Analysis of Early Urban Societies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Early Urban Societies - Assignment Example According to (Wilsons, 14) most people moved to cities seeking jobs. The majority of those who moved to cities were from smaller communities considered minority. The migrants came from within America and from other surrounding continents such as Africa and Asia. Those from Africa were mainly from western and northern African countries. On the contrary, those living in the cities from majority groups found a reason to move back to the suburbs because of the introduction of new methods of farming. The new farming methods included the use of machines that enabled them to plow large sections of land over a short period of time, the use of fertilizers that increased productivity and the implementation of new farming techniques that ensured the conservation of land. The use of machines, however, had a negative impact on the employment of the African Americans who were working in the in the farms since they were replaced by the machines. The technology was introduced in farming and this made it a very lucrative (Henderson & Thisse, 65). It led to the rapid development of both the urban cities and the rural towns which were now growing due to the farming. This movement of the opposites had a big impact on the social, political and economic aspects of the society. The government has a very limited base for its revenues because the majority of people in the cities who were better financially had moved to suburbs. The city was hence left with a large a population that was less qualified and less productive. This left those in cities jobless because majority depended on majorly on those who left for low paying jobs. The people who were their employers and had professional qualifications had left for the suburbs. Poverty and desperation among the unemployed youth led to an increase in criminal activity in the cities (Wilsons, 23) Â  

History And Ancient Trade Of Herbal Medicines Economics Essay

History And Ancient Trade Of Herbal Medicines Economics Essay Herbal medicines or Herbalism is a traditional or folk medicine practices based on plants and plant extracts. [3]. These medicines are sold as tablets, capsules, powder, teas, extracts, and dried or fresh plants. Herbal medicines is a most important part of all the alternative medicine systems including Ayurvedas, Chinese traditional medicines, Siddha, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and Native American and African medicines. [4]. WHO estimates that almost 80 % of the world population especially in developing world used herbal medicines for various aspects of primary health care. [5]. Herbal drugs fills the vacuum that is growing day by day due to ever increasing costs of conventional medications and poverty ridden developing world, most of them lives on less than U.S $10/- per day[6]. Contrary to conventional medicines, herbal medicines can be manufactured from plants and plant extracts which can be easily procured therefore much cost effective than conventional pharmaceutics thus providing an alternative means of medical treatments for almost three quarters of the world population. India and China are the two main exporters of herbal medicines in the world accounting for almost 15% of share of world herbal market. (China-13.5% and india-2.5%) [7]. According to WHO estimates, the present demand for medicinal plants is approximately US $80 billion a year and by the year 2050 it would raise to US $5 trillion[8]. These estimates indicate huge potential for growth in this sector of economy which is still unorganized due to various reasons even unidentified. The competition faced by the herbal drugs is stiff and ever increasing from both conventional and recently developed modalities of treatment. The economics has grown from the Adam smiths simple definition of economics of science of wealth to a more complex definition of marginal economics as proposed by Lionel Robbins in 1932 which says marginal economics applies the principal and method of economics to analyze problems faced by management of a business, or other types of organizations and to help find solution that advance the best interest of such organization. [9, 10] History and ancient trade of herbal medicines People have been using herbs growing around them for treatment of illnesses since pre historic times. One of the oldest evidence came from the ÃÆ'-tzi Ice Man lying frozen in Swiss Alps for almost 5300 years. He was found possessing two pieces of Birch bracket fungus, which he might be using to treat the whip worm infestation from which he was suffering [11]. In ancient world, probably the first documented evidence of herb use for medical purpose comes from Sumerians who used plants like caraway, thyme and laurel. Indian system of medicine, Ayurvedas, dates back to 1900 BC. [12]. Charaka and especially Sushruta described 700 medical plants in his book Sushrua Samhita. [13]. Siddha was another system of medicine which was developing in the same period in southern India (tamilnadu) [14]. Ancient Egyptian medicine also dates back to more than 1000 BC; they were expert in the use of garlic, opium, and mint and indigo among other herbs [15, 16]. Written documentation of Chinese medicine started with a mythological person known as Shennong, who according to mythology have tasted hundreds of medical herbs and poisonous plants and given his knowledge to farmers. The Shennong Bencao Jing (Shennon emperors classic of material medica) is considered first Chinese manual of pharmacology dating back to 1 century C.E. and contains 252 herbal prescriptio n for various diseases [17]. Huangdi Neijing also called as yellow emperors inner cannon consists 81 treatises of Chinese herbal medicines in question and answers format between mythological yellow emperor and his physician Qibo[18]. The ancient Greeks and Romans also made great strides in the field of medicine and herbalism as preserved in the writing of great scientists like Hippocrates and Galan. De Materia Medica was the first European medical treatises on the use of medical plants written in Greek period. In first century AD, Dioscorides wrote a comprehensive book compiling more than 500 medical plants [19, 20]. Trading was flourishing in the ancient world with Sumerians were trading with Indus valley civilization (seals with inscribed Indus valley script found