Monday, September 30, 2019

Torstar Case Report

Group-based case report Torstar Corporation BUSN81 Theory of Corporate Finance 2011 Autumn 1. Introduction The case of Torstar Corporation suggests the plan and result of repurchasing its Class B shares in December of 1997. Besides this, the situation of its business structure, capital structure and expenditures, future plan are also described in the case. Therefore, the purpose of our case study is to state, analyze and drew to some important conclusions about Torstar Corporation, and try to estimate its power to compete with a new national newspaper. . Background Torstar Corporation was incorporated on February 6, 1958 and published Canada’s largest newspaper Toronto Star. It had two main rivals which are Sun Media Corp. and the Globe and Mail. One launching second national newspaper by Southam Inc. would also be one competitor of The Star. Since 1975, by acquisition of domestic and international book publishing and supplementary educational products, Torstar found its three major business, newspapers, book publishing and supplementary education. After the acquisition of Troll in fiscal 1997, it also has one 3-year-time plan to acquire more companies which fit with its core business at the reasonable price. As of March 31, 1998, Torstar share structure included 5 million Class A voting shares and 34 million Class B non-voting shares. Since they believed prevailing Class B stocks were undervalued, they began to repurchase it back from December 17, 1997. In 1997 the debt-to-total-asset ratio was 18%, and management believed that 30% was more appropriate. Actually they also suppose that they could carry a 50% debt-to-total-asset ratio if they had a suitable strategic acquisition. Therefore, based on this background, we will analysis the effects of repurchasing stocks of Torstar, the advantages and disadvantages of its leverage ratio and its ways to investment. Then by adding some assumptions, one prediction of Torstar’s power to compete with new launching rival is possible. 3. Analysis 4. 1 Overview of Cash Flow, debt, Operating Situation and Income The company was doing well so far, until 1997. The cash flow, operating situation and the income were all healthy. We can conclude that from the Balance-Sheet the company had adequate cash  flow, exhibit 3 shows that the operating cash flow kept increasing from 1995 to 1997 with the free cash flow, this was enough cash for Torstar facing with some possible risky. The only problem is that how to stop the continued increasing free cash flow since too much cash means increasing costs of keeping cash and decreasing market value of cash. The amount about $50,000 would be a good expectation. The three main business of newspaper, book and supplementary education were operated well, they had sustainable increasing revenue and stable expenditure, so the profit was increasing positively after 1993 acquiring the business of supplementary education, especially in 1997, it got a rapid increasing of net income. See the return of equity below, it shows a well increasing on return of investors. (Base on Net Income over Total Equity) The debt ratio was a little bit low as our analysis, it had space to increase. But how? Increasing dividend payment or repurchase in the open market? We analyzed these two possible ways below. 3. 2 Dividend policy Torstar Corporation has a stable dividend policy recent years which was to pay out 30 to 35 percent of the previous year’s operating cash flows. Cash dividend was paid regular quarterly which was keeping $0. 26 per share in 1997. Dividend empirically decreased in the propensity of firms due to its benefits are not attractive than repurchase, but it is still important for management. Advantage of payout dividends * Dividends may appeal to investors who desire stable cash flow but do not want to incur transactions cost from periodically selling share of stocks * On behalf of stockholders, paying dividends can keep cash from investors * Dividends can be used to reduce agency cost of managerial discretion * Managers may increase dividends to signal optimism concerning future cash flow * Disadvantage of payout dividends * Dividends are double taxed * Dividends can reduce internal sources of financing. Dividends may force the firm to forgo positive NPV projects or to reply on costly external equity financing * Firms often view dividends as a commitment to their stockholders and quite hesitant to reduce an existing dividends. Once established, dividend cuts would adversely affect the firm’s stock price as a negative signal As illustrated by Torstar, a stable cash flow in paying dividends implied a well operating status. The sale of Hebdo provided additional financial flexibility in 1997, free cash flow increased rapidly as can be seen in Appendix. An extra or special cash dividend and share repurchase are two choices to payout adequate cash. Special dividend is expressly not intended to be a recurring event, but as mentioned above, paying dividends with the tax drawback and may produce a negative signal when fluctuating. So keeping the stable payout ratio was a better choice for Torstar. 3. 3 Repurchase Compared with dividend payout, shares repurchase have the listed effects on Torstar Corp, * Send a costly signal to investors that stock of Torstar is a good investment. Recent investments seem to cause side-effect on investor’s confidence about the company. As mentioned in the article, institutional investors treat Torstar as a ‘pure play’ investment into the area of newspaper and book publisher. But from year 1995 to 1997, acquisitions into children’s supplementary education products are viewed as not favorable. They hope Torstar Corporation can continue the historical expansion of the newspaper and book division. In order to mitigate the side-effect caused by recent investment. Repurchase would result in fewer shares outstanding and thus higher equity value per share which leads to a better performance of the stock. It also sends a signal to the market that the management believes the stock is undervalued. The price of the stock would go up. As a result of the repurchase sends a strong signal to the investors. The signal is costly as a repurchase would use up corporate cash and hard to mimic. * Increase the EPS which shows great confidence of future performance Repurchase would decrease the number of shares outstanding which leads to directly change of EPS of the Torstar Corporation. In the interim financial statements, the EPS shows great improvements after the repurchase. (Show in Figure 1) Figure 1 EPS change in 1997 * Availability of excess cash from operations By checking the interim financial statements, cash provided by operating activities of Torstar Corporation face an increase in the year 1997, from 25. 6 million to 130 million dollars. The retained cash from operation activities is too much as the normal on-going capital expenditures was expected to be 25 million to 30 million dollars. Additionally, Capital cycle in the publishing industry is approximately six years and Torstar Corporation has recently modernized its plant. There’s no major capital expenditures were forecast for the near future. Thus, excess cash should be paid out. By checking the retained cash in the Quarter 1, 2008, the operating cash is 27. 97 million dollar. It is sufficient for on-going capital expenditure. (shown in figure 2) Reduction in excess cash would reduce the agency cost of managerial discretion as the manager has fewer resources to pursuing consuming perks. Figure 2 Cash provided by operating activities Compared with the dividends payout, repurchase is tax efficient as dividends is taxable. Compared with dividends payout, repurchase avoid price drop results from dividend issuance. Institutional investors are happy when the performance of the stock is good. High price shows the strong performance of the stock. * Optimize capital structure. Torstar’s long-term debt outstanding was reduced from 321 million in 1996 to 197 million in 1997 result in a debt-to-total assets ratio of percent. While the management believed that a 30 percent target debt-to-assets ratio was more appropriate. Too less debt may cause the loss of tax shield and influence the value of the firm. While at this level of debt-to-assets ratio, the risk is still acceptable. Torstar Corporation still has excess debt capacity for future capital expansion. Thus repurchase can decrease the shares outstanding, and also decrease the value of assets. It would push up the debt-to-assets ratio to the appropriate level. By using the interim financial statements, we get the trend of debt-to-assets ratio. In December 31 1997, the decrease of debt-to-assets ratio is mainly a result of the long-term debt decreasing from 510. 007 million to 197. 322 million dollars. And in March 31 1998, the increase in debt-to-assets ratio is a result of repurchasing shares (decreasing in value of total assets). 4. Conclusion After analyzing, we all agree with the activity the Torstar hold, stock repurchasing transfer a strong and credible signaling to the market that the company is in a good situation and will do better in the future, the debt ratio increases and the market value will also goes up. We estimate that Torstar will keep increasing in the next financial year. 5. Appendix Cash Flow Analysis (CDN$000) | 1995| 1996| 1997| operating cash flow| 78. 3| 102. 9| 130. 0| dividends| 30. 9| 35. 1| 40. 3| Capital expenses| 20. 3| 29. 8| 26. 6| free cash flow| 27. 2| 38. 0| 63. 1| Dividends | 1st Q 1997| 2nd Q 1997| 3rd Q 1997| 4th Q 1997| Dividends($000)| 10120| 9965| 10080| 10095| Average shares| 39151| 39107| 39060| 39044| Dividends per share| $0. 26| $0. 26| $0. 26| $0. 26|

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Hearthfullness: Suffering Essay

We are compelled as Christians to persevere in life whenever we face a situation that will make us suffer; this is because Christ commanded us to do so. In the bible perseverance is among the values that Christians must have and practice all the time. Jesus Christ set a good example when He was on this earth regarding suffering as a Christian. Today so many Christians go through so many trials and suffering but the result is that they are always complaining. This is contrary to what our Lord showed us on this earth. Jesus suffering was predicted by the prophet Isaiah in his earlier days and in Isaiah 53:3 he says ‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ’ The nature of human beings is that we are always weak and tend to want to avoid suffering if we can. This however is not practical in a Christian life because just like Christ we cannot avoid suffering. We tend to run away from all the situations surrounding suffering and forget that what was predicted about Christ by Isaiah, the prophet really came to pass later as is written in the book of mark 14:1-9. In this passage Jesus was about to be taken for crucifixion and despite of this he continues t perform His miracles and healings. In this particular passage Jesus rebukes the Pharisees that whatever the poor woman did by pouring the Alabaster oil on his head was to be remembered during the spread of the gospel after he has gone to heaven (Mark 14:8,9) Thomas Keating in his book Foundation for centering prayer and the Christian contemplative life admonishes the Christians to always be ready to suffer just like Jesus did. He draws us to the sufferings Christ went through in his road to crucifixion. He says that this did not only affect a few people but the whole humanity. He says that since it’s a universal issue we all must carry a message of humanity for the most profound kind, remembering to pray and avoid being carried away by anger, grief and retaliatory emotions. We are all one body in Christ and we need to unite and persevere whenever there is suffering. The example Christ gave when he underwent the trials and sufferings before his death on the cross should be very practical in a Christian life. Egan in his book John on the Cross reminds us that we should take our sufferings just as Jesus Christ persevered in is way to Crucifixion. References: Keating, T. (2007) Foundation for centering prayer and the Christian contemplative life, New York: Continuum. Laird, M. (2006) Into the silent land: A guide to the Christian practice of contemplation, Oxford University Press. The bible: New International Version

