if they were to pay with it) and last but not least, get the guest signature. Once I have collected all the information that I needed, I would ask the guest how his or her mode of payment would be. If he or she is using a credit card, we had to explain that an amount of RM200 per night will be blocked from the credit card so that the guest can just sign the bill if he or she is ordering in room dining or paying for laundry. For example, if Mr. Guths room rate is at RM600 per night and is staying for three nights, so all together a Guest Ser vice Assistant (GSA) has to hold an amount of RM1,200 of the credit card. If a guest pays cash for their room, then we have to write the words COD on the registration card and alert all the outlets such as the Food and Beverage outlets and laundry department that the guest would and should pay cash for anything purchased. After collecting the mode of payment from the guest, we issue a key card to them and escort the guest to their room. While escorting the guest, the GSAs would brief them regarding the facilities at the hotel and some famous tourist spots around Kuala Lumpur. The GSAs would then open the room door for the guest and explain about the rooms complimentary internet and mini bar or the Kiblat sign for Muslim guest. We also had to do departure calls to know what time the guest is leaving and whether they would need any luggage assistance or transportation upon departure. As for guest wake up calls, it will be recorded down and at the end of the day handed over to the operator. If there is a VIP checking in, an express check in is done where by the GSA would pre-check in the guest, escort the guest up to his or her room with the credit card machine and take down the guest particulars in the room itself. At the end of every shift, the GSAs will submit all their check out receipts to the Duty Manager for inspection in case there has been any mix up. Being at the reception was somewhat pressuring because you had to face the guest day in and day out even matters that is not your fault but the guest just wants to let all his frustrations out on you. But on the sunny side up, the Front Office crew is a bunch of people that really knows how to work under pressure yet they can maintain to be lively and cheerful each and every day. The Front Office may be a small department but it is a powerful one. The whole hotel mainly relies on it to generate more income. The Front Office IS the brain of the hotel industry.

Reservoir Dogs :: Art

Reservoir Dogs Gangsters, violence, murder and corruption !!!!! If these are some of the things that you're into, then this is your kind of movie. Be ready to watch it more than once to be sure to get all the movie has to offer because it jumps from subject to subject and can be a little confusing. The movie on the whole was really great. It was filled with some pretty gory scenes and extreme violent content, Tarantinos' trademark. The way he portrays the real life aspects of crime and violence are unbelievable. I wonder if he experienced some of these things himself and that's why he has a realistic view of them. Then again, I can't really gauge how realistic any of these themes are because after watching this kind of movie it makes me feel like I lead a really sheltered lifestyle. Why does all the violence in Tarantinos' movies become so attractive to us normal people? I think it's because most of his material is underworld stuff. He deals with things we can barely relate to. Topics that are so far fetched to a "normal" person that they kind of hypnotize us into watching. Things happen in his movies that are so bizarre, we can't begin to imagine them happening to us in real life. The weird part is, many of these things DO happen every day. We all know there really are gangsters, mobsters and really low-life people that involve themselves in what we think of as underworld crime. Drug deals.... on a level so great... amounts we can't begin to comprehend. Murders, for whatever reason. Even the thought of hiring someone to kill someone else gives us a goose bump or three. In his movies it's almost like borrowing a cup of sugar from your next door neighbor. Chopping off someone's ear would repulse me and probably make me want to spew my lunch. Tarantinos' characters chop off ears then talk into them as if they were using ma bell. His characters attitudes are totally ruthless. They could give a shit if you were the cousin of the president or a nanny. They have a job to do and they do it. No holes barred, no questions asked, no thought given to actions or consequences. They are almost like robots, zombies of the underworld that have no emotions or respect for the value of life.