at excavation at sumeria) and people with southern part of India were braving seas to trade spices and other commodities including medical herbs with far away Greeks and later Romans. In the medieval Europe, the monasteries have taken over the herbal medical science; they provided the medical knowledge and raw materials for the treatment of simple ailments. In contrast to the European world which was going through dark ages, the Arab world was bearing the torch of medicine, they built universities and first hospitals which were then known as Bimaristan .Al-dinawari and ibn al-baitar supplemented the earlier knowledge of materia medica [21,22] .Avicennas cannons of medicine (1025AD) was considered first pharmacopeia, he also introduced clinical trials, randomized control trials and efficacy testing [23]. One of the great reasons for the exploding growth of medical science in Arab world was their strategic location, which was almost the center of the known world and well connected to all important trade routes. One such route was silk route which connected china with rest of the world across the Thar desert. These trade routes gave the Arab physician means to get ma ny rare plants and knowledge about medical science, which was supplemented with their own experience and thus producing some major advancement in the field of medicine. Whereas in modern era two important events were marked, the first was the dominance of the English and publication of scientific knowledge including materia media of herbal medicine in English, the first to be published was the anonymous Grete Herball of 1526[24]. The other was the slow decline of the herbal and plant derived medicines and rise of chemical based therapeutics. This all started with The Black death of Europe when all the traditional medicines proved to be useless, so the scientists started exploring other fields for treating the ever increasing disease [25]. Need of herbal medicine in modern times After losing ground for almost three centuries the herbal drug are again gaining their market. Herbal drugs are now emerging as the Need of the day. Since the industry has developed from manual to mechanize to specialized format, the pace of Research and Development in drug industry has increased many folds in the recent past, but this has severely compromised the quality as well as the cost at which a drug is being produced. According to an estimate it took almost US $ 1.2 billion to bring a drug to market, with 10 yrs of effective patent time, but in the race of earning maximum profits and to earn large market share, many pharmaceutical companies are rapidly introducing new products in their product line through little RD and exploiting the patent knowledge of other companies. These competitive practices by the pharmaceutical firms resulted deep impact on the health of many people along with indicating the lack of corporate social responsibility among them [26]. The increasing cost of modern medicines further creates an opportunity for the herbal medicine to grab the market again, especially in the developing world. Adverse drug reaction and side effects of conventional medicines are another reason for need of less reactive and side effect free herbal drugs. However, not only these serious ADRs causes distress to the patient and make them to take more medicines to counter these ADRs but also increase the sickness leaves and bed occupancy rate in the hospitals , indirectly effecting the net productivity of the system in general and country in particular. As most of the drugs of herbal origin are produced by local community or small scale industries, it helps revive recession hit economy and increases the employment opportunities at grass root levels, and hence increasing the opportunities from autonomy of local economy, which is especially true in the case of tribal and backward regions of developing countries of Asia and Africa [27, 28]. One of the most important and upcoming concern regarding modern pharmaceutical agents is the damage they cause to the environment both physical and biological. One of the dreaded examples of this concern is the death of the vultures due to over use of drug diclofenac sodium in the farm animals [29]. Pharmaceuticals not only damage the environment after use but even during the production, a lot of toxic liquids and gases produced as pollutants during manufacturing, processing, finishing and so on resulting air and water pollutions. Decontamination of these pollutants may further increase the indirect costs, a system has to pay for the manufacture of a product. Not only it damages the aquatic flora and fauna but also increases the incidence of drug resistance in human beings[30,31,32,33]. On the other hand, being biodegradable the herbal products do not give rise to any serious environmental concern. Basic economics of herbal drugs The success of any product at a given market is grossly governed by two simple factors namely demand and supply. Demand is the mother of production, and depends on desire to buy the product, ability to pay and willingness to pay by the consumer[34]. Unfortunately, the economics of herbal drug is not as simple as in case of the conventional pharmaceutical agents. Due to lack of a global standardization of various parameters, method for testing and production has enhanced the complexity in understanding the economics of herbal drugs many folds. Further economical, political and socio-cultural differences, lack of appropriate legal framework regarding the herbal products and different pattern of consumption across the world has become a biggest challenge while dealing this growing industry. As the demand and supply law does not always holds true, the relationship become even more complex when the product is of inferior quality as in the case of the herbal drugs which are still considered to be below par then the conventional synthetic medicine. According to Robert Gissen(1837-1970), a British statistician, the inferior quality product always remains the secondary choice of the consumer. As the consumer grows and his buying power increases then they tend to shift from the lower quality to higher quality and in a way costlier products. To hold on to the existing consumers and to make inroads into the market share of conventional drugs, the herbal medicine companies have to understand the consumer demand and preferences. The feedback data from the market