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Animal vs. Plant Cells

Animal and plant cells have many of the same characteristic. Animal cells and plant cells are both eukaryotes. They both have cell nucleus which contain chromosomes or DNA, as well as cell membrane encompassing the cell to control the substances moving in and out of the cell. They both contain enzymes from liposome for breaking down larger molecules. Animal and plant cells both transport protein into and out of cells through endoplasmic reticulum and have vacuoles where food, water, and nutrients are stored as well as provide stability for a plant. Three Differences Along with the similarities, there are also differences between animal cells and plant cells. Plant cells contain chloroplast to help make their own food whereas animal cells do not and animal cells do not possess a cell wall like plant cells do. Another difference is the shape of the cells. Animal cells are circular in nature and plant cells are rectangular. Although animal cells and plant cells both contain vacuoles: the function, quantity, and size of the vacuoles are different in each cell. Food and waste are stored in one or more small vacuoles in animal cells whereas plant cells contain one large vacuole which is mainly used for storing water and providing the plant with stability. Five Internal Structures of a Plant Some internal structures of plant cells are ribosomes, chloroplasts, nucleus, Golgi body, and central vacuole. Ribosomes are responsible for synthesizing protein and amino acid to be released inside and outside the cell. Chloroplasts capture sunlight energy to produce food for plants through photosynthesis. The nucleus is the brain of the plant; it contains DNA to characterize each cell into a specific type. The Golgi body sorts proteins and cell nutrients and releases small amounts into the cytoplasm. The central vacuole is the storage bin and backbone to the plant. It stores food and water for the plant as well as providing strength and stamina for the plant stem.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Slavery-Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Slavery-Response - Essay Example It investigates the European nations that trafficked in slaves. It also emphasizes on brief origin and history of African enslavement. However, the embarkation area map of the West and West Central Africa is unable to provide with a closer insight. Additionally, it seems that the data on most of the African American history has been compiled from few sources i.e. most are from Eltis et al 2001, lacking a well researched recent literature review. The web site incorporates few links in the right side of the page for distant learning. These are well designed according to format of a report with an introduction, discussion pages and links to resources. There is also a well interpreted history of cultural norms and traditions under the heading â€Å"Laws that Bound†. Apart from some minor issues, the website is a great source of information for people interested in exploring their ethnographic and cultural background. The service is doing a good job at maintaining the national pres erves and assisting the general public in visiting such cultural sites keeping the history alive.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Challenges in recovery of mental health client Essay

Challenges in recovery of mental health client - Essay Example The depiction in the text is protected and the inferences are not aimed at anyone whatsoever. The paper is a reflection of study on the addictions in the country. The victim of the study is fictitious and used based on education with reference to drug abuse. Addictions are resultant to the use of substance initially pleasurable but the continued use becomes obsessive and hampers with ordinary life errands like work and health or relationships. When out of control, it affects the people around you directly or indirectly (Taite & Scharff, 2013, 25). Ms. M has been in the country for 30 years as an illegal immigrant after getting into the country through the Mexican border with the aim of making a good life in the land of opportunities. This client is 46 years of age, and Latina of descent. She started working as a bartender at a local bar near her residence before she had become an addict of the substances. She is a mother of two children one who died from an OD and the other daughter is stable and working for the government and isolated herself from the habits of her mother. She blames the mother for the death of her sister. Her drug abuse led her into debt and bad choices where she lost her home and a place to leave (Rassool, & Gafoor, 2007). She has been struggling in the streets of New York moving from shelter to shelter. She no longer works and has to scavenge for a drug handout from the dealers who give her under the regulations (Boyd, 2007). Ms. M came to the center to apply for rehabilitation after opting to find refuge to the prevalent case of drug abuse in the life she leads. MS. M is began to express her thought in the life she leads was not very sustaining as pertains to the age she was now. Her social life has been dysfunctional since she started to consume many different drugs with the aim of getting high. She gradually graduated from the simple marijuana to cocaine and went into the use of crystal meth. The abuse of drugs has made Ms. M looks older than actually is since the drugs are taking most of her money and little goes into her health. She does not have any medical insurance. She asserts that she is determined to get help ad has enrolled in a local hospital after being rejected severally. Her emotional detachment from her daughter who is still alive does not seem to bother her since she says she does not want to hurt herself emotionally (Dossey & Keegan, 2009). She has the urge to reconnect but the daughter has not yet agreed to come to terms with the mother. The greatest obstacle M faces are the change in the lifestyle she is used to, now she lives with a dealer who is sometimes the boyfriend and uses the drugs as an advantage to having her do his bid. At times, she is forced to take the drugs since they are flaunted in front of her. She asserts that her devotion is tested by the social circle she dwells (Peabody, 2013). She says that the worst and saddening time of her life was when she would give her body to get a do se of the drug and that would always lead to her getting raped by the dealers. Ms. M has been struggling with the addiction from abuse of drugs and specifically crystal meth, which she was hooked on recently. She has the courage to overcome the drug abuse and the social circles that make her life miserable. The use of crystal meth was the last option she had after her struggle with cash proved stronger. Present issues M has been using the drug for more than 20 years where she had drug

Discription of three habitats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discription of three habitats - Essay Example lowing water and since it transports rocks and sediments downstream, sand, rock and woody debris are seen at the banks and toward the end of the river. Vegetation at the banks appears deep rooted, since it remains anchored even as water flows by. Unlike in a river, where water is constantly flowing, a swamp is a wetland area where water partially or completely submerges vegetation for the greater part of the year. Swamp water flows at a slow rate and it actually seems stagnant. The edges of a swamp are covered with sedges or reeds, which look like long straw grass. The elevated areas within a swamp, which are drier than the watered areas, have trees. The land seems marshy in the relatively dry areas. A lake is basically defined as a body of freshwater surrounded by land. This implies that the lake is characterized by open water. A lake has suspended organisms like plankton. On its banks, where there is sedimentation of sand or soil and organic matter accumulation, there are floating but rooted aquatic plants like smartweeds and water lilies. These floating plants provide support and food for many herbivores that live around the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Essay Example Capitalism in the society leads to class structure between halves and halve nodes. The halves are the capitalist who owns all the resources, and have nodes are the labourers whose only means of subsistence is their labour power. The capitalist buy labour in the market likes any other commodity (EyalSzeleÃŒ nyi &Townsley 1998). The surplus of labour in the economy goes into the capitalist in the form of supernormal profit. The surplus arises due to the worker working overtime with no payment. If a worker is assign to work for a certain job within 10 hours, and the worker finishes the task in 7hours, the 3hours extra will go into capitalist profit. Capitalist is society trace origin from 13th to 16th century. The reasons for emergence of capitalism in society were due to the society need to use wealth to create more wealth. In pre-capitalist society, the profit from enterprise was shared among the society members. The land, labour and capital were not factors of production but communal resource. With the emergence of capitalism, labour was viewed as a factor of production. The profit for the entire company goes into the pocket of one person. Capitalism develops fully in 16th century with the industrial revolution and development of companies. Industrial revolution is a period of advancement of industries due technology and innovation. Advances of industries leads to few individuals accumulating a lot of wealth leaving others poor. The companies that were developed were in a group of people but everyone depend on herself. Industrialization lead to emergence of capitalist nations in 17th century that became economically powerful. In a capitalist economy, the level of completion is high to economic scarce resources. The owners of production face completion in prices of goods and services from other individuals in the society. The competition in the society will leads to alienation of the owner and workers. The