research should be used to make futuristic planning and assessment of the areas requiring immediate attention and can be considered for a planned and thorough research and development work. Market research can increasingly contribute to the herbal medicine industry in securing competitive edge and the market space. The market of herbal drug comprises of local, domestic, international and global stages. Value chain analysis shows the important players in different market systems. Local market: Cultivator Informal workshops factories subcontractor contractor wholesale market retailers (local chemists and hospital pharmacies). Domestic market: Cultivator informal workshop factories subcontractor contractor wholesale market middle men retailers. International market: Cultivator local factories subcontractor contractor large factories series of middlemen international retailer. Global market: RD through technical collaboration- global Cultivator global sourcing production sharing- global marketing [35]. However, it is not just the market players that influence the market economy of an industry but also the other related industries which combine to form the meta market. Meta market is defined as the cluster of complementary product and services that are closely related in the mind of the consumer but are spread across a diverse set of the industries [36]. These Meta market in case of the herbal industry are the related industries like pharmaceutical companies, raw material dealers, transportation companies, packaging industry, advertising companies, clinics and hospitals. The Meta market theory implies to the important fact that for the development of herbal industries as a whole other related industries must also have strong footing in the market. The economic development of an herbal drug is influenced by the economic condition of the domestic market as well as the global market (which includes the Meta market). The growth of domestic and global market in turn is also influenced by the each and every sector of economy including herbal drug industry. Interdependency of the market is also visible in production sharing in which different components of the same product are manufactured by different companies having best expertise, knowledge and price competitiveness. Production sharing, a term introduced by Drucker, refer to the practice of carrying out different stages of manufacturing of a product in several countries [37]. For example to manufacture and market a novel herbal drug, different stages of production can be shared by industries having competitive advantage in their respective fields like research, packaging, advertising etc., thereby cutting the cost and providing the best quality product to the consumer. Further, in order to achieve global recognition and up beat the conventional medicines, the herbal products must be required to be more consumer oriented, branded, innovative, present in various varieties, capable of curing minor to major diseases, must be appropriately priced as per the purchasing power of target group (penetration pricing), properly advertise and position in market, best in quality etc. Appropriate market plan based on product life cycle and market mix that is product, price, place, promotion can also help the industry to achieve competitive advantage over pharmaceutical industry. Market trends and global scenario Overall market is distributed evenly over all the continents. However the major trade centers are located at New York, Singapore, Rotterdam, Hamburg and London. The developing countries are playing the role of main exporters, India and China being most prominent whereas most developed countries especially the Europe and northern America are the main importers of the herbal products [38]. The main driving force for the market has two important factors, the first one being low cost and the other is the inability of the conventional medicine to cure the chronic diseases specially the diseases dealing with pain. From common cold to stroke, the herbal medicine is being used for almost every illness known to mankind [39]. Globally the collective market of herbal products is almost $ 85 billion of which $45 billion (25 lakh thousand Indian rupees) is alone the share of herbal pharmaceutics [40, 41]. Herbal pharmaceuticals are further divided into Medicinal and Aromatic plants, Medicinal and Vegetable Saps and Extracts, and Vegetable Alkaloids are having sufficient potential for high growth in future. Asia is having almost 30 % of the market share in the global herbal market, with china leading its way globally, many of its companies have been manufacturing herbal drugs and earning huge profits, some even registered 40 %growth in financial year 2008[42]. India is second largest exporter of herbal medicines, and her market trade has passed the figure of $1.1 billion in the year 2004-05[43, 44]. The growth potential and economic prospects of the herbal market can be made out from the seriousness of the effort of the govt of India, which apart from the launching many schemes for developing the herbal medicine industry, has also created an department for alternative medicines, AYUSH, under the ministry of health[45]. Two other countries in Asia which are registering high growth in this sector are Indonesia whose market $ 970 million in 2009 as against $440 million in 2008 and Malaysia which clicked 15 %growth in herbal medicine sector and the market stands at 9 billion Malaysian rupees[46,47,48]. In South America, Brazil and Argentina has become the dominant player of herbal market, with Brazils herbal market growing more than 15% since 2008[49]. European countries are the biggest importers of herbal medical product. Germany is by far the leader in herbal industry in Europe having a share of almost 30 % followed by France [41]. United States of America posted a growth of 1%which may be seen as good in its recession hit economy. The market stands at $ 4.8 billion despite the slowdown [41]. Herbal medicines under the law are sold as food supplements rather than medicines in America. The people are tuning to herbalism mainly to stay healthy and for primary prevention of diseases. It is also being used for chronic ailments like back pain and joint pain. There is huge potential for growth in the herbal market in USA, as almost 38 % of adults and 11.8 % of children had used herbal medicines at least ones in their life [50]. There is a growing demand for the herbal medicines all over the world particularly in the developed countries. The conventional treatment is ineffective or less effective in many diseases; this is where the herbal medicine is scoring the points. The companies are investing huge amount of capital for the development of the drugs treating chronic and resistant diseases which include cancer, liver ailments, anti-aging drugs and also in manufacturing novel food supplements [51]. With the growth of mass media and easily available sources of knowledge, especially internet, and increasing cost of medical checkups, the common masses are now relying more on disease prevention and self medication giving further boost to the herbal industry. Herbal drug as an industry Sustained growth shown by the herbal industries is attracting good amount of investments. Many pharmaceutical companies are now diversifying and herbal medicine is becoming one of their core areas of the investment. India and China are the two important centers of herbal drug manufacturing industries. India has a vast resource of raw materials and her traditional medicine practitioners uses approximately 7000 species of medicinal plants [52]. The major herbal plants being exported by India are fruit of amla (embelica officinalis), roots of milathi (glycyrrhiza glabra) and seeds of Asoka (saraca indica) [53]. Dabur India limited (Ghaziabad), the Himalaya drug corporation (Bangalore), Hamdard laboratories (Delhi) and Zandu pharmaceutical work ltd. (Mumbai) are the top Indian herbal medicine companies [53]. On the other hand, China also has huge resource potential with at least 5000 medical plants of different variety in use [54]. Ginkgo biloba is one of the top most plants being exported and Talsy pharmaceutical is one of the important company manufacturing herbal medicines in china [55]. Most of the herbal products are exported to the developed countries in the west. According to a survey Omega 3 (37.4 %), glucosamine (19.9 %) and Echinacea (19.9 %) are the three top most grossing herbal drugs in USA [56]. Similarly Ginkgo biloba has been in high demands in many European and American countries [55]. There has been a greater tendency of the conventional pharmaceutical companies to explore the herbal drug option, not only to expand their market share in profit making industry but also to boost the new drug discovery and allied research by gaining the knowledge in the herbal medicine system [57]. Companies are now patenting their products and making profit by either marketing the product themselves or selling it to other major players. Words like acquisition, outsourcing and joint venture are becoming common in the global herbal market. Companies like Ranbaxy were among the first to announce the induction of herbal drugs in their product list [58]. Pfizer announce the joint venture with a British herbal company for the manufacture and marketing of an anti-fat pill as early as 1998[59]. But the watershed point in this trend came when leading British herbal drug company, potters herbal medicine, was acquired by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Galenica limited in a whooping $970 millio n deal [60]. This trend again gained momentum when Danish medical tycoon, Erik Sprunk-Janser bought the exclusive rights to 25 herbal products from traditional Arabic medicine system [61]. Overall the professional approach of the more experienced pharmaceutical industries brought two important gains in herbal medicine market, first they gave the herbal drugs more exposure to diverse medicinal markets and increased the coverage by much needed advertisements and secondly the provided capital for research and standardization of the herbal preparation. The annual turnover of major system of medicine in India, namely Ayurvedas, Siddhas and Unani, is estimated to be more than one billion dollars [62]. The gap between the demand and supply is ever increasing and is expected to rise from the present value of 2 lakh tons to 4 lakh tons in five year time [63]. This supply and demand gap creates fertile ground for the setup of manufacturing industries including small and medium manufacturing units. On one hand, the increase of units would create employment; on the other hand it will help in growth of allied industries including cultivation, processing, packaging and transportation. This huge investment potential should be boosted by some concrete steps on the part of the government. One such step that is needed is the policy making and introducing laws in relation to the manufacture and standardization of the herbal drugs. Indian government has taken many steps in the development of herbal market, creating a full-fledged department of AYUSH for dealing in the herbal and traditional medicines, enforcing laws for proper manufacturing, testing and prescribing the herbal drugs. Many entrepreneur developing programs to motivate and assist them in the form of loan and additional knowledge for setting up of small scale industries are a few to count on [64]. Rate limiting steps in the development of herbal industry With all the euphoria around the herbal industry, there are some grey areas which are holding back its growth. One of the most important negative feedback has come from the most unexpected quarters, which is the risk and the side effects associated with herbal drugs. The Ayurvedic drugs are being increasing criticized for the use of heavy metals including lead, arsenic and thallium well above the safety limits, in their prescription, which may be leading to heavy metal poisoning [65,66]. Some of the herbal plants like Saint Johns wart have been implicated for some very serious side effects. There is also growing concern about the drug interaction that may be there with other medications, synthetic as well as natural. Saint Johns Wart and ginkgo biloba are classical examples of such drug interactions, Saint Johns Wart is found to be interfering in the functioning of drugs like warfarine, estrogen preparation and theophylline [67]. Similarly ginkgo balboa is found to be interacting wit h paracetamol, aspirin and warfarin [68, 69]. Microbial contamination and adulteration with harmful substances also increases the suspicion there by producing hysteria among general population [70,71]. To overcome these constrains guidelines have been formulated for proper standardization and manufacture of these drugs. Some of the points