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Female Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Female Slavery - Essay Example While Female slaves were treated as sexual objects by their master as they were viewed as an item devoid of morals, bestowed the label of being 'promiscuous' and were given 'male' responsibilities at home and in the field, the treatment of male slaves were similarly cruel and debasing as they also suffered extreme and unjust pain and abuse in the hands of their owners which stemmed from the fact the slave-owners in the American South viewed their subjects as non-humans. According to the account of Deborah Gray White, author of the book "Female Slaves: Sex Roles and Status in Antebellum South." The female slaves did not did not play the conventional stereotyped female function as it was characterized in nineteenth century America, and in spite of how harshly most historians typecast women as subordinate or submissive in their duties in relation to slave men, it will be difficult to reconcile these roles with the realities in the plantation South. White wrote that, 1"The high degree of female cooperation, the ability of slave women to rank and order themselves, the independence women derived from the absence of property considerations in the conjugal relationship, 'abroad marriages,' and the female slave's ability to provide supplementary foodstuffs are factors which should not be ignored in consideration of the slave family " (28). White maintains that depictions of "female slaves" as 'full-time field-hands' are practically indistinguishable from the male slaves. White mentions the "full female hands," compelled to "slave" like "males," and suggests that 2"It is difficult, however, to say how often they did the same work, and it would be a mistake to say that there was no differentiation of field labor on Southern farms and plantations. The most common form of differentiation was that women hoed while men plowed." In addition, White's account of the slavery in the South upset and horrifies the readers as she enlightens them about the horrors and inequalities that slave women were compelled to deal with in her daily affairs.In her book, white tackles two of the most common misconceptions of female slavery: Jezebel and Mammy. The author swiftly reveals the that the stereotype that slave women were 'promiscuous', 'dirty' women with an unappeasable lust for her white master, is very deceiving. White further asserts that, 3"The choice put before many slave women was between miscegenation and the worst experiences that slavery had to offer. Not surprisingly, many chose the former." Consequently, the actuations of the slave woman yielding to the sexual advances of her white master resulted to her labeling as unchaste and immoral or a Jezebel. The second typecast tackled is that of mammy, the caring black woman who is concerned for the welfare of the white children.White, moreover, in great depth, describes the real lives and adversities that slave women faced everyday. According to White, although the female slaves' work in the fields was essential, her real worth was set in keeping the male slaves sexually fulfilled in order to reproduce more generations of slaves in the future. Consequently, almost all female slaves had families, but they were more disassociated compared to the families of the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Communication Methods in the Organizations Essay

Communication Methods in the Organizations - Essay Example An advantage of this mode of communication is that the response from either party in the conversation is instant and one which expresses their feelings better. However, the downside of it is that the method may not be effective where a lot of people are involved, for example, a large-sized organization. Meetings involve a group of people who exchange ideas in a collective fashion where the leaders (management) outlines the topic and direction whereas the participants are allowed to air their views and opinions thereafter. An advantage of this type of communication is that it allows more collaboration and inclusion of better ideas. This is because the involvement of employees provides them with a platform to contribute their ideas which are essential in formulating a better strategy. However, a disadvantage of meetings is that they tend to waste a lot of valuable time, especially where a large number of competing voices are involved. Memos are usually short forms of communication used in a majority of companies today. Typically, memos are used when the management aims to make announcements regarding events or other activities expected to take place within the organization. An advantage of using memo is that they help to relay the information in a simple, straightforward and precise fashion. This helps to save a lot of valuable time for both the management and employees. A disadvantage of memos, however, is that they lack the scope to provide detailed information and thus they could be a source of confusion if the information provided is not very clear. The use of emails has grown in popularity in the recent past as one of the crucial forms of communication in organizations. The main advantage of using emails is that they are low-costing compared to other forms such as the telephone and postage. However, a disadvantage of using emails is that it might not be an appropriate method for communicating with employees who have little knowledge.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Personal Selling Essay Example for Free

Personal Selling Essay My wife and I love shopping. She is more of a driver while I am on the analytical side. I like to gather the information, know the facts, evaluate options and then go for a purchase. For my wife, it is important to know the basic facts about the product and she is ready to make a quick decision, whether she wants the product or not. When we do shopping together, mostly we debate on â€Å"let’s buy right now vs. why not wait and evaluate other options. † Who wins? Well! Suffice it to say, our scores are pretty even. Recently she bought a new digital camera. While going to the nearest â€Å"Best Buy† to buy the camera, she wanted me to accompany her. Though before entering the store, she cautioned me to not to start a fact finding mission, comparing features and benefits of various brands, as she wants to make this purchase a quick and simple one. I agreed, but was not convinced. The digital camera market is now a days turned into a commodity market. There is a high price sensitivity due to â€Å"difficult comparison effects. † There are so many choices and brands available with similar features and benefits that sometimes it is really difficult to pick an absolute winner. When we entered the Best Buy, we already had a silent agreement that it will be a short trip, no fuss over facts! When we went to the Camera Section, it was truly confusing. There were so many choices from Nikons and Canons to Sonys and Toshibas that it was difficult to select one. My wife looked puzzled, and I had a huge grin, the message was loud†¦ and you wanted this to be a quick and simple purchase! Triumphantly, grinning from cheek to cheek, I started looking at the features of each brand and started comparing them†¦ the analyzer prevailed! But soon I was confused too. The features/ benefits and price variability was difficult to connect. There was significant price variability between various brands with similar features. At this point, we really needed help. Those of you, shopping at the Best Buy could relate to the fact that mostly it is hard to get help at this store. Customer service paged for the sales person but no one turned up. We were getting a bit annoyed because we were waiting for fifteen minutes and no sales person was available. When we were about to lose patience and walk out of the store, came a sales person. With a smiling face, he introducing himself as Bob. First, he very politely apologized for the long waiting time, gave us the reasons, of course the usual ones. But his demeanour and empathy washed out all our resentment and annoyance. He then enquired about our need and what we are looking for in a camera, etc. After determining our need, he gave an over view of the available choices in the camera section and by process of differentiation short listed four choices. He knew what he was talking, giving us quick facts about the products connecting features and benefits with our needs. We were impressed. By the time he short listed the choices, we were in so mesmerized and developed full faith in him that we were even ready to accept whatever he recommends as the best. But he did not do that, instead he narrowed down the choices and left the final decision on us. That was a great gesture. When we completed the purchase and walked out of the store, both my wife and me, a driver and an analyzer were happy and content because of a good experience. Did we make a great purchase or Bob, the sales person, made a great sale. Well, it was a win win situation for both stakeholders and this is a trait of great sales person. Why it was a good experience? First, Bob made sure to empathize with us, instantly relieving our anxiety due to long wait time. Second, he determined our need and then connected it with the available choices. He was confident because his product knowledge was superb. He had a human side that was touching and he did not impose his choice on us nor did forced selling. Now a days, we make it a point to recommend Bob to all our friends, if they are in need of a camera.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Development Of The Welfare State Sociology Essay

The Development Of The Welfare State Sociology Essay The aim of this essay is to look at the development of the welfare state following the 1942 report by Beveridge and how successful this has been in eradicating poverty. This essay will outline the context the report by Beveridge was written in, what the report was trying to solve and how far it went in solving the problem of poverty. It will also look at the three assumptions made by Beveridge and what these assumptions achieved alongside how far these worked to eliminate poverty and inequality. Finally it will briefly look at poverty in todays society to see how far things have changed. The first part of this essay will look at Beveridges report, the context it was written in and what it was trying to achieve. Beveridges report was published in the aftermath of the Second World War. It was well received by the public who as a result of the war had been brought together and were now looking to the future. Previous to the Beveridge report, in the 1920s -1930s pre-war Britain was riddl ed with unemployment and poverty. During this time there was a level of support but it was inconsistent, time restricted and confusing, causing many people to fall through the net and live in absolute poverty. When the report was published it gave people hope of change and a more optimistic future. The aim of the report was for Beveridge to look at the social insurance scheme, but the report ended up shaping the welfare system. Beveridge identified the high levels of poverty in Britain and came up with a plan to overcome it. The report found five giant evils in society which were want, ignorance, squalor, idleness and disease. The idea was to introduce a new plan for social security which would include social insurance, national assistance and voluntary assistance. This plan would work alongside three assumptions which were family allowance, National Health Service and full employment. Beveridge felt if both of these things worked alongside each other poverty would be irradiated. The second section of this essay will look at Beveridges plan for social security. A new plan was introduced by Beveridge for social security that he felt would go some way to tackle poverty. This plan consisted of Social insurance, National assistance and Voluntary insurance. Social insurance was paid by everybody that was working, it was a flat rate and if you had to stop working you received a flat rate back for that period. National assistance was created as a safety net for those who havent paid into the social security scheme. It was income assessed so would only be received by those who were really in need. Voluntary insurance was a voluntary contribution you could make which meant that as an individual you could receive a better lifestyle if you choose to pay into it. It may be argued that this allowed for inequality because in effect only those who earned enough could pay into this scheme, whereas those who worked but couldnt afford to wouldnt have the option. Beveridge felt that to tackle poverty the social security plan needed to be used alongside the three assumptions which were Family allowance, National Health Service and full employment. Family allowance was created at a time when there was a concern about birth rates falling. Many people couldnt afford to have and support children. This was introduced to stop child poverty and also with the knowledge that children were a major expense too many families so it would seem impossible to stop poverty whilst people still had children to support. It may be said that by having family allowance it encouraged people to have children to gain more money. The National Health Service was created to combat the giant evil of disease. Prior to the National Health Service poor people were terrified to become ill, because many couldnt afford to pay for any treatment. Ensuring that people had access to health care would also ensure that more people were treated and therefore fit to work. The National H ealth Service created a level of equality, everybody was entitled to the same care regardless of contribution. Full employment was introduced to combat the giant evil of idleness. The view was that if the state could help with employment, more people would be able to work so they would be less likely to be in poverty, meaning that less people needed money from the state. The third part of the essay will consider if poverty and inequality was irradiated. Following the implementation of the recommendations by Beveridge it seemed like there would be no more poverty. During the 1950s and 1960s research started to show poverty was still evident in society and in some areas was on the increase. These discoveries lead to a redefinition and rediscovery of poverty. Alcock, pg 7, 2003 highlights this when he states Townsend and Abel-smith conducted research which showed that, despite the welfare reforms to combat want, many people were still living in poverty in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s (Abel-Smith and Townsend, 1965; Townsend, 1979). When poverty was redefined it became evident that many people were still living below the poverty line, particularly single parent families, unemployed people and pensioners. During this time housing needs werent met meaning many people continued to fall through the system and couldnt support themselves. Inequality was stil l evident despite Beveridges recommendations. Beveridges report did not stop all inequality. There was a difference between the treatment of men and women. Women were expected to take on the caring role and be supported by their husbands. This may have left women financially dependent on their husbands. The final part of this essay will consider poverty in modern society. Poverty is still evident in todays society, which may indicate that Beveridges recommendations didnt go as far as expected long term to reduce poverty. Beveridges report lead to the implementation of family allowance in order to support children and stop the existing child poverty. It now appears that in modern society, with a similar benefit still in place, child poverty could be on the increase. This is reflected by Child poverty action group, 2010, page 19 which states The Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts that absolute poverty is already rising and relative poverty will soon rise as well. We can expect the wellbeing of children to fall. This indicates that child poverty is not irradiated. In conclusion it appears that although Beveridges report went some way to limiting poverty, it has never been erased. Some things may have changed for the better following Beveridges report; a better welfare state was introduced alongside a national health service to care for people who previously couldnt afford it. However, the poverty and inequality identified by Beveridge is still evident in todays society. People still suffer from inadequate housing or homelessness, lack of money, illness and unemployment similar to the five giant evils identified by Beveridge.