included are 1) Scientific cultivation and proper identification of the medicinal plants by qualified botanists, 2) Processing the medicinal plants and their extracts in a scientific manner, 3) Isolation of the active chemical principal and characterizing its properties, 4) Proper pharmacological studies and preclinical and clinical trials before introducing the drugs into the market and post marketing surveillance, 5) Proper documentation of the research. [72] However in order to ensure the growth and development of herbal industry, formulation of an international and national policy and laws regulating the use, prescription and manufacturing of herbal drugs are also required. Today only a few countries have such laws in place. Government would further help this industry through, tax rebates, low health insurance etc in developing a potential product. Regulation and policy regarding herbal medicines [73,74,75] The legal status of the herbal medicines varies from country to country. It is regarded as an established medicine in some countries but in others it is still considered as food. So the policy and regulation of the herbal medicines are required- To facilitate the integration of traditional medicine into national health care systems; To promote the rational use of traditional medicine through the development of technical guidelines and international standards in the field of herbal medicine and acupuncture; To act as a clearing house for the dissemination of information on various forms of traditional medicine. As it was recognised that a huge chunk of the population still relies on the traditional medicines for their primary health care needs, WHO as the parent body started taking steps to integrate the traditional and herbal medicinal system to the conventional system. The initial step came with Alma ata declaration in 1978, which recommended inclusion of proven traditional medicines into national drug policy and regulatory measures. The policy of the WHO regarding traditional medicine was presented in the Director- Generals report on Traditional Medicine and Modern Health Care to the Forty-fourth World Health Assembly 1991, which stated that WHO collaborated with its Member States in the review of national policies, legislation and decisions on the nature and extent of the use of traditional medicine in their health systems. Herbal medicines have been included in the International Conference on Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) since the Fourth Conference in 1986. A WHO consultation in Munich, Germany, June 1991, drafted Guidelines for the Assessment of Herbal Medicines which was adopted for general use by the Sixth ICDRA in Ottawa, October 1991. These guidelines define basic criteria for the evaluation of quality, safety and efficacy of herbal medicines to assist national regulatory authorities, scientific organizations, and manufacturers to undertake an assessment of the documentation, of submissions and/or the dossiers in respect of such products legal status: India, India has almost 291,000 traditional medical practitioners has a well framed legal system. The traditional medicines are regulated by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945. No products derived from traditional systems may be manufactured without a licence from the State Drug Control Authorities. Patent and proprietary medicines derived from the traditional systems must contain ingredients which are mentioned in the standard books and Pharmacopoeias of that medical system. A drug is defined as being safe if it causes no known or potential harm to users. There are three categories of safety that need to be considered: . Category 1: safety established by use over long time Category 2: safe under specific conditions of use (such herbal medicines should preferably be covered by well-established documentation) Category 3: herbal medicines of uncertain safety (the safety data required for this class of drugs will be identical to that of any new substance) [75]. China Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of more than 4 000 years. The Chinese Materia Medica is one of the most extensive sources of literature on medicinal plants. With regard to their legal status, herbal medicines in China are considered as medicinal products with special requirements for marketing, for example a quality dossier, safety and efficacy evaluation, and special labelling. New drugs have to be examined and approved according to the guidelines provided by the Drug Administration Law, which also grant an approval number to the new drug. After that the final product is marketed. The Drug Administration Law of the Peoples Republic of China was enacted on 20 September 1984, which encourages the simultaneous development of both traditional and modern medicine. The drug manufacturing enterprise, Article 5 states that It should be staffed with an adequate number of pharmacists or technical personnel with a title equivalent to or higher than associate engineer and skilled workers adaptable to the scale of drug production. Article 31 states The sale of medicinal plant materials newly discovered or introduced from abroad is not allowed unless it is approved by the health bureau of the province, autonomous region or municipality A new drug will be approved for clinical use and a licence issued by the Ministry of Public Health, if the clinical trial or clinical verification has been completed and an appraisal of its efficacy has been made. Owning to Pursuant to Articles 21 and 22 of the Drug Administration Law, on 1 July 1985, the new TCM drugs are classified under five categories: Category 1 Artificial imitations of TCM herbs; Newly discovered medicinal plants and their preparations; Single active principle extracted from TCM plants material and their preparations. Category 2 Chinese medicinal herbal injections; Parts of TCM medicinal plants newly employed as a remedy and their preparations; Non-single components extracted from TCM and natural plants and their preparations; TCM materials obtained by artificial techniques in vivo and their preparations. Category 3 New TCM preparations; Combined preparations of TCM and modern medicine in which TCM medicine is the main component; Cultivated material which traditionally is imported. Category 4 New dosage forms or new routes of administration of TCM drug; Materials introduced from other parts of the country and those for cultivation instead of harvesting in The wild. Category 5 TCM products with new and additional indications. Indonesia The Directorate of Traditional Drug Control was established under the Directorate General of Drugs and Food Control of the Ministry of Health in 1975. Since than the government has set many guidelines for traditional medicines regarding: Production, distribution and labelling of traditional drugs; Procedure for registration of traditional drugs and imported crude drugs; Licensing of traditional drugs and imported traditional drugs; and Control requirements, such as for a production code, labelling and advertisement Traditional drugs foreign origins are not permitted to be imported into Indonesia, except in special cases when a licence was granted. The Directorate General of Drugs and Food Control has published the Indonesian Farmacopea and six volumes of the Materia Medika Indonesia. These publications discuss the formal requirements for crude herbal drugs and give further information about local name, section microscopic drawing, crude drug powder and a crude drug colour picture. Germany The share of herbal medical drugs is almost equal to 10% of the whole pharmaceutical industry in Germany in 1989. According to a study conducted by Allensbach Institute

Deutsche Bank AG :: essays research papers

Walker, M. (October 23, 2000). Deutsche Bank Plans to Make Its Retail Unit A Stock Outlet. The Wall Street Journal (pg A29-30) This article is about Deutsche Bank AG tried to sell its retail business in order to concentrate on corporate and investment banking six month ago and it is now working on a plan to change its retail unit into a pan-European outlet for stocks, mutual funds and other investment products. Today, top executives of the world's largest bank by assets, Deutsche Bank, are going to present their new ideas to their supervisory board. The board planned to consider the management proposals earlier this year before big steps were taken. The bank’s powerful investment-banking division Global Corporates & Institutions encourages the new idea. GCI oversees the retail network as a distribution channel to the growing class of wealthy Europeans who are changing their savings into stocks and investment funds. Mr. Breuer had been told to rethink his previous plan to sell a majority stake in Deutsche Bank 24 by the supervisory board. The bank's top investment bankers believe that retaining the retail business and focusing its efforts on selling investment products is profitable than traditional banking services. In addition, Michael Philipp, the manager of the Deutsche Bank's asset-management division, is also pushing the retail restoring to increase the sales of fund-management unit DWS, Europe's biggest mutual-fund company. These plans aren't limited with only Deutsche Bank 24, it is also for the group's private-banking unit, serving high net-worth clients because of its aggressive expansion as a European sales channel for the GCI and asset-management units. Deutsche Bank also plans to win retail customers in the United States. It was that was followed a bid for National Discount Brokers Group Inc. earlier this month. It is up to the supervisory board’s decision to accept the plan in order to keep the retail bank. On the other hand, they can oppose a strong shift away from basic retail banking. In today’s meeting, there may be an understanding that leaves Deutsche Bank still well established in traditional domestic retail banking, as well as the retail investment services that stimulate its GCI bankers. Deutsche Bank had budgeted $109.3 million to build up Deutsche Bank 24 in Europe in August that includes redesigning branches abroad, merging information technology and marketing the new business. Management consultants have expected that it would cost about 300 million euros to achieve credit across Europe in marketing.

Back to the Future: Past, Present, and Future Essay

There is much to discuss and analyze about all three installments. These would include actor choices, spotting, direction, acting, and most importantly the soundtrack and musical choices for all 3. Considering all 3 movie plots jump from decade to decade, it can be analyzed literally from past, present, and future. Inevitably, Back to the Future’s success also led to several video game launches, a ride at Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando, an animated series, and even a comic book. Let’s go back to the year 1985, you and your bodacious friends want to hang ten with the dudes, so you guys catch a flick at the local cineplex. Your choices are Mask, Teen Wolf, or Back to the Future. You mean the guy from Family Ties? So you take your chances on Back to the Future. Good choice! Of all things, Eric Stolz, the main actor in Mask, was originally cast for the role of Marty Mcfly when production of Back to the Future began on November 26,1984. Stoltz was filmed for four weeks, but after seeing a rough cut, Steven Spielberg and the writer/directors decided that Stoltz had played the role â€Å"too seriously† for a comedy, and he was replaced by Michael J. Fox (Futurepedia). Back To The Future was written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, and mainly starred Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. The movie opened on July 3, 1985 and grossed $210 million at the US box office, making it the highest grossing film of 1985 (IMDb). The basic synopsis of Back to the Future 1, is about a young man named Marty Mcfly who accidentally travels into the past and jeopardizes his own future existence. With the help of an eccentric local scientist named Dr. Emmett L. Brown, he manages to travel back in time via a time machine made from a DeLorean. This was done by breaking the time barrier in what was called temporal displacement allowing it to travel along the space-time continuum. When the first script was made, a refrigerator was the planned prop for the time machine. Later Steven Spielberg decided he didn’t want kids trapped inside their refrigerators trying to play time traveling games (Funtrivia). Done carefully, Bones Howe (music supervisor) and Alan Silvestri (composer) gathered an array of perfectly fit songs to cater both the 1950’s as well as the 1980’s. The movie jumps from decade to decade throughout the movie, and makes it apparent when it does. The movie starts out when Marty is late for school, he gets on his skateboard