Friday, September 20, 2019

William Harveys Discoveries and Effects on Society

William Harveys Discoveries and Effects on Society The Renaissance, which means rebirth, was a time of much literary and humanistic growth dating from 1350-1600 AD. During this period, scholars and intellectuals alike began to show interest and respect for the arts, literature, science and architecture again. The humanistic growth of this time refers to the scholars of the renaissance, known as Humanists, who put themselves and humankind at the centre of their world and culture rather than God. The Renaissance originated in northern Italy but eventually took over Europe, with clergymen and bishops moving to Italy to study   what was known as the New Learning. The invention of the printing press during this time also meant that books could be mass produced, quickly and cheaply for the first time, making them more widely available to humanists and those in the public that could afford such commodities. This led to increased learning in this time, which in turn led to great scientists and scholars being born who changed the way we loo k at the world, even today. (colaisteeanna.ie, 2011) William Harvey, alongside Galileo, Kepler and Bacon was a very important individual in the advancement of science in the renaissance period, who is credited today as being one of the most influential English physicians in history. He is mostly known for his research into the circulatory system and was the first person to discover and accurately describe how blood was transported throughout the body by the heart. Harvey was known for never fearing to go beyond what science had accepted in his time and for pushing the boundaries of Renaissance science, never having any fear to experiment on things that would be considered major taboos at the time. His exploits however would lead to the public and other physicians to write off his work completely. William was born in Folkstone, Kent, England in the year 1578 to Thomas and mother of nine, Joane Harvey. Williams father, Thomas, was quite a successful merchant who would go on to become the mayor of his town which meant that William lived a quite comfortable life growing up. As a child and young teen Harvey was taught the classics and latin, which would later aide him in his ventures to Europe where Latin was widely used for academic work. In 1597, Harvey attended Gonville and Caius College in the University of Cambridge where he studied and completed a bachelors degree. Upon completing his degree, Harvey thought it best to move on to study medicine in the highly prestigious University of Padua in northern Italy. At the time Italy was known to be one of the great centres of intellectual activity in Europe. It was in Padua that Harvey would go on to study and be tutored under the great and famous surgeon and scientist Hieronymus Fabricius. Fabricius was a dedicated anatomist who wa s revolutionising medicine in the renaissance period who had discovered that veins in the human body contained valves, although to use of these valves were unknown to him. His beliefs in the workings of scientists such as Galen were so strong that he didnt want to challenge these views which meant that Fabricius would never go on to further his studies in this area. Fabricius discovery would later inspire Harvey to further these studies. Harvey would then go on to receive the degree of M.D from the University of Padua in 1602, where on his diploma it was written [Harvey] had conducted himself so wonderfully well in the examination, and had shown such skill, memory and learning that he had far surpassed even the great hopes which his examiners had formed of him. They decided therefore that he was skilful, expert, and most efficiently qualified both in arts and medicineâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Famousscientists.org, 2015). He would then go on to return to England to join and perform well in his ex ams at the Royal College of Physicians. During the renaissance period, the scientist and anatomist, Galen, was widely renowned as the greatest physician to ever have lived. Galen believed that the body was made up of bodily fluids called humors, these included blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. Galens views were unanimously agreed upon and people of the time saw these humors in the same way that DNA and genes are viewed in modern science today. For example if somebody was optimistic or positive it would suggest, in Galens teachings, that the humor, blood, was the primary bodily fluid to make up said persons body. The same would be applied for someone who was bad tempered who would be thought to be mostly made up of yellow bile. Although these findings were widely accepted, Galen was never able to prove them outright as at the time, dissecting human bodies was forbidden and was widely believed that it would lead to the dissector not going to heaven upon death. It was these accepted views that would lead future scien tists, such as Fabricius, to not want to challenge Galen or conduct any sort of experiments that would be considered taboo at the time. (World Science Festival, 2014). Although Harvey was very curious and would go on to investigate Fabricius studies further as he was not a believer of this ideology, which meant that he wasnt afraid to conduct experiments such as dissecting and other procedures that would have been considered unthinkable at the time. His practices though, did not come without his critics, who believed in the workings of medieval scientist and anatomist Galen. It would be Harveys eventual rise through the ranks of the college of physicians and his marriage to Elizabeth Browne, daughter of the physician to the queen at the time Elizabeth the First, however, that would give Harvey the time and space needed to conduct his controversial experiments. His marriage into a family of power and his expertise as a fellow physician to his new father in law would lead to him becoming the physician extraordinary to Queen Elizabeths successor, King James the first. Harvey would begin through human dissection to open up arteries and begin to study blood flow and blood like nobody had ever before him. Harveys work was based on a range of experiments and observations, including applying ligatures to arms to compare the flow of blood through arteries and veins and to establish the role of valves and some live experimentation on the hearts and vessels of fish and snakes. (Underhill, 2015)   Harvey also used mathematical data to prove that the blood was not being consumed (Ribatti, 2009). Harvey continued to experiment until he was able to provide concrete evidence to publish for the public to view. In 1628, at the age of 50, Harvey published his findings in latin under the title: Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibusor in English as On the Motion of the Heart and Blood. It provided new evidence on blood circulation for the first time since Galen, who had believed that blood was produced in the liver from food and pumped to the lungs. It has been shown by reason and experiment that blood by the beat of the ventricles flows through the lungs and heart and is pumped to the whole body. There it passes through pores in the flesh into the veins through which it returns from the periphery everywhere to the centre, from the smaller veins into the larger ones, finally coming to the vena cava and right atrium. (Ribatti, 2009) Harveys findings went completely against the works of Galen   which sparked outrage in the scientific community as Galens work was regarded as untouchable at the time. The medical community grew hostile against Harvey and began to send hi m threats and insults. Always a believer of his work though, Harvey would never stop trying to defend his findings. Unfortunately this abuse did not end and his practice began to suffer because of it. Eventually it forced Harvey into isolation where he lived out his life as a recluse to avoid any unnecessary attention on himself. This wasnt the end for Harvey however as a new generation of budding medical students were on the rise, who were ready to disregard old teachings and pursue modern medical studys which Harvey pioneered with his research. Harvey would continue to give lectures to the new generation of scientists, detailing his methods and findings and who would then go on to use these findings and methods in their own research which would eventually make the works of Harvey mainstream, eventually making him into a more influential scientist than Galen, whose work is still used today. His sceptics outrage ended in 1661, four years after Harveys death, when scientist Marcello Malpighi discovered capillaries which finally gave factual evidence and proved Harveys theory of blood circulation. William Harveys discoveries and their eventual acceptance meant that medical practises in general improved greatly during the end of the renaissance period and beyond. His discoveries in the circulatory system and his students further studies into his field allowed for new, more complex operations to take place. This had a big effect on heart surgeons as before Harvey, nobody really knew much about the functions of the heart. This allowed for a greater, although still very low survival rate for cardiac patients as new experimental operative methods were used through trial and error. The next 100 years would prove vital for advancements in cardiac related research as followers and accepters of Harveys work would lead major breakthroughs that have lead up to where modern heart and circulatory surgery is today. To conclude, William Harvey was a very influential scientist who lived in a time and culture where people outright believed the views of medieval medicine. A time where the medical community was unwilling to challenge the views of the greats such as Galen. Harvey showed the scientific community that no matter what your views or stance on a particular science is, that if you keep an open mind you may just be proven wrong in the end. William Harvey was the landmark scientist of modern medicine who paved the way for what we consider modern medicine to be today. Harvey was the inspiration for a whole generation of anatomists and physicians in his time and for future centuries to come. Who to this day is used as the benchmark for how influential a physician can be. Thanks to Harveys willingness to abandon old wisdom and observe and test for himself, we have our modern understanding of physiology. (www.discoveriesinmedicine.com , 2006) References: Harvey, william first, blood, body, Harveys contribution, Harvey publishes his findings (2006) Available at: http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/General-Information-and-Biographies/Harvey-William.html. Ribatti, D. (2009). William Harvey and the discovery of the circulation of the blood. [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776239/ Underhill, S. (2015) 6.2 circulation Galen and Harvey. Available at: https://natureofscienceib.wordpress.com/2015/11/18/6-2-circulation-galen-and-harvey/ World Science Festival (2014) Misunderstood geniuses: William Harvey. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NOU4McjtXs colaisteeanna.ie. (2011). The Renaissance. [online] Available at: http://colaisteeanna.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/History-Revision-The-Renaissance.pdf Famousscientists.org. (2015). William Harvey Biography, Facts and Pictures. [online] Available at: https://www.famousscientists.org/william-harvey/

Thursday, September 19, 2019

National Transportation Safety Boards Report Case Study Essay -- Essay

National Transportation Safety Boards Report Case Study STATEMENT OF PURPOSE This report provides a summary of the National Transportation Safety Boards Report on the accident involving a Douglas DC-8-63, N827AX, operated by ABX Air Inc. (Airborne Express). The description provides a brief synopsis of accident flight. The discussion is an examination of the history of the flight and discussion on those findings I found were most causal to the accident that were covered by the National Transportation Safety Board during their investigation. The report also explores those probable causes that attributed to the accident and action provided by the National Transportation Safety board in the prevention of similar mishaps. DESCRIPTION On December 22, 1996, at 1810 eastern standard time, a Douglas DC-8-63, N827AX, operated by ABX Air Inc. (Airborne Express) impacted mountainous terrain in the vicinity of Narrows, Virginia, while on a post-modification functional evaluation flight. The three flightcrew members and three maintenance/avionics technicians on board were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by the impact and a postcrash fire. The functional evaluation flight, which originated from Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro, North Carolina, was conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan and operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable causes of this accident were the inappropriate control inputs applied by the flying pilot during a stall recovery attempt, the failure of the nonflying pilot-in-command to recognize, address, and correct these inappropriate control inputs, and the failure of ABX to establish a formal functional evaluation flight program that included adequate program guidelines, requirements and pilot training for performance of these flights. Contributing to the causes of the accident were the inoperative stick shaker stall warning system and the ABX DC-8 flight training simulator’s inadequate fidelity in reproducing the airplane’s stall characteristics. DISCUSSION In all the National Transportation Safety Board concluded there were twenty-three findings that directly contributed to this airplane accident. I will address the ones I feel carried the most impact where if the instance was removed the accident would have be... ...stall characteristics. Recommendations include requiring the Douglas Aircraft Company change maintenance and calibration requirements for all DC-8 stall warning systems, improving the fidelity of the simulators in reproducing the stall characteristics of the airplanes they represent, ensure ABX incorporates the revised functional evaluation stall recovery procedure in its FEF program and developing an advisory circular advising aircrew on correct stall maneuver procedures. Additional requirements were for the FAA to identify operations that require special consideration and require special training and operational guidance. They were also to take a more active role in surveillance of FEF programs for air carriers and modify current operating instructions to clarify airworthiness and operational procedural requirements for conducting FEF’s in transport-category aircraft. The Safety Board also reiterated its standing recommendation to present pilots with angle-of-attack information in a visual form at and to train them to use the information to obtain maximum possible climb performance. Bibliography: National Transportation Safety Board, Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAR-97/05

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

How to Reduce the Rate of Domestic Violence Essay -- Preventing Domest

As professional athletes remind us on a weekly basis, domestic violence is a social problem which continues to plague the nation. Through stricter law enforcement, improved hospital reporting techniques, and nationwide education and counseling, this problem can be reduced. Domestic violence has many different names such as, family violence, battering, wife beating, and domestic abuse. All these terms refer to the same thing, abuse by marital, common law, or a dating partner in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence is not limited to physical beating. It is any behavior that is intended to overpower and control another human being through the use of humiliation, fear, and physical or verbal assault. Domestic violence is a very important issue in today’s society because it has such a profound negative affect on the abused, mentally and physically. Verbal abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse. Verbal abuse is words that attack or injure an individualâ€℠¢s self-image, which eventually shatters one’s self-esteem. In this paper, I will discuss the many kinds of abuses against women, the reasons why women stay in these relationships, and possible solutions to diminish or reduce the problems of domestic violence. There are many forms of domestic violence but the more prevalent types that I will discuss are physical abuse, verbal abused, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, social abuse and economical abuse. Every nine seconds, a husband physically abuses his wife in the U.S. (Schwartz & Scott, 2003). Physical abuse is any action that is taken against another person that inflicts pain and harm in order to control or intimidate whether in public or private. Pushing, slapping, punching, biting, kicking are just so... ...ple. Journal of Family Violence. Vol. 20, pg. 219 Retrieved March 1, 2015. Henslin, J. M. (2008). Social problems: A down-to-earth approach (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Kurz, D. (1998). Women, welfare, and domestic violence. Social Justice. Vol. 25 pg. 270. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015. Roberts, A. R. (2007). Domestic Violence Continuum, Forensic Assessment and Crisis intervention. Families in Society. Vol. 88, pg. 42. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015. Schwartz, M. A., & Scott, B.M. (2003). Marriage and Families. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Simpson, L.E., Doss, D.B., Wheeler, J., Christensen, A. (2007). Relationship violence among couples seeking therapy: common couple violence or battering. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. Vol. 33, pg 270. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Pearson Chemistry Notes Essay

1. i. All elements are composed of tiny indivisible particles called atoms. 1. ii. Atoms of the same element are identical. The atoms of any one element are different from those of any other element 1. iii. Atoms of different elements can physically mix together or can chemically combine in simple whole-number ratios to form compounds 1. iv. Chemical reactions occur when atoms are separated from each other, joined, or rearranged in a different combination. Atoms of one element, however, are never changed into atoms of another element as a result of a chemical reaction. Sizing up the Atom Atoms are very small the radii of most atoms fall within the range of 5 x 10^-11 m to 2 x 10^-10m atoms can be seen in scanning electron microscopes atoms can be moved 4. 2 Structure of the Nuclear Atom Overview Lots of Dalton’s theory is accepted except that atoms can be divided Atoms can be divided into three subatomic particles Protons Neutrons Electrons Subatomic Particles Electrons Discovered by UK physicist J. J. Thomson (1856-1940) Are negatively charged subatomic particles. Thomson’s Experiment passed electric current through gasses at low pressure. Sealed the gases in glass tubes fitted at both ends with metal disks called electrodes electrodes connected to source of electricity one electrode called the anode became positively charged other electrode, called cathode, became negatively charged resulted in glowing beam called â€Å"Cathode Ray† that traveled from cathode to anode. Findings cathode ray is deflected by electrically charged metal plates positively charged plate attracts the cathode ray negatively charged repels it Thomson knew that opposites attract hypothesized that a cathode ray is a stream of negatively charged particles moving at high speed called particles â€Å"corpuscles†. Later called â€Å"electrons† Millikan’s Experiment US physicist Robert A. Millikan (1868-1953) carried out experiments to find the quantity of an electron’s charge. Oil drop experiment suspended negatively charged oil droplets between two charged plates. then changed voltage on the plates to see how it affected the droplets’ rate of falling he found that the charge on each oil droplet was a multiple of 1. 60 x 10^19 coulomb meaning it was the charge of an electron calculated electron’s mass Millikan’s values for electron charge and mass are similar to those accepted today. An electron has one unit of negative charge and its mass is 1/1840 the mass of a hydrogen atom Protons and Neutrons Four simple ideas about matter and electric charges 1. Atoms have no net electric charge; neutral 2. Electric charges are carried by particles of matter 3. Electric charges always exist in whole-number multiples of a single basic unit; that is, there are no fractions of charges. 4. when given a number of negatively charged particles combines wit an equal number of positively charged particles, an electrically neutral particle is formed.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Causes of Wwi