and we hear a fantastic song by Huey Lewis and the News, the â€Å"Power of Love. Later in the movie, we hear another solid track by Huey Lewis entitled â€Å"Back in Time. † By the way, Huey Lewis makes a cameo as a judge. When Marty tries out for the school competition, Huey says, â€Å"hold it. hold it†¦ I’m afraid you are just too darn loud. † This is also considered diagetic mus ic in the film. Marty’s first time travel sent him to the year 1955. Marty, immediately, arrives at the Twin Pines Ranch, which was owned by Otis Peabody. Marty crashes into the barn on Mr. Peabody’s property which causes the entire Peabody family to wake up and come outside. Marty encounters many differences between 1985 and 1955, including a cleaner, less run-down ambiance in the Courthouse Square. While searching for a younger Doc Brown, he meets his father and accidentally interferes with the first meeting of his parents–being hit by his grandfather’s Chevrolet in his father’s place. While in the 1950’s, some of the songs we hear are such great classics â€Å"Night Train† by Marvin Berry, â€Å"Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)† by Marvin Berry, â€Å"Wallflower† by Etta James, and â€Å"Johnny B. Goode† by Chuck Berry aka Marty Mcfly. Some people complained that Back to the Future was a racist movie because Chuck Berry was inspired by a white guy. Sometimes a joke is just a joke; but Chuck Berry liked it. (Davis). Finally we have the sensational score by Alan Silvestri. At times the score is adventurous, and at times it’s sad. The spotting is done just right to balance the dynamics of the movie. Also, there is a leitmotif that accompanies the movie, in fact, it accompanies all 3 movies of the trilogy, and never goes unnoticed. Upon the success of the first film, Robert Zemeckis (director) and Bob Gale (writer) agreed to do a 2nd movie. In fact, they also intended on a 3rd movie, and both the 2nd and 3rd Back to the Future were filmed simultaneously and released six months apart. Back to the Future 2, with a budget of $40 million, grossed nearly $331 million at the box office (IMDb). The characters of George Mcfly and Jennifer Parker were played by different actors from those in the first film, requiring scenes that overlap to be re-shot. Jennifer Parker which was originally played by Claudia Wells, and replaced by Elisabeth Shue in the second film. Claudia claims she turned the roll down when she found out her mother was diagnosed with cancer (Futurepedia). George Mcfly, who was originally played by the quirky Crispin Glover, was later replaced by Jeffrey Weissman. Crispin Glover refused to return to the trilogy due to salary disputes. Back to the Future 2 pans back and forth from 1955, to 1985, and all the way to 2015; the past, present and future. Needless to say, Bob Gale and Zemeckis attempted to predict what 2015 would like and sound like. Some songs used in the 2015 scenes, were â€Å"Beat it† by Michael Jackson, â€Å"I Can’t Drive 55† by Sammy Hagar, â€Å"Mr. Sandman† by The Four Aces, and â€Å"Papa Loves Mambo† by the Perry Como. The filmmakers did do some research into what scientists thought may occur in the year 2015. Bob Gale also commented; â€Å"We knew we weren’t going have flying cars by the year 2015, but God we had to have those in our movie. â€Å"(Q ;amp; A) The film was also considered one of the most ground-breaking projects for Industrial Light ;amp; Magic. It was one of the effects house’s first forays into digital compositing, as well as the VistaGlide motion control camera system, which enabled them to shoot one of the film’s most complex sequences, in which Michael J. Fox played three separate characters, all of whom interacted with each other. Although such scenes were not new, the VistaGlide allowed, for the first time, a completely dynamic scene in which camera movement could finally be incorporated. The technique was also used in scenes where Thomas F. Wilson’s character (Biff Tannen) had to interact with a younger version of himself. (Zemeckis) Six months after Back to the Future 2 was released in the theaters, the Back to the Future team released Back to the Future 3 on May 25, 1990. Again on a budget of $40 million, this one cashed in at $244 Million. The film takes place immediately after the events of Back to the Future Part II. While stranded in 1955, Marty McFly discovers that his friend Dr. Emmett â€Å"Doc† Brown was killed by Biff Tannen’s great-grandfather Buford. Marty decides to travel to 1885 to rescue Doc and return to his own timeline. This time, Alan Silvestri had to create his soundtrack based in the year 1885. However, he still maintained the leitmotif throughout the picture. The years 1985 and 1955 are still relevant in the 3rd movie, and it jumps around. The popular group ZZ Top make an appearance, as they perform â€Å"Doubleback† during a festival in 1885. This was also considered diagetic —-performed for the actors and the audience to hear. Huey Lewis’ â€Å"Power of Love† is also heard again. In 1989, a video game, based on the original Back to the Future movie was produced for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) by video game publisher LJN a subsidiary of Acclaim games. This has some similarity to the 1983 Atari video game E. T. where producers felt it would sell solely on brand association to the hit movie and the game designers were only given five weeks in order to produce a product to get it on the shelves for the 1982 Christmas shopping rush. Reviewers also cited that game as virtually unlike the film and was a major contributor to an economic downturn known as the Great Video Game Crash of 1983. There are only two songs found in the entire game. One is â€Å"Johnny B. Goode† which will play during the school dance that Marty is playing on stage and sounds close to the version heard in the film. The other song is a repetitive looping song that will play throughout the game in non-mini game moments. There are suggestions that the song is supposed to be â€Å"The Power Of Love† by Huey Lewis ;amp; The News sped up and cycled differently. But it winds up sounding nothing like the actual song made famous in the movie. Nes also later released Back to the Future 2 and 3 as a single game in 1990. Back to the Future II ;amp; III received largely negative reviews from critics. Stan Stepanic of Gamefreaks365. om gave the game positive remarks in regards to similarities with The Goonies II, but gave it a