The long-term causes 1. Colonial rivalry-competition for even bigger empires 2. Balkan nationalisim-the desire of the Slav peoples of this area to join those in the empire of Austria-Hungary 3. The arms race-competition for bigger armed forces and more armaments 4. The Anglo-German Naval Race 5. Kaiser Wilhelm II and German militarism 6. Alliance system-The Tripple Alliance and the Triple Entente The immediate cause of the war 1. The assassination of Franz-Ferdinand 2. Russia’s backing Serbia made war more likely 3. German backing for Austria was crucially important Colonial rivalry-competition for even bigger empiresCompetition between the Great Powers in Europe to gain colonies plays an important role in causing the WWI. By the beginning of the twentieth century, many great powers in Europe has built up their empires by holding colonies or ares. This is known as imperialism and as means when a country takes over new lands or countries and makes them subject to their rule. Ma ny countries such as the British Empire were at the peak of their industrial revolution and their developments of industries were huge. When industrialism occurs, countries need foreign markets to sell their increase in goods.Great Britain had the the largest number of colonies in the world so that King George V was also the Emperor of India and ruler of many other lands overseas. The great Empire took up nearly a quarter of the world’s land surface with 390 million of population of the colonies in 1914. And also France has the second largest empire in the world with colonies in Africa, the Far East and Indo-China. Those large number of colonies improved Britain’s and France’s dominance over the Europe and made them powerful and influential. The Germans were left with some small and commercially marginal colonies.There was a great deal of jealousy in Germany in regard to the British and French empires. The King of Germany , Kaiser Wilhem envied the mighty Britai n Empire . He decided that Germany too must have colonies overseas, which would helped him expand the German Empire and provide Germany with a market for her growing industries. It would also be a status sybol showing Germany’s greatness and gaining it respect. ( Furthermore, Britain in particular, used its navy and merchant navy to dominate overseas trade, which also provided a source of irritation to the Germans. The Germans embarked on a program of massive naval spending in order to create a navy capable of challenging Britain's domination of the sea. This caused considerable concern in Britain and tensions between the Germans and the Britain. Once the trigger was fired, the assassination of the Archduke, Imperialism directly led to a naval arms race between the two countries. Causing the disparity of the power of different countries ,competition and tension between countries to grow , the Colonial rivalry made countries willing and eager to join World War I, which was see n as an opportunity to gain colonies and reshape the world.Therefore, German declared war on Russia and mobilized her army when Russia refused to send troops to help Serbia and other countries joined in the War later. On 5 August, all the great powers of Europe were at war with each other, WWI broke out. Balkan nationalism-the desire of the Slav peoples of this area to join those in the empire of Austria-Hungary Balkan nationalism is also one of the important factors of the outbreak of WWI. The Balkans is the area of south-west Europe and it was the powder-keg or trouble spot of Europe. This area had once been part of Turkish Empire.It was inhabited by Slav peoples such as the Serbs, Bulgarians and Romanians, who were able to rule themselves. Many nationalities were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but Serbia wanted to unite all Serbs within a greater Serbia. The Slav peoples of Balkans desired those in the empire of Austria-Hungary to join with them. Russia regarded herself as t he protector of these Slavs since they shared a common nationality. Austia-Hungary feard losing not only the Serbs but also other Balkan nationals so that Austria-Hungary wanted to take over the states of this area to preserve of this empire.It brought increasing rivalry between Russia and Austria-Hungary. When Austria started war with Serbia, Russia ordered the Russian army to prepare for war in order to help the Slavs of Serbia on 29 July, which started a countdown to the biggest war, WWI. German sent ultimatum to Tsar Nicholas to order him to stop mobilizing but Russia refused to accept and so Germany declared war on Russia , mobilizing her army. As France was an ally of Russia the French government ordered the mobilization of the French army on 1 August. Many other great powers joined the war later so that WWI broke out on 5 August.Causing the tension and opposition between Russia and Austria-Hungary to rise and making the mobilization of Russia which started the countdown of th e war,the Balkan nationalism made the war likely to happen. Therefore, the Balkan nationalism was one of the factors of the outbreak of WWI, The arms race-(competition for bigger armed forces and more armaments) The arms race also contributes into causing the WWI to break out. By the beginning of twentieth century , great powers in Europe have started to rival with each other through building up the size of their armed forces.Each major power in Europe except Britain had trained a huge army of conscripts, which means young men forced by law to become soldiers for a year or so. These armies could be mobilized at a moment’s notice. In the period 1900-1904 the main European powers more than doubled their spending on their armies. From 1872 to 1912, Germany increased more than 300% of her armaments spending when Russia increased more than 250% with Italy, Great Britain, Austria-Hungary and France around 100%. Guns , shells, bullets and other weapons had been stockpiled in case of war.Ever more destructive weapons were being developed and improved, such as the machine-gun and huge field guns. The increases in spending of armaments caused the military rival between countries to rise. The arm races increased tension between the Great Powers. They felt threatened when others increased its army and gained stronger weapons so that they competed with each other through making their military power stronger with a rolling ‘snowball’ effect. It made the war more likely since country increased its army and weapons it became more confident of success in a future war and more willing to test out their armed forces.When Austria started war with Serbia after the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand, Russia backed Serbia as a starting point of countdown of WWI . More great powers joined the large-scaled war soon later since they were confident and well prepared to compete their military powers. WWI broke out on 5th August 1914. Increasing the tension and competiti on between countries and accelerating the coming of the war , the arms race gathered all great powers together and made the war faster and more possible to happen. Therefore, the arms race was one of the most important factors of the outbreak of WWI. The Anglo-German Naval RaceThe Anglo-German naval race was also one of the factors of the outbreak of WWI. Before WWI,Great Britain had the most powerful naval in the world, which was her Royal Navy. The navy which outgunned and outnumbered all other navies not only protected the Empire and trade, but also prevented foreign invasion. At the same time, Germany had the world’s best army but Kaiser Wilhelm, but the German reluer would like to compete with Britain so that it began to build a fleet of battleships to rival the British Navy in 1898. Britain were not worried about the growth of the German fleet too much at first since they had enormous lead.However, the introduction of the powerful British ‘Dreadnought’ batt leship in 1906 changed all this. The dreadnought was faster, bigger and had a much great firing range than existing battleships and this super-battleship made all previous battleships obsolete or out of date. This allowed the Germans to begin building ‘Dreadnoughts’ on equal terms with Britain. A race developed between two countries to see who could build the most. In 1909 Britain had 8 Dreadnoughts to Germany’s seven. This naval race poisoned the relations between the two countries and was the main bone of contention between the two right up to 1914.When Germany was preparing to invade Belgium, the British sent her troops to protect Belgium from attack. British sent a telegram to call Germany to back her army. With no reply from Germany , the Britain started war with Germany and from then, all the great powers of Europe became at war with each other. On 5th August, 1914, WWI broke out. By worsening the relations between Germany and Britain and causing rival and tension between them to rise, the Anglo-Naval Race made the war between the two more likely to happen and it became a part a WWI. Therefore, the Anglo-Naval race was one of the factors of the outbreak of WWI.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Men Really are from Mars

It has been my experience that no matter how we try to alike, men and women definitely act differently, respond differently and see the world differently.   I have witnessed this behavior first hand in many of my classes. I had never noticed exactly how different we were until I started looking, and I was very surprised at how obvious it is.   My results may not be the same in every situation and I do not wish to generalize but overall and in most cases, this is what I witnessed. Firstly, in the classroom, in the learning environment the women seemed to â€Å"physically† be paying attention.   They made almost constant eye contact with the professor, took notes and watched every movement.   In contrast, the men, although paid attention, did not appear as â€Å"physical† about it.   They listened but very differently.   The women's listening skills were very active.   They watched, and gestured in agreement (when they agreed) and made notes while almost never losing eye contact.   The men, also took notes, but seemed to be able to do so without watching the professor or even appearing to be listening.   When something noteworthy was said, the women scribbled feverishly, but the men seemed to jot it down.   Again, this was not 100% the case, but obvious enough to notice and mention. The opposite happened, however, when the students spoke in class. When a male was asked to speak, he stood up very tall and also very exaggerated.   His shoulders broadened, his voice deepened and he appeared very serious.   Most of the males that spoke also gestured with their hands to emphasize their point.   Their voices were louder than necessary as they directed their answer to the professor.   In contrast, when a female spoke, her voice was quiet and she appeared to speak to the class as opposed to just the teacher.   I also never saw any female gesture dramatically with her hands or talk louder than necessary. Before class, when the atmosphere was more social, I also noticed several distinct differences between the males and the females.   The males grouped together and were again loud and sometimes obnoxious with language and jokes.   In this setting their actions were overly dramatic and it seemed they wanted everyone to hear what they were saying, whether they were in the conversation or not.   Also, when they grouped together to talk, almost 100% of the time, only males were in the group. Again, in sharp contrast was the way the females socialized.   Although they mainly talked to other women, at times, they did include men, and they spoke very quietly.   Their conversations were not â€Å"locker room talk†, but instead about the last assignment, or the current subject.   Even when they did speak socially, I didn't hear any crude jokes or obscenities.   This is not to say they didn't occur, just that if they did, because the women spoke so much quieter I couldn't hear them. After class was again a huge difference.   The men gathered up their books (many times early) and left the classroom quickly, again loudly and with friends.   The women took their time, waited for the crowd to disperse and walked slowly out of the room.   Many of them even stopped to talk to the professor on the way out, and some of them waited for friends in the hallway.   The differences were as obvious as night and day, and ones that I had never really noticed before. In every situation I witnessed the differences in men and women were so obvious I was shocked that I hadn't noticed them before.   The men not only talked to each other differently, but seemed to hear each other differently as well.   The women seemed to genuinely listen and even ask questions about the material.   Again, I don't mean to generalize as some men did ask questions, but overall it was the women who asked more questions about the material.   Also when a male asked a question, he usually blurted it out and did not look around to see if anyone else had a question.   It's difficult to point that out because although that was the case, it did not appear rude at the time, or selfish.   The women accepted it, the professor accepted it.   It was as if, it was not obvious to anyone, except me, and only because I was watching their behavior. I think these differences are huge, and I can fully understand why they say men are Mars and women are from Venus.   It really is as if we see things totally differently, to the extent where sometimes I wondered if we were all hearing the same material and in the same room.   It was that obvious.   I also think we need to be more aware of these differences and work to understand them.   This effort could result in far fewer arguments and much more peaceful relationship among us.      