largely negative review due to the lack of a password or save feature coupled with its notorious length, although there was a code to skip to the second half of the game. Back to the Future II ;amp; III’s length has often been cited as the game’s major weakness, Stan stating that it took him roughly six hours just to map it, and he spent so much time trying to fini sh it he actually turned it off out of boredom. (Gamefreaks). Sega Genesis also released their own version of Back to the Future 3 in 1991. It was a lot different than the Nintendo version. However, it was just as unpopular, the opening level was nearly impossible to complete. Finally in 2010, Telltale Games released Back to the Future on PC and Mac; and later was also released on the Ipad and Playstation 3. This was given way better reviews than the predecessors, and remains the best game of yet. Ben PerLee from GameZone summarized his praise of the game by saying it is a â€Å"feel good cinematic experience that any fan of Back to the Future will want to check out, and everyone else would do well to check it out. GameZone) Back to the Future: The Animated Series was an animated series based on the Back to the Future trilogy as well. The series lasted two seasons, each lasting 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 7, 1991 to November 28, 1992, the date of the last original episode. Harvey Comics also published a series of Back to the Future comic books starting in November 1991. With the cover header reading †Å"The Adventure Has Only Begun! ,† the first issue featured Doc & Marty in 1927 Chicago. On May 2,1991 the Universal Studios Theme park in Florida released Back To The Future: The Ride. It was a simulator ride based on the popular movie trilogy of the same name. It was a mini-sequel to Back to the Future Part III. Later at Universal Studios Hollywood, they opened the same ride on June 12, 1993 ; and then at Universal Studios Japan on March 31, 2001. The Orlando and Hollywood versions closed in 2007 (Futurepedia). Although Back to the Future creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had no involvement with the ride, they were consulted as to whether they â€Å"got Doc right†. The two responded with a â€Å"yes†. They have also commented that â€Å"it’s a great ride. In addition, references are made to a â€Å"Zemeckis-Gale diagram† and â€Å"Gale-Zemeckis Coordinates (Giveneyestosee) With the huge success of the Back to the Future Trilogy, you can see where a simple idea can turn into a big one. When you take risks on a new actor, and stamp something with a touch of great directing, production, and a great score —- you never know what could happen. Back to the Future will always remain a classic no matter what generation it leads to; whether it be 1955,1985, or even 2015. Works Cited â€Å"Back to the Future II & III Review. Review. Gamefreaks365, n. d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Back to the Future Part II. † IMDb. IMDb. com, n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Back to the Future: The Ride. † FuturePedia. Wikia, n. d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Back to the Future: The Ride. † Giveneyestosee. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. â€Å"BTTF Trilogy. † The â€Å"Back To The Future† Trilogy. Funtrivia, n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Claudia Wells. † Futurepedia. Wikia, n. d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Davis, Cindy. â€Å"Pajiba. † Mindhole Blowers: 20 Facts About Back to the Future That Might Make Your Flux Capacitor Hit 1. 21 Gigawatts. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Futurepedia. † Futurepedia. Wikia, n. d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. IMDb. IMDb. com, n. d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. PerLee, Ben. â€Å"Back to the Future: The Game Review. † Back to the Future – The Game Review. GameZone, 28 Dec. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. â€Å"Q&A Commentary with Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, Back to the Future Part II Blu-Ray, 2010. † Interview. DVD Blu Ray. N. d. Television. Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale (2005). Back to the Future Feature: Making the Trilogy Part 2. Los Angeles: Universal Pictures. N. d. Television.

Chemistry and Math Essay

Education is the best legacy. This has been a lifelong statement that I have come to believe. Personally, I believe that learning continues until the death of a man. This is because no man can claim to know everything. Life faces us with new possibilities daily and there is the next thing waiting in line; a new ladder to climb and a new goal or dream to achieve. Therefore, while we appreciate our present academic achievement, we should strive more by seeking more knowledge to improve ourselves. Furthermore, I believe that the achievement of one goal should lead to the desire to set a higher one. In this context, I strongly subscribe to the idea that knowledge is imperishable and thus should be a priority for every person. There should naturally be a curiosity that will instigate the desire to know more and to acquire more knowledge from time to time. Consequently, I have educational and professional goals that I hold dear to my heart. Presently, I am a double major student studying Chemistry and Math. As part of my desire to learn more and add more to myself, I intend to enroll for postgraduate studies so that I can earn a Ph D in Chemistry. Due to my interest in Chemistry and Biology, I hope to attend medical school so that I can become a medical doctor. As a medical doctor, I want to specialize in the field of endocrinology or surgery. I have always dreamt that one day I will be able to open up my own private practice where I can help people with imbalances in their endocrine systems and help reduce pain that people go through daily. In addition to this, I hope that later in life I will be able to lecture Chemistry and also work with a pharmaceutical company in hopes of being able to synthesis new drugs in the fight against HIV. I know it takes a lot of dedication, focus and hard work to achieve all these but I believe nothing good comes easy and I live with this mindset every single day of my life. Consequently, I have developed a keen interest in and an unrivaled thirst for learning. As a professional, I would love to be a valuable asset so that I can give back to the community.