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Case Study †Problem Employee

We often hear about the employers that don’t treat employees well; but you know, it sometimes works the other way as well. I had a call from a gentleman who was at his wits end as to what he could do with an employee that he has had on his payroll now for 5 years. This employee is running the entire show! He’s a bully and the employer is to the point that he is actually afraid of him – not in a physical sense – but in the sense that he’s afraid to stand up to him because – oh no – heaven forbid – he may quit! The employer has completely lost control of this fellow because he never had the courage to set any boundaries or expectations from the start and his leadership has been extremely inconsistent. So, how did this happen, you may ask? The background: The business owner has a small restaurant. He and his wife and brother-in-law opened the restaurant about 7 years ago. The business started to grow and he brought in the employee in question to help them out. At first, the employee was really good and the owner gave him more and more responsibilities, to the point that he felt fairly comfortable in leaving him to open up on occasion and actually assist with the business decisions, etc. The business continued to grow and he hired a few more people, mostly part time, to work during lunch and dinner times. After a few more employees were hired, the original employee (we’ll call him Joe), started to exhibit some less than desirable behaviours by coming in late; opening the doors and then within 15 minutes, he would go out back to have a smoke break (virtually leaving the business open without anyone inside, which the owner found out by coming in a couple of mornings right after Joe and finding the place empty); talking on his cell phone right in front of customers (putting the customers on ignore while he chatted away on the phone); and when the owner tried to speak with him, Joe just held his hand up right in the owner’s face shutting him down. On occasion, when Joe decided he’d made enough tips for the night – he would just leave – an hour – sometimes two hours before his shift actually ended! To heck with the schedule†¦ he’d had enough†¦too bad†¦so sad. Oh – and he didn’t like the owner’s wife – so he told the owner to keep her out of the restaurant – and he did! It has now gotten to the point (according to the employer) that Joe comes and goes as he pleases and in fact, he has told the employer that he can’t do anything about it because he’d have to pay him to terminate him. The employer, unfortunately, does not know his rights in this case – and he has let it go on for so long now that he is getting treated this way by all of his employees. The example has been set! The saddest part of all is that the employee tells the employer what he will and will not do and the employer has no one else that can step into this fellow’s shoes because everyone else is part time and does not have the same level of restaurant business experience. At least, that’s what the owner believes at this time. So; how did we go about finding a solution to this problem when up to this point in time nothing was documented?Case Study – Problem Employee – Part 2 Published: November 1, 2010 The first thing we recommended to this employer was to take a good look at his current employees and consider which ones he could provide more training and development to so that if this problem employee did walk out; he could still manage his business. We also advised him that allowing others to develop their skills would not only increase his ability to provide a better quality business for his customers, it would also provide learning opportunities for his employees that would encourage them to stay. The next thing we did for this employer was to give him information around the basic employment standards act that he needed. He was allowing an employee to tell him what was required by law, and in fact; most of what he was being told was inaccurate. Ignorance is definitely not bliss for a business owner who employs others. We gave him â€Å"fact sheets† with the main areas that he should make himself familiar with so that it was easy to understand and didn’t have a lot of unfamiliar language to interpret. The next thing we recommended is that he considers doing is allowing us to develop an employee handbook and some basic policies that would help him in communicating to his employees moving forward. We recommended that he have a staff meeting prior to the construction of the handbook to allow the employees to have some input or suggestions. We offered to provide support at the staff meeting if he wished; but certainly this is something that he could do on his own as well. We offered to present the handbook to the employees with him so that we could respond to any questions and he didn’t have to feel concerned about how to respond (particularly because he believes the problem employee is going to challenge the implementation of a handbook and policies). We next suggested that he implement a performance management system that aligned with the handbook and policies and we will assist him through coaching sessions as to how he can manage the process. While this is a lot of work for him and it will not be an overnight solution; he has unfortunately allowed his employee to gain control of his business – and not in a good way. Due to the fact that he has not managed the whole relationship well and it has deteriorated to this stage, it will be a long process to repair the damage. The good thing is that he did seek help and he will learn how to retain employees through the provision of learning opportunities; he will have some ‘standards of operation and behavioural expectations’; and he will have a performance management system to ensure a more fair and just working environment. Last, but not least; we are also going to provide some ‘culture coaching’ sessions so he can develop a strong and healthy workplace that fits within his mission and values. As this project is not yet complete, we will report back on occasion to let you know how we move through the recommended processes.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Juvenile Gangs in America Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Juvenile Gangs in America - Term Paper Example Gangs are found in both urban and rural areas. Adult criminal offenders emanate from gangs at an early age and recruit their members from the gangs. Gangs should be diverted into constructive activities where they can positively utilize their energy and honestly make money instead of using criminal means. Juvenile Gangs in America The case of the young gang member is a sad one as instead of having a fruitful youth they waste themselves in burglary, muggings, robbery, gang wars, drug abuse and drug sale according to Franzese, Covey and Menard (2006). Both males and females engage in gang activities and may find themselves in juvenile jails at an early age owing to criminal activities in which they engage. This paper aims to study Juvenile gangs in America; types of Juvenile gangs, what causes them and the effect they have on society and the crimes they engage in, in the United States. The youth are constantly striving to seek for answers as to who they really are. They are looking to define their character, their objectives and pathways in life. This is probably the reason why gangs are constituted mainly of the youth; people lost looking to find their footing in life and in society. Law enforcers define gangs in a simple way as organized groups that join together for the common objective of committing criminal offences (Barrows and Huff, 2009). Barrows and Huff also state that gangs are strongly glued together, very organized, secretive and violent; a group that is a fast growing great threat to society. They also look to find where they feel safe and secure and a place where they feel dignified. Gangs offer this forum and make the young person feel comfortable and protected. The disadvantage with gangs, even as they offer this homely feel for the youth, is that they offer the wrong advice; a tool of menace instead of positive development. United States has experienced a rebirth of gangs and crimes perpetuated by gangs over the last twenty years (Katz and Webb, 2006). Johnson (2004) submits that there are various types of youth gangs in the streets of United States. Scavengers at times referred to as wanna-be gangs are mainly consisted of whites from the suburbs whose main purpose is to bully and threaten other youngsters. Hispanic gangs, on the other hand, named as territorial gangs gather respect. African American gangs and a few Hispanic gangs called hardcore gangs endeavor to generate money by all means and kick out rival groups through violent. Members of a particular gang share various things such as ambition, devoutness and even backgrounds. The juvenile gang menace is mistaken to be uniquely American but it is a characteristic of many other nations and continents too as state by Siegel and Welsh (2011). The UK is a good example of a state disturbed by juvenile gangs and specifically the capital, London. Though there are many kinds of Juvenile gangs in the US, they tend to share similar characteristics. Such characteristics are; th ey are made up of youths, they protect particular territories mainly in the streets and they are immersed in criminal activities of all sorts. Gangs in the United States exist in all cities and members of gangs tend to evolve into leaders of organized crime settings (Finley, 2007). Young juvenile gang members are often trained by adults and are taught many things among them particular ways of

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Placebo Effects of Caffeine on Cycling Performanc Coursework

Placebo Effects of Caffeine on Cycling Performanc - Coursework Example For instance, Clark et al conducted a research where subjects where divided in to three groups. However, his research could not provide correct results on the cause of placebo effect since half the subjects had prior knowledge that carbohydrates would increase their performance. The third group had prior knowledge that their drink could lead to improved performance hence the researcher could not control the findings of the research. The research study used a sample of seven cyclists and used both quantitative and qualitative methods of study. The cyclists were not aware that placebo capsules were administered since they thought it was caffeine. Two baseline and three experimental trials were used. The research is beneficial since it utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the symptoms of the capsules. The level of confidence error provided in the research is sufficient for us to conclude the findings are true. The research suffers from various theoretical and methodological limitations since cyclists were selected from well-trained competitive teams hence they could have increased their performance without use of caffeine. The subjects had prior literature from published research on the positive relationship of caffeine and cycling performance. The research method was flawed since it only selected only seven cyclists from the age of thirty to forty one years hence the sample surveyed was insufficient. Fo r instance, the power output of the fourth subject varied up to 20 percent between adjacent trials which the research has not explained the causes of the variance in the power output (Jackson 170). The subjected were exposed to three different conditions which are moderate dose, high dose and randomly assigned double blind basis hence the research study ignored the optimum control of the amount of caffeine which subjects could take.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case Study - Assignment Example This change is based on the processes of employee recruitment and selection, performance appraisals, and assessment of the organization performance. James made this decision after discovering that Quart Limited holds onto traditional practices, which seems to impede the organization from leveraging on the current benefits of globalization, innovation technology, and new management skills. The chief executive officer, among other senior staff members of Quart Limited has indicated a rejection of James proposed changes. This has caused labeling of James as a â€Å"dictator† and â€Å"freshman† into the organization. The chief executive officer also needs James to adhere to the existing organization culture and trends. On contrary, James has not given up on his change quest, and he has gone as far as formulating a change strategy, which need to be adopted in the organization. This includes the process of change adoption and implementation. The overwhelming quest for a change in the organization, by James, has resulted in attainment of conflict in the organization. This conflict results from a portion of senior, as well as junior management staff of the organization. The base of this conflict is on the change, which James is introducing into the organization, which seems to alter the traditional practices of the organization. Despite his efforts, James is blocked from introducing change; in the organization since a large portion of staff members have declined the change. Consequently, James has decided to engage all the stakeholders of Quart Limited into a forum, which will discuss the necessity of change in the organization and explore change implementation and adoption process. Further, James wants to invite a colleague-managing director from Starbucks Company to aid in facilitating the forum of change adoption in Quart Limited. It is James thought that these actions will contribute towards the end of the conflict Quart Limited had seen, as well as induce

Compare between Haredim and Secular Jews in middle east Essay

Compare between Haredim and Secular Jews in middle east - Essay Example Israel’s contemporary ultra-orthodox are free descendants of the Jews who moved and lived in Eastern Europe during the nineteenth century. At this time Jewish people sparsely populated the regions of the continent for centuries, but Eastern Europe was relatively densely populated by the Jews and was actually the largest area populated by Jews in the world. In spite of being a large population, the Jews did not assimilate within non-Jewish communities. They lived in isolated and legally independent communities which were distant from other non-Jewish population. These communities were known as shtetls. Their main occupation and lifestyle in the shtetls was studying the Law of Moses (Torah), living according to its word, and practicing the Jewish faith. At this time of history also there was a strong anti-Semitic sentiment throughout Europe, therefore, shtetls protected the Jewish religion and lifestyle in addition to protecting the Jews themselves. However, life in the shtetl w as very not very easy due to its poor economy and poor educational systems. The only thing holding the Jewish people together was their heritage and religion. Their survival in the shtetl was motivated by the belief that God was with them and would lead them. Beginning in the early nineteenth century a wave of modernization and industrialization went across all Europe. This wave opened social and economic opportunities that were new to the Jews in the shtetls. This wave of modernization mainly affected the Jews who lived in Germany and Austria, as this Jews were outside the shtetls and were therefore not protected from the rest of the world. When modernization’s first effects started being felt in Europe, Christian communities outside the shtetl started approaching Jews for their potential to contribute to European economic and social revitalization. Europeans therefore played a role in the converting the Jews

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Choose an allied health profession Research Paper

Choose an allied health profession - Research Paper Example EHOs prevent, investigate, consult, and spread awareness in the community about the importance of maintaining a safe and healthy environment and avoiding health risks. EHOs display a firm understanding of risk assessment, microbiology, food science, environmental technology and science, knowledge and skills about tracing the communicable diseases and controlling them, and study and implementation of legislation associated with environment and public health. EHOs work together with the ministries of government like the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health, businesses, local municipalities, community agencies and individual community members. The main role of an EHO is to protect the health and safety of the public. EHOs have been traditionally known as sanitary inspectors and inspectors of nuisances. Titles for this job that exist presently include public health officer, and health official. State health authorities or local governments employ t he environmental health professionals to help them enforce the standards of public health. Many EHOs are also employed in the military as well as in the private sector. Jobs related to EHOs that can be found in the advertisements include services of inspection and enforcement, investigation of communicable disease, community planning, environmental health consulting, training in the course of food safety, planning of sewage disposal system, pest control, air quality monitoring, and noise control. EHOs work in a variety of settings. For example, when they have to work as Navy Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), they are required to have a bachelor’s degree at minimum. They are required to prevent and achieve control over the diseases in the populations of Navy and Marine Corps. They are expected to conduct the investigation of ongoing diseases, identify useful methods for the assessment of health-threat, and recognize potential dangers along with developing the countermeasur es for the threats. In the job of Navy, an EHO may be â€Å"[p]roviding guidance to Commanding Officers, Operational/Joint/Coalition Force Commanders and Installation Commanders on food safety, water and wastewater safety, communicable disease control, risk communication, and epidemiological/biostatistic methods of assessing threats† (Navy, n.d.). They have to do considerable amount of fieldwork and many of them are required to travel frequently. Working hours for EHOs are long and irregular. They have to inspect the places and equipment with respect to the standards of health and safety. In the US, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) offers the environmental health credentials. â€Å"Founded in 1937 by practitioners who wanted to establish a standard of excellence for the profession, that standard has come to be known as the Registered Environmental Health Specialist or Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) credential† (NEHA, 2013). Recently, NEHA has added a computer testing along with a process of online continuing education submission. Numerous professional organizations are conducting research and contributing to the development of the EHOs and through them, the whole society. The Environmental Health Officers’ Association (EHOA) is one of such professional organizations whose objective is promotion of the environmental health and education of the public regarding the issues of

Monday, September 9, 2019

Fitness Assignments Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Fitness Assignments - Coursework Example The client is a complete beginner to exercise and have not attended any fitness program before. In addition, the client possesses an active lifestyle with high intake of junk food. No cardio respiratory diseases or blood sugar abnormalities were identified to relate with the family history of the client. The client’s secondary motive is to remain fit and healthy. On the other hand, the primary goal of the client is to become a basketball player. A detailed information about the client has been presented below in a tabular format. Basketball is recognized as a ‘non-contact’ sport, wherein body contact is commonly witnessed among the players. Hence, basketball players usually require muscular strengths as well as body mass to maintain their position against the opponents. In this regard, certain qualities are extremely important for the basketball players to acquire a competitive edge over the opponents. Speed, agility and quick recovery are a few major fitness components that are essential for developing the performance of the individual players as well as team. The goals of the client behind attending training are to become a basketball player and keep self-fit and healthy. Hence, in line with these goals of the client, certain specific methods of testing by which further assessments can be gauged against for effective training have been designed. These testing methods will include ‘test of jumping’, ‘test of agility’, and ‘tests of strength’ (Sporis, Naglic, Milanovic, Talovic, & Jeleskovic, 2010). On each exercise, 20-30 sec work will be performed with 20-40sec recovery after the completion of each exercise. At the same time, warm up before starting exercise and cooling down after exercise will also be performed. The following exercise circuit has been set up for conducting a resistance-based circuit so that the fellow students work in each body part. The session is divided

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Competitive analysis of a business firm Assignment

Competitive analysis of a business firm - Assignment Example Introduction The company selected for the project is Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. It is a brewing company of America and operates in 13 breweries in the country. The company is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Apart from packaging and brewing operations, the company also engages itself in agricultural operations, recycling operations as well as manages subsidiary owned property. The company supplies its products through a network that involves 500 independent wholesalers as well as 13 wholly state owned enterprises (Anheuser-Busch, 2012). The successful business organizations understand the purpose of value creation for the existing employees, customers and the investors. They are also aware that the interests of the groups are inter-related. Sustainable value should be created for all the three groups simultaneously. From the point of view of the customers, value creation means availability of products and services that are useful to them. From the perspective of the employees, value creation means treating all employees in a respectful fashion and involves themselves in the decision makings while value creation for the investors means obtaining high returns on their investments (Holland, 2001, p. 3). The mission of a certain company should be defined in terms of the primary value adding activities. Therefore, it is of utmost interests for the managers to devote time to analyze the dynamics of value creation. But managers tend to take decisions that systematically reduce the long term possibility of the firm to create value. They tend to define the interests of the organizations narrowly and this view was reinforced by the financial accounting systems (O'Malley, 1998). It is possible for business to create value in the following ways: reducing the transaction costs (for consumers / producers) reducing the costs of producers changing the perceptions of perceived benefits The firms offer some advantages where the transaction costs are lower. Market transactions i nvolve the use of real resources such as time and search costs as well as drawing up and enforcing contracts. Economies of scale can also crop us if the market transactions involve the use of real resources. The common ownership of the resources of production are sometimes less costly than a series of arrangements with independent contractors when there are specialized assets and expertise involved (Forbes, 2012). The factors driving value creation The history of the selected company is one of success as well as innovation. There has not been any real growth in the product market of the company in the time period under consideration in the graph above but the company faired particularly well in the stock market. In the last decade the domestic demand for beer went flat. The year 1996 marked the year where the company was able to create substantial value. In that year only 55 of the total produced in the company were sold outside United States. In the two year period of 1996 to 1998, the invested capital of the company grew by about 1.9 billion dollars. The enterpris3 value of the company grew by around 13.4 billion dollars (Arnold and Shockley, 2002, pp. 1-6). The estimated enterprise value of the company is shown in the graph below. The value of the company’s assets in place grew only slightly over the excess of capital invested. This indicates low growth of the existing market. The real value creation can be observed in the generation of 10 billion dollars worth of growth options for the company. In

Saturday, September 7, 2019

There is no need for animal research anymore Essay

There is no need for animal research anymore - Essay Example (Carl, n.d) All this is being done in the name of science, medical research, cosmetics, tobacco and other various forms of consumer products. Why aren’t these tests being so widely condemned? How is this not cruel and unjust? Somehow one species tends to overlook the rights of others when there is benefit. But is it all worth it? Is it even valid? Do we even need animal experimentation in today’s world of advanced scientific simulation and other techniques? According to studies, the annual number of animals used in laboratory tests, reaches an estimated 100 million. These tests are performed on a wide range of animals that include rats, mice, rabbits, apes, monkeys but also domestic cats and dogs (Carl, n.d). An estimated 1600 chimpanzees are housed in U.S research facilities. Almost 23 million rats and mice were subjected to â€Å"experimentation† in the year 1998. These figures come from National Association for Biomedical Research. PETA, on the other hand, says that the figures go higher. Rodents and mice were not even included in the 1996 Animal Welfare act, eventhough 90 percent of the testing is done on them. It wan’t until end of 2000 that they were included in these statistics. Many justify animal testing by crediting it for major medical breakthroughs, including penicillin, chemotherapy for childhood leukemia, hip replacement, insulin, the polio vaccine and heart bypass surgeries. (Fast Facts: animal testing) The most common justification about animal experimentation is that it is a necessary process for the development of medicines, vaccines and cures for human illnesses. Those in favor of animal testing justify the act by asking, what will happen to the research on finding cures diseases such as AIDS, cancer and other heart diseases, if animals aren’t used for medical experimentation? Is animal testing so important, that the research on these diseases will not